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Sixers Optimistic Butler Will Stay Put

November 19th, 2018 at 7:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers managing partner and owner Josh Harris is both determined and optimistic that Jimmy Butler will remain with the team beyond this season, as he told USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt and The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The Butler trade was made to give the franchise a third star alongside Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid and become a serious championship contender. It wouldn’t have happened unless the Sixers were convinced they could keep Butler, who can opt out of his contract this summer, in the long run.

“We’ve been saying since the summer we’ve been looking for another star and we felt we needed another shooter, a three-and-D wing, someone like Jimmy,” Harris told Zillgitt. “They’re hard to find at this elite level. We know who we have to get through to win the East. It’s obvious who it is. We think this is a piece we needed.”

While Butler became a major distraction around the Timberwolves, he’s been a model citizen since joining the Sixers. And Philadelphia anticipates that its gamble will pay off in the long run in the form of a multi-year contract.

“Our goal is to have elite talent under contract for a long time,” Harris told Charania. “That’s what we’re interested in.”

Both reporters offered insights into the trade discussions involving Butler. The Sixers eventually agreed to deal Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless and a future second-rounder for Butler and throw-in Justin Patton.

The Timberwolves initially asked for another starter in addition to the trio the Sixers dealt, according to Zillgitt.
Minnesota narrowed its offers to three teams, with the Pelicans and Rockets being the other finalists, according to Charania. New Orleans dangled forward Nikola Mirotic and a first-round pick, while Houston was willing to part with guard Eric Gordon and two first-rounders.
The Sixers initially offered draft picks and other large contracts, Harris told Charania. Markelle Fultz was discussed in the Butler talks.
Other suitors, such as the Lakers, wanted to wait until the December 15th date when signed free agents could be included in a deal for Butler, Charania added.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Thomas, Butler, Theis

November 11th, 2018 at 11:44am CST by Arthur Hill

Any dreams the Knicks may have had about teaming up Jimmy Butler and Kyrie Irving next season appear to be dead, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The Sixers are considered likely to re-sign Butler to a long-term contract after acquiring him from Minnesota in a deal that should become official tomorrow. That follows Irving’s declaration last month that he intends to remain with the Celtics when he hits free agency.

Butler and Irving are friends and there was talk earlier this year that they might be interested in teaming up in New York, with Butler “liking” an Instagram comment that suggested such a move. New York would have needed to trade for one of them, then sign the other next summer. The Knicks were on the list of teams that Butler gave the Timberwolves when he first made his trade request, but they never seemed interested in making a deal.

The Knicks’ options to land a franchise-changing star in free agency are beginning to dwindle, Braziller notes, and their success may depend on getting Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard to consider New York.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks forward Lance Thomas had been experiencing knee pain for weeks before deciding to have surgery on Thursday, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN. “Lance is our leader and we just [want to] get him back feeling good and get him back in that locker room with his voice,” coach David Fizdale said. Thomas will be re-evaluated in about a month, with Kevin Knox and Mario Hezonja expected to get more minutes while he’s sidelined. Fizdale may also use bigger lineups with Noah Vonleh at power forward (Twitter link).
Sixers center Joel Embiid got a positive report on Butler when he reached out to Timberwolves stars Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, relays Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Even though Butler clashed with both players during his time in Minnesota, they expect him to be a positive influence in Philadelphia. “They thought that he was going to be good for us,” Embiid said. “They thought that we were definitely going to get along. He wants to win. Wiggs told me that he thought that we were going to win the East for sure.”
Celtics center Daniel Theis, who has been sidelined with a plantar fascia tear since October 27, hopes to return next week, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston.

Atlantic Notes: Hayward, Celtics, Embiid, Redick

October 24th, 2018 at 10:42pm CST by clarkcrum

Celtics forward Gordon Hayward has admitted that he’s still feeling the ill effects of the horrific ankle injury he suffered on opening night that season, writes Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. As a result, he recently sat out the second night of a back-to-back.

“There’s soreness in my ankle every time I play right now. I think there will be soreness for a little while,” said Hayward. “That’s why I’m on a minutes restriction… they don’t want any overloading issues, so there is some load management stuff basically.”

