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And-Ones: G League, Olympics, NBA Africa, COVID-19

May 24th, 2021 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

As the league mulls the possibility of a midseason tournament at the NBA level, G League officials are making progress toward finalizing an in-season tournament of their own for the 2021/22 season, sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

According to Fischer, the plan is for the G League’s tournament to be an enhanced version of the event that took place at the league’s annual showcase in 2019. Teams would play a series of 12 or 14 round-robin games leading up to the showcase, then the top four teams would compete in a prize-money tournament at the showcase, while the rest of the NBAGL’s clubs participate in the annual event as usual.

The G League is still working to finalize the format and the reward of its potential fall/winter tournament, which would be labeled as some type of “Cup,” sources tell Fischer.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Team USA officials aren’t counting on any players who participate in the NBA Finals – or even the conference finals – to be available for the Tokyo Olympics this summer, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. That means getting commitments from certain players whose teams didn’t make the postseason will be a priority for the program, according to Vardon, who points to Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Pelicans forward Zion Williamson as two top targets for USA Basketball.
The NBA has announced the formation of NBA Africa, a new business investment entity that will oversee the league’s business endeavors in Africa, writes Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Former NBA stars such as Dikembe Mutombo and Grant Hill are among the investors, as the league tries to expand its presence in key African markets.
While the worst of COVID-19’s impact on the NBA may be in the rear view, the league isn’t taking anything for granted during its non-bubble postseason, writes Marc Stein of The New York Times. “We’re optimistic that what we’ve been doing will work, but we certainly can’t relax because it’s the playoffs,” said David Weiss, the NBA’s senior VP of player matters. “We have to emphasize that it’s important to keep following the protocols and getting vaccinated.”

Thompson: Warriors Owe Stephen Curry More Next Season

May 23rd, 2021 at 8:51pm CST by JD Shaw

The Warriors owe Stephen Curry more next season, says Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Golden State failed to make the playoffs despite an excellent season from Curry, who averaged a league-best 32 points per game on 48% shooting from the floor and 42% shooting from deep.

Warriors Notes: Thompson, Curry, Poole, Green

May 23rd, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors‘ season ended with a pair of disappointing losses in the play-in tournament, but the team believes it can become a title contender again. Part of the optimism involves the expected return of Klay Thompson, who has missed the past two seasons with a torn right Achilles tendon and a torn ACL in his left knee.

Thompson was an important part of the Golden State teams that reached five straight NBA Finals and won three rings. He absence was noticeable this year as the Warriors couldn’t find a reliable second scorer to pair with Stephen Curry.

“He’s going to do everything in his power to get back to 100 percent, knowing what he’s been through the last two years,” Curry told Janie McCauley of The Associated Press. “There’s going to be a lot of support around to help him get there, but whatever version of him comes back is definitely a boost. We’ll patiently wait for what that looks like.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Jordan Poole spent part of the season in the G League, but he made a strong impression on coach Steve Kerr once he returned, McCauley adds in the same story. Kerr envisions the second-year guard in a sixth-man role when Thompson is available. “A season ago, he was lost. He was lost in the woods like most rookies are, and it’s just confirmation that hard work and perseverance pays off,” Kerr said. “Jordan was in the gym more than any other player during the pandemic, and he’s earned this. So thrilled for him. I think he’s got a really bright future, and obviously will play a big role for us going forward.”
The Warriors are likely to explore any trade possibilities that don’t involve Curry, Thompson or Draymond Green, according to Mark Medina of USA Today. Medina expects Kelly Oubre to leave in free agency, while inconsistent play from Eric Paschall and Kent Bazemore could decide their fates. “I expect to be extremely involved. It’s just the way it’s got to be,” Green said about personnel decisions.
Curry hasn’t made a decision on whether he will try to be part of this year’s Olympic team, writes Alex Didion of NBC Sports Bay Area. Curry has never played in the Olympics, but he does have two gold medals at the FIBA World Cup.

Draymond: We're Not Close To Contending

May 22nd, 2021 at 2:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After the Warriors were eliminated in the play-in game by Memphis on Friday, Draymond Green said the team has a long way to go to become a title contender again, Nick Friedell of ESPN writes. “We’re far away. Because in order to win a championship, you got to be in the playoffs,” Green said. “So, we’re clearly a ways away — a few tweaks here and there, and we’re not that far. But right now we’re a ways away because we’re not in the playoffs.”

