Minor knee pain was enough for Greece’s national team to hold out Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo from its EuroBasket contest on Monday, Kirk Goldsberry of ESPN writes. He wasn’t needed, as Greece posted a 93-77 victory over Great Britain.
“He had discomfort in his knee but nothing major,” Greece head coach Dimitris Itoudis said.
Greece will enter the knockout phase of the tournament this weekend, though Antetokounmpo might return to action Tuesday against Ukraine.
We have more Eastern Conference info:
- The Knicks made a series of mistakes and botched negotiations with the Jazz regarding a potential Donovan Mitchell trade, Alan Hahn opines in a Substack post. They potentially alienated some young players and essentially sent a message to RJ Barrett that he’s not destined for stardom despite giving him an extension. They also overestimated the value of protected draft picks and the package they offered for Mitchell before Utah completed a deal with the Cavaliers. It now calls into question the franchise’s overall strategy, Hahn adds.
- Sixers wing and Turkish national team member Furkan Korkmaz was allegedly attacked by Georgia players after he was ejected from a EuroBasket contest. One of those alleged attackers was Pacers’ big man Goga Bitadze, sportscaster Ismal Senol tweets. Even if that’s true, there’s no precedent for the NBA to dole out punishment to a player for his actions in FIBA games, John Hollinger of The Athletic tweets. Nenad Krstic, Thon Maker and Nicolas Batum were not disciplined by the NBA for past incidents that occurred in FIBA tournaments, Hollinger notes.
- In case you missed it, the Celtics are expected to apply for a disabled player exception due to Danilo Gallinari‘s knee injury. Get the info here.
I think ppl need to take a deep breath and get off the Knicks collective nuts. I don’t value most of the young guys the Knicks held on too but RJ is young enough to still become a star. Mitchell’s value is more than just 26 points but it’s still 26 points. Trading away a 20+ guy, plus 3 or 4 young talents plus 4 or 5 picks is too much to give up for 26 points. Knicks have done a lot of stupid things but im not so mad at them. Ppl just love to pile on them.
The Knicks are a joke. What a turd of an organization.
@MrLolz, they can be and are but this is one of the smartest decisions they’ve ever made. Dono’s good but a team with Mitchell and Brunson as the only good players is at BEST a play in team. They should work on developing RJ right now. They’re not in a great situation but at least they didn’t wreck their future.
ain’t they been working on developing rj for like 2 years now lmao
The much vaunted young guys we always hear about hardly get to play because of the coach and the organization keeps signing pricy vets
Yes you’re right. The very powerful lineup of Randle, Fournier, Brunson, and RJ priced at 400 million over the next few years is much better. The Knicks are really going places
I can confirm this statement as fact!
This is the correct take. The Cavaliers have been trying to trade Sexton since his second season. They had no interest in giving him a rookie max. RJ’s value to the Knicks is much higher than Sexton’s value to Cleveland and to be fair, he’s a better overall player than Sexton (and has stayed healthy). Furthermore, the Knicks needed a point guard and signed Brunson in free agency. No sign and trade, no assets given up. They played their cards right and got the player they wanted.
They don’t need Mitchell right now. Is Mitchell a great player? Sure. But swapping RJ for Mitchell isn’t going to yield many more wins. For starters, RJ’s value as a 2/3 and his length as a defender who is already a 20+ ppg scorer is higher than having two 6’1 ball dominant point guards. RJ’S ability to impact the offense playing off ball is so refreshing. Brunson also takes the ball out of Julius Randle’s hands, thank God. I think this should be a fun year for the Knicks. Save the unprotected picks for a superstar of need. If Mitchell was so great the Jazz wouldn’t have traded him for Collin Sexton.
Still trying to talk your way out of the Knicks fluffing the chance for an actual proven winner which they haven’t had for at least 10 years?
I used to be a huge knicks fan. I am still a big fan just not as much as I used to be since the last 20 years has been some of the worst management in the history of the nba. If it gets to a point of being joyless what’s the point! As far as not getting mitchell though I’m not mad at it. The guy couldn’t even get utah past Dallas despite doncic being Outland then being half speed. Cavs are a better fit with Allen and Mobley as lines of defense and garland a great pg. He can blend in there nicely. He’s not a savior of a moribund franchise. The guys that would be that knicks can get so we as fans are destined for mediocrity for the next ah who cares lol
The fact they haven’t had one before doesn’t have anything to do with their decision to not overpay for the possibility of one now. There’s also the fact that 27 other teams made identical decisions.
