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Knicks, Celtics Reopening Practice Facilities

May 29th, 2020 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Two more teams are reopening their practice facilities, as the NBA moves toward having all 30 teams back in their buildings for voluntary individual workouts.

The Knicks announced (via Twitter) that they reopened the MSG Training Center today, while the Celtics said in a press release that they’ll do the same with the Auerbach Center on Monday, June 1. Both teams noted in their statements that they’ll be adhering to the safety guidelines established by the NBA and local health officials.

Reopening practice facilities has been the first step for the NBA and its teams as it works toward potentially resuming the 2019/20 season this summer. A total of 24 teams have now reopened their respective buildings to players, with the Celtics set to do so on Monday and the Bulls planning to follow suit on Wednesday.

That leaves just four teams that have yet to get back into their facilities. Two of those clubs – the Warriors and Pistons – are far removed from the playoff hunt, while the other two – the Spurs and Wizards – could still have a path to the postseason under certain play-in scenarios.

Pistons Notes: GM Search, Kennard, Bone

May 27th, 2020 at 3:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons will focus on external candidates in their search for a new general manager, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. The new GM will work alongside senior advisor Ed Stefanski to chart a course for the future of the franchise, while Malik Rose and Pat Garrity will be retained as assistant GMs.

Edwards identifies several potential candidates for the position: Pelicans assistant GM Bryson Graham, former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox, Jazz GM Justin Zanik, Clippers assistant GM Mark Hughes, who was considered for the GM job in Chicago, and Thunder VP of basketball operations Troy Weaver. Edwards also suggests that University of Memphis assistant coach Mike Miller, who had Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem as an agent during his playing career, could be brought in as another assistant GM.

There’s more from Detroit:

Rod Beard of The Detroit News agrees on Hughes and Weaver and offers a few other candidates who might be in play. Shane Battier grew up in the Detroit area and serves as VP of basketball development and analytics with the Heat, but Beard believes it would be difficult to talk him into leaving Miami. Chauncey Billups is a Pistons hero from his playing days and has been considered for other front office openings. Tayshaun Prince, who teamed with Billups on the 2004 championship team, became VP of basketball operations for the Grizzlies last year. Celtics assistant GM Michael Zarren has spent 14 years with the organization and has turned down other opportunities, but Beard believes the Pistons should contact him.
Working Luke Kennard back into the rotation would have been a priority if the season had continued, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Kennard, who had been battling tendinitis in both knees since December, was set to return in the Pistons’ next game when the hiatus was imposed. With Kennard about to enter the final year of his rookie contract, Detroit will have to decide soon whether to make a long-term commitment or try to trade him, and Langlois sees his shooting skills as an important element for a rebuilding team.
The Pistons may have other priorities at point guard that will prevent Jordan Bone from earning a roster spot next season, Langlois adds in the same piece. Derrick Rose has another year on his contract, and Langlois expects the team to find a veteran to complement him. Also, there will also be plenty of opportunity to fill the position in a draft that’s heavy on point guards. Bone saw limited time in 10 NBA games as a two-way player this season, but averaged 19.9 points per 36 minutes and shot 38% from 3-point range in the G League.

Celtics Can't Wait To Start Training Again

May 25th, 2020 at 7:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics are eager to find out how good they can be at full health, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. They rarely had all of their top seven players available at the same time, yet still had fifth-best record in the league when play was halted. Rookie Grant Williams told reporters last week that the team has great chemistry. “We were having so much fun during the year,” he said. Players can’t wait to back in the gym together because of the positive vibes running through the team, Forsberg adds.

Celtics Hope To Open Practice Facility Soon

May 22nd, 2020 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

Approximately two-thirds of the NBA’s teams have reopened their practice facilities, but the Celtics aren’t yet among that group. According to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald, the club is still waiting on the go-ahead from the state government before moving forward with those plans. The C’s, who have been in frequent contact with Massachusetts officials, are hoping they’ll get that green light soon, as Bulpett details.

“I mean, we’re hoping it’s any day. We’re just waiting to hear,” Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said. “… What we’re trying to do is have one-on-zero workouts. Like, it’s probably the cleanest environment that anybody’s working at in the country, with the sanitization that has to go on and the coaches wearing masks and gloves. I mean, heck, it doesn’t seem that complicated. But I understand that people in leadership have very difficult jobs right now.”

In Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Pascal Siakam (Raptors), and Ben Simmons (Sixers), the Atlantic Division features a trio of rising young wings who appear poised to play important roles for their teams for years to come. In a two-part series, Jared Weiss, Blake Murphy, and Mike O’Connor of The Athletic debate which of the three players has the brightest future.

