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France To Face Team USA For Olympic Gold

August 8th, 2024 at 4:03pm CST by Rory Maher

Host nation France pulled off its second consecutive upset by defeating 2023 World Cup champion Germany in the semifinals of men’s basketball at the 2024 Olympics, writes Kyle Hightower of The Associated Press.

Led by Guerschon Yabusele (17 points, seven rebounds, two assists), Isaia Cordinier (16 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals), and a stifling defense anchored by Victor Wembanyama (11 points, seven rebounds, three blocks), France edged Germany, 73-69.

While reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Wembanyama struggled with his shot (4-of-17) for the second consecutive game, his impact was felt all over the court, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

“Of course, it’s part of a dream come true,” Wembanyama said, per ESPN. “We can be part of a goal that we set for ourselves months back. We can write history, even more. A once-in-a-lifetime dream.”

The French national team will advance to its second consecutive Olympic final after finishing with the silver medal in Tokyo three years ago.

In fact, Saturday’s Olympic final will be rematch, with France set to face the United States, which won gold in Tokyo. Team USA trailed by as many as 17 points in its semifinal matchup with Serbia and was down 13 entering the final frame, but mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback to secure a 95-91 victory.

Stephen Curry (a game-high 36 points, eight rebounds, two assists), Joel Embiid (19 points, four rebounds, two assists), and LeBron James (16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) were instrumental down the stretch for the Americans, while Serbia was led by Bogdan Bogdanovic (20 points, four rebounds, three assists), Nikola Jokic (17 points, five rebounds, 11 assists), and Aleksa Avramovic (15 points, four rebounds, three assists).

In a rematch of the 2023 World Cup final, Germany will face Serbia for the bronze medal on Saturday at 5:00 am ET. France will face the U.S. for gold at 3:30 pm ET.

Bulls Hiring E’Twaun Moore As Scout

August 8th, 2024 at 2:18pm CST by Rory Maher

The Bulls are hiring former NBA guard — and former Bull — E’Twaun Moore as a scout, tweets K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Moore hails from East Chicago, Indiana, which is approximately 18 miles from downtown Chicago, Illinois.

Moore, 35, was last under contract in 2021/22 with Orlando, though he didn’t appear in any regular season games for the Magic. He was waived in February 2022 to make room on Orlando’s roster just before the trade deadline.

The 55th pick of the 2011 draft after starring in college at Purdue, Moore spent 11 seasons in the NBA with Boston, Orlando, Chicago, New Orleans and Phoenix. He played for the Bulls from 2014-16.

Moore hasn’t officially announced his retirement from playing, but he’s been out of the league for two consecutive seasons now. As of January 2023, Moore was still working out in the hope of receiving a call from an NBA team; however, he was also preparing for his post-playing career, including some successful investments.

The 6’3″ guard averaged 7.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists on .455/.388/.742 shooting in 598 regular season games over the course of his career, including 191 starts (21.0 minutes per contest).

Pacers Sign Enrique Freeman To Two-Way Deal

August 8th, 2024 at 1:55pm CST by Rory Maher

1:55pm: Freeman’s two-way deal is now official, the Pacers announced in a press release. Cole Swider‘s non-guaranteed standard contract is also official, per the team.

12:40pm: The Pacers are signing Enrique Freeman to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Freeman was the No. 50 overall pick of June’s draft.

Freeman is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, who played five years of college basketball at Akron, where he had highly decorated career. The 24-year-old forward made the MAC All-Defensive team four consecutive times, was a three-time All-Conference honoree, was MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021/22 and the conference’s Player of the Year in ’23/24.

As a senior last season for the Zips, Freeman averaged 18.6 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks on .584/.370/.728 shooting in 35 games (32.5 minutes per contest).

Freeman had been one of a handful of 2024 draft picks who remained unsigned. Now that he’s inking a two-way deal, that list is down to three players: Duke big man Kyle Filipowski, the No. 32 pick (Jazz); Serbian guard Nikola Djurisic, the No. 43 pick (Hawks) who recently underwent surgery for a broken foot; and Dutch big man Quinten Post, the No. 52 pick (Warriors) who played college basketball at Mississippi State and Boston College.

As for Indiana, Freeman will fill the team’s third and final two-way spot, with guards Quenton Jackson and Tristen Newton also on two-way contracts.

