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Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, T. Jones, Paul, Young, Questions

April 20th, 2024 at 3:18pm CST by Rory Maher

No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama just completed one of the most impressive rookie seasons in league history, becoming only the 10th player to ever average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. The other nine players are all Hall of Famers, and Wembanyama was the first to accomplish the feat in fewer than 30 minutes per game (29.7).

In a lengthy interview with O’Connor (YouTube link), the Spurs big man said he wasn’t surprised by his performance in 2023/24.

“It’s impossible to be surprised by your own performance, good or bad,” Wembanyama told The Ringer. “Because, ultimately, everything is a result of your own work and your mentality. I always want more, so I’m not surprised.”

San Antonio went just 22-60 this season, but Wembanyama more than lived up to his billing as a generational prospect. While he said he has no plans to become involved with potential front office moves right now, the 20-year-old admitted he’s been contacted by players interested in teaming up with him.

“Yeah, I’ve received some messages,” Wembanyama said. “Even from prospects. But I try to sustain my role. It’s a whole new world that I’m eager to discover. For sure, one day or the other, I’ll have to be involved in this, I guess, even though I’m staying in my role as a player.”

Here’s more from San Antonio:

After starting for the majority of the ’22/23 campaign, Spurs point guard Tre Jones came off the bench to open ’23/24. However, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes, experimenting with other players at the point produced lackluster results, and the team played considerably better once Jones was moved back into the starting five. Jones’ chemistry with Wembanyama was particularly noteworthy, McDonald observes, but it still seems likely that the Spurs will pursue other point guards this offseason, whether it comes in the draft, free agency or trades. For his part, Jones said he’s fine with whatever role he’s given. “I just want to improve my game and set myself up to be able to help the team win in any way possible,” Jones said. “No matter what position I’m in.”
While both Chris Paul and the Warriors have said they have mutual interest in a reunion, that’s far from a lock, since they’ll lose his Bird rights if they waive his non-guaranteed $30MM salary for next season. If Paul doesn’t return to Golden State, Marc Stein (Substack link) says there are “rumbles in circulation” that the Spurs might pursue the future Hall-of-Famer on a short-term deal.
In a subscriber-only story for The Express-News, McDonald explores five “burning questions” the Spurs will be faced with this summer, including whether or not they’ll pursue Hawks guard Trae Young. McDonald hears San Antonio hasn’t ruled out the possibility of going after Young or another star, but suggests the team’s “biggest swing” might come at a later date.

Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard May Miss Start Of Postseason

April 20th, 2024 at 1:38pm CST by Rory Maher

While he will officially be listed as questionable, it certainly sounds as though the Clippers are preparing to play without Kawhi Leonard for Sunday’s Game 1 against the Mavericks.

When asked about Leonard’s status, Paul George said, “I do think at some point he will be with us” (Twitter link via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk).

Head coach Tyronn Lue was noncommittal about Leonard’s availability tomorrow, according to Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points (Twitter links). The star forward will be a partial practice participant on Saturday, but he’ll be limited to non-contact work.

“We don’t know yet,” Lue said. “But we gotta prepare both ways.”

“He shot yesterday, he was on the floor,” Lue added, per Youngmisuk (Twitter link) “Today, he will be able to shoot more with a little bit more movement.”

Leonard has been battling right knee inflammation for about three weeks, with his last appearance coming March 31. He reportedly received some type of injection in his knee at the beginning of April, presumably to promote healing.

Leonard, who signed a three-year extension with the Clips earlier this season, made 68 appearances in 2023/24, which is the most games he has played in seven years. The fact that he’s injured again with the playoffs about to start is obviously unfortunate, as the 32-year-old and teammate George have battled postseason injuries throughout their tenures with L.A.

George, 33, could be a free agent this summer if he declines his player option. Regarding a possible extension, George said, “That’s not where my mind is at right now,” tweets Justin Russo.

When asked if negotiations were being shelved until the postseason concludes, George essentially shut down the question, Russo adds (via Twitter).