That being said, Hayward still hopes that he won’t be forced to miss any future back-to-backs. “That was just the plan for that game. I want to play in every single game and every single minute but my game is not there yet. I trust our staff.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division this evening:

In another piece for NBC Sports Boston, Forsberg writes how head coach Brad Stevens gave a blunt assessment of the Celtics after the team’s recent loss to the Magic. “I’ve said it, that we’re not as good as everybody thinks we are. (This is) just another reminder how much we have to work.”
Sixers All-Star big man Joel Embiid has been issued a warning from the league office for flopping against Andre Drummond and the Pistons last night, reports Ian Begley of ESPN. There is no fine involved, but there will be if violates the NBA’s anti-flopping rules again.
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes that J.J. Redick is an even more integral piece of this year’s Sixers team than last year’s because of the lack of quality shooting around him with the losses of Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli in free agency.

Sixers Notes: Morey, Offseason Changes, Fultz

October 15th, 2018 at 7:21pm CST by Luke Adams

When a July report indicated that the Sixers tried and failed to lure Daryl Morey away from Houston, it appeared that those discussions didn’t go far — Philadelphia reportedly received permission from the Rockets to talk to Morey, but the veteran executive decided to remain in his current job.

According to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com, however, Morey didn’t turn down the Sixers’ advances out of hand. One source close to the process tells Arnovitz that discussions got “pretty far down the road” before Morey elected to stay in Houston.

As the 76ers’ search for a new head of basketball operations continued following their failed bid for Morey, a consensus begin to build that it was important to maintain continuity in the front office, per Arnovitz. That’s one reason why Elton Brand was the eventual choice for the general manager job.

“When you live with these guys over three months, from draft and free agency, you appreciate what we already had,” head coach Brett Brown said, per Arnovitz. “Elton was always going to be a general manager at some point, in some city. And it might as well be here, and it might as well be now.”

According to Arnovitz, multiple league insiders viewed the decision to promote Brand and give him the title of GM (rather than president of basketball operations) as a “statement of control” by Sixers ownership — if they get cold feet on Brand down the road, they could always bring in a veteran executive above him. For now though, he’s running the show in Philadelphia.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

Arnovitz’s feature on the Sixers, which is worth checking out in full, also includes details on how Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are shaping the franchise’s culture and identity, and the lessons Embiid was taught by Tim Duncan during his rookie year in 2014/15.
Replacing Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli on the second unit will be one of Brown’s biggest challenges this season, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. In 23 games after that duo was acquired in February, the second unit averaged 41.6 PPG and improved its three-point percentage from 32.2% to 35.2%. Mike Muscala and Wilson Chandler, acquired in trades this summer, are projected to replace them in the rotation but both are batting injuries, Murphy adds.
Late first-rounder Landry Shamet had a productive preseason and that opens up more options for the second unit, Sarah Todd of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes. Shamet, a 6’5” point guard, had a pair of double-digit games while mostly working alongside J.J. Redick. “I think it went about as well as it could have,” Shamet told Todd. “I didn’t surprise myself, that’s kind of the way I look at it.”
Markelle Fultz will start the season opener and Redick will come off the bench, Jon Johnson of KYW 1060 Philadelphia tweets. The 2017 top overall pick will be starting for the first time. Fultz only appeared in 14 regular season and three postseason games as a rookie. Redick, who averaged a career-best 17.1 PPG last season, hasn’t come off the bench in a regular season game since the 2013/14 season.

(Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.)

Spurs Asked For Embiid Or Simmons For Leonard

September 14th, 2018 at 2:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Before the Spurs agreed on a Kawhi Leonard trade package focused around DeMar DeRozan, they were asking for much bigger names from the Sixers, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe. (Hat tip to Dale Delgado of NBC Sports).

In his latest Lowe Post podcast, Lowe says Philadelphia turned down San Antonio offers that would have included Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons. The Sixers were reluctant to part with stars in exchange for a player who isn’t guaranteed to stay beyond this season, and Embiid and Simmons are probably untouchable in any circumstances.

Another name that popped up in rumors was Markelle Fultz, whose rookie season was cut short by a combination of injuries and problems with his shooting form. However, Lowe says the Spurs were never interested in the top pick in the 2017 draft.