For good reason. We are paying out 400 mill to 4 guys and none of them can lead us to a championship. They were quick to pay Randle after 1 good year rather then making him play out his perfectly good 1 year option and show he can do it again which of course he didn’t. They botched the draft yet again and overpaid for Brunson and overvalued protected picks and probable picks in the mid to late teens and 20s. You know why the lakers 2027 and 2029 picks are wanted? Cause lebrons gone ads gone if not over the hill and they will suck. Knicks continue to try and be good and never rebuilded like idiots so their picks are gonna be meh and yet they hoard them like treasure and have acquired not 1 star
@bk112352 …. I couldn’t agree more. Excellent points all around.
Knicks do lots of dumb things. Not paying the price for Mitchell was not one of those times.
I think Hahn is off a bit much there. Many players are part of trade conversations, however as the saying goes, some of the best trades are the ones that aren’t made. Not sure RJ (or anyone else) would consider 9 digits for 4 years as a lack of confidence in a player. It’s a business and I’m sure he realizes that. I also believe Hahn is the one that’s wrong on the assessment of the picks since it was Ainge that was directing the request, and pushing the non protected Knick picks was feeling as to how far could/can he go.
If RJ wasn’t part of the deal, I’d have done it. I think the goal wouldn’t be to win a championship just yet – that construct wouldn’t be enough, but it would re-invigorate interest in the league that they’ve made corrections to the office and are in the process of setting the greatest stage to play on. Shame they couldn’t make it happen, but at the same time this is a team that will grow – they just need a coach with the right mind frame to allow the room necessary in order to make progress.
I agree. Trading 3 unprotected picks and 2 swaps is not worth the upgrade from RJ to Mitchell. He’s a nice player but he’s not a top 10 player in the league. Save the assets for the next big one.
He’s not top 10 but he’s around top 15. When has any stars of that quality who’ve proven to be playoff performers wanted to play for the Knicks in recent times? None. But good of them to stick with the non playin team they have now
Is he? He has never been All NBA which is generally the top 15 players in any one season. So that seems like a reach.
@willDS Donovan Mitchell is a 3-time All-Star and like 25 years old. He was the leading scorer on a Utah team that was the #1 seed in the Western Conference 2 years ago.
Every team has a leading scorer.
@reflect We all know EVERY team has a leading scorer. Donovan Mitchell happened to be the leading scorer on the #1 seed in the West.
Have the Knicks EVER been a #1 seed?
I guarantee if they traded half the franchise for Donovan Mitchell they would continue to not be one; and we’d be having this same conversation 2 years from now when they choose not to trade the other half of the franchise for LeBron jr, or some other nonsense
@willDS Donovan Mitchell is FROM New York. And let it be known that the Knicks were the team he grew up dreaming about playing for.
Those picks mean zilch if you are making the playoffs every year. You wanna say Mitchell would only marginally improve you fine but those draft picks are complete rubbish for a playoff team! Look at all the teams with high draft picks. How’s that going for them? You can’t build a championship team with lottery picks. It’s super difficult!
@bk11235 More excellent points here as well. Why the hell would a contending team be worried about losing a 1st round pick somewhere in the 20’s. Some foreign dude who may never come to the States. Or some college buster who you now owe guaranteed money.
@verybarry if you think the knicks would be remotely contending over the next few years with Mitchell minus 3 contributing players and close to zero cap flexibility or draft assets, you’re out of your mind. It might not have been quite as bad as the Melo deal as far as stalling the team in mediocrity for ages, but it would’ve been in that neighborhood. The Cavs picks will certainly be worse than the Knicks picks would’ve been, but the Jazz seemed intent on them being unprotected despite the unlikelihood that any of them are in the lottery.
Knicks have flat out either drafted horribly or got good guys like quickley who would be great on the warriors but here he’s asked to to do 2 much. Barrett is a great third option. Randle is a ball hog hot head. Robinson would be greatwith a great pg. Rose in his prime. Maybe Brunson turns him into a 5 dunks or layups per game guy. He’s the 1 guy not overpaid on the team.