Warriors Notes: Green, Thompson, Financials

April 20th, 2024 at 11:56am CST by Tristan Tucker

During exit interviews, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gave his most in-depth response when asked about where the franchise stands with Draymond Green, who was given a lengthy suspension this season after striking Suns center Jusuf Nurkic. According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, Kerr was emphatic that the franchise was going to support Green while establishing clear boundaries on his behavior going forward after two separate suspensions this year.

“He punched Jordan [Poole]. He grabbed Rudy Gobert by the neck. He flailed at [Nurkic]. That stuff, just by basic laws of society, basic norms, you can’t do that, right? So at that point, you know, when the league suspended him, it was the best thing to happen to Draymond,” Kerr said. “His career was on the line. It is on the line every day.”

The Warriors went 26-14 after Green’s second suspension with him in the lineup, securing a play-in appearance at 46-36.

“As someone who loves Draymond and values him so much, I am going to continue to help him any way that I can to live his best life, to be the best version of himself, which he really was for the last two months,” Kerr said. “I’ll be really honest, during the suspension, I was sitting there, like, ‘Can he actually get a few sessions of therapy and change? I don’t think that’s possible.’

“But whatever he did over the last three months, he was the best version of himself, not just on the court, in the locker room, leading the young guys. His teammates would all tell you how great he was.”

According to Slater, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said he couldn’t imagine a scenario where Green isn’t back on the team next season. He’s under contract for three more years after re-signing with the franchise last offseason.

“Draymond’s complex. His relationship with our franchise is complex,” Kerr said. “But at the core of it is a deep loyalty and passion and love, and we share that with him. That’s really tricky to reconcile. You almost don’t even try to reconcile it. You help him through it and you make sure he’s the best version of himself and you keep pushing.”

We have more Warriors notes:

Former Warriors general manager Bob Myers weighed in on Klay Thompson‘s impending free agency, stating that he believes Thompson wants to remain with Golden State, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jordan Elliott writes. Myers also said that Thompson will stay if he’s feels he’s appreciated and paid appropriately. For what it’s worth, Dunleavy backed up what Kerr, Green and Stephen Curry said on Wednesday, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. “Look, everybody wants Klay back,” Dunleavy said. In a similar article, Kendra Andrews of ESPN explores why the Warriors value continuity.
As we noted on Wednesday, Thompson’s priority is to return to Golden State. Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show (YouTube link), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says he doesn’t think the Warriors want to break up their “Big Three” and that Thompson will take a pay cut to stay. However, Windhorst questions how the Warriors can improve without spending upward of $400MM on the roster.
While Windhorst says Thompson will take a pay cut, ESPN’s Zach Lowe says Thompson will draw interest around the league (Apple Podcast link). According to Lowe, Thompson and the Warriors “took note” of Jrue Holiday‘s $135MM extension with the Celtics. Thompson likely won’t be in line for that sort of payday, but he’s only a few months older than Holiday.
Speaking in his exit press conference, Dunleavy expressed disappointment to be out of the playoffs and stressed that he’s under no directive to duck the luxury tax as he builds on the roster this offseason (Twitter links via The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II and Anthony Slater). However, Dunleavy added that it’s unreasonable to pay $400MM for a roster that didn’t make the playoffs.

Kings Notes: Offseason, Monk, Year In Review

April 20th, 2024 at 11:15am CST by Tristan Tucker

After they fell to the Pelicans in the play-in and missed the playoffs, there will be questions regarding whether or not the current build of the Kings has plateaued, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. On one hand, a team that brought back the same starting five from last season went from the No. 3 seed to out of the playoffs. On the other, the Kings finished just two wins shy of their total from last year despite late-season injuries to Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk.

An already strong Western Conference is projected to get even stronger next year with almost every team in the conference set up to compete. Monk is the team’s most crucial free agent, but the Kings can’t offer the Sixth Man of the Year candidate more than four years and $78MM. Teams with cap space could outbid the Kings, and even if they are able to re-sign him, his $17.4MM projected first-year salary would send Sacramento into the luxury tax.

