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Southeast Notes: Okongwu, Wagner, Wizards

September 8th, 2022 at 10:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Hawks reserve center Onyeka Okongwu took a big leap during his second NBA season in 2021/22, though Atlanta as a team took a significant step back in the playoffs. Okongwu is taking pains to put in the work during the offseason to improve his skill set, per Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 48 games last year, the 6’8″ big man out of USC averaged 8.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 1.1 APG, while shooting an excellent 69% from the floor.

The 21-year-old big man is striving to improve his jump shooting. “People are going to have expectations for me,” Okongwu said. “You know, I got to this point for a reason. I got drafted by this team for a reason. So, I definitely make sure I do what I do, but adding on something every year, every year, just add a little something.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • Magic small forward Franz Wagner has played somewhat erratically in EuroBasket competition, but has managed to be a big contributor for the German national team when firing on all cylinders, per Ethan Fuller of Basketball News. Fuller writes that Wagner appears to have improved his pull-up three-point shooting and his play around the rim during this international run.
  • The Wizards currently boast a plethora of solid wing players, to the point that Josh Robbins of The Athletic addresses whether or not Washington may look to make a move to address that logjam by making a consolidation trade. Elsewhere in his mailbag, Robbins projects where the club could finish in a loaded Eastern Conference this season after missing the playoffs last year, as well as contextualizing the Summer League struggles of rookie lottery pick Johnny Davis.
  • In case you missed it, our Rory Maher recently took a look at extension-eligible Heat guard Tyler Herro, and assessed the reigning Sixth Man of the Year’s candidacy for a lucrative new contract.
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More Than 30 NBA Players On Track To Suit Up For EuroBasket

August 18th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The first EuroBasket tournament in five years will tip off in two weeks and there are currently 34 NBA players on track to participate in the event, representing 17 different countries, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net.

EuroBasket is a 24-team international basketball competition also known as the European Basketball Championship. It historically took place every two years, but that gap was recently adjusted to four years, emulating the FIBA World Cup schedule.

The last EuroBasket tournament was played in 2017 — the next one had been scheduled for 2021, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. As a result, after being played every two years since 1947, it has now been five years since the last EuroBasket tournament, easily the longest layoff since World War II.

It’s possible that some NBA players will be cut from their teams’ rosters or will have to drop out due to injuries or personal reasons before the event begins on September 1, but in general enthusiasm to participate in the long-awaited event appears high.

Here’s the list of NBAers currently set to play in EuroBasket, per Eurohoops:

There are also multiple NBA free agents on EuroBasket rosters, including French swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and German guard Dennis Schröder.

A number of young NBA players, such as 2022 draftees Jeremy Sochan and Nikola Jovic, have dropped out to focus on getting ready for the 2022/23 season, while others, including Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) and Frank Ntilikina (France), were ruled out due to injuries.

Round robin play will begin on September 1, with each team facing the other five clubs in its group once. The top four teams in each group will advance to a 16-team bracket that begins on September 10. The final will take place on September 18, just over a week before NBA training camps get underway.

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Southeast Notes: Murray, Banchero, Wagners, Wizards

July 26th, 2022 at 12:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dejounte Murray tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype there’s no reason to be concerned about how he’ll fit alongside new backcourt partner Trae Young. The Hawks gave up a sizeable package of draft picks to acquire Murray from the Spurs, teaming up two guards who have been primary ball-handlers throughout their careers. Murray says he and Young are both “hoopers” and they’ll find a way to make it work.

“He wanted me as bad as I wanted to go over there to help,” Murray said of Young. “They already have a culture over there that they built. There’s a brotherhood. For me, it won’t be too hard to fit in. I work hard, and I can adapt to any environment I’m put in with my style of play and willingness to learn and work. It’s going to be a smooth transition. I think we’ll figure it out. We’re both smart, and we love the game. When you add those things together, you figure out ways to win. The main goal is to win, and that’s what we both want.”

