2020 July | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans’ Gentry Cleared To Travel To NBA Campus

July 8th, 2020 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry has been cleared to travel with his team to the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link), Gentry received the call from the NBA today just minutes before the Pelicans were set to board their plane to Orlando.

Gentry, who is 65 years old, is one of the head coaches who has received extra scrutiny from team doctors and the NBA due to potentially heightened health risks if he contracts the coronavirus. The restart agreement gives the league the right to prohibit certain red-flagged individuals from accompanying their teams to Disney.

The NBA has assured coaches they won’t be red-flagged based on their ages alone. However, if there are also underlying health issues that will put them at greater risk, they can be held out of the restart — that was the case for Lakers assistant Lionel Hollins, for instance.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, 71, is expected to travel to the NBA campus on Thursday, per Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News. Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, 69, also said this week that he hasn’t heard anything suggesting he’ll be prohibited from heading to Orlando (Twitter link via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle). D’Antoni is still waiting the official OK from the league, but there’s optimism he’ll get it, tweets Wojnarowski.

While the Pelicans got good news on Gentry, the club will be without associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik won’t be with the club this summer. He decided to stay in New Orleans and work remotely after consulting with team doctors and CDC regulations.

In addition to Bzdelik, the Pelicans will be missing assistant Jamelle McMillan, who is staying behind to care for his newborn son, according to Lopez (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Tatum, Nets, Thomas, Knicks, Kidd

July 8th, 2020 at 10:43am CST by Luke Adams

Sixers center Joel Embiid and guard Shake Milton are among those who have expressed some reservations about the NBA’s restart plan, though both players will participate this summer, writes Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Embiid’s concerns stem from a suspicion that not all of his fellow players will follow the restrictions and protocols put in place by the league.

“There’s some guys that like to go out, there’s some guys that like to do stuff, there’s some guys that like adventure,” Embiid said. “I know myself. I know I’m not gonna put everybody else at risk. But the question is, is everybody else gonna do the same? Just being around this business, I surely don’t think so.”

Milton, meanwhile, was less concerned about the health and safety guidelines in place than about his belief that the resumption of the NBA might draw attention away from the ongoing fight for social justice reforms.

“I don’t really think we should be playing,” Milton said, per Bodner. “I feel like… there’s an issue going on right now in the world that is way bigger than the sport, way bigger than the game of basketball, and I feel like we’re on the cusp of finally having people tune in and really try to listen and try to understand more about the things that are happening in our country. I feel like the moment is too big right now, and I don’t want the game of basketball to overshadow it.”

Despite their apprehensions, both Embiid and Milton stressed they’re committed to helping the 76ers compete for a championship in Orlando this summer.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum isn’t overly enthusiastic about restarting the season at the Walt Disney World campus and only recently finalized his decision to play, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “There’s a multitude of reasons why I wasn’t comfortable,” Tatum said. “… (I’m) still not excited about it, not thrilled. Obviously, what we’re fighting for (in society), against racism and social injustice and (for) equality. Obviously the virus is still very well and alive and continues to rise in Florida. For me, just being away from my son for two or three months, that’s what’s really bothering me. … Especially when they’re that young — their growth, they change every week. Just knowing I’m going to miss out on that.”
Veteran forward Lance Thomas, who was with the Nets last fall, is among the veteran free agents receiving interest from the team, league sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Brooklyn is eligible to sign three substitute players to replace DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Taurean Prince, who all contracted COVID-19. The club is also said to be eyeing Amir Johnson.
Marc Berman of The New York Post explores Jason Kidd‘s candidacy for the Knicks‘ head coaching vacancy, noting that some insiders believe he’s the best “long-shot threat” to presumed frontrunner Tom Thibodeau. However, opinions on Kidd are mixed. “I wouldn’t hire Jason Kidd if he was the last coach standing,” one NBA source (who has worked with Kidd) told Berman. “It would be a terrible choice. There’s a reason Milwaukee is in the place where they are right now — coaching.”

Northwest Notes: Jokic, Dort, Osbourne, McCollum

July 7th, 2020 at 8:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets All-Star center Nikola Jokic did not join the team on its flight to Orlando on Tuesday due to COVID-19 testing protocols, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. Jokic, who contracted the novel coronavirus in Serbia, needed two negative tests there and two more in the U.S. before he could join his teammates. Jokic had two negative tests in Serbia but a tight timeline prevented him from meeting those standards, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. Jokic can head to Orlando once he passes all those tests.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Luguentz Dort wasn’t sure he’d receive a multi-year deal from the Thunder until shortly before the agreement was reached, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. Dort had his two-way contract converted into a standard four-year, $5.4MM deal late last month. “I had conversations with my agent and everything, but nothing was actually like 100% sure,” Dort said of the negotiations. “It was still unsure until these past couple weeks … and then it happened.”
Trail Blazers assistant coach Dale Osbourne did not travel with the team to Orlando, Dan Sheldon of NBC Sports Northwest tweets. No additional details were provided by coach Terry Stotts. Osbourne has been on Stotts’ staff for eight seasons.
CJ McCollum believes the Trail Blazers can snare the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic. Portland enters the restart 3.5 games behind Memphis, which currently has the eighth-best conference record. “I think we have as good a chance as anyone,” McCollum said. “It’s as healthy as we’ve been in a long time … I think we have as good of chance as any of the teams going for that eighth (spot).”

