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Latest On Kawhi Leonard

June 13th, 2018 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The long-anticipated offseason meeting between Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and star forward Kawhi Leonard figures to happen sooner rather than later, writes ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

As Wojnarowski outlines, the two men may actually have a series of conversations as they determine whether “a lasting trust and partnership can be rebuilt.” They’ll also discuss Leonard’s medical care and treatment going forward, his relationships with teammates and the coaching staff, and – of course – a possible contract extension.

While Leonard will be eligible for a super-max extension this offseason, that eligibility wouldn’t necessarily carry over to the 2019 offseason unless he once again earns an All-NBA spot – or wins the MVP or Defensive Player of the Year award – in 2018/19. That’s one reason why those extension talks will be so important, and why the Spurs not putting an offer on the table could theoretically prompt Leonard’s camp to push for a trade.

Here’s more on Leonard:

  • The Celtics made a trade offer for Leonard prior to the February trade deadline, but the Spurs turned it down and didn’t make a counter-offer, league sources tell Wojnarowski. So far, San Antonio’s unwillingness to discuss trades involving the club’s standout forward has carried over to the offseason.
  • If the Spurs do become open to making a deal, expect the Lakers and the Sixers to be among the teams expressing interest, says Wojnarowski. The Celtics may be a less likely suitor at this point, given the strides their young core made during the 2017/18 season — and postseason.
  • Popovich wants to coach Leonard for the rest of his Spurs tenure, but the question of how much longer the veteran coach plans to stick around could be a factor in Kawhi’s decision on a long-term extension. According to Wojnarowski, few in Popovich’s “orbit” expect him to continue coaching the Spurs beyond the 2020 Summer Olympics.
  • In a separate report for ESPN.com, Wojnarowski and Michael C. Wright provide details on a story related to Leonard, writing that his former agent – Brian Elfus – is suing Impact Sports for allegedly withholding commissions on multiple contracts, including Leonard’s current deal. Elfus claims he’s owed up to $5MM in damages.
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Sixers Exercise T.J. McConnell’s Team Option

June 13th, 2018 at 9:36am CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 13: The Sixers have officially exercised McConnell’s team option, the club announced today in a press release. The announcement also confirmed that Richaun Holmes‘ option has been picked up, as we relayed earlier today.

MAY 11: The Sixers intend to pick up their 2018/19 team option on T.J. McConnell, team president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo told reporters today (Twitter link via Derek Bodner of The Athletic). That option is worth $1,600,520.

McConnell, 26, is coming off a third straight year as a rotation player for the Sixers. In 76 regular season games this season, he averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 3.0 RPG with a shooting line of .499/.435/.795.

With Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz seemingly ready to handle point guard duties coming into the season, McConnell’s role was expected to be reduced. However, health problems limited Fultz to just 14 regular season games, opening the door for the veteran to be Simmons’ primary backup at the point. McConnell was particularly effective in the postseason, making 25 of 36 shots (.694 FG%) in 10 games against the Heat and Celtics.

While McConnell’s $1.6MM option is obviously a steal for the 76ers, there was a chance the club would decide to turn it down. Like Nikola Jokic in Denver, McConnell would have been a restricted free agent this summer if his option had been declined, but will now be on track for unrestricted free agency in 2019.

Unlike Jokic, McConnell isn’t a franchise-type player, so Philadelphia will opt for the bargain price in 2018/19 and then take its chances with the point guard in unrestricted free agency in 2019, rather than ensuring they can keep him long-term by giving him a raise this offseason.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), McConnell’s salary for 2018/19 remains non-guaranteed even after his option is exercised. However, that shouldn’t matter much, since Philadelphia won’t waive him.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Sixers Exercise Team Option On Richaun Holmes

June 13th, 2018 at 8:38am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have picked up their 2018/19 team option on big man Richaun Holmes, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link). The option will pay Holmes a salary of $1,600,520 next season.

