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Suns Fire Frank Vogel

May 9th, 2024 at 3:30pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns have fired head coach Frank Vogel, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link via Sam Amick of The Athletic).

“After a thoughtful review of the season, we concluded that we needed a different head coach for our team,” said president of basketball operations and general manager James Jones. “We appreciate Frank’s hard work and commitment. We are here to win a championship and last season was way below our expectations.”

The news was first broken by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who says (via Twitter) former Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer will be a “prominent part” of Phoenix’s new coaching search.

The Suns dismissed Vogel, who won a championship as head coach of the Lakers in 2020, after just 11 months on the job. When he was hired last June, he reportedly received a five-year, $31MM contract.

It was an up-and-down 2023/24 season for Vogel and the Suns, who entered the campaign with championship aspirations but were swept in their first-round playoff series by the Timberwolves. Minnesota currently leads its second-round series with the defending-champion Nuggets 2-0 after winning a pair of games in Denver.

Phoenix went 49-33 during the regular season, claiming the West’s No. 6 seed entering the playoffs. Injuries, holes on the roster, and positional/skill overlap were issues throughout ’23/24.

The Suns’ gig was Vogel’s fourth NBA head coaching job. He coached the Pacers for five-and-a-half seasons from 2011-16, moved to Orlando from 2016-18, and was the Lakers’ leader for three years from 2019-22. He was an assistant with Boston, Philadelphia and Indiana before the Pacers promoted him mid-season in 2011.

Phoenix will be looking for another head coach for the second straight offseason, as the team dismissed former Coach of the Year Monty Williams, who led the team to an NBA Finals appearance in 2021, last year.

Owner Mat Ishbia has made several eyebrow-raising moves since he took majority control in 2023, pushing for a blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant and then adding another maximum-salary player in Bradley Beal last offseason. Ishbia and Jones projected optimism at a press conference following the team’s playoff ouster, yet ultimately made another major change by firing Vogel.

While Jones’ job is safe, Phoenix will be making other front office changes, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who reports (All Twitter links) that the coaching search will likely only feature two or three names, with former NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick not among the candidates. Budenholzer is the current frontrunner, Gambadoro confirms, adding that a decision should be made by next week.

Phoenix had the league’s third-highest payroll in ’23/24, and that figure is projected to continue to grow in ’24/25. Whomever is hired will obviously face intense pressure to produce immediate results next season.

As our tracker shows, the Nets and Hornets have concluded their coaching searches in 2024, while the Suns join the Lakers and Wizards as teams with ongoing searches.

NBA Suspends Patrick Beverley Four Games Without Pay

May 9th, 2024 at 1:11pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA has suspended Bucks guard Patrick Beverley four games without pay for “forcefully throwing a basketball multiple times at spectators and an inappropriate interaction with a reporter during media availability,” the league announced on Thursday (Twitter link).

Since Beverley is an impending free agent, it isn’t yet known how much he will be fined, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). Assuming he’s able to land a new contract, Beverley will serve the suspension at the start of 2024/25.

The incidents in question came a week ago, both during and after Milwaukee’s Game 6 loss to Indiana. The defeat ended the Bucks’ season.

Late in the fourth quarter, Beverley first threw a ball that appeared to miss its mark, a male Pacers fan, instead hitting an unsuspecting female in the side of the head (Twitter video link). When the male fan retrieved the ball and lightly tossed it back to Beverley, he immediately threw it back at the male fan with considerably more force.

The Athletic subsequently reported that a fan — presumably the male fan — was directing obscenities toward Beverley leading up to the incident. Yesterday, The Athletic reported that Indianapolis police were reviewing the altercation. It’s unclear if it will lead to criminal charges.

The second incident in question came when Beverley grew agitated with ESPN producer Malinda Adams because she wasn’t subscribed to his podcast (Twitter video link). After stating she couldn’t be present at his media session for that reason, he subsequently pushed her microphone away and later asked her to leave the circle of reporters around his locker.

The 35-year-old reportedly had been telling media members they couldn’t interview him unless they were subscribed to his podcast since Milwaukee acquired him in a deadline-deal from Philadelphia.

“Patrick Beverley’s behavior towards ESPN producer Malinda Adams was unacceptable, unprofessional and failed to meet the standard that NBA players consistently meet in their interactions with the media,” said NBA spokesperson Tim Frank, per Howard Beck of The Ringer (Twitter link).

Beverley and the Bucks reached out to Adams to apologize the following day.

Hornets Hire Charles Lee As Head Coach

May 9th, 2024 at 7:34am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have formally named Steve Clifford‘s successor, announcing in a press release that they’ve hired former Celtics assistant Charles Lee as their new head coach.

Lee will finish his playoff run in Boston before officially joining the Hornets, according to the announcement. Sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that Lee will sign a four-year contract with Charlotte.

“We are excited to welcome Charles Lee as the head coach of Charlotte Hornets,” Hornets head of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said in a statement. “His high character and his ability to connect with players while also instilling a culture of accountability will serve us well as we construct a competitive team built for long-term success.

“Charles possesses a championship pedigree with a wide range of basketball knowledge and NBA experience, has a tremendous work ethic and is a great communicator. He shares our vision for this organization, and I look forward to partnering with him in building something special here in the Carolinas.”

Long viewed as the frontrunner in the Hornets’ head coaching search, Lee spent several years playing professionally in international leagues from 2006-10 before transitioning into coaching.

He was an assistant at Bucknell from 2012-14, then worked under Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta from 2014-18 and in Milwaukee from 2018-23, winning a title with the Bucks in 2021. Following Budenholzer’s ouster last year, Lee was hired by the Celtics as Joe Mazzulla‘s lead assistant for the 2023/24 season.

Lee has been one of the NBA’s most popular head coaching candidates in recent years. He either interviewed with or received consideration from the Celtics, Pelicans, Magic, and Wizards in 2021; the Hornets, Lakers, Kings, and Jazz in 2022; and the Pistons, Bucks, Suns, and Raptors in 2023.

Lee has a preexisting relationship with Peterson, who worked in Atlanta’s front office when Lee was a Hawks assistant. Hornets co-owner Rick Schnall was a minority stakeholder in the Hawks at that time.

Charlotte had been in the market for a new head coach because Clifford announced in early April that he would be stepping down from his position. He’s reportedly expected to transition into a front office role following his second stint coaching the Hornets.

Lee will take over a Hornets team that is still very much in retooling mode, though there are some intriguing foundational pieces in place, led by forward Brandon Miller and guard LaMelo Ball. Miller finished third in Rookie of the Year voting this spring; Ball has battled ankle issues in recent years, but is a former Rookie of the Year who has an All-Star berth under his belt and is still just 22 years old.

The Hornets are the second team to complete a head coaching search since the regular season ended, joining the Nets (Jordi Fernandez). The Wizards and Lakers continue to seek new coaches.

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.