Jayson Tatum

Olympic Notes: Maluach, Deng, Tatum, Embiid, Team USA

August 1st, 2024 at 10:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Seventeen-year-old South Sudan center and projected 2025 NBA lottery pick Khaman Maluach recently expressed his gratitude to be enjoying an Olympic experience so early in his career, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. The 7’2″ big man will play for Duke in the fall.

“To me, this whole experience is sometimes feels like I’m living in a dream at 17 years old. Big dreams. And I’m just a small-town kid chasing big dreams in the big city,” Maluach told Spears.

As Spears notes, South Sudan only gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. The country does not yet have a single indoor basketball court, but that didn’t stop it from qualifying for the Olympics this year.

“Right now, we’re going to celebrate our win, be grateful for our first Olympic game and our first win,” Maluach said after Team South Sudan bested Team Puerto Rico on Sunday, 90-79. “So, I’m going to celebrate until 12 midnight. We put this game aside and get ready for the next game.”

Following South Sudan’s loss to Team USA on Wednesday, the team can qualify for the quarterfinals either with a win over Serbia on Sunday or with some tiebreaker luck in the event of a Sunday loss.

There’s more out of the Olympics:

Former two-time All-Star Luol Deng, who has been self-funding South Sudan’s basketball program since 2021, is watching his vision for the team get fully realized in these Olympics, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “Every time we play, the whole nation stops to watch us play,” head coach Royal Ivey said. “We’re bringing them together. We’re uniting the fans and the people of South Sudan. And that’s way bigger than wins and losses.” According to Thompson, Deng was offered front office work by his old team, the Bulls, as well as the Bucks after he retired in 2019. But he felt the pull to return to South Sudan and build up the basketball club. “It was never about being famous or making money and leaving home,” Deng said of his NBA career. “It was all about being successful and returning home. So it’s kind of cool that I can come back and get things done now — which is just, in a way, it’s a dream come true.”
Eastern Conference All-Stars Jayson Tatum, and Joel Embiid are undergoing a rare-for-them humbling experience through Team USA’s group play games, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Both have been healthy scratches for one of the club’s two group play blowout victories at the Paris Olympics. Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton has too. “Definitely a humbling experience, right?” Tatum said. “Win a championship, new contract, cover of (NBA) 2K (video game) and then you sit a whole game. Cover of Sports Illustrated. So it was definitely a humbling experience.”
After playing a few unexpectedly close tune-up games prior to the official start of the Olympics, a loaded Team USA looked vulnerable against a field with more NBA talent than ever. Two games into the pool play phase, the U.S. has left little doubt that it’s by far the best club out there, writes Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Head coach Steve Kerr‘s multifaceted team has looked virtually unbeatable since Kevin Durant returned to the lineup. The Suns All-NBA forward had missed all five of Team USA’s exhibition matchups with a calf strain.

Team USA Notes: South Sudan, Adebayo, Embiid, Holiday, Tatum, Ivey

July 31st, 2024 at 7:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Team USA nearly lost to South Sudan in an exhibition game. It was a much different story at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, as the Americans secured a 103-86 victory and clinched a berth into the quarterfinals.

Canada, France and Germany have also advanced to the quarterfinals. Puerto Rico is the only team that has been officially eliminated.

“It’s not the goal,” Anthony Davis said of making the quarterfinals, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “It does give us a sense of satisfaction as far as being able to play next week. But there’s a lot that we can get better at, a lot that we can clean up, and we’ll use Saturday’s game against Puerto Rico to tighten the screws again and then just see where it takes us from there.”

Bam Adebayo was Team USA’s leading scorer with 18 points and Kevin Durant, coming off his dominant outing in the opening win over Serbia, added 14.

