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Pistons Part Ways With GM Troy Weaver

June 1st, 2024 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 1: The Pistons announced Weaver’s departure in a press release, calling it a “mutual decision.”

“I very much appreciate all the dedication Troy displayed to our Pistons franchise,” Gores said in a statement. “As much as we have struggled lately, we will look back and see Troy as an important person in the remaking of the Pistons. He took the pain of rebuilding head on and he did the hard work to get us the flexibility we have today. He also assembled a great core of young men with tremendous skill and character to give us a path to the future. Make no mistake, I have real appreciation for who Troy is as a person and what he has meant to the organization. I wish him the very best as he pursues his ventures.”

MAY 31: The Pistons and general manager Troy Weaver are parting ways following the team’s decision to hire Trajan Langdon as its new head of basketball operations, according to James L. Edwards III and Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Reporting ahead of Langdon’s hiring indicated that Detroit’s new top front office decision-maker would be given the freedom to either retain or let go of Weaver. According to Edwards and Charania, the Pistons offered Weaver the option of staying with the franchise in an off-site scouting role, but he turned down that position and will leave the organization.

Weaver was hired as the Pistons’ general manager in 2020 and oversaw a full-scale rebuild during his four-year tenure. However, the team hasn’t made the strides that ownership and management were hoping for and expecting. After winning 20 games in Weaver’s first year and 23 in his second, Detroit has gotten even worse over the last two seasons, compiling just 17 wins in 2022/23 and a league-worst 14 this past season.

Weaver made some good draft picks during his time with the Pistons, as Edwards and Charania note. Cade Cunningham, 2021’s No. 1 overall pick, has star potential, 2020 first-rounder Isaiah Stewart has developed into a solid rotation player, and Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, and Marcus Sasser have shown promise. However, Weaver’s first lottery pick – Killian Hayes at No. 7 in 2020 – was a miss, and his moves to fill out the roster around the young core weren’t particularly fruitful.

Langdon is expected to have “free rein” to make changes to both the front office and coaching staff, according to Edwards and Charania, who say that team owner Tom Gores has told him that money is no object.

With Weaver no longer in the picture, Detroit is in serious talks to potentially hire another Pelicans executive, league sources tell The Athletic — Michael Blackstone, the VP of basketball administration in New Orleans, could become Langdon’s second-in-command with the Pistons, per Edwards and Charania. Blackstone spent time in the Cavaliers’ and Hawks’ front offices before being hired by the Pelicans in 2020.

Giannis Antetokounmpo To Play For Greece In Olympic Qualifier

June 1st, 2024 at 1:51pm CST by Rory Maher

Vassilis Spanoulis, the head coach of the Greek national team, confirmed that Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will suit up for Greece during the Olympic qualifying tournament in early July, tweets Harris Stavrou of SPORT24.gr.

The news is noteworthy because the two-time MVP and former Finals MVP hasn’t played a game since April 9, when he sustained a left calf strain. He was sidelined for Milwaukee’s entire first-round playoff series with Indiana; the Bucks were eliminated in six games.

At the beginning of May, Antetokounmpo said he did his best to return, but he was still quite limited by the injury.

“I tried my best to come back to help my teammates,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to see them being out there and not being able to help them, but I just couldn’t. I did all the tests I had to do, these protocols you have to follow and have to check the boxes. I wasn’t even close at checking the boxes.”

That same ESPN report stated that while Antetokounmpo hoped to play in the Olympic qualifying tournament, he had yet to make a firm commitment, and his decision would be based on how his calf was responding. Evidently he’s feeling better now, since Greece’s head coach says the perennial All-NBA member will be playing next month.

As Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops writes, Antetokounmpo has represented his home country in multiple international events since 2013, most recently the EuroBasket tournament in 2022. Greece hasn’t qualified for men’s basketball at the Olympics since 2008 in Beijing, when the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Host country Greece will face the Dominican Republic on July 3 and Egypt on July 4, according to Askounis. The top two finishers from each group will advance to the single-elimination semifinal. The other side of the bracket features Croatia, Slovenia and New Zealand. Only the winner of the tournament will advance to Group A of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will begin in late July.

