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And-Ones: Washington, Available FAs, Player Tiers, CBA

August 15th, 2023 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

Exploring possible destinations for some of the top remaining free agents, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report suggests that many people around the league think that P.J. Washington – the only standard restricted free agent still on the board – will eventually accept his qualifying offer from the Hornets. Pincus also confirms that the Lakers have conveyed interest in big man Christian Wood.

In considering a potential landing spot for Kelly Oubre, who averaged more than 20 points per game last season, Pincus notes that Memphis makes some sense. While it’s not clear if the Grizzlies have actually expressed interest in Oubre, Pincus points out that they haven’t really replaced Dillon Brooks at forward and have some young players – such as Ziaire Williams or Josh Christopher – who might appeal to the Hornets in a sign-and-trade scenario.

Here are a few more odds and ends from the league:

Seth Partnow of The Athletic has published the first two installments of his player tier rankings for the 2023/24 season. Breaking down the top 125 players of the league into five tiers, Partnow lists 45 players in tier five – including Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes – and 41 more in tier four, such as Kings center Domantas Sabonis, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, and Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Partnow’s top three tiers will consist of 39 players and will presumably be posted later this week.
Now that hoarding cap room into the regular season is no longer a viable strategy, Rob Mahoney of The Ringer wonders how the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will change the way that rebuilding teams approach future offseasons.
With no sign that the Damian Lillard or James Harden situations will be resolved anytime soon, John Hollinger of The Athletic questions whether the NBA’s player empowerment era has reached its ceiling. During the last several years, stars who ask for trades have sought increasingly specific destinations despite having less and less leverage, Hollinger observes, adding that the outcomes for Lillard and Harden could create new benchmarks for future star trade requests.

World Cup Notes: Towns, Team USA, Barrett, Doncic

August 14th, 2023 at 10:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Karl-Anthony Towns‘ decision to represent the Dominican Republic in the FIBA World Cup is a way to honor his late mother, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, a Dominican native, died from COVID during the early stages of the pandemic. She helped to inspire the commitment from Towns, who hasn’t played in an international tournament for more than a decade.

“There was a lot that went into the decision,” the Timberwolves‘ forward/center said. “The timing is right. I didn’t put as much stress on my body this last season because of the (calf) injury. I’m feeling great now, I’m 100% and feeling like myself again. It’s a perfect time to work on some things in my game. And with my mom’s passing, I felt an urgency to do it.”

The Dominican team won’t have Al Horford or Chris Duarte, but Towns’ presence will give them a chance of advancing. They’ll start out in pool play with Italy, Angola and the Philippines, which will host the Americas region when the tournament begins August 26.

Towns is also hoping to use the World Cup as a springboard to a better season with Minnesota. He missed 51 straight games with the calf issue, and his late-season return wasn’t enough to help the team get past the first round of the playoffs.

“The (Wolves were) very supportive when I came to them to talk about playing,” Towns said. “There’s a lot of commitment to get better this season, and for all of us this will be a head start.”

There’s more on the World Cup:

Team USA got its first taste of adversity in Sunday’s game against the top-ranked Spanish team in Malaga, notes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The Americans faced a rabid crowd as Spain erased a 10-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the third quarter. “Atmosphere is contagious,” Mikal Bridges said. “And that’s funny. I was talking to my teammates about playing in the national championship, playing in the finals is just a different type of atmosphere. And this is like one thing that you dream of, and we aren’t even in the stadium in the Philippines (for the World Cup). But even coming here and being in Spain, this is ridiculous, man. I’m happy I’m a part of this, happy I’m going through this.”
While Jalen Brunson made all nine of his shots from the field as the U.S. pulled out a victory, Knicks teammate RJ Barrett scored 31 points in Canada’s overtime win over Germany in the finals of the DBB SuperCup tournament, per Christian Arnold of The New York Post. “(Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), (Kelly Olynyk) and the guys are out there making it easy for me to do my thing, but it’s been a lot of fun,” Barrett said.
Luka Doncic told reporters, including Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops, that he feels he has something to prove after Slovenia’s early exit in last year’s EuroBasket. “I disappointed my team. I let my whole country down. It was my fault,” Doncic said. “I’ll be back. I will always play for Slovenia if I am not injured.”