The move comes as no surprise for a couple reasons. For one, Holmes’ play has certainly justified a minimum-salary investment. In a part-time role in Philadelphia’s frontcourt, Holmes averaged 6.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 1.3 APG in 48 games (15.5 MPG) last season, and he was even more productive the year before, with 9.8 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 57 contests (20.9 MPG).

Additionally, exercising Holmes’ option for next season reportedly won’t actually lock in his $1.6MM salary. According to contract information from Basketball Insiders, Holmes’ salary remains non-guaranteed until January 10, even with his option picked up. T.J. McConnell‘s team option is said to have the same structure.

While exercising Holmes’ option may not provide any guarantees for the coming season, I’d be very surprised if he’s cut before his January guarantee date. Assuming he plays out the full 2018/19 season on his current deal, the 24-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

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Sixers Work Out Six Prospects

June 12th, 2018 at 10:51pm CST by ChrisCrouse
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Sixers Work Out Mikal Bridges, Zhaire Smith, Others

June 12th, 2018 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers‘ previously-reported workout with Villanova wing Mikal Bridges is taking place today, but Bridges isn’t the only prospect in town to get a look from the club. According to a press release, the 76ers also hosted a group workout today, with Marcus Derrickson (Georgetown), Marcus Foster (Creighton), Donte Ingram (Loyola Chicago), Nick King (Middle Tennessee State), MiKyle McIntosh), and Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech) taking part.

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Draft Workouts: Brown, Lakers, Grizzlies, Alkins

June 11th, 2018 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Oregon shooting guard Troy Brown worked out for the Spurs on Sunday, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets. The Spurs hold the No. 18 pick and Brown is ranked No. 19 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Brown then worked out for the Wizards Monday and is headed to Milwaukee for an evaluation by the Bucks, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. Washington owns the No. 15 selection with the Bucks at No. 17.

We have plenty of other workouts to pass along:

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Latest On LeBron James’ Future

June 11th, 2018 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert cannot offer LeBron James a stake in the franchise in an effort to retain his services, Michael McCann and Jon Wortheim of Sports Illustrated point out. The Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits players from holding direct or indirect interest in the ownership of a team, thus the NBA would not approve a contract with any type of ownership provision, the story continues. The league has also been vigilant in preventing players and owners from intermingling their business interests, the SI duo notes. James can opt out of his contract or try to force a trade to a desired destination this summer.

Here’s some other interesting notes regarding the possibility of James playing elsewhere next season:

  • The Rockets would need to either gut their roster or make a trade with the Cavaliers to add James, but the latter option is complicated by the team’s roster composition, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. The Cavaliers would likely want quality young talent to kick-start a rebuild in any James trade and the Rockets don’t have enough of those players while trying to match up salaries to absorb James’ $35MM contract, Feigen adds. The most desirable option for the Rockets is to dump Ryan Anderson‘s contract ($20.4MM next season and $21.3 MM in 2019/20) on a team with ample cap room, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN. But Houston probably doesn’t have enough first-round picks to package with Anderson to get a third party to bite, Pelton adds.
  • There are major obstacles to any possible pursuit of James’ services by the Celtics, DJ Bean of NBCSports.com notes. It’s highly unlikely that Boston would include Gordon Hayward in any deal, considering the high-level free agent chose Boston last summer and hasn’t even played a full game with the franchise, Bean continues. There’s also the sticky problem of trying to reunite James with Kyrie Irving, who asked out of Cleveland last summer. Acquiring James now would likely damage the team’s long-term prospects for being the dominant team in the league, given the assets they’d likely have to trade, Bean adds. Logically, the only big contract the Celtics would be willing to move is Al Horford‘s deal, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
  • James’ decision will have more to do with his family than basketball, former teammate Dwyane Wade predicts, as Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald writes. “I don’t really think for him the basketball decision is ‘Oh, let me go team up with three All-Stars.’ I think at this point in his life it’s more so of a lifestyle thing,” Wade said. “Where is my family going to be the most comfortable at? Where am I going to be the happiest at? Because basketball-wise he’s so great, he can take along whoever.”
  • The Lakers and Sixers are the favorites to land James while the Cavs are just a 5-1 shot to retain him, according to Bovada sports book, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The odds rundown can be found here.
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East Draft Notes: Knicks, Hawks, Bulls, Hornets, Pacers

June 11th, 2018 at 7:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks will work out UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday shortly before draft night, according to Ian Begley of ESPN. Holiday will have to make quite an impression to get drafted by New York. He’s currently ranked No. 17 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and the Knicks hold the No. 9 pick.

