Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Booker, Wood, Hood-Schifino, Queta

September 14th, 2023 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Suns star Devin Booker appears ready to commit to the U.S. Olympic team no matter what role he’s asked to play, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

Booker expressed his intentions this week in a Twitter exchange with Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma. “USA basketball better get some nba stars that know how to play a role,” Kuzma wrote. “Anybody can be nice with the ball in their hands but can you be cool with defending and going to the corner for a few possessions?”

Booker responded, “I’ll do it.”

Rankin notes that Booker accepted that responsibility two years ago when the U.S. won the gold medal in China. He only averaged 9.3 PPG during that Olympics, but he often guarded the opponent’s best scorer.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Christian Wood projects to play a significant role for the Lakers, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Wood will become the primary backup to Anthony Davis at center and can expect to see a lot of time at power forward as well. Buha adds that L.A. has a lot of interchangeable frontcourt players, with Wood, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt and Taurean Prince all capable of handling either forward spot, while Davis, Wood and Jaxson Hayes can play either the four or five.
Lakers rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino has been working to develop his three-point shot this summer, Buha adds in a separate story. The No. 17 pick connected at just 33% from beyond the arc at Indiana last season. “I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress,” he said. “Being in the gym every day, getting up a lot of reps, working on my footwork, my form, mechanics and everything. Getting everything sharp. That’s definitely been a strong point and something that I’ve been really attacking every day.”
Neemias Queta, who was waived by the Kings this week, could be an intriguing option for the Warriors, suggests Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Johnson notes the 24-year-old center is still eligible for a two-way contract and Golden State has two slots open. Queta was runner-up in the G League’s MVP voting after averaging 17.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game with the Stockton Kings. Johnson also points out that Seth Cooper and David Fatoki, who are now in charge of the Warriors’ player development system, got a close look at Queta last year while running Golden State’s G League team.

Teams Limited To Minimum Salary Contract Offers

September 13th, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

There won’t be many free agents who sign for more than the veteran’s minimum between now and the end of the NBA’s regular season. The majority of the players whose markets exceeded the minimum came off the board pretty quickly in July, and teams aren’t looking to spend big on the players who are still available.

Still, that doesn’t mean every signing for the next seven months will be of the minimum-salary variety. In certain cases – especially on the buyout market in February – being able to offer a couple million dollars more than the minimum could be the difference between a team landing a free agent and missing out on him.

With that in mind, it’s worth checking in on which teams don’t currently have the ability to offer more than the minimum. By our count, about a third of the NBA is in this boat, though some of those clubs could generate some spending flexibility by making cost-cutting trades.

Here’s a breakdown of the teams currently limited to minimum-salary contract offers for free agents:

Teams above the second tax apron:

Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Miami Heat
Phoenix Suns

Beginning this offseason, the NBA added a second tax “apron” and introduced new restrictions for the teams whose salaries exceed that apron. In 2023/24, the second apron is set at $182,794,000 ($17.5MM above the tax line) — it will increase along with the cap in future years.

In addition to being prohibited from using the standard mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception, teams whose salaries are above the second apron aren’t permitted to make use of the taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth $5MM. The Warriors, Clippers, Heat, and Suns all fall into that group and therefore don’t have any cap exceptions available to use on free agents besides the minimum exception.

Teams very close to the second tax apron:

Boston Celtics
Milwaukee Bucks

The Celtics and Bucks may be able to start the season with team salaries below the second apron, but from a practical standpoint, it will be extremely difficult for them to make use of the taxpayer mid-level exception, which would hard-cap them at that second apron.

Milwaukee, in particular, has several contract bonuses to account for and would find its team salary well above the second tax apron if certain players earn those unlikely incentives. Boston has slightly more cap flexibility, but will still almost certainly be limited to minimum-salary offers for the rest of 2023/24, barring a cost-cutting move.