Anthony Edwards Says Karl-Anthony Towns' Injury Derailed The Season

August 13th, 2023 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Edwards believes the Timberwolves would been much better if not for a calf injury that forced Karl-Anthony Towns to miss most of the season, per Sam Yip of HoopsHype. “I think if we get KAT for a whole season, we’ll be all right,” Edwards said. He added that the trade for Mike Conley in February brought a much-needed veteran presence to the team and expressed delight that Minnesota was able to reach an extension with Naz Reid.

Five Two-Way Restricted Free Agents Remain Unsigned

August 10th, 2023 at 2:37pm CST by Rory Maher

As of July 18, there were 12 two-way restricted free agents who had yet to sign new contracts.

Over the past three-plus weeks, six of those players — Lester Quinones (Warriors), Kendall Brown (Pacers), Trevor Keels (Knicks), Duane Washington (Knicks), Dominick Barlow (Spurs) and Ron Harper Jr. (Raptors) — returned to their clubs on two-way deals.

Keels and Washington were subsequently waived to create roster space for Nathan Knight and Dylan Windler, respectively. Washington re-signed with New York on a training camp contract, while Keels is an NBA free agent (the Knicks retained his G League rights).

A seventh player — Jeff Dowtin — returned to Toronto on a one-year, minimum-salary contract that is fully non-guaranteed. He would receive $900K if he’s not waived on or before October 21, but may face an uphill battle to claim a roster spot, as the Raptors now have 15 players with guaranteed deals on their roster.

That leaves a total of five two-way restricted free agents available, as our up-to-date list shows. Those players are as follows:

Trent Forrest, G, Hawks
Theo Maledon, G, Hornets
Jamal Cain, F, Heat
Matt Ryan, F, Timberwolves
Terry Taylor, F, Bulls

Of the five-player group, Maledon had the largest role last season. The 34th pick of the 2020 draft appeared in 44 games for Charlotte in 2022/23, averaging 6.7 points, 3.5 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game.

If they’re willing to accept their one-year, two-way qualifying offers, four of these five players seemingly have an easy path back to the teams that hold their rights — the Hawks, Hornets, Heat and Wolves all have an open two-way slot available.

That is not true for the Bulls, however — all three of their two-way slots are filled. If Taylor accepts his QO, Chicago might just release him, similar to what happened with Washington and Keels.

Some two-way RFAs have managed to earn standard contracts this offseason. Cain has reportedly been discussing that possibility with rival teams, but Miami has been reluctant to give him a standard deal.

It will be interesting to see if any of the five players are able to land a standard contract instead of another two-way deal. However, being RFAs hurts their leverage to negotiate with rival teams, and offer sheets for two-way restricted free agents essentially never happen.

Anthony Edwards Fined $50K By NBA For April Incident

August 9th, 2023 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been fined $50K by the NBA for an incident that occurred on April 25 following a playoff game in Denver, the league announced today (via Twitter).

As we detailed at the time, while exiting the court following the Timberwolves’ season-ending loss to the Nuggets, Edwards allegedly picked up a folding chair and swung it, striking two bystanders who were working at Ball Arena. The NBA’s statement today refers to Edwards as “recklessly swinging a chair in frustration.”

Typically, the punishment in situations like this one would be announced within a day or two. According to the league, the delay in this case was due to a desire to let the legal process play out. Edwards was cited at the time for two counts of third-degree assault, but those charges were dismissed following a criminal investigation.

Although Edwards won’t face any sort of suspension as a result of the incident, $50K is the maximum amount the NBA can fine a player without opening the door for the player to appeal the decision and take the issue to a grievance arbitrator.

Edwards is currently with the Team USA squad that will compete in the 2023 World Cup later this month.

