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Latest On Timberwolves’ Ownership Situation

March 29th, 2024 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Current Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor and the Marc Lore/Alex Rodriguez-led group that expected to take over control of the team have a difference of opinion over whether the prospective owners should have been granted an extension on Wednesday’s deadline to finalize the sale, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

As Hine explains, language in the sale agreement indicated that the March 27 deadline could have been extended by 90 days if the two sides were awaiting NBA approval to complete the deal. A source tells The Star Tribune that Lore and Rodriguez submitted paperwork to the league last week to complete the agreement and believed a 90-day extension should have been granted in order to give the NBA time to make its decision.

However, Taylor stated that an agreement between him and the Lore/Rodriguez group needed to be completed before the league could approve it, and he believes no such deal was in place.

“They didn’t meet our obligations, so we’re just saying the deal is off,” Taylor said. “But even if we said, ‘OK, we think we have a deal with you,’ they have to start all over and go to the league and the league has to approve of them. … That’s no guarantee.”

According to Patrick Reusse of The Star Tribune, Taylor also pushed back on reports claiming that his relationship with Lore and Rodriguez has “deteriorated” over the past couple years.

“I don’t know if that’s accurate,” he told Reusse. “Lore told me he has been busy 24/7 with other projects. And A-Rod — he has a lot of people to meet when he’s at a game. The deadline had been pushed back, and they missed it. That’s what led to this.”

Taylor also acknowledged that litigation is a possibility if Lore and Rodriguez want to pursue their claim to ownership: “Everyone has the right to bring in the lawyers.”

Here’s more on the Timberwolves’ ownership drama:

According to Reusse, Taylor dismissed the idea that an increase in NBA franchise valuations over the past two to three years led to his decision to strictly enforce Wednesday’s deadline and nix the sale. “Not for me,” said Taylor, who initially agreed to sell the Wolves for a $1.5 billion valuation. “My money’s going to the Taylor Foundation, not in my pocket. But my limited (partners), they might be happy if the Timberwolves are sold later for a higher price.”
On the other hand, a statement Taylor gave to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link) didn’t exactly put to bed the idea that the longtime Wolves owner is experiencing seller’s remorse. “I just think (we) built this team,” Taylor said in explaining why he’s not putting the team back on the market. “We’ve got the players now. And it appears to me that we should have a very positive run for a number of years, and I want to be a part of that.”
Reusse’s Star Tribune column on the situation includes several more tidbits of note, including Taylor specifying that the Lore/Rodriguez group currently owns 36% of the team. “I will work with them, as I do with my other limited (partners),” Taylor said. The 82-year-old also repeated a point he’s made before, telling Reusse that if he was concerned about maximizing his payout, he could’ve agreed to sell the Wolves to an owner that wasn’t committed to keeping the franchise in Minnesota. “We could’ve gotten $2.5 billion paid upfront, but that person was going to try to move the team to Las Vegas,” Taylor said.
Josh Kosman and Ryan Glasspiegel of The New York Post take an in-depth look at why the deal didn’t go through, suggesting that Lore was “laser-focused” in recent months on his gourmet food delivery-company Wonder and left the final stage of the process largely to Rodriguez. According to The Post’s sources, Lore put more money in during the group’s first two rounds of payments and wanted Rodriguez to invest more this time around to “catch up,” so it was left to A-Rod to raise capital.
Sources tell Kosman and Glasspiegel that Rodriguez was trying to sell interests at a valuation of over $2 billion, rather than his $1.5 billion valuation, which diminished enthusiasm among potential investors to some extent, especially since those investors would be playing “second fiddle” within the ownership hierarchy. While A-Rod eventually raised the money necessary – the equity fund Blue Owl HomeCourt made an investment, per Hine, after the NBA rejected The Carlyle Group, per The Post – “the whole process was delayed” and went down to the wire, according to Kosman and Glasspiegel.
Mike Conley said today that the ownership situation doesn’t have much of an impact at this time on the Timberwolves’ players, who are focused on their Friday matchup with the rival Nuggets, tweets Hine. “Maybe it affects the image of the team, the aura of the team around a little bit,” Conley said. “But as far as the players are concerned, I think we just are like, ‘Damn, that’s crazy.’ Then we got back to watching film and worrying about (Nikola) Jokic, Jamal Murray, and (Michael) Porter and those guys.”