Pelicans Defer Lakers’ First-Rounder To 2025

June 1st, 2024 at 10:50am CST by Rory Maher

June 1: The Pelicans have officially informed both the league and the Lakers that they’ll be deferring the pick to 2025, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

May 31: The Pelicans intend to defer the unprotected first-round pick the Lakers owe them until 2025, a source tells Christian Clark of The Times-Picayune. Reporters from ESPN and HoopsHype confirmed the news (Twitter links).

New Orleans technically has until Saturday at 10:59 pm CT to let the NBA know its intentions. According to Clark, the Pelicans will likely wait until a day to make the move official.

Clark reported a few weeks ago that the Pelicans were leaning toward deferring the pick, which is No. 17 overall in the 2024 NBA draft. Now that a decision has been reached, the Lakers will control that selection. Once the new league year begins on July 1, they’ll also be able to trade their 2029 and 2031 first-rounders.

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes (via Twitter), deferring the pick was always viewed as the logical outcome for New Orleans. The Pelicans already control the No. 21 pick in what is perceived as a weak draft, and pushing the pick back a year will remove a $3.8MM cap hold from their books, which is pretty significant given the team’s financial situation.

The 2025 first-rounder that L.A. will send New Orleans is the final outgoing piece of the Anthony Davis trade from 2019, Clark writes. If the Lakers struggle next season, it’s possible it could be a lottery selection in what is viewed as a much stronger draft class. L.A. went 47-35 this season, entering the playoffs as the West’s No. 7 seed before being eliminated in the first round by the defending-champion Nuggets.

In addition to the 2025 first-round pick from the Lakers, the Pels also control Milwaukee’s 2027 first-round pick (from the Jrue Holiday trade) and all of their own future firsts.

Kings, Mike Brown Agree To Extension

June 1st, 2024 at 5:29am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have agreed to a contract extension with head coach Mike Brown, according to reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The two sides, who had been discussing a new deal this spring, briefly tabled those talks last week when they couldn’t find common ground. The Kings had reportedly offered a three-year, $21MM deal that could have been worth up to $27MM in bonuses, while Brown was said to be seeking a $10MM annual salary.

According to Wojnarowski and Charania, Brown’s new three-year agreement will feature annual base salaries of $8.5MM, but could reach $10MM per year via incentives. That means it’ll be worth at least $25.5MM over three seasons and could max out at $30MM.

The deal will replace Brown’s $4MM salary for 2024/25 (and his mutual option for ’25/26) and will run through the ’26/27 season, reports Wojnarowski.

Brown has led the Kings to a 94-70 (.573) overall regular season record since taking the reins from Alvin Gentry.

In his first season in 2022/23, he guided the franchise to a 48-34 record and its first playoff berth since 2006, winning the NBA’s Coach of the Year award. Despite racking up 46 more regular season wins in ’23/24, Brown and the Kings finished outside the top eight in the conference and were eliminated in the second game of the play-in tournament.

As Wojnarowski observes, Brown is the first Kings head coach to have a winning record in his first two years with the team since Rick Adelman from 1998-2000.

With Brown locked up to a new deal, the first step of the Kings’ offseason is complete. The club can now shift its focus to roster decisions, including whether or not it will be able to re-sign free agent wing Malik Monk. Sacramento holds Early Bird rights on Monk, giving the team the ability to offer him up to $78MM over four years.

Pistons Hire Trajan Langdon As Top Basketball Executive

May 31st, 2024 at 7:07pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pistons have officially hired Trajan Langdon to be their new president of basketball operations, the team announced in a press release.

“I have committed to building a front office in Detroit that brings together the most advanced capabilities and creative basketball minds,” said owner Tom Gores. “Trajan is an accomplished front office executive with an impressive track record. He’s worked his way up and seen it all as a player, scout and executive. He’s been successful at every level. I’m confident he will very swiftly get us to the standard of excellence I expect from every business.”

“What was important to me was finding someone who was a hands-on leader and effective communicator that could connect with people, motivate our front office and deliver results,” Gores added. “I knew Trajan was universally praised and respected around the league, but as I spent time with him, he articulated a thoughtful, detailed plan to create a culture of winning and getting the best out of the talented people we have in our organization.”

Langdon has spent the last five years as New Orleans’ general manager, serving as the second-in-command to executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin. The news of Detroit intending to hire the former Duke star broke a week ago.

Langdon said he has begun interviewing candidates for roles with the team, per the release.