We have more on Team USA:

Adebayo received extended minutes because coach Steve Kerr gave Joel Embiid the night off, Brian Windhorst of ESPN notes. Jayson Tatum, who never left the bench against Serbia, was in the starting lineup. Jrue Holiday came off the bench after starting the opener, while Davis replaced Embiid in the starting five. Embiid and Holiday will return to the lineup against Puerto Rico. “We have an embarrassment of riches on this roster, that’s the best way to put it,” Kerr said. “I mean these guys are all champions, All-Stars, Hall of Famers, however you want to put it. So the whole thing is are we committed to the goal? That’s it.”
Tatum wasn’t upset about getting benched in the opener, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets. “It’s a unique situation and it’s not about one individual player,” Tatum said. “The competitor in you wants to play, obviously. But I’m not here to make a story, making it about myself. We won. I was just glad to get back out there and play again today. There was a lot of chatter over the last few days but I was in good spirits, I had a good attitude about it. I’m not holding any grudges or anything.”
South Sudan coach and Rockets assistant Royal Ivey anticipated that Team USA wouldn’t overlook his team again, Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews writes. “In London, they weren’t prepared for us. We came there and tried to hit them on the chin, but we almost had a knockout. And now, this time, they were prepared,” Ivey said. “They were ready for the punches we threw. They blocked them, and they threw haymakers at us. And that’s a fight for you.”

Kerr: Tatum Will Play On Wednesday For Team USA

July 29th, 2024 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, an All-NBA first-teamer for each of the past three seasons, was a surprise DNP-CD in Team USA’s pool-play victory over Serbia on Sunday, joining Tyrese Haliburton as the only two players on the 12-man roster who didn’t see the court.

Keeping Tatum on the bench isn’t the plan going forward, however, according to head coach Steve Kerr, who told reporters on Monday that the Celtics star will be part of the rotation on Wednesday vs. South Sudan.

“Jayson will play (on Wednesday),” Kerr said, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “I’m not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn’t. But we’re going to need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens.”

A few factors contributed to Tatum’s DNP-CD on Sunday. Kevin Durant returned from his calf strain and looked like the best player on the court for much of his 16:44 of action. Kerr also leaned heavily on his big men against a strong Serbian frontcourt led by Nikola Jokic, with Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, and Joel Embiid all seeing playing time. Additionally, Derrick White, viewed as the 12th man on the roster, saw nearly 16 minutes of action in order to match up defensively with Serbia’s talented backcourt.

“The hardest part of this job is you’re sitting at least a couple of guys who are world-class, some of the very best players on Earth,” Kerr said. “On one hand, it makes no sense at all. On the other, I’m asking these guys to just commit to winning one game and then move on to the next one. I have to do the same thing. And so I felt like (Sunday) night those were the combinations that made the most sense.”

As Windhorst points out, Tatum should be a better fit against a South Sudan roster that features more athleticism and spreads the floor with three-point shooters.

“With South Sudan, it’s more about the speed, and speed is a killer,” Kerr said. “You have to be prepared for everything, and that means we need everybody.”

Olympic Notes: Embiid, Ivey, Jones, Tatum

July 28th, 2024 at 3:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Seven-time All-Star Sixers center Joel Embiid had a major decision to make ahead of his 2024 Olympics debut. The big man was born in Cameroon, holds French citizenship, and of course had the option to make a stacked Team USA even more loaded, writes Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Having a family here and living here half of my life… it made sense,” Embiid explained to reporters while Team USA prepared for the Olympics in Las Vegas.

Former Sixers head coach Brett Brown told Sielski that he sometimes talked to Embiid about the Olympics during his time in Philadelphia and thought the star center might want a chance to display his greatness by going up against the U.S. on an international stage.

“Then all of a sudden, you could feel like the U.S. having a chance to be an option,” Brown said. “Previously, I did not think that. I think what’s happened over time is that he well and truly sees himself as the United States being his home.”

There’s more from the Olympics:

