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World Cup Notes: Edwards, RHJ, Hart, Ingram, Thanasis, Canada

August 30th, 2023 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Even though Team USA’s 48-point win over Jordan on Wednesday wasn’t exactly a tightly contested affair, former Timberwolves teammates Anthony Edwards and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson enjoyed going back and forth at each other in the third and final first-round game at the World Cup, writes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

Edwards had a game-high 22 points, edging out Hollis-Jefferson, who scored 20. The two were on Minnesota’s roster together for a brief period during the 2020 preseason, when RHJ served as a veteran mentor ahead of Edwards’ rookie year. Hollis-Jefferson didn’t end up making the Wolves’ regular season roster.

“We haven’t seen each other since then, so it was fun,” Edwards said. “And yeah, we was talking with smack out there for sure.”

U.S. head coach Steve Kerr made one lineup change ahead of the game vs. Jordan, replacing Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram in the starting five with Knicks forward Josh Hart. As Windhorst observes, Ingram had struggled as spot-up shooter with the first unit and was able to have the ball in his hands more as a reserve. It sounds like the change could stick.

“We just felt like it was important to take a look at Josh with the starting group and Brandon with the next group to see if the combinations fit,” Kerr said after the victory. “I liked what I saw. The game wasn’t competitive, but there was good flow with both groups.”

“They thought it was a better fit for me playing with Tyrese [Haliburton] and playing with some guys that are a little less ball dominant than Jalen [Brunson] and Ant,” Ingram told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. “They just talked about it being a better fit, and I agreed with them.”

Here are a few more World Cup notes:

Hollis-Jefferson is one of nine non-U.S. players identified by Alberto De Roa of HoopsHype as breakout performers through three World Cup games. Bulls guard Carlik Jones (South Sudan), Wizards forward Xavier Cooks (Australia), and Heat forward Nikola Jovic (Serbia) are among the NBAers who have impressed, as De Roa details.
Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who injured his left adductor in Monday’s loss to the U.S., returned to action for Greece on Wednesday. However, Antetokounmpo played a limited role in the win over New Zealand that clinched the Greeks a spot in the second round, recording more fouls (4) than points (2) in his 14 minutes.
The Canadian national team – which had the best point differential (+111) of any club in the first round – is finally realizing its potential on the international stage, says Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Canada has had no shortage of players in the NBA over the last decade, but those players haven’t always participated in international competitions and have struggled to quickly establish chemistry in the events they’ve played.

Team USA Notes: Portis, Hart, Jackson, Kerr

August 28th, 2023 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Team USA continues to look comfortable in the favorite’s role in this year’s World Cup. After going undefeated in five exhibition games, the Americans routed Greece on Tuesday for their second straight double-digit victory in pool play. Austin Reaves, a favorite of the Manila crowd because of his ties to the Lakers, led the way with 15 points, five rebounds and six assists.

Bobby Portis told reporters, including Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops, that the U.S. team quickly formed a bond despite not playing together before training camp began early this month.

“We stand together, obviously, it’s a journey, a long road ahead for us,” Portis said. “Two more weeks left with this team, and hopefully, we can get to the final round. We’ve been together for three and a half weeks now. Nobody complains about playing time, everybody plays for each other, playing for the name you find on this jersey. That’s what this brand is about: playing for each other, going out here, winning and having fun.”

There’s more on Team USA:

Head coach Steve Kerr was especially impressed by Josh Hart, who came off the bench to grab 11 rebounds in 20 minutes against Greece, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Hart missed the first exhibition game while waiting to finalize his extension with the Knicks, but he has become one of the team’s primary reserves. “People ask, what position does he play? He plays winner,” Kerr said. “I don’t know what position he plays, but he gets loose balls. He guards anybody. At one point, Spo (Erik Spoelstra) turned to me and said, ‘Some people get 50-50 balls. He gets to 30-70 balls,’ and I thought that was really well said.”
Jaren Jackson Jr. found himself in foul trouble in the opener against New Zealand, much like he often has with the Grizzlies, observes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year believes he needs to challenge as many shots as he can, but Kerr is encouraging him to be more discerning. “He’s foul-prone in the NBA,” Kerr said. “So, there’s always one or two plays where you just want him to let it go, because he’s too important to us. So we share those clips and just remind him sometimes the best play is to just let the guy go and don’t pick up the foul.”
The American players quickly learned that the international game is officiated differently than the NBA, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Defenders tend to be more aggressive and are allowed to get away with more contact. “Everybody is going to try to beat the crap out of us because that’s their best chance to beat us,” Kerr said.

Contract Details: Hart, T. Taylor, Mavericks

August 16th, 2023 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

Josh Hart‘s four-year extension with the Knicks, previously reported to include a fourth-year team option, has very straightforward terms, as Ian Begley of SNY.tv writes.

The deal, which begins at $18,144,000 (the maximum 40% raise on Hart’s $12.96MM salary for 2023/24) is fully guaranteed for the first three seasons and doesn’t include any performances bonuses.

The only detail slightly different than anticipated is that the annual raise between years one and two isn’t quite for the full 8%, so Hart’s four-year total is approximately $80.9MM instead of $81.3MM. The guaranteed portion of the contract extension comes in at $58.54MM.

Begley believes the contract will ultimately be judged based on how healthy Hart stays over the next few years and how much success the Knicks have during that time, since the forward seems unlikely to significantly improve his production in any specific area. The average annual value of Hart’s deal lands between the new contracts signed by Dillon Brooks and Caris LeVert, Begley notes.

Here are a few more details on recently completed NBA contracts:

Terry Taylor‘s new deal with the Bulls is a two-year, minimum-salary contract, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. It’s currently non-guaranteed, but Taylor would receive a partial guarantee worth $350K if he lasts through the first day of the regular season. That partial guarantee would increase to $700K if he remains under contract through December 15, Hoops Rumors has learned. Taylor would be assured of his full salary for 2023/24 if he isn’t waived by the league-wide guarantee date in January and would receive his full ’24/25 salary if he isn’t waived on or before July 7, 2024.
The trio of players signed by the Mavericks on Monday – Greg Brown, Joe Wieskamp, and Jordan Walker – all received Exhibit 10 contracts, Hoops Rumors has learned. All three will receive bonuses worth $75K if they’re waived before the season and then spend at least 60 days with Dallas’ G League affiliate.
In case you missed it, Jordan Miller‘s two-way contract with the Clippers covers two seasons, as we relayed on Tuesday evening. Miller is one of seven players to sign a two-year two-way deal this summer, as our tracker shows.

New York Notes: Knicks Future, Hart, Quickley, Nets Picks

August 10th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Tristan Tucker

With Josh Hart under contract well into the future, the Knicks could turn to extending another core member of their rotation, SNY’s Ian Begley writes. An Immanuel Quickley extension is the logical next step for the Knicks to take before he becomes a restricted free agent next summer. Begley notes that if Quickley and the Knicks are able to come to an agreement on an extension, it would give the Knicks seven players under contract through at least 2024/25, all of which are rotation pieces.

The deadline for the two sides to reach an agreement on an extension is on the eve of the ’23/24 season.

Signing Quickley would put the Knicks on track to surpass the luxury tax line, according to Begley, but owner James Dolan has never shied away from spending luxury tax money in the past.

The Knicks are hard-capped at the first tax apron this season, meaning they can’t spend more than a total of roughly $172MM in team salary. The Knicks are roughly $6.6MM shy of that apron at the moment, according to Begley, which they could use to augment the roster further. If Quickley signs an extension, it would be difficult to trade him until his extension kicks in. Hart is ineligible to be traded until the 2024 offseason.

Begley notes that while Hart’s $81MM of total salary appears large, it won’t account for more than 14% of the team’s salary cap in any year of his deal, which Begley argues is fair value for a starting-level rotation piece.

