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Cavs Receive Permission To Interview David Adelman

June 4th, 2024 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have requested and received permission to meet with Nuggets assistant David Adelman about their head coaching vacancy, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Adelman, 43, is Michael Malone‘s top assistant in Denver and has served as acting head coach in a handful of instances when Malone was unavailable. He has drawn praise from Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon for his coaching acumen.

The son of longtime NBA head coach Rick Adelman, David began his coaching career at the high school level before being hired by the Timberwolves in 2011. He was in Minnesota for five seasons, spent the 2016/17 campaign with Orlando, and arrived in Denver in 2017.

Adelman has received head coaching consideration from the Lakers and Hornets this offseason after having previously interviewed with the Raptors when they were seeking a head coach last spring.

As our head coaching search tracker shows, Adelman is the sixth candidate reported to be interviewing with the Cavaliers, who are conducting a head coaching search after parting ways with J.B. Bickerstaff. Cleveland’s other interviewees include Kenny Atkinson, James Borrego, Johnnie Bryant, Micah Nori, and Chris Quinn.

A recent report stated that the Cavs could end up talking to upwards of about 10 candidates, so additional updates on contenders for the job could still be forthcoming. Former NBA head coach and current Bucks assistant Dave Joerger is expected to meet with the team, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who says Mavericks assistant Alex Jensen could get an interview too.

The Cavs have done plenty of background work on Terry Stotts, but one source describes him as a long shot for the job, says Fedor. Sources also tell Cleveland.com that the club isn’t expected to talk to Frank Vogel, who was dismissed last month by the Suns.

Kristaps Porzingis On Track To Return For Game 1 Of Finals

June 4th, 2024 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

12:01pm: While Porzingis admitted he’s not sure if he’s 100%, he confirmed today to reporters that “the plan” is for him to play in Game 1, tweets Brian Robb of MassLive.com.

“We have a couple more days,” Porzingis said. “I’ve done a lot of work up until this point. I’ve done everything needed to get back into playing shape.”

9:44am: Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis, who has been on the shelf for over a month due to a calf strain, is on track to return to action in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, assuming he doesn’t experience a setback before Thursday’s tip-off, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Porzingis was injured during Game 4 of the Celtics’ first-round series vs. Miami on April 29. He was a diagnosed with a strained right soleus, which is a muscle in the calf, and missed the entire Eastern Conference semifinals vs. Cleveland, as well as the conference finals vs. Indiana.

However, Porzingis has been ramping up his activity in recent weeks in the hopes of returning for the NBA Finals. According to Charania, the 28-year-old has participated in multiple scrimmages within the last few days.

“Monday was a very, very critical day for Kristaps Porzingis and the Celtics,” Charania said during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link). “He completed a second 5-on-5 scrimmage in three days. It was a success, he came out well.”

It’s unclear whether Porzingis will immediately reclaim his spot in the starting lineup once he’s cleared to return — or what sort of minutes limit he might face. During his absence, reserve center Al Horford has started Boston’s past 10 games, with Luke Kornet, Oshae Brissett, and Xavier Tillman all seeing some minutes off the bench at the five.

A healthy Porzingis would provide rim protection on defense and would add one more dimension to the Celtics’ offensive attack. In his three full playoff games before he was injured, he averaged 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game on .419/.412/.900 shooting.

International Notes: Germany, Italy, FAs, Carmelo, NBL, J. Parker

June 4th, 2024 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

The German national team, winner of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, has officially announced a 16-man preliminary roster for the 2024 Olympics, as Eurohoops relays.

The 16-man group features all 12 players who were part of the World Cup roster, including veteran NBAers like Dennis Schröder, Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner, and Daniel Theis. Four additional players will also be competing for spots on the 12-man Olympic squad: Oscar Da Silva (Barcelona), Leon Kratzer (Paris), Louis Olinde (ALBA Berlin), and Nick Weiler-Babb (Bayern Munich).