Team USA Notes: Edwards, Hart, Banchero, Young

August 8th, 2023 at 2:18pm CST by Luke Adams

After completing its five-day training camp in Las Vegas, Team USA played its first official exhibition game ahead of this year’s World Cup on Monday and defeated Puerto Rico by a score of 117-74. The U.S. squad was up by just seven points at the half, but outscored the Puerto Ricans by 36 in a dominant second half.

As Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards earned a spot in the starting five for Team USA alongside Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Brandon Ingram, and Jaren Jackson Jr., and showed why he belonged in that group. Edwards scored a team-high 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting while also adding four assists and four steals.

“Anthony was great,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He fits the FIBA game really well because of his physicality at both ends. He can get through contact. They allow a lot of contact on drives, so he can get through that contact with his strength and then using that same strength defensively, body people up and keep them from penetrating. So I thought he was great, but I thought the whole team really played well.”

The U.S. roster lacks an established scorer with FIBA experience whom the team could turn to for an important late-game basket, leading to speculation that Edwards could emerge as that player. Monday’s performance was a promising start.

Here’s more on Team USA as it prepares for upcoming tune-ups against Slovenia and Spain this weekend:

As Bontemps notes, Knicks forward Josh Hart was the only player who didn’t see any action on Monday vs. Puerto Rico. Team USA said he was out for “rest” purposes, but it’s probably no coincidence that Hart will become extension-eligible later this week — it will be interesting to see if he has an agreement on a new deal in place with New York by the time the U.S. faces Slovenia on Saturday.
Magic forward Paolo Banchero spent some time at center during Monday’s exhibition, and it sounds like Kerr plans to continue using him in that role going forward, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “He’s going to play some five,” Kerr said. “One of the things we really found in ’21 in the Tokyo Olympics was having a 5 that can push the ball in transition (as Bam Adebayo did) and create plays is very difficult for FIBA teams to handle. He can play some four, as he showed, but he’ll play plenty of five as well.”
In a separate ESPN.com story, Bontemps shares some early observations about Team USA’s starting five, its plan to lean on smaller lineups, and how using Banchero at the five could help create a “devastatingly effective” second unit offensively.
Within a larger discussion about Team USA during the latest episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN express some skepticism that Trae Young will be part of the 12-man roster that represents the U.S. at the Paris Olympics next year, despite his desire to do so. “I heard Trae Young did not make a great case for himself during his previous time in the Team USA program,” MacMahon said.

Scott Named G League Head Coach

August 7th, 2023 at 7:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves have named Ernest Scott as head coach of the Iowa Wolves, the team’s G League affiliate, according to a team press release. Nathan Bubes has been named an assistant coach for Iowa, while Michael DiBenedetto will have to dual title of assistant coach and director of operations for the G League team. Scott replaces Jeff Newton, who was previously promoted to assistant coach/quality control coach for the NBA team.

Team USA Notes: Lineup, Kerr, Edwards, Banchero

August 4th, 2023 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr isn’t prepared to name a starting five for this summer’s World Cup squad, telling reporters on Thursday at the U.S. training camp that things will “shake out over the next week or two,” as Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays.

Although Team USA’s roster features plenty of talent, it’s primarily made up of younger players who don’t have a long list of postseason awards and/or playoff achievements on their respective résumés. Most of the roster also doesn’t have much – if any – international experience, so Kerr and his staff will have to figure out quickly which players are best suited for the international game and who fits together the best.

“It’s not easy, because usually you’re talking about 12 starters in the NBA. … These guys are all starters and great players,” Kerr said. “Part of the FIBA commitment is none of that stuff matters. There’s no contracts on the line. Nobody’s getting traded. This is just us for six weeks, and I expect the same thing to happen here is what happened in [2021, for the Olympics] and in [2019, for the World Cup], in terms of the buy-in and the effort and the energy and the intensity, and, we’ll see what happens.”