Southwest Notes: Green, Rockets, Mavs, Kidd, Clarke, V. Williams

March 29th, 2024 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Jalen Green‘s in-season turnaround in Houston has been remarkable, according to Mark Deeks of HoopsHype. As Deeks writes, after looking like a potential trade candidate at last month’s deadline, the Rockets guard is now making a legitimate case for a maximum-salary rookie scale extension this offseason.

Green led the Rockets to their 10th straight victory on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, putting up an eye-popping line of 37 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Houston is now one game back of Golden State for the No. 10 spot in the West and Green is confident the club will finish in the top 10.

“We’re going to get a play-in game,” Green said after Wednesday’s win, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “We’re going to keep going.”

Whether or not the Rockets pass the Warriors – or another Western Conference team – in the standings before the end of the regular season, head coach Ime Udoka is pleased that his young squad is getting the opportunity to play meaningful games this late in the year after winning no more than 22 games in each of the previous three seasons.

“I think it’s invaluable for our young guys to go through this,” Udoka said. “And obviously making the playoffs or play-in will be another step, but just going through what they are now and coming on the other side of .500 is huge for them.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Although many of Green’s best performances – and the Rockets‘ recent winning streak – have come since Alperen Sengun went down with ankle and knee injuries, Udoka expressed confidence that the two rising stars will be able to excel alongside one another when both are healthy. “I think that they can complement each other very well,” Udoka said during an appearance on The Matt Thomas Show (Twitter audio link).
Within a detailed story exploring the Western Conference playoff race, Sam Amick of The Athletic outlines how the Mavericks‘ play on defense has keyed the team’s recent hot streak, which includes nine wins in 10 games. Amick also cites sources who say that head coach Jason Kidd hopes to sign a contract extension with the franchise this offseason. Kidd is under contract for one more season beyond this one, notes Amick.
After a long recovery from an Achilles injury, Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke made his season debut on Wednesday vs. the Lakers. Clarke was effective in his return, with a +15 mark in 21 minutes of action in a 12-point loss. The team intends to take a cautious approach to his playing time in the season’s final weeks, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “We’re definitely going to be smart with his minutes after the long layoff,” head coach Taylor Jenkins said. “We’ll take it week by week. It’s not going to be a game by game thing.”
While Clarke is back in action, the Grizzlies still have no recovery timeline for injured shooting guard Vince Williams, who has been out since March 8 due to left patellar tendonitis, tweets Cole.

Cavaliers Sign Marcus Morris For Rest Of Season

March 29th, 2024 at 12:16pm CST by Rory Maher

MARCH 29: The Cavaliers have officially signed Morris for the remainder of the season, the team confirmed today in a press release.

MARCH 28: Forward Marcus Morris saw his 10-day contract with the Cavaliers expire overnight, temporarily making him an unrestricted free agent.

However, he won’t remain a free agent for long — according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link), the Cavs plan to bring Morris back on a deal that covers the remainder of the 2023/24 season.

Many players who sign 10-day deals don’t play much for their new clubs, but that was not the case for Morris. He averaged 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game across his five appearances with Cleveland.

A 13-year NBA veteran, Morris has technically been on four teams this season, but he didn’t play in any games for two of them (the Clippers and Spurs). He was sent from L.A. to Philadelphia in the James Harden deal, then shipped from Philly to San Antonio at the February deadline.

The 34-year-old was waived by the Spurs at the end of last month, making him eligible for the playoffs. He found a new team a couple weeks later when he signed with Cleveland.

The Cavs have one opening on their standard roster, which means they don’t need to cut anyone to re-sign Morris. Their 18-man roster will be full once the deal is official.

Sixers’ Nick Nurse, Kelly Oubre Fined $50K Apiece

March 29th, 2024 at 11:41am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has fined Sixers head coach Nick Nurse and forward Kelly Oubre $50K each, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

According to the NBA’s statement, Nurse was fined for “aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing” game officials, while Oubre got his fine as a result of “verbally abusing and directing an obscene gesture” toward game officials.

The incident in question occurred at the end of the Sixers’ one-point loss to the Clippers on Wednesday. With Philadelphia down 108-107 in the final seconds of the game, Oubre drove to the basket and appeared to draw contact with Paul George as the Clippers’ forward impeded his path to the rim (Twitter video link).

No foul was called, however, allowing the Clippers to hang onto their lead and leave with the victory. Nurse and Oubre both expressed their displeasure over the non-call to the referees following the buzzer, with Oubre in particular appearing to do so in colorful terms (Twitter video link).

Referee crew chief Kevin Scott admitted in a pool interview after the game that a foul should have been called on George on the game’s final play, while Oubre apologized to the officials during his post-game media session for “losing his cool.”

