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Northwest Notes: Dieng, Thunder, Wolves, MPJ

June 2nd, 2024 at 7:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ousmane Dieng could be the missing piece to the Thunder‘s rotation, according to Rylan Stiles of SI.com. Dieng, a 2022 lottery pick, has spent the bulk of his first two NBA seasons in the G League with the Oklahoma City Blue. He appeared in just 33 games with the Thunder this season.

“Like every young player, he has so many things to work on,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. “When we drafted him, he was almost like a year young for that draft. We kind of knew that his timeline and his pathway would maybe be different, certainly from [Jalen Williams] because Dub was somebody coming in that we thought could get on the court sooner. But [Dieng] has responded pretty well. I’m pleased with him. I think he’s made some big strides here.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The Thunder own the No. 12 pick of the draft via Houston and optimally, they’ll find a way to trade back in what’s considered a weak class, Stiles opines in a separate story. They might be able to add to their stash of future assets and still find a contributor.
The Timberwolves’ starting lineup could make a combined $167MM next season, which would push team salary near the luxury tax line for those five players alone. The Wolves must decide whether they can trim salary without sacrificing team quality, but since they’re a serious contender, going well over the tax line for at least a couple of seasons might be worth the cost. Danny Leroux of The Athletic explores what they could do to reduce future obligations, including a potential trade of either Karl-Anthony Towns or Naz Reid.
Should the Nuggets consider trading Michael Porter Jr.? The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando explores that topic, noting that all four teams in this year’s conference finals got there with the aid of recent blockbuster deals.

Eastern Notes: Porzingis, Tatum, LaVine, Langdon

June 2nd, 2024 at 5:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis continues to show good progress this weekend as he rehabs a right calf strain, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reports.

Porzingis has been sidelined since Boston’s opening-round series against Miami, when he sustained the injury during Game 4. He was putting up shots and doing some drills during Friday’s practice session. It got even better on Saturday, as coach Joe Mazzulla stated that Porzingis “did everything the team did” in that day’s practice, Kyle Hightower of The Associated Press reports.

Earlier in the week, Porzingis posted a tweet on social media. Translated by a Latvian journalist and relayed by The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, the tweet read, “Thank you to everyone who is supporting and cheering me on all season long. Very soon I will be back and ready to play. See you in the Finals and then in Arena (Riga) with our guys.”

The last part of the post refers to Porzingis’ participation with the Latvian national team in this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum views a second appearance in the Finals in three years as a chance for redemption, Bontemps writes in a separate story. “It’s a lot that myself, and we, can learn from that experience being in the Finals, and this time, this go-around is a lot different,” Tatum said. “Obviously, we’ve been there before, we came up short. And a great opportunity to make it to the Finals again. You don’t always get a second chance, so really just looking at it as a second chance and trying to simplify things as much as we can. It’s another series that we’ve got to win.” Playing through a wrist injury in the 2022 Finals, Tatum averaged 21.5 points but shot 31.5% from 2-point range.
The asking price for Bulls wing Zach LaVine has dropped significantly, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes. LaVine is coming off another injury-marred season and there’s a sense from both sides that a change of scenery may be LaVine’s best option. Previously, the Bulls were seeking All-Star level talent, first-round picks or both for LaVine, but that’s no longer the case.
Executives from around the league have endorsed the hiring of Trajan Langdon as Pistons president of basketball operations, according to Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press. Count Nets GM Sean Marks, Langdon’s former boss, among them. “You don’t get to have the career he had on the basketball court without being very competitive and diligent, and that’s something in this organization and this business — you have to be competitive, whether you want to be a star in your analytics or your star at your scouting department or a star at player development,” Marks said. “You want to be the best there is and it should irk you when somebody else out there is showing promise or beats you to the punch. That competitive fire is instilled in Trajan and definitely separates him from the lot.”

Stein’s Latest: Thibodeau, Williams, Ham, Van Gundy

June 2nd, 2024 at 3:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Following four seasons of relative success with the Knicks, head coach Tom Thibodeau is expected to sign a long-term contract extension to stay with the club “at the market rate,” sources inform veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Substack link).

Stein pegs that tally at $10MM per year. The Kings reportedly re-signed Mike Brown to a contract extension that can be worth up to that annual sum with incentives.

Thibodeau has brought New York to the playoffs in three of his four years with the franchise, posting a cumulative regular season record of 175-143 and a 14-15 playoff mark in that time. New York has twice advanced to the second round of the postseason during Thibodeau’s tenure.