Upgrades to the rotation are imperative for the Warriors, Anthony Slater of The Athletic opines. They must decide whether to re-sign free agent Kelly Oubre, whose style of play doesn’t mesh well with his current teammates. Re-signing Kent Bazemore to a low-cost deal would be a prudent move, but Alen Smailagic and Eric Paschall have tenuous futures with the organization, though Paschall’s contract for next season is guaranteed.

And-Ones: Overtime Elite, Two-Way Rules, Barbosa, Lottery

May 21st, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Overtime Elite league for top high school prospects has secured its first two commitments, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that Matt Bewley and Ryan Bewley, a pair of 6’9″ twin brothers from Florida, are signing with Overtime Elite.

Matt and Ryan, high school juniors who are ranked third and 12th overall by ESPN among recruits in the class of 2023, are expected to earn in the seven figures over the course of their respective two-year contracts, sources tell Wojnarowski.

Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who tweets that Overtime Elite has been “extremely active” in attempting to recruit top high school prospects this spring, notes (via Twitter) that the league is aiming to end up with about 30 players by the time it starts up in September. The league has been approaching 2021 high school grads with offers of two-year contracts and reclassification to 2022, according to Givony.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

In an Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Brian Windhorst and Kevin Arnovitz explore which new rules and other innovations implemented for the NBA’s 2020/21 season may stick around beyond this season. According to the ESPN duo, the baseball-style two-game series that became common this season are unlikely to be as frequent going forward now that fans are being allowed back into arenas, but the league has been gauging teams’ interest in keeping the rules related to expanded eligibility for two-way players.
Former NBA guard Leandro Barbosa, who currently works as a player mentor coach on the Warriors‘ staff, will play in the BIG3 this summer, a source tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link).
Zach Harper of The Athletic takes a look at what’s next for this year’s lottery-bound NBA teams, while Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report identifies the Cavaliers, Kings, and Warriors as some teams that should consider either trading their lottery picks or trading down if they don’t land a top-four pick.

Latest On NBA’s Lottery Standings, Draft Order

May 21st, 2021 at 8:02am CST by Luke Adams

On Monday, we took an in-depth look at what we knew about the NBA’s 2021 draft lottery standings and projected draft order so far based on the regular season standings, and what was still to be determined based on play-in results, random tiebreakers, and the lottery results.

With the play-in tournament nearly over, we can fill in a few more gaps. Let’s dive in…

Lottery standings

Having been eliminated from playoff contention, the Pacers will be at No. 13 in the lottery standings, giving them a 1% chance at the first overall pick and a 4.8% shot at a top-five selection, per Tankathon.

A tiebreaker will be necessary to determine whether the Spurs or Hornets get the edge in the lottery standings, but they’ll occupy the Nos. 11 and 12 spots in the lottery standings. The winner of the tiebreaker – to be conducted next Tuesday – will have a slightly higher chance of earning the first overall pick (1.8% to 1.7%) and a top-four pick (8.5% to 8.0%).

The No. 14 spot in the lottery will be held by the loser of Friday’s Warriors/Grizzlies play-in game.

Draft order

Having clinched playoff spots, the Wizards and Celtics will draft 15th and 16th, respectively, in the first round.

The winner of tonight’s Warriors/Grizzlies play-in game will draft 17th, while the Lakers will be part of a Tuesday tiebreaker to determine their exact position — they could draft as high as 21st and as low as 23rd.

If the Lakers had missed the postseason, teams like the Heat, Knicks, and Hawks each would have been pushed down one spot in the draft. Since L.A. made it, those teams will stay put, starting with Miami at No. 18.

Notable traded second-round picks

On Monday, we focused on what would happen with 2021’s traded first-round picks. So many of this year’s second-round picks have been traded that we’re not going to run through all of them in this space (you can check our tracker for the full details), but here are a few notable second-round swaps worth flagging:

The Pacers traded their second-round pick to the Nets with 45-60 protection. Because Indiana’s second-rounder is going to land at No. 44, that pick will be sent to Brooklyn rather than being protected.

The Bulls, who will be involved in a first-round tiebreaker with the Pelicans (and Kings) to determine their spots in the lottery standings, also have the ability to swap second-round picks with New Orleans. In the event of a random tiebreaker, the second-round order is always the inverse of the first-round order — for instance, if Team A wins a first-round tiebreaker over Team B, then Team B would get the higher pick in the second round. But in this case, the Bulls could win the first-round tiebreaker, then use their second-round swap to make sure they pick ahead of the Pelicans in both rounds.

Because the Warriors‘ first-round pick will fall in the top 20, Golden State will keep it and will instead have to send the Timberwolves’ second-round pick to the Thunder to complete last year’s Kelly Oubre trade. That pick will be No. 36.