L.A. Notes: Kawhi, George, Hachimura, Lakers

March 29th, 2024 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard met the criteria for postseason award eligibility on Wednesday when he appeared in his 66th game of the season, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Leonard logged just 12 minutes in one of his first 65 contests, which is why he needed a 66th game to meet that benchmark.

The achievement is notable for a couple reasons. For one, Leonard was viewed by many NBA fans as one of the faces of the new 65-game rule due to his history of load management, though he pushed back against that idea last fall.

More importantly, Leonard has built a solid All-NBA case this season, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while posting an elite .524/.415/.887 shooting line and playing strong defense. Leonard earned his sixth All-Star nod earlier this season — he has made an All-NBA team in each of his previous five All-Star seasons.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles teams:

In a pair of stories about Paul George, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report examines the star forward’s contract situation and considers whether a new deal with the Clippers is the likeliest outcome, while Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN explores why George has become the model NBA archetype for young NBA wings — as well as for NBA 2K players.
Making Rui Hachimura a full-time starter has been a huge success for the Lakers and has put the fifth-year forward in position to thrive, as Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group details. Since reinserting Hachimura into the starting five on February 3, the Lakers are 16-7, while the 26-year-old has averaged 15.7 PPG on .584/.453/.667 shooting in those 23 games. Head coach Darvin Ham said that playing alongside other offensive threats has given Hachimura more room to operate. “Him coming off the bench, there was times where they treated him like (LeBron James),” Ham said. “They know how he can definitely score at all three levels. He draws a lot of attention without having those guys on the floor.”
Zach Kram of The Ringer pushes back on a social media conspiracy theory that the NBA’s referees are favoring the Lakers, explaining that the free throw disparity between Los Angeles and its opponents isn’t out of the ordinary when compared to leaders in that category in previous seasons. Kram points out that the Lakers’ style of play often leads to a free throw advantage because they attempt far fewer three-pointers and more shots at the rim than average on offense, while the opposite is true on defense. The Lakers have taken 435 more free throws than their opponents, but those opponents have attempted 513 more threes than L.A, Kram adds.

And-Ones: Olympics, March Madness, Ignite, Betting

March 29th, 2024 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

The schedule for the men’s basketball tournament at the 2024 Olympics was officially released this week by FIBA, who put out a press release revealing the dates and times for all the Olympic games that will be played in France.

Team USA will be in action on July 28 (vs. Serbia), July 31 (vs. South Sudan), and August 3 (vs. the winner of the qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico). Following the round-robin stage of the tournament, the quarterfinals will be played on August 6, followed by the semifinals on Aug. 8 and the gold medal and bronze medal games on Saturday, Aug. 10.

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

How heavily do NBA teams weigh a prospect’s performance in March Madness games on college basketball’s biggest stage? Jeremy Woo explores that topic in an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, writing that most evaluators consider it a small piece of a much larger puzzle. “You get to watch players in games where their backs are against the wall and see how they react to that,” one Eastern Conference scout said. “This is do or die. So some guys you can see that they shrivel in those situations, and some guys thrive.”
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports takes a look at the “complicated legacy” of the G League Ignite, considering the challenges the program for prospective NBA prospects faced and why it ultimately didn’t work. The league announced last week that the Ignite won’t be returning for the 2024/25 season.
As the NBA investigates Jontay Porter due to irregularities related to prop bets, NCAA president Charlie Baker said the organization is looking to ban prop bets on college athletes, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Prop bets, which allow fans to wager on points, rebounds, assists, and other stats put up by specific player in single games, have already been prohibited for college sports in several states.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes a closer look at the can of worms the Porter situation opens for the NBA, speaking to several sources about the issue, including one agent who says it will be “a wake-up call for everyone.”

Checking In On 10-Day Contracts

March 29th, 2024 at 9:03am CST by Luke Adams

As our tracker shows, there are currently seven 10-day contracts active around the NBA, though that number will dip to three in less than 24 hours. Here are the details on those active 10-day deals:

Detroit Pistons: Chimezie Metu (runs through 3/29)
Memphis Grizzlies: DeJon Jarreau (runs through 3/29) *
Memphis Grizzlies: Maozinha Pereira (runs through 3/29) *
Phoenix Suns: Isaiah Thomas (runs through 3/29)
Chicago Bulls: Javonte Green (runs through 4/1) *
Philadelphia 76ers: D.J. Wilson (runs through 4/2)
Toronto Raptors: Kobi Simmons (runs through 4/2)

(* Contracts marked with an asterisk were signed via a hardship exception.)

