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Mavericks Notes: Kidd, Parity, Kleber, Gafford, Lively

May 20th, 2024 at 8:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd believes the league is pleased to see teams like the Timberwolves and Pacers make the conference finals, according to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. The league has been striving for parity, rather than a few powerhouse teams winning all the championships.

“The league loves it,” Kidd said on Monday. “It’s great. It’s great for the league. I saw a question today: is there any more dominance? Is there ever going to be another dynasty? With player movement and the league being so young, we’ll see. But it’s great. That (the parity) gives everyone the opportunity that they truly believe they can win a championship at the starting line of this marathon.”

The Mavericks, Timberwolves and Pacers were all 20-to-1 or higher to win the championship prior to the season among most wagering sites.

We have more on the Mavericks:

  • Big man Maxi Kleber will remain sidelined for at least the start of the series against the Timberwolves, Sefko reports in the same story. Kleber has been out since May 3 due to a right shoulder injury. “Still out,” Kidd said. “Looked good today. He looked good on the treadmill. We’ve done it already in one series (playing without Kleber). We’re going to have to do it again until he comes back. But that gives other guys the opportunity to step up and we truly believe everyone in that locker room is going to hold it together until he gets back.”
  • Kidd was one of the NBA coaches on the hot seat entering the season. He’s quieted his critics as the season has unfolded. He received a contract extension earlier this month and now has his team in the conference finals, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes. “Our goal is to win a championship; that’s what we’re trying to do, but sometimes you guys don’t see that,” Kidd said. “And it’s all right, you’ve got to do your job. Because we really don’t care. That’s the beauty of our culture, is that we’re not affected by what’s written negatively. We just go out there and play and play for each other. And that’s what’s going to win a championship.”
  • Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively will face a major challenge against the Timberwolves’ bigs, Schuyler Dixon of The Associated Press writes. They will have to deal with the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid. ”One thing for sure, we got to make sure we stay out of foul trouble,” Gafford said. ”Really, just stay patient. We’re not going to keep them from scoring points, but staying to our tendencies and just sticking to our principles is something that’s going to help us throughout this series.”
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Northwest Notes: Hayward, Thunder, Wolves’ Size, Wolves’ Future

May 20th, 2024 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Gordon Hayward was added by the Thunder from the Hornets at the trade deadline but wound up having no impact during the postseason. He only made seven appearances in the playoffs, averaging 6.6 minutes in those contests. That was a source of frustration for Hayward, who is headed for free agency, Rylan Stiles writes in a story at Sports Illustrated.

“Obviously disappointing with kind of how it all worked out. This is not what I thought it would be. Certainly frustrating. … We have a great team here with great young players, a great coach. So the future is bright,” Hayward said, adding, “I feel like as a player I have a lot to offer. I just wasn’t given much of an opportunity to do that.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Thunder were the youngest team in NBA history to clinch a No. 1 seed. Though they were eliminated in the second round, the best is yet to come for this franchise, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. “I feel like we can do anything we want to do,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.
  • The Timberwolves’ Game 7 triumph over the Nuggets on Sunday was a tribute to Tim Connelly‘s decision to build with size, according to Rob Mahoney of The Ringer. The trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid wore down Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic. No team can match Minnesota’s collective size, Mahoney notes, which allows the Timberwolves to play superior defensive coverage.
  • Another columnist, Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune, also heaped praise on the team president, declaring the Timberwolves are built to win this year and also to contend for years to come. Souhan notes that Kyle Anderson is the only member of the Wolves’ regular eight-man rotation who is not signed long-term.
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Porzingis Won’t Play In Game 1 Of Conference Finals

May 20th, 2024 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kristaps Porzingis won’t return for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics big man has been listed as out for the opener against the Pacers on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets.

Another frontcourt player, Xavier Tillman, is listed as questionable due to personal reasons.

It’s no surprise Porzingis will remained sidelined. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported over the weekend that Porzingis would likely miss at least the first two games of the conference finals, but there’s optimism he’ll return sometime during the series.