The Suns had agreed to send their second-round pick to the Grizzlies if it landed between 31-35 and to the Nets if it landed between 36-60. It’ll go to Brooklyn, since it’s the No. 59 overall selection. Memphis is simply out of luck, as Phoenix’s obligation to the Grizzlies is now extinguished.

The Bucks will get the first pick of the second round (No. 31), since the Rockets have the ability to swap their second-rounder for Milwaukee’s first-rounder (No. 24).

Other early second-round picks that will change hands include the Pistons‘ No. 32 pick (to the Knicks), the Cavaliers‘ pick at either No. 34 or 35 (to the Pelicans), and the Raptors‘ No. 37 pick (to the Pistons).

Warriors' Defense Looking Sharp Long-Term

May 20th, 2021 at 9:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Warriors appear well-primed for the coming seasons, writes Ethan Strauss of The Athletic. The team showed significant defensive promise despite a loss to the Lakers in its first play-in contest. The Warriors will fight to qualify for the No. 8 seed in the West tomorrow against the Grizzlies. Strauss wonders if, with the anticipated return of a healthy Klay Thompson and further growth from Jordan Poole, Golden State may prefer prioritizing role-playing offensive additions this summer as the team looks ahead to the 2021/22 season.
The Lakers‘ play-in victory over the Warriors has revealed the defensive-oriented lineups that head coach Frank Vogel seems to trust heading into the playoffs, per Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. Point guard Alex Caruso, wing Wesley Matthews and forward Kyle Kuzma all received significant prioritization from Vogel off the bench in the game’s second half, ahead of point guard Dennis Schröder (12 minutes), guard Talen Horton-Tucker, and forward Montrezl Harrell. Schröder, Caruso, Horton-Tucker and Harrell could all be free agents this summer. Goon notes that L.A.’s successful closing lineup that frustrated the Warriors comprised All-Star forwards LeBron James and Anthony Davis, plus Matthews, Caruso and 3-and-D wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Finalists For Major 2020/21 NBA Awards Announced

May 20th, 2021 at 6:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

During a TNT broadcast ahead of tonight’s Wizards-Pacers play-in matchup, the finalists for six big end-of-season 2020/21 awards were announced. Here is the full list, as voted on by reporters.

NBA Most Valuable Player:

Stephen Curry (Warriors)
Joel Embiid (Sixers)
Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)

NBA Defensive Player of the Year:

Rudy Gobert (Jazz)
Draymond Green (Warriors)
Ben Simmons (Sixers)

NBA Rookie of the Year:

LaMelo Ball (Hornets)
Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)
Tyrese Haliburton (Kings)

NBA Most Improved Player:

Jerami Grant (Pistons)
Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets)
Julius Randle (Knicks)

NBA Sixth Man of the Year:

Jordan Clarkson (Jazz)
Joe Ingles (Jazz)
Derrick Rose (Knicks)

NBA Coach of the Year:

Quin Snyder (Jazz)
Tom Thibodeau (Knicks)
Monty Williams (Suns)

Some of these current contenders are familiar with the hardware they’re up for again. Curry is a two-time MVP, having won the award previously in 2015 and 2016. Gobert and Green have both previously won Defensive Player of the Year awards — Green in 2017 and Gobert in 2018 and 2019. Thibodeau was voted Coach of the Year a decade ago while with the Bulls.

The winners for the awards will be announced during the 2020/21 NBA playoffs.

Poll: Play-In Winners For No. 8 Seeds

May 20th, 2021 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

While some games in the NBA’s play-in tournament have been a little more exciting than others, the end result of all four has been the same so far: the higher seed has advanced.

That means we’ve got a pair of No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchups on tap, with the final playoff spot in each conference on the line, starting on Thursday night with the Eastern Conference….

Indiana Pacers (9) at Washington Wizards (8)

Given the way the last month of their respective seasons played out, the red-hot Wizards looked like a safe bet to earn a playoff spot, while the inconsistent, injury-plagued Pacers seemed to be a candidate for an early exit. But Washington couldn’t knock off Boston on Tuesday, and a shorthanded Indiana squad dominated Charlotte, setting up an elimination game between the two teams for Thursday.

Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook fueled the Wizards’ 17-6 finish to the season, but neither player looked quite like himself on Tuesday. Beal, still bothered by a hamstring injury, scored 22 points on 10-of-25 shooting, a subpar night by his lofty standards. Westbrook was worse — after averaging a monster line of 23.0 PPG, 14.0 APG, and 13.5 RPG in Washington’s final 23 games, he shot just 6-of-18 on Tuesday and had nearly as many turnovers (4) as assists (5).