After beating Puerto Rico 90-79 for the first Olympic victory in his country’s history, South Sudan head coach Royal Ivey has been reveling in the moment, per Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. “This is a movie, my life is a movie right now,” Ivey said. “Being in the Olympics, and getting our first win, I’m proud of my players, one through 12, everybody contributed. This is so, so real, I couldn’t experience anything better than this. And I’m so thankful for the opportunity, I thank you all, and I thank my coaching staff, [South Sudan Basketball Federation president] Luol Deng, everyone.” Ivey is currently a Rockets assistant coach.
South Sudan point guard Carlik Jones powered the club to its victory over Puerto Rico, notching 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, Barkas writes in another piece. During the team’s Olympics opening-night presentation, Sudan’s national anthem was played instead of South Sudan’s. South Sudan separated from Sudan as its own country in 2011. “I’ll say it added more fuel to the fire,” Jones said. “I feel like a lot of people don’t think we belong. A lot of people think that we don’t deserve to be here. But if you ask me, I think we have every right to be here. And, you know, we’re confident. We’re confident in the team. We’re confident in what we’ve done so far. And we just know we’ve got to keep going.”
During Team USA’s 110-84 victory over Team Serbia in its first game of the Paris Olympics, head coach Steve Kerr did not play All-NBA Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum for a single second. Tatum confirmed to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe that he was not injured or sick (Twitter link). Speaking post-game, Kerr explained his decision to make Tatum a healthy scratch, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “It’s really hard in a 40-minute game to play more than 10 guys,” Kerr said. All-NBA Suns power forward Kevin Durant, who had missed all five of Team USA’s exhibition games with a calf injury, returned to the lineup and seemingly absorbed Tatum’s minutes off the bench. He scored 23 points while shooting 8-of-9 from the floor across a scant 17 minutes. “With Kevin coming back, I just went to the combinations that I felt made the most sense,” Kerr added. “It seems crazy. I thought I was crazy when I looked at everything and determined these are the lineups I wanted to get to.”

Celtics Notes: White, Brown, Harper Jr., Olympics

July 27th, 2024 at 8:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

Derrick White had to alter his summer vacation plans when he got an offer to join the U.S. Olympic team in the wake of Kawhi Leonard‘s injury, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Instead of traveling to Cabo San Lucas, White and his family are spending two weeks in Paris, but he won’t get to relax until he’s done trying to win a gold medal.

“I just had to change plans really quickly. I was super excited,” White said about the invitation. “Once I got that call, I changed my focus. It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Along with Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday, White will be trying to pull off the rare accomplishment of winning an NBA title and Olympic gold just a few weeks apart. In between those feats, he signed a four-year, $125.9MM extension that will keep him under contract through the 2028/29 season.

“I’m excited,” White said. “I wanted to stay in Boston and was able to get it done early, so I don’t have to think about it or talk about it too much. I’m just excited to be in Boston for as long as possible.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

White confirmed to Himmelsbach that Jaylen Brown called him to explain social media comments he made about not being considered for a spot in the Olympics. Brown said he’s happy for White, but he was expressing his frustrations over the selection process. “Jaylen gave me a call and I was like, ‘Yeah, you didn’t need to call me. I know we’re good,’” White said. “He gave me a call and said he just wanted to clear things up and I told him we’re all good. Never any problem or issue with us, for sure. He’s a hell of a player and I’ve never had a bad thing to say about JB.”
Ron Harper Jr. is hoping to make a strong impression on the Celtics after signing a non-guaranteed training camp deal earlier this month, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Harper appeared in 10 total games on a two-way contract with Toronto before being waived in December following a season-ending shoulder injury. “I was feeling real good before the injury,” he said. “I was going through some shoulder stuff and ended up tearing my labrum, having surgery in December and wasn’t really cleared to play until June. I’m still trying to get into the flow of things. It’s been a long process. It’s the longest time I’ve ever gone without playing basketball since I started hooping. To get back into the flow is real important but I feel like I’m doing a good job.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla will have to be careful not to overextend his three Olympians, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Tatum, Holiday and White had little time to rest after the NBA Finals ended, and they’ll only have a few weeks off between the conclusion of the Olympics and the start of training camp. Robb expects Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard to take on larger roles early in the season.

Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Brown, Celtics, Mogbo, Raptors, Thibs

July 25th, 2024 at 10:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to Chris Mannix of SI.com about his relationship with longtime teammate Jaylen Brown, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said he never wanted Brown traded, but admitted that he could have expressed that sentiment more vocally earlier in his career as trade rumors swirled around the 2016 lottery pick.

“I’ve always told him that maybe I could have done a better job of voicing my feelings in the public eye,” Tatum said. “He always knew that I wanted him here. I would always tell him like, ‘Man, I don’t get involved with any of those talks.’