Outside of Monk, Sacramento’s potential to improve comes from the No. 13/14 pick (pending tiebreaker), Keegan Murray‘s growth, trades, and various cap exceptions. The Kings have four first-round picks and nine players earning between $2.1MM and $18MM to use in potential trades, but Marks notes that outside of the Domantas Sabonis deal, general manager Monte McNair has been relatively conservative on the trade market.

De’Aaron Fox, who has two years left on his contract, is an extension candidate this offseason, Marks notes. The Kings can currently add three more seasons at up to $165MM to his contract. If he’s named All-NBA this year, Fox would be eligible for a four-year, $267.5MM extension. If he doesn’t sign an extension by Oct. 21, he can become eligible for a four-year, $229MM deal next offseason — if he’s named All-NBA next year, he’d be eligible for a five-year, $346MM super-max deal.

We have more on the Kings:

Monk averaged a career-best 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game this year for the Kings, but they’re limited by the money they can offer him, The Sacramento Bee’s Chris Biderman writes. “Obviously, I think he was extremely big for us,” Fox said. “People that watched us play know that he should be Sixth Man of the Year. But at the end of the day, this is a business, and I feel like what he gave to us in his two years that he has been here, I feel like he showed his value, what he can do for a team.“
While Fox didn’t sound overly confident that Monk would re-sign with the Kings, he said he would try to convince his former Kentucky backcourt partner to return, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “For sure,” Fox said. “But money talks. You can’t play this game forever. We have such a short window to play basketball. Not everyone is going to be Bron or CP, play 19, 20 years. You have to be able to get paid whenever you can. That’s what Vince Carter told me. He played 21, 22 years. I’d love to have him back, but I don’t know what the future holds.“
The play-in loss to the Pelicans was emblematic of Sacramento’s season as a whole, Biderman writes in a separate story. Three nights after scoring 32 against the Warriors, Murray had just 11 against New Orleans. Keon Ellis, who did a great job defending Stephen Curry, went scoreless against the Pels and was a minus-20. All season, the Kings showed they could hang with the best of the West with a 17-11 record against the top seven teams in the conference (including a 3-1 record against Denver). However, they went 0-6 against New Orleans this season and lost games to the likes of Washington, Portland and Detroit throughout the regular season. “I feel like we had really good wins and we had really bad losses,” Murray said. “So it was really a mountain-and-valley season for us. That’s something that the top teams in the West, they’re just consistent throughout the whole season.“

Terry Rozier Week-To-Week With Neck Injury

April 20th, 2024 at 10:30am CST by Tristan Tucker

While Terry Rozier‘s neck injury is improving, he’s not healthy enough to return yet, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Rozier is considered week-to-week, with Jackson emphasizing that the injury is not considered career-threatening.

Rozier has missed the past six games for the Heat in addition to the fourth quarter of a crucial regular season game between Miami and Indiana. He later said he felt he hurt his team by trying to push through the injury.

The Heat traded for Rozier at the 2023/24 deadline in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a first-round pick, and he averaged 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game for the team.

It seemed he was getting comfortable in Miami prior to the injury, averaging 23.6 PPG, 3.2 APG and 1.6 SPG while shooting 57.1% on his 9.8 three-point attempts in the five games before the Indiana matchup.

It’s another setback for an injury-plagued Miami team that is already without Jimmy Butler and Josh Richardson. While Rozier could still return in the first round, it’s a downgrade in designation from his previous day-to-day status. It seems as though Rozier will miss at least the first couple games of the series against his former team.

Given that Jackson felt the need to specify that Rozier’s injury isn’t career threatening, it may be a more serious injury than previously thought, so the Heat appear to be taking a cautious approach.

Bulls Notes: DeRozan, LaVine, Offseason, Ball, Roster

April 20th, 2024 at 9:03am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Bulls fell to the Heat in blowout fashion on Friday, ending their postseason hopes and sending the franchise into an offseason filled with questions about the long-term futures of franchise centerpieces DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. DeRozan, an unrestricted free agent, has repeatedly emphasized his desire to remain in Chicago. But on Friday, DeRozan sounded like a possible return would be contingent on change, NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson writes.

