And-Ones: Clutch Player Award, NBA Europe, Award Picks, Oweh

The official candidates for Clutch Player of the Year have been revealed, NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor tweets. Here’s the list of candidates, as selected by the league’s 30 head coaches:

• Anfernee Simons, Trail Blazers
• Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
• Darius Garland, Cavaliers
• De’Aaron Fox, Spurs
• DeMar DeRozan, Kings
• Derrick White, Celtics
• Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers
• Jaylen Brown, Celtics
• Jalen Brunson, Knicks
• Jayson Tatum, Celtics
• Kevin Durant, Suns
• Kyrie Irving, Mavericks
• LeBron James, Lakers
• Luka Doncic, Lakers
• Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
• Stephen Curry, Warriors
• Trae Young, Hawks
• Tyler Herro, Heat
• Tyrese Maxey, Sixers

Curry won the award last year.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

• While the NBA is trying to establish a new league in Europe, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum insists that the goal is not to replace the EuroLeague, Eurohoops relays via a Reuters interview. “Our goal is to create a commercially viable league that features high quality on -court competition and respects the rich tradition of European basketball. And we think that that will better serve fans and players on the continent,” Tatum said. He notes that there are major cities in Europe that don’t have a team where the NBA can establish roots. “There are big markets in Europe that aren’t being serviced today, where there are millions of basketball fans that aren’t being serviced,” he said. London, Paris, Berlin and Rome are among the candidates that NBA Europe considers as prime targets.
• The Athletic’s John Hollinger reveals his award picks. He has Gilgeous-Alexander atop his MVP list and the Rockets’ Amen Thompson as his Defensive Player of the Year. O’Connor, writing for Yahoo Sports, has the same duo winning those awards. O’Connor has Stephon Castle taking Rookie of the Year honors and Payton Pritchard atop his Sixth Man of the Year list.
• Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh will test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman tweets. Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals this past season. He played his first two seasons at Oklahoma.