Porzingis has been out with a calf injury since Game 5 of the first round against the Heat on April 30, missing the entirety of Boston’s second-round series against Cleveland. Porzingis has been making progress in his recovery and is increasing his on-court activity.

In 57 regular season games, Porzingis averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest and shot 51.6% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc while helping the Celtics to an NBA-best 64 wins. He was traded by the Wizards to Boston in a three-team blockbuster last summer.

Tillman has only appeared in three postseason games, logging a total of 25 minutes.

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Eastern Rumors: Capela, Fizdale, Bulls, Randle, Heat

May 20th, 2024 at 4:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Veteran Hawks center Clint Capela is expected to be on the trading block this summer, Marc Stein reports at Substack.

As Stein explains, the Swiss big man will be on an expiring $22.3MM contract in 2024/25. Atlanta won the draft lottery and gave Onyeka Okongwu a four-year rookie scale extension last offseason, so Capela could be on move, particularly if the team chooses a big man with the No. 1 overall pick.

Capela, who just turned 30 years old, averaged 11.5 PPG, 10.6 RPG and 1.5 BPG in 73 games last season (25.8 MPG). The 10-year veteran has averaged a double-double for seven straight seasons.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • According to Stein, before the Bulls hired Wes Unseld Jr. and Dan Craig to be the top assistants under head coach Billy Donovan, they showed interest in David Fizdale. A former head coach, Fizdale was an assistant with the Suns this past season but may be departing after Frank Vogel was fired. Phoenix reportedly offered Fizdale a front office position to stay with the team, but he has yet to accept it.
  • Rival teams are monitoring Julius Randle‘s situation with the Knicks, Shams Charania of The Athletic stated on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back (Twitter video link). Randle will be extension-eligible this summer and holds a $34.2MM player option for ’25/26, meaning he could be a free agent next year if he opts out. “How (the Knicks) handle that extension situation, if that is a conversation, what transpires, I think that will be interesting,” Charania said.
  • The Heat may have to barter this year if they want to trade their second-round pick (No. 43 overall) or acquire another one, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. As Winderman details, for the upcoming ’24/25 season, teams that purchase a second-rounder with cash will be hard-capped at the first tax apron, and Miami is keenly aware of that fact. “It definitely factors in,” said Adam Simon, the Heat’s vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager. “And you have to look at the big picture and what business you’re doing. And, so, that’ll come into play. But doing something that’s going to hard cap you, you definitely have to take that into consideration.”
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Nuggets Notes: Game 7, Jokic, Murray, Braun, Offseason

May 20th, 2024 at 3:12pm CST by Rory Maher

The defending-champion Nuggets were eliminated from the postseason in extraordinary fashion by the Timberwolves in Sunday night’s Game 7, blowing a 20-point third-quarter lead at home, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. According to Youngmisuk, it was the largest Game 7 blown lead in the past 25 years.

Perhaps all the more stunning is the fact that Denver is known for having one of the best home court advantages in the league, going 33-8 in the regular season and only dropping one playoff home game during its championship campaign in 2022/23. In the first round, the Nuggets went 3-0 vs. the Lakers at home. Yet in the semifinal, they dropped three of four to Minnesota.

As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes, Nikola Jokic (34 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists) put up his typical huge numbers. However, the reigning Finals MVP and three-time MVP noticeably ran out of gas as the game progressed, settling for jumpers in the second half and going 13-of-28 from the floor overall, including 2-of-10 on threes (he made 6-of-7 from the line). The Serbian star rested for a total of just 84 seconds, all of which came in the first half.

Jokic was humble in defeat, praising the Wolves and specifically their roster construction. Minnesota’s front office is led by Tim Connelly, who drafted Jokic to Denver before getting a raise from the Wolves a couple years ago.

“I mean, I think they’re built to beat us,” Jokic said, per Youngmisuk. “Just look at their roster. They have basically two All-Stars (Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns), two probably first-team defensive players (Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels). Mike Conley is the most underrated player in the NBA, probably.

