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Olympic Notes: Rankings, Germany, Bracket, South Sudan

August 4th, 2024 at 9:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Who’s the biggest threat to Team USA for the gold medal? The Athletic’s Sam Amick ranks Germany No. 2 behind the Americans among the teams remaining in the tournament. The Germans won the FIBA tournament last summer and play cohesively with Dennis Schröder and Franz Wagner leading the way. Canada, Serbia and France round out Amick’s top five.

We have more Olympic-related news:

Along those lines, Team USA appears to have caught a break with the way the bracket shook out, according to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. Germany, Canada and France are on the other side of the bracket. USA plays Brazil, which lost to Germany and France, then would face the winner of the Serbia-Australia quarterfinal.
South Sudan has been eliminated from the tournament but they gained plenty of respect this summer, Kyle Hightower of The Associated Press writes. South Sudan nearly upset Team USA in an exhibition. They also showed grit in losses to the United States and Serbia in Group play.“I’m proud of South Sudan. I’m proud of our fans. I’m proud of the continent,” federation president Luol Deng said. “We thank everybody that’s been able to help us out. This was a group effort. We showed a way of how to build the basketball going forward. And I think that the rest of the continent and the rest of the countries will follow the similar thing that we’re doing.”
Serbian coach Svetislav Petic had high praise for South Sudan following his team’s victory, Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net relays. “They are an unusual team. They play basketball of the future,” he said. “In about 10 years, basketball will be played like this. It won’t be like ice hockey, but it will be fast. They have mental strength. It is important in addition to tactical segments. It is difficult to overcome them.”

Categories:
2024 Olympics

Central Notes: Allen, Pistons, Swider, Brown

August 4th, 2024 at 7:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The three-year, $91MM contract extension that Jarrett Allen signed on Friday gave the Cavaliers more flexibility if they later decide to break up the Allen-Evan Mobley frontcourt next season, according to Marc Stein in his latest Substack post.

Allen is eligible to traded on February 2 — four days before next season’s deadline. It’s believed that the veteran center was essentially obligated to sign the deal before August 6 as a condition of Cleveland extending him at the maximum amount, Stein adds. If he’d signed his new deal after Aug. 6, Allen would have been ineligible to be traded until the summer of 2025.

We have more from the Central Division:

In his Eastern Conference power rankings, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press places the Pistons at No. 12 — ahead of the Hornets, Nets and Wizards. While Detroit endured its worst season in franchise history, it shouldn’t be the worst team in the conference next season after a series of offseason moves. Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley should significantly upgrade the outside shooting, Sankofa notes, and Paul Reed adds depth at center. The team’s young core should continue to grow, particularly Cade Cunningham with more help around him.
Former Heat forward Cole Swider agreed to a non-guaranteed contract with the Pacers on Saturday. He could be in a competition with Kendall Brown for the 15th spot on the roster, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star opines. Brown, who is also on a non-guaranteed deal, struggled with his perimeter shooting in the Summer League and committed 12 turnovers in five games. Swider, in contrast, played a key role in the Heat’s run to the Summer League title in Las Vegas.
In case you missed it, the Bulls reportedly haven’t halted their efforts to find a trade partners for Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic.

Community Shootaround: Pistons’ Offseason Moves

August 4th, 2024 at 5:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Troy Weaver‘s four-year stint running the Pistons was a flop but he did gift his successor, Trajan Langdon, with over $60MM in salary cap space this summer.

Detroit’s new president of basketball operations didn’t make any blockbuster deals, nor did he accumulate many future assets. Instead, Langdon mainly chose to bring in veteran help on short-team deals to make the team more competitive while easing the burden on the team’s star, Cade Cunningham.

The most significant transaction was bringing in free agent Tobias Harris on a two-year, $52MM deal. Harris, 32, wasn’t the difference-maker the Sixers hoped he would be when they signed him to a five-year, $180MM contract in 2019, but he’s a solid, durable and productive starter.