“There is no evidence that the Spurs wanted Fultz,” Lowe said. “I’ve been told the Spurs never asked for Fultz, and actively didn’t want Fultz, and in fact wanted one of the two big guys.”

Sixers guard J.J. Redick, who was a guest on Lowe’s podcast, defended Fultz and claimed he was poorly treated by the media last season.

Eastern Rumors: Embiid, Wade, Kander, Magic

August 15th, 2018 at 12:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Joel Embiid‘s ability to work out this summer without restrictions may turn out to be the Sixers’ biggest offseason improvement, as Derek Bodner of The Athletic details. Embiid has always been in rehab mode from foot or knee injuries during his previous offseasons, Bodner notes. This summer, Embiid has been working with renown skills coach Drew Hanlen to refine his offensive game, which could vault Embiid into a greater level of dominance and consistency, Bodner continues. Hanlen has put a great emphasis on making Embiid virtually unstoppable in the low post while also creating more open looks for his teammates and committing fewer turnovers, Bodner adds.

We have more from around the Eastern Conference:

If Dwyane Wade returns to the Heat, he’ll be part of the rotation, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Adding Wade to the backcourt would create a logjam that would likely cut dramatically into Tyler Johnson‘s minutes, Winderman adds. Wade has indicated if he plays next season, it will be with the Heat.
Former Pistons strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander has turned down a position with the franchise but will remain in a consultant’s role, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Kander, who worked with the team for 23 seasons, has given the front office input on its search for a new medical director and has also been involved in Reggie Jackson‘s offseason training, Ellis continues. Last season’s director of sports medicine and head trainer, Jon Ishop, is no longer with the organization, Ellis adds.
The Magic will not host the All-Star Game until at least 2024, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports. The franchise put in a bid to host the 2023 All-Star Weekend and were informed by league officials that another location will be selected, Robbins continues. The sites for the next three All-Star Games have already been set, starting with Charlotte next season, and Orlando can’t host in 2022 because of a major convention in the city, Robbins adds.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Faried, Crabbe, Nurse

August 2nd, 2018 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers center Joel Embiid isn’t concerned that the team missed out on signing LeBron James and trading for Kawhi Leonard, according to Ian Begley of ESPN. Even though Philadelphia didn’t add much star power this summer, Embiid believes a deal that brought in Wilson Chandler and the expected improvement of Markelle Fultz will be enough.

“I don’t think it matters, big free agent or not. My goal going into the offseason was to get better,” Embiid said. “I want to win the MVP. I feel like at the end of the day it might be an individual award, but when I play better, the team also does. I feel like if I’m an MVP candidate or if I win the MVP, that means we are on another level.”

The Sixers were able to re-sign starting guard J.J. Redick and will bring back most of the team that won 52 games last year.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Kenneth Faried doesn’t think of himself as a salary dump after being traded from the Nuggets to the Nets, relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Faried played just 32 games in Denver last season, and his $13.7MM salary for 2018/19 was pushing the team well into luxury tax territory. “The Nuggets wanted to go in a different direction,” Faried said Wednesday at an introductory press conference. “Brooklyn decided, ‘Hey, let’s pick up a still-able, still-capable player who can go out and produce and lead a team and do the things he’s done before.’ … They believed in me, took this chance to trade for me, and I’m excited to be here and produce.”
Sean Marks has made several shrewd moves since taking over as Nets GM, but the Allen Crabbe trade may have been a mistake, according to a story on NetsDaily. The Trail Blazers matched Brooklyn’s four-year, $75MM offer sheet for Crabbe in 2016, then dealt him to the Nets a year later because of luxury tax concerns. Marks traded Andrew Nicholson to Portland in exchange for Crabbe, but he may have been able to extract more from the Blazers considering their financial position.
The Raptors are adjusting their roster to fit new coach Nick Nurse’s preference for the modern style of the NBA, notes Dave Zarum of SportsNet. Nurse places more emphasis on 3-point shooting, with Leonard and Danny Green adding to a dangerous group of long-distance shooters.