Here’s more on Team USA as it begins to prepare for the 2023 World Cup, which will take place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia:

In a separate ESPN.com story, Bontemps explores how the 2023 U.S. team can draw inspiration from the 2010 iteration of Team USA, which didn’t feature anyone from the 2008 Olympic roster and was derisively nicknamed the “B-Team.” Bontemps draws parallels between rising Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards and the 2010 version of Kevin Durant, who helped lead the U.S. to World Cup gold 13 years ago during his ascension to NBA superstardom. Edwards has a chance to follow a similar trajectory, as Bontemps outlines.
Despite its relative inexperience, this U.S. squad appears better positioned for World Cup success than the 2019 group, which finished a disappointing seventh, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, who predicts that Team USA will come away with a gold medal this time around. Vardon predicts that Jaren Jackson, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Brandon Ingram will be starters, with Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, and Austin Reaves vying for the final starting slot.
Team USA forward Paolo Banchero tells Vardon that his decision on whether to represent the U.S. or the Italian national team was a difficult, “drawn-out process.” The recruitment of Banchero by former Magic star Grant Hill – now Team USA’s managing director – and the fact that Paolo’s mother played for the U.S. women’s team in the 1990s helped tip the scales in favor of Team USA, as the reigning Rookie of The Year explains.
Banchero also told Vardon that he recognizes he may have a limited role on a talented U.S. roster and he’s prepared to do whatever is asked of him. “With Orlando, I’m the leading scorer, kind of the main guy,” he said. “But here, and I’m able to do other things, whether it is affecting the game defensively, on the glass, with my passing, whatever it may be. … I think I can showcase the other parts of my game. Whatever the team needs, I would try to show that.”

Timberwolves Notes: Staff Changes, Edwards, Towns

August 2nd, 2023 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have promoted college scouting coordinator Josh Gershon to director of basketball intelligence and assistant general manager of the Iowa Wolves, their G League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Minnesota also announced the promotions of Jeff Newton (assistant coach/quality control coach) and James White (player development assistant).

White’s name is probably the most recognizable of those three — he was the 31st overall pick in the 2006 draft and appeared in a total of 63 NBA games with the Spurs, Rockets, and Knicks between 2006-13. He has since transitioned to coaching, having been an assistant in Iowa last season. Both he and Newton – who was Iowa’s head coach for the past two years – will join Chris Finch‘s staff in Minnesota.

“All three have earned their new roles and added responsibilities. Working with each has been wonderful,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said of Gershon, Newton, and White. “As an organization we have benefited greatly from their unique backgrounds. Excited to see the continued growth of Josh, Jeff and James. All three have tremendously bright futures.”

Here’s more on the T-Wolves:

Rising star Anthony Edwards is changing his jersey number from No. 1 to No. 5 for the coming season, per Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. While a number change shouldn’t have any real on-court impact on Edwards, The Athletic’s duo – in detailing the importance of No. 5 to the Timberwolves guard – note that he’s a “vibes player,” so if he feels better wearing his new number, it should only benefit the team. “He’s already a player that has confidence, but I think you’ll see a little step up in his swagger with the No. 5 on his chest,” said Edwards’ friend and business manager Justin Holland.
In the latest episode of his Jon Krawczynski Show podcast, the beat writer from The Athletic discusses Karl-Anthony Towns‘ decision to represent the Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Cup, observing that the Timberwolves big man is feeling 100% again after missing most of last season due to a calf injury. “He said it several times, both publicly and privately as well, that he could just feel that that calf was not where it needed to be,” Krawczynski said (per HoopsHype). “And when I caught up with him in Las Vegas, he said that he was feeling fully healthy again, for the first time since before he was injured.”
As our roster counts page shows, the Timberwolves are currently carrying 14 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals, with a two-way qualifying offer still on the table for swingman Matt Ryan. If Ryan were to accept that QO, Minnesota would have no open two-way slots left, but would still have room to add up to four additional players to its offseason roster.

Player Development Has Become Paramount

July 31st, 2023 at 5:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves’ best chance at improvement is to develop young players like Josh Minott, Wendell Moore, Luka Garza and Leonard Miller, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. The article details Minnesota’s efforts to coach up those reserves. “When you have the roster that we have, we’ve got to be able to develop some of these young guys and turn them into real players,” assistant coach Max Lefevre said. “It’s just huge.”