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Nikola Jokic Named Most Valuable Player

May 8th, 2024 at 6:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been selected as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the third time in four years, the league announced (via Twitter).

Jokic won the Michael Jordan Trophy by a wide margin, showing up on all 99 ballots and collecting 79 votes for first place, 18 for second place and two for third place, giving him a total of 926 points. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished second, collecting 640 total points by coming in first on 15 ballots, second on 40, third on 40, fourth on three and fifth on one.

Rounding out the top five were Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (4-36-50-8-0-566), Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (1-1-4-44-23-192) and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (0-3-1-28-32-142).

Also receiving votes were Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0-0-1-14-39-89), Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (0-1-1-1-3-18), Kings center Domantas Sabonis (one fourth-place vote) and Suns forward Kevin Durant (one fifth-place vote).

Jokic becomes the ninth player to claim at least three MVP awards (Twitter link). He ties Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone, and trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan and Bill Russell (five each), and Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James (four each).

The Nuggets celebrated the honor by tweeting a video tribute to Jokic narrated by his wife, Natalija.

Jokic posted another outstanding statistical season, averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists in 79 games. He shot 58.3% from the field and 35.9% from three-point range as Denver claimed the second seed in the Western Conference.

Bennett Durando of The Denver Post took a closer look at Jokic’s historic season, noting that he finished fifth in the league in total points, third in total rebounds and second in total assists. He also collected 25 triple-doubles and posted a true shooting percentage above 65% for the third straight season while leading the NBA in most advanced stats, including PER, VORP, box plus-minus, and win shares.

“I think he’s stated his case pretty well,” Jamal Murray said today before the award was announced. “He does it every night. It’s hard to do what he does and face the kind of pressure that he does each and every day. He does it in the smallest ways. He makes everybody around us better. He’s a leader on the court and someone we expect greatness from every time he steps on the court. And he’s delivered. … He’s been so consistent all his career, all his MVP runs. He’s been so consistent. So I don’t expect one or two bad games to sway that in any way.”

Bucks’ Thanasis Antetokounmpo To Undergo Achilles Surgery

May 8th, 2024 at 6:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo will undergo surgery for a torn Achilles tendon, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Charania doesn’t specify when the injury occurred or how long the recovery process is expected to take, but players who tear an Achilles often miss a full season.

Antetokounmpo played sparingly in Milwaukee’s first-round playoff series with Indiana. He was on the court for two minutes in Game 4 and three minutes in Game 6 as the Pacers closed out the series.

The 31-year-old forward appeared in 34 games during the regular season, averaging 0.9 points and 0.4 rebounds in 4.6 minutes per night. He’s in his fifth season with the Bucks after playing professionally in Spain and Greece.

Antetokounmpo will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after signing a one-year, minimum-salary contract last offseason that paid him $2.3MM.

Like his younger brother, Giannis, Antetokounmpo is a long-time member of the Greek international team. The surgery will presumably prevent him from playing this summer as Greece tries to earn an Olympic bid at a qualifying tournament in early July.

Indianapolis Police Investigating Game 6 Incident Involving Patrick Beverley

May 8th, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Indianapolis Police Department is investigating the altercation that took place in Game 6 of the Bucks/Pacers series on May 2 involving Milwaukee guard Patrick Beverley and fans in Indiana, according to Shams Charania and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link).

During the waning moments of the Bucks’ season, Beverley threw a basketball at Pacers fans sitting behind the Bucks bench. His first throw hit a female fan who was looking in another direction in the side of the head. Beverley got the ball back and forcefully fired it back at a male fan seconds later (Twitter video link).

Beverley tweeted after the game that there were “exchanges between a fan and our ball club” all night and suggested that the team asked security for help dealing with the fan in question. He expressed a little more contrition in a follow-up tweet several hours later, acknowledging that he has to “be better.”

Charania, Lauren Merola, and Eric Nehm of The Athletic subsequently reported that a Pacers fan was directing obscenities toward Beverley in the lead-up to the incident, which was apparently escalated when the fan yelled, “Cancun … Cancun on three” as the team was breaking a huddle.