In the lengthy interview, Murray also discusses his affection for San Antonio, the mentality it took to recover from a torn ACL and his expectations for Atlanta heading into the upcoming season.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • Paolo Banchero may be a big part of the foundation in Orlando after being taken with the No. 1 pick, but the Magic don’t expect him to assume a leadership role right away, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. Coach Jamahl Mosley hopes to emulate the Warriors, who give every player a role in building the culture. “You look at how Draymond [Green] is so vocal, but everybody knows how he ties and glues that team together,” Mosley said. “Steph [Curry] doesn’t have to say much, but when he does, it speaks volumes. We want to build our guys in that regard where there’s such a chemistry, and then as guys rise and they get their voice and they get that feel of leadership, they start to stand up. “
  • The Magic‘s Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner are on Germany’s roster for FIBA EuroBasket 2022, which will take place in September, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. The Wagner brothers may also participate in World Cup qualifying games in late August.
  • Reports that the Wizards are among the teams interested in trading for Donovan Mitchell show that Washington will be aggressive about building a contender now that Bradley Beal has a long-term contract, observes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Robbins examines Mitchell’s potential fit in Washington and what it might cost to get him.
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Barnes, Cunningham, Mobley Head All-Rookie Team

May 18th, 2022 at 7:28pm CST by Rory Maher

Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Franz Wagner and Jalen Green comprised this year’s All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced in a press release.

Barnes, Cunningham and Mobley were all unanimous selections, receiving the maximum total of 200 points each. Wagner received 183 points, followed by Green with 158. Strangely, one media member left Wagner off their ballot completely, as he received 99 of 100 possible votes.

Raptors wing Barnes, who narrowly edged Cavaliers big man Mobley for the Rookie of the Year award, ranked third in points (15.3) and rebounds (7.5) among all rookies, and fifth in assists (3.5). Mobley was fifth in points (15.0) and led all first-year players in rebounds (8.3) and blocks (1.67) per game.

Pistons guard Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, was first among rookies in points (17.4), second in assists (5.6) and fifth in rebounds (5.5). Magic forward Wagner also had a great year, averaging 15.4 points (fourth among rookies), 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 79 games. Rockets guard Green finished the season strong, scoring 20+ points in 17 of his last 25 games on his way to averaging 17.3 points, second among first-year players.

Pelicans defensive ace Herbert Jones (123 votes) and Thunder floor general Josh Giddey (122 votes) headline the Second Team. Jones averaged 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals (first among rookies) and should at least receive votes for an All-Defensive nod, even if he doesn’t end up making one of the two teams.

In addition to averaging 12.5 points, Giddey was second among rookies in rebounds (7.8) and first in assists (6.4), but he only appeared in 54 of 82 games, having missed the final 23 contests with a hip injury, which is likely why he didn’t receive more First Team votes.

Here are both All-Rookie teams in full, with their voting point totals noted in parentheses. Players received two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

2021/22 All-Rookie First Team:

2021/22 All-Rookie Second Team:

Ten other rookies received votes — you can view the full voting results right here. Among the group that missed the cut, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (47) was just behind Duarte, with Kings guard Davion Mitchell (28) the only other player receiving a significant number of votes.

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And-Ones: Cotton, 2021 Re-Draft, Pro Days, G League Camp

April 30th, 2022 at 11:57am CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran guard Bryce Cotton, the top player in Australia’s National Basketball League, isn’t planning a return to the NBA. The Perth Wildcats have reached a contract extension agreement with the three-time NBL MVP, Sportando’s Dario Skerletic reports. Cotton, 29, averaged 22.7 PPG and 4.8 APG last season. He played a total of 23 games for Utah, Phoenix and Memphis from 2014-16.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • How would last year’s draft look if it were held now? The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie explores that topic, ranking those players on how they performed this year, whether they can improve upon their weaknesses and how they figure to grow and mature. The top five, in order, would be Cade Cunningham, Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley, Jalen Green and Franz Wagner, Vecenie says.
  • The NBA has sent memo to teams informing them that agency Pro Days will only be permitted during two windows — the week of the NBA Combine from May 16-21 and in Southern California from May 25-27, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets.
  • The NBA G League Elite Camp will have workouts May 16-17 in Chicago and the Combine will run workouts from May 18-20, Adam Zagoria tweets.
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Magic Notes: Carter Jr., Cannady, Suggs, F. Wagner, Offseason

April 6th, 2022 at 10:14pm CST by Rory Maher

Big man Wendell Carter Jr. is having the best season of his young career with the Magic, according to Mark Schindler of BasketballNews.com, who takes an in-depth look at Carter’s breakout season and interviewed him for the article. Carter is averaging career-highs of 15.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season in 62 games (29.9 minutes per night). He boasts a shooting line of .525/.327/.691, including a career-best 61.5% on two-pointers.