“That’s still where I’m at,” he said about wanting to remain in Chicago. “But at the end of the day, I hate losing. I hate missing opportunities. It really hits you after the season when you look up and the last seconds run off. You don’t have another game. The next time I play a game will be my 16^th season. You realize the window closes for you personally. I ain’t trying to play 25 years. You just want to have the opportunity to give everything great in you. My stance on wanting to be here is still the same. But I just want to win. Seeing the first round of the playoffs, the second round of the playoffs is frustrating.”

Teammates and coaches like Coby White and Billy Donovan are emphatic about wanting DeRozan to return. Donovan in particular noted Chicago’s injuries as an inhibiting factor regarding its ability to compete. Both he and general manager Arturas Karnisovas discussed the importance of continuity. DeRozan, though, said he wants the Bulls to field a competitive roster that isn’t just contending for the play-in next year, though he acknowledged Chicago’s poor injury luck.

As for LaVine, the two-time All-Star was involved in trade speculation this year before undergoing season-ending foot surgery. According to Johnson, Donovan said he still envisions LaVine being part of a winning equation in Chicago. Both Donovan and White spoke highly of LaVine on Friday.

“We’re not really focused on that (speculation about LaVine’s future),” White said. “I know what type of dude he is. I know what type of player he is and how much he cares about winning and how much he cares about the team. Everybody in this locker room knows who he is as a person. He’s been there since he had surgery, giving us motivation. I can’t thank him enough for that.”

We have more from the Bulls:

Apart from DeRozan, Patrick Williams (restricted) and Andre Drummond are key free agents that will help dictate Chicago’s offseason direction, ESPN’s Bobby Marks writes. Lonzo Ball‘s recovery from knee injuries that have kept him out the past two-plus years will also play into the offseason plans. As Marks observes, if Ball’s injury is deemed career ending, Chicago would be allowed to remove his $21.9MM salary (player option) from the books. As for the duo of DeRozan and LaVine, the Bulls have until June 30 to extend DeRozan for up to three years and up to $129MM. Finding a taker for LaVine’s $43MM salary could be difficult, but the Bulls could benefit if a team with cap space strikes out in free agency. Alex Caruso, eligible to sign for up to four years and $78.8MM, is an extension candidate to watch.
With White, LaVine, Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu and Dalen Terry all under contract for next season, Chicago’s guard rotation looks full. Still, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Donovan still sees plenty of room for Ball in the rotation. While there’s still uncertainty with Ball’s ability to return, as Marks mentioned, the Bulls have maintained optimism in his comeback. Donovan said if the guard rotation remains the same, he likes his players’ abilities to complement each other’s games. “When I was in Oklahoma [City], we had Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], Chris Paul and Dennis Schröder, and I played those guys a lot together because of the IQ and the unselfishness, the way they were willing to play,” Donovan said. “… I feel really good with [White, Dosunmu and Ball] out there because of their makeup and their mindset as players.“
While the Bulls deserve credit for overcoming a 5-14 start to the season, they’re ultimately stuck in a cycle of mediocrity and the franchise has just one playoff appearance since 2016/17, Johnson writes. In order to break the cycle, Johnson opines, the Bulls need to get creative in free agency like they did when they brought in DeRozan, Ball and Caruso in 2021.
Despite an uninspiring season, the Bulls continue to express interest in retaining all of their free agents, which would have the organization set up to pay the luxury tax for just the second time since ’02/03. ESPN’s Jamal Collier explores how Chicago got to this point.

Post-Play-In Update On 2024 Draft Order, Lottery Standings

April 20th, 2024 at 7:28am CST by Luke Adams

As we explained on Monday following the conclusion of the NBA’s 2023/24 regular season, the results of the play-in tournament helped move the lottery standings and the 2024 draft order one step closer to being officially set.

