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Suns’ Devin Booker, Bradley Beal Out Thursday Vs. Lakers

October 26th, 2023 at 2:31pm CST by Rory Maher

Suns guards Devin Booker (left foot soreness) and Bradley Beal (lower back tightness) have been downgraded to out for Thursday’s matchup vs. the Lakers in Los Angeles, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Both players were listed as doubtful on Wednesday evening.

After initially being listed as questionable on Tuesday, Booker suited up and led Phoenix to a victory in the team’s season opener at Golden State, notching 32 points (on 13-of-21 shooting), eight assists and six rebounds. Beal, who was also questionable against the Warriors, ultimately missed the contest.

Grayson Allen started in Beal’s place on Tuesday, Rankin notes. Eric Gordon may start at the other guard spot — he started in place of Booker in the Suns’ preseason finale against the Lakers.

Beal suffered a “little tweak” in his back during practice last week, while Booker sustained a contact injury that also occurred in practice, as Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports relays (all Twitter links). Obviously it’s disappointing that two of their three stars will be out, but it’s better to be safe early in the season rather than potentially exacerbating the injuries, Bourguet adds.

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Nets Exercise 2024/25 Team Options On Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe

October 26th, 2023 at 1:59pm CST by Rory Maher

The Nets have exercised their 2024/25 team options on guard Cam Thomas and center Day’Ron Sharpe, the team announced on Thursday (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post). Since their fourth-year options have been picked up, both players will now be eligible for rookie scale extensions next offseason.

Thomas, the 27th overall pick in the 2021 draft, will earn $4,041,249 in ’24/25. Sharpe, the 29th pick of the same draft, will make $3,989,122.

As Dan Martin of The New York Post writes, Thomas had an excellent offensive performance in Brooklyn’s season opener vs. Cleveland, getting the Nets back in the game by pouring in 36 points (on 13-of-21 shooting) in just 25 minutes off the bench. He missed his final attempt at the end of the game, however, and the Nets lost by one point.

“It felt good, obviously,” Thomas said of his performance. “Obviously, you want to win, but it’s good to always reflect on what you do well.”

Sharpe, meanwhile, played 12 minutes in his 2023/24 debut, notching four points, two rebounds and two blocks. He appeared in 80 games for Brooklyn over the past two seasons, averaging 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per contest.

The full list of decisions on 2024/25 rookie scale team options can be found right here.

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Central Notes: DeRozan, Bulls, Giannis, Allen, Garrett, Cavs

October 26th, 2023 at 12:31pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back Show (Twitter video link), Shams Charania of The Athletic said the Bulls made some “poignant remarks” during last night’s players-only meeting, expressing frustration about the stagnant offense and lack of passing in the team’s season-opening loss to Oklahoma City.

One point of contention was that Chicago’s players “feel like they need a true point guard,” Charania said. Lonzo Ball, unfortunately, will miss his second consecutive season following a third knee surgery. Coby White started during preseason and in the opener, but had an uneven game one. While he finished with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers, he shot just 4-of-14 from the field.

According to Charania, though the Bulls want to retain DeMar DeRozan, who is on an expiring $28.6MM contract, extension talks haven’t been fruitful thus far.

“They’ve been talking about an extension, but I’m told that the sides are apart right now on multiple fronts — years, salary,” Charania said. “And also, DeMar DeRozan wants to see where this Bulls team goes. They’re 0-1 to start the year. They had a players meeting after game one of the season, and so that’s not the way to start the year.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • In an article that was published prior to the Bulls‘ season opener, center Nikola Vucevic, who was at the forefront of the players-only meeting, said he knows that unless the team makes a playoff run, management might break up the “Big Three” of Vucevic, DeRozan and Zach LaVine. “This is probably our last shot to make something happen, and we’re aware of that,” Vucevic said, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s on us to deliver.”
  • Why did Giannis Antetokounmpo decide to sign an extension with the Bucks now instead of waiting for more money next summer? As ESPN’s Bobby Marks explains (via Twitter), Antetokounmpo’s deal contains a player option for 2027/28, making him eligible for another short-term extension in 2026. That would allow the two-time MVP to sign a four-year extension in 2028, when he’ll be 33. He would not have been eligible for that same deal down the line had he waited for a more lucrative extension in 2024 due to the Over-38 rule.
  • Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen missed Wednesday’s season opener in Brooklyn as he’s still hampered with an ankle bone bruise. As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets, Allen went through individual drills with assistant coaches prior to the game and he continues to make progress while ramping up his activity.
  • Myles Garrett, a star defensive end for the NFL’s Browns, has purchased a minority stake in the Cavaliers and will serve as an “official brand ambassador” for the team, per Jake Trotter of ESPN. “As a leader on and off the field, Myles has become a Cleveland icon and shares in our organization’s commitment to being a transformative force for good across the region,” Cavs owner Dan Gilbert said in a statement. “We are honored to welcome this long-time friend of the team as our new partner and investor.”
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Rick Carlisle Signs Multiyear Extension With Pacers

October 26th, 2023 at 11:14am CST by Arthur Hill

11:14am: Carlisle’s extension is official, the Pacers announced in a press release.

