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Draft Notes: Executive Roundup, Duarte, Monyyong, Lakers, Mini-Combine

July 10th, 2021 at 1:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

In a Draft Confidential column for The Athletic, Hall-of-Fame reporter David Aldridge interviews anonymous team executives and college coaches to get their inside scoop on the 2021 draft’s burning questions.

Some of the topics discussed: the Jalen Green versus Jalen Suggs debate, who will be the fourth guard taken after Suggs, Green, and Cade Cunningham are off the board (James Bouknight, Moses Moody, Davion Mitchell, and Keon Johnson are the top candidates), draft promises, some of the late risers (Joshua Primo, Nah’Shon Hyland, Miles McBride, and others), and a whole lot more.

We have more news from the draft:

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Kings Bringing Back California Classic Summer League For 2021

July 8th, 2021 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings will host the third annual California Classic Summer League at Golden 1 Center on August 3-4 this year, the team announced today in a press release. The event, which had to be canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, was launched in 2018 and was held for a second time in 2019.

The Warriors, Lakers, and Heat will join the Kings for the four-team event, according to today’s announcement. Those are the same four teams that participate in the California Classic in 2018 and 2019 as well.

Like the Utah Summer League, which will be taking place at the same time as the Kings’ event, the California Classic is something of an opening act for the Las Vegas Summer League.

The Vegas Summer League, which is scheduled for August 8-17, will feature all 30 NBA teams. The Kings, Warriors, Lakers, and Heat will take advantage of the earlier California event to take a longer look at their rookies, young players, and undrafted free agents.

A schedule for the California Classic has yet to be announced, but each of the event’s two days will feature a doubleheader, meaning each team involved in the mini-tournament will only face two of the other three participating clubs.

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Lakers Work Out Six Prospects

July 8th, 2021 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams
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Central Notes: Sexton, Cavaliers, Antetokounmpo, Brogdon

July 3rd, 2021 at 7:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are the best trading partner if the Cavaliers are looking to move guard Collin Sexton, contends Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com. Sexton is only 22 and is coming off his best season, averaging 24.3 points per game, but he will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension this summer. Cleveland is focused on re-signing restricted free agent center Jarrett Allen and may not want to hand out a second large contract.

Duncan likes the fit for Sexton in Miami because the Heat need another scorer who can attack the rim. Sexton’s limitations as a play-maker wouldn’t matter as much with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo handling the ball, Duncan adds, while coach Eric Spoelstra could find ways to overcome Sexton’s defensive issues.

Duncan suggests it would be easy to include Kevin Love in the potential trade and get his contract off Cleveland’s books. Miami could match salary by picking up its options on Goran Dragic and Andre Iguodala and possibly including Tyler Herro and KZ Okpala in the deal.

Duncan mentions the Raptors, Celtics and Lakers as other possible destinations for Sexton.

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • The Cavaliers have gotten calls from teams interested in their No. 3 pick, but nothing has moved beyond “cursory conversations,” according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Magic, who own the fifth and eighth selections, and the Warriors, who have No. 7 and 14, could be teams to watch if talks get more serious.
  • Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was able to do on-court work today for the first time since hyperextending his left knee Tuesday night, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. Coach Mike Budenholzer confirmed the workout in a pre-game session with reporters, adds Eric Nehm of The Athletic (via Twitter), but said he wasn’t able to watch it.
  • A source tells J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star that the Pacers haven’t had any trade talks with the Sixers involving the 13th pick (Twitter link). A report Friday said Philadelphia declined an offer of Malcolm Brogdon and the pick for Ben Simmons. The Pacers tend to avoid large contracts like Simmons has, Michael adds, noting that owner Herb Simon vetoed a trade for Mike Conley two years ago. Indiana is open to moving the pick, according to Michael, but he says there have been no talks with the Sixers, who are hoping to land Damian Lillard from the Trail Blazers.
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Scott Brooks Interviews For Assistant Coaching Job With Lakers

July 2nd, 2021 at 8:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Wizards coach Scott Brooks has interviewed with the Lakers for an assistant coaching position under Frank Vogel, veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein tweets.