Here’s what we know now…

Lottery teams

The results of the play-in tournament didn’t actually change the lottery standings we originally projected on Sunday. The teams that entered the play-in as the seventh and eighth seeds are the ones that made it through.

The Sixers and Heat claimed the East’s final two playoff spots and will face New York and Boston, respectively, in round one of the postseason. The Lakers and Pelicans locked up the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds in the West, lining up first-round dates with Denver and Oklahoma City, respectively.

As a result, the tentative lottery standings are as follows:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
DET	14	13.4	12.7	12	47.9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
WSH	14	13.4	12.7	12	27.8	20	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
CHA	13.3	12.9	12.4	11.7	15.3	27.1	7.4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
POR	13.2	12.8	12.3	11.7	6.8	24.6	16.4	2.2	–	–	–	–	–	–
SAS	10.5	10.5	10.6	10.5	2.2	19.6	26.7	8.7	0.6	–	–	–	–	–
TOR*	9	9.2	9.4	9.6	–	8.6	29.8	20.6	3.7	0.1	–	–	–	–
MEM	7.5	7.8	8.1	8.5	–	–	19.7	34.1	12.9	1.3	>0	–	–	–
UTH*	6	6.3	6.7	7.2	–	–	–	34.5	32.1	6.7	0.4	>0	–	–
BKN*	4.5	4.8	5.2	5.7	–	–	–	–	50.7	25.9	3	0.1	>0	–
ATL	3	3.3	3.6	4	–	–	–	–	–	65.9	19	1.2	>0	>0
CHI	2	2.2	2.4	2.8	–	–	–	–	–	–	77.6	12.6	0.4	>0
HOU*	1.5	1.7	1.9	2.1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	86.1	6.7	0.1
SAC	0.8	0.9	1	1.1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	92.9	3.3
GSW*	0.7	0.8	0.9	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	96.6

* Asterisks denote traded picks:

The Raptors‘ pick will be sent to the Spurs if it’s outside the top six.
The Jazz‘s pick will be sent to the Thunder if it’s outside the top 10.
The Nets‘ pick will be sent to the Rockets.
The Rockets‘ pick will be sent to the Thunder if it’s outside the top four.
The Warriors‘ pick will be sent to the Trail Blazers if it’s outside the top four.

Multiple tiebreakers will still be required before the pre-lottery draft order is locked in, since two pairs of lottery teams finished the regular season with identical records.

The teams listed above in italics and marked with asterisks were tied, so the following spots in the chart could still be flipped, pending the results of random tiebreakers:

Charlotte Hornets / Portland Trail Blazers (21-61)
Sacramento Kings / Golden State Warriors (46-36)

For instance, if the Trail Blazers win their tiebreaker with the Hornets, they’ll be the team that can’t fall further than No. 7 in the lottery, while Charlotte could slide as far as No. 8.

Lottery teams that ended up with identical regular season records essentially have the same odds at a top-four pick as each other, though the club that wins the tiebreaker will get one extra ping-pong ball combination at No. 3 and No. 13.

Traded first-round picks

The play-in results also provided some clarity on certain first-round picks that were traded with protections.

Crucially, the fact that the Kings missed out on the playoffs means they’ll hang onto their 2024 first-round pick, since it was top-14 protected and will land in that range. Instead of receiving Sacramento’s ’24 first-rounder, the Hawks will be owed the Kings’ 2025 pick, with top-12 protection.

The fact that the Warriors ended up in the lottery means there still a chance they could hang onto their first-round pick, which is top-four protected. Those odds are slim though — the Warriors will have a 3.8% chance of moving up into the top four if they win their tiebreaker with Sacramento, or a 3.4% chance if the Kings win that tiebreaker.

That means the Trail Blazers will have either a 96.2% or 96.6% chance to receive Golden State’s pick. Portland is actually probably rooting for the Warriors to win that tiebreaker with the Kings, even though it would ever so slightly reduce the Blazers’ odds of getting the pick — in that scenario, the Blazers would almost certainly receive No. 13 instead of No. 14.