Meanwhile, the Italian national team has announced a far more expansive preliminary roster, identifying 30 players who will be in the mix for spots on the 12-man squad that will compete in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico this summer.

As previously reported, Pistons forward Simone Fontecchio won’t be part of Italy’s 2024 roster since he’s recovering from toe surgery. However, as Eurohoops notes, the 30-man group features a handful of names that will be familiar to NBA fans, including Bucks forward Danilo Gallinari and former NBA players such as Nico Mannion and Nicolo Melli.

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

Could Gallinari or Furkan Korkmaz end up signing with a European team when their NBA contracts expire this summer? Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops identifies 10 NBA free agents, including Gallinari and Korkmaz, who are potential candidates to make their way overseas in the coming weeks or months.
Carmelo Anthony has been named the Global Ambassador for the National Basketball League’s Next Stars program, Australia’s top basketball league announced on Monday in a press release. Like TNT analyst Kenny Smith, who was named the head of the Next Stars initiative back in April, Anthony will also join the ownership group of an NBL expansion team. The 10-time NBA All-Star spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about his decision to get involved with the NBL and his goal of eventually owning a stake in an NBA franchise.
Former No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker, who last played in the NBA in January 2022 and spent the 2023/24 season with FC Barcelona, teared up when asked in a media session about his first year playing outside of the U.S. (Twitter video link via BasketNews). As Marc Mundet relays (via Twitter), the former NBA forward explained later why he became overcome with emotion. “It was all happiness,” Parker said. “It was gratitude for this organization for giving me an opportunity. … Because of this place, I found my love for the game again. I wasn’t sure if I would play basketball again, but because of FC Barcelona, the fans, my teammates, my coaches, my friends here, I’ve found that love again and that passion.”

Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 6/4/2024

June 4th, 2024 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 11 a.m. Central time (noon Eastern). Click here to read the transcript.

Categories:
Hoops Rumors Chats

Mavericks Sign GM Nico Harrison To Contract Extension

June 4th, 2024 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

Less than a month after signing head coach Jason Kidd to a long-term extension, the Mavericks have also locked up general manager Nico Harrison, announcing today in a press release that they’ve finalized a new multiyear deal with their top front office decision-maker.

“Nico Harrison has demonstrated his leadership and capabilities in the Dallas Mavericks organization,” team governor Patrick Dumont said in a statement. “His vision, along with his efforts on behalf of our players and staff have propelled our team to two playoff appearances in three seasons and of course this year’s NBA Finals. We are proud to have him as part of our team for the long term, and we are excited to watch him continue to build on the foundation of success he has helped establish.”

Harrison, who was hired by the Mavericks as their head of basketball operations in 2021 after spending nearly two decades at Nike, is wrapping up the third year of his initial four-year contract. With Dallas set to compete in the 2024 NBA Finals, it was essentially a foregone conclusion that the franchise would work out a new deal for Harrison rather than letting him enter next season as a lame duck.

Harrison’s key moves since arriving in Dallas include hiring Kidd as head coach and signing Luka Doncic to a rookie scale extension in his first summer with the team, trading for Kyrie Irving at the 2023 deadline, drafting Dereck Lively last spring, and acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at this year’s trade deadline.

While the Mavericks had a disappointing 38-44 season in 2022/23, that year was sandwiched by a 52-30 showing and a Western Conference finals appearance in ’21/22 and a 50-32 record and an NBA Finals appearance this season. Overall, Dallas has gone 140-106 (.569) during the regular season under Harrison, with a playoff record of 21-14 (.706).

“I am incredibly grateful to Patrick and the entire Dumont and Adelson family for their continued trust and confidence and to Mark for his willingness to hire an unconventional candidate,” Harrison said in a statement. “Patrick and his family have accepted me as their own from day one and I am honored to work alongside them, as well as Jason Kidd, as we continue to build a winning culture in Dallas.”

NBA Announces 2024 Draft Schedule

June 4th, 2024 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

After having reached an agreement with the players’ union to make the 2024 draft a two-day affair, the NBA has officially announced the start times for this year’s event (Twitter link).