According to Charania and Vorkunov, Indianapolis detectives are working with Gainbridge Fieldhouse staffers to review video footage from the arena. They intend to speak to the individuals involved in the incident.

While it’s unclear if the investigation will lead to any criminal charges, Beverley certainly figures to face discipline from the NBA, which is conducting its own probe. The veteran guard isn’t under contract yet for next season, but will likely have to serve a suspension before making his 2024/25 season debut.

Teams Monitoring Chauncey Billups’ Situation With Blazers

May 8th, 2024 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Teams around the NBA are monitoring Chauncey Billups‘ situation in Portland, league sources tell Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link) says he’s heard similar rumblings within the past 24 hours.

According to Mannix, if the Trail Blazers and Billups were to part ways, the Hall of Famer would “quickly emerge” as a candidate for other jobs. Mannix doesn’t specify whether he’s referring to head coaching jobs, but it’s worth noting that the Wizards, Hornets, and Lakers currently have openings, and it’s possible the Suns – who will soon make a decision on Frank Vogel – could join them.

Since he took over for Terry Stotts in 2021, Billups has led the Blazers to an 81-165 (.329) regular season record, with no more than 33 wins in any season. Portland went 21-61 in 2023/24, the worst mark in the Western Conference. The club finished the season ranked 29th in offensive rating (107.6) and 23rd in defensive rating (116.6).

Still, those disappointing results can’t be entirely attributed to Billups. The Blazers have traded away several veteran starters since he was hired, including Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, among others. Additionally, Portland has had bad injury luck in recent years and has been without multiple key contributors in each season — in 2023/24, Scoot Henderson, Deandre Ayton, Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, Malcolm Brogdon, Shaedon Sharpe, and Robert Williams all missed at least 20 games.

Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said last month during his end-of-season media session that the plan is to bring Billups back for the 2024/25 season. However, there are some reasons to suspect that plan may not be set in stone.

Since the regular season ended, Portland has lost one assistant and decided not to bring back two others, including Chauncey’s brother Rodney Billups. Additionally, Billups is entering the final guaranteed season of his contract – the Blazers hold a team option for 2025/26 – and has expressed a desire to win next season, while Cronin has talked about player development being more of a priority for the franchise in the short term.

As Highkin wrote for Rose Garden Report in April, it doesn’t sound as if Cronin is looking to make a coaching change, but Billups also seems unlikely to receive an extension from the Blazers before the fall, so he’ll be entering the 2024/25 season as something of a lame duck.

Teams are presumably keeping an eye on the situation to get a sense of whether Billups is unhappy and if there’s a scenario in which he and the Blazers decide to mutually part ways. There would likely be many clubs with interest in hiring him as an assistant, even if he’s not able to land another head coaching position right away. He spent one year as an assistant with the Clippers before ending up in Portland.

Mitchell Robinson Out For Remainder Of Postseason

May 7th, 2024 at 7:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has sustained a stress injury to his left ankle and will miss the remainder of the postseason, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link).

Robinson won’t even be reevaluated for six-to-eight weeks, thus his injury-marred season is over. The big man underwent testing late this afternoon, which determined the extent of the injury, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link). He won’t require surgery, Begley adds.

Earlier in the evening, the team ruled him out for Wednesday’s Game 2 against the Pacers due to left ankle injury management. It’s now apparent the injury is much more serious.

Robinson played just 12 minutes in New York’s Game 1 victory, contributing two points, two rebounds and an assist. He also missed one game during the first-round series against Philadelphia after spraining the same ankle.

Robinson underwent left ankle surgery in December. He didn’t return until March 27.

Overall, Robinson only appeared in 31 regular season games. He has two years remaining on his four-year, front-loaded $60MM contract.

With Robinson out, Precious Achiuwa‘s role figures to expand dramatically. He played just four minutes off the bench as the team’s eighth man on Monday.

Jamal Murray Fined $100K, Avoids Suspension

May 7th, 2024 at 6:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been fined $100K for throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during Game 2 of their playoff series against the Timberwolves, the league announced in a press release. However, Murray averted a suspension.

