- Appearing on Tidal League’s “Run Your Race” podcast with Theo Pinson, Myles Turner expressed regret that he wasn’t ready to assume the role of team leader after the Pacers traded Paul George in 2017 (hat tip to FanSided). “The beginning of that year, I got hurt. I got a concussion,” Turner recalled. “I was out for like two and a half weeks. So I missed the first two and a half weeks of the season, (and) Vic (Victor Oladipo) was going crazy. Hitting game-winners. Averaging like 20 a game. Domas (Domantas Sabonis) was like 20 and 10.” Turner added that he’s grateful to get another chance to be a leader with the current version of the team.
- The Pacers‘ G League affiliate has acquired returning player rights for guard Craig Sword. The Fort Wayne Mad Ants announced a deal with Capital City to land the rights to Sword, who played for the Warriors during Summer League.
Tristan Thompson‘s new contract with the Cavaliers is a one-year, minimum-salary deal that is guaranteed for just $200K, Hoops Rumors has learned. Thompson will earn his full $3.2MM salary if he remains under contract through at least January 7, though Cleveland’s cap hit for the season would be just $2.02MM, with the NBA covering the difference.
Here’s more
- It has been a roller coaster year for Pacers center Daniel Theis, who has battled injuries and seen his NBA role cut back but played a key role for Germany en route to a World Cup gold medal this summer. Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (subscriber link) takes a look at the up-and-down journey and considers what’s next for Theis, who is on a pseudo-expiring contract in 2023/24 — his deal includes a $9.5MM team option for ’24/25 that is unlikely to be exercised.
- One of the challenges facing new Pistons head coach Monty Williams will be how he uses big men Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, James Wiseman, and Marvin Bagley III. Keith Langlois of Pistons.com explores some frontcourt lineup options for Williams.
- Appearing on the 48 Minutes podcast, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said that he intends to travel to Houston to work out with Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon before the 2023/24 season begins, as Dalton Sell of Behind the Buck Pass relays.
Despite Team USA’s failure to earn even a bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton would like to keep playing for the program, writes George Efkarpides of Eurohoops. The Paris Olympics next summer would mark the next big opportunity to do so.
“If they want me back, it’s a no-brainer for me,” Haliburton said of a return to Team USA. “You want to end on a high note; we didn’t do that, so it’s obviously disappointing. But it was a fun experience. Every time you can play for the USA, it’s a privilege and an honor.”
Haliburton, a reserve for the U.S. behind Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, proved to be a key contributor for the club. His passing and scoring were critical contributions for the Americans this summer, though they fell far short of their ambitions.
There’s more from the Team USA fallout:
- Haliburton may have some company from another Team USA comrade in the future. Nets small forward Mikal Bridges indicated after the club’s 127-118 overtime loss to Team Canada that he would be open to an encore appearance for his country in international play, writes Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. “I think I will never say no, it’s an honor every time,” Bridges said. “No matter the result, I wouldn’t trade those six weeks. The biggest thing is the relationship we built. That’s what I take away from this.”
- Although Team USA has won the gold medal in its last four consecutive Olympic appearances, it has failed to enjoy that same success during the FIBA World Cup, which it hasn’t won in nine years. Noting that the club’s roster will have more decorated players at the Olympics in Paris next summer, Joe Vardon of The Athletic pinpoints problems with defense and rebounding as the biggest reasons behind the club’s failure this summer.
Team USA will leave the World Cup without a gold medal, but it may have developed a few players who will be useful in future international competitions, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. This version of the American squad was built around young talent than established stars, and many of them could return for future World Cup or Olympic tournaments.
Vardon points to Lakers guard Austin Reaves as one of those players. The 25-year-old is third in scoring for the U.S. at 12.4 PPG and second in steals at 1.3 per game. He has also regularly been on the court late in close games.
“I think I’ve been able to learn a lot from a lot of really good players, a lot of really good coaches, and basically just see that I belong,” Reaves said.
International play has often been the springboard for players to assert themselves as future stars, such as Kevin Durant in the 2010 World Championship, Vardon notes. Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards appears ready to move into that role, and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton may be as well.
“I think being the point guard with other great scorers, other great players and understand that they want to be on the court at the same time as me, they want me to be in there to get them involved,” Haliburton said.