Over-the-cap teams that have used all their cap exceptions:

Denver Nuggets
Oklahoma City Thunder
Toronto Raptors

The Nuggets are the only team this season to use the taxpayer mid-level exception. It’s the lone cap exception available to them in free agency, since their team salary is above the first apron, so they can’t offer more than the minimum to free agents.

The Thunder, meanwhile, used their entire room exception, while the Raptors used their non-taxpayer mid-level exception and bi-annual exception. Both teams are now over the cap and only have the minimum salary exception left to sign a free agent outright (a sign-and-trade remains possible, but is unlikely at this stage of the offseason).

Over-the-cap teams whose remaining exception money is less than the two-year veteran’s minimum:

Los Angeles Lakers
Sacramento Kings

The Lakers have $1,905,000 remaining on their non-taxpayer mid-level exception, while the Kings have $1,381,536 left on their room exception. Both figures fall short of the full-season minimum salary for a two-year veteran ($2,019,706), so neither club could offer more than the minimum to a veteran free agent at this time.

However, that leftover exception money isn’t useless. Los Angeles and Sacramento could each offer more than the minimum to a rookie free agent, for instance. And their remaining exception money won’t begin prorating downward until after the trade deadline. So if L.A. wants to sign a veteran free agent in December, it could use its MLE to offer more than the player’s prorated minimum salary at that point.

Pacific Notes: McGee, Warriors, Kings, Vanderbilt, Vogel

September 8th, 2023 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings beat out the Warriors for free agent center JaVale McGee, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who suggests both Pacific clubs were in pursuit of the big man after he was waived by Dallas last week.

McGee’s new deal with Sacramento is only for one year and is worth the veteran’s minimum, but it’s fully guaranteed. It’s unclear whether or not Golden State was willing to offer a fully guaranteed contract to the former Warrior. According to Amick, the Kings envision McGee playing a “significant” role in 2023/24 if he shows he’s capable of handling it.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

The Stockton Kings – Sacramento’s G League affiliate – announced in a press release on Thursday that they’ve acquired Skal Labissiere‘s returning rights from the Mexico City Capitanes in a three-team trade that sent DJ Steward‘s rights to the Maine Celtics. Labissiere has agreed to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Kings, while Steward has reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Celtics. This trade will ensure both players are in line to receive their Exhibit 10 bonuses.
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt became extension-eligible on Thursday, notes Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Vanderbilt, whose maximum extension would be $75MM over four years, will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 if he doesn’t sign a new contract before then.
In a two-part interview with Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, new Suns head coach Frank Vogel discussed several topics, including the philosophy he’ll bring to his new job and what he’s looking for in Phoenix’s fifth starter alongside Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Deandre Ayton. “We’ll have a lot of guys that have an opportunity to be that fifth guy,” Vogel said. “The versatility of maybe being able to guard multiple positions or maybe it’s an elite shooter. Maybe it’s just another play-maker. I think we have a lot of guys with a lot of different skill sets and we’ll put a lot of different combinations throughout the year.”

And-Ones: Title Threats, Ennis, Storylines, Top Coaches

September 5th, 2023 at 10:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Which team is the Nuggets’ biggest impediment to a second straight title? ESPN’s panel of experts believes the Bucks, Warriors, Suns and Celtics are all potential threats to a Denver repeat. As for just making the playoffs, the Mavericks, Bulls, Timberwolves and Pelicans are among a group of teams that can’t afford to fall short of postseason participation or else risk major rebuilds or superstar demands for trades.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Former NBA guard Tyler Ennis has signed with Italy’s Gevi Napoli Basket, according to a team press release. A first-round pick in 2014, Ennis has not played in the NBA since the 2017/18 season, when he appeared in 54 Lakers games. In recent years, Ennis has played mainly in Turkey. He also had a stint with the Raptors’ G League team.
The trade demands of James Harden and Damian Lillard, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s future with the Bucks, are some of the storylines that will be closely followed this NBA season, The Athletic’s Sam Amick writes.
Who are the top five coaches in the NBA? Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tackles that subject, ranking the Heat‘s Erik Spoelstra and the Spurs‘ Gregg Popovich first and second. The third choice may surprise some people. Cowley rates the Knicks‘ Tom Thibodeau at that spot due to his ability to take downtrodden franchises and make them playoff teams.