And-Ones: Gudaitis, Beaubois, Paul, Robinson, Curry, King

July 7th, 2020 at 7:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lithuanian center Arturas Gudaitis is expected to leave Olimpia Milano and join Zenit St. Petersburg next season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Gudaitis, who played 19 games last season with Olimpia Milano and averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG, had been signed through next season with the Italian club. The Sixers used a 2015 second-round pick on Gudaitis but he has never appeared in an NBA regular-season game. The Cavaliers acquired his rights in 2018 via a three-way trade with the Kings and Jazz.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Former Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois has reached a two-year contract extension with his Turkish club Anadolu Efes, Misko Raznatovic tweets. Beaubois, 32, hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2012/13 season. Last season, the French guard averaged 11.1 PPG over 43 games.
Chris Paul has made a strong impression as NBA Players Association president, as Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman details. Players Association executive director Michele Roberts indicates that not all superstar players like the Thunder point guard command the same respect. “I won’t name any names, but there have been other marquee players that have been on the executive committee,” Roberts said. “They haven’t come close, they haven’t come close to providing and demonstrating a level of commitment and time that Chris has. And he’s not only just there, he’s engaged, he understands the issues. … He does insist on hearing all sides, and he brings in the other players.”
Joe Johnson, Mario Chalmers, Nate Robinson and Eddy Curry are among the former NBA players slated to participate in 3-on-3 pay-per-view tournament later this month, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype tweets. The “5 Tournament” is scheduled to take place July 19-29, just before the NBA’s planned restart.
Former Suns two-way player George King has signed with Bundesliga’s Chemnitz 99ers, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets. King, who appeared in one game with the Suns in 2018/19, played in Italy and Poland last season.

Nets Forward Taurean Prince Tests Positive, Won’t Play In Orlando

July 7th, 2020 at 6:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

In another major blow to the depleted Nets, forward Taurean Prince has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and will not play in Orlando, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Brooklyn has been devastated by injuries, illness and defections as teams head to Orlando for the league’s restart. Earlier on Tuesday, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie revealed he wouldn’t rejoin the team after testing positive for COVID-19 a second time.

A handful of other Nets players were ruled out in earlier weeks. Superstars Kevin Durant (Achilles) and Kyrie Irving (shoulder) won’t participate. Nicolas Claxton (shoulder) is also injured, while Wilson Chandler has decided to sit out for family reasons and DeAndre Jordan opted out after contracting COVID-19.

Prince did not opt out of playing but his late positive test put his chances of recovering in time to return to action in jeopardy, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet. In his first season with the club after being traded last offseason by the Hawks, Prince averaged 12.1 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 64 games.

The Nets now have three open slots for substitute players, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes in a tweet. Brooklyn will have to rely heavily on Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen as the team tries to hold onto a playoff spot during the eight-game seeding round.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Favors, Rockets, Clarke

July 7th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Pelicans announced on Monday that they’d signed Sindarius Thornwell, they indicated in their press release that the guard is a substitute player, but didn’t reveal which player on the roster he’d be replacing. More than 24 hours later, we have no further clarity on which New Orleans player will be supplanted by Thornwell.

According to John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link), Thornwell is replacing a player who tested positive for the coronavirus and the Pelicans can’t name that player for privacy reasons. The team previously announced that three players tested positive for COVID-19, but the identities of those players wasn’t reported. Still, it will likely just be a matter of time until we know which Pelican won’t participate in the summer restart, if only by the process of elimination.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Pelicans center Derrick Favors, whose contract expires at season’s end, admitted today that he weighed the risk of suffering a pre-free-agency injury this summer before ultimately deciding to play. “I definitely thought about it,” Favors said, per Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link). “But I trust my body and I trust what I’ve done.”
Rockets GM Daryl Morey said this week that he isn’t too concerned about the 2020/21 salary cap uncertainty, having concluded that any fluctuation is “probably not going to impact us too much,” tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets – and as I pointed out when I previewed Houston’s ’20/21 cap – a shifting tax line could affect the Rockets, since they already have more than $123MM committed to six guaranteed contracts.
Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, who missed the team’s last eight games before the hiatus due to a quad injury, said on Monday that he feels like he’s back to full health, as Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. “Over these past five to six weeks, I’ve gotten back to the player that I was. I feel like I’m pretty much the same health that I was pre-injury,” Clarke said. “I got the same balance and running habits, so it’ll all just be about my habits on the court.”

