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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.
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.”
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.”
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.
Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels‘ five-year, $131MM+ extension features an ascending structure, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). McDaniels will make $22,586,207 in 2024/25, when the extension begins, and his salary will rise to $29,813,790 by ’27/28, the final season of the deal.
McDaniels’ extension also features a total of $5MM in bonuses that are currently considered unlikely. Those incentives are tied to making one of the two All-Defensive teams or winning Defensive Player of the Year, according to Marks.
As Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes, McDaniels celebrated his new contract by eating a “whole basket” of breadsticks at Olive Garden.
“I was just super excited and just happy that it was able to get done,” McDaniels said. “I just thank (president of basketball operations) Tim (Connelly) and all the owners for the opportunity and believing in me. It’s a life-changing thing. It’s hit me, but it hasn’t hit me all the way yet. I’m just excited to be able to stay here longer and continue to play as a Timberwolf.”
Unfortunately, McDaniels will miss Minnesota’s season opener on Wednesday in Toronto due to a left calf strain suffered in preseason, the Wolves announced in a press release. The 23-year-old is considered day-to-day with the injury.
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Anfernee Simons now has an esteemed spot in the Trail Blazers‘ locker room and it’s a position he doesn’t take for granted, he tells Jason Quick of The Athletic, who profiles the young guard’s journey to reach this point. “I don’t want to think too much about it, but at the same time, I have a sense for what it means,” Simons said. “Now I’m up in that pecking order, so there is a sense of confidence that comes with that.” Simons has taken on the challenge of becoming a better and more consistent defender in 2023/24, Quick writes.
- Scoot Henderson, the third overall pick in June’s draft, has made an immediate impact on the Trail Blazers, and he has lofty goals for the future, according to Quick of The Athletic. “I’m on a different mission than anybody else,” Henderson said. “My mission is to create something huge here. Create something really special with the talent here, and the talent that hopefully stays, especially with the young group we have with Anfernee. I’m trying to build something special here.”
- Oddsmakers have only given the Jazz a projected win total of 35.5 games this season, though 55.5% of our readers took the over on that figure. What will it take for them to reach the postseason? Tony Jones of The Athletic explores that topic, listing four things to watch for Utah to achieve that goal, including the emergence of a reliable point guard.
- In a pair of similar articles for The Deseret News, Sarah Todd writes that 2023/24 should be viewed as a failure if the Jazz don’t at least make the play-in tournament. All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen has made it clear that he wants to reach the playoffs for the first time in his career, and CEO Danny Ainge is on board with that goal, according to Todd. “We want to be in the playoffs,” Ainge said on Tuesday. “Let’s get there. I want to be in the playoffs too, Lauri. Let’s go.”
With their season tipping off on Wednesday night, the Clippers have decided to pause their pursuit of Sixers guard James Harden, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on NBA Countdown (Twitter video link).
“I’m told that with the start of the season now, at least for the foreseeable future, the Clippers are stepping back from these trade talks about James Harden — they are essentially pausing them,” Wojnarowski said.
“They have talked with Philadelphia for months about a trade,” Woj continued. “They’ve made their best offer for Harden, and they are now gonna start their season and see what this team looks like with a healthy Kawhi Leonard, a healthy Paul George.
“Now, the Clippers may revisit this at some point. But they know they’re the only bidder for James Harden. They’re the only team that’s made a serious offer. They don’t want to bid against themselves. … I think the Sixers have to wonder, ‘Have we already gotten the best offer we’re gonna get for James Harden?’ Especially as the games start to peel off the calendar. And if you’re the Clippers, why offer more when there are fewer and fewer games that James Harden can play for you?”
Harden, who asked the Sixers to trade him to L.A in June when he picked up his $35.64MM player option for the 2023/24 season, has expressed frustration with the slow pace of the negotiations multiple times in the months since then.
Back in August, he referred to Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey as a “liar” during a promotional event, later explaining to the NBA when the league investigated those comments that the club hadn’t delivered on its assurances that it would trade him “quickly.”
The former league MVP and reigning assists per game leader skipped media day and the first day of training camp before reporting to the 76ers this fall. After spending nearly two weeks away from the team, he departed last Sunday without an excused absence. However, Philadelphia later said Harden was away due to a personal matter, and there has been no indication that the club fined him for missing practices or its final preseason game.
As Wojnarowski reported this morning, Harden has returned to Philadelphia and is back with the Sixers. Various reports indicated that the 34-year-old will need to ramp up his activity before making his season debut, however, which is why he’ll be absent for Thursday’s season opener in Milwaukee.
Sam Amick of The Athletic reported last week that the Clippers have offered two protected first-round picks for Harden, but the Sixers want Terance Mann, an unprotected first-rounder and a first-round pick swap, and the Clippers have no interest in trading Mann.
According to Wojnarowski, it seems Harden’s standoff with the Sixers will continue into the season.
Hornets forward Brandon Miller, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, has been named in a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Jamea Jonae Harris, per Chris Low of ESPN. Harris was shot and killed on January 15 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Miller attended the University of Alabama during his lone college season.
The others named in the lawsuit are former Alabama player Darius Miles and Michael Davis, both of whom are facing capital murder charges for Harris’ death.
Miller has faced scrutiny for his connection to the shooting. He brought former teammate Miles the gun that was used in the killing of Harris, but insisted that he didn’t know the weapon was in the car. He cooperated in the investigation and was not charged with a crime.
According to Low, the lawsuit alleges that Miles, Davis and Miller “knew or should have known that bringing a dangerous weapon to a dispute and discharging said weapon would likely result in harm.” The complaint also alleges that the “negligence or wantonness” of the three men led to Harris’ death.