NBA G League Announces Schedule For 2023/24 Season

September 5th, 2023 at 11:36am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League has officially revealed its schedule for the 2023/24 season, per a press release.

For a third consecutive year, the G League will begin its season with the Showcase Cup in the fall. The 16-game event will tip off on Friday, November 10 and will conclude with a single-elimination tournament at the G League Winter Showcase from December 19-22.

The G League’s regular season will consist of 34 games and will run from Wednesday, Dec. 27 to Saturday, March 30. The top six teams from each conference will make the postseason and compete in the G League playoffs in the spring.

The NBAGL will consist of a record 31 teams for the upcoming season. In addition to the G League Ignite and the Mexico City Capitanes, neither of which is directly affiliated with an NBA club, there are 29 teams with NBA affiliates.

The Rip City Remix – the Trail Blazers‘ G League team – is a new addition. On top of that, two existing clubs have relocated and rebranded. The Fort Wayne Mad Ants – the Pacers‘ affiliate – are now the Indiana Mad Ants and will play in Indianapolis. The Lakeland Magic – Orlando’s affiliate – has become the Osceola Magic.

The Suns are the only NBA franchise without a G League affiliate. However, new owner Mat Ishbia has made it a priority to change that, so it’s possible that the 2024/25 season will be the first that features NBAGL affiliates for all 30 clubs. In the meantime, if Phoenix wants to send a player to the G League this season, that player would have to join another team’s affiliate via the flexible assignment rule.

How Do They Compare To Durant's Warriors Teams?

September 3rd, 2023 at 8:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors won championships in 2017 and 2018 with Kevin Durant on their roster. Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic compares those Warriors teams to the current Suns group with Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal as the main trio, evaluating how Phoenix might emulate those championship clubs.

Japan Becomes Fourth Team To Qualify For 2024 Olympics

September 2nd, 2023 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Japanese men’s basketball team has claimed a spot in the 2024 Olympics by winning a pair of World Cup classification games against Venezuela and Cape Verde.

The two victories boosted Japan’s record for the tournament to 3-2 (the team also defeated Finland in round one), making it the only FIBA Asia club to win three World Cup games this year.

Just one other FIBA Asia club earned more than a single win at the event — Lebanon picked up victories over Iran and Cote d’Ivoire in the classification games. China and the Philippines each had one win, while Jordan and Iran went 0-5.

Japan played in the 2020 Olympics as the host nation, but hadn’t qualified outright for the Olympics since 1976, so this represents a major achievement for the national team.

The World Cup squad was led by Suns forward Yuta Watanabe (14.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG) and former Washington State big man Josh Hawkinson, a naturalized Japanese citizen who has played professionally in the country’s B.League since 2017 and averaged a double-double (21.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG) in five World Cup contests.

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura – who wasn’t part of the World Cup team but who played in the 2020 Olympics – will be a prime candidate to join next year’s Olympic roster.

A total of seven teams will qualify for the Olympics based on their World Cup results. The top-ranked team from each of Asia, Africa, and Oceania make the cut, as do the top two clubs from both Europe and the Americas.

Although Japan, South Sudan (Africa) and Australia (Oceania) have all been eliminated from World Cup medal contention, they’ve each qualified for the Paris Olympics based on their overall finish. France, the host nation, also receives an automatic Olympic berth, which means four spots are still up for grabs at the World Cup.

Germany, Slovenia, Lithuania, Italy, Latvia, Serbia, and Spain remain in the running for the two Europe spots, while the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico are vying for the two Americas openings.

The teams that don’t qualify for the 2024 Olympics via the World Cup will get one more opportunity to do so at a series of four Olympic qualifying tournaments next year.