“From the bench, they have a Sixth Man of the Year (Naz Reid). … (They are) one team that they can do literally everything. They can be big, small.”

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

  • Jamal Murray, who was instrumental in last year’s Finals run but has been battling a calf strain, scored his 29th point just over a minute into the second half before adding just six the rest of the way. He finished with a game-high 35 points on a very similar line to Jokic (13-of-27, 4-of-12 on threes, 5-of-5 on free throws). Murray viewed the series differently than Jokic, believing the Nuggets were the superior team, but trying to repeat as champions took its toll. “Just mentally and physically, conjuring up the energy to fight like you’re being hunted,” Murray said. “I think that’s the emotion. When you’re the hunter, you have so much more motivation and you grasp on to anything to prove everybody wrong and you have a constant chip on your shoulder. I don’t know. … I feel like we should have won tonight. That’s the tough part. They beat us, but we had so many great opportunities, including myself, so it’s just tough, man.”
  • Second-year wing Christian Braun concurred with Murray’s assessment and said he definitely views the Wolves as a rival now after eliminating a shorthanded Minnesota in last year’s playoffs. “It sucks,” Braun said. according to Durando, “because I think we’re the better team. … I don’t like them. I think that we need more of that in the NBA. They’re a really good team. Really well-coached. Really good players. It’s a matchup that you love to play in. You don’t want to play, like, really friendly with a bunch of teams. I think it’s a really good rivalry for the NBA. I would say it is a rivalry. And that’s why this hurts more.”
  • While Jokic and Murray took responsibility, they combined to score 69 points, compared to 21 points on 8-of-28 shooting for the rest of the team, notes Youngmisuk. And the starting lineup, which has consistently been one of the best in the league the past two seasons, was minus-60 overall, per Durando.
  • ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link), HoopsHype’s Mark Deeks, and cap expert Yossi Gozlan (YouTube link) preview Denver’s offseason and future salary cap situation, respectively. Starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, one of the team’s top defenders who shot 41.6% from deep in his two regular seasons with the Nuggets, could be their top free agent — he holds a $15.4MM player option and would likely get a raise on the open market. The Nuggets have one of the league’s more expensive rosters, so re-signing the 31-year-old might not be a lock.
  • Murray reiterated his desire to play for Canada in the upcoming Olympics in Paris this summer, per Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post. However, Jokic was noncommittal about the possibility of suiting up for the Serbia. “I don’t know, my friend, we will see,” he said. “I need to think about it.”
  • Head coach Michael Malone was clearly frustrated after the series and defended his actions and team, calling it a temporary setback, per Youngmisuk. “This is just a momentary delay,” Malone said. “It’s a failure, it’s not fatal. We’ll be back. The better team won, so I’m taking nothing away from Minnesota … but mentally, emotionally, physically, I think guys are gassed. They’re dead tired. They gave me everything I could ever ask for, and that’s why as much as this hurts, I’ll walk out of this building tonight with my head held very high.”
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NBA Announces 2023/24 All-Rookie Teams

May 20th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA officially unveiled the two All-Rookie teams for the 2023/24 season on Monday (Twitter links). The teams are as follows:

First Team

Second Team

Unsurprisingly, Wembanyama and Holmgren were unanimous selections to the first team (Twitter link). Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Wembanyama was also the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year, with Holmgren receiving all but one second-place vote for that award.

The entire first team mirrored the Rookie of the Year balloting, with Miller, Jaquez and Podziemski coming in third through fifth. Lively received the most points for the second team, followed by Thompson, George, Wallace and Jackson.

Jackson is the only All-Rookie member who wasn’t drafted in the first round; he was selected 45th overall in 2023 and initially signed a two-way contract. He was converted to a standard contract in February.

The current youngest player in the NBA, Jackson didn’t start receiving regular minutes until mid-January. The 19-year-old put up some big numbers down the stretch though, including 31 points and 44 points in the final two games of the season.