Two more traded picks are worth mentioning, given the results of the play-in tournament. First, the Lakers‘ first-rounder will now end up somewhere in the No. 16-19 range, depending on tiebreakers. The Pelicans have the option of acquiring that pick or deferring it to 2025 — the odds of a deferral are higher now that it’s not a lottery selection.

The Pelicans’ ability to swap picks with the Bucks also remains alive as a result of New Orleans’ playoff berth. The two teams finished with identical records and also tied with Phoenix, so a three-way tiebreaker will determine the picks from No. 21 to 23. If Milwaukee ends up with a higher pick than New Orleans as a result of those tiebreakers, the Pelicans will exercise their swap rights.

Playoff teams

Based on the play-in results, the draft order in the middle of the first round will be as follows:

Miami Heat (46-36)
Indiana Pacers / Los Angeles Lakers / Orlando Magic / Philadelphia 76ers (47-35)
- Note: The Pacers’ pick will be sent to the Raptors.
- Note: The Lakers’ pick may be sent to the Pelicans (New Orleans has the option to defer it to 2025).
Cleveland Cavaliers (48-34)
Milwaukee Bucks / New Orleans Pelicans / Phoenix Suns (49-33)
- Note: The Pelicans have the ability to swap first-round picks with the Bucks.

In addition to the tiebreaker required for the 16-19 and 21-23 picks, the following tiebreakers will be necessary for playoff teams:

Dallas Mavericks / New York Knicks (50-32)
- Note: The Mavericks’ pick will be sent to the Knicks.
Denver Nuggets / Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25)
- Note: The Thunder’s pick will be sent to the Jazz.

It’s worth noting that even though Miami, Sacramento, and Golden State all finished the season with identical 46-36 records, the Heat aren’t involved in the Kings/Warriors tiebreaker because they made the playoffs and the other two teams didn’t.

Because those three teams finished tied in the standings, however, Miami will get the first pick of the three in round two — it will be No. 43, while the Kings and Warriors will pick at No. 44 and 45, in some order.

The random tiebreakers for draft positioning are typically conducted on the Monday eight days after the regular season, which would be April 22. Once those are completed, we’ll publish a full pre-lottery order for both rounds of the 2024 draft.

Nets Notes: Claxton, Budenholzer, Borrego, DSJ, Marks

April 19th, 2024 at 11:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the HoopsHype podcast with Michael Scotto, Brian Lewis of The New York Post said he believes there’s better than a 50/50 chance that Nic Claxton will remain with the Nets, suggesting the team has been preparing for having to give the unrestricted free agent center a significant raise.

“I’d go as far as saying they’ve been fretting over it because they’ve had to carve out the money for this,” Lewis said. “They want him back. … I think they’re reasonably confident that they can, as of today, come to some sort of an agreement.”

As for the Nets’ broader plans going forward, Lewis thinks the team will likely wait until 2025 – when Ben Simmons‘ maximum-salary contract comes off the books – to go “big-game hunting,” though that prediction came with a caveat.

“There are a few players who could accelerate that process,” Lewis said. “Donovan Mitchell is one of those few. … If another superstar becomes disgruntled – like Giannis (Antetokounmpo), if he decides he’s given a lot of great years to Milwaukee and wants to leave – there are a few players who’d make the Nets pivot off of waiting until 2025. The baseline right now is the summer of 2025.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

Discussing the search that led to Brooklyn identifying Jordi Fernandez as its next head coach, Lewis said he has heard that Mike Budenholzer‘s contract demands were “rather high” in terms of both years and dollars, while Scotto says James Borrego was another candidate who received legitimate consideration from the Nets alongside their three reported finalists.
Dennis Smith Jr. hopes to secure a multiyear contract in free agency this summer, according to Scotto. Asked if he sees himself returning to the Nets, Smith didn’t rule it out. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind it,” he said. “I’ve got a great relationship with these guys, and the medical and training staff is one of the best I’ve ever seen in the league – and I’ve got a real perspective on that because I’ve been around. I would welcome that.” For what it’s worth, Lewis believes Smith is more likely to land elsewhere than to remain in Brooklyn, particularly if he’s seeking multiple years.
NetsDaily passes along some of the highlights from a Sean Marks Q-and-A session with fans at the HSS Training Center this week. The Nets’ president of basketball operations discussed the team’s roster-building approach in fairly general terms and left the door open to the possibility that the club could trade into this year’s draft.