Langdon took on Tim Hardaway Jr.‘s $16.2MM salary in a trade with Dallas with three future second-rounders attached as sweeteners. Free agent Malik Beasley was signed to a one-year, $6MM deal and restricted free agent Simone Fontecchio was brought back on a two-year, $16MM contract.

That quartet should dramatically improve the team’s woeful perimeter shooting while tapping into Cunningham’s play-making ability. They’ll also greatly boost the professionalism for a team that endured the worst season in franchise history. It’s quite possible some of the veterans will be flipped for assets during the season.

Detroit also claimed big man Paul Reed off waivers, though his contract doesn’t become full guaranteed until midseason.

The other major move, unrelated to the cap, was firing Monty Williams and hiring J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach. Bickerstaff was eager to get another coaching job after getting fired by the Cavaliers. Williams had to be coaxed by owner Tom Gores into coaching last season via a lucrative six-year contract. Gores was willing to eat the remaining years on Williams’ contract in order to give Langdon and the organization a fresh start.

The Pistons only have 13 players on guaranteed deals and still have around $10.2MM in cap space, so it seems likely Langdon will make another free agent move or trade before training camp.

Langdon swung for the fences in the lottery, choosing Ron Holland with the fifth overall pick, which many experts considered a reach. The Pistons front office hopes Holland, who played well in the Las Vegas Summer League, can develop his offensive game to match his physical skills.

That brings us to our topic of the day: How do you view the Pistons’ offseason? Should they have made a bigger splash or added more assets? Or was Langdon wise to use his cap room to bring in veteran players on short-term deals?

Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Team USA Notes: Puerto Rico Game, Brazil, Durant, LeBron

August 4th, 2024 at 3:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The star-studded Team USA men’s basketball program bested Pelicans point guard Jose Alvarado and the rest of Team Puerto Rico 104-83 in their final game of Olympic pool play, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

“I never thought I would come to a city like this,” Suns All-Star Kevin Durant said after the win. “But Lille was incredible to us. I love being here.”

Durant has emerged as a critical bench scorer for the program. He is hoping to earn his fourth gold medal, which would be a new men’s basketball record.

When asked about the prospect of retirement, Durant’s 39-year-old returning teammate LeBron James seemed noncommittal. The 6’9″ Lakers All-Star is averaging 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists for Team USA thus far.

“I don’t get asked that much, to be honest,” James said. “Everyone expects me to play 10 more years for some odd reason.”

There’s more from Team USA:

With the quarterfinal round of the Olympics set, the U.S. is not taking its Tuesday opponent, Brazil, for granted, Windhorst writes in another ESPN story. “They’re very physical,” Team USA head coach Steve Kerr said Sunday. “They’ve got a lot of really good shooters, and they just play hard. They compete play after play, so we’ll have to be ready for their physicality and their shooting, and we need to be on edge and ready for them because they’re not going to back down.” Windhorst notes that Warriors forward Gui Santos is the only current NBA player on Brazil’s roster, but the team boasts six others who previously played in the league: Marcelinho Huertas, Didi Louzada, Raul Neto, Bruno Caboclo, Maozinha Pereira, and Cristiano Felicio.
Kerr does not plan to change Durant’s current bench role despite his productivity, he stated in an ESPN interview (YouTube video link). “If Kevin had been here from day one, chances are he would be starting,” Kerr said. “That was the plan coming in. But given that he missed all our friendlies and came in late, we had kind of established a lineup that we liked… There’s no plans on changing [his current role].”
Kerr once again went out of his way to praise James, writes Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. “It’s just amazing to watch him,” Kerr said. “He loves the game so much. He loves the work. He loves his teammates. There’s an energy and a joy to LeBron that just sort of spreads through the locker room and so he’s obviously one of the very best all-time players but it’s it goes so far beyond one thing. It’s just everything, the whole package, he’s just brilliant.” James has emerged as the de facto leader for Team USA, as he plays for his fourth Olympic medal and third gold.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Brunson, Randle, Tsai, Marks

August 4th, 2024 at 1:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After going 64-18 in the regular season and 16-3 in the playoffs en route to their 18th title this June, the Celtics already look like the team to beat next season. In a reader mailbag, Brian Robb of MassLive.com speculates as to which players could improve even more in 2024/25.