There’s more on Team USA:
- Friday’s loss to Germany was among the topics addressed by global ambassadors Pau Gasol, Luis Scola and Carmelo Anthony during an appearance on a talk show, relays Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. Anthony, one of the most accomplished international players in American history, considers the result an “upset,” but not a huge surprise. “You have to take your hat off to Germany, and for Serbia as well,” Anthony said. “That’s good for the sport, everybody has to think differently when approaching these competitions. The game has grown globally. Everybody has an opportunity to go there and win a gold medal.”
- Lack of size was an issue for the U.S. not only against Germany but throughout the World Cup, observes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. He notes that in three games against larger European teams, the Americans gave up 53 offensive rebounds and 64 second-chance points.
- Stephen Curry is Team USA’s “must-have guy” for the Paris Olympics, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Instead of turning to LeBron James and Durant again, Rankin would like to see the 2024 roster built around Curry with Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Devin Booker, De’Aaron Fox, Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, Bam Adebayo and Jarrett Allen all in prominent roles.
The NBA G League has officially revealed its schedule for the 2023/24 season, per a press release.
For a third consecutive year, the G League will begin its season with the Showcase Cup in the fall. The 16-game event will tip off on Friday, November 10 and will conclude with a single-elimination tournament at the G League Winter Showcase from December 19-22.
The G League’s regular season will consist of 34 games and will run from Wednesday, Dec. 27 to Saturday, March 30. The top six teams from each conference will make the postseason and compete in the G League playoffs in the spring.
The NBAGL will consist of a record 31 teams for the upcoming season. In addition to the G League Ignite and the Mexico City Capitanes, neither of which is directly affiliated with an NBA club, there are 29 teams with NBA affiliates.
The Rip City Remix – the Trail Blazers‘ G League team – is a new addition. On top of that, two existing clubs have relocated and rebranded. The Fort Wayne Mad Ants – the Pacers‘ affiliate – are now the Indiana Mad Ants and will play in Indianapolis. The Lakeland Magic – Orlando’s affiliate – has become the Osceola Magic.
The Suns are the only NBA franchise without a G League affiliate. However, new owner Mat Ishbia has made it a priority to change that, so it’s possible that the 2024/25 season will be the first that features NBAGL affiliates for all 30 clubs. In the meantime, if Phoenix wants to send a player to the G League this season, that player would have to join another team’s affiliate via the flexible assignment rule.
After their first loss of the summer against Lithuania on Sunday, Team USA bounced back in convincing fashion on Tuesday, blowing out Italy in a quarterfinal matchup that was never close. The U.S. won by a final score of 100-63, led by Nets forward Mikal Bridges (24 points, seven rebounds) and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (18 points, five assists).
The victory lines up Team USA for a semifinal showdown on Friday against the winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal between Germany and Latvia. The German team – which includes NBAers like Dennis Schröder, Daniel Theis, and Moritz Wagner – is undefeated in the World Cup and will be the favorite to win Wednesday’s game, though Latvia has exceeded expectations and is a legitimate threat to make it to the final four.
Meanwhile, the Lithuanian squad that defeated the U.S. on Sunday had a disappointing follow-up contest vs. Serbia on Tuesday, losing by a score of 87-68 in another one-sided quarterfinal.
Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic was Serbia’s best player, pouring in 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while Sixers big man Filip Petrusev had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in just 17 minutes of action. Heat forward Nikola Jovic also chipped in with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Serbia will face the winner of Wednesday’s Canada/Slovenia game in Friday’s semifinal, while Lithuania and Italy move into the consolation games to determine the fifth-through-eighth place finishers.
Lithuania and Italy will now have to win qualifying tournaments next summer in order to earn one of the final four spots in the 2024 Olympics, while Serbia remains in the running to claim one of the two FIBA Europe Olympic berths up for grabs in the World Cup.
The winner of Germany/Latvia on Wednesday would join Serbia as the two European Olympic qualifiers if Slovenia falls to Canada; if Slovenia wins, three European teams would still be alive for two Olympic berths heading into the semifinals.
All-Star Bulls small forward DeMar DeRozan is eligible for a four-year contract extension worth up to $179MM, prompting K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago to consider the case for Chicago’s retention of the 34-year-old wing.
Across his two seasons with the Bulls, DeRozan has posted impressive regular season averages of 26.2 PPG, 5.0 APG and 4.9 RPG. Chicago returned to the playoffs in one of those two seasons, falling in five quick games to the Bucks in 2022.