Jackson beat out Warriors big man Trayce Jackson-Davis for the final spot on the second team by a single point. Jackson actually received fewer overall votes (38 vs. 42 for Jackson-Davis), but earned the nod by receiving five first-team votes, which were worth two points apiece (second-team votes were worth one point each).

A total of 22 rookies received at least one vote. Aside from Jackson-Davis, the other top finishers who didn’t make the cut were Pistons forward Ausar Thompson (35 points), Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (33), and Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly (14). Ausar is Amen’s identical twin brother.

All-Rookie was one of the awards that didn’t require players to meet the newly instituted 65-game minimum. Jackson, Lively, Thompson, and Wallace didn’t meet that criteria, but they were still eligible for All-Rookie honors.

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Early NBA Salary Guarantee Dates For 2024/25

May 20th, 2024 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

An NBA player who has a non-guaranteed salary for a given season will, by default, receive his full guarantee if he remains under contract through January 7 of that league year. Because the league-wide salary guarantee date is January 10, a player must clear waivers before that date if a team wants to avoid being on the hook for his full salary.

However, a number of players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts for 2024/25 have earlier trigger dates. Those players will receive either their full guarantee or a partial guarantee on certain dates before January 7, assuming they’re not waived.

These dates are fairly malleable — if a player and team reach an agreement, a salary guarantee deadline can be pushed back.

For example, if a player’s contract calls for him to receive his full guarantee on June 27, his team could ask him to move that date to the first or second week of July to get a better sense of what will happen in free agency before making a final decision. The player doesn’t have to agree, but it might be in his best interest to push back his guarantee date rather than simply being waived.

Those agreements between a player and team aren’t always reported right away, so our list of early salary guarantee dates is a tentative one. When a player’s salary guarantee date passes, our assumption is that he received his guarantee, but it’s possible he and his team negotiated a new guarantee date that simply hasn’t been made public yet. We’ll update the info below as necessary in the coming weeks and months.

Here are the early salary guarantee dates for 2024/25:

June 24

  • Kevon Looney (Warriors): Partial guarantee ($3,000,000) increases to full guarantee ($8,000,000). (✅)

June 28

  • Bojan Bogdanovic (Knicks): Partial guarantee ($2,000,000) increases to full guaranteed ($19,032,850). (✅)
    • Note: Bogdanovic’s salary was guaranteed as part of a trade to the Nets.
  • Seth Curry (Hornets): Non-guaranteed salary ($4,000,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
  • Lauri Markkanen (Jazz): Partial guarantee ($6,000,000) increases to full guarantee ($18,044,544). (✅)
  • T.J. McConnell (Pacers): Partial guarantee ($5,000,000) increases to full guarantee ($9,300,000). (✅)
  • Josh Minott (Timberwolves): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,019,699) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)

June 29

  • Dante Exum (Mavericks): Non-guaranteed salary ($3,150,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
  • Jock Landale (Rockets): Non-guaranteed salary ($8,000,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
  • Garrison Mathews (Hawks): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,230,253) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)

June 30

  • Troy Brown (Pistons): Non-guaranteed salary ($4,000,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
  • Alex Caruso (Thunder): Partial guarantee ($3,000,000) increases to full guarantee ($9,890,000). (✅)
  • Jaden Hardy (Mavericks): Partial guarantee ($400,000) increases to full guaranteed ($2,019,699). (✅)
  • Caleb Houstan (Magic): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,019,699) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
  • Chris Paul (Warriors): Non-guaranteed salary ($30,000,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)

July 8

  • Devonte’ Graham (Hornets): Partial guarantee ($2,850,000) increases to full guarantee ($12,650,000). (❌)
  • A.J. Green (Bucks): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,120,693) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
  • Aleksej Pokusevski (Hornets): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,273,252) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)

July 11

  • Jeff Green (Rockets): Non-guaranteed salary ($8,000,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)

July 13

  • Landry Shamet (Wizards): Non-guaranteed salary ($11,000,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)

July 15

July 16

  • Jericho Sims (Knicks): Partial guarantee ($651,180) increases to $1,302,359. (✅)