Yuta Watanabe Plans To Play In Japan In 2024/25

April 19th, 2024 at 9:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran swingman Yuta Watanabe announced on Friday night during an Instagram Live session that he intends to leave the NBA to play in his home country of Japan for the 2024/25 season, according to tweets from Daisuke Sugiura and Takeshi Shibata, among others (Twitter links).

Watanabe, 29, spent a pair of seasons with the Grizzlies from 2018-20, then two years in Toronto from 2020-22. He enjoyed his best NBA season in Brooklyn in 2022/23, averaging 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game off the bench while ranking among the league leaders in three-point percentage (44.4%).

Watanabe’s solid showing with the Nets earned him a two-year, minimum-salary contract from the Suns last summer, but he ended up not playing a major role in Phoenix, averaging just 13.2 minutes per game in 29 appearances before being traded to Memphis in February as part of the three-team deadline deal that sent Royce O’Neale and David Roddy to the Suns.

Having joined an injury-plagued roster in his return to Memphis, Watanabe had a path to regular minutes, but he was limited to just five games due to a wrist issue and personal reasons.

Watanabe’s $2,654,644 player option for next season looked like a safe bet to be exercised entering this offseason, but his comments in Friday’s Instagram Live suggest he plans to decline it in order to clear the path for his return to Japan. Assuming he goes through with that move, it’ll create a little extra cap and roster flexibility for the Grizzlies, who already owe more than $155MM in guaranteed money to 12 players for 2024/25.

Mavs Notes: Washington, Gafford, THJ, Lively, Kidd, Harrison, Kyrie

April 19th, 2024 at 9:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Few NBA teams could argue they had a better trade deadline this season than the Mavericks, who fortified their rotation by acquiring P.J. Washington from Charlotte and Daniel Gafford from Washington. Dallas has been on a roll since those two new additions debuted on February 10, going 21-9 during that stretch, including a 16-2 run from March 7 to April 10.

Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News takes a closer look at how Washington, who grew up rooting for the Mavs, got to achieve a childhood dream by suiting up for his hometown team, while Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News (subscriber link) explores the impact Gafford has had since he arrived in Dallas.

As Sherrington writes, the Mavs are 18-3 in games Gafford has started, as he and Washington have helped turn the team into a genuine threat to make a playoff run. Six weeks ago, just avoiding the play-in and having a competitive first-round series might have been a realistic goal for the club, but now the Mavs looks like they could be the best team in the West besides Denver, Sherrington says.

Here’s more out of Dallas:

Veteran Mavs swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. didn’t practice on Friday due to an illness, but he’ll join the team in Los Angeles, per head coach Jason Kidd, and there’s no indication his availability for Sunday’s Game 1 is in jeopardy at this point. (Twitter link via Townsend). Kidd also said that big man Dereck Lively (knee) has looked good this week and is trending toward playing on Sunday.
Kidd and Nico Harrison are both in the third season of four-year contracts, according to Townsend, who opines in a Morning News column that the Mavs’ head coach and general manager have done enough this year to warrant contract extensions this offseason. Those decisions will be made by a new-look ownership group led by governor Patrick Dumont.
Kyrie Irving would have accepted an invitation to play for Team USA this summer if he had received one, but won’t hold any grudges for not being selected, telling reporters on Thursday that “the deliberation process was a tough one” for USA Basketball, as Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News relays. “I would’ve loved to, but I wish my brothers well and I just didn’t fit in to this team,” Irving said. “… At this point in my career, I think my focus should be on winning the championship and in the summertime, just going to support those guys when I get a chance.”

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