Johnson believes that the Bulls might want to consider keeping DeRozan on a deal closer to Khris Middleton‘s new three-year, $102MM agreement with Milwaukee, and wonders if the three-time All-NBA honoree and Chicago could come to terms on a new contract that would make both sides happy.
There’s more out of the East:
- Three-and-D Pacers center Myles Turner is hoping to elevate his shooting to an elite level this season. The 6’11” big man indicated in a new conversation with hosts Alex Golden and Michael Facci on their Setting The Pace podcast (h/t to Tony East of All Pacers for the transcription) that he wants to join the 50/40/90 shooting club, something few players in league history have ever done. “Working on multiple things,” Turner said. “Obviously, still improving my shot. Get my numbers up there. I really strive to be like a 50/40/90 guy… I think it’s possible… a lofty goal at that, but something I know I’m capable of doing.” In 2022/23, Turner averaged 18.0 PPG on .548/.373/.783 shooting splits, along with 7.5 RPG, 2.3 BPG, 1.4 APG and 0.6 SPG. He has never shot better than 80.9% from the charity stripe in a single season, or better than 38.8% on three-pointers.
- The revamped Nets are hoping that former All-Star point guard Ben Simmons can return to his winning ways. Simmons was out of the team’s rotation by the end of the year. Per Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily, a recent site survey shows that a majority of fans (62%) are optimistic Simmons will be the club’s starting point guard in April. 87% of Brooklyn fans are also convinced that the team will win more than 38 contests in 2023/24.
- Clippers reserve guard Norman Powell recently looked back on the 2021 trade that sent him from the Raptors to the Trail Blazers (Twitter video link via Basketball On X). “I didn’t want to leave Toronto,” Powell revealed. “I wanted to stay. The core that we had with Fred [VanVleet], Pascal [Siakam], OG [Anunoby], me, could’ve been what Boston Celtics are today.”
When he signed a two-way contract with the Grizzlies on Thursday, No. 45 pick overall pick GG Jackson became the 54th player selected in the 2023 draft to sign with his NBA team. Two of the 60 picks in this year’s draft were forfeited, which means there are just four players who have yet to sign NBA contracts.
As our tracker shows, those players are as follows:
- Charlotte Hornets: James Nnaji, C
- Washington Wizards: Tristan Vukcevic, F
- Indiana Pacers: Mojave King, G
- Memphis Grizzlies: Tarik Biberovic, G/F
It seems safe to assume we won’t see King and Biberovic in the NBA this season. Reports during or shortly after the draft indicated that they’ll be draft-and-stash prospects who will continue to hone their skills in international leagues while the Pacers and Grizzlies, respectively, control their NBA rights.
It’s possible that Nnaji and Vukcevic will take a similar path, but that has not yet been confirmed.
Speaking in July to Tony Canyameras of Mundo Deportivo (translation via Eurohoops), Nnaji said his expectation at that point was that he’d spend another season in Europe with FC Barcelona, but his future remained up in the air.
“We have to see how everything goes. The circumstances depend on what happens in the Summer League. But for now, I would say yes,” Nnaji said of returning to Barcelona.
The Hornets currently only have 13 players on guaranteed salaries for 2023/24, so they’d have room on their roster to add Nnaji if they want to.
But Frank Ntilikina, who has a $200K partial guarantee, looks like a good bet to be the 14th man, while JT Thor (non-guaranteed contract) and Theo Maledon (two-way RFA) are candidates for the 15th spot. So Charlotte has options and may prefer to wait a year on the 19-year-old Nnaji, who could use another developmental season in Spain.
As for Vukcevic, Christos Tsaltas of Sportal.gr (Twitter link) reported in mid-August that there’s a “strong possibility” the 42nd overall pick will remain with overseas for 2023/24. He’s under contract with Partizan Belgrade, though there were rumors in July that the Serbian club was considering loaning him to Greek team Peristeri BC.
Like Nnaji, Vukcevic isn’t locked into a plan for next season yet, but it would make sense for the 20-year-old to spend at least one more season in Europe, despite his desire to come stateside right away. The Wizards currently have 16 players on guaranteed contracts, so their standard roster is already pretty crowded. And they wouldn’t be permitted to sign him to a two-way deal if they were to buy him out from Partizan.
We’ll wait for further clarity on the plans for Nnaji and Vukcevic, but it’s possible that Jackson’s deal with the Grizzlies will be the last contract signed by a 2023 NBA draft pick before the ’23/24 season begins.
