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Celtics Win First Title Since 2008; Brown Named MVP

June 17th, 2024 at 10:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics won their record-breaking 18th NBA championship and first since 2008 on Monday night, defeating the Mavericks in Game 5, 106-88. Boston now has one more title than the Lakers.

Jayson Tatum racked up 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in Game 5, while Jaylen Brown supplied 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Brown was named the Finals’ Most Valuable Player, Brian Robb of MassLive.com tweets. He received seven of 11 possible votes from media members, with Tatum getting the other four (Twitter link).

Dallas extended the series with a lopsided victory in Game 4 but had no answers for the deeper Celtics when the series shifted back to Boston. The Celtics opened up a 67-46 halftime lead and cruised to the finish line.

Boston, which entered the playoffs as the top seed, is well-positioned to shoot for back-to-back titles. All of its key players — Tatum, Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Al Horford and Payton Pritchard — are signed through at least next season. The Celtics hold a $2.1MM option on Sam Hauser‘s contract, which they will likely exercise.

Tatum is signed through the next two seasons, though he holds a $37.1MM player option for the 2025/26 season. Tatum is eligible for a five-year super-max extension worth a projected $315MM next month.

The Mavericks also have most of their rotation players signed through at least next season, with Derrick Jones Jr. the only exception — he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Dallas could look to make at least one significant upgrade via the trade market to provide another scoring option for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

With the Finals decided, the 2024 NBA offseason is officially underway. For the first time, teams will be permitted to negotiate contracts with their own free agents one day after the Finals. Players who won’t be free agents this offseason but who will become eligible to sign contract extensions on July 6 will also be permitted to negotiate with their current teams as of Tuesday.

Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising if some agreements are reported this week. Free agent contracts still can’t be officially finalized until after the July moratorium lifts on July 6.

The draft will be held on June 26-27 with free agency beginning on June 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern time.

Hawks GM Fields Expects To Keep Top Pick

June 17th, 2024 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks are expected to hold onto the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, Charles Odum of The Associated Press reports.

Hawks general manager Landry Fields said during a Monday press conference that while he won’t stop fielding offers for the pick, he’s inclined to keep it.

“I think we’re really excited by the draft,” Fields said. “And the more that we uncover, like we go, ‘Great, I’m glad we have No. 1.’ I keep joking around like, ‘I’m not giving it back.’ So, I think we’re in a really good position here. I’m excited about it, frankly.”

Fields wasn’t expecting to be in this position before the lottery but Atlanta had the winning combination and zoomed up from the No. 10 spot.

If the front office has settled on a player, Fields isn’t tipping his hand. He did indicate the staff had narrowed down the list in recent days.

“I would say a week ago it was wider than it is now,” he said. “The board is definitely shaping up, tearing itself out.”

Most mock drafts have the Hawks going the international route and selecting either small forward Zaccharie Risacher or power forward Alexandre Sarr. If they decide on a domestic prospect, UConn center Donovan Clingan or Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard could be the surprise top pick on June 26.

There are apparently a number of teams willing to move up, if the Hawks are willing to part with the top selection.

“I got a little time off (Sunday) because it was Father’s Day,” Fields said, per The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Lauren Williams. “But for the most part, it continuously rings and we make outgoing calls as well, just to see what the rest of the landscape is looking like.”

According to Fields, he’ll make the final decision, not team owner Tony Ressler. Atlanta doesn’t currently own any other picks in the draft. Its second-rounder was dealt to Portland as part of a trade that allowed the Hawks to acquire Saddiq Bey.

Fields said the Hawks are looking for “a great fit for us, not just for the next day, but for the future as well.” He’s already certain they won’t have to worry about character issues.

“They’re just really good guys (and) good people in this draft and that doesn’t mean like it’s always like that,” Fields said. “But it really has been neat to kind of see especially the guys that are all projected to be at the top and guys that we’ve had in. Taking them to dinner and speaking with him, whether it’s in Chicago here in the building, on Zoom or elsewhere I mean, like we’ve had so many different mediums to do this. And just to get to know them more and more outside of just the intel that you gather around them. It’s just some really good guys.”

The Hawks would seemingly have a greater need in the frontcourt, though there’s been plenty of speculation that Fields may opt to break up his high-scoring backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.

Kristaps Porzingis Available To Play In Game 5

June 17th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

6:15pm: Mazzulla indicated during his pregame press conference that Porzingis will see action tonight, Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets. “Expecting to see him tonight,” the Celtics’ head coach said.