The Pacers still have a two-way qualifying offer out to Oscar Tshiebwe as well, but since two-way deals can be swapped in and out and don’t count against the salary cap, they could potentially release him if he accepts the QO and isn’t in their long-term plans. Newton and Freeman’s roster spots are probably a little more secure than Jackson’s since they were just selected in the second round (Newton was the No. 49 pick).

Timberwolves Announce Updates To Coaching, Medical Staffs

August 8th, 2024 at 11:57am CST by Rory Maher

In a pair of press releases, the Timberwolves announced a series of updates to their coaching and medical staffs, with most employees receiving promotions.

Max Lefevre, Jeff Newton, Chris Hines, Nathan Bubes, Moses Ehambe, and James White are the coaches who received internal promotions. White, known for his elite dunking ability, was the 31st pick of the 2006 draft. He played parts of three NBA seasons and had a lengthy pro career in Europe.

Minnesota also added former NBA big man Joey Dorsey to its staff as a player development assistant. Like White, Dorsey had a long, productive career in Europe. Lastly on the coaching side, Cole Fisher has been promoted to manager of basketball analytics.

Gregg Farnam, who has been with the Wolves for 27 years, including the past 24 as head athletic trainer, has been promoted to vice president of medical services. In his place, the team promoted former assistant athletic trainer Erin Sierer, who has been with Minnesota for five years and is now the first female head athletic trainer in Wolves history. Lisa Pataky (sports physical therapist) is a new addition on the medical side of the organization.

Mavs Sign Kessler Edwards To Two-Way Deal, Waive Alex Fudge

August 8th, 2024 at 10:20am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks have officially signed Kessler Edwards to a two-way contract, according to a team press release. They have also waived two-way forward Alex Fudge.

The agreement with Edwards was reported last month. Edwards holds career averages of 3.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 11.9 minutes in 138 career games, 27 of which were starts, with the Nets and Kings. In 54 games for Sacramento last season, Edwards averaged 1.7 points and 5.1 minutes per game.

Edwards was eligible for restricted free agency this summer, but the Kings opted not to issue him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Fudge signed a two-way deal with Dallas in early March but only appeared in two games. The 20-year-old small forward began the season on a two-way deal with the Lakers, seeing action in four games before being waived in early January. He also appeared in 27 G League games last season.

Fudge, 21, played college ball with LSU and Florida and went undrafted last year.

Having waived Fudge, the Mavericks have an open two-way spot. Guard Brandon Williams holds the other two-way spot.

New York Notes: Schröder, Wilson, Johnson, Brunson

August 8th, 2024 at 9:35am CST by Dana Gauruder

Dennis Schröder is entering his walk year with the Nets. He’ll make $13MM next season and his expiring contract could be an attractive trade piece.

If it were up to him, Schröder would settle down with the rebuilding franchise. He told Andscape’s Marc Spears he doesn’t want to be moved.

“I want to be in Brooklyn long-term. Hopefully, that works out,” he said. “I want to be a veteran who shows the young people the way and how we should play and how we play as a team. I understand that the NBA is always more individual, but I want to make one team like we had in Atlanta where it was about just winning and really not [caring] who scores. And I want to bring that back to the NBA, to the Brooklyn Nets. And hopefully they see the same vision and of course still compete on the highest level, but that’s going to take some time.”

Schröder appeared in 29 games (25 starts) after being acquired from Toronto in a trade deadline deal. Brooklyn is his seventh team since he entered the league in 2013.

We have more on the New York teams:

Jalen Wilson was named the Las Vegas Summer League MVP, where he averaged 21.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.6 steals while shooting 47.3% from the field and 55.0% from 3-point range in five games. The 23-year-old Nets forward has a $1.89MM minimum-salary contract for 2024/25 that is currently just partially guaranteed for $75K. It increases to a partial guarantee of $325K if he makes the opening night roster. That keeps him motivated. “You can never get complacent with where things are,” he told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “And that’s where I’m at. I’m just shooting for more goals, shooting for more achievements. Now that I’m here back in town, you have the opportunity to get in the gym every single day and get better. So you know, when the time comes, that you’re prepared.”
Nets wing Keon Johnson earned a two-year contract with his strong showing in Las Vegas. He’s in a similar situation as Wilson. His minimum salary contract has a $250K partial guarantee that will increase to $700K if he remains under contract through the first day of the regular season. “I feel like it’s a staple to the work I’ve been putting in over the past couple of years,” Johnson told Lewis. “I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, pretty much since I’ve been drafted, and I just kind of held my hat on– just keep putting the work in, and hopefully one day my number will get called, and I’ll have the opportunity like I am now.”
Jalen Brunson legitimizes the title of Knicks captain, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post opines in a subscriber-only story. Brunson has embraced a leadership role on and off the court and the decision to name him captain is well-deserved, according to Bondy.

