- Magic guard D.J. Augustin hopes the team’s offseason will lay a foundation for future success, Dan Savage of NBA.com writes. “They’re in here every day whether it’s on the court working out or in the weight room lifting weights, the fact that they’re here now and have been here all summer doing those things, it’s going to go a long way in their growth and their development as basketball players,” Augustin said of Orlando’s young core, which includes the likes of Jonathan Isaac, Mo Bamba and Markelle Fultz. “Every guy doesn’t work out the same, some guys hang out in the summer time and work out every now and then, but those guys are dedicated and they’re working hard every single day.”
While USA Basketball had its share of withdrawals this summer leading up to the 2019 World Cup, there’s a strong case for Team Canada being the national team hit hardest by a lack of participation from NBA players.
Team Canada formally announced its 12-man World Cup roster today. As expected, the group features just two NBA players: Kings point guard Cory Joseph and Magic center Khem Birch. As we outlined earlier this month, the list of Canadians not participating in the World Cup includes Jamal Murray, Andrew Wiggins, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tristan Thompson, Trey Lyles, Dillon Brooks, Dwight Powell, RJ Barrett, and several other NBA players.
The national teams for Greece and Turkey also announced their final 12-man rosters for the World Cup, and both squads feature multiple current NBA players.
Bucks teammates – and brothers – Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo headline the Greek squad, with former NBA players like Kostas Papanikolaou, Nick Calathes, and Georgios Papagiannis helping to fill out the roster.
On the Turkish national team, Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova, Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman, and Sixers guard Furkan Korkmaz are the headliners. Former Celtics and Cavaliers center Semih Erden is also part of Turkey’s 12-man roster.
The World Cup will officially get underway in China on Saturday with an eight-game schedule, though Canada, Greece, and Turkey won’t take the court until Sunday.
Several more national basketball teams have announced their 12-man rosters for the 2019 World Cup in China, including Team Japan, which will be led by a pair of NBA players, per a FIBA announcement.
Former Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura, who was selected ninth overall by the Wizards in this year’s draft, is the headliner. He’ll be joined by Grizzlies swingman Yuta Watanabe, who is on a two-way contract in Memphis.
The Montenegro national team, meanwhile, is light on NBA players, but does include one notable name — Magic center Nikola Vucevic, who earned his first All-Star nod in 2018/19, will represent Montenegro as the program attempts to make its way out a tough first-round group that features Brazil, New Zealand, and Greece.
Here’s more on the World Cup, including a couple more roster announcements:
- The Dominican Republic (Twitter link) and Poland (Sportando link) also announced their respective 12-man World Cup squads. Neither roster features an NBA player.
- Although Team USA remains the overwhelming favorite to win the 2019 World Cup, Frank Urbina of HoopsHype ranks the top 25 players in the event and finds that three of his top four are from other countries. While Kemba Walker comes in at No. 3, Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) and Nikola Jokic (Serbia) rank ahead of him, with Rudy Gobert (France) at No. 4.
- Rodger Sherman and John Gonzalez of The Ringer debate how worried they should be about Team USA’s World Cup chances. Sherman still believes the club will claim gold in China, but Gonzalez is betting on the field.
NBA teams have now completed the brunt of their offseason work, with the draft and free agency practically distant memories. Still, with training camps more than a month away, many clubs around the league have at least one or two outstanding issues they’ve yet to address.
We’re in the midst of looking at all 30 NBA teams, separating them by division and checking in on a key outstanding question that each club still needs to answer before the 2019/20 regular season begins.
After focusing on the Atlantic on Monday, we’re moving onto the Southeast today. Let’s dive in…
Atlanta Hawks
How will the Hawks use their remaining cap room?
The Hawks are the only NBA team that has any real cap room remaining. Currently, the team is sitting on about $6.95MM in space, per Early Bird Rights. That’s not a ton of room, particularly when there are probably no free agents left on the market worth more than the minimum. But it could come in handy.
It’s not clear if Atlanta has any plans in mind for that cap room, but the club is likely holding off on making Vince Carter‘s new deal official in order to maximize its options. Once Carter signs his minimum-salary contract, the Hawks’ cap space will dip to approximately $5.33MM.
The most likely scenario for the Hawks is probably holding onto their cap room into the season and then seeing if it helps create any trade opportunities later in the year. Still, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the team using that space to accommodate a deal before the season begins.
Charlotte Hornets
What are the Hornets’ plans for second-round pick Jalen McDaniels?
McDaniels is one of four 2019 draft picks who has yet to sign an NBA contract or commit to playing overseas.
While it remains to be seen what the Hornets‘ plans are for McDaniels, a two-way contract is an outcome that would make sense for both sides. The three players selected before McDaniels (from Nos. 49-51) and after him (Nos. 53-55) in the draft all signed two-way deals, and Charlotte currently has a slot open.