We have more from the state of New York:

Peter Botte of the New York Post also writes that the Knicks should sign Quickley to a new deal before he becomes a restricted free agent. Quickley, a Sixth Man of the Year finalist, is in the final year of his rookie contract, which is worth approximately $4.17MM. The 6’3″ guard averaged 14.9 points and 3.4 assists per game last season while knocking down 37% of his 5.6 attempts from downtown per game.
Hart’s new four-year, $81MM extension with the Knicks includes a team option on the fourth and final year, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). That means just $58MM of the contract is guaranteed, with the option being worth $22.3MM in 2027/28. Hart’s extension kicks in during the 2024/25 season.
In a recent article, CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn ranked every traded future NBA first round draft pick. In total, Quinn ranks 56 picks that have shifted hands via various trades. The 2029 Suns first round pick grades out as the most valuable in Quinn’s eyes and that pick belongs to the Nets by virtue of the Kevin Durant trade at last season’s deadline. Quinn argues that it’s hard for teams to win championships and that Phoenix doesn’t have much room to improve beyond the next couple of years since the franchise traded virtually every pick it owned in exchange for Durant and Bradley Beal. In total, Quinn ranked two incoming Nets picks in the top three, and Brooklyn controls four of the top six picks Quinn ranks. The 2029 Mavericks first round pick that now belongs to the Nets via the Kyrie Irving trade comes in at No. 3, while the Suns also owe Brooklyn their unprotected 2027 first round pick and a 2028 first round pick swap, which rank No. 5 and No. 6 in Quinn’s list.

Knicks Sign Josh Hart To Four-Year Extension

August 10th, 2023 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 10: Hart’s extension is official, the Knicks announced (via Twitter).

“Josh’s immediate impact on our team last season — both on and off the court — cannot be understated. … The leadership and competitiveness Josh brings fits perfectly with the culture we are building,” president Leon Rose said.

AUGUST 9: The Knicks and forward Josh Hart are finalizing a four-year contract extension worth $81MM, his agents at CAA Basketball tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Hart, who was traded from Portland to New York on February 9, was ineligible to sign an extension that tacked on more than two years to his expiring contract until at least six months after he was dealt. He and the Knicks are wasting no time in getting something done.

According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the two sides are working through the final details of an agreement, which can be officially completed as soon as Thursday.

Hart had the opportunity to reach unrestricted free agency this summer by turning down a $12.96MM player option but decided to pick up that option, creating some extra short-term spending flexibility for the Knicks, who took advantage by signing Hart’s former Villanova teammate Donte DiVincenzo in free agency.

While the Knicks and Hart may not have had a formal agreement in place at the time he exercised his option, there was likely an understanding that they’d work out a longer-term contract once he became eligible to sign one.

The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement allows Hart to receive a raise of up to 40% on his current salary, with subsequent 8% annual increases. That would work out to a maximum starting salary of $18,144,000 and a four-year total of $81,285,120, which lines up with Wojnarowski’s reporting. We’ll have to wait to see whether the deal is fully guaranteed or includes any options.

Hart averaged 10.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals in 30.0 minutes per game across 25 regular season appearances after being acquired by the Knicks at February’s trade deadline. He was also an important part of the club’s playoff rotation, starting five of 11 games and averaging 32.1 minutes per night.

The 51.9% three-point percentage that Hart posted after the trade is unsustainable, but he’s capable of knocking down an outside shot (.350 career 3PT%) and is a talented, versatile defender who is a strong rebounder for his position and size (6’5″). The 28-year-old is considered a good fit for head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s system, so it’s no surprise that the team was eager to lock him up for the long term.

Hart was the only member of Team USA’s 12-man roster that didn’t play in Monday’s exhibition game against Puerto Rico, but he’ll likely see some action once he officially signs his new contract. The U.S. team has tune-ups against Slovenia and Spain on tap this weekend, followed by exhibition contests vs. Greece and Germany next week before the World Cup officially tips off later in the month.