Magic Notes: Coronavirus, Fultz, Aminu, Isaac

July 7th, 2020 at 3:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic became the first team to report to the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus on Tuesday, but not all of the team’s players were in attendance. Here are a few of the latest updates on the Magic:

A player on the Magic – who hasn’t been identified – tested positive for COVID-19 and didn’t accompany the club to Disney, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. According to Nick Friedell of ESPN (Twitter link), president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said the Magic expect the player to rejoin the team once he’s cleared to do so.
Point guard Markelle Fultz has a non-coronavirus personal matter to address and has been excused from reporting to the NBA’s campus for now, according to Reynolds (Twitter links). He’s expected to rejoin the club at some point too.
Injured forward Al-Farouq Aminu didn’t travel with the team to Disney and is continuing his rehab work at the Magic’s practice facility, tweets Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel. It’s not clear whether Aminu still has a chance to return this season.
The Magic’s other injured forward, Jonathan Isaac, is with the club at the NBA’s Disney campus, notes Parry (Twitter link). Isaac continues to rehab the knee injury that has sidelined him since the start of January, but remains unlikely to play this summer. “He’s at the stage where he can do a little light court stuff, but that’s about it,” Weltman said of Isaac, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Four Early Entrants Withdrawing From NBA Draft

July 7th, 2020 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Florida guard Tre Mann, UCF big man Collin Smith, Houston guard DeJon Jarreau, and UT Martin guard Parker Stewart are withdrawing from the 2020 NBA draft, according to a series of reports from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (all four Twitter links).

Mann tested the draft waters this spring after averaging a modest 5.3 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 29 games (17.8 MPG) for the Gators. A report in May indicated he was pulling out of the draft, but he disputed that claim, tweeting that he was still testing the waters. So far, there has been no indication that today’s report is premature.

Smith, who began his college career at George Washington, averaged 12.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 30 games (26.3 MPG) as a junior in 2019/20. He told Rothstein that he’s returning to school for his senior year.

Jarreau, the AAC Sixth Man of the Year in 2019, started 17 of 30 games for the Cougars in ’19/20 and saw his shooting percentage slip from a .471 FG% to just .374. He averaged 9.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 3.7 APG, and will return to Houston for his senior year.

Stewart, who transferred to UT Martin from Pitt, was the club’s second-leading scorer in 2019/20 with 19.2 PPG in 25 games (36.2 MPG) as a sophomore. He also chipped in 4.6 RPG and 3.8 APG.

Our full list of early entrants for the 2020 NBA draft, which has been rescheduled for October 16, can be found right here.

Rockets Sign Luc Mbah A Moute

July 7th, 2020 at 2:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 7: Mbah a Moute has officially signed his contract with the Rockets, according to Charania (via Twitter). GM Daryl Morey published a tweet confirming the move.

As a result of the team signing Mbah a Moute as a substitute player, Sefolosha is ineligible to return this season.

JULY 1: Former Rockets forward Luc Mbah a Moute will rejoin the team for the NBA’s restart, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He will serve as a substitute player for Thabo Sefolosha, who opted out of Orlando earlier today.

Mbah a Moute hasn’t played in the league this season, but worked out for the Rockets in early March, shortly before the hiatus. He and the team had mutual interest in a reunion for a while, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

A defensive specialist, Mbah a Moute was a rotation player for Houston during the 2017/18 season before being injured late in the year. He signed with the Clippers before the start of last season, but injuries limited him to just four games.

Nuggets Officially Name Calvin Booth GM

July 7th, 2020 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets have officially announced what was first reported in April: Calvin Booth has been the named the team’s new general manager.

“Calvin is one of the brightest basketball minds in our league,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in a statement. “We are very fortunate to have him as part of our organization and are extremely excited for his new role.”

Booth, who played in the NBA from 1999-2009, joined the Pelicans as a scout for the 2012/13 season, then spent four years with the Timberwolves, eventually ascending to the role of director of player personnel.

He had been an assistant general manager in Denver’s front office since 2017, moving up to claim the general manager position after the Nuggets’ previous GM – Arturas Karnisovas – departed to become the new head of basketball operations in Chicago.

Connelly will retain the final say on basketball decisions in Denver, but Booth figures to take on an expanded role in the team’s front office, given his new title. It’s not yet known if the Nuggets will hire any new executive(s) to fill the hole created by Booth’s promotion.

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