July 18

  • Bryce McGowens (Hornets): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,019,699) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)

July 20

  • Toumani Camara (Trail Blazers): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,891,857) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
  • Jabari Walker (Trail Blazers): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,019,699) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)

July 23

July 25

  • Darius Bazley (Jazz): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,463,946) becomes partially guaranteed ($400,000). (❌)
  • Kenneth Lofton (Jazz): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,120,693) becomes partially guaranteed ($400,000). (❌)

August 1

  • Charles Bassey (Spurs): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,500,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
  • Julian Champagnie (Spurs): Non-guaranteed salary ($3,000,000) becomes fully guaranteed. (✅)
  • Bruno Fernando (Hawks): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,717,391) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)

August 16

  • Jericho Sims (Knicks): Partial guarantee ($1,302,359) increases to full guarantee ($2,092,344). (✅)

October 22

  • Dalano Banton (Trail Blazers): Partial guarantee ($217,533) increases to $1,098,485.
  • Onuralp Bitim (Bulls): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,891,857) becomes partially guaranteed ($350,000).
  • Kendall Brown (Pacers): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,120,693) becomes partially guaranteed ($250,000).
  • Bruno Fernando (Raptors): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,087,519) becomes fully guaranteed.
  • Keon Johnson (Nets): Partial guarantee ($250,000) increases to $700,000.
  • Eugene Omoruyi (Wizards): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,196,970) becomes partially guaranteed ($1,000,000). (❌)
  • Matt Ryan (Pelicans): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,196,970) becomes fully guaranteed. (❌)
  • Jalen Wilson (Nets): Partial guarantee ($75,000) increases to $325,000.
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Community Shootaround: Celtics/Pacers Series

May 20th, 2024 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

The two teams that will square off in the Eastern Conference finals this spring have benefited from some injury luck in recent weeks.

After dominating the Eastern Conference during the regular season, the Celtics were rewarded with a first-round matchup against a Heat team missing Jimmy Butler and a second-round series against a Cavaliers squad playing without its starting center (Jarrett Allen) for all five games, as well as its leading scorer (Donovan Mitchell) for the last two.

The Pacers have also defeated a pair of foes missing key players during this postseason. Indiana’s first-round victory came against a Milwaukee team that was playing without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and its second-round win came against the Knicks, who didn’t have Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson available for most or all of the series.

Teams can only beat the opponents in front of them, so I’m not here to run down either of the East’s two clubs left standing. But if the two teams avoid injuries going forward, this series will represent a new challenge for the Celtics and Pacers.

Of course, the challenge is a more daunting one for the Pacers, who weren’t supposed to be here. Indiana’s over/under for 2023/24 last fall was 38.5 wins. And while the Pacers got off to a strong start, added Pascal Siakam via trade, and comfortably surpassed that win total, they weren’t exactly dominant during the regular season. If not for a victory in their 82nd game, they would’ve been a play-in team. They ranked a modest 10th in the NBA in net rating (+2.9) and just 24th in defensive rating (117.6). They’ll enter this series as major underdogs (+600, per BetOnline.ag).

The Celtics, meanwhile, posted the third-best regular season net rating in NBA history (+11.7), finishing with the league’s No. 1 offensive rating (122.2) and No. 2 defensive rating (110.6). They wobbled slightly in both playoff series, losing Game 2 at home to both the Heat and Cavaliers, and perhaps weren’t quite as dominant against opponents ravaged by injuries as Boston fans would’ve liked to see. But it’s not like they were in any real danger in either round — the Celtics’ +12.8 postseason net rating is even better than their regular season mark.

Still, there are reasons to believe this series could be a competitive one. For one, Boston is still missing Kristaps Porzingis, who was out for the second round due to a calf strain. The latest updates on Porzingis suggest he could return at some point in the Eastern Conference finals, but likely not for either of the first two games at home. As long as he remains on the shelf, the Celtics will miss Porzingis’ rim protection against a Pacers offense that was the NBA’s second-best during the regular season and has been the league’s top unit during the playoffs.

