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Eastern Notes: Randle, Middleton, Celtics, Bogdanovic, Bamba

December 13th, 2021 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With the Knicks going through rough times, leadership is essential. However, Julius Randle‘s personality doesn’t lend itself to that role, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Randle, who was signed to a $106MM+ extension, doesn’t fit the mold of a vocal leader and can occasionally be a loner in the locker room, according to Berman.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Khris Middleton suffered a hyperextended left knee on Monday but Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer is optimistic the injury isn’t significant, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. “We’ll know more (Tuesday), but I think there’s some hope that it’s not serious,” he said. “But you’ve got to weigh it and give it time.”
Celtics president Brad Stevens needs to shake up the roster, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer opines. Rather than dealing one of his stars, Stevens needs to improve the supporting cast by moving veterans such as Marcus Smart, Josh Richardson and Al Horford or young players such as Robert Williams and Romeo Langford, according to O’Connor, who adds that shooting and play-making should be the top priorities in any potential deal.
Hawks swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic, sidelined since late November by a right ankle sprain, has progressed to individual on-court workouts, Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Bogdanovic underwent an MRI shortly after spraining the ankle and the team at that time said he’d miss at least two weeks of action.
Magic center Mohamed Bamba suffered a right ankle sprain on Sunday, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel reports. It’s unclear how much time Bamba might miss due to the injury, which occurred during the third quarter of the team’s game against the Lakers.

Celtics’ Josh Richardson Enters Protocols

December 10th, 2021 at 5:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Celtics wing Josh Richardson has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, the team announced (Twitter link). He will miss the game against Phoenix Friday night, and possibly several more.

It’s unclear at this time whether Richardson tested positive or not, but if he did, he would need to isolate for at least 10 days or until he returns two consecutive negative PCR tests a minimum of 24 hours apart.

The Celtics acquired Richardson in a trade over the summer by using a trade exception and sending Moses Brown to the Mavs. He later inked a one-year extension with Boston, so he’ll earn $24MM over the next two seasons.

Richardson is having a solid season in a reserve role for the 13-13 Celtics, currently the No. 10 seed in the East. Through 20 games (24.4 MPG), he’s averaging 9.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.3 APG on .464/.354/824 shooting. Fellow reserves Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith, and Payton Pritchard figure to see more action in Richardson’s stead.

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Brown, Schröder, VanVleet, Bonga, Claxton

November 10th, 2021 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

A report stating that the Celtics have interest in Ben Simmons prompted Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe to explore whether Boston should aggressively pursue a deal for Simmons, and Jay King and Rich Hofmann of The Athletic to discuss whether the 25-year-old would make the C’s a better team.

Simmons’ play-making ability would make him an intriguing fit for the Celtics and Washburn hears from a league source that the three-time All-Star would be interested in coming to Boston. However, the general sense is that it would be very difficult for the two division rivals to find an agreement that works for both sides. The Sixers are unlikely to accept an offer that doesn’t include Jaylen Brown, whereas the Celtics are unlikely to include Brown in any offer.

In fact, multiple league sources who spoke to Brian Robb of MassLive.com were “adamant” that the Celtics don’t have any interest in moving Brown at all, either for Simmons or in any other deal. I’m sure Boston would reconsider that stance if a player a tier above Brown became available, but presumably the team doesn’t view Simmons as that sort of player.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The Celtics intend to keep Dennis Schröder in their starting lineup while Brown recovers from his hamstring strain in order to have Josh Richardson and the club’s young wings remain in their bench roles, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
Besides wanting to get back to the playoffs, Raptors guard Fred VanVleet has a series of individual goals that he’d like to achieve, as he said on The Raptors Show with Will Lou (link via Sportsnet.ca).“I definitely would like to be an All-Star,” VanVleet said. “I want to win all the awards. I want to be All-Defensive … Those are all goals that I have. The good thing for me is that I probably won’t achieve any of those if we aren’t a good team or a top team.”
Raptors forward Isaac Bonga has accepted a G League assignment, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links). Because he’s in his fourth NBA season, Bonga had to sign off on being sent to the NBAGL. The 22-year-old has only logged seven minutes across three games in Toronto so far, but should get a chance to play a starring role for the Raptors 905 when they open their season on Thursday.
The Nets recalled center Nicolas Claxton from the G League on Tuesday, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Despite being back with Brooklyn, Claxton has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game and there’s still no indication he’s closer to returning from the illness that has sidelined him since October 25.

Atlantic Notes: Irving, Udoka, Richardson, Simmons

November 6th, 2021 at 6:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

It’s possible that Nets guard Kyrie Irving will make his only appearance of the season at the All-Star Game, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Irving appears ready to sit out the entire year rather than comply with a New York City vaccine mandate that requires him to get the shot before he can play in his home arena. However, there’s no mandate in Cleveland, which will host the February 20 game, so there’s nothing to stop Irving from playing if fans vote him onto the team.

The revised NBA All-Star ballot lists all active players, which includes Irving, who is still on the Nets’ roster even though he’s currently unlikely to play. Lewis notes that Irving has a lot of fan support with more than 4.3 million followers on Twitter and 15.5 million on Instagram. He may also get a lot of votes from people looking to make a political statement in opposition to vaccine mandates.

