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Central Notes: LaVine, Giannis, Pistons, Arcidiacono

November 11th, 2018 at 4:06pm CST by JD Shaw

Zach LaVine has thrived with the Bulls as a volume scorer this season, averaging 27.2 points per game in 13 contests so far. He’s shot 46% from the floor, 35% from 3-point territory and 86% from the charity stripe, which would easily make this the best scoring season of his five-year career if his numbers hold up.

The Bulls own just a 4-9 record, but it’s hard to blame LaVine for the team’s shortcomings. LaVine provides Chicago with production today, but also likely remains years away from his prime age at just 23 years old.

“I’ll do whatever I gotta do to try to put points on the board or help us win,” LaVine said before a team practice Friday, according to Mark Strotman of NBC Sports. “If that’s scoring, facilitating, rebounding, whatever it is. It’s scoring for right now. I’ll continue to do that until we need something else.”

LaVine, the No. 13 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, was shipped to Chicago from the Timberwolves as part of a Jimmy Butler trade in 2017. He missed most of last season rehabbing from a torn ACL and has since come back stronger than ever.

“He’s really improved in the area of attacking the basket,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. “You can see his free throw numbers are up, his finishing is better at the rim, he’s not settling for as many shots as he did a year ago and I think a lot of that has to do with the confidence that he has with his health.

“Zach is in a great rhythm on the offensive end.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will work to add a three-point shot to his arsenal, according to ESPN. “Every year he comes back with something different,” general manager Jon Horst said. “Whether it’s at some point this year or next year, you’re going to see him with a 3-point shot.” Antetokounmpo has averaged 25.7 points and 13.4 rebounds in 11 games this season. He’s made just two of 25 shots from downtown.
  • The Pistons would likely make a strong push for Bradley Beal if the Wizards choose to blow up their roster, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes. Washington has started the season with a disappointing 3-9 record, and the Pistons could express interest in adding another shooter to the mix.
  • Ryan Arcidiacono will remain the Bulls’ starting point guard for now, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Kris Dunn, the usual starter for Chicago, has been out of the lineup with a moderate MCL sprain. Arcidiacono scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting in a win over the Cavaliers on Saturday.
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NBA Super-Max Candidates To Watch In 2018/19

November 9th, 2018 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Designated Veteran Extension, as we explain our glossary entry on the subject, is a relatively new addition to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. It allows players with 7-9 years of experience, who would normally qualify for a maximum starting salary of 30% of the cap, to qualify for a “super-max” contract that starts at 35% of the cap, a level normally reserved players with 10+ years of experience.

A player who has seven or eight years of NBA service with one or two years left on his contract becomes eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension if he meets the required performance criteria and hasn’t been traded since his first four years in the league. A Designated Veteran contract can also be signed by a player who is technically a free agent if he has eight or nine years of service and meets the required criteria.

The performance criteria is as follows (only one of the following must be true):

  • The player was named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
  • The player was named the NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.
  • The player was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.

With those criteria in mind, it’s worth keeping an eye on several players who could qualify for a super-max veteran contract with their play this season. Let’s dive in and examine a few of those guys…

Players who already qualify for a super-max contract:

Davis can’t yet sign a Designated Veteran Extension, but his All-NBA appearances over the last two seasons have ensured that he’ll qualify, even if he somehow doesn’t earn another All-NBA nod in 2018/19.

As of next July, the Pelicans will be able to offer Davis a contract extension that tacks an additional five years onto his $27.09MM salary for 2019/20. Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection for 2020/21 ($118MM), that five-year extension would be worth a staggering $239.54MM.

Players who could qualify for a super-max contract by meeting the criteria in 2018/19:

Technically, any player who earns an All-NBA spot in 2018/19 and meets the contract criteria can qualify for a super-max, but the players listed above are probably the only legitimately viable candidates. And even in this group, guys like Beal and Drummond are a real stretch — if they were to improbably make an All-NBA team, their clubs still probably wouldn’t put Designated Veteran Extension offers on the table, since they’re not bona fide superstars.