Here’s more from Stein:

Just one season removed from signing a six-year contract worth nearly $80MM, Pistons head coach Monty Williams already could be skating on thin ice. He led the team to a 14-68 run in 2023/24, low-lighted by a single-season NBA record of 28 straight defeats. The team has already moved on from the GM who hired him, Troy Weaver, as new team president Trajan Langdon looks to right the ship.
According to Stein, former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was offered a job as an assistant under freshly hired Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer, under whom Ham served with both the Bucks and Hawks, but he passed on that opportunity. A previously report indicated that the Warriors may have gauged Ham’s interest in a similar role. Ham, who still has two years remaining on his Los Angeles deal, led the club to a 90-74 regular season record and consecutive playoff appearances, peaking during his debut season as a head coach in 2022/23. Following a midseason turnaround, Ham guided the Lakers to a Western Conference Finals appearance as a No. 7 seed last spring.
Jeff Van Gundy, currently a senior consultant to the Celtics, could join head coach Joe Mazzulla‘s staff as his lead assistant now that Charles Lee is departing for the Hornets in 2024/25. Stein says there has been “curiosity circulating in coaching circles” about that possibility. Prior to his decades-long career as an ESPN and ABC broadcaster, Van Gundy served as a head coach in New York and Houston. He coached the Knicks from 1996-2001, and led the Rockets from 2003-07, boasting an overall record of 430-318 in the regular season and 44-44 in the playoffs.

Mavericks Notes: Kidd, Kyrie, Finals, Lively

June 2nd, 2024 at 1:53pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd‘s recently announced multiyear contract extension with Dallas is believed to be in the same financial ballpark as the Kings’ first leaked extension offer to incumbent Sacramento head coach Mike Brown, reports Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL (Twitter link).

The Kings’ initial offer to Brown was said to be worth $21MM over three seasons, or up to $27MM with incentives, effectively making it worth $7-9MM annually. Sacramento eventually agreed to a three-year deal that will reportedly pay him at least $25.5MM total, and up to $30MM with incentives.

While the exact details of Kidd’s deal aren’t known, if it’s between $7-9MM per year, it suddenly looks like a bargain, given that he has led the club to its second Western Conference Finals and its first NBA Finals in the weeks since he inked the contract. Many of the established head coaches who have inked new contracts within the last 12 months have received eight-figure salaries.

Kidd has coached the Mavericks to a 140-106 overall regular season record and a 21-14 playoff record across his three years with the team so far. He has a chance to add a Larry O’Brien Trophy to his coaching résumé this summer and looks like a safe bet to remain in Dallas for the foreseeable future.

There’s more out of Dallas:

Mavericks star point guard Kyrie Irving is slated to appear in his first NBA Finals since 2017 when he was still with the Cavaliers. Intriguingly, he’ll be facing off against another one of his former teams in the Celtics, led by his former teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. As Marc J. Spears of Andscape relays, Irving is looking forward to the opportunity to win his second title. “It has been seven long years, but it has also felt like the right amount of time in order to reward myself,” Irving said. “I know how much chaos was going to try to be created. But I have to give a shot out to a lot our staff, our PR people, our day-to-day maintenance of physical therapy, upper management because they really instilled the confidence to be myself.”
The Mavericks are steeling themselves for the challenge of Boston’s multifaceted attack, writes Eddie Sefko of Mavericks.com. The Celtics posted a league-best 64-18 regular season record and ran through the East, going 12-2 in the playoffs this spring. “They’re the best team in the NBA,” All-Star guard Luka Doncic said. “They have by far the best record, some incredible weapons on offense and defense so we’re going to have to play really hard and amazing basketball to beat them.”
Rookie Dallas center Dereck Lively II admitted in a Sunday presser that he himself is surprised he has become a major contributor on a Finals team this season, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter video link). “None of us expected this,” Lively said. “They expected me to come to the Dallas Mavericks and learn. That’s what I did. I don’t think they expected me to learn this much this quick.”

International Notes: Caboclo, Brown, Nunn, Pre-Draft Camp

June 2nd, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Bruno Caboclo‘s future with KK Partizan could be in jeopardy after he recently left the team without permission to travel to Orlando, according to BasketNews.

The Serbian club announced sanctions on Caboclo for “setting a precedent” for his teammates, although the details weren’t released. Partizan will start a best-of-three playoff series with Crvena Zvezda on Monday.