5:40pm: Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis is listed as available to play in Game 5 of the Finals tonight, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets.

Porzingis went through a pregame workout before the team announced he could suit up.

Whether Porzingis actually gets into the game remains to be seen. Porzingis was available to play in Game 4 but coach Joe Mazzulla, with his team leading the series 3-0, opted to keep his usual starting center on the bench.

Porzingis hasn’t played since Game 2 of the Finals. He’s dealing with a torn medial retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg. The injury is unrelated to the calf strain that kept him out of action for over a month during the postseason.

Porzingis made a sparkling return in Game 1, contributing 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes. He also played well in Game 2, supplying 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes.

Latest On Klay Thompson

June 17th, 2024 at 4:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Klay Thompson has spent his entire NBA career with the Warriors after being selected 11th overall in the 2011 draft, making five consecutive All-Star teams from 2015-19 and winning four championships. However, the 34-year-old is set to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent, and a return to Golden State appears far from certain.

“Klay Thompson, I’m told, is open to all external options in free agency coming up,” Shams Charania of The Athletic said on FanDuelTV’s Run It Back show (Twitter video link). “He intends to test free agency.

“We know the Warriors want him back — they offered him an extension before the start of the season. … What team out there could step up for Klay Thompson? That is gonna be the big question. But the Warriors will stay in touch with him.”

League sources tell Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic that there’s “mutual interest” between Thompson and the Magic, which has been rumored to be the case for at least two months. Golden State has “made clear” it wants to retain Thompson “at the right price and in the right role,” per The Athletic’s duo.

According to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area, Thompson is looking for a deal that covers a minimum of three years. Poole also hears the Warriors’ front office wasn’t alarmed by Thompson’s decision to stop following the team on Instagram, which has become common practice in contract negotiations.

“He’s going to have to be really patient,” Thompson’s friend and former teammate Leandro Barbosa told Poole. “I hope he comes back to the Warriors. I don’t know what’s the situation, but it’s going to be tough. I know the money (in NBA contracts) is going up, and he’s been thinking about the money.

“But I think he needs to be happy. I think that’s the most important thing.”

Poole suggests rival teams could be willing to offer Thompson more money than the Warriors. Still, as Charania mentioned, it’s unclear which teams might target Thompson beyond perhaps Orlando. Slater previously floated the Sixers and Thunder as possibilities, though Thompson would presumably be a fallback option for Philadelphia, which is reportedly focused on Paul George.

Thompson remains one of the league’s top three-point shooters, averaging 9.7 attempts per game while converting 40.0% of his looks beyond the arc over the past two seasons. However, the torn ACL and torn Achilles tendon that cost him two full seasons have sapped his lateral quickness and athleticism, so he isn’t the same player he once was, particularly on defense.

For what it’s worth, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and longtime teammates Stephen Curry and Draymond Green all expressed a desire for Thompson to return after the veteran guard/forward was held scoreless (he went 0-10 from the field) when Golden State was eliminated by Sacramento in the West’s play-in tournament.

Thompson will join the Bahamian national team for its training camp this week in Houston, but he isn’t expected to play in the country’s Olympic qualifying tournament early next month, according to Charania and Slater. Thompson would need official clearance to play for the Bahamas in international competition since he won a gold medal with Team USA in 2016, and that is not expected to occur, per The Athletic.

Thompson’s father Mychal Thompson is from the Bahamas and his brother Mychel is an assistant coach on the national team.

Kristaps Porzingis Listed As Questionable For Game 5

June 16th, 2024 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kristaps Porzingis is listed as questionable to play in Game 5 of the Finals on Monday, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets.

Porzingis hasn’t played since Game 2 of the Finals. He’s dealing with a torn medial retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg. The injury is unrelated to the calf strain that kept him out of action for over a month during the postseason.

Porzingis made a sparkling return in Game 1, contributing 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes. He made more solid contributions in Game 2, supplying 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes.

After being ruled out for Game 3, he was technically available for Game 4. But with the Celtics leading the series 3-0, coach Joe Mazzulla chose not to use his starting center in what turned out to be a blowout loss.

With the series shifting back to Boston, Porzingis’ status remains up in the air. More clarity could come during the morning shootaround and in Mazzulla’s pregame press conference.