To advance on Thursday, the Wizards will need more from their two backcourt stars and from $80MM man Davis Bertans, who missed all seven of his 3-point attempts on Tuesday and was a game-worst minus-23.

As for the Pacers, even without key players like Caris LeVert, Myles Turner, and T.J. Warren available, they put up 144 points in their win over Charlotte. But the Hornets had backed into the play-in tournament, losing 15 of their last 21 games of the regular season, and were dealing with injury absences of their own, including standout forward Gordon Hayward. Indiana will face a more difficult challenge on Thursday and will no longer benefit from home-court advantage.

What do you think? Will the Wizards or Pacers win on Thursday and clinch the East’s No. 8 seed?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Memphis Grizzlies (9) at Golden State Warriors (8)

The Warriors defeated the Grizzlies on the last day of the regular season to earn the No. 8 seed in the play-in tournament. On Friday, just five days later, they’ll be looking to repeat that result to clinch the No. 8 seed for the playoffs.

Although the Warriors couldn’t pick up a win on Wednesday, their performance against the defending-champion Lakers showed why they’ll enter Friday’s game as the favorites. The Dubs held the Lakers to 40.7% shooting and led for most of the night, but a miracle LeBron James three-pointer broke a tie in the game’s final minute.

Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, who combined for 58 of Golden State’s 100 points on Wednesday, may need a little more help on Friday, but the fact that Los Angeles couldn’t slow down Curry (37 points on 12-of-23 shooting) even with so much defensive attention on him is an encouraging sign for the Warriors.

The Grizzlies shouldn’t be ruled out, however. While the final score in Wednesday’s 100-96 win over San Antonio was close, Memphis dominated the minutes that Ja Morant (+20) and Jonas Valanciunas (+26) played and figure to lean heavily on that duo again on Friday.

The Grizzlies’ chances of hanging with Golden State and pulling off the upset hinge not only on Valanciunas’ ability to punish the Warriors inside like he did the Spurs (23 points, 23 rebounds), but on Memphis’ ability to play good defense while the veteran center is on the court. In Sunday’s loss, Valanciunas racked up 29 points and 16 boards, but the Grizzlies posted an awful 127.0 defensive rating during his 36 minutes.

What do you think? Will the Warriors or Grizzlies win on Friday and lock up the No. 8 seed in the West?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Play-In Tournament Notes: LeBron, Curry, Grizzlies, Ratings

May 20th, 2021 at 9:04am CST by Arthur Hill

After two lopsided games on the first night of the NBA’s play-in tournament, the league got the drama it had been hoping for on Wednesday. The Grizzlies defeated the Spurs by four points in an elimination game, then the Lakers and Warriors delivered an instant classic with LeBron James posting a triple-double and Stephen Curry scoring 37 points.

The outcome was in doubt until the final play, and the game-winner turned out to be a desperation three-pointer that James hit from about 30 feet away with 58 seconds remaining. James had been poked in the eye moments earlier and said his vision was blurry on the shot, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

“After (Draymond Green‘s) finger to the eye, I was literally seeing three rims out there,” he said. “I just shot for the middle one.”

Sources tell Shelburne that the NBA’s competition committee had discussed the idea of a play-in tournament for five or six years before trying it out last year in the Orlando bubble. The original plan was to have the ninth- and 10th-place teams meet for a chance to face the eighth team for the final playoff spot. That never happened, but last year’s setup was so successful that the league expanded it to include four teams in each conference.

There’s more from the play-in tournament:

The Warriors won 15 of their last 20 games to finish eighth in the West, but they now face a must-win game Friday night against the Grizzlies to avoid an early elimination. Curry promises the team will “come out swinging” with its season on the line, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. “We’ve had to do it the last 20 games, so it’s no different,” he said. “It is a win-or-go-home scenario, but we’ve had a high confidence and put together a string of wins and had a tough loss and had to bounce back, so we’ve been there.”
Memphis is also very confident heading into Friday’s game, states Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. The winner will travel to top-seeded Utah for the first two games of a first-round series. “Our plan is to pack for a three-game road trip,” Ja Morant said after Wednesday’s win. “No matter who we’re facing … our goal is to go out and win.”
The first night of the new tournament was a success in the ratings, according to Sports Media Watch. The Hornets-Pacers matchup averaged an 0.8 rating and had 1.39 million viewers, and the Wizards-Celtics game had a 1.5 rating with 2.5 million viewers, making it TNT’s most-watched game since opening night.