- The Bucks are keeping an eye on Pacers guard Victor Oladipo, but no substantive talks have taken place yet between Milwaukee and Indiana, sources tell ESPN. Many of the teams monitoring Oladipo would like to see him in action again before engaging with the Pacers, Lowe adds.
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Count veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon among those who are enthusiastic about the Pacers‘ decision to hire former Raptors assistant Nate Bjorkgren as their new head coach. Appearing on ESPN’s The Jump on Thursday, Brogdon said he’d had lunch with Bjorkgren earlier in the day and is looking forward to getting to work with the first-time head coach.
“He’s going to be terrific,” Brogdon said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “Toronto has a great culture, as we all know, and a lot of bright young minds, and he’s one of them, so I’m super excited to have him on board.”
Brogdon also told The Jump’s panel that he’s working this offseason on expanding his game by improving his shot off the dribble. And after missing at least 18 games in each of the past three seasons due to injuries, he’s hoping he can stay healthier in 2020/21.
“My only fully healthy season has been my rookie year, and then the past three years I’ve sat out 15 to 20 games,” Brogdon said. “So that’s really hurt me, and I think it’s really hurt my team.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- After months of consideration, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com offers up what he thinks are the Cavaliers‘ top five options with the No. 5 selection, starting with trading down. Fedor – who assumes that LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, and James Wiseman won’t be available at No. 5 – contends that Isaac Okoro and Onyeka Okongwu should be the Cavs’ top targets if they keep the pick.
- Within a mailbag, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic considers whether the probability of fans not being in arenas for 2020/21 should influence the Pistons‘ roster decisions at all this offseason — not having to worry about selling tickets to 41 home games means the team could be more willing to bottom out.
- While the Bulls may explore trading up or down in the lottery, Sam Smith of Bulls.com expects the team to ultimately stand pat at No. 4.
Danny Manning may join the bench of new Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren, sources have informed Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link). Manning, a former two-time All-Star power forward, most recently served as the head coach for the Wake Forest men’s team from 2014-2020. Bjorkgren, meanwhile, graduated from his role as an assistant on Nick Nurse‘s title-winning Raptors staff to his first head coaching position earlier this offseason.
- The Pistons have added former Pacers scout Jason Buckner as their director of scouting, per J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star. The Detroit front office has been drastically reorganized since Troy Weaver was hired as the team’s general manager earlier during the offseason.
The Pacers have talked to the Bucks about a trade involving Victor Oladipo, league sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. However, O’Connor cautions that at this point a deal seems unlikely.
Oladipo, who is entering a contract year, has become a frequent subject of trade speculation in recent months, since it’s unclear whether he’ll remain in Indiana beyond his current contract. A report earlier this week suggested the two-time All-Star likes playing with the Pacers and would be happy to sign a big new deal with the team, but an earlier story had indicated he may be “looking to move on” from Indiana.
The Bucks, meanwhile, will be seeking out roster upgrades this offseason as they attempt to boost their title chances following a disappointing second-round playoff exit and convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign a long-term contract with the franchise. Chris Paul has been mentioned as one possible target for Milwaukee, though a September report stated that the club is “highly unlikely” to aggressively pursue the veteran point guard.
While Oladipo would be an intriguing addition to an already formidable Bucks defense, his offsensive game didn’t look quite right in 2019/20 as he returned from the quad tendon injury that sidelined him for a full year. If he could recapture his form from the previous two seasons – when he averaged 21.7 PPG and 4.6 APG on .461/.362/.780 shooting – he may be just the sort of play-maker, scorer, and shooter that Milwaukee needs in its backcourt.
Any Bucks offer for Oladipo would probably have to start with point guard Eric Bledsoe for salary-matching purposes and would likely see the Pacers’ 2020 first-round pick returned to Indiana. I imagine the Pacers would seek another future first-round pick or other additional assets for Oladipo, while the Bucks may be reluctant to go all-in on a player who didn’t look fully healthy in ’19/20.
The Pacers and Bucks, two Central rivals, did come together last year to complete a sign-and-trade involving Malcolm Brogdon, so respective heads of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard and Jon Horst have worked with one another before.
Victor Oladipo likes playing for the Pacers and would be happy to stay in Indiana on a big new contract, but if he changes teams, the Heat are expected to be atop his wish list, a source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
This is hardly the first time Oladipo has been linked to Miami — a series of summer reports indicated that the Heat would likely be a threat to sign the two-time All-Star away from Indiana in 2021, and there has been ongoing chatter since then. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how Miami’s Finals run this season and Oladipo’s shaky 2019/20 post-injury play impact the Heat’s desire to aggressively pursue the Pacers guard.