Texas A&M big man Robert Williams, ranked No. 12 by Givony, and Missouri State forward Alize Johnson worked out for the Knicks on Monday, according to another Begley post. Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo was scheduled to work out for New York this week but it will not happen as scheduled, Begley adds.

In other draft workout news concerning Eastern Conference teams:

  • The Hawks will work out Oklahoma point guard Trae Young on Tuesday, according to a team press release. Young is ranked No. 8 by Givony; Atlanta holds the No. 3 pick.
  • Kentucky forward Kevin Knox, rated No. 9 by Givony, worked out for the Bulls on Monday, according to the team’s website. Bryant McIntosh (Northwestern), Donovan Jackson (Iowa State), Jae’Sean Tate (Ohio State), Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt) and Nick Dixon (UTRGV) were also evaluated by Chicago. The Bulls have the No. 7 selection in the first round.
  • The Hornets will soon work out Michigan State forward Miles Bridges, Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports tweets. Bridges, who visited the Sixers Monday, is ranked No. 15 by Givony and Charlotte holds the No. 11 pick.
  • An injury prevented Tulane small forward Melvin Frazier from working out with the Pacers on Monday, Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports tweets.
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More Details On Sixers' Monday Workout

June 10th, 2018 at 9:04pm CST by Luke Adams
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Sixers Notes: Colangelo, Fultz, Brown, Bayless

June 9th, 2018 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bryan Colangelo probably had no way to save his job as president of basketball operations, even if he had blamed the Twitter incident on his wife from the start, suggests Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Colangelo resigned Thursday after the completion of an investigation into burner accounts on Twitter that released sensitive information and made critical comments of Sixers players and opponents.

The law firm that investigated the matter concluded that Colangelo acted in a “reckless” and “careless” manner, even though the accounts belonged to his wife, Barbara Bottini. Investigators said they couldn’t prove Colangelo knew about the accounts, but there also isn’t strong evidence that he wasn’t aware of them.

Regardless, Hayes concludes that Colangelo had already lost trust among management and the players and that a change was necessary for the Sixers to move past the incident.

There’s more today out of Philadelphia:

  • Colangelo didn’t turn in a remarkable performance during his time with the Sixers, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. O’Connor states his best moves were the decision to retain coach Brett Brown and to add J.J. Redick in free agency last summer. However, Colangelo got little value when he shipped off Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, and he didn’t have any other significant signings or notable draft picks outside the lottery.
  • Colangelo ignored other voices in the organization who wanted to consider Jayson Tatum or Lonzo Ball after Markelle Fultz turned in a disappointing performance at last year’s pre-draft workout, O’Connor adds. Colangelo reportedly insisted on drafting Fultz after completing a deal with the Celtics that cost Philadelphia the rights to a future first-rounder from the Kings.
  • Brown won’t have much time to relax this summer with his new roles as GM and president of basketball operations in addition to his coaching responsibilities, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Brown will hold the front office positions until replacements can be found, but that might not happen until after the draft and the start of free agency. “My role in all of this is simply to provide a level of leadership with people I trust and respect and do the best I can while I’m here moving us forward,” Brown said.
  • One of Brown’s first major decisions will involve guard Jerryd Bayless, Pompey notes in the same piece. As they try to maximize cap space for a run at LeBron James or other elite free agents, the Sixers could be tempted to waive Bayless and stretch his $8.6 million salary over three seasons.
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