As Jay King and Jared Weiss detail for The Athletic, the Pacers’ bench has been a real strength in the team’s first two postseason series. T.J. McConnell has been impressive leading a second unit that also features sharpshooter Ben Sheppard (.474 3PT% in 13 playoff games) and Obi Toppin (11.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG in just 19.0 MPG). The Celtics have good depth too, but their second unit isn’t quite as strong with Al Horford moved into the starting lineup in place of Porzingis.

King and Weiss also point out that the Pacers would benefit from being able to control the pace in the series. Only the Wizards played at a faster pace than Indiana during the regular season, while Boston ranked in the bottom half of the league in that category — and ranks dead last during the playoffs.

We want to know what you think. Do you see the Pacers pulling off another upset, or is this where their Cinderella run ends? Will Porzingis’ availability – or lack thereof – be a deciding factor, or can the Celtics win this series without him? Do you expect the winner of this series to be the NBA’s 2024 champion?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions on the Eastern Conference finals!

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Wolves Notes: Towns, Edwards, Gobert, McDaniels, Finch

May 20th, 2024 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

While Anthony Edwards had been the Timberwolves‘ engine and leading scorer during their 2024 playoff run, it was the team’s other former No. 1 overall pick – Karl-Anthony Towns – who keyed Sunday’s 20-point comeback in Denver and put up the biggest stat line of the night (23 points, 12 rebounds, and a pair of steals).

As Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune writes, Towns has long been “a symbol of Wolves underachievement, fairly or not,” so it’s fitting that his contributions were crucial in getting the team past the defending champions and into the Western Conference finals.

“I couldn’t be more happy and proud of him,” head coach Chris Finch said of Towns after the victory. “Because I think he’s faced a lot of unfair criticism when it comes to the postseason. The more you go through these things, the more at peace you are … KAT was really special, especially in the second half. I think you see how at peace and happy he is.”

“I’ve been here nine years, talked about wanting to win and do something special here for the organization,” Towns said, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “All of the failures and all the things that materialized and happened, the disappointment that comes with it led to this moment.”

Edwards, meanwhile, put up a solid line of 16 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, but he made just 6-of-24 shots from the floor. He expressed appreciation after the win that Towns and the other six Wolves players who saw action in Sunday’s Game 7 helped make up for his poor shooting night.

“It was tough, man, because I couldn’t find myself, my rhythm tonight,” Edwards said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “So, I just had to trust my teammates. … I just had to make the right plays throughout the rest of the game. I did that, and my teammates made shots. Big shoutout to those guys.”

Here’s more on the Wolves, who are headed to the Western Conference finals for just the second time in franchise history:

  • Like Towns, Rudy Gobert has faced criticism over the years for his lack of playoff success, most recently after Game 5 when Nikola Jokic had a 40-point game and made 8-of-9 shots with Gobert as his primary defender. However, as McMenamin writes, Gobert scored eight of his 13 points on Sunday in the fourth quarter, including an improbable turnaround fadeaway with the shot clock running down (video link). He also led a stifling defensive effort that saw Denver score just 37 points on 35.9% shooting in the second half. As Sam Amick of The Athletic points out, the Wolves are +111 in the playoffs with Gobert on the court, which is the best mark of any player on the roster.
  • Jaden McDaniels matched Towns with a team-high 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting in Game 7 and earned major praise from Edwards for the role he has played so far in the postseason. “Jaden McDaniels was the MVP of the last two series,” Edwards told reporters (Twitter video link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). McDaniels signed a five-year extension with Minnesota last fall — it will go into effect this July, bumping his salary from $3.9MM to $22.6MM.
  • Edwards also lauded Finch for the role he has played in the Wolves’ success this season and this spring, per Amick. “It starts with our head coach — Coach Finch,” Edwards said. “He comes in every day, comes to work, gets there early. He’s thinking of ways to get me and KAT open looks. He’s thinking of ways to get Mike (Conley) and Rudy open looks. He’s thinking of ways to get Jaden involved. He’s trying to keep Naz (Reid) in it to get him involved. He’s just a great coach. And he don’t sugarcoat anything with anybody. If KAT’s f—in’ up, he’s going to get on KAT. If I’m f—in’ up, he’s going to get on me. If Rudy f—in’ up, he’s going to get on anybody that’s messing up throughout the game, and I think that’s what makes him the best coach in the NBA, to me.”
  • The Timberwolves ownership battle, which is headed to arbitration, has taken a back seat during the team’s playoff run. “Only dysfunctional ownership can break up this team,” one team executive told ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
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Knicks Notes: Brunson, Thibodeau, Anunoby, Offseason