Of course, the Hornets also project to have an opening or two on their 15-man regular season roster, so it’s possible McDaniels and his reps have their eye on one of those spots. The club currently has 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with Thomas Welsh, Caleb Martin, Joe Chealey, and Josh Perkins among the non-guaranteed players possibly in the running for the 14th and/or 15th spot(s). We’ll have to wait to see if McDaniels gets a chance to compete with them or if he gets Charlotte’s second two-way deal.
Miami Heat
How will the Heat’s hard cap affect their remaining roster decisions?
After signing Udonis Haslem earlier this month, the Heat are about $855K below their hard cap for the 2019/20 league year, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The minimum rookie salary for this season is $898K, so Miami can’t add any more guaranteed salaries to its books without making a corresponding roster move to clear guaranteed money.
In other words, barring a trade or a last-minute use of the stretch provision, the Heat’s roster is mostly set for the regular season. The team just needs to make a pair of roster decisions: Will Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn fill out the 14-man roster?
Robinson’s $1,416,852 salary is already guaranteed for $1MM, so waiving him would create little flexibility for Miami. Nunn’s partial guarantee is only worth $150K though. If the club has any doubts about his ability to contribute in 2019/20, his roster spot could be in jeopardy. Waiving Nunn would open up enough room for the Heat to bring in another veteran on a minimum-salary deal.
Orlando Magic
When will the Magic sign Chuma Okeke?
As noted above, there are four 2019 draft picks who remain unsigned. Of those four, Okeke is the only unsigned first-round pick. Because the rookie scale for first-rounders is fairly inflexible, those players typically sign within the first week or two of the league year, so the delay on Okeke is unusual.
It’s probably not a coincidence that Okeke is the only first-round pick who is unlikely to see the court much – if at all – during his rookie season. He tore his ACL in March and is still recovering from that injury.
While virtually every first-round pick signs for 120% of his rookie scale amount, the Cavaliers were able to get Kevin Porter for lower than that earlier in the offseason — it seems likely at this point that the Magic – who don’t have much breathing room below the luxury tax line – are exploring something similar with Okeke.
Washington Wizards
Will Bradley Beal sign a contract extension?
Beal is eligible for a veteran extension, and the Wizards offered as many years and as much money as NBA rules allowed. They also did so as soon as league rules allowed. However, Beal didn’t immediately accept that offer.
It’s easy to point to the Wizards’ 2018/19 record (32-50) and unfavorable cap situation and surmise that Beal is eager to leave D.C., but that’s not necessarily the case. He has said he wants to assess the team’s new management group, led by general manager Tommy Sheppard, before making any decisions. Plus, it would be financially advantageous for him to wait at least a year before signing a new extension, as we explained in-depth last month.
Beal has until October 21 to sign an extension. Otherwise, he won’t be eligible again until next July. John Wall thinks his backcourt mate will accept Washington’s offer and he might be right, but if I had to place a bet, I’d guess that Beal will enter the 2019/20 season without a new deal in place.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Lithuanian national team has announced its roster for the 2019 World Cup, according to Donatas Urbonas, who tweets that the 12-man squad will include Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas and Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis in the frontcourt. Former Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas is also on the roster.
Lithuania is viewed as a contender to make a deep run in this year’s tournament, but it won’t have an easy path to even make it out of the first round. The Lithuanian national team is part of a group that also includes Australia, Canada, and Senegal — only two of those clubs will advance to the round of 16.
Here’s more on the 2019 World Cup, which will tip off in just four days in China:
- Speaking of Team Canada, head coach Nick Nurse said after the team’s exhibition loss to Team USA on Monday that he still expects Kings point guard Cory Joseph to join the squad in China for the World Cup itself (video link via Olgun Uluc of FOX Sports Australia). “As far as I know, he is,” Nurse said. “I exchanged a text with him a little earlier today and he said he was getting on a plane [on Tuesday]. He said he’d see me there.”
- Nigeria has set its 12-man roster for the World Cup, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Josh Okogie (Timberwolves), Al-Farouq Aminu (Magic), Chimezie Metu (Spurs), Ekpe Udoh, and Ike Diogu are among the current and former NBA players representing Nigeria.
- Team France’s 12-man roster for the 2019 World Cup features plenty of familiar NBA names too, including Rudy Gobert (Jazz), Nicolas Batum (Hornets), Evan Fournier (Magic), and Frank Ntilikina (Knicks). New Celtics center Vincent Poirier and former NBA players like Nando De Colo and Axel Toupane made the team as well.
- Venezuela’s national team also announced its 12-man World Cup roster.
- Without a “proven bailout option” to score crucial buckets in big moments, Team USA doesn’t have a significant margin of error in this year’s World Cup, opines ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
- Entering his third season, Magic forward Jonathan Isaac is brimming with optimism over his team’s future after it reached the playoffs last season. Isaac likes the team’s continuity after it re-signed key free agents Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross, as he told John Denton of the team’s website. “We’re all hyped up for the season,’” he said. “And I’m sure as guys get together and start playing again, we’ll have more of those talks about, ‘Hey, we can go even farther than we did last (season).'”