On Sunday, Mazzulla said of Porzingis, “He’s trying and doing everything he can to try to put himself in position to be out there. I know that for sure,” according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

Izan Almansa Among Players Withdrawing From Draft

June 16th, 2024 at 3:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After five workouts with NBA teams, Reggio Emilia center Mouhamed Faye has decided to withdraw from the 2024 draft and will return to the Italian pro club, his agent Matteo Comellini informed Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Last year, the 6’9″ big man averaged 7.9 points on 62.4% field goal shooting, while also contributing 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest in 30 games for Reggio Emilia.

Another international prospect, French guard Ilias Kamardine, also plans to withdraw from the draft this year, his rep Herman Manakyan told Givony (via Twitter). Kamardine spent 2023/24 with JDA Dijon in Pro A France. He played sparingly for Dijon last year, averaging 5.3 minutes per game.

6’10” former Illinois power forward Zacharie Perrin, now with SLUC Nancy in his native France, is also opting out of the draft, his agents Nicolas Dos Santos and Max Wiepking tell Givony (Twitter link).

Nineteen-year-old former G League Ignite big man Izan Almansa also intends to withdraw from the draft, his agents Wiepking, Jim Tanner and Guillermo Bermejo have informed Givony (Twitter link). In an effort to become a first-round draft selection next season, the 6’10” Spaniard is looking to continue his career for a team in Australia or Europe for 2024/25. Across 32 regular season contests (30 starts), Almansa averaged 11.7 points on 56% shooting from the field for the Ignite, along with 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.7 steals per game.

Of these players, Almansa is the top-ranked prospect on ESPN’s current big board, where he was listed as the No. 49 prospect. Perrin is at No. 67, Kamardine is No. 80, and Faye narrowly made the list at No. 99.

Charles Barkley Says He’s Retiring From TV After 2024/25 Season

June 15th, 2024 at 8:21am CST by Tristan Tucker

Charles Barkley, an NBA Hall of Famer and one of the stars of TNT’s Inside the NBA studio show, said he’s retiring from television following the conclusion of next season, as noted by ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.

“I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT,” Barkley said on NBATV following during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night. “But I have made the decision that no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television. And I just want to say thank you to my NBA family. You guys have been great to me. My heart is full with joy and gratitude.”

The future of Inside the NBA has been up in the air, given the NBA’s ongoing media rights negotiations. As Youngmisuk notes, Disney (ABC/ESPN), Amazon, NBC and Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT) are all hoping to secure broadcast deals with the NBA. However, if WBD is left out, it would mean the end of Inside the NBA and all games on TNT.

Barkley has decided to avoid any uncertainty about his future by announcing his impending retirement now.

“I hope the NBA stays with TNT, but for me personally, I wanted you guys to hear it from me … I wanted to tell my NBATV and TNT family that I’m not going to another network, but I’m going to pass the baton to either Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter or you, Steve (Smith),” Barkley said. “But next year, I’m going to just retire after 25 years, and I just wanted to say thank you. And I wanted y’all to hear it from me first.”

Barkley’s served as a TV analyst for TNT since 2000. He has hosted Inside the NBA alongside Ernie Johnson (who’s hosted since 1990), Kenny “The Jet” Smith (since 1998) and Shaquille O’Neal (since 2011). Barkley has also co-hosted every NCAA Final Four since 2011.

Kristaps Porzingis Available For Game 4

June 14th, 2024 at 6:38pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla announced that starting center Kristaps Porzingis‘ status upgraded to available for Game 4 of the NBA Finals against Porzingis’ old club, the Mavericks, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). The action is set to tip off on Friday night.

Mazzulla cautioned that Porzingis would “only be used in specific instances, if necessary.”

Boston has survived just fine without its starting center for much of the playoffs, though when he can play he has shown off an incredible two-way ability to both protect the rim and knock down jumpers.

Porzingis has only been healthy for five contests in this postseason run, but the Celtics have gone 11-1 in the games he’s missed, with sixth man Al Horford picking up the slack in his absence. Horford has started in all three Finals games, even when Porzingis was deemed healthy to play during the first two contests.

The 7’2″ big man was ruled out for Game 3 of the series due to a posterior tibialis dislocation in his left leg. Boston won anyway, 106-99, building out an intimidating 3-0 advantage. Never in league history has any team, in any round, climbed out of that kind of hole.

During the playoffs, Porzingis has averaged 13.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 1.3 APG and 0.8 SPG in 24.8 MPG.

New Free Agency Rules Will Go Into Effect After Finals End

June 14th, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s possible that Friday’s contest between the Celtics and Mavericks will be the final game of the 2023/24 NBA season, with Boston holding a 3-0 lead and looking to complete the sweep. If the Celtics do finish off the series tonight, we’ll get our first look at the new rules related to free agency negotiations that the NBA and players’ union implemented in their most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement.