Hart’s extension will make him ineligible to be traded for six months. That trade restriction won’t expire until after this season’s deadline, as we detailed on Tuesday.

World Cup Notes: Hart, Giannis, Giddey, Dellavedova

August 10th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Several members of Team USA have new contracts to celebrate this summer as they prepare for the FIBA World Cup, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Josh Hart became the latest player with a new deal, signing a four-year, $81MM extension with the Knicks electronically Thursday morning while the Americans prepared for a pair of exhibition games in Spain.

“It was actually pretty cool, I was just laying down on the training table, getting some treatment, on FaceTime with (his wife Shannon) and signing the contract,” Hart said. “It meant a lot. I wasn’t highly touted coming out of high school, wasn’t highly regarded in the draft, went through free agency the first time and I was restricted, it was a terrible experience for me, so to be able to do this, it’s a dream come true – just being able to have something that can take care of my parents, my family, my kids.”

Other U.S. players also had productive offseasons. Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards both signed five-year, maximum-salary extensions. Cameron Johnson got $100MM over five seasons to stay with the Nets, and Austin Reaves re-signed with the Lakers for approximately $54MM over four years.

“Yeah, that’s my kids’ kids’ money, for sure,” Edwards said. “It don’t matter (which player’s contract we’re talking about), that’s a lot of money.”

There’s more on the World Cup:

Giannis Antetokounmpo traveled to the United States for more testing on his knee before deciding whether to play for Greece, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. The Bucks‘ medical staff will reportedly work with doctors from the Greek team to determine the best course of action for Antetokounmpo.
Wenyen Gabriel is the most recognizable player for South Sudan, which is preparing for its first-ever World Cup appearance, Askounis adds in a separate story. Other team members with NBA ties include Marial Shayok, Mangok Mathiang and Carlik Jones.
Thunder guard Josh Giddey is ready to become the new on-court leader for Australia, per Olgun Uluc of ESPN. Coach Brian Goorjian plans entrust his offense to the 20-year-old, who is seen as the future of the Australian basketball. “Giddey sets the standard of, eventually you’re gonna be the guy for this program, and he’s an unselfish player, so that sets the standard straight out of the gates,” teammate Jock Landale said. “He’s already embodied the Boomers mentality, and our culture, just through how he plays. It’s gonna come naturally to him, and he’ll fit in really nicely.”
Veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova isn’t part of Australia’s 13-man roster for exhibition games prior to the start of the tournament, according to Eurohoops.

And-Ones: Dort, Brooks, Trade Deadline, Allen, Wade, Riley

August 8th, 2023 at 7:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While the focus in this country is on Team USA’s preparation for the FIBA World Cup, Team Canada is also filled with NBA players. It’s looking at the combination of the Thunder‘s Luguentz Dort and the Rockets’ Dillon Brooks to spearhead their defense, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

“We keep our own secrets, as good defenders. … I kind of know what he does, and he kind of knows what I do at the same time,” Dort said. “I’m ready to go to work with him, and it’s going to be tough to go against good defenders like us.”

Brooks said he admires Dort’s approach. “I’ve kind of watched him become a defensive stopper,” Brooks said. “Guys don’t want to deal with that physicality all night.”

Canada plays its tournament opener against France on Aug. 25.

We have more from around the basketball world:

The start of the regular season will be Oct. 24, a week later than usual. However, the trade deadline won’t be pushed back a week, Fred Katz of The Athletic notes in a Twitter thread. The trade deadline remains the second Thursday of February, which falls on the 8th. It’s significant for the Knicks and Josh Hart if those parties reach an extension agreement. A player is not trade-eligible until six months after he signs an extension, so if Hart gets one, he can’t be dealt during the upcoming season.
Longtime NBA player Tony Allen has been sentenced for his role in a $5MM benefits scam, New York court reporter Pete Brush tweets. Allen, who paid back most of the $420K he illegally took before being charged, avoided prison and was sentenced to community service and supervision. Allen expressed remorse for his illegal activities. “I fully acknowledge my individual responsibility and I understand the gravity of my actions,” he said. “As a member of the NBA community I failed to uphold our core values.”
Dwyane Wade will become the first player drafted by the Heat to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Team president Pat Riley expressed regret that Wade didn’t spend his entire career with the organization, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports. After playing for Miami for 13 seasons, he had stops in Chicago and Cleveland before returning to the Heat “I was sad to see him go, I was upset that he went,” Riley said about Wade signing with the Bulls. “I knew we could work something out, but we didn’t. We did not work it out the way that he wanted it to be worked out and that’s our fault. I think probably as much as myself and Micky [Arison] and anybody else with the Heat, I think Dwyane went to Chicago and then he went to Cleveland, I think he wanted back as much as any of us wanted him back.” The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is Saturday.

Team USA Notes: Edwards, Hart, Banchero, Young

August 8th, 2023 at 2:18pm CST by Luke Adams

After completing its five-day training camp in Las Vegas, Team USA played its first official exhibition game ahead of this year’s World Cup on Monday and defeated Puerto Rico by a score of 117-74. The U.S. squad was up by just seven points at the half, but outscored the Puerto Ricans by 36 in a dominant second half.

As Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards earned a spot in the starting five for Team USA alongside Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Brandon Ingram, and Jaren Jackson Jr., and showed why he belonged in that group. Edwards scored a team-high 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting while also adding four assists and four steals.

“Anthony was great,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He fits the FIBA game really well because of his physicality at both ends. He can get through contact. They allow a lot of contact on drives, so he can get through that contact with his strength and then using that same strength defensively, body people up and keep them from penetrating. So I thought he was great, but I thought the whole team really played well.”

The U.S. roster lacks an established scorer with FIBA experience whom the team could turn to for an important late-game basket, leading to speculation that Edwards could emerge as that player. Monday’s performance was a promising start.

Here’s more on Team USA as it prepares for upcoming tune-ups against Slovenia and Spain this weekend:

As Bontemps notes, Knicks forward Josh Hart was the only player who didn’t see any action on Monday vs. Puerto Rico. Team USA said he was out for “rest” purposes, but it’s probably no coincidence that Hart will become extension-eligible later this week — it will be interesting to see if he has an agreement on a new deal in place with New York by the time the U.S. faces Slovenia on Saturday.
Magic forward Paolo Banchero spent some time at center during Monday’s exhibition, and it sounds like Kerr plans to continue using him in that role going forward, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “He’s going to play some five,” Kerr said. “One of the things we really found in ’21 in the Tokyo Olympics was having a 5 that can push the ball in transition (as Bam Adebayo did) and create plays is very difficult for FIBA teams to handle. He can play some four, as he showed, but he’ll play plenty of five as well.”
In a separate ESPN.com story, Bontemps shares some early observations about Team USA’s starting five, its plan to lean on smaller lineups, and how using Banchero at the five could help create a “devastatingly effective” second unit offensively.
Within a larger discussion about Team USA during the latest episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN express some skepticism that Trae Young will be part of the 12-man roster that represents the U.S. at the Paris Olympics next year, despite his desire to do so. “I heard Trae Young did not make a great case for himself during his previous time in the Team USA program,” MacMahon said.

Josh Hart: “Hopefully” I’ll Sign Extension With Knicks

August 4th, 2023 at 7:44am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Thursday at Team USA’s pre-World Cup training camp, Knicks forward Josh Hart discussed his decision to pick up his $12.96MM player option for 2023/24, as well as the club’s addition of his former Villanova teammate Donte DiVincenzo.

Perhaps most importantly, Hart addressed his contract situation going forward, expressing a desire to sign a deal that will keep him in New York for multiple seasons.

“Hopefully,” Hart said when asked about a long-term extension, per Ethan Sears of The New York Post. “Opting in, I was gonna take it one day at a time. We get there and then we can start having that conversation. Hopefully — that’s a place where I want to be and a place I want to call home. So we’ll see.

