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Grizzlies Notes: Jasikevicius, Valanciunas, Conley

May 22nd, 2019 at 4:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

It looks like the Grizzlies will have to scratch one name off their list of potential head coaches. Lithuanian basketball journalist Donatas Urbonas is reporting that Zalgiris Kaunas is confident Sarunas Jasikevicius will return to coach the team next season (Twitter link). Memphis, the only NBA team currently without a head coach, reportedly has interest in Jasikevicius if he decides to leave Europe.

“Today it seems like everything is OK and Saras is staying in Zalgiris,” team executive Robertas Javtokas said in a TV interview. “I think last year we had even bigger headache due to Saras’ future status. Of course, if [an] NBA offer comes, we will be very glad for him. It would be an issue for us, but we know Saras won’t be here forever and we must be ready for this.” (Twitter link)

Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin was the latest candidate to interview for the Grizzlies’ vacancy. He joins former Suns coach Igor Kokoskov, Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen and Warriors assistant Jarron Collins.

There’s more out of Memphis:

  • By conducting a thorough coaching search, the Grizzlies are making up for their mistake last summer when they didn’t talk to anyone outside the organization before giving the job to interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, writes Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. Herrington recommends that the team look for someone relatively young who has head coaching experience at some level and a track record of player development.
  • Center Jonas Valanciunas recently indicated that the coaching hire will affect whether he decides to opt in to a $17.6MM salary next season, Herrington notes. Valanciunas, who averaged 19.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game after being acquired from the Raptors midway through the season, has a June 13 deadline to make his decision.
  • A Mike Conley trade is more likely to happen after July 1 because more teams will have cap room to absorb part of his salary, Herrington writes in a separate story. The Grizzlies will be well stocked at point guard if they draft Ja Morant and keep free agent Delon Wright, so Herrington expects the club to focus on players who get drafted next month, along with future draft picks and young players with affordable contracts for the next few years. The Timberwolves, Heat, Pistons, Jazz and Pacers are considered the most likely landing spots for Conley, according to Herrington, but the Knicks, Lakers, Clippers and Celtics are candidates to enter the mix depending how free agency turns out.
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NBA Announces 2018/19 All-Defensive Teams

May 22nd, 2019 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2018/19 season, with Jazz center Rudy Gobert once again coming in as the leading vote-getter.

Gobert, a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, was listed on 99 of 100 ballots, with 97 of those ballots giving him a First Team vote, for a total of 196 points (two points per First Team vote; one point per Second Team vote). The All-Defensive nod ensures that the big man receives a $500K bonus, which had been considered likely since he was named to an All-Defensive team last season, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Gobert was closely followed by fellow Defensive Player of the Year candidates Paul George (Thunder) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), who received 195 and 193 total points, respectively.

[RELATED: NBA Announces 2018/19 All-Rookie Teams]

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday secured a $100K bonus by earning a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team, notes Marks (via Twitter). Like Davis, he was an All-Defensive player last season as well, so that bonus had been considered likely — his cap hits for this year or next won’t be impacted by him earning it.

Here are the full voting results for the All-Defensive First and Second Teams, with each player’s point total noted in parentheses:

First Team:

Second Team:

Raptors guard Danny Green actually totaled 66 points, including 19 First Team votes, while Clippers guard Patrick Beverley had 48 points (14 First Team votes). However, All-Defensive teams are determined by position, so they didn’t make the cut because they ranked fifth and sixth in voting among guards.

Pacers center Myles Turner (39 points), Rockets forward P.J. Tucker (38), Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (24), and Spurs guard Derrick White (15) were the other leading vote-getters.

You can find the full voting results right here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Clippers Emerging Threat To Sign Kevin Durant

May 21st, 2019 at 9:12pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers have emerged as an “equally dangerous” threat to the Knicks in luring Durant away from the Warriors, Marc Stein of the New York Times writes in his latest newsletter.

New York has always been a constant in the rumors regarding Durant’s next employer. Stein previously heard from a trusted source that Durant was making plans to join the Knicks. There were also rumblings about him considering the Nets. The Clippers being a real contender is the latest leak in what appears to be an ever-developing story.

Perhaps no one outside of Durant knows where he’s going to sign this offseason. It’s possible that even he doesn’t know yet, as his manager recently indicated.

Los Angeles has an attractive situation centered around cap space and a bevy of assets. Landry Shamet, who was acquired in the Tobias Harris deal, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander both made the All-Rookie Second Team, which was announced earlier today.

The Clippers also have the draft capital to make nearly any deal they please. They own all of their future first-rounders outside of this year’s selection (No. 20 overall, moved to Boston) and they have an additional first in each of the following two drafts, with their most valuable selection being Miami’s unprotected 2021 pick (via the Harris trade).

Durant still hasn’t been cleared to return to live action. He missed the entire Western Conference Finals and Stein writes that the Warriors’ initial optimism has “cooled” in regard to the expectation that Durant would make a speedy recovery.