In past years, teams have been prohibited from negotiating new contracts with free agents prior to June 30 at 6:00 pm Eastern time. That timeline will still apply to teams who wish to speak to other clubs’ free agents, but for the first time, teams will be permitted to negotiate contracts with their own free agents beginning one day after the NBA Finals end. So if the Celtics win on Friday, those negotiations could begin for players around the league on Saturday.

The rule change should put teams in a better position to retain their own free agents. A year ago, for instance, one reason cited for the split between the Sixers and James Harden was Philadelphia’s insistence on waiting until June 30 to negotiate potential contract terms after being docked two second-round picks for jumping the gun on free agency in 2022. Harden reportedly felt as if he was being ignored by management and wasn’t confident the team would make him a lucrative contract offer, prompting him to pick up his player option and ask for a trade.

That type of situation should be easier to avoid now that teams will have an exclusive window between the end of the NBA Finals and the start of free agency on June 30 to talk to their own free agents.

Of course, it’s been considered an open secret over the years that teams and player agents are in contact before they’re legally permitted to be, which is why so many contract agreements (including some complex sign-and-trade deals) are reported in the hours – or even minutes – after free agency opens at 6:00 pm ET on June 30. It will be interesting to see whether that same pattern of reporting occurs the day after the Finals end — in other words, if the Celtics win tonight, will we get a flurry of new deals reported this weekend for free-agents-to-be who are returning to their own clubs? Or will those updates take a little longer to materialize?

Free agent contracts still can’t be officially finalized until after the July moratorium lifts on July 6, so a player who verbally agrees to re-sign with his current team on June 22 could change his mind during the next couple weeks before he officially puts pen to paper. We’ve seen that occur on occasion in the past with free agents who reach tentative deals between June 30 and July 6, then renege on them, but it’s pretty rare and will probably continue to happen infrequently going forward.

Players who won’t be free agents this offseason but who will become eligible to sign contract extensions on July 6 will also be permitted to talk to their current teams about new deals a day after the Finals end, ESPN’s Bobby Marks confirmed to Hoops Rumors.

Like this year’s free agents, those extension-eligible players would also have to wait until after the moratorium ends to formally complete a new contract, unless they’re already extension-eligible, in which case they’re allowed to talk to their respective teams even before the Finals end and can continue to negotiate up until June 30.

Players who will become extension-eligible sometime after July 6 won’t be able to open negotiations during that post-Finals window and will have to wait until the new league year to explore new deals with their clubs.

Kings’ Vezenkov Reportedly Intends To Honor Contract

June 13th, 2024 at 2:45pm CST by Rory Maher

A couple of reports last week had conflicting information about the future of Kings forward Sasha Vezenkov.

An Italian reporter claimed Vezenkov was told he was no longer in Sacramento’s plans and the team would look to trade him, while Eurohoops reported that Vezenkov told the Kings he wasn’t going to return for a second season and he was undecided on whether he would stay in the NBA or return to Europe.

While the former EuroLeague MVP “remains frustrated” with the limited he role he played off the bench as a rookie last season, several sources tell Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 that there’s “no truth” to the rumor of Vezenkov considering an NBA exit (Twitter link). A source close to Vezenkov referred to that reporting as “off base” and said the Bulgarian intends to honor the terms of his contract.

Cunningham hears Sacramento would like to keep Vezenkov on the roster, but evidently there is external interest in his services as well. Given the Kings could be over the luxury tax line if they’re able to re-sign Malik Monk in free agency, it’s possible they might unload Vezenkov to save money, as our Luke Adams wrote when he previewed the Kings’ offseason.

Vezenkov signed a three-year, $20MM contract with Sacramento last summer. His $6.66MM salary for 2024/25 is fully guaranteed, while his $6.98MM salary for ’25/26 is a team option.

As we previously noted, Vezenkov can’t just terminate his contract. And since the 28-year-old’s deal for next season is guaranteed, Sacramento has no incentive to waive him unless he’s willing to give back some or all of the money he’s owed in a buyout. According to Cunningham’s report, that scenario is highly unlikely to occur.

Vezenkov averaged 5.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG on .440/.375/.800 shooting in 42 games last season for Sacramento (12.2 MPG). He missed 22 games with a Grade 3 right ankle sprain, but even when he was healthy, he wasn’t a consistent part of the team’s rotation.