Brooks would be the second high-profile former head coach to join Vogel’s staff if he reaches an agreement with the Lakers. Former Knicks coach David Fizdale is expected to be one of Vogel’s top assistants, though no formal announcement has been made. Jason Kidd departed the staff to become the new Mavericks head coach.

Washington announced on June 16 that Brooks wouldn’t return as its head coach despite a trip to the playoffs. Washington lost in the first round to Philadelphia, 4-1. Brooks’ contract expired at the end of the season and he was unable to negotiate a new one.

Brooks, formerly the coach of the Thunder, joined Washington ahead of the 2016/17 campaign. He compiled a 183-207 regular-season record (.469) with the Wizards.

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Lakers Notes: Third Star, Schröder, K. Walker, Sale

July 2nd, 2021 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Adding a third star this summer won’t be easy for the Lakers, even if there are a few on the market, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. L.A.’s season was derailed by injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, showing the need for another elite player, but the team may not have enough valuable assets to offer.

The Lakers own the 22nd pick in this year’s draft, but don’t have another tradable first-rounder until 2027. They’ve still got their selections in 2023 and 2025, but are limited by the league rule preventing future first-round picks from being traded in back-to-back years.

Goon cites the Trail Blazers‘ Damian Lillard and the Sixers‘ Ben Simmons as players who might be available, but he isn’t convinced that the Lakers can match salaries with a competitive offer, which would mean sending $31.4MM to Portland or $24.5MM to Philadelphia. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma will each make $13MM next season, but a package with them and the two draft picks may not be the best deal the Sixers can get. The Lakers could have another trade chip if Montrezl Harrell opts in at $9.7MM, but that still may not be enough for Philadelphia.

Getting the Blazers to trade Lillard for a similar package seems nearly impossible, and Goon sees L.A.’s best chance as a sign-and-trade involving Dennis Schröder. However, Schröder has expressed a desire to re-sign with the Lakers and there’s no guarantee that Portland would want him in return for Lillard.

There’s more from L.A.:

  • Schröder is expecting to get offers in the range of $100MM to $120MM in free agency, VP of the German Basketball Federation Armin Andres said, according to TalkBasket. Andres confirms that Schröder isn’t playing for Germany this summer because the cost of insuring his future earnings is too high.
  • The Lakers and Clippers will be the most interested teams in acquiring Kemba Walker from the Thunder, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his latest podcast (hat tip to Justin Leger of Yahoo Sports). Walker, who was traded from the Celtics last month, was plagued by knee problems all season and still has two years and nearly $74MM left on his contract.
  • The NBA’s board of governors gave unanimous approval to the sale of 27% of the Lakers to Todd Boehly and Mark Walter, according to Scott Soshnick of Sportico. The deal is expected to be finalized next week.
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Pacers Notes: Fizdale, Collins, Pritchard, Turner, Sabonis, Workouts

June 30th, 2021 at 8:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

David Fizdale turned down more money from the Pacers to be one of Rick Carlisle’s lead assistants in order to take a similar job with the Lakers, according to Marc Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). Indiana’s interest in Fizdale was previously reported. Former Warriors assistant coach Jarron Collins is being considered for an assistant coaching position with the Pacers, Spears adds.