“It goes without saying that Coach Carlisle is one of the most creative and successful coaches in the history of the league, so there was never a question that he continues to be the right person to lead our team,” said president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard. “His ties to this organization and community run deep, his guidance and leadership are invaluable to our players and staff, and we’re looking forward to working together for years to come as we build something special for our fans.”

8:56pm: The Pacers have reached an agreement on a multiyear contract extension with head coach Rick Carlisle, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Carlisle has posted a 60-104 record over the past two seasons after taking over a rebuilding Indiana team in 2021. It marks the second stint with the Pacers for the 63-year-old coach, who also guided the team from 2003-07.

Wojnarowski didn’t reveal any terms of the new contract, but it ensures that Carlisle will get to continue molding a promising collection of young talent. The 2022 trade for Tyrese Haliburton gave Indiana a franchise player to build around, and Myles Turner has become one of the NBA’s most productive centers.

Bennedict Mathurin is coming off a strong rookie year, and players such as Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin and Jarace Walker give Indiana a solid young foundation. The offseason signing of Bruce Brown in free agency is an indication that the Pacers want to start contending, and Carlisle provides the experience to guide them in that direction.

Carlisle is one of a handful of active coaches with an NBA title, which he won as head coach of the Mavericks in 2011. He was named Coach of the Year with the Pistons in 2002 and served as the Eastern Conference head coach in the 2004 All-Star Game.

After playing in the NBA for six seasons, Carlisle moved into coaching in 1989 as an assistant with the Nets. He also spent time as an assistant with Portland and Indiana before getting his first head coaching opportunity with Detroit in 2001. He coached the Pistons for two seasons before moving on to the Pacers in 2003 and the Mavericks in 2008. Carlisle has a career record of 897-793.

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Pacers Notes: McConnell, Brown, Toppin, Nesmith, Haliburton

October 26th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has talked about trusting all 15 of his players, but he used a condensed rotation in Wednesday’s season opener, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Carlisle kept at least one of his starters on the floor throughout the first half of the victory over Washington, and only 10 players saw action until the game was out of reach.

Carlisle appears to have a set starting five of Tyrese Haliburton, Bruce Brown, Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin and Myles Turner. Only Andrew Nembhard, Buddy Hield, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith came off the bench before halftime, and Isaiah Jackson saw some minutes in the second half after Turner got into foul trouble.

T.J. McConnell is among the players who are starting the season outside the rotation, and Carlisle said it was extremely tough to break the news to the veteran point guard.

“I had one of the most difficult conversations I’ve ever had with a player about the situation and the minutes,” Carlisle told reporters. “It was T.J. I was almost in tears talking to him about it. One of the reasons was he was so great. He was just him. He said ‘Hey, listen, I’m disappointed. I’ll be ready. I’ll be professional, you know that. I’ll do everything I can to set an example.’ But this is one of the great competitors in the history of this franchise. There certainly are going to be opportunities for him to play, but heading into this game the minutes plan didn’t shake out well for him. So we talked about it, and that was tough.”

There’s more from Indiana:

  • Brown set a career high by making six three-pointers in his first game with the Pacers, Dopirak adds. The free agent addition struggled with his shot early in the preseason, but he’s been getting better opportunities since Haliburton began playing. “It’s just the offense,” Brown said. “We play fast. Everybody’s running. Myles one time got me an open three just because of his seal at the rim. Our offense is so random. Anybody can score the ball and tonight it was me.”
  • Toppin is thrilled to have a starting job after spending his first three NBA seasons backing up Julius Randle with the Knicks, Dopirak adds in another story for the Star. Toppin loved playing in New York, where his father was a basketball legend on the local playgrounds, but he never got the playing time he needed to develop his game.
  • Nesmith said he hadn’t thought much about an extension before the Pacers began negotiations over the weekend, Dopirak states in a separate story. Nesmith signed the three-year, $33MM deal shortly before Monday’s deadline, cementing him as part of the team’s young foundation. “When Aaron Nesmith came in the trade last year, we had high hopes that he would be a long-term piece for us,” Carlisle said on Monday. “This extension obviously solidifies that. We’re really happy for him. He’s a great person, he’s a versatile player, he’s tough, he can shoot the ball, he can play different positions. It’s a great day.”
  • In another piece, Dopirak takes an in-depth look at how Haliburton was able to put himself in position to land a five-year extension this summer that could be worth as much as $260MM.
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Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Holiday, Brown, White

October 26th, 2023 at 9:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Kristaps Porzingis was showered with profane chants by a New York crowd that used to love him, but that made his Celtics debut even sweeter, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Porzingis posted 30 points, eight rebounds and four blocks on Wednesday and led a late comeback as Boston showed why it’s one of the early-season favorites to capture the NBA title.