Of those seven players, only Jarreau is on his second 10-day deal with his current team, meaning he’ll be ineligible to return to the Grizzlies on another 10-day contract after this one expires.

Since he was signed using a hardship exception, the only way for Jarreau to remain with Memphis beyond Friday would be for the team to waive one of its 15 players on standard contracts to make room on the roster to sign him for the rest of the season, which likely isn’t happening.

Pereira could sign a second 10-day contract with Memphis though, and as long as they continue to qualify for a second hardship exception, I’d expect the Grizzlies to bring in a new player on a 10-day deal to replace Jarreau.

Each of the non-Grizzlies players in this group is eligible to sign a second 10-day contract with his team, and since the regular season doesn’t end until April 14, there’s more than enough days left in the season to accommodate such arrangements. That doesn’t mean that Metu, Thomas, Green, Wilson, or Simmons are locks to stick around, but they’re in good position to do so if they make a positive impression during their initial 10-day stints.

The last day to sign a standard 10-day contract this season is one week away. After April 5, teams would still be able to sign “10-day” contracts using a hardship exception, but any standard deal would be a rest-of-season or multiyear agreement.

Suns Notes: Thomas, Nurkic, Beal, Young

March 29th, 2024 at 8:04am CST by Luke Adams

Isaiah Thomas, whose 10-day contract with the Suns will expire following Friday’s game in Oklahoma City, hasn’t had a chance to make much of an impression in his first five games with the team, logging just 1:48 of garbage-time action in his lone appearance last Wednesday.

Still, the veteran guard has earned praise from his coaches and teammates based on his performances in practices and pickup games, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic details. Devin Booker told reporters that Thomas looks “great,” while Josh Okogie said the 35-year-old has been “the Isaiah we all know.”

“He’s looked really good,” head coach Frank Vogel said after watching Thomas participate in a pickup game on Tuesday. “Healthy and still can fill it up. He can shoot it. He can attack in pick-and-rolls and he’s a hell of a passer, too.”

According to Vogel, the Suns will make a decision on a possible second 10-day deal for Thomas once his initial contract expires. With more than two weeks left in the regular season, the team is in position to potentially give Thomas 10 more days before having to make a decision on whether to commit to him for the rest of the season.

“I’m just taking it day by day,” Thomas said, per Rankin. “I hope I’m here the rest of the way because I know I can help, whether I’m playing or not. I know my voice helps. My leadership helps. My experience helps, but that’s out of my control. I’m just here taking it day-by-day and doing what I can and controlling the things I can control and that’s by being a great teammate each and every day.”

Here’s more on the Suns:

After missing Wednesday’s win in Denver due to a right ankle sprain, Suns center Jusuf Nurkic is considered questionable to return on Friday in Oklahoma City, per the official injury report. Drew Eubanks earned his fifth start of the season on Wednesday with Nurkic out and would presumably remain in the starting five if the Bosnian big man is unable to go tonight.
Bradley Beal played on Wednesday after spraining his right ring finger on Monday and isn’t on Friday’s injury report. He told reporters that he’ll likely have pain in that finger for a few weeks, but intends to play through it (Twitter video link via Rankin).
Beal and Booker combined to make just 8-of-28 field goal attempts against the Nuggets. However, as Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic, Kevin Durant scored 30 points and the Suns’ bench outscored Denver’s reserves by 14 as Phoenix bounced back from Monday’s disappointing loss to the Victor Wembanyama-less Spurs to beat the defending champs on the road.
One of the Suns’ reserves who came up big on Wednesday was Thaddeus Young, a buyout market addition who hadn’t seen much action yet for Phoenix. He had six points and nine rebounds and was a +15 in 18 minutes vs. Denver. “It’s going to be tough to keep him off the floor now,” Booker said of Young, who also earned praise from Vogel (Twitter video link via Rankin).

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Bey, Ball, Clifford, Heat

March 28th, 2024 at 11:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Hawks’ surprise comeback victory against the Celtics on Monday served as testament, in part, to the growth of Atlanta’s developing young backups, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Hawks ultimately bested a top-seeded Boston team 120-118 after trailing by as many as 30 points. That marks the biggest rally in the league across the past 26 years. Williams notes that backups Vit Krejci and Bruno Fernando served as key pieces in the victory. The duo played big roles in part as a result of injuries to Bey, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu and All-Star Trae Young.

“I mean, it’s a next-man mentality,” Krejci said. “We got a couple guys out. But we still believe that with the roster we have, right now, we can compete with anybody.”