Carter said the team’s coaching staff has empowered and challenged him to improve his game.

“They’ve kind of instilled in me like, ‘Man, you’re a great player. We’ve seen plenty of flashes. We know what Wendell can really be. Can we see you do this for a whole 48-minute game? Can we see you play like those little spurts we’ll see every now and then? Can you do that more often?’”

Here’s more on the Magic:

  • Devin Cannady, who signed a 10-day contract last week, is grateful for his second chance with Orlando, per Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. Cannady had a 10-day and then a two-way contract with Orlando last season and appeared in eight games, but his season came to an early end in April of 2021 when he suffered a significant ankle injury and underwent surgery. “I remember what it felt like laying on that floor less than a year ago. A lot of thoughts went through my mind. I remember praying on the floor that day. A lot of late nights, early mornings, frustrations, excitements and just to be back here is a testament to the work I put in. Whether I made it back here or not, I was going to be fine, but this is where I believe I belong,” Cannady said.
  • Rookies Jalen Suggs (right ankle bone bruise) and Franz Wagner (left ankle sprain) returned for Tuesday’s win over Cleveland after absences of 10 games and one game, respectively. However, Wagner suffered a right ankle sprain in the game and didn’t return (Twitter links).
  • Bobby Marks explores the team’s options for the offseason in his guide for ESPN (Insider link). Much of Orlando’s financial flexibility is tied to Mohamed Bamba, who would be a restricted free agent this summer if the team tenders him a qualifying offer of $10.1MM.
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Southeast Notes: F. Wagner, Hornets, Bridges, Collins

April 1st, 2022 at 8:25pm CST by Rory Maher

Franz Wagner has had a stellar first season for the Magic, and Josh Cohen of the team’s website makes the case that Wagner deserves Rookie of the Year consideration. Wagner holds the season-high scoring mark in an individual game for rookies with 38, along with several other benchmarks.

Through 77 games this season, the 6’9″ forward is averaging 15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists on .468/.357/.863 shooting in 31.5 minutes per night. If he stays above 46% from the field (which is a basically a lock) and is able to convert four more three-pointers, Wagner will join Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum as the third rookie ever to score at least 1,000 points and make 100 threes while shooting 46-plus percent from the floor, per Cohen.

One of the 20-year-old’s notable statistics has been his durability, as he’s one of just six players to appear in every game this season (Kevon Looney, Deni Avdija, Mikal Bridges, Dwight Powell and Saddiq Bey are the others). Unfortunately, he rolled his left ankle in Friday’s game against Toronto (video link via Kobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel) and was ruled out for the remainder of the game, the Magic’s PR department announced (via Twitter). Hopefully he’ll be able to finish out the season strong and accomplish the feat.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

  • The Hornets have clinched a spot in the play-in tournament, but they have their sights set on loftier goals, as Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer relays. “We can’t be content — we haven’t done s—,” Kelly Oubre said. “So we’ve got to continue to work, stay humble and continue to grind and create our own narrative for the future and establish ourselves in an area for sure that is in the winning light. So we’ve got to continue to stay hungry and stay humble.”
  • Within the same article, Boone notes that Miles Bridges apparently still holds some resentment that the Knicks didn’t select him in the 2018 draft. The Knicks selected Kevin Knox at No. 9, while Bridges fell to the Hornets at No. 12. “There’s a lot of history between me and the Knicks’ organization, going back to draft day,” Bridges said. “So every time I come in, I want to make a point of why they should have drafted me back then. I just try to be aggressive every time I come here and show them what I can do and it’s been working out.” Bridges has scored 30-plus points in each of his last three appearances in New York, including 31 on 11-of-15 shooting in the team’s 125-114 victory Wednesday. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer.
  • John Collins still hasn’t returned to basketball activity for the Hawks, Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Collins is progressing in his rehab from a mid-foot sprain and plantar fascia tear, as well as a sprained finger, and his return to action will depend on his follow-up appointments with medical specialists.
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2021/22 Rising Stars Team Rosters

February 4th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Rory Maher

As we previously relayed, the NBA announced a new format for its Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend, which will take place on Friday, February 18. The event will feature four seven-player teams competing in a three-game tournament (two semifinals and a final).