Thompson and Walker will both be unrestricted free agents in 2019, so if they meet the DVE criteria, they’d be eligible for five-year contracts with their respective teams worth up to a projected $221.27MM. Lillard and Green are still under contract for at least one more year beyond this season, but they’d qualify for super-max extensions if they meet the criteria — Lillard could get an extra four years, while Green could get five.

A team can only give Designated Veteran Extensions to two players, so the Warriors wouldn’t be able to offer both Thompson and Green super-max contracts, since Stephen Curry already has one. On the plus side, Kevin Durant won’t figure into this equation for Golden State, since he has 10+ years of experience. A deal starting at 35% of the cap for Durant wouldn’t count toward the Dubs’ super-max limit.

Finally, while Antetokounmpo can qualify for a super-max by earning All-NBA honors this season, he wouldn’t actually be able to sign such a deal until 2020, since he’ll only have six years of experience at the end of the 2018/19 campaign. Essentially, he’d be in the same spot that Anthony Davis is in now.

Players who can no longer qualify for a super-max contract because they were traded:

Butler, Irving, and Leonard are probably more worthy of a super-max investment than most of the players in the above group, but they no longer qualify because they were traded while on their second contracts — Butler from the Bulls, Irving from the Cavaliers, and Leonard from the Spurs. They’ll need to reach 10 years of NBA experience before qualifying for a starting salary worth up to 35% of the cap.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Central Notes: A. Johnson, Portis, Harrison, Antetokounmpo

October 31st, 2018 at 8:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the Cavaliers‘ coaching situation still uncertain, Alabama coach Avery Johnson could become a candidate, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Johnson has plenty of NBA coaching experience, spending seven seasons with the Mavericks and Nets and taking Dallas to the NBA Finals in 2006.

Johnson also has a strong connection with Cavs’ rookie point guard Collin Sexton, coaching him last year in his lone season of college basketball. Johnson attended Cleveland’s home opener last week as Sexton’s guest. Windhorst notes that owner Dan Gilbert has wanted to hire a college coach before, making offers to Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Kansas’ Bill Self and Kentucky’s John Calipari.

In the wake of Tyronn Lue‘s firing over the weekend, Larry Drew continues to act as interim head coach, but without the title. Drew said Tuesday that he’s “very disappointed” with the pace of negotiations to make his role more permanent.

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • Bulls forward Bobby Portis is sidelined with a sprained right MCL, but it hasn’t changed his mind about his decision to pass on a contract extension, relays Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Portis, who may be out of action until mid-December, opted to test the market as a restricted free agent next summer rather than accept a deal now. “Can’t second-guess yourself,” he said. “Basketball gods don’t bless people that way. It doesn’t work that way. In life, obviously you have a choice. I made mine, I’m happy with what I did, and I’m just living life one day at a time.”
  • Bulls point guard Shaquille Harrison didn’t have his confidence shaken after being waived by the Suns, notes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Injuries to Kris Dunn and Denzel Valentine have given Harrison an opportunity, and he has responded with 10 and 13 points in the past two games. “The Bulls brought me here for a reason,” he said. “I don’t need to do more than what’s being displayed. Try to continue to play hard, be a leader and be a playmaker.”
  • Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has cleared concussion protocol and is expected to play tomorrow in Boston, according to Matt Velazquez of The Journal-Sentinel. Antetokounmpo has missed one game so far after being elbowed in the head Saturday. “It’s kind of scary because, you know, you get hit in the head and you feel pain for 10 seconds,” he said. “But it was lingering and I had a headache the next day and it was kind of bad, but at the time, I felt – I’m Giannis – I felt great. I wanted to play. … I think the NBA medical staff did a great job protecting me, keeping me out of the game.”
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Injury Updates: Theis, Giannis, Harkless, Harris

October 29th, 2018 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics may be without big man Daniel Theis for the next few weeks, head coach Brad Stevens acknowledged today (Twitter link via Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston).

While Stevens said Theis’ injury won’t require surgery and isn’t necessarily as bad it sounds, the 26-year-old is dealing with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot and has been ruled out indefinitely (Twitter links via Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald and the Celtics’ official account).

Theis doesn’t play a major role for the Celtics, but has been productive in limited minutes. So far in his second season with the franchise, he has averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in just 12.2 minutes per contest.