The team said Caboclo “allegedly” traveled to Florida as part of his duties with the Brazilian national team, but a report from Mozzart Sport states that he was attending a child custody hearing. Caboclo reportedly asked for permission to attend the hearing nearly two weeks ago, but the request was denied because it conflicted with preparing for the playoffs.

The announcement from Partizan notes that the team has an option to keep Caboclo under contract, but no decision has been made. The 28-year-old forward has been playing overseas since his last NBA appearance during the 2020/21 season.

There’s more international news to pass along:

Former NBA point guard Lorenzo Brown has no intention of leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv, BasketNews adds in a separate story. Brown holds a Spanish passport that enables him to play for Spain’s national team, and there were rumors that he might consider signing with Real Madrid. “I have no idea what is happening and where these rumors come from. I read a lot, like all of you, but I fully intend to stay at Maccabi. I’m very comfortable here,” he said. “I think this is the best place I’ve ever played. I’m looking forward to the next season to start a new journey together with my teammates.”
Kendrick Nunn led Panathinaikos to the EuroLeague title, but he may not have joined the Greek team without an assist from NBA veteran Goran Dragic, Eurohoops relays. In an interview with Meridian Sport, Panathinaikos sporting director Sani Becirovic talked about the role Dragic played in recruiting Nunn. “Goran Dragic helped me a lot there. At the time, Kendrick was training with Zoran Dragic in Miami, so Goran allowed me to explain everything to him,” Becirovic said. “… It still wasn’t easy getting an important NBA player to leave Disneyland. That was the hardest.”
A few NBA players and a collection of assistant coaches are attending a pre-draft camp for international prospects in Treviso this weekend, according to Eurohoops. James Harden, Nikola Jovic, Vasilije Micic and Ivica Zubac made an appearance and signed autographs at adidas EuroCamp.

Southeast Notes: Keefe, Suggs, Adebayo, Hornets’ Draft

June 2nd, 2024 at 10:38am CST by Arthur Hill

Brian Keefe proved to be the right head coach for the Wizards after being named to the position on an interim basis when the team fired Wes Unseld Jr. in January, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. The organization hired Keefe as its permanent coach on Wednesday in a move that was highly expected and welcomed by Wizards players.

The final decision was made after talking with four to six candidates, who participated in the process even though Keefe was viewed as a clear favorite for the job, sources tell Robbins. Team officials wouldn’t confirm who they interviewed, but as we noted in our head coaching search tracker, Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Rockets assistant Royal Ivey, Heat assistant Chris Quinn and Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney were rumored to have received consideration.

The front office believes the Wizards showed improvement after Keefe took over, even though they were only 8-31. Robbins notes that the team displayed more discipline and resilience under Keefe, adding that the record isn’t an accurate measure because starting center Daniel Gafford was traded in February and point guard Tyus Jones was sidelined with an injury for the final month of the season. Keefe’s most impactful move was taking Jordan Poole out of the starting lineup and replacing him with rookie Bilal Coulibaly.

Keefe will begin working with general manager Will Dawkins to hire a coaching staff, Robbins adds. Most of the staff was fired after the end of the season, with assistant David Vanterpool as the only holdover.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Avoiding a major injury helped Magic guard Jalen Suggs make a breakthrough in his third NBA season, observes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Suggs was limited to 48 and 53 games his first two years, but he played 75 games this season and earned second-team All-Defensive honors as Orlando reached the playoffs. “This year was so much fun,” Suggs said. “I missed playing for something at the end of the year. I missed playing meaningful basketball games where it’s not just a set point to end the year. Now, it’s in your control, in your hands. We all learned a lot. It was good for us to go through this and carry this into the rest of our careers.”
A maximum extension for Bam Adebayo this summer seems like a foregone conclusion, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel, unless the Heat center opts to postpone negotiations for a year to see if he can qualify for a super-max deal by earning Defensive Player of the Year honors or making an All-NBA team.
In his Hornets-themed mock draft, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer has the team selecting Connecticut guard Stephon Castle at No. 6 and Weber State small forward Dillon Jones at No. 42.

Sixers Notes: Batum, Oubre, Lowry, Draft, Free Agency, Embiid

June 2nd, 2024 at 9:12am CST by Arthur Hill

Nicolas Batum, Kelly Oubre and Kyle Lowry are the free agents most likely to return to the Sixers next season, a source tells Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The three players have proven to be a good fit alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, and they’re likely to be affordable, which will be an important consideration when president of basketball operations Daryl Morey tries to round out the roster after hopefully landing at least one big name on the free agent market.