A Jan. 30, 2024 matchup with the Celtics is Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton‘s most anticipated game of next season because it marks the first time he’ll be playing a nationally televised game on TNT. In an interview with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Haliburton talks about how he’s been overlooked in both NBA markets he’s played in so far (Sacramento and Indiana) and how he’s planning on becoming must-see TV next season even if his exposure is limited.
“You have to win to get on TV and that’s what we need to do,” Haliburton said. “It won’t change either. When we win in Indiana, we’ll get three national games.”
Haliburton is in the midst of an eventful summer. Soon after inking a max contract extension that can be worth up to a projected $260MM, the Pacers guard was named to Team USA’s 2023 FIBA World Cup roster.
During his time with Team USA, Haliburton is shooting well and distributing the ball at a high level. He’s also flashing his ability on the defensive end, putting up five steals in three games.
“He’s like a quarterback who’s finding five different receivers and then if there’s no pass rush, he’ll just line up his set shot and knock it down,” Team USA head coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s really a unique player and a beautiful player to watch and obviously very effective.”
Team USA and Haliburton are advancing to the second round of the group stage in the World Cup and will next play Montenegro on Friday.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Former Pistons No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham missed most of last season due to a stress fracture in his left shin. Cunningham has just one full season under his belt, but he’s showed flashes of superstardom, including during his stint with Team USA’s Select Team in Las Vegas prior to the World Cup. In a conversation with The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III, Sam Vecenie discusses how Cunningham’s play is crucial to the Pistons improving on their 17-win season from last year. Jalen Duren‘s growth was also on display during the Select Team scrimmages and Vecenie notes that he’s another key for the Pistons to earn a play-in spot.
- Pacers No. 8 overall pick Jarace Walker sat down with The Fieldhouse Files’ Scott Agness (YouTube link) to talk about his thoughts on the upcoming season. Walker said that he’s excited to join forces with Obi Toppin at the power forward position. “I feel like we’re going to complement each other a ton,” Walker said. “I love to pass, play-make, get my teammates the ball, and he’s such a versatile player offensively and defensively. I feel like what we can bring to the team and what they need, I feel like we’re two key pieces for the [organization].“
- The Bucks exited from last season’s playoffs in disappointing fashion, falling to the No. 8-seeded Heat in the first round of the playoffs. This offseason, Milwaukee opted to bring back most of its core while fleshing out its depth. Eric Nehm of The Athletic explored answers to a fan survey he released last week. In general, fans feel confident in the team but have lower expectations relative to last season. One interesting tidbit is that 86.9% of fans thought the decision to move on from former coach Mike Budenholzer was the right move.
Appearing on Patrick Beverley‘s podcast, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Dallas did everything it could to trade up for Tyrese Haliburton in the 2020 draft (Twitter video link).
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported last year that Dallas attempted to move up ahead of 2020’s draft in order to land Haliburton, offering the Knicks Jalen Brunson, the No. 18 overall pick (Josh Green) and the No. 31 overall pick (Tyrell Terry) for No. 8 overall that year. The Mavs were unable to find a taker, including the Knicks, who selected Obi Toppin at No. 8.
Interestingly, both Haliburton — who fell to Sacramento at No. 12 — and Toppin now play for the Pacers, while Brunson joined the Knicks in free agency last summer.
It’s noteworthy that Cuban essentially confirmed MacMahon’s report, and the fact that he specifically mentioned Haliburton by name means the Mavs could face a penalty for tampering. The NBA often hands out fines when team executives publicly express any sort of praise or fondness for a rival player.
Cuban also noted that Dallas was coached by Rick Carlisle in 2020, who rejoined the Pacers the following year after parting ways with Dallas. Indiana subsequently traded for Haliburton at the 2022 deadline — about eight months after Carlisle was hired.
An All-Star for the first time in 2022/23, Haliburton averaged 20.7 PPG, 10.4 APG, 3.4 RPG and 1.6 SPG on a stellar .490/.400/.871 shooting line in 56 games (33.6 MPG) for Indiana. The 23-year-old signed a five-year, rookie scale max extension with the Pacers this offseason, so he’s under contract until 2029 (the extension starts in ’24/25).
Haliburton and Brunson are currently competing for Team USA at the 2023 World Cup. Green is also at the World Cup playing for the Australian national team, which has clinched a spot in the 2024 Olympics. The Mavs reportedly opened rookie scale extension talks with the 22-year-old wing a couple weeks ago.