Robb believes that reserve big man Xavier Tillman, who has dealt with knee troubles in the last two seasons, still has room to grow at age 25. Robb also believes that Finals MVP swingman Jaylen Brown could improve his scoring efficiency.

Additionally, Robb touches on Tatum’s inconsistent postseason scoring, the team’s contracts, and what in-game elements the club can improve.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Knicks All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson inked a four-year, $156.5MM contract extension with New York this summer — far less than the five-year, $269MM contract he could have signed as an unrestricted free agent last year. In an Insider-only story, Bobby Marks and Tim Bontemps of ESPN reflect on how the superstar guard’s below-market deal could impact the future of All-Star power forward Julius Randle – who has just become extension-eligible himself – and the rest of the roster.
Nets owner Joe Tsai has “absolute confidence” that general manager Sean Marks can rebuild the club’s roster, a source informs Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). Marks’ history of finding talent outside of the draft lottery is a major factor in ownership’s belief in the team’s longtime GM. “[Tsai has] absolute confidence in the ability of the front office to draft well,” that source said. “Sean’s track record there is very good: Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Nic Claxton. [They took] Nic Claxton 31st in the draft. [Tsai] has every confidence in Sean.”
In case you missed it, new Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez believes his experience coaching the Canadian national team helped him book the Brooklyn gig.

International Notes: Fournier, France, Okobo, Zagars, Lundberg

August 4th, 2024 at 12:13pm CST by Rory Maher

Free agent swingman Evan Fournier, who is currently competing with France at the Olympics in Paris, was critical of his team’s tactics following its group stage loss to Germany, as BasketNews.com relays.

“I think we lack fundamentals,” Fournier told Yann Ohnona of L’Equipe. “We have to move on. At times, I think we get it wrong in the way we want to play. And we pay the price for that. These days, the best defense is offense. It’s no longer the game of the 1990s or 2000s where you could defend half-court. Offense is essential. Balance on the court, transition game. Especially when you play a team as strong in transition as Germany is.”

The French national team, which went 2-1 in group play, will face undefeated Canada in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Here are a few more international notes:

French point guard Elie Okobo, who did not make the cut for the Olympics, has signed a two-year extension with EuroLeague squad A.S. Monaco Basket, the team announced in a press release. The 31st pick of the 2018 draft, Okobo spent two seasons with Phoenix from 2018-20.
Latvian guard Arturs Zagars will play for Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce during the 2024/25 season, the team announced on Sunday (hat tip to Kevin Martorano of Sportando). Zagars, who drew NBA interest last summer but has never played in the league, sustained a meniscus injury last fall while on loan with the BC Wolves of Lithuania.
Former NBA guard Gabriel Lundberg recently spoke to Vreme Citanja of Mozzart Sport about his decision to sign with Serbia’s Partizan. “I am excited. I will be part of a new project, a new team is being built,” Lundberg said, per Matorano of Sportando. “I could not miss the opportunity to play in Belgrade: Every time I played against Partizan it was incredible. I always told myself that one day I would like to play here, and I am happy that this wish came true. I am on a legendary team, with a legendary coach and a fan base that is all over Europe. I really imagined playing in front of those fans one day.” A 29-year-old guard from Denmark, Lundberg spent the past two seasons with Virtus Bologna of Italy after playing four games with Phoenix in 2021/22 while on a two-way deal.

Bulls Reportedly Still Trying To Trade LaVine, Vucevic

August 4th, 2024 at 11:29am CST by Rory Maher

Marc Stein reported a couple weeks ago that while Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic remain trade candidates, it appears increasingly likely that both players will open the 2024/25 season as Bulls.

Apparently it isn’t for lack of effort from the front office though. According to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas continues to actively explore deals for the former All-Stars, but obviously the team hasn’t found anything suitable to this point.

