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Jazz Notes: Mitchell, E. Millsap, Lindsey, More

February 25th, 2021 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have been the NBA’s most dominant team so far in 2020/21, and they added another impressive win to their résumé on Wednesday, blowing out the Lakers by a margin of 114-89 to bump their record to 26-6.

Utah has become a “hyperefficient machine that shows no signs of slowing down,” according to Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer, who explores how three-point shooting at every position except center, along with Rudy Gobert‘s ability to anchor the defense, has driven the club’s success this season. As Tjarks point out, the Jazz lead the NBA with 42.6 three-point attempts per game, and are making 39.9% of them, third-best in the league.

While the Jazz have been terrific during the first half, they’ll still need to prove they’re capable of knocking off the likes of the Lakers and Clippers in the postseason. Markieff Morris made that point following Wednesday’s game, vowing that things would be more competitive once the Lakers get healthier and the stakes are higher.

“We see the Jazz, we know they beat our a– tonight,” Morris said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “But in the playoffs it’s a different story.”

Here’s more on the Jazz:

  • One longtime Western Conference scout who wasn’t sold on the Jazz entering the season has become a believer, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN details. “I thought Utah needed another star, but I’ve changed on that,” said the scout, who compared this iteration of the Jazz to the Pistons’ 2004 championship team.
  • Having already been named an All-Star reserve, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell revealed on Wednesday that he’ll also be participating in the 3-point contest. “I’ve been begging Joe (Ingles) to get in it,” Mitchell said, according to Aaron Falk of UtahJazz.com. “But you know he’s old. He’s gonna sit in his rocking chair, or something, with the kids.”
  • After former Jazz swingman Elijah Millsap accused Jazz president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey of using bigoted language during his 2015 exit interview, Lindsey – who was Utah’s GM at the time – categorically denied the allegation. Sarah Todd of The Deseret News has the details.
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2021 NBA All-Star Reserves Revealed

February 23rd, 2021 at 6:16pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The 2021 NBA All-Star reserves have been revealed. Below is the full rundown of the 14 players scheduled to join the previously announced 10 starters for the March 7 contest in Atlanta. All-Star reserves are selected by the league’s head coaches.

Eastern Conference Reserves:

Notable omissions this season include recent Heat All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, two-time Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton, recent Hawks All-Star point guard Trae Young, Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, recent Pacers All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis, and Sixers forward Tobias Harris.

Brown, LaVine, and Randle are making their All-Star debuts. Harden is the most decorated among the All-Star vets among the East reserves, as he will be appearing in his ninth All-Star contest.

Western Conference Reserves:

Lillard, who just barely missed out on a starting nod to Mavericks guard Luka Dončić, earns his sixth All-Star mention as he mounts a sleeper MVP campaign with the Trail Blazers. Paul will be playing in his 11th All-Star game, for a fourth different team (he did not earn an All-Star nod in either of his two Rockets seasons, but made it with the Clippers, New Orleans Hornets, and Thunder).

Snubs in the West include recent Suns All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker, Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan, and 33-year-old Jazz point guard Mike Conley, the latter of whom may go down in history as the best NBA player never to make an All-Star team. Williamson, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, is a first-time All-Star. Last year, his teammate Brandon Ingram made his own All-Star debut.

Conley may still have his day in the sun, however. Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register notes that Lakers All-Star big man Davis, recovering from a right calf strain, will likely not be healthy in time to partake in the currently-planned All-Star game, and thus another Western Conference All-Star should eventually be named by NBA commissioner Adam Silver to replace the eight-time All-Star.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Donovan Mitchell In Concussion Protocol, Won’t Play Wednesday

January 27th, 2021 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol and won’t be available to play on Wednesday night vs. Dallas, the team announced today.

Mitchell, who logged 34 minutes in a win over the Knicks on Tuesday night, didn’t leave the game early and the Jazz say it’s not immediately clear when he sustained the injury. He first experienced possible concussion symptoms on Wednesday morning, per team officials.

Mitchell’s availability for Friday’s rematch vs. the Mavericks, as well as subsequent contests, will be determined by how he progresses through the concussion protocol.

In the short term, the Jazz will be tasked with finding a way to replace Mitchell’s offensive production — he’s the team’s leading scorer this season with 23.4 PPG in 17 games. Utah figures to lean a little more on Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson, with backup guards Miye Oni and Shaquille Harrison among the candidates to see additional minutes as well.

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Northwest Notes: Rubio, Morris, Simons, Mitchell

January 23rd, 2021 at 3:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ricky Rubio believes the Timberwolves are playing selfishly, which has led to 11 losses in their last 12 games, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. Rubio, who returned to action Friday after clearing COVID-19 protocols, says the team needs to air out its issues.