“It’s an honor for me to join the Detroit Pistons and I’m excited for the opportunity,” said Langdon. “I have spent considerable time with Tom over the past few weeks and am fully aligned with his expectations for the challenge ahead. The work starts immediately, and I appreciate Tom giving me the opportunity to build on the foundation that has been laid and help this team compete at the highest level. There is great tradition and history associated with this franchise. I’m excited to build on that for everyone associated with the organization and the passionate sports fans of Detroit.”

The 48-year-old was drafted with the 11th overall pick in 1999, though Langdon spent just three seasons in the NBA with the Cavaliers. He went on to become a star overseas, winning a pair of EuroLeague titles in 2006 and 2008 with CSKA Moscow. He made multiple All-EuroLeague teams, earned EuroLeague Final Four MVP honors in 2008, and was named top the EuroLeague’s All-Decade team for the 2000s.

After retiring as a player in 2011, Langdon got his first front office role in San Antonio, working as a scout for the Spurs from 2012-15. Before being hired by the Pelicans, he had a one-year stint in Cleveland’s front office and was an assistant general manager with the Nets for three years under Sean Marks.

A recent report said Langdon’s first major move was essentially offering a demotion to former GM Troy Weaver, who declined the new position. The two sides have parted ways.

The Pistons had the worst record in the league last season at 14-68. They control the No. 5 pick in June’s draft.

Luka Doncic Earns Western Finals MVP

May 30th, 2024 at 10:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic has been named the Most Valuable Player of the Western Conference Finals, winning this year’s Earvin “Magic” Johnson Trophy, the NBA has announced (via Twitter).

Doncic was the unanimous choice, earning all nine media votes for the honor, the league revealed (Twitter link).

The 6’7″ guard just put the finishing touches on a five-game series win over the higher-seeded Timberwolves, scoring 36 points — including 20 in the first quarter — on 14-of-27 shooting from the floor in Thursday’s 124-103 Game 5 blowout victory. For good measure, Doncic logged 10 rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a +22 plus-minus. All-Star backcourt mate Kyrie Irving also finished with 36 points.

With the victory, Dallas advances to its first NBA Finals since 2011, when Doncic was 12 years old and current head coach Jason Kidd was the team’s starting point guard.

Through 17 playoff games so far, Doncic is averaging 28.8 points on a .438/.343/.806 slash line. He’s also chipping in 9.6 rebounds, 8.8 dimes, 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks a night.

According to The Athletic (via Twitter), Doncic is the first player in the history of the league to rack up 150+ rebounds and assists and 50+ three-point field goals during one playoff run.

Though all but the last of the games vs. Minnesota were fairly close, Doncic and Irving’s clutch play, both as isolation scorers and as tactical distributors, helped Dallas pull away late in every instance except the Game 4 loss.

At 50-32, Dallas entered the West playoffs as the No. 5 seed, meaning it was an underdog, without home court advantage, in each of its three postseason matchups. That made little difference, as the club took care of the No. 4 Clippers and the No. 1 Thunder in six games apiece, across successive rounds, before moving on to handle Minnesota in the Western Finals.

Kings Offered Mike Brown Three-Year Extension

May 30th, 2024 at 7:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Kings have offered incumbent head coach Mike Brown a three-year, $21MM contract extension that would keep him under team control through the 2026/27 season, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The deal offered by Sacramento could be worth up to $27MM with bonuses, per Charania.

Brown, who is seeking something in the neighborhood of $10MM annually, has not agreed to the offer thus far, Charania adds.

As Kurt Helin of NBC Sports notes (Twitter link), the offer represents half the per-season value of Clippers coach Tyronn Lue‘s just-signed five-year extension (which is said to be worth nearly $70MM) and is for two fewer years.

Sacramento has gone 94-70 during its two regular seasons under Brown, and has made the postseason both times, though the team didn’t get a full playoff series this spring.

Brown was named the league’s Coach of the Year (for the second time in his career) for returning the Kings to the playoffs for the first time in 16 seasons during a charmed 2022/23 run that saw the team finish with a 48-34 record and the Western Conference’s third seed. The Kings fell in seven games to the sixth-seeded Warriors last spring.

In 2023/24, the 46-36 Kings were merely the No. 9 seed in a more crowded West and did not advance beyond the play-in tournament, although they did beat the No. 10 Warriors in their first play-in game.