Murray threw a towel toward the court during the second quarter of the Nuggets’ 106-80 loss on Monday, then tossed a heat pack that made it onto the court during live play (Twitter video link).

The incident, which Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch referred to after the game as “dangerous” and “inexcusable,” wasn’t caught in the moment by game officials. Referee crew chief Marc Davis said Murray would have been assessed with a technical foul if they knew Murray had thrown the heat pack.

Murray, who scored just eight points on 3-of-18 shooting, has been battling a calf injury during the playoffs.

Rudy Gobert Named Defensive Player Of Year For Fourth Time

May 7th, 2024 at 5:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rudy Gobert has been named the Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career, the NBA announced on Tuesday (via Twitter).

The Timberwolves center joins Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only four-time winners of the award. Gobert also claimed the award in 2018, 2019, and 2021 when he played for Utah.

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, who was unanimously voted the Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, finished second in the voting, with the Heat‘s Bam Adebayo a distant third.

Gobert was the league’s second-leading rebounder (12.9 per game) and sixth-leading shot-blocker (2.1). More significantly, he anchored a Timberwolves defense that held opponents to a league-low 106.5 points per game during the regular season. Minnesota was also best in defensive field goal percentage, limiting opponents to 39.0 percent shooting.

Gobert received 72 of a possible 99 first-place votes while compiling 433 points. Wembanyama, who was the league’s top shot-blocker at 3.6 per game, received 19 first-place votes and earned 245 points.

Adebayo received three first-place votes and wound up with 91 points, eight more than fourth-place finisher Anthony Davis of the Lakers (four first-place votes).

Pelicans forward Herbert Jones finished fifth and Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, who notched the other first-place vote, was sixth. The full voting results can be found here.

Lakers’ Christian Wood Opts In For 2024/25

May 7th, 2024 at 11:31am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers big man Christian Wood has exercised his player option for 2024/25, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The move guarantees Wood’s $3,036,040 salary for next season, postponing his free agency until 2025.

Wood, 28, remained on the free agent market for over two months last summer despite averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 25.9 minutes per game across 67 appearances for Dallas in 2022/23. He eventually signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Lakers that featured a player option on the second season.

Wood played a limited role in Los Angeles, averaging 6.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 50 games (17.4 MPG). His shooting percentages – 46.6% from the floor and 30.7% on three-pointers – were both well below his career rates and his season came to an early end when he was sidelined by a left knee injury in February that forced him to undergo arthroscopic surgery in March.

The veteran forward/center was technically cleared to play in the final two games of L.A.’s first-round series vs. Denver, but the club opted not to use him after such a long layoff.

Given how much trouble he had finding a favorable deal in free agency a year ago, it’s no surprise that Wood opted into the second year of his existing contract after a down season that ended with a major injury. His option decision doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be back in Los Angeles for ’24/25, since he could be a trade candidate this offseason.

Wood is the second player to pick up a player option this spring, joining Bulls guard Lonzo Ball. The full list of pending player option decisions – which features four more Lakers, including LeBron James – can be found right here.

Jimmy Butler’s Agent Responds To Pat Riley’s Comments

May 7th, 2024 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

Following Pat Riley‘s end-of-season comments about Heat star Jimmy Butler on Monday, agent Bernie Lee confirmed that the two sides spoke last year about his client playing in every game he possibly could, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). According to Lee, any insinuation that Butler didn’t hold up his end of the bargain is misguided.

“Jimmy missed 22 games this past year, a mix of personal reasons and injury,” Lee told Winderman. “If there was a game that was on the schedule that Jimmy was healthy enough to participate in, he did that. He played in a number of back-to-backs and it was the utmost priority to him to do everything he can to be available.”

Riley spoke on Monday about making player availability a top priority going forward and seemed to be challenging his players to fight through minor ailments.

“I’m not going to ever accuse a player who can’t play that he doesn’t want to play or he’s not able to play,” Riley said, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “But there’s no such thing as 100 percent in the NBA, there just isn’t.”