Trent Forrest Signs With Baskonia

August 8th, 2024 at 9:01am CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent guard Trent Forrest has signed a two-year contract with Baskonia, Sportando relays. The Spanish club announced the signing on its Twitter feed.

Forrest spent the past two seasons with the Hawks. He signed a new two-way contract in September after spending the 2022/23 on a two-way deal with Atlanta.

Forrest had his contract converted to a standard, rest-of-season deal in late February. He became an unrestricted free agent after the season and appeared in two Las Vegas Summer League games with the Lakers.

The 26-year-old appeared in a total of 38 games for Atlanta last season, all off the bench. He averaged 2.2 points and 2.4 assists in 10.9 minutes per game. During the previous season, he saw action in 23 Hawks games, including three starts.

Forrest suited up for Utah in his first two NBA seasons after going undrafted out of Florida State in 2020. Overall, he has appeared in 151 NBA contests, including nine starts. He has averaged 2.8 points and 1.9 assists in 11.6 minutes per game, converting 44.4% of his field goal attempts but just 18.5% of his three-point tries.

Olympic Notes: Jokic, Lessort, SGA, Australia

August 7th, 2024 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

League rules require Nikola Jokic to speak to the media after NBA games, but in the Olympics he’s making all his statements on the court, writes Kyle Hightower of The Denver Post. Even after leading Serbia to the largest comeback in Olympic history on Tuesday, Jokic didn’t have anything to say to reporters.

“He’s great. But he doesn’t like to talk to media — you know that,” teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic said. “In the NBA, if he doesn’t talk to media, he’ll get fined. But here, there are no fines. Here, it’s voluntary. He says, ‘I don’t need to.’ No offense to you guys.”

That means the public won’t know what Jokic is thinking as he prepares for Thursday’s semifinal rematch with Team USA. During their meeting in pool play last week, the teams were even during the 30-plus minutes that Jokic was in the game, but the Americans outscored Serbia 29-3 while he was resting.

“He stays focused for all minutes on the court,” Vasilije Micic said. “If he can do that, we all can do that.”

There’s more from Paris:

French coach Vincent Collet was touting Mathias Lessort‘s NBA prospects after he had 13 points and five rebounds in Tuesday’s win over Canada, per Donatas Urbonas of Basket News. Lessort was selected by Philadelphia with the 50th pick in the 2017 draft, but he has never played in the NBA. The Panathinaikos center has become a star in Europe and was named to the All EuroLeague team last season. “Mathias was probably the best player in the EuroLeague this year. They won the championship with Panathinaikos, and he was not far from winning the MVP. So for me, it’s not a surprise,” Collet said. “What is a surprise? I don’t understand why he is not playing in the NBA. I don’t know why no team in the NBA takes this guy.”
Canadian players were disappointed by their slow start in the quarterfinals loss, states Josh Lewenberg of TSN. Canada was viewed as a gold medal contender after beating three tough opponents in pool play, but France raced to an early 19-point lead. “They were better than us, played harder than us, and we saw it from the jump,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We obviously tried to make our run in the second half. It wasn’t enough, but that’s what happens when you let teams get off to a good start. They came out the aggressors, they punched us in the mouth.”
With Australia also suffering an early exit, Olgun Uluc of ESPN tries to forecast the Boomers’ roster for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. The core of Uluc’s squad is made of players from this year’s team, with Pacers second-round pick Johnny Furphy as a potential addition.

Knicks Notes: Center Options, Wing Depth, Brunson, Randle

August 7th, 2024 at 9:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Even if Mitchell Robinson can manage to avoid serious injury this season, he may not be the center the Knicks want on the court once they reach the playoffs, John Hollinger and Fred Katz of the Athletic write in a discussion about the team. Hollinger notes that while Robinson’s skills as a rim protector and offensive rebounder are valuable, New York was at its best with the pick-and-roll game and switchable defense of Isaiah Hartenstein, who signed with Oklahoma City in free agency.