May 20th, 2024 at 7:43am CST by Luke Adams

After fracturing his hand and watching his Knicks fall to Indiana in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday, Jalen Brunson acknowledged that the team made “positive strides” in 2023/24, but responded “no” when asked if the season was a success, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

“Did we win the championship? Did we get close?” Brunson said. “So, no. That’s my mindset. That’s just how it is.”

It was a terrific individual season for Brunson, who set new career highs in points (28.7) and assists (6.7) per game during the regular season, finished fifth in MVP voting, and averaged 32.4 PPG in the postseason. But he continued to be his own harshest critic following the Game 7 loss, suggesting there’s still room for improvement.

“I would say there’s pros and cons to how I played,” Brunson said. “The pros, obviously, are I played well individually at some points in the playoffs. The cons are that I didn’t play well enough to help my team move forward. You can say I got hurt in Game 7, I wasn’t playing well in Game 7. We had a 2-0 and a 3-2 lead, it’s just hard to look at things individually when you don’t help your team.”

Brunson has one more guaranteed year remaining on his contract with the Knicks, with a player option for 2025/26. He’ll become eligible this offseason to sign a four-year, $156.5MM extension that would start in 2025 and replace that option. However, he cut off a question asking about that possibility during his postgame media session, replying, “I’ll talk about that another time.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Head coach Tom Thibodeau briefly addressed his contract situation after Sunday’s loss, expressing a desire to remain in New York, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “That’s something that my agent will take care of,” said Thibodeau, who has one year left on his current deal. “The Knicks have been great to me. So this is where I want to be.” Bondy cites a source who is confident that the two sides will reach an agreement, while Ian Begley of SNY.tv also suggests an extension seems like a foregone conclusion, noting that Thibodeau has the strong support of his players.
  • OG Anunoby tried to play in Game 7 after missing the previous four contests with a hamstring injury, but he checked out after logging just five minutes and admitted after the loss that he “just couldn’t move” due to his hamstring, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. “Was just trying, but couldn’t really sprint, couldn’t really jump, but just tried my best,” Anunoby said. “Just wanted to play. I wanted to at least try and help my teammates. We’ve been working really hard so I wanted to at least be out there.”
  • Thibodeau will face criticism from the “minutes police” for the way injuries decimated the Knicks’ roster down the stretch, but it’s not as simple as blaming all those injuries on overuse, according to Jared Schwartz of The New York Post (subscription required). While Thibodeau may deserve some blame, the team was also the victim of bad injury luck that forced the team to overuse players in the first place, Schwartz argues.
  • As dangerous as this year’s roster was when fully healthy, the Knicks haven’t ruled out the possibility of trying to trade for another star this offseason, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. Still, the organization will be wary of how any major move would affect the culture and chemistry that made this year’s group special. “I think (the future) is very bright,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. “I think there’s hope for what we’re building, and I think that’s the biggest thing. … I think we built a foundation of a franchise that’s gonna be fighting, a franchise that’s moving in the right direction. It’s tough to end it this way, but we’re going in the right direction. I think we’re giving this city and Knick fans something to hope for.”
  • Mark Deeks of HoopsHype and Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) preview the offseason ahead for the Knicks, exploring the major decisions facing the team with its free agents (including Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein) and extension candidates (led by Brunson and Thibodeau).
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