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NBA GMs Like Heat’s Offseason Moves, Nets’ Title Chances

October 5th, 2021 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

Nearly half of the NBA’s general managers voted for the Heat as the team that had the best 2021 offseason, John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes in his annual survey of the league’s GMs. Miami got 14 of 30 possible votes, while the Lakers picked up five votes. The Nets, Rockets, and Wizards were the other teams picked by multiple GMs as having the best offseason.

The Heat’s acquisition of Kyle Lowry via sign-and-trade helped tip the scales in their favor. Asked which offseason player acquisition will make the biggest impact for his new team this season, GMs overwhelmingly chose Lowry — he received 23 of 30 votes. New Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook was the only other player to get multiple votes (five).

Although the Heat and Lakers received high marks from rival GMs for their work over the summer, neither club is considered the title favorite entering the 2021/22 season. That honor belongs to the Nets, who earned 22 votes from GMs for the team that will win the 2022 Finals. The Lakers (five) and Bucks (three) were the only other teams to receive any votes.

Here are a few more of the most interesting responses from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:

  • The Trail Blazers‘ trade for Larry Nance Jr. received the most votes (28%) for the most underrated acquisition of the offseason, with the Nets‘ signing of Patty Mills (17%) and the Wizards‘ addition of Spencer Dinwiddie (14%) also receiving support in that category.
  • The NBA’s GMs view Rockets guard Jalen Green (47%) and Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (40%) as the best bets to win Rookie of the Year, but voted Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley as the rookie who will be the best player in five years. Mobley (33%) narrowly edged out Cunningham (30%) and Green (23%) in that category.
  • The GMs voted the Magic‘s selection of Jalen Suggs at No. 5 (23%) and the Rockets‘ pick of Alperen Sengun at No. 16 (20%) as the biggest steals of the 2021 draft.
  • The Bulls (27%) are considered the best bet to be the most improved team in 2021/22, while Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (17%) received the most support as the top breakout candidate.
  • Following their run to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks (50%) were overwhelmingly voted as the team with the best young core. The Rockets received three votes, while no other team got more than two.
  • Only two players received multiple votes when GMs were asked which player they’d want to start a franchise with: Mavericks star Luka Doncic (43%) barely beat out Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (40%).
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Pau Gasol Announces Retirement

October 5th, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, veteran big man Pau Gasol announced his retirement as a basketball player today at a press conference in Barcelona.

The third overall pick in the 2001 draft, Gasol began his NBA career with Memphis after playing for Barcelona in Spain from 1998-2001. He won the Rookie of the Year award in his first season and ultimately spent 18 years in the NBA with the Grizzlies, Lakers, Bulls, Spurs, and Bucks, averaging an impressive 17.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.6 BPG in 1,226 regular season games.

Gasol appeared in another 136 playoff contests, posting 15.4 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.7 BPG in those games for the Lakers, Spurs, Grizzlies, and Bulls. The 41-year-old is a six-time All-Star who won a pair of championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010, as well as three Olympics medals (two silvers and a bronze) for Spain. He also made the All-NBA team four times.

Gasol last appeared in an NBA game in March 2019, when he briefly played for Milwaukee. Since then, he has undergone multiple surgeries to repair stress fractures in the navicular bone in his left foot, which prevented him from making an NBA comeback — he signed with Portland for the 2019/20 season, but never suited up for the team for health reasons.

However, Gasol was able to return to action for Barcelona this past year, winning a Liga ACB title with the team in 2021 after having won championships in 1999 and 2001 with the club. He also played for Spain in the Tokyo Olympics before officially calling it a career. Following his retirement, Gasol appears on track for eventual enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Although Pau has been out of the league for a couple years, 2021/22 might be the first NBA season since 2000/01 that doesn’t feature at least one Gasol brother. Pau’s younger brother Marc Gasol isn’t currently on an NBA roster and is reportedly considering remaining in Spain this season.