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Embiid, Bulls, Bucks

May 17th, 2020 at 4:31pm CST by JD Shaw

The Celtics haven’t hosted a game in over two months ago due to the coronavirus pandemic, and that hiatus is expected to be extended further as the league sifts through scenarios to return to play.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh outlined the requirements needed for sports teams to host games this summer — albeit with restrictions and protocols — in a recent interview with Michael Silverman of the Boston Globe.

“There will be no fans in Fenway Park in July, there will be no fans in Fenway Park in August — we won’t even be near a situation where there’s herd immunity and there certainly won’t be a vaccine,” Walsh told Silverman, as relayed by Dave Green of NBC Sports Boston.

The chances of a major sporting event commencing with fans this year have continued to dwindle in recent weeks, with just over 1.5 million positive COVID-19 tests being recorded in the United States and nearly five million recorded worldwide as of Sunday.

Walsh understands the importance of pushing sports to return, but only if the proper protocols are followed to ensure that players remain both safe and healthy.

“Certainly on the fan side and the psychological side, I think if baseball could come back like we’re seeing in Taiwan and South Korea, I think that that’s good for people to have a distraction,” he said. “I think sports is one aspect of that. People have different reasons for distraction and sports is one, and I think it would help a lot people’s psyches as far as having baseball and sports back.”

There’s more out of the Eastern Conference tonight:

Derek Bodner of The Athletic ponders what could’ve been if Joel Embiid started his NBA career healthy. Embiid, the No. 3 pick in 2014, missed both of his first two seasons in the league due to injuries and made his debut in October of 2016. He’s since transitioned into one of the league’s most dominant big men, averaging 23.4 points and 11.8 rebounds per game in 44 games this season with the Sixers.
K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago examined a number of topics in his latest mailbag, including the Bulls’ front office structure, Jim Boylen‘s job security and more. The Bulls recently revamped their front office by hiring Arturas Karnisovas as executive president of basketball operations and Marc Eversley as general manager.
Eric Nehm and John Hollinger of The Athletic explore the future of the Bucks, examining the team’s current situation and what’s to come. Milwaukee posted an impressive 53-12 record before the NBA season was suspended, dominating opponents at home and on the road.

Celtics Face Numerous Uncertainties If Season Resumes

May 14th, 2020 at 8:20pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The strength of Celtics point guard Kemba Walker‘s left knee and the ascent of newly-minted All-Star Jayson Tatum are among the big questions facing the C’s if the 2019/20 season does indeed resume, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Forsberg notes that injuries have been a big story in the Celtics’ paused season, saying that the team’s top seven players were healthy together for just eight of the team’s 64 games before play was suspended in March. With a 43-21 record, Boston sits at the No. 3 seed in the East.

Enes Kanter Plans To Eventually Join WWE

May 13th, 2020 at 8:19pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Even if the NBA never comes back, Enes Kanter won’t be without a job. The Celtics center has been offered a deal to compete in the WWE and he plans on accepting it after his basketball career is over, as he tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link).

Kanter previously explained to JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors why he felt an attachment to professional wrestling.

“I’m very serious about it. I feel like it’s my world,” Kanter told Shaw last season. “You just got to go out there, talk trash, troll people. Lifting, I love lifting. It’s just fun, man. I don’t want to stop my sports career when I’m done with basketball. A lot of people go into broadcasting, coaching, but I want to continue opening the door in sports. That’s why I’m very serious about it.”

Kanter has been in contact with the WWE for some time, as he has relationships with some of the wrestlers in the league. The 27-year-old still has plenty of basketball left in the tank. In his eight-year career, the 2011 No. 3 overall pick has appeared in 634 games, averaging 11.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest.

Pistons Notes: Wood, Rebuild, Practice Facility

May 12th, 2020 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons will hold Christian Wood‘s Early Bird rights this offseason and will have the opportunity to dip into cap room if those Early Bird rights (which would allow the team to offer about $10MM per year) aren’t enough to re-sign him. That should put Detroit in the driver’s seat to bring back the promising young big man, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2019/20.

However, as James L. Edwards III of The Athletic details, the Pistons figure to face some competition for Wood’s services on the open market.

Edwards points to New York and Boston as two teams that could pursue the free-agent-to-be. A March report identified the Knicks as a potential Wood suitor — they could have plenty of cap room and a positional need if they decide not to bring back Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson. As for the Celtics, they’ll only have the mid-level exception available, but expressed interest in Wood at the trade deadline.