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List Of Suitors For Tobias Harris Continues To Grow

May 21st, 2019 at 4:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Tobias Harris is set to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and he will have options outside of Philadelphia. The Grizzlies, Jazz, Mavericks, and Nets were previously linked to the combo forward and Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds the Kings and Pacers to the growing list of teams that may pursue Harris.

Every team on that list outside of the Grizzlies has the ability to offer Harris a maximum-salary contract, though Memphis is expected to trade Mike Conley this summer. It’s possible the franchise could make cost-cutting moves that would open up max space.

Harris is eligible for a five-year deal from the Sixers worth slightly under $190MM. Should he leave for a rival team, the max is four years and roughly $140.6MM. Pompey hears that the Sixers will likely have to offer Harris a five-year max to keep him.

Philadelphia has already invested heavily in Harris. The franchise sent Landry Shamet (former first-rounder), a protected 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 unprotected pick (originally from Miami), two second-rounders, Wilson Chandler, and Mike Muscala to the Clippers in order to acquire Harris. The Sixers also received Mike Scott and Boban Marjanovic—two players who will be free agents this summer as well.

Team chemistry is expected to be a factor in Harris’ decision, per Pompey. While the 26-year-old also yearns for a chance to win an NBA title and a max contract, he’s a high-character guy who wants to be in a good situation.

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NBA Announces 2018/19 All-Rookie Teams

May 21st, 2019 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Rookie teams for the 2018/19 season. Luka Doncic of the Mavericks and Trae Young of the Hawks – widely viewed as the only two legit contenders for this season’s Rookie of the Year award – were also the only two players to be unanimously selected to the First Team, receiving 100 out of 100 possible votes.

Suns center Deandre Ayton nearly joined them as another unanimous First Team pick. However, he was listed on the Second Team on five ballots, with 95 First Team votes. Kings forward Marvin Bagley was the only other player to be named on all 100 ballots, receiving 56 First Team votes.

Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. rounded out the First Team, ensuring that all five players in that group were top-five picks in the 2018 draft.

Listed below are the NBA’s All-Rookie teams for 2018/19, with the player’s vote total in parentheses. Players received two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

First Team:

Second Team:

Of the players who missed out on All-Rookie honors, Suns forward Mikal Bridges came the closest, with 31 points, followed by Knicks forward Kevin Knox (22 points). None of the 10 other rookies who earned votes earned more than 12 points, though Josh Okogie (Timberwolves) and Miles Bridges (Hornets) each received one First Team vote.

The full voting results can be found within the NBA’s press release.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Harden, Giannis, George Named MVP Finalists

May 17th, 2019 at 7:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Defending champion James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George are the finalists for this season’s Most Valuable Player award, the league announced in a press release.

The voting is expected to be close between Harden, who averaged 36.1 PPG and 7.5 APG during the regular season, and Antetokounmpo, who carried the Bucks to the best record in the league while averaging 27.7 PPG, 12.5 RPG and 5.9 APG. George averaged 28.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 4.1 APG.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors’ 2019 NBA Award Picks: Most Valuable Player]

The league also released the finalists for its other awards. The winners will be revealed during a TNT broadcast on Monday, June 24. Here are the rest of the finalists:

Rookie of the Year:

Sixth Man of the Year:

Defensive Player of the Year:

Most Improved Player:

Coach of the Year:

  • Mike Budenholzer (Bucks)
  • Michael Malone (Nuggets)
  • Doc Rivers (Clippers)
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2019 NBA Draft Picks By Team

May 15th, 2019 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Sixers and Celtics suffered disappointing losses in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and face uncertain futures, both teams can at least fall back on the fact that they’re still loaded with draft assets. Philadelphia and Boston are two of only three NBA teams – the Hawks are the other – that possess at least four picks in the 2019 NBA draft.

As our full 2019 draft order shows, there are five other teams that more than two selections in this year’s draft. On the other end of the spectrum, nine teams own just one pick in 2018, while two teams – the Nuggets and Rockets – don’t have any selections.

To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2019 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 60 picks by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…

Teams with more than two picks:

  • Atlanta Hawks (5): 8, 10, 35, 41, 44
  • Philadelphia 76ers (5): 24, 33, 34, 42, 54
  • Boston Celtics (4): 14, 20, 22, 51
  • New Orleans Pelicans (3): 1, 39, 57
  • Charlotte Hornets (3): 12, 36, 52
  • Brooklyn Nets (3): 17, 27, 31
  • San Antonio Spurs (3): 19, 29, 49
  • Sacramento Kings (3): 40, 47, 60

Teams with two picks:

  • New York Knicks: 3, 55
  • Cleveland Cavaliers: 5, 26
  • Phoenix Suns: 6, 32
  • Chicago Bulls: 7, 38
  • Minnesota Timberwolves: 11, 43
  • Detroit Pistons: 15, 45
  • Orlando Magic: 16, 46
  • Indiana Pacers: 18, 50
  • Utah Jazz: 23, 53
  • Golden State Warriors: 28, 58
  • Los Angeles Clippers: 48, 56

Teams with one pick:

  • Memphis Grizzlies: 2
  • Los Angeles Lakers: 4
  • Washington Wizards: 9
  • Miami Heat: 13
  • Oklahoma City Thunder: 21
  • Portland Trail Blazers: 25
  • Milwaukee Bucks: 30
  • Dallas Mavericks: 37
  • Toronto Raptors: 59

Teams with no picks:

  • Denver Nuggets
  • Houston Rockets
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Jerry West To Return To Clippers For Another Season

May 14th, 2019 at 9:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Jerry West will return to the Clippers as a consultant for another season, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times reports.