“I never went to (Celtics president of basketball operations) Brad (Stevens) or went to any player like, ‘Yo, I want this guy in, I want this guy out of here.’ I show up and I want to do my job and play basketball. And looking back on in those moments, I didn’t know how that could affect somebody, because I was never in that situation. I feel like maybe I could have done a better job of publicly saying, ‘No, we don’t want anybody, we want JB.’ I just was always like, ‘I want to stay out of it.'”

The Celtics made it to the Eastern Conference Finals or NBA Finals in five of Brown’s first seven seasons, but were unable to break through and win a championship until 2024. Now that they have that title under their belt, Tatum is relieved that he and Brown should no longer have to face questions about whether it can thrive together and win at the highest level.

“We’ve figured out that we need each other,” Tatum told Mannix. “We have learned how to coexist. And we know we need to be the best version of ourselves in order for all of this to work. We weren’t necessarily the best play-makers early in our careers but we developed into guys that really bleed the game. We want to be a great example of guys that play on both ends as a floor and guys who are the best teammates that we can be.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

After locking up most of their rotation players to multiyear deals, the Celtics project to have the NBA’s first ever $500MM roster in 2025/26, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes. That $500MM+ figure, which includes both player salaries and luxury tax penalties, will loom large over the organization as the team looks to defend its title and the ownership group looks to sell a controlling stake in the franchise.
Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca takes a closer look at the unconventional path that Raptors rookie Jonathan Mogbo – the No. 31 pick in this year’s draft – took to the NBA and details how the 6’7″ forward boosted his stock significantly during the pre-draft process. According to Lewenberg, entering the second day of the draft, the Raptors did some extra homework on the projected first-round picks who were still available after day one – such as Kyle Filipowski and Johnny Furphy – but ultimately decided they preferred Mogbo, whom they’d ranked in the early 20s. Eventual No. 41 pick Adem Bona was also high on Toronto’s board and received some consideration at the start of the second round, Lewenberg adds.
Tom Thibodeau‘s new three-year extension with the Knicks doesn’t include any option years, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. While Begley doesn’t have the full salary details on Thibodeau’s new deal, he says it’s is “in line with the current market for head coaches” (Twitter link).

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Brown, Grousbeck, Sale

July 11th, 2024 at 8:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-NBA Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, fresh off capturing his first NBA title, just signed the biggest contract in league history, a five-year, super-max deal worth a projected $313.93MM. According to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Tatum believes his championship has helped quiet some of the discourse surrounding him in the league at present.

“You know, just being the topic of discussion of so many debates or whatever it is. ‘Can he lead a team? Is he a top-five player?’” Tatum said. “There’s still a lot of things I guess they can debate, but I’ve done some things they can’t debate. I won a championship. I did it at the highest level. So having that under my belt, like, obviously there’s still conversations to be had or whatever people want to say, but they’ve always got to refer to me as an NBA champion.”

Tatum seemed grateful for his lucrative new extension, too.

“For me just to feel wanted, and they want me to be here and want me for the long haul,” Tatum said. “I’ll spend my whole career here and have got nothing but love for the fans, the city, and the organization. You know, we just won a championship and I want to try to win as many as I can.”

During the 2023/24 regular season, the five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA honoree posted superlative averages of 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks across 74 contests, with a .471/.376/.833 shooting line.

There’s more out of Boston:

Tatum’s All-Star teammate Jaylen Brown appeared miffed to have been passed over to replace Kawhi Leonard on Team USA in favor of another Celtics wing, Derrick White, Himmelsbach writes in a separate piece. Brown posted an emoji-packed tweet expressing his apparent displeasure. Sources confirmed to Brian Robb of MassLive that the 6’6″ small forward was indeed frustrated by the choice. Team USA managing director Grant Hill explained the decision on Wednesday. “This is about putting together a team,” Hill told gathered media. “Just kind of overall, you have incredible interest from an abundance of talent that we have here in the United States. I’ve talked a little about when we assembled this roster.”
Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck recently revealed his intentions to sell his stake in the team. Now, Grousbeck has outlined some supplemental details of the plan, Robb notes in an additional article. “I want to clarify, it’s not my majority stake,” Grousbeck said. “The control of the team is owned by my family, so it’s a family that I belong to and then I have the Celtics family I also belong to, so there’s an intersection and there’s an involvement.” According to Robb, Grousbeck hopes to sell the majority of his family’s ownership stake early next year. “The plan, the expectation is to sell the team in two parts, 51 percent going fairly soon,” Grousbeck said. “49 percent then closing in a second closing, that’s the expectation in 2028. I’m planning or expected to stay on until 2028 (as governor) and we’re going to hire bankers and advisors and this is going to be quite a bidding process.”
Grousbeck may be selling his portion of the Celtics chiefly because of long-term family estate planning, writes Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico. Boston is valued at an estimated $5.12 billion by Sportico, Novy-Williams adds.

Celtics Sign Jayson Tatum To Super-Max Extension

July 6th, 2024 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The richest contract in NBA history is now official, with the Celtics announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Tatum to his super-max extension.

“Jayson is a special person and player, and it’s been a thrill for all of us to watch his entire journey in Boston,” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in a statement. “He has embraced all that comes with being a great Celtic, and shows consistent and genuine care for every one of his teammates, coaches, and staff across the organization. Despite all the team accomplishments and individual awards, Jayson is committed to constantly improving. He works hard and is extremely driven by the challenges of the game – especially the goal of competing with his teammates for championships. We are obviously ecstatic that Jayson chose to extend his contract and add to his amazing career as a Boston Celtic.”

JULY 1: The Celtics and Jayson Tatum have agreed to terms on a five-year, super-max extension that will begin in 2025/26 and will start at 35% of the salary cap, reports Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection, the five-year contract will start at approximately $54.13MM and will be worth a total of $313.93MM, making it the largest deal in league history. It will replace the $37MM player option for 2025/26 from Tatum’s current contract and will run through the ’29/30 season.

Tatum, who won his first championship this spring, earned All-NBA First Team honors for a third straight season after averaging 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in 35.7 minutes per game with a .471/.376/.833 shooting line for the league’s top team.

The star forward met the super-max criteria, increasing his maximum salary from 30% of the cap to 35%, by making the All-NBA team in both 2022 and 2023. He needed one more year in the NBA in order to meet the service time criteria of at least seven years, but this move had been expected since last spring once he became eligible.

Tatum’s deal, which can be officially signed as early as July 6, is on track to be completed less than one year after his teammate Jaylen Brown signed a five-year super-max extension of his own. Brown’s deal, which went into effect today and previously held the title of biggest contract in NBA history, is worth approximately $285.4MM.

Having also agreed to a four-year, $125.9MM extension with guard Derrick White earlier today, the Celtics have locked up three of their five starters through at least the 2027/28 season, with a fourth (Jrue Holiday) holding a player option for that year. Boston’s fifth starter (Kristaps Porzingis) is under contract through ’25/26. It projects to be one of the league’s priciest rosters going forward, but the Celtics now have their championship core under team control for the long term.

The Celtics will become one of four teams who have multiple players on maximum-salary contracts that began at 35% of the cap. The Bucks (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard) and Sixers (Joel Embiid, Paul George) will have two apiece, while the Suns (Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal) are carrying three.

And-Ones: Role Players, Extension Candidates, Team Tiers, SLC Summer League

June 22nd, 2024 at 11:55am CST by Tristan Tucker

Derrick White was a home-run addition for the Celtics back in 2022. After he was acquired for a modest package from the Spurs, White established himself as one of the best defenders in the league and played a crucial role in Boston’s title run. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer takes a look at 10 other role players league-wide who could follow in White’s footsteps and play important parts on title contenders down the line.

O’Connor breaks the 10 players down into three categories. Hidden gems are players who had some success in their careers but were willing to tweak their games to help their teams win, like White and Denver’s Bruce Brown last year. Reinventable talents are players like Kristaps Porzingis or Aaron Gordon who were lottery talents who were best able to showcase their skills in downsized roles. Lastly, proven veterans like Jrue Holiday and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, guys who have title game experience, are crucial to success.