Batum is at the top of Philadelphia’s list of players to re-sign, according to Pompey. The versatile swingman appeared in 57 games and made 38 starts after being acquired as part of the James Harden trade last November. The Sixers hold Bird rights on the 35-year-old, who made $11.7MM last season and has a $17.5MM cap hold. He wound up loving Philadelphia after being traded there and is a candidate for a modest raise on a short-term deal, Pompey adds.

Decisions on Oubre and Lowry will be affected by what they’re willing to sign for. A league source tells Pompey that Oubre is likely to get an $8MM room exception offer from another team, while the Sixers will probably need him to sign in the $6-8MM range if they add another max player in free agency.

The team has a $3.3MM cap hold and Non-Bird rights on Lowry, who accepted $2.9MM for the rest of the season when he signed on February 13. Lowry said after the playoffs ended that he intends to keep playing, but he didn’t specify whether he plans to stay in his hometown of Philadelphia.

There’s more on the Sixers:

In a separate story, Pompey advocates trading this year’s first-round pick, which is slotted at No. 16. Pompey notes that Morey has a history of moving draft picks and hasn’t made a first-round selection since taking Jaden Springer at No. 28 in 2021. If the Sixers keep their pick, Pompey points to USC point guard Isaiah Collier, Providence guard Devin Carter and Indiana forward Kel’el Ware as potential selections if they’re still on the board, along with Trentyn Flowers, who played in Australia this season and has a June 20 workout scheduled in Philadelphia.
In an offseason assessment of the Sixers, Keith Smith of Spotrac questions whether Paul George and Jimmy Butler are the team’s best targets. While they would be the type of splashy acquisition that Morey is known for, Smith points out that both players are older and have extensive injury histories, which doesn’t make them an ideal fit with Embiid. Smith suggests building the team’s depth as a better option, particularly at backup center, and names Andre Drummond, Goga Bitadze, Moritz Wagner, Jalen Smith and Jonas Valanciunas as possibilities.
Embiid is feeling better after experiencing Bell’s palsy during the playoffs, Marc Stein tweets.

Southwest Notes: Ingram, Pelicans, Topic, Clingan

June 1st, 2024 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

If the Pelicans decide to trade Brandon Ingram, they need to get a play-making guard in return, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Clark points out that Ingram has led the team in assists the past two years, including 5.7 in 64 games this season. With no clear choice to set up the offense, Clark believes New Orleans will have to insist on a creator in any Ingram deal.

Zion Williamson has helped in that area, but Clark notes that his susceptibility to injury — and the inability of the Pelicans’ offense to function without him — makes it too risky to not have a strong lead guard. The offense was among the NBA’s worst after Williamson’s hamstring injury last season, Clark adds, and his absence in this year’s playoffs left the team unable to top 92 points in any game while being swept in the first round.

The Pelicans had trade talks with the Hawks and Cavaliers before the February deadline, according to Clark, who expects negotiations to resume this summer. There are rumors that Atlanta wants to break up its Trae Young–Dejounte Murray backcourt, while Cleveland might be open to parting with Darius Garland if Donovan Mitchell agrees to an extension. Any of those players could be the basis for an Ingram deal.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

In a separate story, Clark examines the possibility that the Pelicans will take a center in this year’s draft. New Orleans will have the 21st selection after deferring a pick from the Lakers until next year. Clark views Baylor’s Yves Missi, Indiana’s Kel’el Ware and Dayton’s DaRon Holmes as viable big man options at that stage of the draft.
Nikola Topic could be the ideal point guard to team with Victor Wembanyama, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News states in a Spurs draft preview. Topic is considered the best passer in the draft, especially out of the pick and roll, and at 6’6″ he would bring some needed size to San Antonio’s backcourt. On the downside, he has never shot better than 30% from three-point range in a season and has hurt his right knee twice since January. If the Spurs opt for Topic with the fourth pick, McDonald expects them to target a shooter at No. 8.
Michael Shapiro of The Houston Chronicle looks at how Donovan Clingan might fit alongside Alperen Sengun if the Rockets take the Connecticut center with the third pick. Clingan would bring a much stronger defensive presence in the middle, but there are questions about whether he or Sengun can ever space the floor well enough to make the pairing work.