Edwards goes on to speculate that the Hornets and Pelicans may also be among the teams that keep an eye on Wood in free agency. Charlotte, in particular, will have a good chunk of cap room available and will likely be in the market for a big man with Bismack Biyombo and Willy Hernangomez set to reach the open market.

Here’s more on the Pistons:

Given the volatile nature of both the draft lottery and the draft itself, launching a full-fledged rebuild doesn’t come with any guarantees, and the Pistons’ decision to do so wasn’t as obvious as some believed, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. However, shifting into rebuilding mode was still the right call for the franchise, Langlois contends.
The Pistons likely won’t be reopening their practice facility until at least May 28, since Michigan’s stay-at-home order runs through that date, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News details. “We’re adhering to that,” head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski told Beard. “When the governor of Michigan will let us open the facility and the league is going to allow the players to come back if they want to, to get workouts. We have plenty of protocols to set in place already, and we’ll be ready when they’re allowed.”
In case you missed it on Monday, Blake Griffin shared a positive update on his recovery from knee surgery, suggesting he has “basically been cleared for a while now.”

And-Ones: FIBA, Turkey, Coach K, NBA Transactions

May 11th, 2020 at 6:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 will be held that summer from August 25 to September 10, according to a FIBA press release. The group phase of World Cup 2023 will be played in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines, with the final phase taking place in the Philippine capital city of Manila. It will be the first time the competition has been staged in more than one country. Spain defeated Argentina in the finals of last year’s Cup, which was held in China.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Turkey became the latest country to cancel the remainder of its basketball season. Former NBA player Hedo Turkoglu, the basketball federation’s president, officially announced the cancellation of BSL and TBL seasons, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando.
Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski turned down numerous offers over the years to become an NBA coach, Sportando’s Nicola Lupo relays. In an interview on WIP radio, the Duke coach said he turned down the Sixers job in 2003, the Celtics in 1990 and the Lakers in 2005.
The Warriors’ signing of Kevin Durant, the Spurs’ draft-night acquisition on Kawhi Leonard and the Rockets’ trade for James Harden rank as the biggest and best transactions over the past decade, according to ESPN Insiders. A list of 74 major moves was compiled by ESPN’s NBA experts.

Jayson Tatum Initially Hoped To Be Drafted By Suns In 2017

May 11th, 2020 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has taken steps toward superstardom during his three years in Boston, enjoying a breakout season and becoming an All-NBA candidate in 2019/20. However, appearing on All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson (video link), Tatum admitted that in the days leading up to the 2017 draft, he was hoping he’d end up with the Suns rather than the Celtics.

As Tatum explains, with Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball widely expected to go first and second overall, he thought there was a chance he’d go to Philadelphia at No. 3 or Phoenix at No. 4. Just five days before the draft, he visited Phoenix and became smitten with the Suns, who were talking about the idea of pairing him with Devin Booker.

“I called my mom like, ‘I think I want to go to Phoenix,'” Tatum told Barnes and Jackson.

However, the landscape at the top of the draft shifted when the Celtics and Sixers reached an agreement on a trade that would send the No. 1 pick to Philadelphia and the No. 3 pick to Boston. According to Tatum, he got word of that deal shortly after his meeting with the Suns, when he was still in Phoenix.

“My agent calls me, he’s like, ‘Danny Ainge called and said they’re going to trade their pick. They’re going to go to No. 3 and they want you to come to Boston the next day to work out,'” Tatum said. “I’m like, ‘No, I don’t want to go to Boston. I like it out here in Phoenix. It’s cool. The weather’s nice, I’ll get a big house, I’ll get a pool. My mom’s going to be out here.'”

According to Tatum, his agent talked up Boston head coach Brad Stevens and the Celtics’ storied history on that phone call and asked him to think about visiting the team. However, by the end of their conversation, Tatum still wasn’t sold.

“We hang up and I’m like, ‘I’m not going to this workout. I’m cool,'” Tatum said.

As Tatum tells it, it took a call from Mike Krzyzewski, his former head coach at Duke, to convince him to work out for the Celtics. Coach K told the young forward that he could learn a lot from Stevens and that he could succeed in Boston, prompting Tatum to visit the C’s just three days before the draft.

While the former Blue Devil still wasn’t convinced at the time that Phoenix wasn’t a better fit for him, he admits that everything ultimately worked out for the best after Boston selected him with the third overall pick.

“There was a part of me that didn’t really want to go to Boston because they just were the No. 1 team in the East,” Tatum told Barnes and Jackson. “They had Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford, (Marcus) Smart, JB (Jaylen Brown), Jae Crowder. I was like, ‘Man, I’m not going to play.’ … But everything worked out. It was the best decision.”