“That was awesome, I’m not going to lie,” Porzingis said. “Playing here at the Garden is always special as the home team, obviously, but also on the road here it’s really fun. At one point it got really crazy when the fans got into it and they made the comeback. But we stayed poised, we stayed calm and we were able to finish out the game.”

Porzingis displayed the versatility he brings to the offense, scoring in a variety of ways while setting a record for most points by a player in his first game with the Celtics. He hit five of the team’s 12 three-pointers on the night, was 9-of-10 from the foul line and sank a game-changing three that gave Boston the lead for good with 1:29 remaining.

“He just makes us that much more dynamic obviously with his size, ability to shoot, make plays off the dribble,” Jayson Tatum said. “Obviously, he can shoot from wherever. I mean, he’s really good. He’s really, really good. We’re lucky to have him.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

  • Jrue Holiday also played his first game with the team Wednesday, and although he only had nine points, he made an immediate impact with his defense, Bontemps adds. Holiday blocked three shots in 34 minutes and contributed to a frustrating night for Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson, who shot a combined 11-of-43 from the field.
  • Al Horford came off the bench against the Knicks, but coach Joe Mazzulla indicated that his starting lineups may vary, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. The Celtics have six players who are used to being starters, and Holiday said they held a meeting to discuss the situation. “Us six went together and talked about it,” he said. “And honestly, it’s about what we can do for the team. No matter who starts, no matter who finishes, we all want to win. We’re all on the same page. So when it comes down to it, winning is our only option and the only thing we really want to do.”
  • It wasn’t a great night for Jaylen Brown, who was in his first game as the NBA’s highest-paid player after signing a super-max contract this summer, notes Tara Sullivan of The Boston Globe. Brown committed two horrible turnovers late in the game that helped the Knicks build a six-point lead, and Sullivan observes that he seemed to have trouble fitting into an offense that now includes Porzingis and Holiday. “It was just one game, we know how special he is,” Tatum said. “Everyone is going to have not great shooting nights, he still impacted the game in other ways. He had some key rebounds, loose balls at the end to give us more possessions. I’m not going to shoot the ball some nights, it’s all about impacting the game in other ways. JB is going to be fine, he’ll probably have a great game on Friday.”
  • Although Derrick White didn’t reach an extension before Monday’s deadline, he’s hoping for a long future in Boston, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
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Southeast Notes: Okongwu, Anthony, Hawks, Coulibaly, Poole

October 26th, 2023 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

Although a handful of players who didn’t sign rookie scale extensions prior to Monday’s deadline have insisted they won’t let their contract situations be a distraction during the 2023/24 season, Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu admitted on Tuesday that he’s happy to have gotten a deal done, since he didn’t want to have 2024 restricted free agency hanging over his head.

Okongwu signed a four-year, $62MM contract extension with the Hawks that doesn’t include any incentives or options.

“Definitely a stress relief because you know, you don’t want to have to go through all that next year,” Okongwu said, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Awesome. I love the guys here, coaching staff, my teammates. I wanted to stay here and do it with the guys. So I didn’t even want to do all that but now I can play basketball freely.”

Okongwu’s new deal will have a starting salary of $14MM in 2024/25, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), and will gradually increase from there, albeit not at the maximum rate of 8% per year.

The big man will eventually earn $16,880,000 in 2027/28, according to Marks, who notes that the deal is never projected to be worth more than 10.3% of the cap. That may turn out to be a team-friendly rate for a player who could eventually become Atlanta’s starting center.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