LaVine is owed about $138MM over the next three seasons (including a $49MM player option for 2026/27), while Vucevic will earn $41MM through 2026. That salary differential is one reason why Vucevic is viewed as more likely to be moved than LaVine, though Stein wrote that a trade for the 33-year-old big man might not come together until after the season begins.

Cowley’s article is mostly focused on the Bulls’ rotation, which will be difficult for head coach Billy Donovan to manage if the roster remains intact. As Cowley writes, the backcourt, in particular, could be problematic, with Josh Giddey, LaVine and Coby White — three offense-first guards — seemingly likely to start, with Patrick Williams and Vucevic rounding out the first five.

Ayo Dosunmu, Dalen Terry, Jevon Carter, and perhaps even Lonzo Ball will be among the guards off the bench, Cowley notes, further illustrating the rotational dilemma Donovan could face this fall.

Eastern Notes: Booker, Heat, Hornets, Nnaji, Tominaga

August 4th, 2024 at 9:53am CST by Rory Maher

Suns star Devin Booker, who is currently competing in the Olympics with Team USA, told D’Angelo Russell he wanted to be drafted by the Heat back in 2015 (YouTube link). Miami ultimately selected former Duke forward Justise Winslow at No. 10 overall, while Booker went No. 13 to Phoenix.

“You knew it was Phoenix though leading up to (the draft)?” Russell asked Booker.

“Oh, no,” Booker replied.

“I thought you was going to Miami,” Russell said.

“That’s where I was hoping,” Booker said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “Because Miami was my best workout, and then I remember, I think (Heat president) Pat Riley did an interview and he’s like, ‘we’re looking for a Klay Thompson-type player, we need to up our shooting.’

“I just shot 40 (percent from three) in college, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah.’ I’m looking at spots right down there by the arena. … Draft is crazy though, your life changes like that, you have no control over it really.”

Booker, 27, is under contract through 2028, and there’s no indication he’s angling to join the Heat in the future — the conversation was merely a couple of friends reminiscing about their draft experiences, as Russell was taken No. 2 that same year by the Lakers. Still, it’s something to keep in mind if Booker ever decides to seek a change of scenery.

Here are a few more notes from around the Eastern Conference:

Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer takes a look at the Hornets‘ roster, projecting a starting five of LaMelo Ball, Josh Green, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Mark Williams, with Grant Williams and Tre Mann among the top reserves. As Boone notes, Mann is eligible for a rookie scale extension until the day before the 2024/25 season begins.
Big man James Nnaji, whom the Hornets selected No. 31 overall in 2023, will play for Girona during the 2024/25 season, per BasketNews. Nnaji will be on loan from Barcelona, which announced the move on Sunday. The 19-year-old draft-and-stash prospect struggled to get rotation minutes with Spanish powerhouse Barcelona in ’23/24, but he should have an opportunity for more playing time with Girona, which also competes in Spain’s top basketball league. Girona is owned by former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol. Nigerian center Nnaji reportedly hoped to make the leap to the NBA this season, but that plan was curtailed by back surgery in the spring.
Guard Keisei Tominaga, who played for the Japanese national team at the Olympics, is thrilled with the opportunity to join the Pacers on an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, he told Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. “This summer I’ll prepare for this NBA opportunity, I just got to show every day that I can accomplish my dream and get into the NBA, so yeah I am very excited,” said Tominaga, who spent the past three college seasons at Nebraska.

Community Shootaround: Predict Gold, Silver, Bronze Medal Winners

August 3rd, 2024 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

It took a week to eliminate four men’s basketball teams from the Olympics, and now the stakes in Paris are about to get much higher. The tournament will take on a March Madness feel when it resumes Tuesday with four quarterfinal matchups. The winners will advance to compete for medals, while the losers will head home facing four long years before they can try again.

Team USA, the prohibitive favorite entering the Games, captured the top seed with convincing wins over Group C rivals Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico and a points differential of +64. Led by first-ballot Hall of Famers LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, the Americans have revived memories of the days when they used to dominate international competitions.