For now, Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the Heat’s top target among 2021 free-agents-to-be, according to Jackson, who provides an extensive breakdown of other impact players – including Oladipo – the team could target if Giannis is unavailable.
Here are a few more notes on the Heat:
- The Heat recently interviewed former San Diego State point guard Malachi Flynn, Jackson writes in another story for The Miami Herald. Flynn, the No. 31 prospect on ESPN’s big board, could be an option for Miami at No. 20. He’s a hard worker who would fit in with the Heat’s culture, according to Jackson, who says one NBA evaluator compared the young guard to Fred VanVleet and believes he’s NBA-ready.
- The Heat have also scheduled an interview with Duke guard Tre Jones, who is considered a possible first-round pick, Jackson writes for The Herald. Within the story, Jackson says that Kira Lewis and Tyrese Maxey would receive strong consideration from the Heat if they’re still on the board at No. 20.
- In yet another Herald article, Jackson and Anthony Chiang consider possible replacements on the coaching staff for Dan Craig, who is leaving for a job with the Clippers. Anthony Carter, Eric Glass, and Phil Weber are identified as possibilities by the Herald duo.
Sam Cassell, a longtime Clippers assistant coach under Doc Rivers, will be joining Rivers in Philadelphia, becoming part of the Sixers‘ staff, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
A former NBA player who won two titles with the Rockets and a third with the Celtics, Cassell transitioned into coaching after he retired in 2009. He spent five seasons on the Wizards’ staff as an assistant and has worked since 2014 under Rivers in Los Angeles.
Rivers endorsed his longtime assistant as a deserving NBA head coaching candidate last month before he parted ways with the Clippers. Cassell reportedly interviewed to replace Rivers in L.A. and drew some interest from Houston, but the expectation was that he’d continue to work on Rivers’ staff if he didn’t get a head coaching job, per Pompey.
Meanwhile, the 76ers are also hiring veteran Pacers assistant Dan Burke, league sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link).
Burke, who began his career with the Trail Blazers, has been a fixture in Indiana for over two decades, having served as a Pacers assistant under six different head coaches, dating back to Larry Bird‘s days on the sidelines. As Bontemps notes, Burke is highly respected around the NBA and is known for his defensive acumen.
Cassell and Burke will be joining a growing Sixers staff that will also reportedly feature former Kings and Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger.
Rivers’ group is also expected to include former Clippers video coordinator Pete Dominguez, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic, who tweets that Dominguez earned a promotion to the bench after impressing Rivers and the Clips in multiple roles in recent years.
Some members of the Pacers‘ organization continue to have interest in making a trade for Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who cautions that it’s not clear whether Boston is open to moving Hayward or what the C’s would want in return for him.
This isn’t the first time this year that Hayward has been linked to Indiana. Approximately four months ago, J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star said during a podcast appearance that the veteran forward – an Indianapolis native who played his college ball at Butler – was a potential target for the Pacers.
“The kind of player Hayward is, is the kind of player (the Pacers) would definitely be interested in,” Michael said at the time.
Although Hayward can technically become a free agent this offseason, he’s expected to pick up his $34MM+ player option instead. Turning down that option in favor of a longer-term extension that locks in more overall guaranteed money is a possibility, but a new deal likely wouldn’t pay Hayward anything close to $34MM in 2020/21.
If and when he opts in, Hayward will be eligible to be traded, so it’s possible the Pacers and Celtics could work out a deal at that point — Myles Turner is one player who might pique Boston’s interest, for example. However, no Pacer is earning more than $21MM in ’20/21, so multiple pieces would be required in any trade and it would probably be a challenge for the two teams to agree on a fair deal.
Additionally, Begley’s report doesn’t specify exactly which members of the Pacers’ front office are intrigued by the possibility of acquiring Hayward. President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has the final say on personnel moves, so he’d obviously have to be on board with the idea.
We shouldn’t close the door on the idea of a homecoming for Hayward, but his contract situation complicates matters, as does the fact that neither Boston nor Indiana has a ton of cap flexibility. We’ll have to wait to see if anything comes of the Pacers’ alleged interest in the coming weeks.
Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis and Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas are expected to join the Lithuanian National Team for the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers next month, according to Donatas Urbonas (Twitter link). Lithuania is scheduled to play qualifying games in Vilnius against Denmark on November 26 and Belgium on November 29, and the country’s basketball federation has confirmed that Sabonis and Valanciunas are part of the team’s preliminary squad.