Here are a few more noteworthy injury updates from around the NBA:

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo, who initially returned to Saturday night’s game after taking a blow to the head, has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol and will miss at least Monday’s game against Toronto, the Bucks announced today. The Raptors will be without their own star player, having announced that Kawhi Leonard will rest in the first game of the club’s back-to-back set.
  • Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless continues to deal with the effects of the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in March. As Joe Freeman of The Oregonian details, Harkless’ left knee pain recently resurfaced and will keep him out of Monday’s game against Indiana. It’s not clear whether Harkless will continue to miss more time beyond that contest.
  • Mavericks guard Devin Harris, who remains out of action due to a hamstring injury, has been targeting Wednesday’s game against the Lakers as a potential return date, but that’s not set in stone, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “I ran on it for the first time,” Harris said on Sunday. “The next step is to run on it comfortably. It didn’t feel quite right.”
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Giannis Antetokounmpo Believes It’s ‘The Right Time To Be A Buck’

October 20th, 2018 at 9:28am CST by marksuleymanov

With two solid victories to start the season, the Bucks have shown they could be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.  Following a 118-101 victory over the Pacers on Friday night, the first regular season game their new arena, the Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee’s star player had a resounding endorsement.

While it’s too early to put too much stock into any one game, Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s comments after Friday’s win can only be a sign of encouragement for his long-term future in Milwaukee.

“New arena, new practice facility, new coach,” Antetokounmpo said, per ESPN’s Malika Andrews. “This is the right time to be a Buck.”

A lot has been made of Antetokounmpo’s possible long-term future in Milwaukee. The 6-foot-10 big man has proven himself as one of the league’s most dynamic and talented young players. However, after making the postseason as the seventh seed followed by a first-round exit, it was reasonable to wonder if Antetokounmpo would be looking to join a large market, perennial contender in the future.

The Greece native signed a four-year, $100MM extension in September 2016. But with a solid start to this season, he feels Milwaukee can beat any team in the league.

“I feel we can beat any team on any night,” Antetokounmpo said. “We have a really, really good opportunity to do good stuff this year, so hopefully we can work hard, go back and work on our craft, and be able to execute and compete every night.”

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NBA GMs Weigh In On 2018/19 Season

October 3rd, 2018 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

NBA.com has completed its annual survey of NBA general managers, with John Schuhmann of NBA.com asking each of the league’s 30 GMs to answer an array of questions about the league’s top teams, players, and coaches. Unsurprisingly, the Warriors are once again viewed by the NBA’s general managers as the overwhelming favorites to be the last team standing, with 26 of 30 GMs (87%) picking Golden State to win the NBA championship for the fourth time in five years.

While there are many responses in the GM survey worth checking out, we’ll focus on rounding up some of the more noteworthy ones related to rosters and player movement. Let’s dive in…

  • LeBron James (30%) and Kevin Durant (27%) are viewed as the frontrunners for the 2018/19 MVP award, but two younger players led the voting for the player GMs would most want to build a franchise around starting today. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (30%) and Pelicans big man Anthony Davis (23%) led the way in that category. Interestingly, Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t receive a single vote this year after leading the way with 29% of the vote in 2017.
  • The Lakers‘ signing of James helped them earn 70% of the vote for the team that made the best overall moves this offseason. The Raptors, buoyed by their acquisition of Kawhi Leonard, finished second at 20%.
  • A ton of different signings and trade acquisitions received votes for the most underrated addition of the summer, with the Pacers‘ signing of Tyreke Evans barely leading the way with four votes. The Spurs‘ trade for DeMar DeRozan, the Bulls‘ signing of Jabari Parker, the Pelicans‘ addition of Julius Randle, and the Thunder‘s acquisition of Dennis Schroder received three votes apiece.
  • DeMarcus Cousins‘ decision to join the Warriors (35%) was considered the most surprising move of the offseason, followed by the Spurs/Raptors blockbuster trade (29%) and Paul George remaining with the Thunder (19%).
  • While Mavericks guard Luka Doncic is the strong frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, GMs expect Suns center Deandre Ayton and Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. to be the best players five years from now. Meanwhile, the Clippers‘ selection of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at No. 11 was viewed by the most GMs as the steal of the draft.
  • The Sixers (47%) and Celtics (33%) dominated voting for the teams with the most promising young cores.
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And-Ones: 2019 FAs, MVP Odds, Oldest Vets

August 15th, 2018 at 7:38pm CST by clarkcrum

An ESPN panel was asked where they think some of the top-projected free agents of 2019 might end up next summer. The results were interesting, with the panel making a prediction for five players: Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson.