We have more on the Pacers;

  • President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said the hiring of Carlisle is a signal that the franchise is intent on winning a title, according to Michael Marot of The Associated Press. “We’re in a win-now mode, we’re trying to win and so we identified some traits or characteristics we wanted in a coach,” Pritchard said. “Those characteristics were first of all multiyear experience, we really wanted to have someone who had a championship pedigree and that can be challenging to find all of them in one person. What happened in this year’s search is Rick became available.”
  • Myles Turner‘s name has often been tossed into trade rumors but Carlisle believes he can get more out of the frontcourt duo of Domantas Sabonis and Turner, Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com writes. “When my teams have played them over the last few years, we’ve always felt like it was a physical beating that we were taking with them, both defensively and offensively,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of making it work.”
  • The team is bringing in Brandon Boston Jr. (Kentucky), Matt Coleman III (Texas), EJ Onu (Shawnee State), Austin Reaves (Oklahoma), Jaden Springer (Tennessee) and Moses Wright (Georgia Tech) for pre-draft workouts on Thursday, according to a team press release. Springer, a point guard, is ranked No. 27 on ESPN’s Best Available list. Shooting guards Boston (No. 41) and Reaves (No. 44) are also ranked in the Top 50.
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Lakers Finalizing Deal To Hire David Fizdale As Assistant

June 30th, 2021 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers lost a top assistant coach when Jason Kidd agreed to become the new head coach in Dallas. However, it appears Los Angeles has already lined up a replacement for Kidd on Frank Vogel‘s staff.

The Lakers are finalizing a deal to hire David Fizdale as an assistant coach, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). He’ll join a staff that includes Lionel Hollins and Phil Handy, among others.

Fizdale, who began his coaching career in the college ranks in 1998, moved to the NBA in 2003, becoming a Warriors assistant. He subsequently worked as an assistant for the Hawks and Heat before being hired as the head coach of the Grizzlies in 2016. He later had a stint as the head coach of the Knicks.

Fizdale’s time in New York was a disaster — he had a 21-83 (.202) record in one full season and part of a second from 2018-19. However, he earned a reputation as a respected and well-liked assistant during his eight years on Erik Spoelstra‘s staff in Miami, and spent four of those seasons working with LeBron James, making him a logical fit for the Lakers.

According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), multiple teams pursued Fizdale this offseason, hoping to hire him as a lead assistant. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link) says Fizdale was on the Cavaliers‘ list of targets, and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) adds that the Pacers were eyeing the veteran coach too.

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Caldwell-Pope Unharmed After Robbery

June 28th, 2021 at 8:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
  • Lakers starting wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was robbed of an estimated $150K in belongings at gunpoint in front of his Los Angeles-area home, per TMZ Sports (h/t to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). Caldwell-Pope and his friends at the scene were not physically harmed. The LAPD is currently looking into the theft.
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Rosters Announced For Olympic Qualifying Tournaments

June 28th, 2021 at 9:16am CST by Luke Adams

Four qualifying tournaments to determine the final four teams in the men’s basketball pool at the Tokyo Olympics are set to tip off on Tuesday. In advance of the Olympic qualifiers, the 24 teams involved have officially set their 12-man rosters, according to a press release from FIBA.

More than two dozen current NBA players are participating in the tournament, and 11 of the 24 teams competing for Olympic spots have at least one current NBA players on their respective rosters. Of those clubs, Team Canada has the biggest contingent of NBA players — eight of the 12 players on Nick Nurse‘s squad finished the season on an NBA roster. Turkey is next with four NBA players.

The four qualifying tournaments will take place in Serbia, Lithuania, Croatia, and Canada. Only the winner of each six-team group will advance to Tokyo. Those four winners will join Japan, Nigeria, Argentina, Iran, France, Spain, Australia, and the U.S. in the 12-team Olympic tournament.

The teams that move onto the Olympics may tweak their rosters for Tokyo, depending on the availability of certain players. For instance, if Greece were to win its qualifying tournament, perhaps Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo – who remains active in the playoffs for now – would make an effort to join the team in Tokyo next month.

Here are the NBA players on the OQT rosters:

Belgrade, Serbia

Kaunas, Lithuania

Split, Croatia

Victoria, Canada

There are also many former NBA players among the 24 rosters, including Mario Hezonja (Croatia), Milos Teodosic (Serbia), Jan Vesely (Czech Republic), Timofey Mozgov (Russia), and Anthony Bennett (Canada).

To view the full rosters, be sure to visit FIBA’s official site and click through to each team from there.

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