Prior to his Kings tenure, Brown was the associate head coach for Golden State from 2016-22, wining three titles under head coach Steve Kerr. Before that, he served two stints as the head coach of the Cavaliers, making one Finals appearance, and coached the Lakers. He boasts a 441-286 overall regular season record as a head coach, plus a 50-40 playoff record.

NBA Announces 93 Withdrawals From 2024 Draft Pool

May 30th, 2024 at 7:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A total of 93 players have notified the NBA that they wish to be removed from the list of early entrants eligible for the 2024 NBA draft, the league announced today (via Twitter).

The NCAA’s early entry withdrawal deadline passed on Wednesday night at 10:59 pm CT, meaning that players wishing to retain their college eligibility had to remove their names from the draft pool by that point. The NBA’s own withdrawal deadline is 4:00 pm CT on June 16, so more players will be taking their names out of consideration in the coming weeks.

The players who pull out of the draft between now and that June 16 deadline will primarily be international prospects and domestic players who didn’t compete in college. Players from NCAA programs can still withdraw between now and June 16, but they wouldn’t be eligible to return to college, so they’d likely only take that route if they planned to play professionally in a non-NBA league in 2024/25.

Currently, 108 early entrants remain in the draft pool after 201 initially declared. You can check out our updated early entrant list right here.

While most of the 93 withdrawal decisions confirmed today by the NBA were reported or announced leading up to Wednesday’s deadline, we’ve moved a few new names to the withdrawals section of our early entrants tracker. The following players have removed their names from the draft:

Roberts Blums, G, VEF Riga (born 2005)
Malik Bowman, F, Lusitania (born 2004)
Jaden Bradley, G, Arizona (sophomore)
Tyon Grant-Foster, G, Grand Canyon (senior)

Dereck Lively Cleared For Game 5

May 30th, 2024 at 6:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks reserve rookie center Dereck Lively II has seen his status upgraded from questionable to available just in time for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night, per Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

The 2023 lottery pick left Game 3 of the series, an eventual Dallas victory over the Timberwolves, with what was ruled as a neck sprain. He sat out Game 4, the Mavericks’ lone loss thus far. The club currently leads Minnesota 3-1.

Lively has been a key contributor for the club thus far in these playoffs. Across 15 healthy contests, he’s averaging 8.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 dimes and 1.1 blocks per night.

As Keerthika Uthayakumar of TSN tweets, the Mavericks have outscored the Timberwolves by 22 points during Lively’s 63 minutes on the hardwood during the Western Conference finals.

His abilities as a hyper-athletic, rim-rolling big man, and lob threat have been key to maximizing the talents of Dallas All-Star guards Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic.

The victor of this Mavericks-Timberwolves series will go on to face the Celtics in the Finals, which tip off on June 6.

Usman Garuba: I Haven’t Made Decision On Future

May 30th, 2024 at 10:54am CST by Dana Gauruder

Usman Garuba, who played for the Warriors this season, refuted a report that he’s already decided to return to Europe. Garuba posted on social media (hat tip to Sportando) that he’s still mulling his future plans.

“I don’t usually write here but this time I have to do it,” Garuba stated on Twitter. “I understand every journalist/insider and their work they do but they got to have respect for the players and teams instead of providing false news without knowing anything that’s going on. My future is not decide yet so stop spreading fake news. We keep working. Thanks.”

A Eurohoops report indicated that Garuba was poised to rejoin Real Madrid on a multiyear contract.

Garuba played for the Real Madrid organization from 2017-21. He was drafted in the first round by the Rockets in 2021 but has only seen modest playing time in his NBA career.

The 22-year-old power forward was traded twice during the 2023 offseason, then was waived by the Thunder. He signed a two-way deal with the Warriors in September and spent most of the season in the G League. He was promoted to the 15-man roster just before the start of the postseason but Golden State was eliminated during the play-in tournament.

Garuba, touted as a strong defender, barely played for the Warriors. In six games and just 18 minutes, he totaled three points, seven rebounds and three blocks this year. Across his three seasons in the NBA, Garuba holds averages of 2.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 104 games (three starts).

This season with Santa Cruz in the G League, he averaged 12.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks in 35 regular season and Showcase Cup games.