Their next opponent will be Brazil, which hasn’t won an Olympic basketball medal since 1964. The Brazilians emerged from Group B with a 1-2 record and a -7 point differential, defeating Japan while losing to France and Germany. Brazil has the fewest NBA players of anybody left in the competition, as Warriors guard Gui Santos is the only one currently on an NBA roster.

Germany, which went unbeaten while capturing the FIBA World Cup last summer, has looked like the second-best team in the Olympics. Led by a core of Dennis Schroder, Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner and Daniel Theis, the Germans were +47 in points while sweeping through Group B.

Canada, which is also seeking its second medal in Olympic basketball, looks like a serious contender after winning all three games in Group A, which was dubbed by many as the “group of death.” Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a finalist for MVP honors last season, the Canadian roster is filled with NBA talent and the team is battle tested after defeating Australia, Greece and Spain.

With Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Serbia and Greece both have players capable of taking over a game, making them especially dangerous in a single-elimination format. Australia’s roster is loaded with NBA players who have a history of competing in big international games, while the French feature a nightmare matchup in Victor Wembanyama and have the incentive of trying to win the gold medal in front of their home crowd.

Germany and Greece will square off Tuesday morning to start the next round, followed by Serbia-Australia, France-Canada and U.S.-Brazil. Winners of the first and third games will meet Wednesday in one semifinal, while the other will match the winners of the second and fourth games. The medal games will take place Saturday.

After watching these teams in action for a week, we want to know what you think. Which countries do you expect to leave Paris with the gold, silver and bronze medals? Please leave your feedback in the space below.

Nets Notes: Fernandez, Bridges, Okoro, Training Staff

August 3rd, 2024 at 9:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jordi Fernandez spent 15 years working on NBA staffs and in the G League before the Nets gave him his first head coaching opportunity in April. In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Fernandez speculates that his experience as head coach of the Canadian national team gave him an edge in Brooklyn’s hiring process.

“Everybody says that they value the G League experience, which I think was amazing,” he said. “And for me it was a big part of why I kept developing. But coaching Canada and qualifying for the Olympics, it was the last push to be a head coach in the NBA and I’ll always be thankful for the opportunity. But also thankful for these guys, how hard they play. They are the ones that qualified. They are the ones that got a medal, so I obviously benefited from it.”

The Olympic obligations have prevented Fernandez from concentrating full-time on his new job, but he tells Spears they haven’t been a major distraction. He says Nets officials have been “super supportive” about his Olympic duties, and he was able to monitor Summer League games and practices by watching film. He’ll be able to devote his full attention to the team once the medal round in Paris wraps up next weekend.

“I’ve been calling and texting the (Nets) players,” Fernandez said. “I talked to Dennis (Schröder). Talked to the young guys. I talked to (Trendon) Watford. We just we got him back on the team, which we were very happy about. It takes time to build relationships, but they’ve been responsive and they’ve been awesome.”

There’s more on the Nets:

Also in the interview, Fernandez addresses the fact that the team he expected to coach changed significantly when Brooklyn traded Mikal Bridges to the Knicks in June. Fernandez said he supports the deal, which brought back Bojan Bogdanovic, Mamadi Diakite, Shake Milton and a large collection of draft assets, signifying that the Nets are fully moving into a rebuilding stage. “It was one of the avenues that we’ve had in mind and how we wanted to do things,” Fernandez said. “Obviously, he’s an amazing player and have a lot of respect for him. Every good trade has to be a win-win. And this is one avenue that we were contemplating. I’m very excited because I know that we can build something more special.”
Despite speculation earlier this week, it doesn’t look like the Nets are in position to acquire Isaac Okoro from the Cavaliers, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said on the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast (hat tip to Sports Illustrated). Cleveland was rumored to be considering a sign-and-trade deal involving Dorian Finney-Smith. “I don’t think those talks got really, really substantial to my understanding,” Fischer said. “I just don’t think it can even happen right now after the salary stuff has all shifted out.”
Jonathan Felipe, the Nets’ head trainer, and Les Gelis, director of sports medicine (injury management) and co-head of the performance team, won’t be returning for the upcoming season, according to NetsDaily (Twitter links).