And-Ones: Lewis, Ignite, Best Draft Assets, RSNs

August 30th, 2023 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA referee Eric Lewis has retired, the league announced today in a brief press release (Twitter link). Lewis officiated more than 1,000 regular season NBA games over the course of his career and has worked several NBA Finals contests since 2019.

Back in May, the NBA opened an investigation into a possible Twitter burner account run by Lewis. The Twitter account, which has since been deleted, responded to many posts about NBA officiating to defend Lewis and other referees. League rules prohibit referees from publicly commenting on the officiating without authorization.

According to today’s announcement, since Lewis has decided to retire, the NBA has closed its investigation into his social media activity.

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

Having previously announced the prospects that are joining the program for the 2023/24 season, the G League Ignite issued a press release revealing the veteran players who will serve as mentors. John Jenkins and Eric Mika will be returning to the team and will be joined by former NBA guards Jeremy Pargo and David Stockton, as well as guard Admon Gilder, who has played in a handful of international leagues since going undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2020.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report ranked all 30 NBA teams based on their future draft assets, from the Thunder (No. 1) and Spurs (No. 2) to the Timberwolves (No. 29) and Suns (No. 30).
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic takes a look at where things stand with the NBA and the Bally Sports regional sports networks after parent company Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy. The league has been informed, according to Vorkunov, that Diamond Sports Group has the capital to honor its NBA commitments for the upcoming season, though one industry source told The Athletic that it’s a “very fluid situation.”

Drew Eubanks Discusses Role With Suns

August 30th, 2023 at 7:48am CST by Luke Adams

In the second part of his interview with Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (subscriber link), Suns big man Drew Eubanks discussed his preparation for the season, why he views himself as more of a center than a power forward, and the role he expects to play for his new team. “I’m not going to have as much responsibility on the offensive end as it will be on the defensive end,” Eubanks said. “Like I said, we have three elite scorers. … Really where my mark is going to be made is getting them open, rebounding, defending, blocking shots.” We previously passed along some highlights from the first part of Eubanks’ conversation with Rankin.

World Cup Notes: Australia, Antetokounmpo, Gobert, Dort

August 29th, 2023 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Australian national team tweaked its lineup ahead of Tuesday’s game vs. Japan, replacing Matisse Thybulle with Mavericks wing Josh Green in the starting five, per Olgun Uluc of ESPN (Twitter link). The move paid dividends, as Green recorded 15 points (on 5-of-7 shooting) and four steals to help lead the Boomers to a 109-89 victory, securing the team a spot in the second round of the FIBA World Cup.

With the loss, the Japanese national team has been eliminated from the World Cup, though Suns fans have to be pleased with Yuta Watanabe‘s performance. The new Phoenix forward had 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-8 threes, against Australia.

Here’s more on the 2023 World Cup:

An MRI on Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo revealed a “slight stretch” of the adductor muscle in his left thigh, tweets Harris Stavrou of SPORT24. Antetokounmpo is receiving treatment and still hopes to play in Greece’s crucial Wednesday contest vs. New Zealand — the winner will advance to round two, while the loser will be out of the running.
Having been eliminated from World Cup contention, France sat three players – including Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert – for Tuesday’s game against Lebanon, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press notes (via Twitter), it’d be surprising if Gobert is active for any of the consolation games to determine the Nos. 17-32 seeding. France did defeat Lebanon on Tuesday, with Evan Fournier becoming the country’s all-time leading World Cup scorer, sneaking past teammate Nicolas Batum (285 points to 282).
Thunder forward Luguentz Dort is missing his second consecutive game for Team Canada on Tuesday due to a minor injury. However, it sounds like Canada is just playing it safe with Dort and he’ll be available for the start of the next round, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Canada and Latvia are currently going head-to-head to determine the Group H winner — both teams will advance to round two, but today’s winner would have a leg up to make the knockout round.