West is one of three key front office members who decided to remain with the franchise this offseason. The Wolves pursued GM Michael Winger and the Pelicans aimed to poach assistant GM Trent Redden, though both executives turned down promotions to stay in Los Angeles.

West, whose Hall-of-Fame NBA career began in 1960, joined the Clippers in June of 2017 as an advisor and he assisted in the overhaul from the Lob City era to the current state of the franchise, which is in position to pursue two max-level free agents. Kawhi Leonard is expected to be a top target this offseason. The team will also pursue Kevin Durant.

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Pacific Notes: Beverley, Kerr, LeBron, Vogel

May 12th, 2019 at 8:46pm CST by JD Shaw

Clippers guard Patrick Beverley is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, a process the 30-year-old is looking forward to after his seventh NBA season.

Beverley, who averaged 7.6 points, 3.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 27.4 minutes in 78 games with Los Angeles this year, discussed a variety of subjects with Khari Arnold in a story posted to NBA.com this week — including where his mind stands ahead of the free agency period.

“I feel like I can play with any team,” Beverley said. “Whatever team that is, I feel like I can make an instant impact. It’s all about doing the right things. Building a new culture. Whether it’s a young team that I’m with and I have to build a new culture, or if it’s a team that’s already established and I have to figure out how can I fit in and make this team better, I’m selfless when it comes to that.”

Beverley sent a cryptic tweet to Mavericks star Luka Doncic last week, which prompted Arnold to ask him a question about potentially joining the Mavs and how he would see himself fitting in.

“Of course [I can fit in]. He’s ball dominant, makes the right plays,” Beverley said of Doncic. “If that does come, it would be me, Luka, Tim Hardaway Jr., (Kristaps) Porzingis, Courtney Lee. It’s tough when you actually think about it. But I’m going to have fun with free agency man. I work hard. I’m gonna enjoy this process.”

The Mavericks are said to be pursuing a point guard this summer and have also been linked to Hornets star Kemba Walker.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division tonight:

  • Warriors coach Steve Kerr regrets not playing his bench more in the team’s series against Houston, Mark Medina of The Mercury News writes. “I probably should’ve used them earlier,” Kerr said. Regardless, the Warriors wound up winning the series, with Kevon Looney (14 points) and Shaun Livingston (11 points) giving key performances off the bench.
  • Lakers star LeBron James is many things, but a victim isn’t one of those things, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. James has had a sensational career filled with good luck, despite being shocked about Magic Johnson’s recent exit, Tyronn Lue’s contract-negotiation breakdown and an underwhelming regular season from his team.
  • Kevin Pelton of ESPN examines whether Frank Vogel will be able to turn around the Lakers in his first season as head coach. Vogel was hired by the organization this past week, with former NBA head coach Jason Kidd set to join his staff in an assistant coaching role.
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Draft Notes: Zion, Norvell, Ponds, Tinkle

May 9th, 2019 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s a ton at stake this offseason for many of the teams involved in next week’s draft lottery, but there’s plenty at stake for consensus top prospect Zion Williamson as well. As ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Mike Schmitz, Kevin Pelton, and Bobby Marks outline in an Insider-only article, not every team that has a shot at Williamson would be an ideal fit for him.

In the view of ESPN’s insiders, the Hawks, Mavericks, and Pelicans would be the most preferable landing spots for Williamson. The opportunity to play with up-and-coming play-makers – Trae Young in Atlanta, or Luka Doncic in Dallas – would help unlock Williamson’s potential.

On the other hand, ESPN’s panel doesn’t consider the Lakers, Bulls, and Sixers great fits for Williamson. Spacing is the primary concern for the Lakers and Sixers, and it’s unclear how a pairing with Joel Embiid would work. For the Bulls, Zach LaVine‘s ball dominance and Jim Boylen‘s “outdated” offense are viewed as red flags.

Here are several more draft-related notes:

  • Gonzaga sophomore guard Zach Norvell Jr. told reporters today that he intends to keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Norvell was one of 66 prospects announced on Wednesday as a 2019 draft combine participant.
  • St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds, another one of those 66, has workouts lined up with the Warriors, Bulls, Kings, Jazz, Celtics, and Mavericks, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Ponds is ranked as the No. 51 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
  • After working out for Utah and Philadelphia, Oregon State forward Tres Tinkle has auditions this week with the Raptors, Celtics, and Hornets, and will work out for the Hawks next week, writes Nick Daschel of The Oregonian.
  • After turning in an impressive performance at the Portsmouth Invitational, forward Jarrell Brantley (Charleston) has workouts lined up with 10 teams, including the Celtics, Nets, Timberwolves, Hornets, and Clippers, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
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