- The Clippers worked out Louisville sophomore forward Jordan Nwora on Monday, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets. He averaged 17.0 PPG and 7.6 RPG last season.
TCU forward Kouat Noi will remain in the draft, Jeff Goodman of WatchStadium.com tweets. The 6’7” Noi averaged 13.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG during his sophomore season. He has workouts upcoming with the Bucks, Kings and Clippers, Goodman adds. Teammate Desmond Bane will return to school, Goodman adds (Twitter link).
We have more draft news.
- Alabama swingman Tevin Mack has decided to withdraw from the draft, Goodman reports in another tweet. Mack averaged 9.0 PPG in his junior season.
- Northern Illinois guard Eugene German will return to school, Goodman adds in another tweet. The point guard averaged 20.4 PPG and 2.9 APG in his junior year.
- Indiana University guards Devonte Green and Aljami Durham and forward Justin Smith are all expected to return to school, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
- Colorado State’s Nico Carvacho will return to school, Rothstein reports in another tweet. The 6’11” center averaged 16.1 PPG and 12.9 RPG as a junior last season.
- Duke center Marques Bolden will remain in the draft, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG as a junior.
Maryland sophomore forward Bruno Fernando headed a group of six players the Hornets worked out on Sunday. He’s currently listed No. 33 overall on ESPN’s Jonathan Givony list of Top 100 prospects. The other five players who came in, according to a team press release, included guards Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple), Justin Simon (St. John’s) and Keyshawn Woods (Ohio State), forward Lamar Stevens (Penn State) and center Raasean Davis (North Carolina Central).
We have more on the draft:
- Davis and Nevada forward Trey Porter will work out for the Wizards, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets.
- Miami (Ohio)’s Nike Sibande will return to school, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Sibande averaged 16.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG for the RedHawks last season.
- Iowa big man Tyler Cook will remain in the draft, Jeff Goodman at WatchStadium.com tweets. Cook averaged 14.5 PPG and 7.6 RPG in his junior year.
- North Carolina A&T shooting guard Terry Harris worked out for the Clippers last week, Chris Broussard of Fox Sports tweets. He’s the younger brother of Tobias Harris.
- Purdue Fort Wayne guard John Konchar has worked out for the Celtics, Hawks, Clippers, and Nets so far during the pre-draft process, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN. A workout with Toronto for Konchar was also previously reported.
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.
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:
- Rudy Gobert, C, Jazz (196)
- Paul George, F, Thunder (195)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Bucks (193)
- Marcus Smart, G, Celtics (145)
- Eric Bledsoe, G, Bucks (100)
Second Team:
- Jrue Holiday, G, Pelicans (90)
- Klay Thompson, G, Warriors (82)
- Joel Embiid, C, Sixers (80)
- Draymond Green, F, Warriors (61)
- Kawhi Leonard, F, Raptors (39)
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.
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.
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.
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:
- Luka Doncic, Mavericks (200)
- Trae Young, Hawks (200)
- Deandre Ayton, Suns (195)
- Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies (159)
- Marvin Bagley, Kings (156)
Second Team:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Clippers (138)
- Collin Sexton, Cavaliers (132)
- Landry Shamet, Clippers (85)
- Mitchell Robinson, Knicks (77)
- Kevin Huerter, Hawks (45)
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.
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:
- Deandre Ayton (Suns)
- Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
- Trae Young (Hawks)
Sixth Man of the Year:
- Montrezl Harrell (Clippers)
- Domantas Sabonis (Pacers)
- Lou Williams (Clippers)
Defensive Player of the Year:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Paul George (Thunder)
- Rudy Gobert (Jazz)
Most Improved Player:
- De’Aaron Fox (Kings)
- D’Angelo Russell (Nets)
- Pascal Siakam (Raptors)
Coach of the Year:
- Mike Budenholzer (Bucks)
- Michael Malone (Nuggets)
- Doc Rivers (Clippers)