“It would be good to have a long meeting, but I don’t think we can have more than a 10-minute meeting,” the Timberwolves guard said. “But we need like a three-hour meeting. After talking, we got to execute the words that we have.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • Monte Morris is grateful the Nuggets extended his contract during the offseason, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. “The contract got me at peace,” he said. Morris, who signed a three-year, $27MM extension early last month, is averaging a career-high 11.7 PPG and 3.2 APG in 26.3 MPG through Denver’s first 15 games.
  • It’s time for third-year guard Anfernee Simons to assert himself with CJ McCollum sidelined by a foot injury, Jason Quick of The Athletic opines. Simons needs to show he can consistently make 3-pointers, run the team and defend without fouling, Quick says. In Simons’ last outing, he scored six points in 15 minutes on Monday. The Trail Blazers picked up their 2021/22 option on Simons last month.
  • While Donovan Mitchell has received some criticism for his lack of impact on the defensive end, he’s living up to his bill as the Jazz‘s franchise player, Tony Jones of The Athletic argues. There’s little doubt that Mitchell is capable of being the No. 1 offensive option on a title team, Jones asserts. Mitchell, who signed a max extension in November, is averaging career highs in points (24.3), assists (4.9) and 3-point shooting (40.8%).
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Northwest Notes: Barton, Boylen, Blazers, Thunder, Gobert

December 24th, 2020 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets wing Will Barton made it clear multiple times earlier this month that he believes he deserves to be a starter. However, after coming off the bench in Wednesday’s opener, Barton said he’s happy for Michael Porter Jr. – who has been promoted to the starting lineup – and is prepared to accept his new sixth man role, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post writes.

“My concern is not about (starting) anymore once I channel my energy to where it has to be,” Barton said. “That’s where I am, so I’m locked in right now, I’m coming off the bench. I’m not trying to worry about if I’m gonna start again. Right now I’ve got a job to do, and that’s my focus is to come off the bench and try to change the game for us and still help us win games.”

While Barton may not have started the Nuggets’ opener, he got the opportunity to finish it, playing all five minutes of overtime in Denver’s loss to Sacramento.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • The Trail Blazers brought in former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen for a three-week consultation to help Portland’s coaching staff implement a more aggressive defense, says Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I was intrigued with his ideas and what he did in Chicago,” Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said of Boylen. “And we will be using some of the things he talked about and augmenting some of his other things with what we already do.”
  • Even after stockpiling future draft picks for a second consecutive offseason, the Thunder may not be done, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who points out that the team could continue to extract draft assets in deals for Al Horford, George Hill, and Trevor Ariza, or by using a pair of giant trade exceptions to accommodate salary dumps.
  • ESPN’s Lisa Salters conducted an in-depth interview with Jazz center Rudy Gobert, discussing his path to the NBA, how it felt to become the league’s “patient zero” for COVID-19, and his relationship with Donovan Mitchell, among other topics. “We had conversations as grown men, and we told each other what we had on our minds,” Gobert said of mending his relationship with Mitchell. “And the end of the conversation was that our goal was to win a championship together and, you know, I thought it was really mature from both of us to come out of the conversation like that.”
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Donovan Mitchell Talks Extension With Jazz

November 28th, 2020 at 2:32pm CST by marksuleymanov

Earlier this week, the Jazz officially extended franchise cornerstone Donovan Mitchell on a five-year, designated rookie max extension that could be worth up to $195MM. It was a major move for Utah, ensuring that the 2017 first-round pick will remain with the organization for the foreseeable future.

The Jazz’s focus will now look to establish itself as a formidable postseason threat for years to come, led by the New York native. Coming off his first All-Star game selection, Mitchell talked about the Jazz’s early exit from the playoffs this past season and his hopes for the future.

Eric Walden of The Salt Lake City Tribune also relays Mitchell’s thoughts on his personal on-court improvement and his ultimate legacy off of it.

Mitchell on his mindset now that he’s signed for the long haul:

“We have good pieces to make a real push for this thing. We blew a 3-1 lead [in the playoffs] this year. I look at it as we need to find a way to get over that hump in the first round and find a way to push and get to a championship. That’s really on the forefront of my brain.”

Mitchell on what he wants his lasting legacy to be:

“Championships are great, games are great, but at the end of the day, I’m a Black man first. That’s the legacy I want to be able to tell my kids, ‘Look, your dad was a part of this, your dad was a part of that.’ This game is great, this game has allowed my family to live the way we live. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t hide you from being Black, doesn’t hide you from the injustices of the world.”

Working with assistant coach Johnnie Bryant to improve his shooting ability:

“There are times where I take bad shots. Being able to hear his honesty and let me know that it’s a bad shot — more than my teammates would — that’s where our relationship really had accelerated.”

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Donovan Mitchell Signs Max Extension With Jazz

November 24th, 2020 at 3:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 24: The Jazz have officially signed Mitchell to his new five-year extension, per the NBA’s transactions log. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the deal features a 15% trade kicker.

