- The Nuggets are increasing the capacity of Ball Arena for the playoffs from 4,050 fans (22.1% capacity) to a maximum attendance of 7,750 (42.3%), according to The Denver Post. Denver is one of a handful of teams expecting more fans at postseason games, as coronavirus-related gathering limits begin to loosen in states across the nations.
The Nets had their Big Three together in the starting lineup for the first time in three months as they defeated the Bulls this afternoon, writes Malika Andrews of ESPN. Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving have all been dealing with injuries since the combination was formed, but they appear to be healthy and focused heading into the playoffs.
This was the first chance for the crowd at the Barclays Center to enjoy watching the superstar trio, as fans weren’t allowed in the building the last time they all started together on February 13. Despite the long break from playing together, Durant said they were able to adapt quickly.
“We’ve all been playing the game for a while, so I feel like we can adjust and adapt as time goes on,” he said. “Injuries kept us away from playing with each other, but mentally, we were always locked in and trying to find different ways to play. Our voices were loud on the bench when we were injured. Guys always talking in the film room. Guys are just actually playing minutes now. But we always been in constant communication with each other and trying to figure out the best way to play.”
There’s more from Brooklyn:
- Durant expects to play in the Nets’ regular season finale on Sunday, but that could change if there’s nothing at stake, Andrews adds in the same piece. If the Bucks lose to the Heat tonight, Brooklyn will clinch the second seed in the East. “We want to finish the season off, so I’m sure we’re all looking at that game and seeing what happens,” Durant said. “Just for rhythm and just to get back on the court again, I want to play. But we’ll see what happens tonight.”
- Joe Harris sat out today’s game and won’t play tomorrow due to a left gluteal strain, according to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. However, coach Steve Nash said it’s a slight strain and Harris is expected to be ready for the playoffs.
- The Nuggets made a strong effort to sign Mike James after he was suspended by CSKA Moscow in March, writes Dionysis Aravantinos of Eurohoops. James didn’t have an American agent, so he was represented by his friend, Mo Smith, who put him in touch with the Nets. Durant’s brother, Tony, is Smith’s business partner and a friend of James, so he wanted to steer him toward Brooklyn.
Throughout the season, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this off-season. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Northwest Division:
Norman Powell, Trail Blazers, 27, SG/SF (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $42MM deal in 2018
Powell was a popular name at the trade deadline as numerous teams pursued the high-scoring wing. Portland won the sweepstakes by giving up a solid young player in Gary Trent Jr., as well as Rodney Hood. Powell has an $11.6MM option on his contract for next season but he’s widely expected to decline it. He’ll be popular once again after the season, this time as an unrestricted free agent. He has struggled somewhat with his 3-point shooting since Toronto traded him but he’s still averaging 17.2 PPG with the Trail Blazers. His price tag will rise even more if he excels in the postseason.
Georges Niang, Jazz, 27, SF/PF (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $5MM deal in 2018
The Jazz don’t ask Niang to score a whole lot – he’s mainly limited to a few 3-point opportunities per game – but he does all the little things necessary to retain a rotation spot on a team with the league’s best record. He’s appeared in every game this season, averaging 15.9 MPG. With several key teammates sidelined lately, Niang has stepped up his offensive production, scoring in the double-digits in eight of the last 12 games. An unrestricted free agent, Niang seems like a nice fit in Utah, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he stays put. If not, he’ll be valued as a reliable second-unit player.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Thunder, 23, SG (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $4.6MM deal in 2018
Mykhailiuk had a golden opportunity to post some big numbers on a tanking team when the Pistons traded him to the Thunder. It would be unfair to say Mykhailiuk has flopped but he hasn’t really built up his value. He’s continued to struggle with his 3-point shot (32.2%), though he’s shown more willingness to drive to the basket and collected some steals on the defensive end. His qualifying offer is only $2MM, so there’s incentive for Oklahoma City to make him a restricted free agent. But Mykhailiuk probably won’t get an offer sheet, so he’ll either have to sign the QO or work out a contract with the Thunder.
Austin Rivers, Nuggets, 28, SG (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $270K deal in 2021
Rivers basically found himself in exile in New York this season. Unable to crack Tom Thibodeau’s rotation, Rivers wound up being a throw-in at the trade deadline, then was promptly waived by Oklahoma City. Jamal Murray’s season-ending injury led to Denver offering him a 10-day contract and Rivers soon earned a rest-of-the-season deal. With Will Barton also sidelined by a hamstring injury, Rivers not only finds himself in the rotation but also in the starting lineup. He’s averaging 15.2 PPG over the last five games while draining 19 of 36 3-pointers. The postseason will give Rivers even more chances to attract interest in the free agent market.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Serge Ibaka hasn’t played since March 14 due to a back injury but the Clippers’ big man could be in uniform on Friday. He’s been upgraded to questionable, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Ibaka has averaged 10.9 PPG and 6.7 RPG in his first season with the Clippers and could be a pivotal player in the postseason.
We have more news on the injury front:
- Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal won’t play against Cleveland on Friday due to a hamstring injury, the team tweets. The league’s second-leading scorer hasn’t played since last Saturday. Washington can clinch a spot in the play-in tournament with a victory tonight.