Although he doesn’t expect the Knicks to add another center before training camp, Hollinger believes trade options will become available as the season wears on. He suggests the Suns‘ Jusuf Nurkic as a possibility if Phoenix gets off to a disappointing start or the Trail Blazers’ Robert Williams III, who may be a third-stringer in Portland behind Deandre Ayton and lottery pick Donovan Clingan. Larry Nance Jr., who was recently traded to the Hawks and has an $11MM expiring salary, could also be considered.

Another option that Hollinger and Katz discuss is experimenting with Julius Randle at center. Katz states that coach Tom Thibodeau has resisted using Randle as a small-ball five, but New York’s strong perimeter defense can make up for the lack of a shot-blocker.

There’s more on the Knicks:

Wing depth has become New York’s best attribute since the trade for Mikal Bridges, Hollinger states in the same piece. He cites Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo as “automatic starters” for most teams, while the Knicks also have Miles McBride to handle minutes at two guard. Hollinger expresses concern about backup point guard, where McBride hasn’t shown an ability to create offense, Cameron Payne is with his fourth team in a little over a year and second-round pick Tyler Kolek isn’t likely to play much as a rookie.
Jalen Brunson has been selected as captain for the upcoming season, the Knicks announced (via Twitter). Brunson, who recently signed a four-year, $156.5MM extension that’s well below his market value, becomes the 36th captain in team history and the first since Lance Thomas during the 2018/19 season. “Jalen is a natural born leader, and I am confident he will continue to represent our organization, fans, city and his teammates with the same heart, grit and class he has displayed each and every day since he came to New York,” team president Leon Rose said.
The Knicks should work out an extension with Randle before the start of the season as a reward for his role in turning around the franchise, David Vertsberger contends in an SNY column. Randle is eligible for a new deal that could be worth up to $181.5MM over four years.

Northwest Notes: Reid, Billups, Moran, Thunder

August 7th, 2024 at 8:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

In addition to being the reigning Sixth Man of the Year and a key part of a Timberwolves team that looks like a perennial title contender, Naz Reid has become somewhat of a folk hero in Minnesota, writes Jared Ebanks of Slam Online.

There’s a fan culture that has sprung up around Reid that includes $20 tattoos of his name, a beach towel giveaway night and a sign outside a pizza parlor in Northeast Minneapolis that encourages drivers to “Honk if you love Naz Reid.” Reid is accepting the adulation as part of the reward for the years he spent developing his game.

“I treat it as second hand and whatever comes with me putting the work that I put in, I’m excited to have,” Reid said. “Obviously, I’m truly humbled to have all that. I think as anyone should at the professional level, take that along with the bumps and bruises. Just keep being you and playing your game.”

Reid wasn’t an instant success in the NBA, as he went undrafted out of LSU in 2019 amid concerns about his height and pre-draft workouts. He landed a two-way contract with the Wolves and worked his way up from there, but Reid tells Ebanks that the slights coming out of college provided motivation.

“It just made me more hungry. It kind of rose, kind of changed to where I was the hunted, now I’m hunting at that point,” he said. “In high school, I was a top recruit, five-star, McDonald’s All-American, things like that, to where now I had to grind to be in a position where I had to compete against others who were at high levels, who were drafted and things of that nature. So [I was] putting myself in that perspective of just hunting.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

There are indications that Chauncey Billups may not be interested in continuing as the Trail Blazers’ head coach when his contract expires at the end of the season, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report states in a mailbag column. According to Highkin, Billups recently appeared on two podcasts hosted by his former teammates, Rasheed Wallace and Carmelo Anthony, and indicated that the state of the organization isn’t what he signed up for. Billups was expecting to coach a contending team built around Damian Lillard, but the Blazers traded Lillard last summer and have entered a rebuilding stage where player development is prioritized over winning. Highkin hears that Billups still has the respect of the locker room and a good working relationship with general manager Joe Cronin, but he will enter the season as a lame-duck coach unless the front office picks up his fifth-year option.
In the same piece, Highkin says Trail Blazers officials were “big fans” of the job Jim Moran was doing as head coach of the team’s G League affiliate before he left to join Mike Brown‘s staff in Sacramento. Highkin suggests that Moran views the job with the Kings as a better path toward eventually becoming an NBA head coach.
The Thunder have upgraded their roster with the additions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, so Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated examines whether they’ve improved enough to beat Dallas in a playoff series. Oklahoma City was eliminated from the 2024 postseason in a six-game Western Conference semifinal loss to the Mavs.