Here’s more on the Hornets:
- In an interview with Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer, Miller says his veteran teammates have been “welcoming” and he’s been working on building rapport with the Hornets since he was drafted. “Like I’ve said since day one when I came here, it’s really all about the bonds with everybody,” Miller said. “I feel like the stronger the bond, the better play on the court, just as far as knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. But getting to know each other off the court is kind of more important too, just to see what kind of person everybody is.”
- Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic spoke to 12 current and former Hornets for an oral history of what it was like to play for Charlotte with Michael Jordan as the team’s majority owner. Jordan sold his majority stake over the summer, but remains a minority shareholder.
- Veteran point guard Ish Smith, who was recently signed as a backup with Frank Ntilikina sidelined, says he was considering retirement before he received an unexpected call on Saturday, according to Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “I was driving up to a Wake Forest football game,” said Smith, a North Carolina native. “I got the phone call from (assistant general manager) Buzz (Peterson) and my agent was like, ‘Man, do you still want to play?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah. It’s home and it’s the perfect situation.’” As Boone writes, Smith worked out for Charlotte on Monday and was signed on Tuesday. The 35-year-old suggested this might be his last season. “I wasn’t going to any other state and I preferred to be here, and be home with family, friends … I was born and raised here and it will be a great story to close out here,” he said.
- Wings Bryce McGowens (left ankle sprain) and Cody Martin (left knee soreness) will be sidelined for Wednesday’s season opener against Atlanta, the Hornets announced (via Twitter). It’s a discouraging start to 2023/24 for Martin, who only played seven games last season following knee surgery.
As he enters his age-33 season, Clippers forward Paul George is thinking about the legacy he’ll leave behind when his NBA career is over, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. And George isn’t happy that he has no championship hardware to show for his four years in Los Angeles (or his nine NBA seasons before that), as injuries have repeatedly sidelined him and fellow star Kawhi Leonard.
“My legacy here is just haven’t been able to finish,” George said. “I think in a lot of ways, injury-prone, inability to finish. So can’t even say that — like, I never go into a summer like, ‘Hey, what do I need to work on to get better, what do I need to’ … I got to just try to find a way to stay healthy.”
The Clippers appear to approaching the 2023/24 season with a heightened sense of urgency. Head coach Tyronn Lue talked prior to training camp about a need to take the regular season more seriously and not just be looking ahead to the playoffs. And with both George and Leonard healthy entering the season for the first time in three years, the rest of the team has noticed a shift in the group’s collective mindset, Greif observes.
“Night-and-day different, just in terms of intensity at training camp,” Clippers guard Norman Powell said.
Here’s more from out of the Pacific:
- Leonard, who underwent surgery on his torn ACL in July of 2021, spoke repeatedly last year about the idea that the injury requires a two-year recovery period to get back to full strength. The Clippers forward reiterated that point on Tuesday, confirming he feels as good now as he has since injuring his knee in 2021. “I feel good and I’m ready to go,” Leonard said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “… Talking to guys [who suffered ACL injuries] and seeing when they do start feeling good or just trusting your knee, it’s just something that you feel and I mean one day just turns around for you.”
- Suns forward Kevin Durant tells Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports that it was “good to have stability” this summer after a tumultuous final year in Brooklyn. Durant also admitted that he’s starting to think about what his life will look like after he retires from the NBA, though he added that he wants to play for “as long as I can.”
- While much has been made over the years of LeBron James‘ desire to play with son Bronny James before he retires from the NBA, a new Beats by Dre commercial voiced by LeBron’s wife Savannah references the Lakers star’s desire to play with son Bryce James as well, notes ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). Bryce, 16, is three years younger than Bronny.
- Kings head coach Mike Brown flirted during the preseason with the idea of having Chris Duarte replace Kevin Huerter in the team’s starting five, but Huerter will be the starter at shooting guard to open the season, Brown confirmed on Tuesday (Twitter link via James Ham of The Kings Beat).
The Suns violated league rules related to the timing of free agency discussions and have been forced to forfeit a 2024 second-round pick, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
As we relayed earlier today, the league was investigating possible early contact with free agent Drew Eubanks, the former Portland center who signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with Phoenix in July. According to today’s announcement, the league did find that the Suns engaged in discussions involving Eubanks before free agency began.
Eubanks’ agreement with Phoenix was reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic at 5:05 pm Central time on June 30, five minutes after free agency officially opened.
The Suns issued the following statement (via Twitter) in response to the NBA’s ruling:
“We are disappointed with the results of the NBA investigation. If there was a violation, it was inadvertent. We are focused on complying with league rules and competing at the highest level every year. With that being said, we accept the penalty from the league and are focused on looking forward to this season.”
The Suns have traded away all of their own future second-round selections for the next seven years (picks in 2031 and beyond aren’t yet moveable), so they’ll surrender Denver’s 2024 second-rounder, which they acquired from Orlando in July.
Phoenix’s will receive San Antonio’s second-round pick in 2024 if it falls between Nos. 50-54. Otherwise, the club won’t have a second-rounder until 2026, when it will receive either the Pistons’, Bucks’, or Magic’s pick (whichever is least favorable). The Suns have also traded away either their first-round pick or swap rights on their first-round pick for the next seven drafts.
This is the fourth consecutive year that at least one team has had a second-round selection rescinded for free agency gun-jumping. The NBA penalized the Bucks in 2020 (for Bogdan Bogdanovic), the Heat and Bulls in 2021 (for Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball, respectively), and the Sixers and Knicks in 2022.
Philadelphia was forced to forfeit two future second-round selections for early contact with both P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, while New York gave up a single pick for talking to Jalen Brunson before free agency began.