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And-Ones: Age Limit, Summer League, Hibbert, Toupane

July 17th, 2018 at 9:14pm CST by clarkcrum

As we’ve relayed previously, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced during an NBA Board of Governors meetings in Las Vegas last week that the NBA is ready to make changes to its age limit, thereby potentially allowing high school seniors the opportunity to jump straight to the NBA once again.

However, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, teams have been told privately by league officials not to expect a change to the age limit until the 2022 NBA Draft at the earliest.

Assuming the 2022 NBA Draft allows high school players to jump directly to the NBA, players entering their freshman year of high school this fall will be the first ones to benefit from this potential rule change.

As for any trades that could be affected by this, no team has as yet traded an unprotected 2022 first-rounder, and the only one that could potentially change hands at this point was sent by the Mavericks to the Hawks in order to move up in this year’s draft and select Luka Doncic.

It will be interesting to see whether teams will be wary of trading draft picks in 2022 and beyond before a final ruling is made on this issue.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

In a Q&A piece for ESPN, several different writers spoke about who they believed to be the standouts and disappointments from this year’s NBA Summer League. Wendell Carter, Kevin Knox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Deandre Ayton were among the rookies recognized, while John Collins and Josh Hart were two players who were mentioned as probably too good to have even played in this year’s summer league.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, former NBA player Roy Hibbert says that he is done playing professional basketball, explaining that “It’s just time to move on.” Hibbert, 31, was named an All-Star as recently as 2014, but saw his impact dwindle over his last few years in the league as he got older and the game got smaller and quicker.
French forward Axel Toupane, who appeared in 25 total NBA regular season games in 2016 and 2017, has signed with EuroLeague club Olympiacos B.C. after helping lead Zalgiris Kaunas to the EuroLeague Final Four last season, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

NBA Announces 2017/18 All-Rookie Teams

May 22nd, 2018 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its First and Second All-Rookie Teams for the 2017/18 season. Ben Simmons of the Sixers and Donovan Mitchell of the Jazz – widely viewed as the top two contenders for this season’s Rookie of the Year award – were the only two players to be unanimously selected to the First Team. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum received 99 of 100 potential First Team votes.

Listed below are the NBA’s All-Rookie teams for 2017/18, with the player’s vote total in parentheses. Players received two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

First Team:

Ben Simmons, Sixers (200)
Donovan Mitchell, Jazz (200)
Jayson Tatum, Celtics (199)
Kyle Kuzma, Lakers (193)
Lauri Markkanen, Bulls (173)

Second Team:

Dennis Smith Jr., Mavericks (96)
Lonzo Ball, Lakers (87)
John Collins, Hawks (76)
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kings (75)
Josh Jackson, Suns (45)

Jackson, who received one First Team vote to go along with 43 Second Team votes, narrowly beat out Bam Adebayo of the Heat for the final spot on the Second Team — Adebayo finished with 44 points.

Outside of Adebayo and the 10 players who earned spots on the All-Rookie teams, 14 other players received votes, with De’Aaron Fox (Kings), OG Anunoby (Raptors), and Jarrett Allen (Nets) leading the way among that group.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Collins, Trade Landscape

May 13th, 2018 at 8:39pm CST by Austin Kent

The Wizards have a host of tradable assets that could help them shake things up, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. That may be the franchise’s best hope of appeasing John Wall considering that they don’t have anywhere near enough financial flexibility to sign a free agent.

Hughes writes that both Wall and Bradley Beal could be considered untouchable this offseason but doesn’t grant such immunity to Otto Porter, the forward they paid handsomely just last summer. The 24-year-old is under team control for two more seasons and could play a role in landing an All-Star.

Other players that could be earmarked as potential trade bait include veterans Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris and developing youngsters like Kelly Oubre and Tomas Satoransky. The latter may already be 26 years old but showed excellent progress in what was just his sophomore season.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The fate of the Eastern Conference depends on what LeBron James decides to do this offseason. If he heads west, it could open new opportunities for other contenders. If the 15-year veteran decides to return to the Cavaliers, it could precipitate a trade market in which teams like the Heat and Wizards could be involved, Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel writes.
First-year Hawks big man John Collins won over plenty of fans during his rookie campaign, so much so that Mike Schmitz and Kevin Pelton of ESPN both rank him No. 7 in their list of the rookies from 2017/18 with the most future potential. That, according to the scribes, puts him ahead of players like Dennis Smith Jr. and Josh Jackson.
The Wizards made the ambitious decision to help 23-year-old two-way contract rookie Devin Robinson reinvent his jumpshot. NBC Sports Washington’s Chase Hughes reports that Robinson was a solid shooter at Florida but ran into issues with his low release point.