NOVEMBER 22: Jazz star Donovan Mitchell will sign a maximum rookie scale extension, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal will cover five seasons, starting in 2021/22, and will include a fifth-year player option for the ’25/26 season, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).

Mitchell will be guaranteed 25% of the salary cap, which would make the total value of the deal around $163MM over five years. That figure could rise to 30% if he meets All-NBA criteria for the upcoming season, which would put the contract in the neighborhood of $195MM. Those projections rely on an annual 3% increase in the cap, so the actual value could vary.

Mitchell will earn about $5.2MM in 2020/21, the last year of his rookie contract, before the extension officially begins a year from now.

The 13th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Mitchell has become a star in Utah during his three NBA seasons and is coming off his first All-Star appearance. He averaged a career-best 24.0 points per game last season and followed that with a historic playoff performance, scoring 36.3 PPG in the seven-game loss to the Nuggets.

He has improved his averages in several key statistical categories – including points and assists per game, as well as three-point percentage – in each of his three professional seasons and is still just 24 years old.

Utah has gotten most of its offseason business out of the way during the first 48 hours of the free agency period, having agreed to re-sign Jordan Clarkson and reaching a deal to bring back Derrick Favors using their mid-level exception.

Having locked up Mitchell, the Jazz are expected to focus on a new contract for center Rudy Gobert, who is also eligible for an extension. Gobert will reach unrestricted free agency in 2021 if the two sides don’t agree to a new deal before then.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Free Agent Rumors: Lakers, Gasol, KCP, Hawks, More

November 20th, 2020 at 8:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Having lost Dwight Howard in free agency, the Lakers may be eyeing another former Defensive Player of the Year. Marc Stein of The New York Times reports (via Twitter) that Marc Gasol has emerged as a free agent target for the Lakers. Gasol was drafted by L.A. way back in 2007 but was traded to Memphis in a package for his brother Pau Gasol and never appeared in a game for the Lakers.

As we wait to see if the two sides attempt to work toward a deal, let’s round up a few more free agency rumors…

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Max Contracts Expected For Ingram, Tatum, Mitchell

November 20th, 2020 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

Teams around the NBA are projecting Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, and Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell to agree to maximum-salary contracts with their respective teams not long after free agency opens, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

Ingram, the top restricted free agent on the market this fall, made the All-Star team for the first time in 2020, averaging 23.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 4.2 APG as the Pelicans’ go-to scorer. His maximum salary for the coming season will be $27.3MM and he could earn up to $158.3MM if he signs a full five-year contract. A four-year max deal would be worth $122.2MM.

As for Tatum and Mitchell, neither player is a free agent this year, but both are eligible for rookie scale extensions that will go into effect in 2021/22. They’ve long been considered two of the most likely players from this year’s group of rookie-extension-eligible players to sign lucrative new contracts, so Stein’s report comes as no surprise.

The value of Tatum’s and Mitchell’s contracts will depend on how much the cap increases for the ’21/22 season. A 3% increase would result in a total value of at least $163MM over five years. That number could go a little higher if Rose Rule language is included in their new deals and they make an All-NBA team in 2021.

Stein adds that Anthony Davis is expected to be a max-salary player too, which is a given. A report earlier today indicated that Davis may take his time considering the length and structure of his contract before formally re-signing with the Lakers.

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And-Ones: G League, Mitchell, Magnay, GM Moves, Jones

November 15th, 2020 at 3:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The G League plans to have its elite Ignite team, which includes top 2021 draft prospects Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Isaiah Todd, face G League alumni in closed-door scrimmages in Walnut Creek, California this week, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. They will also hold two streamed scrimmages next month, Charania adds. The Ignite team, which is based in Walnut Creek, was formed as a part of the league’s development program for top prospects.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Donovan Mitchell, Lonzo Ball and John Collins are some of the high-profile rookie scale extension candidates who might not be worth a full max, according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. Hollinger anticipates Mitchell will get a max extension but the Jazz might be wise to go four years rather than five. Hollinger takes a closer look at the value of all extension-eligible candidates from the class of 2017.
  • Australian big man Will Magnay is drawing interest from NBA clubs, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc tweets. His current club, the Brisbane Bullets, is preparing to play without him this season, Uluc adds. Magnay, 22, was named the NBL’s Most Improved Player last season.
  • What are the best and worst moves that top NBA executives have made with their current teams? ESPN’s Bobby Marks takes a closer look at all the GMs who haven’t been recently hired by their current organizations.
  • Former NBA player Jalen Jones may have suffered a torn Achilles playing in Italy, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. Jones was playing his first game this season for Pallacanestro Varese. The prognosis was first reported by La Prealpina. He last appeared in the NBA during the 2018/19 season during a 16-game stint with Cleveland.
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