Unfortunately for Lithuania, it’s not clear yet whether Sabonis and Valanciunas will be available next summer for the all-important Olympic qualifying tournament that begins on June 29. Lithuania will be vying for one of four final spots in the Tokyo Olympics, and typically NBA players would be free to join their national teams by that point. In 2021, however, it’s possible the NBA’s regular season won’t yet have finished by the end of June.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Veteran guard Nate Robinson hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2015/16 season and his odds of making a comeback at this point are incredibly long. However, he hasn’t given up on the idea, as Eric Woodyard of ESPN relays (via Twitter). “Even at 36, I could still play and still ball out, still be a good spark off the bench,” Robinson said. “But times have changed, the NBA has changed so much. Naw, I will never say I’m retired. They retired me. I didn’t retire.”
- Several ESPN reporters and analysts discussed a series of NBA offseason issues, including the most intriguing player on the free agent market, the trade candidate most worth watching, and the team worth keeping an eye on. Fred VanVleet, Jrue Holiday, and the Warriors, respectively, received the most votes in those three categories.
- In the second part of their survey of NBA agents, Ben Standig and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic solicited opinions on the league’s best player, how many games the NBA will be able to play in 2020/21, and when the season will start, among other topics. We recapped the first part of the agent survey on Wednesday.
- Several beat writers from The Athletic conducted a new mock draft for the top 10 picks this week. The exercise saw LaMelo Ball go No. 1 to the Timberwolves and included a trade involving the Knicks‘ No. 8 pick and the Suns‘ No. 10 selection, with Phoenix trading up for Tyrese Haliburton.
Speaking to reporters during his introductory press conference on Wednesday, new Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren said he thinks Indiana will be a “fun team to watch” next season, promising a more dynamic offense and a willingness to be adaptable, as Michael Marot of The Associated Press writes.
“You’re going to see a lot of movement on both sides of the ball, different guys handling the ball, pushing it up the floor,” Bjorkgren said. “We want to utilize the three-point line. My approach to defense is you change and change quite frequently, between quarters, after timeouts, during an 8-0 run, I think that’s the disruptive part.”
Bjorkgren has never been a head coach at the NBA level, but he did serve as the head coach for three separate G League clubs between 2011-15. On Wednesday, he said that he feels as if that experience helped prepare him to be flexible and make adjustments as an NBA coach.
“You have to adapt very early and quite often,” Bjorkgren said, per Marot. “You could be at a shootaround and two guys get called up and another is going overseas so you have to coach on the fly. You have to know the next guy will be there and that’s the part of the coaching, keeping everybody ready at all times.”
Here’s more on the Pacers and their new head coach:
- President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers conducted formal interviews via Zoom with approximately a dozen candidates and then brought in six finalists for in-person interviews, writes Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com. By the end of the lengthy process, Pritchard was certain that Bjorkgren was the man for the job. “We felt like this was a no-brainer,” Pritchard said. “When we came to a decision, there were high-fives in our office and we knew that this was the right guy.”
- Bjorkgren said on Wednesday that he’s “very confident” that Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner can continue to coexist in the Pacers’ lineup, likening the duo to Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka on his old team in Toronto. “When you talk about those two bigs, they’re not just any two bigs,” Bjorkgren said of Indiana’s duo, per Hotchkiss. “They are very dynamic and they complement each other very well.”
- Asked during Wednesday’s presser about Victor Oladipo, neither Pritchard nor Bjorkgren gave any indication that they expect the All-Star guard to be traded this offseason. “He feels good about the team. He’s talked to me about how he thinks this team can be very good,” Pritchard said, according to Marot. “We hear a lot of things, but until it comes to me, I don’t really worry about that.”
- Bjorkgren added that Oladipo texted him “immediately” after news of his hiring broke. “We had a great talk,” Bjorkgren said. “We talked about what I thought he could do, what I thought he could bring to this team, how he could make this team better, and how he could make himself better… I like his energy. I feel like our energy fed off each other a little bit there during the phone call.”
Though newly-hired Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren will have the opportunity to fill out his bench with assistants of his selection, the Pacers ownership and front office may provide some input, according to J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). As Michael points out, Indiana became familiar with many coaches around the NBA during its expansive coaching search, so the team will have plenty of intel about possible candidates to share with Bjorkgren.
There’s more out of Indiana:
- Sixers assistant Ime Udoka, Pelicans assistant Chris Finch, and Heat assistant Dan Craig were among the other finalists for the Pacers’ head coaching job, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
- Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was ebullient in his praise for his former assistant coach Bjorkgren, releasing a statement via Toronto’s team Twitter. “Nate and I have known each other for 30 years,” Nurse said. “I’ll miss having him next to me on our bench, and I know the Raptors players and staff will miss working with him every day.”
- Blake Murphy of The Athletic unpacks the career of Bjorkgren, praising the new Pacers head coach’s apparent flexibility with regard to making offensive and defensive schemes fit his personnel.