“… It was a hard decision (to exercise the option), but New York is somewhere I wanted to be. And we’ll get to everything else, hopefully later down the line. But opted in, New York is where I want to be. It’s where I want to call home. I feel like that was the best decision to do.”

Hart will become extension-eligible on August 9. He would be able to tack up to four new years onto the final year of his current contract and could receive a raise of up to 40% on his current $12.96MM salary, with subsequent 8% annual increases. That would work out to a maximum starting salary of $18,144,000 and a four-year total of $81,285,120.

The fact that Hart decided to play for Team USA this summer is a strong signal that he and the Knicks intend to get something done sooner rather than later, in Sears’ view. The 28-year-old admitted he had “a little bit” of apprehension about suiting up for the U.S. World Cup team and risking injury before he locked in a long-term deal, but he determined that the opportunity to achieve the dream of representing his country was worth it.

As Ian Begley of SNY.tv writes, when Hart opted into a $12.96MM salary for the coming season rather than declining his option to negotiate a higher salary, it helped generate enough flexibility below the luxury tax line for the Knicks to make a competitive offer for DiVincenzo, who signed a four-year deal worth about $47MM, plus incentives.

The Knicks weren’t DiVincenzo’s only suitor, so Hart may not have known that his option decision would result in a reunion with his former Wildcats teammate. But he said on Thursday that, in picking up his option, he wanted to give New York the “chance to be the best team that it could be and help them compete.” He’s excited for what DiVincenzo will bring to the team.

“He’s a New York style player. That blue-collar, hard work thing – that’s what he does,” Hart said, according to Begley. “He’s going to go defend multiple positions, be tough, be gritty, help us win games. New York is going to love him. He’s definitely a guy that we needed, that we wanted and happy we got.”

Atlantic Notes: Harrell, Nets, Hart, Brown

August 3rd, 2023 at 10:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Although reserve big man Montrezl Harrell tore the ACL and medial meniscus in his right knee this summer, the Sixers intend to keep him on their roster, at least for the time being, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Though Pompey notes that Harrell, who inked a one-year, minimum-salary contract to return to the Sixers, most likely will not recuperate in time to play for the team in 2023/24, he believes retaining the former Sixth Man of the Year is the right play. Pompey suggests the Sixers could look to package his salary in a trade later.

Given that Harrell was the third or possibly fourth center on the club’s depth chart, he wasn’t likely to have played major minutes anyway. The 6’7″ vet averaged 5.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 2022/23, his lowest numbers since his 2015/16 rookie season.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Nets still have three roster spots – including one two-way slot – open ahead of training camp this fall, Net Income of Nets Daily writes. Net Income notes that the team still has its bi-annual exception and full mid-level exception at its disposal, and its $157MM in cumulative player salary puts it $9MM beneath the NBA’s $165MM luxury tax threshold. The free agent market at this point is a bit threadbare, so one wonders if Brooklyn would opt to use more than a veteran’s minimum on any of the still-available personnel.
Knicks swingman Josh Hart becomes extension-eligible on August 9, but as Fred Katz of The Athletic notes, that isn’t stopping him from partaking in Team USA during this month’s FIBA World Cup. Katz writes that the typical move these days for players with big money potentially on the line is to preserve their bodies and avoid possible offseason injuries until a deal is done, but Hart is happy to buck that trend. An extension of his current deal could net him, at most, a four-year contract worth up to $81.3MM.
Although he inked a new five-year, maximum-salary contract extension this offseason, All-Star Celtics wing Jaylen Brown still has one glaring issue in his game: protecting the ball. As Jared Weiss of The Athletic notes, Brown coughed up the ball 66 times during the 2023 playoffs, including eight incredibly costly turnovers in a Game 7 Eastern Conference Finals defeat against the Heat. Weiss takes a look at how Brown might be able to limit this particular problem going forward.