When we recently asked you to make your picks on which teams would win the Pacific and Northwest divisions, there were a handful of strong, viable choices. It’s not outlandish to view the Clippers, Lakers, or Warriors as potential division winners in the Pacific, while the Nuggets, Jazz, and Trail Blazers all have a realistic chance to finish atop the Northwest.
Over in the Eastern Conference, the Southeast is another division that doesn’t have an overwhelming favorite, but it’s not because there are a handful of potential Southeast powerhouses — it’s because the division isn’t particularly strong.
Last season, only one of the East’s playoff teams came out of the Southeast, as the 42-40 Magic sneaked into the postseason and claimed the division crown. The other four Southeast teams finished between ninth and 12th in the conference.
The division doesn’t project to be a whole lot stronger in 2019/20, though the Magic retained all their key free agents and still have room for growth. Orlando had one of the league’s best defenses during the second half of the 2018/19 season, and ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus projections are bullish on the club going forward. As Kevin Pelton details in an Insider story, ESPN’s RPM projections place the Magic fourth in the Eastern Conference for ’19/20, behind only Milwaukee, Boston, and Philadelphia.
Still, the Magic won’t enter the season as the Vegas favorites to win the Southeast. Betting site BetOnline.ag lists the Heat as the current frontrunners. Although Miami missed the postseason last season with a 39-43 record, the team is hopeful that replacing Josh Richardson with Jimmy Butler and getting further development from young players like Bam Adebayo and Justise Winslow will be worth several wins.
At this point, Orlando and Miami look like the only truly viable contenders for the division title, but it’s possible one of the other three clubs will significantly exceed expectations. The Hawks might be the best contender. John Collins, Trae Young, and Kevin Huerter should only get better, and if rookies De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish can provide positive contributions immediately, Atlanta could surprise some teams.
The outlook looks a little bleaker for the Wizards and Hornets. Washington, at least, has an All-Star player in Bradley Beal, but the team won only 32 games last season with Beal healthy, and he won’t have much more help this season. In Charlotte, the 39-43 Hornets are expected to take a step back after replacing All-NBA point guard Kemba Walker with Terry Rozier.
What do you think? Which team do you expect to win the Southeast in 2019/20? And are any of the teams in the division capable of winning a playoff series or two in the spring?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your two cents!
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After an improved sophomore season in which the upstart Magic made the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, Jonathan Isaac has spent this summer trying to improve his game to another level as he readies himself for his third season. The 21-year-old forward recently sat down with Josh Robbins of The Athletic to discuss a variety of topics, including his experience with the USA Select Team this summer.
“It was fantastic… USA Basketball, the NBA, they do a fantastic job with all their events,” Isaac said. “I thought the Select Team was just another thing that they do really well. Just to be able to hang out with guys that we played against all year, get to know them a little better, practice with them — it was just fun. It was fun to learn. It was fun to compete.”
Since the end of the 2018/19 season, Isaac has increased the weight on his long, lanky frame from a mere 209 pounds to 234 pounds. It remains unclear whether Isaac will be able to keep 25 pounds of extra weight on during a marathon NBA season, but he liked the way his new body felt while scrimmaging against Team USA.
“Just being able to have a little more size on me down in the paint is going to help a lot,” he said. “I’m going to continue to finish out the summer working hard. I feel good right now. I feel good about where I’m at game-wise, body-wise, everything.”
Isaac also spoke on the expectations he has for the 2019/20 season after a successful 2018/19 campaign in Orlando. The roster remains intact and head coach Steve Clifford is now in his second season at the helm.
“I think we’re going to have a fantastic year… I just want the fans to be excited about it because I know we are,” Isaac said. “Going into our second season with Coach Cliff and everything that happened in that first year, just riding that into the next season, I think, is going to be great. I’m just looking forward to it, looking forward to having fun.”
The Magic have signed free agent guard Hassani Gravett, the team announced today in a press release. According to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (via Twitter), it’s an Exhibit 10 contract.
Gravett, who played his college ball at South Carolina, averaged 11.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 2.4 APG with a .399 3PT% in 32 games in 2018/19. He went undrafted in June and didn’t play any Summer League games in July, but it appears he’ll attend training camp with the Magic.
Robbins suggests that Gravett “appears certain” to play for the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s G League affiliate, in his rookie season. If he spends at least 60 days with Lakeland, he’ll be eligible for an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $50K, in addition to his G League salary.
The Magic now have 18 players under contract, with first-rounder Chuma Okeke still unsigned. Isaac Humphries reportedly agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the team as well, so he and Okeke may take the two final spots on Orlando’s 20-man offseason squad, though there could be more roster shuffling to come.
- Ben Nadeau of Basketball Insiders grades the Magic‘s offseason, detailing the team’s draft night, free agency period and more. In addition to re-signing Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross, Michael Carter-Williams and Khem Birch, Orlando was able to sign defensive specialist Al-Farouq Aminu during the first week of free agency. The team also chose to draft Auburn product Chuma Okeke with the No. 16 overall pick in June.