According to the league, day one (the first round) will start at its usual time of 8:00 pm Eastern on Wednesday, June 26. However, day two (the second round) will begin earlier in the day on Thursday, June 27, airing at 4:00 pm ET.

As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic points out (via Twitter), the NBA may have initially planned to start round two in prime-time on Thursday, rather than in the afternoon, but with a U.S. presidential debate scheduled for the evening of June 27, it makes sense to avoid competing with that broadcast.

In past years, the first round of the draft has begun at 8:00 pm ET on a Thursday and typically runs for three-plus hours, with the second round not getting underway until closer to 11:30 pm ET. That has resulted in round two wrapping up well past midnight and post-draft updates about undrafted free agents agreeing to two-way contracts and Exhibit 10 deals continuing well into the early hours of Friday morning.

Having split the draft into two days this year, the NBA should be able to finish up the first night at a more reasonable hour on Wednesday, with the second round concluding in the early evening on Thursday (teams will have four minutes instead of two to make second-round selections this year). Those post-draft reports on UDFA signings will likely stream in throughout Thursday evening and into the night following the conclusion of the second round.

The full draft order for 2024, from the Hawks at No. 1 to the Mavericks at No. 58, can be found right here.

Northwest Notes: Markkanen, Thunder, Wallace, Wolves

June 3rd, 2024 at 10:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen won’t play for Finland in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Spain, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net reports. Markkanen aggravated an impingement to his right shoulder in late March and the injury has still not fully healed.

“Certainly, this is tough,” the Jazz forward said in a statement. “Representing Finland and playing for the national team is an honor for me. Along with my teammates, we have been talking all season about how sweet it would be to advance to the Olympic Games.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The Thunder had an overload of players on their roster last offseason but that won’t be the case this time around, Rylan Stiles of SI.com notes. Oklahoma City will have four open standard contract roster spots available with Gordon Hayward, Bismack Biyombo, Mike Muscala and possibly Lindy Waters III (club option) headed to free agency. They will also have at least one two-way spot available with Olivier Sarr tearing his Achilles late last season. He’s expected to be out all of next season.
Cason Wallace exceeded expectations in his rookie season with the Thunder, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. Wallace, the No. 10 pick of last year’s draft, appeared in every game and make the All-Rookie Second Team. He also shot 41.9% from 3-point range and displayed strong defensive skills.
In draft news, Melvin Ajinca (France), Jalen Bridges (Baylor), Tristan Enaruna (Cleveland State), Ajay Mitchell (UC Santa Barbara), Jonathan Mogbo (San Francisco) and Baylor Scheierman (Creighton) worked out for the Timberwolves on Monday, the team’s PR department tweets. Scheierman is currently ranked No. 26 on ESPN’s Best Available list.

And-Ones: Rubio, Williams, Porzingis, Bertans, Parity

June 3rd, 2024 at 9:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After retiring from the NBA in January, Ricky Rubio signed with Barcelona in February on a one-year contract. The longtime NBA point guard is uncertain about his basketball future after his Spanish team lost to Real Madrid in the Liga ACB semifinals, Eurohoops.net relays. Rubio said he’ll need a few weeks to clear his head and decide what he wants to do next.

“These months, I’ve felt strange; I’ve wanted to change some things,” Rubio said. “Coming in the middle of the season is not easy, my way of being, more reserved and not feeling 100%. I don’t think I’ve been everything I expected, but I didn’t have any expectations either, but it’s clear that the balance is not good.”

We have more from around the basketball world:

Trevion Williams is reportedly in advanced talks with Barcelona, according to Sportando’s Alessandro Maggi. There is already a “pre-agreement” in place, pending the final decision on the hiring of the new coach. Williams, who played collegiately at Purdue, was waived by the Warriors during their 2022 training camp. He played for a German team this past season.
Latvia’s national team has unveiled its preliminary 24-man roster for the Olympic qualifying tournament, according to Eurohoops.net. Kristaps Porzingis heads the list of players, which also includes another NBA notable, Davis Bertans. Porzingis stated on social media last week that he was looking forward to playing with his national team this summer.
Parity has become the new norm for the NBA, The Athletic’s John Hollinger writes. The championship continues to change hands every year and lower seeds have a legitimate chance to make a deep run. Hollinger concludes that if a contender is good enough to get to the second round, anything can happen.