The Hawks followed Monday’s victory up with a 120-106 win over the Trail Blazers on Wednesday and a 123-122 overtime victory over the Celtics tonight. Atlanta now finds itself in the midst of a four-game win streak. At 34-39, the team sits just one game behind the 35-38 Bulls for the East’s ninth seed.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Hawks small forward Saddiq Bey‘s surgery on his torn left ACL on Thursday was a success, Atlanta has announced (Twitter link). The Hawks reveal that Dr. Riley Williams at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York conducted the procedure, and that Bey will stay in New York for an estimated 10 days.
Star Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball was ruled out for the season earlier today due to his lingering right ankle ailment, which is especially bittersweet given his impressive play prior to that injury, writes Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. His 23.9 PPG and 1.8 SPG this year represented career highs, as did his 8.3 made field goals and 4.1 converted free throws. “I want to say the last nine games he played, he was top-five in scoring, top-five in assists and I think top two or three in crunch time scoring and crunch time assists,” head coach Steve Clifford said. “I think it was easy to get excited about and it’s also something he can build on… Look, injuries are a part of this league and, again, all I know is he’s been incredibly diligent. So, it’s not anybody’s fault. It’s just the way it’s worked out.” The injury-prone Ball, whose maximum rookie-scale salary extension kicks in next season, has only played more than 51 games in a season once, during his lone All-Star year in 2021/22.
Several key Heat contributors could be back on the floor for the team soon, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Starting shooting guard Tyler Herro put in a shooting workout after practice on Thursday as he continues to gradually recuperate from his right foot medial tendinitis. “We don’t have a timeline [for a comeback], but yeah it’s definitely encouraging that he’s able to get on the wood and start to get ready,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Herro, who has missed 16 straight games since February 23. Reserve floor-spacing center Kevin Love has seen his status for Friday’s matchup with the lottery-bound Trail Blazers improved to probable as he continues to work his way back from a bruised right heel. Star swingman Jimmy Butler is also considered probable to return after sitting out the team’s Tuesday loss to the Heat with an illness.

Central Notes: Haliburton, Turner, Strus, Green

March 28th, 2024 at 9:14pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Assuming he remains healthy, Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton is on track to appear in 69 games this season. Haliburton has noted in the past that he felt he returned a bit soon from a hamstring injury, in part because he knows he needs to appear in 65 contests in order to qualify for postseason honors, writes Joe Vardon and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

Specifically, the Indiana phenom is hoping to land on an All-NBA team, which would increase the value of his five-year, maximum-salary contract extension worth roughly $245MM. Otherwise, he’ll make $204.5MM.

“It’s no secret what’s at stake for me personally this year, and for us [as] a group,” Haliburton told Vardon and Amick. “So I feel like I’m looking to help lead this group. And if I’m playing like this and we’re still winning, I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me. I’ll get over it because obviously I’m doing enough to help us win. But when we’re not winning and I’m doing this, then that’s when it can really get to me.”

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Haliburton and Pacers center Myles Turner seem to have unlocked an elite pick-and-roll chemistry, writes Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “They understand the attention that they bring to themselves,” power forward Obi Toppin said of the fearsome twosome’s tandem attack. “They understand the attention that they bring to themselves. They allow other people to play on the ball to get them open. That helps them tremendously.”
Cavaliers shooting guard Max Strus is back from a knee injury, but a playoff-bound Cleveland club is struggling down the home stretch of the regular season, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. To wit, the Cavaliers recently dropped a game to a banged-up, lottery-bound Hornets squad on Wednesday, 118-111. “We just didn’t play hard,” Strus said. “Nobody wanted to play defense tonight. That was our problem. Can’t lose to teams like this at this point in the season. Is what it is. Gotta take it on the chin and hopefully get back at it on Friday.” He scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor, which included 5-of-10 shooting from deep. He also chipped in four rebounds and two steals.
In a 125-99 blowout win over the Pacers on Wednesday, Bulls wing Javonte Green saw his first game action since rejoining Chicago on a 10-day deal. Players and fans alike seemed happy he was back in Bulls red, notes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Green was tasked during his initial nine-minute stint with defending the much taller Indiana power forward Pascal Siakam, but he did his best to pester the two-time All-Star. The 6’4″ vet, who finished the night with a game-high +26 mark in 19 minutes, got an ovation from the United Center faithful when he first was subbed into the contest. “It means a lot,” Green said. “Especially coming from this city, the city that really gave me an opportunity to showcase my talent during the game.”

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