When asked about a possible contract extension for Butler, who will become eligible for a new deal on July 7, he told reporters it would be a “big decision” for the team to make that sort of financial commitment “unless you’re somebody who’s really going to be there, available every single night.”

Speaking to Winderman, Lee pointed out that Butler’s minutes per game average this season (34.0) was his highest since he joined the Heat and that he was one of just a dozen players aged 33 or older who played 2,000+ minutes in 2023/24.

While the star swingman was unable to play in the first round of the postseason vs. Boston due to an MCL sprain, he has logged nearly 2,500 playoff minutes (essentially a full season’s worth) since arriving in Miami. That workload should be factored into the availability discussion, Lee said, adding that he’d like “a little bit more clarity” on Riley’s comments.

“The thought that Jimmy is picking and choosing when to play isn’t reality,” Lee said. “I enjoy watching him play as much, if not more, than anyone. So believe me, I want to see him play every night. But unfortunately he isn’t a robot and injuries and circumstances happen. Prior to the year, we had a meeting to discuss the changing NBA rules and the need to reject load management, And we all understood the assignment. Jimmy’s 22 games missed were all for valid issues and concerns.”

Butler remains committed to the Heat, according to Lee, who didn’t given any indication that anything said during Monday’s presser – which included Riley advising his star to “keep (his) mouth shut” regarding criticism of the Celtics and Knicks – will negatively impact how his client feels about his future in Miami.

“Once he got to this organization, he got to an organization that wholeheartedly has embraced him in every single way,” Lee said. “Look, they’re both cut from the same cloth. There’s going to be honest conversations that have to be had this summer about how to move forward, but those conversations aren’t going to be driven by anything other than, ‘How do we do this to move forward to take the next step, and win a championship?'”

Frank: Clippers Will Look To Keep Core Group Intact

May 6th, 2024 at 10:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers are hopeful of bringing back their core group despite the team’s first-round loss to Dallas, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told assembled media during a Monday press conference.

Kawhi Leonard has already signed a three-year extension but the team’s three other big stars could all depart. Paul George has a $48.8MM player option on his contract for next season, while James Harden will be an unrestricted free agent. Russell Westbrook holds a $4MM option on his 2024/25 contract.

The Clippers and George chose to defer extension talks around the All-Star break, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“We’d like to be able to bring back and retain Paul and James,” Frank said. “We’re hopeful we can, but also understand and respect the fact that they’re free agents. Paul has a decision with his option. James will be an unrestricted free agent, so our intent is to bring him back, but also realize that they’re elite players and they’ll have choices.”

The Sixers and Magic are expected to pursue George if he opts out, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes.

George is eligible to sign up to a four-year, $221MM extension, though it’s reasonable to assume the Clippers are pursuing a lesser amount, considering that they failed to reach an agreement during the season. Shams Charania of The Athletic confirmed on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link) on Monday that L.A. has offered George less than his full max.

“We want Paul, we value Paul,” Frank said. “Paul’s done some tremendous things here. He’s an elite player, and our biggest thing is we always want to be able to treat players well and pay them fairly, and we also have to build out a team, especially, this is a new CBA. But in terms of the exact money, I would never go into details other than we’ve had really, really good conversations over the course of the year and hopeful that we can get him to remain a Clipper.”

Harden said right after the series that he “hadn’t even thought” about his free agency.

As for Westbrook, Frank said he’d hold discussions with the former MVP regarding his role next season, if he decides to opt in. Westbrook was the team’s sixth man for a majority of the season.

“I’ll sit down with Russ. (Tyronn Lue) will sit down with Russ, talk with his representatives and you kind of outline what the role is going forward,” Frank said, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “It’s very similar to when Russ came last summer. Like, we explained to him exactly what his role is, what it could be, the different guys that we’re looking at and then Russ has a decision to make. And so we’re kind of going through the process. So, I’m not going to speak for any player in terms of what they’re thinking, but that’s our process.”

Frank said he’ll also pursue extensions with center Ivica Zubac and wing Terance Mann, per Carr, then look to make marginal improvements if he’s able to retain his stars.