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And-Ones: Training Camp Questions, Vaccination Rate, Rule Change, Austin

September 30th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Bobby Marks of ESPN recently broke down the biggest training camp questions facing all 30 NBA teams. Marks also provides camp rosters and projected depth charts for every team. He’s keeping a close eye on the rookie-scale extension deadline (Oct. 18) for several players and teams, including Kevin Huerter of the Hawks, Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Grizzlies, Collin Sexton of the Cavs, and Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges of the Suns. The article is worth checking out in full for all ESPN+ subscribers.

Here’s more from around the NBA:

  • The COVID-19 vaccination rate for NBA players has risen to 95%, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The figure includes players that have received one dose, sources tell Wojnarowski, and thus are not yet considered fully vaccinated.
  • The NBA Board of Governors formally approved a change to automatic late-game out-of-bounds reviews, the league tweets. Those plays will now only be reviewable by coach’s challenge, as we previously detailed. The change is an effort to improve the flow of end of games, which had become onerous and disruptive.
  • Shams Charania of The Athletic interviewed former Baylor Bears star Isaiah Austin, a projected first round pick of the 2014 draft, who was ruled ineligible to compete as a player after being diagnosed with Marfan syndrome. Austin will finally achieve his dream of making it to the NBA — in a front office role.
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Spurs Rumors: Popovich, RFAs, Simmons, Ginobili, Young

September 29th, 2021 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

In the years leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, there had been speculation that the event would be Gregg Popovich‘s swan song. However, even after leading Team USA to gold in Japan following a one-year delay, Popovich is returning to the Spurs‘ sidelines for the 2021/22 season. And several sources who know him told Zach Lowe of ESPN in recent weeks that they wouldn’t even be surprised if Popovich sticks around for ’22/23 too.

With 26 more victories, Popovich would pass Don Nelson for the top spot on the list of the NBA’s all-time winningest coaches. Although the Spurs don’t necessarily project to be a playoff team this season, winning at least 26 games seems like a realistic goal. However, Popovich isn’t “running out the string” just to claim that record, Lowe writes.

While it remains unclear when Popovich will retire, there are some potential heir apparents within the organization, according to Lowe, who says that Will Hardy and Manu Ginobili are the two mentioned most frequently in NBA circles. Becky Hammon would also be in the mix, but Kansas coach Bill Self – previously cited as a possible candidate to succeed Popovich – has “faded” from those conversations, Lowe notes.

Here’s more on the Spurs:

  • The Spurs “sniffed around” restricted free agents like John Collins and Lauri Markkanen this offseason and could be an intriguing suitor for Jaren Jackson Jr. next summer if he and the Grizzlies don’t agree to an extension before then, says Lowe. The Spurs also have the assets to make a run at a player like Ben Simmons and have talked to the Sixers about him, but those discussions haven’t gotten far and it’s unclear whether San Antonio wants to re-engage with Philadelphia, sources tell ESPN.
  • The Spurs have turned down offers of single protected first-round picks for some of their core young players, Lowe reports. Lowe doesn’t name specific players, but Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson, and Lonnie Walker are among those who could fit the bill.
  • Popovich suggested this week that Ginobili’s new role with the Spurs will be even more wide-ranging than initially reported, as Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “He is going to help (general manager) Brian (Wright) with management,” Popovich said of Ginobili. “He is going to help me with coaching. He is going to help the players with development. He is probably going to go scout some people. I think he is probably going to figure out a two-week trip to Italy to scout some players. I might go with him. But I am being serious — he is going to do all those things. See what he feels comfortable with. It’s just great to have him in the program for all kinds of reasons. But mainly because we love the guy. He is Manu Ginobili, so who wouldn’t want to have him around?”
  • Thaddeus Young wasn’t sure after he was traded to San Antonio whether the team intended to keep him and still doesn’t sound positive that he’ll spent the whole year with the Spurs, but he plans to be a mentor to the club’s young players as he long as he’s with the team (Twitter links via Orsborn). “I am going to show up each and every day and make sure I am working, and make sure I am bringing the guys along and getting them better as well,” Young said. A previous report suggested Phoenix is among the contending teams with trade interest in the veteran forward.
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Southwest Notes: Zion, Vaccinations, Temple, Harrison, Brooks

September 27th, 2021 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Addressing reporters at the Pelicans‘ Media Day on Monday, star forward Zion Williamson expressed a desire to remain with the franchise for the foreseeable future.