Collin Sexton, Ayo Dosunmu, Deni Avdija, Day’Ron Sharpe and Luke Kennard make up O’Connor’s hidden gems category; Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Patrick Williams are the reinventable talents; and Mikal Bridges and Bruce Brown are proven veterans to trade for, with Brown having switched categories following his success in Denver.

It remains to be seen which of these players are actually obtainable but most, if not all, have found their names in trade rumors at one point or another. Williams (restricted), Kennard (team option) and Brown (team option) could all hit free agency this summer.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Jayson Tatum is eligible for a super-max, five-year extension worth up to $315MM this offseason. Fresh off a title, extending him will be a priority for the Celtics. ESPN’s Bobby Marks analyzes 17 stars across the league who are extension-eligible, including Tatum and White (ESPN+ link). Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell and Brandon Ingram are other key extension candidates to watch, as all are eligible in July.
As it stands, Boston might be the one fully-formed title contender heading into the offseason, with teams like the Mavericks, Nuggets, Timberwolves and Thunder all considered one move away from launching into that tier, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (ESPN+ link). Bontemps breaks down all 30 teams into tiers heading into the summer, including contenders, emerging teams, those who are stuck, and those who are rebuilding. Two teams — the Heat and the Warriors — are teams with big money tied up but have huge questions about their identity. Bontemps also identifies the Rockets and Grizzlies as teams who could move up in the Western Conference’s hierarchy next season.
The NBA announced its three-day schedule for Salt Lake City Summer League, with the Thunder, Sixers, Grizzlies and Jazz set to compete. The event tips off on July 8 and runs through July 10. Day one provides matchups between the Thunder (who hold the No. 12 pick) and Sixers (No. 16 pick), as well as the Grizzlies (No. 9 pick) and Jazz (No. 10 pick). Some younger players like Utah’s Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh could see playing time in the event, as well as each team’s 2024 draftees.

Stein’s Latest: Brown, Van Gundy, Coaching Carousel, More

June 19th, 2024 at 9:40pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Raptors are still determining how they plan to move forward with Bruce Brown‘s $23MM team option for 2024/25, NBA insider Marc Stein relays in his latest around-the-league notebook. The Pacers originally signed Brown to the two-year, $45MM deal last summer in a successful effort to poach him from Denver, then traded him as part of a package to acquire Pascal Siakam.

According to Stein, numerous teams expect the Raptors to pick up that option to help facilitate a trade further down the road.

Brown played in 67 games (44 starts) between the Pacers and Raptors last season, averaging 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists contest one year after helping Denver win the championship.

We have more from Stein:

Before joining Tyronn Lue‘s staff in Los Angeles as an assistant, Jeff Van Gundy was pursued by the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s National Basketball League to be their head coach, Stein reports. The Breakers formally requested permission from the Celtics to interview Van Gundy, who spent the year as a special adviser in Boston’s basketball operations room, but were told he had another coaching opportunity lined up already (with the Clippers).
J.J. Redick is the overwhelming favorite to be hired as the Lakers‘ head coach, while James Borrego is still considered the frontrunner to get the Cavaliers‘ job, according to Stein. Though he cautions that anything can happen, as of Wednesday Stein expects those two positions to be filled by those candidates soon.
Jayson Tatum and Derrick White‘s contract extensions with the Celtics are viewed as inevitable, Stein writes. Tatum is eligible for a five-year, $315MM deal that would make him the highest-paid player in NBA history.
Klay Thompson is in Houston training with Team Bahamas ahead of Olympic qualifiers, but likely would never have been able to participate in the tournament due to the timing of the event (July 2-7). An unrestricted free agent with an injury history, Thompson — like other free agents — can’t officially sign a new contract until July 6, making any play before then an unnecessary risk. Even if he were willing to make that risk, Thompson likely wouldn’t have received clearance from USA Basketball anyways after the organization was criticized last year for allowing Eric Gordon to join the Bahamas, which won a pre-qualifying tournament, Stein writes.
Stein confirms reports that Atlanta has been unable to secure an in-person workout with Alexandre Sarr, increasing rumblings that the Hawks may select Zaccharie Risacher first overall.

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