The player pool is comprised of 12 NBA rookies, 12 sophomores, and four players from the G League Ignite, while the games will be played to a target score: 50 points in the semifinals and 25 points in the final, in honor of the league’s 75th anniversary season.

The rosters were announced on February 1, but now the four honorary coaches (75th anniversary team members Rick Barry, Isiah Thomas, Gary Payton and James Worthy) have selected their seven-man teams, per our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Here are the rosters:

Team Barry:

Team Isiah:

Team Payton:

Team Worthy:

James Ham of ESPN 1320 and The Kings Beat provides (via Twitter) the full draft results.

The top 10, in order, were: Edwards, Mobley, Ball, Anthony, Giddey, Barnes, Cunningham, Bey, Bane, and Wagner. It’s worth noting that Worthy and Anthony both went to the University of North Carolina, so Anthony’s selection at No. 4 is less surprising given that context.

What do you think of the teams? Who do you think will come out on top? Head to the comments section and let us know your thoughts!

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NBA Announces 2021/22 Rising Stars Rosters

February 1st, 2022 at 6:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA has revealed the 28 players (12 rookies, 12 sophomores, and four G League Ignite players) who will suit up for the 2022 Clorox Rising Stars Game in Cleveland this year, per its official PR account (Twitter links). There are a few intriguing surprises among the first-year NBA players.

Here are the players who made the cut:

Rookies:

Sophomores:

Additionally, four players from the G League Ignite will participate in the Rising Stars Game based on voting from NBA G League head coaches. The NBAGL has announced (Twitter link) that MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels, Jaden Hardy and Scoot Henderson will partake in the action. Players will be separated into four teams, and each G League player will be drafted to join one of the teams later this week.

Among the rookie NBA players, the additions who would be most surprising ahead of the 2021/22 season would be Dosunmu and Jones, both of whom were second-round draft selections. 2021 lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga, Ziaire Williams, James Bouknight, Joshua Primo and Moses Moody were all omitted from inclusion this year.

Among the second-year players, Ball could be appearing on multiple nights during All-Star Weekend this season, as he appears to be a very possible first-time All-Star this year thanks to his outstanding work with the upstart Hornets.

The lottery-bound Magic, Pistons, and Rockets can boast having the most inclusions here, with three players apiece.

As we detailed last week, this year’s Rising Stars event will look a little different, with the four teams taking part in a mini-tournament and playing to a target score in each game: 50 points in the semifinals and 25 points in the final, in honor of the league’s 75th anniversary season.

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Southeast Notes: Hawks, Magic, Wagner, Bryant

January 5th, 2022 at 10:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After a remarkable 2021 postseason run that saw them reach the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks have staggered out of the gate in 2021/22. The team is off to a 16-20 start and currently occupies the conference’s No. 12 seed. Chris Kirschner and John Hollinger of The Athletic discuss several potential trades for Atlanta. Kirschner and Hollinger identify a defensive upgrade on the wing as the ideal priority for the club.

Hollinger pinpoints the expiring mid-sized deals of Lou Williams, Gorgui Dieng and Delon Wright, as well as intriguing young players such as Cam Reddish, Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson, as possible trade chips that team president Travis Schlenk could look to move. Kirschner considers the Pacers and Celtics to be amenable to making deals that could suit the Hawks’ needs.

The Hawks would be open to offloading some of their depth to add a high-impact player in a two-for-one deal, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic in another piece. Amick suggests that forwards Danilo Gallinari and Reddish may be the most likely players to be moved.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • Several Magic players signed to 10-day hardship exception deals will soon discover their fates with the club, writes Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel. Hassani Gravett, Admiral Schofield, Tim Frazier and Freddie Gillespie are the team’s four current hardship exception signings. The contracts of Gravett and Schofield, who signed their second 10-day deals with Orlando in late December, expire today. “The one thing is these guys understand what we’re asking them to do,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Their ability to move the basketball, sit down and defend the right way — no matter who’s out there, they’re coming in and doing their jobs.” 
  • Rookie Magic small forward Franz Wagner, selected with the eighth pick out of Michigan, has emerged as one of the prime bright spots for the 7-32 team this season, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.
  • Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. has revealed that center Thomas Bryant, still recuperating from ACL surgery, could rejoin Washington within the next two weeks, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link).
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