  • Magic guard Cole Anthony offered a similar line of thinking to Okongwu’s in explaining why he was happy to sign a rookie scale extension of his own prior to Monday’s deadline (Twitter video link via Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel). “The main reason I really wanted to get this deal done is one, I obviously love it here and I really think we have a chance to build something,” Anthony said. “But for me… (to be able to) play the game stress-free. Do what I love, have fun, and just not have to worry about a looming contract. Just go out there and know I’m cool for a few more years and just hoop and have fun.”
  • The Hawks are under pressure to take a step forward this season, according to Jeff Schultz of The Athletic, who notes that – after replacing Nate McMillan with Quin Snyder in February – another underwhelming year would result in changes that go beyond the head coach.
  • While Bilal Coulibaly started four of the Wizards‘ preseason games, the team will take a more patient approach with its rookie forward in the regular season, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, who observes that Coulibaly’s workload in Wednesday’s opener (23 minutes) is an indication of what’s to come for the 19-year-old — and may even be inflated due to garbage-time minutes. “He’s going to get some minutes,” head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said after the game. “We’re going to progress him slowly, yes. We’re not going to heap too much on him too soon. But his minutes will vary.”
  • Wizards guard Tyus Jones is impressed with what he has seen so far from new teammate Jordan Poole, suggesting that the former Warrior is determined to take his game to new heights even after averaging 20+ points per game last season. “He’s just a worker. A worker, daily; he’s dedicated,” Jones said, per Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. “I don’t want to say he’s not happy, but he’s not happy with where he’s at in his development. He’s not satisfied.”
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Bulls Hold Players-Only Meeting Following Season Opener

October 25th, 2023 at 11:06pm CST by Rory Maher

Head coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, that the Bulls held a players-only meeting on Wednesday night following the team’s season-opening loss to the Thunder. The Bulls were blown out at home, losing 124-104.

Donovan said the players requested more time amongst themselves when he entered the locker room. He added that he liked that the players were taking ownership of the poor performance.

“I mean guys want to win,” Zach LaVine said. “You put up a game like this in Game One and you don’t have some conversations … guys are frustrated. It sucks to have to happen Game One. It happened. We’ve got to go from there.”

Center Nikola Vucevic said he hopes it’s a learning moment for the team, Johnson adds.

“A lot of guys said a lot of good things, things that needed to be said,” Vucevic said. “I think we can really use this to learn and change some things that we need to change.

“It wasn’t anything crazy, no fighting or none of that. It was really constructive. It was maybe one of the first times since I’ve been here that this was like this. And it was really needed.

“I started saying some things. I really liked that so many guys jumped in and said so many good things. Not one guy is 100 percent right. Everybody had something to say and sees things differently. And when you have these constructive conversations, they can only bring positive things. I think communication is very important.

“I’ve been on teams in the past where we’ve had those, and it worked almost every time where we were able to really fix some things and move on.”

As Johnson writes, Vucevic also had a heated exchange with Donovan during the third quarter. He touched on what transpired following the game.

“Just unhappy in some of the stuff we’re doing,” he said. “Obviously, I expressed it a little bit more aggressive than I should’ve in the moment. Those happen in the heat of the moment. You’re trying to win and do what you can to help the team. I didn’t like what was going on. We talked it out. And it’s over with.”

For his part, Donovan said he had no issue with the exchange, though he admitted both parties could have handled it differently.

“It wasn’t disrespectful or anything,” Donovan said, per Johnson. “He was just frustrated with the way we were playing. I didn’t blame him. I fell in line with him. But there’s gotta be a way together we can solve those issues and problems.

“I think the confrontation piece is really, really good. I think it’s really healthy. And I think it needs to happen as much as possible.”

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And-Ones: All-Star Game, China, Howard, RSNs

October 25th, 2023 at 9:29pm CST by Rory Maher

The 2024 All-Star Game, which will be held on February 18 in Indianapolis, will revert back to the old format of East vs. West, with no captain’s draft, the NBA announced on Wednesday (via Twitter).

According to the league, the All-Star Game will also go back to the normal game format — the fourth-quarter target score with no time limit will be removed, in place of the traditional 12-minute quarter.

The voting process for players to be selected will remain the same, with 12 players chosen from each conference, per the NBA.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Former All-Star center Yao Ming, who is in the Hall of Fame and is currently president of the Chinese Basketball Association, says the NBA is still “first class” in his native country despite past conflicts, according to Amy Tennery of Reuters. “I have to say, the NBA is in the first class… (because) you know the players being exposed in China for so long,” Yao said. “The players, the teams (are) all still very well welcome in China and (we had) a couple of players with (in) China just this past summer.” As Tennery notes, former Rockets (and current Sixers) president of basketball operations Daryl Morey was criticized in China for tweeting support of protestors in Hong Kong, which strained relations between the country and the league.
  • Dwight Howard, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year who has been out of the NBA since 2021/22, is seeking to have a civil lawsuit he’s facing in Georgia dismissed, per Baxter Holmes of ESPN. Howard is accused of sexual assault and battery by a man named Stephen Harper, with the incident taking place in July 2021. According to Holmes, Howard has denied the claims, saying the encounter was consensual and that he’s being blackmailed for money.
  • Tim Bontemps of ESPN takes an in-depth look at what’s happening between Regional Sports Networks and the NBA, primarily focusing on Diamond Sports Group, which filed for bankruptcy and airs games for 15 teams via Bally Sports.
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