@Bk11235 2 How were the 2 teams in last year’s finals almost entirely constructed? Cleveland? Milwaukee? The Spurs teams that were contenders for 20 years?
Spurs cause they had the 1st pick and they got guaranteed Duncan and smart management to spot Manu and Parker when others couldn’t. Milwaukee took giannis when others passed him up. They trades fir jrue and bought in lopez and veterans. Cavs where? Most teams areike the thunder kings rockets magic and just stay in forever rebuilds just drafting. We will see how it works out for the jazz now. It hasn’t worked for the knicks cause their not bad enough. Missed on Ja the 1 year they were
@bk11235 2 you said you can’t build a championship with lottery picks. The two teams just in the finals are led by core players all drafted by that team. Literally all of their best players, and they weren’t all even high lottery picks. You could describe the unique circumstances of every team as easily as I could name plenty more great teams built primarily through the draft. Even the teams you used as examples (except for the kings) have all had finals teams at some point built around core players drafted by that team. You still have to draft well and have some good fortune along the way, but it’s definitely possible to build a championship team through the lottery. It’s been done countless times.
Free agency is what seems impossible now, which makes drafting and these balls to the wall trades even more important. Star free agents hit the open market far less than in the past because of the salary structure.
Trading the picks is not the problem, not having a series of second moves modeled up and realistically ready to pounce on – would have been the issue. I always viewed it has having to be “Donovan Mitchell and..” (not necessarily in the same offseason, but in relatively short order). It’s a league of “That guy++”
I could see Mitchell as one of those ++ like Giannis & Kris M + Jrue, Booker & CP3 + Ayton, Steph & Klay + Dray etc.
Knicks have none of the above right now. Draft is way too volatile to definitively say you’ll draft either “That guy” or one of the ++. So if you can move picks (and have a secondary move ready to go) – I think you gotta pull the trigger at some point.
ummm i thought that the Ukraine was busy with something why they out here playing basketball
National morale?
You do realize that the people playing basketball, the people governing the country, and the ones fighting in the military are all separate groups of people right?
I’m glad the Knicks “botched” this and RJ wasn’t alienated. He knows the drill. Mitchell will be even better when he’s a FA.
you don’t need Giannis to win England, its his chance to rest before the knock out phase next week
The Knicks have been a joke for a long time…
It all stems from the owner…
Any leaked trade talk kills team chemistry. I hate to agree with the Orange Skull, but leakers need to be avoided completely.
The Celtics are going to pay for their KD fantasies and the Knicks can ruin Barrett with ease. I’m not cheering for them until Willis Reed walks out on the court again just before game time.
I do t agree with a lot of the logic on this board but one thing is for certain, the Knicks have screwed up their rebuild. You can forget everything else but think of this, how would things have been different if they had just done the prudent thing and drafted Haliburton over Obi? I actually like Obi a lot but that pick and giving Randle a new contract set them on a no win path…or should I say a 35-40 win path that will now be difficult to improve on hopefully they have a plan B.
I was a Haliburton believer but 10 other teams also passed on him. There was some concern over whether his efficient glue game, intangibles and defense would carry over to the pros with his wonky shot motion, average athleticism and slight build. Obviously it has, but there was no consensus on that leading up to the draft. I remember a lot of doubters. Toppin also had question marks but slipped to 8 and could have possibly been a steal (the jury is still out on that due to lack of playing time, but it’s pretty safe to say he won’t be a star). The draft is a crapshoot. The Knicks have at least gotten good value out of their later picks recently.
Contract extensions are also a gamble. If Randle did have a good year last year, that extension would be a steal compared to his possible max, especially with the cap about to jump (the same logic applies to the RJ extension). It’s still half the salary of some of the contracts out there, and it’s almost impossible for him to not improve over last year. I figure worst case, if he sucks again, he’ll be expiring next season and easy to move. Same goes for Fournier – who I think played his role well considering the terrible offense, and is maybe just a bit overpaid.
If it’s coming from a substack post, it’s probably either heavily biased or nonsensical. In this case, it’s both.