As we explored earlier this summer, both Irving and Butler have reportedly expressed interested in playing together, and the panel obviously took that into consideration, predicting both players to suit up for the Knicks next season. However, the Celtics were a close second for Irving.

Interestingly, the Lakers were the second-highest voted selection for both Butler and Thompson, and the first-place selection for Leonard by a wide-margin. Meanwhile, both Thompson and Durant are projected to return to the Warriors.

We have more from around the league:

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Sean Sweeney Agrees To Join Pistons’ Staff

June 22nd, 2018 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons have reached an agreement with Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney to join Dwane Casey’s staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Detroit had been making a hard push to convince Sweeney to make the switch. Sweeney has worked closely with Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

One of the concessions the Pistons made in negotiations with the former Raptors head coach was that he could pick his own assistants.

Sweeney was one of the candidates for the Nets’ head coaching job two years ago when they wound up hiring Kenny Atkinson.

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Draft Decisions: Antetokounmpo, Bowen, Kurucs, Bonga

June 11th, 2018 at 10:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kostas Antetokounmpo opted to remain in the draft prior to Monday afternoon’s early-entry deadline, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony tweets. The 6’10” forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s brother, cancelled all of his remaining scheduled private workouts, Givony adds. That suggests that he might have a guarantee from some team to draft him.

The Dayton freshman averaged a mere 5.2 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 15.1 MPG during his lone college season. Givony has the younger Antetokounmpo ranked No. 57 in his latest Top 100 rankings.

We have other early-entrant decisions to pass along:

  • Swingman Brian Bowen has withdrawn his name from the draft, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com reports. Bowen, who was swept up in the Louisville scandal and then transferred to South Carolina, would have had to sit out next college season. He is now free to pursue opportunities in the NBA G League or overseas and then potentially re-enter the draft next year, Zagoria adds.
  • Rodions Kurucs will remain in the draft, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The 6’10” Latvian forward, who withdrew from the draft last year, is ranked No. 42 by Givony. Isaac Bonga has also remained in the June draft, Charania adds in another tweet. The 6’9”, 18-year-old German forward is ranked No. 54 by Givony.
  • Matur Maker, brother of the Bucks’ Thon Maker, has withdrawn from the draft, Zagoria tweets.
  • Karim Jallow, a small forward from Greece, has decided to pass on this year’s draft, according to Givony (Twitter link). He was ranked No. 67. Georgios Kalaitzakis and Vasilis Charalampopoulos, another pair of Greek prospects, have withdrawn their names, Givony tweets. The same goes for two French prospects, Adam Mokoka and Amine Noua, Givony adds in another tweet.
  • We relayed several other prospects’ decisions earlier today, including that of Luka Doncic.
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Draft Notes: Antetokounmpo, Grizzlies, Sanon

June 3rd, 2018 at 8:37pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kostas Antetokounmpo suffered a groin injury during his workout with the Hornets, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s younger brother could not complete the workout, but Bonnell notes that the injury does not appear to be serious.

The Dayton product has a workout scheduled with the Grizzlies on Monday, though it’s unlikely he’ll participate in it after sustaining the injury. Here are more notes on the upcoming draft:

  • The Grizzlies will work out Jordan Barnett (Missouri), Demetrius Dyson (Samford), Obi Enechionya (Temple), Devon Hall (Virginia), and Malik Newman (Kansas) on Monday, according to a team press release. Memphis owns the No. 4 and No. 32 picks in the upcoming draft.
  • Bruce Brown Jr. (Miami) will work out for the Timberwolves on Monday, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News passes along via Twitter. Wolfson notes that Brown interviewed with Minnesota at the NBA Combine.
  • Ukrainian point guard Issuf Sanon has interviews with 24 teams at the NBA Global Camp in Italy, Fran Fraschilla of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The analyst adds that the 19-year-old would be a great draft-and-stash prospect.
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