Southeast Notes: Walker, Hawks, Isaac, Wall

March 11th, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by clarkcrum

The Hornets have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this year. Expected to make the playoffs and owing a payroll nearing $120MM, a seldom few could have foreseen a 29-38 record through the first week and a half of March and the word “rebuild” come into the picture.

And according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, team leader and All-Star point guard Kemba Walker isn’t sure he’s prepared to undergo another rebuilding effort in Charlotte. “I’m not sure. Nobody wants to lose. Especially not me,” Walker said at practice Friday, following the Hornets’ fifth consecutive loss.

Walker, who was part of a Bobcats team (before becoming the Hornets) that went 7-59 in his rookie season, has one season left on his contract, which will pay him a team-friendly $12MM, making him a hot commodity on the trade market this summer. When asked about what the offseason may have in store, he added, “I haven’t thought about any of that. It’s something I’ve got to deal with whenever it happens. It’s just not something that has come up to me.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders takes a look at how the bottom-dwelling Hawks can go about their rebuilding efforts in a positive way. Davies opines that Atlanta is already ahead of the curve due to focusing on giving their young core of Taurean Prince and rookie big man John Collins valuable playing time and experience at the expense of veterans. The next step is bringing in a young, talented front court player such as Mohamed Bamba or DeAndre Ayton to pair with Collins.
Magic rookie Jonathan Isaac is trying to stay patient through the rustiness associated with returning from an injury, writes John Denton of the team’s official website. Isaac, who missed four months with an ankle injury, still has the confidence of head coach Frank Vogel, who said, “(Isaac) is a 20-year-old young man who is still finding his way on the offensive end. I encouraged him to be more aggressive than he’s been. To his credit, he plays within himself, but there’s going to be some growing pains that come along with that. I was just happy with the spirit that he played with (on Friday).”
The Wizards still don’t know when to expect All-Star point guard John Wall back from injury, but per an AP report (via USA Today), Wall is looking to closer to form after working out on the floor in Miami about a half-hour before the Wizards visited the Heat on Saturday night.

Trade Rumors: Chriss, Knicks, Belinelli, Hood

February 7th, 2018 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Over at USA Today, Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt broke down trade deadline goals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams. While the duo’s round-up mentioned several players already known to be trade candidates, Amick and Zillgitt also identified a few new names.

Kings center Georgios Papagiannis, Timberwolves guard Jamal Crawford, and Nuggets big man Darrell Arthur are among the players who could be available this week, per Amick and Zillgitt. The duo also suggested that a handful of teams are open for business on nearly all of their players. The Hawks are willing to discuss anyone except John Collins; the Mavericks would talk about anyone besides Dirk Nowitzki, Dennis Smith Jr., and Harrison Barnes; and the only players off the table for the Thunder are Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, and Steven Adams.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

The Suns appear to be exploring deals involving second-year big man Marquese Chriss, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who tweets that the Lakers are one of a few teams involved. However, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who is well-connected in Phoenix, tweets that those rumors are “totally false,” suggesting that the club hasn’t discussed deals involving Chriss. Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic also gets involved, tweeting that the Suns would only consider parting with Chriss in a deal for an established player like Kemba Walker.
Having sending Willy Hernangomez to Charlotte, the Knicks continue to take calls about Kyle O’Quinn and Courtney Lee, and are still trying to trade Joakim Noah, says ESPN’s Ian Begley.
The Jazz aren’t one of the teams in the mix for veteran guard Marco Belinelli, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. According to Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link), Belinelli isn’t making the trip to Orlando with the Hawks, as the team continues to mull its trade options.
As many as 15 teams have called the Jazz to inquire about trade candidate Rodney Hood, tweets Tony Jones.
In an in-depth look at where things stand for the Kings, James Ham of NBC Sports California says the club doesn’t want to take on a bad contract that runs past 2018/19 or impact its young core led by De’Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/12/17

December 12th, 2017 at 11:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

The Hawks assigned rookie big man John Collins to their G League affiliate today, but only briefly. Collins participated in practice with the Erie BayHawks, then was recalled to the NBA by Atlanta later in the day, the team announced. Collins, who last played on November 30, continues to recover from a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder.
The Hawks also assigned guard Tyler Dorsey to their G League affiliate on Tuesday, the team announced in a press release. Dorsey has appeared in nine games with Atlanta this season, averaging 2.4 PPG.

Injury Updates: J. Collins, Leuer, Jokic, Curry

December 1st, 2017 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks will be without rookie big man John Collins for at least a couple weeks, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports that Collins has a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder. While an MRI revealed no tear, the young center is expected to be sidelined for sidelined for two or three weeks, per Charania.

While Collins’ ailment shouldn’t be a long-term issue, it’s bad news for a Hawks team that’s already missing starting center Dewayne Dedmon and veteran big man Mike Muscala. While Muscala may return soon, Dedmon is expected to be out for three to six weeks, so Atlanta will likely have to lean on bigs like Miles Plumlee and two-way player Tyler Cavanaugh for the first half of December.