“I love it here. I love the city of New Orleans,” Williamson said, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link). “I don’t wanna be anywhere else.”

An offseason report suggested that some of Williamson’s family members want him out of New Orleans, while a more recent story suggested he and Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin aren’t on particularly great terms. However, after dismissing the idea that he wants to leave the Pelicans, Williamson also downplayed the idea that there’s any frostiness between him and Griffin.

“It’s all love with me and Griff,” Williamson said. “… We’re both competitors, we both want to win. Do we disagree on some things? Yes. But no one agrees on everything.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Griffin said today that there are one or two players left on the Pelicans‘ roster who remain unvaccinated, while Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said his team is 100% vaccinated (Twitter links via William Guillory of The Athletic and Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News). Meanwhile, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd estimated that his players are about 90% vaccinated, adding that the goal is to get that number to 100% by opening night (Twitter links via Callie Caplan and Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News).
  • Veteran Pelicans guard Garrett Temple said he’s interested in getting into coaching or front office work after he retires, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Temple added that his preference would likely be a front office role, since coaching can be “finicky.”
  • Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News shares an in-depth profile of new Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison, detailing the long path Harrison took to becoming Dallas’ lead basketball decision-maker.
  • Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks will be a full participant in training camp, head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said today (Twitter link via Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian). Brooks was out for eight weeks this summer after breaking his hand in two spots, tweets Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian.
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2021/22 NBA Over/Unders: Southwest Division

September 27th, 2021 at 11:23am CST by Luke Adams

The 2021/22 NBA regular season will get underway in just over three weeks, so it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and to resume an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.

With the help of the lines from a handful of sports betting sites, including Bovada and BetOnline, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

In 2020/21, our voters went 17-13 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’21/22?

As a reminder, the NBA played a 72-game schedule in 2020/21, so a team that won 41 games last year finished with a 41-31 record. This year, a club that wins 41 games would be a .500 team (41-41). For added clarity, we’ve noted the record that each team would have to achieve to finish “over” its projected win total.

We’ll turn today to the Southeast division…

Dallas Mavericks

Memphis Grizzlies

New Orleans Pelicans

San Antonio Spurs

Houston Rockets

Previous voting results:

Atlantic:

  • Brooklyn Nets (55.5 wins): Over (63.2%)
  • Philadelphia 76ers (51.5 wins): Under (70.0%)
  • Boston Celtics (46.5 wins): Over (58.1%)
  • New York Knicks (42.5 wins): Over (65.1%)
  • Toronto Raptors (36.5 wins): Under (50.6%)

Central:

  • Milwaukee Bucks (54.5 wins): Over (63.7%)
  • Indiana Pacers (42.5 wins): Under (58.2%)
  • Chicago Bulls (42.5 wins): Over (68.3%)
  • Cleveland Cavaliers (26.5 wins): Under (50.5%)
  • Detroit Pistons (25.5 wins): Under (52.6%)

Southeast:

  • Miami Heat (48.5 wins): Under (53.6%)
  • Atlanta Hawks (47.5 wins): Over (62.2%)
  • Charlotte Hornets (38.5 wins): Over (54.5%)
  • Washington Wizards (34.5 wins): Over (54.9%)
  • Orlando Magic (22.5 wins): Under (53.8%)

Northwest:

  • Utah Jazz (52.5 wins): Over (61.7%)
  • Denver Nuggets (48.5 wins): Over (69.3%)
  • Portland Trail Blazers (44.5 wins): Over (53.0%)
  • Minnesota Timberwolves (34.5 wins): Under (57.1%)
  • Oklahoma City Thunder (23.5 wins): Under (65.0%)

Pacific:

  • Los Angeles Lakers (52.5 wins): Over (58.2%)
  • Phoenix Suns (51.5 wins): Over (58.6%)
  • Golden State Warriors (48.5 wins): Over (50.3%)
  • Los Angeles Clippers (43.5 wins): Over (51.2%)
  • Sacramento Kings (36.5 wins): Under (66.0%)
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Southwest Notes: Morant, Wall, Mavericks, Pelicans

September 26th, 2021 at 8:40pm CST by JD Shaw

Grizzlies star Ja Morant expressed confidence that he’s a top-five point guard in the league, he told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Morant listed Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook as the best point guards beside himself.

The 22-year-old also conveyed a belief that his Grizzlies can take another step forward after earning a playoff spot in last season’s play-in tournament.

“I feel like we can compete with the top teams in this league,” he explained. “We all have that mindset, and this chip on our shoulder we go out and play with each and every night.

“Now, it’s continuing to buy in and keep gelling as a team and getting better with chemistry. Having more guys step up and talk who’ve been in the game for a while to help the young guys come along. Our goal this year is to continue to be better in all areas and better than we were last year.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division tonight:

  • Kelly Iko and Danny Leroux of The Athletic discuss a number of topics related to the Rockets, including the ongoing John Wall situation. Wall and Houston mutually agreed to find the 31-year-old a trade earlier this month, though it’ll be a difficult task due to his $44.3MM salary and $47.4MM player option for 2022/23.
  • Dwain Price of Mavs.com previews the Mavericks‘ training camp, which is set to start on Tuesday. Led by Luka Doncic, Dallas is viewed by league observers as quietly one of the most dangerous teams entering the season. “I think we’re going to be a team that’s going to play hard, that’s going to be unselfish, and I think everyone will be accountable and I think it’ll be fun,” head coach Jason Kidd said. “That’s a Jason Kidd-coached team is a team that’s going to be accountable, will have fun out there and will play hard and be unselfish.”
  • In his latest mailbag for The Athletic, William Guillory examined several Pelicans-related subjects, including potential rotations, the idea of trading Josh Hart, and more. New Orleans is coming off a season where it went just 31-41.
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Grizzlies Waive Carsen Edwards, Daniel Oturu

September 23rd, 2021 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies have waived guard Carsen Edwards and big man Daniel Oturu while adding Shaq Buchanan and Sean McDermott to their camp roster, the team tweets.

Edwards was acquired from the Celtics earlier this month. Oturu was among the players acquired from the Clippers in the deal that sent Eric Bledsoe to Los Angeles. Edwards had a salary of $1.78MM, while Oturu’s salary for the upcoming season was $1.52MM.

Memphis had other motives for making those deals and obviously wasn’t interested in retaining either player.

By waiving the duo, Memphis is now down to 16 guaranteed contracts, one over the limit for the regular season, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

Buchanan has played for Memphis’ G League team. He was in Grizzlies camp last season but was waived prior to opening night.

McDermott appeared in 18 games with Memphis as a two-way player last season, averaging 2.2 PPG in 8.8 MPG. Memphis waived McDermott in August.

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Grizzlies To Give Yves Pons Two-Way Contract

September 23rd, 2021 at 8:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies are converting Yves Pons’ Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way contract, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets.

With Killian Tillie also on a two-way deal, both of Memphis’ two-way slots will now be filled.

Pons is an undrafted 6’6″ wing out of Tennessee who earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2019/20. Last season, Pons averaged 8.7 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 26 games (28.5 MPG).

Pons could emerge as a defensive specialist, though he’ll have to improve his 3-point shooting (31.8%) and free throw shooting (65.3%) to have a regular role in the league.

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