- Jazz All-Star guard Mike Conley told the media he’ll play the final two games of the regular season, including tonight’s tilt against the Thunder, Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune writes. He’s been out since April 26 due to a right hamstring strain.
- The Nuggets’ Will Barton (hamstring) and PJ Dozier (right adductor) are not expected to return before the playoffs, coach Michael Malone told Mike Singer of the Denver Post (Twitter link). Barton, who has been out since April 23, is closer to returning than Dozier.
When Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer shared his early All-NBA picks this week, he rightly pointed out that limiting the field to 15 players will leave a number of worthy candidates on the outside looking in. O’Connor had to exclude worthy contenders such as Devin Booker, Zion Williamson, Jaylen Brown, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Russell Westbrook, Trae Young, Jrue Holiday, and Kyrie Irving from his three All-NBA teams.
Among the other players left off the top 15 by O’Connor were Donovan Mitchell, Zach LaVine, Bam Adebayo, and De’Aaron Fox. Those players are especially notable because an All-NBA spot this season would either substantially increase the value of the contract extensions they signed last offseason or would put them in line for a significantly more lucrative extension this summer.
Jayson Tatum, who earned a spot on O’Connor’s All-NBA Third Team, is in the same boat. Like Mitchell, Adebayo, and Fox, he signed a rookie scale extension that includes Rose Rule language, which could bump his starting salary from 25% of the cap to 30% of the cap.
Here are how those players, who signed five-year, maximum-salary contract extensions last offseason, will be affected by whether or not they earn All-NBA honors. These are projected values based on a 3% salary cap increase.
| Player | No All-NBA | All-NBA |
|---|---|---|
| Donovan Mitchell | $163,000,590 | $195,600,710 |
| Jayson Tatum | $163,000,590 | $195,600,710 |
| Bam Adebayo | $163,000,590 | $185,820,675 (First Team only) |
| De’Aaron Fox | $163,000,590 | $169,522,180 (Third Team) * |
* Fox’s deal would be worth $182,560,660 if he makes the All-NBA Second Team and $195,600,710 if he makes the First Team.
Fox probably has no chance at making an All-NBA team, given the competition at guard and the Kings’ spot in the standings. The other three players here have better cases, but Adebayo is likely a long shot, making Mitchell and Tatum the most realistic candidates. They’d only need to sneak onto the Third Team to increase the projected value of their new five-year deals by more than $32MM.
As O’Connor writes, Tatum has a clearer path to an All-NBA spot than Mitchell based on his position. The guard spot is absolutely stacked this season — Mitchell would have to beat out at least one of Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Bradley Beal, and James Harden, as well as all the guards mentioned at the top of this story. As good as he’s been, he may be left out.
While Tatum, Mitchell, Adebayo, and Fox have already negotiated “super-max” language into their contracts and are now trying to guarantee a salary increase by earning All-NBA honors, a handful of players will become eligible for a higher maximum salary on a new extension if they make an All-NBA team this year. An All-NBA spot would either make them eligible for a Rose Rule extension or a Designated Veteran Extension.
Here are those players, along with the projected contract extension they’d become eligible for with an All-NBA nod. These projections are on the conservative side, since they’re based on annual salary cap increases of just 3%.
| Player | Max extension with All-NBA spot |
Year it would begin |
|---|---|---|
| Nikola Jokic |
Five years, $242,098,25 | 2023/24 * |
| Joel Embiid |
Four years, $187,000,032 | 2023/24 |
| Zach LaVine |
Five years, $235,046,855 | 2022/23 |
| Luka Doncic | Five years, $201,468,730 | 2022/23 |
* Jokic would have to wait until the 2022 offseason to sign a super-max extension. The others could sign extensions during the 2021 offseason.
Embiid is still under contract for two more years beyond 2020/21, which is why he’d only be able to tack on four new years to his current deal instead of five. Jokic is in a similar spot, but because he’ll only have six years of NBA service at the end of this season, he’d have to wait until 2022 to officially sign an extension, at which point he’d be eligible for five new years instead of just four.
Doncic’s potential extension has the lowest average value of any of these hypothetical deals because he’d only be eligible for a starting salary worth 30% of the cap, instead of 35%, due to his limited years of NBA service.
MVP candidates Jokic, Embiid, and Doncic all look like pretty safe bets to make an All-NBA team this spring, and I imagine the Nuggets, Sixers, and Mavericks will be ready to put super-max extension offers on the table for their respective stars as soon as they’re eligible to sign them.
As for LaVine, he likely won’t make an All-NBA team, which may be a relief for the Bulls — deciding whether or not to offer LaVine a standard maximum contract could be a difficult decision in its own right. If he were eligible for a super-max, that would make negotiations even more challenging.