And-Ones: Top Free Agents, Cousins, Ayayi, Barkley

June 1st, 2024 at 9:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers star LeBron James is the top name on a list of possible free agents compiled by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Even as he nears age 40, James has the potential to shake up the league if he turns down his $51.4MM player option and decides to test the market this summer.

Pincus acknowledges that James is likely to remain in L.A. no matter what he does with the option. He can either opt in and extend his contract for two more seasons or opt out and negotiate a new deal starting at $49.4MM. Either way, Pincus expects James’ next contract to run through the 2026/27 season.

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey is second on Pincus’ list, but he’s almost certain to reach a maximum extension with Philadelphia, which can pay him significantly more than any rival team. Pacers forward Pascal Siakam, Clippers forward Paul George and Clippers guard James Harden round out the top five.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

Former NBA center DeMarcus Cousins earned Finals MVP honors as he led the Taiwan Beer Leopards to the Taiwan T1 league title, according to ClutchPoints (Twitter link). The six-time All-Star, who hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2021/22 season, joined the Taiwanese team in mid-April.
Shooting guard Joel Ayayi, who appeared in seven games with Washington during the 2021/22 season, has signed with JL Bourg in France. The French native played his college ball at Gonzaga, then spent two years in the G League before joining Nanterre 92 this season.
As Charles Barkley laments the possible loss of Inside the NBA, he’s also publicly negotiating his next contract, according to Bryan Curtis of The Ringer. Curtis notes that the show’s demise will make Barkley the most in-demand free agent in TV sports history. He adds that Barkley is doing a masterful job of promoting himself by being extremely quotable and appearing on a large number of shows to increase his visibility. Curtis states that Barkley’s approach to the business can be summed up by something he said on a podcast when he was negotiating with LIV Golf two years ago: “I love my job at TNT. I love the people. But you have to take all meetings.”

New York Notes: Claxton, Finney-Smith, Brunson, Knicks’ Draft

June 1st, 2024 at 8:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets won’t have to worry about losing center Nic Claxton in free agency if they can sign him before he reaches the open market, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Brooklyn will have an exclusive negotiating window that runs from the end of the NBA Finals until the official start of free agency at 5 p.m. Central Time on June 30. Lewis talked to two league executives who expect Claxton to re-sign with the Nets, and Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks calls him the team’s “No. 1 priority.”

“We hope he’s a Net for a very long time,” Marks said. “We hope we can continue to build around him and build with him and so forth. And it’s been fun to watch Nic develop from his days at Georgia coming all the way through here. He’s scratched the surface on who he could end up being one day.”

One of the executives Lewis contacted expects Claxton to receive at least $20MM annually in his next contract, while the other points to Toronto center Jakob Poeltl‘s four-year, $78MM deal as the minimum for Claxton. Lewis adds that Claxton should be considered the best center in a free agent market that will also include New York’s Isaiah Hartenstein and New Orleans’ Jonas Valanciunas.

“It’s exciting, for me, at least. I know everybody’s situation is different, but for me personally, it’s fun, it’s exciting, the unknown of everything,” Claxton said. “I’m appreciative of Brooklyn for just giving me the opportunity to be here and support me. And like I said, we’ll see what happens.”

There’s more from New York City:

In a separate story (subscriber only), Lewis makes the case that a trade might be the best move for both Dorian Finney-Smith and the Nets. Lewis explains that Finney-Smith is Brooklyn’s oldest player at 31 and makes more sense on a contending team. With a $14.9MM salary for next season and a $15.4MM player option for 2025/26, Finney-Smith could wind up as an unrestricted free agent next summer, so this may be the Nets’ best opportunity to get something of value in return.
Jalen Brunson doesn’t believe the Knicks should use injuries as an excuse for their second-round loss to Indiana, relays Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post. Speaking on his “Roommates Show” podcast with Josh Hart, Brunson said, “The one thing I hated the most – even though like we were playing well, we were winning, we were up 2-0, then up 3-2 – whenever we lost everyone was like, ‘Oh, it’s they’re tired or their injuries … Because, I mean, yeah, we don’t have a full team, but I don’t want to use that. I don’t want the narrative being, ‘Oh, they’re hurt so let’s give them a pass.’ Like, no. We had chances to win that series and didn’t. We had a chance to go up 3-0 and we didn’t.”
With the Knicks holding the 24th and 25th picks, Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News examines the success the team has enjoyed with late first-round and second-round selections in the Leon Rose era. The list of players includes Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, Miles McBride and Jericho Sims.