Community Shootaround: Pistons’ Offseason

June 3rd, 2024 at 8:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trajan Langdon, the Pistons‘ new president of basketball operations, has an enormous task ahead of him.

The Pistons were supposed to turn the corner this season and show marked improvement. Instead, they smashed into a brick wall, setting a single-season record for most consecutive losses and finishing with the league’s worst record. Adding to their misery, they dropped from the top spot to No. 5 in the draft lottery.

Troy Weaver’s four-year regime as general manager was a disaster. The Pistons won the lottery in 2021 and drafted Cade Cunningham, the only player on the roster with All-Star potential. Otherwise, his personnel moves only made a bad situation worse.

Langdon has been tasked with building a roster around Cunningham to maximize his talents. That means some serious evaluations of other recent first-round picks – Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart and Marcus Sasser – on the roster. All of those players have shown talent to some degree but none are surefire starters on a quality team.

Langdon also has some decisions to make regarding restricted free agent Simone Fontecchio and Quentin Grimes, who is extension-eligible as he enters a contract year. It’s generally assumed the club will retain Fontecchio, who provided much-needed outside shooting after he was acquired from Utah, as long he doesn’t receive an overly generous offer sheet. Grimes, who barely played after being acquired from the Knicks due to injuries, is a bigger question mark.

The good news is the Pistons will have plenty of cap room – projected around $60MM – to spend on free agents and facilitate trades. The fact they still owe the Knicks a first-round pick hampers their ability to include draft assets in deals.

Another obvious issue is coach Monty Williams, who still has five years left on his contract. Langdon apparently has the leeway to hire another coach, but owner Tom Gores might not want to eat that much money unless Langdon has someone specific in mind who can turn things around quickly.

And that’s what makes the new president’s job even more difficult. The organization and its fans are tired of losing and don’t want to go through another long rebuilding process to see some positive results. Yet he inherits a roster that looked overmatched against its opponents on a regular basis.

That brings us to our topic of the day: What kind of moves should Langdon make this offseason to turn around the team’s fortunes? What type of players should he target in free agency and trades and which young players on his roster should he be willing to deal? Should he retain Williams or look for another coach?

Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Clippers Notes: Mann, George, Harden, Offseason

June 3rd, 2024 at 7:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Terance Mann is crossing his fingers that free agent Paul George will re-sign with the Clippers. During an interview on FanDuel’s Run It Back program (video link), Mann said, “I hope (he returns), but you never know with this free agency stuff. We had a great chance this year if we were healthy, so I hope we get him back.”

We have more on the Clippers:

When James Harden makes his personal choice for greatest player of all-time, he looks at Los Angeles’ other team and its late great star. “I mean, there was only one person who made me love, I mean fall in love with the game, and that’s Kobe Bryant,” Harden told Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype. “Being from L.A. and being a Lakers fan watching him grow up and win several championships and his passion and love and what he did for the game of basketball, I think the world, you know, feels the same way, but that’s why I started playing basketball. The skill set and things that I’ve learned, I kind of picked up on my own, but as far as falling in love with the game, it’s definitely been Kobe.”
In a YouTube video, Yossi Gozlan addresses a number of Clippers topics, including what might happen with George and Harden in free agency and the team’s payroll constraints. Ultimately, Gozlan believes it’s possible the Clippers could slowly break apart if the team continues to fall short of expectations.
In a written breakdown of the Clippers’ offseason outlook for Spotrac, Keith Smith anticipates the roster will look much the same if the Clippers are able to re-sign George and Harden. The second tax apron will make it difficult for them to make trades and to do any other roster retooling.