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

Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said today that forward/center Jon Leuer, who has been out with a sprained ankle, is expected to undergo a non-surgical process that will keep him on the shelf for another two to four weeks, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Van Gundy had indicated last week that Leuer’s recovery wasn’t progressing like the Pistons had hoped.
Nikola Jokic injured his ankle on Thursday night, and while the Nuggets are running additional tests today, initial X-rays were negative, and the team is optimistic that the injury is just a sprain, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Stephen Curry‘s finger injury appears likely to hamper him for some time, but he and the Warriors don’t expect to sit him down for an extended stretch, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “I don’t think it’s something where if we give him a few days off, it’s going to disappear,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “I think it may linger for a little while, so he’s going to have to get used to it.”

Hawks Fully Embrace Total Rebuild

October 30th, 2017 at 8:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hawks majority owner Tony Ressler is convinced the franchise had no choice but to go into full rebuild mode, as he told NBA.com’s David Aldridge in an extensive piece on the team’s direction. New GM Travis Schlenk helped convince Ressler that the franchise was spinning its wheels and needed to stockpile draft picks while developing a young core, Aldridge continues.

“Truly, there are three options in the NBA, I would argue: being a contender, being a competitive team, and being young and fun,” Ressler told Adridge. “At least that would be my opinion. And we didn’t have the option of being a contender. So we could be competitive, or more competitive, and maybe, shall we say, with a whole bunch of higher-priced vets that made us older and made our payroll less flexible, and made our future more cloudy.”

Instead, Ressler selected the “young and fun” option, despite knowing the losses would pile up this season. The team has five first-round picks during the next two drafts, including one from the Clippers that they acquired this offseason by getting involved in a three-way deal that included the Nuggets. The Hawks also traded away center Dwight Howard and opted not to pursue their top free agent, power forward Paul Millsap.

Aldridge also offered these nuggets in the story:

The team is building around point guard Dennis Schroder, second-year wings Taurean Prince and DeAndre’ Bembry, and rookie big man John Collins.
Schlenk feels pressure to produce on the draft picks: “It’s my job to, hopefully, get four of those right,” he said.
Ressler told coach Mike Budenholzer that he didn’t think anyone could be an effective head coach and run the organization at the same time. Budenholzer relinquished his duties as president of basketball operations. “I tried to convince him and I think he realized fully that being the GM is a full-time job,” Ressler said. “So why does anyone on earth think they can do two extraordinarily difficult jobs? And I believe Bud saw that very clearly.”
Budenholzer lobbied Schlenk to make an offer to Millsap even after the decision to rebuild was made.

Southeast Notes: Beal, Monk, Collins

September 10th, 2017 at 4:15pm CST by Austin Kent

A number of developments in Bradley Beal‘s game could help the Wizards two-guard earn his first career All-Star berth, Chase Hughes of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. Last year, for instance, the guard managed to stay healthy after missing considerable time the previous two seasons and looked to gain confidence attacking the basket as a result.

In 2017/18, with last year to reflect back on, Beal could ride that confidence to a new level. Another component that contributed to Beal’s success last season was his improved ball handling. If that continues, the swingman will be able to slash more competently and maybe even drive up his free-throw attempts as Wizards teammate John Wall has done.

Beal watched his average jump from 17.4 points per game to 23.1 last year and there’s no reason to believe that he can’t continue to thrive heading forward. Still just 24 years old, Beal represents a major part of the core that Wizards owner Ted Leonsis is so eager to keep together.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The ankle injury that kept Hornets rookie Malik Monk out of summer league is still “significant” and could even limit his availability at the start of the season, Dane Carbaugh of NBC Sports writes. In the article, Carbaugh cites two Steve Clifford quotes that Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reported via Twitter. Monk, who was initially said to be out 2-4 weeks, is still regaining his conditioning and recently struggled with a relatively lightweight optional workout.
After ten consecutive playoff appearances, the Hawks have handed the reins of the team over to their young players, Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes. With little established competition on the team’s depth chart, rookie John Collins could find a way to produce in Year 1.
The Hornets have every intention of keeping Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in the starting lineup, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. The only tweak to Steve Clifford‘s starting five will be the addition of Dwight Howard in place of Cody Zeller.

Hawks Sign John Collins To Rookie Contract

July 1st, 2017 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have signed 2017 first-round pick John Collins to his rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release.

The 19th overall pick in last Thursday’s draft, Collins will be in line for a deal worth more than $11MM over the next four years. His salary in his rookie season will be $1,936,920, as our breakdown of rookie scale salaries shows.

Collins is one of several first-rounders to sign his new NBA contract on the first day he was eligible to do so. Because the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement no longer provides any additional cap flexibility to teams that keep their first-rounders unsigned, several teams are taking care of business with their draftees immediately.