Spurs Notes: Leonard, Trade Details, Green

July 19th, 2018 at 5:23pm CST by Luke Adams

In his breakdown of this week’s mega-deal that sent Kawhi Leonard to Toronto and DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio, ESPN’s Zach Lowe relays several intriguing Spurs-related tidbits on the situation. According to Lowe, San Antonio “never showed interest” in Leonard offers that were heavy on draft picks and unproven young players. Even in talks with the Sixers, it’s not clear if Markelle Fultz would have piqued the Spurs’ interest — San Antonio wanted one of Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid in any deal with Philadelphia, says Lowe.

Lowe also notes (via Twitter) that the league memo announcing the Leonard trade between the Raptors and Spurs includes one more interesting item: San Antonio is sending $5MM in cash to Toronto as part of the swap. As Lowe observes, that money is likely meant to help make up for the fact that Leonard’s trade kicker will increase the Raps’ projected tax bill for 2018/19, as we detailed on Wednesday.

Here’s more from Lowe, along with a few more Spurs notes:

The Spurs had dangled Danny Green in previous trade discussions over the past year, and weren’t seeking a big return for him, sources tell Lowe.
According to Lowe, San Antonio lowered its asking price for Leonard in the days leading up to the club’s agreement with Toronto. However, it was still difficult for other teams to put together an appealing package, since the Spurs’ top priority was acquiring an established veteran scorer who was under contract for multiple seasons.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich spoke to reporters on Wednesday about the Leonard trade, explaining the team’s thinking and making an effort to turn the page on the Kawhi drama. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com has the story, along with the quotes from Popovich, who had nothing but good things to say about Leonard. “Kawhi was a great teammate the whole way through,” Popovich said. “He did his work, and he was no problem for anybody. Talking heads out there have to have a story. If I was a talking head, maybe I am, I would have stories, too. All the stories that denigrated him in that regard, that was unfortunate and inaccurate.”
In an interesting piece for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks takes an in-depth look at why the Raptors matched up best with what the Spurs were looking for and won the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes over teams like the Celtics, Sixers, and Lakers, who approached Leonard trade talks more conservatively.

Lowe’s Latest: Kawhi, Sixers, Celtics, Scott, More

July 5th, 2018 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have not made Markelle Fultz available in Kawhi Leonard trade talks with the Spurs, and the Celtics haven’t been willing to include Jaylen Brown in their discussions with San Antonio, ESPN’s Zach Lowe confirms in his latest article.

We’ve heard variations on Lowe’s report for the last week or two, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link) recently suggesting that the Sixers don’t want to discuss Fultz, Joel Embiid, or Ben Simmons in Leonard talks, and adding that the Celtics’ top five players have been “off-limits” in negotiations with the Spurs — presumably, Woj was referring to Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford.

Lowe’s full piece on the Leonard situation features several more tidbits of note, including some items only tangentially related to a possible Leonard trade. Let’s round up the highlights…

LeBron James isn’t pressuring the Lakers to add a second star for now, according to Lowe, who says that James “has faith in the combined powers of his supernova talent and the Lakers brand.” LeBron also recognizes that Brandon Ingram has considerable upside and is aware that many star free agents could be on the market in 2019, Lowe notes.
Lowe classifies rumors that Jimmy Butler and Kyrie Irving want to play together as “credible chatter.” However, the Celtics remain confident that they’ll be able to re-sign Irving next year, per Lowe.
Details of Mike Scott‘s contract agreement with the Clippers have yet to surface, but Lowe indicates the deal will use part of the team’s mid-level exception rather than being a minimum-salary signing.
Lowe’s piece is worth checking out in full, particularly for a section in which he brainstorms hypothetical wild-card suitors for Leonard, exploring whether the Raptors, Trail Blazers, Wizards, Timberwolves, Thunder, Heat, Rockets, Bucks, Nuggets, Warriors, Pistons, or Kings might be fits — many are quick “no”s, but some generate some intriguing hypothetical deals.

Rudy Gobert Named Defensive Player Of Year

June 25th, 2018 at 8:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz center Rudy Gobert was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year at the NBA’s second annual awards show.

Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis and Sixers center Joel Embiid were the other finalists.

Gobert was a finalist in 2017 but the award went to the Warriors’ Draymond Green. Gobert finished second to Davis in blocks this past season with an average of 2.27 per game but his overall defensive excellence won him the honor.