Assuming LaVine doesn’t earn All-NBA honors, he’d only be eligible for a four-year, $104.83MM extension this offseason. However, the Bulls could go higher than that if they renegotiate his 2021/22 salary using their cap room, or if they wait until the 2022 offseason — as a free agent, LaVine would be eligible for a five-year contract worth up to $201.47MM (projection based on 3% annual cap increases) if he re-signs with Chicago, even without All-NBA honors.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- Austin Rivers has learned to become more of a team player, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. Rivers, who signed a rest-of-the-season contract with the Nuggets late last month after completing a 10-day deal, has scored 55 points over the last three games while receiving extensive playing time. “When you have a fresh start like (in Denver) … and then you just stop trying to put so much emphasis on yourself,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest difference in my game right now and just my approach as a player. I’ve given myself to the team. Whether I play 35 minutes or five minutes, I’m going to be positive as hell.”
Karl-Anthony Towns sees Timberwolves teammate Anthony Edwards as a clear choice for Rookie of the Year, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Edwards had a slow start to his first NBA season, but he has been on a torrid pace lately, averaging 30.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in his last four games while shooting 48% from three-point range. Edwards and Hornets guard LaMelo Ball are the leading contenders for top rookie honors, but Towns doesn’t see it as a close race.
“There ain’t no other rookie in this league getting double-teamed. There ain’t no other rookie putting up the numbers Ant is. There ain’t no other rookie causing the havoc and mayhem before the game even starts with the scouting reports like Anthony is,” Towns said. “But I don’t want to hear nothing about no other people who are rookies. I don’t want to hear that. I don’t go by hype, I go by stats.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Everyone involved in the proposed sale of the Timberwolves remains confident that a deal will be completed, Krawczynski notes in a profile of prospective new co-owner Marc Lore. He and Alex Rodriguez are nearing the end of a 30-day exclusive negotiating window to finalize the purchase of the team.
- Kenrich Williams wasn’t certain to win a roster spot with the Thunder in training camp, but now he seems like part of the team’s future, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Williams was considered salary filler when Oklahoma City acquired him from the Pelicans as part of the Steven Adams deal in November. He has earned a spot in the rotation and is averaging 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 21.5 minutes per night. “I’ve solidified my role as far as what I can be in this league,” Williams said. “My first two years I felt like I was just a pretty solid defender, solid all-around player, but offensively is where I wanted to take that next jump.”
- The close relationship between Nuggets coach Michael Malone and MVP candidate Nikola Jokic has helped the organization develop a championship culture, writes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post. After six years together, they have created a belief throughout the organization that Denver can challenge for a title. “The guy gave me everything,” Jokic said of Malone. “The guy gave me the freedom, he led me, he showed me the way. And we built a great relationship, not just he’s the coach and I’m a player. We are friends, too. It’s more than basketball.”
After Austin Rivers matched his season high with 25 points for the Nuggets in Wednesday’s win over the Knicks, teammate Michael Porter Jr. told reporters that Rivers was “trying to get those dudes back” after a difficult stint in New York earlier this season (Twitter link via Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News).
However, while Rivers may have been motivated by playing his old team, he declined to air any grievances with the Knicks when asked about his exit from the franchise earlier in 2020/21.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t even want to get into that,” Rivers said (link via Bondy). “I don’t have any negativity towards the Knicks. Let’s just be clear. I’m actually very close with a lot of guys on the team. Obviously, things happened… (but) I don’t want to bring any of that to light. They’re doing so well right now. … I really am happy for them.
- Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic takes a look at what sort of player the Knicks are getting in newly-signed guard Luca Vildoza, while Marc Berman of The New York Post spoke to Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo about the same subject. “He has something special in his game. Sooner or later, we knew he was going to play in the NBA,” Campazzo said of his teammate from the Argentinian national team. “I think he’s going to make an impact here. I believe he can make it and is going to improve a lot in his game here. He can be here many years.”
- Vildoza’s buyout from Baskonia cost $2MM, writes Berman for The New York Post, citing a report out of Spain. NBA teams are prohibited from contributing more than $750K to a buyout this season, so Vildoza had to make up the $1.25MM difference himself. The terms of his deal with the Knicks made that more palatable, as he’ll earn $3.5MM in 2020/21 despite signing so late in the year, Berman notes.
- The Knicks’ success this season is even more encouraging because the team is set up so well for the future, according to Tommy Beer of BasketballNews.com, who points out that New York has a clean long-term cap sheet and control several extra first-round picks in upcoming drafts.
- When the Nuggets clinched a spot in the first round of the postseason this week, it secured a $500K bonus for Nikola Jokic, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Since that bonus had already been deemed likely entering the season, it’ll have no impact on Denver’s cap.
- After scoring 25 points on Wednesday against his old team (the Knicks), Austin Rivers had nothing but praise for his new team, the Nuggets, per Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. “This has been a life-saver and (life)-changer for me, coming (to Denver),” Rivers said. “I’ve never experienced a team, an organization, like this, (where it’s) so about ‘we’ instead of ‘me’ …. They just build everybody up here. That’s why (Michael Porter Jr.) plays the way he plays and Jokic and all these guys. They just build everybody up here. So I just feel kind of lucky. Honestly, I’m just lucky to be here and thankful to be here.”
Nuggets reserve point guard Monte Morris is nearing his return to the floor, tweets Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Morris is “definitely getting closer” to suiting up again for Denver, head coach Michael Malone said.