Fan balloting will make up 50% of the final vote this year, with the rest split between the media and the players. Lewis considers it unlikely that the league would prevent Irving from participating in the game if he does get voted in.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Celtics coach Ime Udoka clarified reports of a players-only meeting that his team had before Wednesday’s game in Orlando, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Udoka said the gathering, which came in the wake of complaints by Marcus Smart that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown aren’t passing the ball enough, was less dramatic that the media made it seem. “It wasn’t really a players-only meeting,” Udoka said. “We had a team dinner scheduled way before anything happened, so that was planned for some weeks now. And we gave the players their time before the coaching staff and everybody else came down. So they had about 30 minutes on their own, but it wasn’t anything scheduled. It wasn’t anything scheduled by them.”
Celtics swingman Josh Richardson is back in the lineup tonight after missing Thursday’s game with a left foot contusion, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Richardson underwent an X-ray on the foot to make sure there’s no structural damage, Weiss reports in a separate story. It’s welcome news for Boston, which could be without Brown for several games.
The longer the Sixers‘ battle with Ben Simmons continues, the less likely it becomes that either side will get what it wants, contends Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The team began fining Simmons again this week and plans to continue until he cooperates with team doctors about his mental health treatments.

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Sixers, Brown, Richardson, Walker

October 20th, 2021 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The ongoing Ben Simmons drama, including a suspension, has sucked some of the energy out of the Sixers’ opener, coach Doc Rivers admitted to Brian Windhorst of ESPN and other media members. Simmons was suspended for the opener after refusing to participate in a practice drill.

“It’s a predicament that we’re in and that part is no fun. It really isn’t,” Rivers said. “We get to play right now and Ben is not. I want Ben to be playing. That’s his job.”

Simmons will be fined $330K for missing Wednesday’s game, increasing his fines for missed games — including the preseason — to more than $1.7MM.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown, who had been sidelined due to a positive COVID-19 test, will be in the starting lineup against the Knicks tonight, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. Brown said he experienced “some mild symptoms for the most part” and used meditation to recover from the virus. He’ll have an inhaler at the ready if he has any breathing issues. Al Horford, who also recently contracted COVID-19, remains sidelined to start the season, though head coach Ime Udoka said the veteran center is doing well physically.
Celtics guard Josh Richardson will not play in the opener due to a migraine, the team’s PR department tweets. Richardson was acquired in a trade with Dallas in late July.
New York native Kemba Walker is thrilled to be playing for his hometown team at last, Bontemps writes in a separate story. He’s hoping to prove the knee issues that plagued him with Boston won’t be a major factor with the Knicks. “Perfect timing. [I’m] really motivated,” he said. “Super excited that these guys have belief in me. I just need somebody to believe in me.”

Celtics Notes: Brown, Richardson, Schröder, Udoka

October 2nd, 2021 at 8:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jaylen Brown is ready for the challenge of a new season after finishing the last one on the sidelines, writes Taylor Snow of Celtics.com. Brown had to undergo surgery and miss the playoffs after tearing the scapholunate ligament in his left wrist in May.

“I never had surgery before, so this was a first for me,” he said. “Definitely the mental part of it was interesting. The wrist takes so long to heal, it was kind of frustrating at times. But my body got a chance to heal, my mind got a chance to be refreshed, and right now I feel great. I feel lighter than ever, faster than ever, stronger than ever.”

Brown was limited physically after the operation, so he concentrated on watching film to get a better understanding of his opponents. Much of the film focused on the league’s top playmakers, and Brown hopes to add that aspect to his game this season.

“There’s a few guys, especially in the playmaking department that I watched,” Brown said. “So I’m looking forward to going out and showing all the things that I watched.”

There’s more from Boston:

Josh Richardson is hoping to re-establish himself with the Celtics after being traded for the third straight offseason, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. He expects to benefit from a reunion with new head coach Ime Udoka, who was an assistant when Richardson was with the Sixers. “I think that the way we see things basketball-wise lines up and he’s always been a straight shooter,” Richardson said. “That’s how I know him and that’s how I am and that’s how I would like my coaches to be.”
Al Horford reached out to Dennis Schröder on Instagram as the first step toward getting his former Hawks teammate to sign with the Celtics, according to Jay King of The Athletic. Horford asked for a phone call and then sold Schröder on the benefits of playing in Boston, telling him that his aggressive style would be a good fit and that he would have much more freedom than he did with the Lakers last season. Schröder said Horford told him, “You’re going to have a big year here because we know your value and we know how to put you in place to be successful.’”
Udoka will tinker with the starting lineup during preseason, but he plans to have a regular group of five when the season begins, tweets Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Udoka said he’s not a believer in “plug-in” starters.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics Lineup, Clark, Noel, Sixers

September 22nd, 2021 at 7:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams and Marcus Smart seemingly locked into starting spots for the Celtics, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston explores the possibilities for the fifth starter. The most likely candidates are Aaron Nesmith, Josh Richardson, Al Horford and Dennis Schröder — Forsberg takes a closer look at what each player could bring to the starting unit.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Free agent Gary Clark worked out for the Celtics, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. Clark, a 6’6” forward, played 39 games in the league last season, including 35 with the Magic. He also played two games apiece for Denver and Philadelphia.
Knicks center Nerlens Noel has filed an amended complaint against super-agent Rich Paul, which includes an October 2017 letter from the legal counsel for Noel’s prior agent, Happy Walters, stating that the decision to reject the Mavericks’ $70MM offer “placed Noel at serious professional and financial risk,” Darren Heitner of SportsAgentBlog tweets. Noel sued Paul and Klutch Sports last month, claiming that he fired Walters in favor of Paul because Paul told him he could get a max contract. Paul also allegedly told Noel to turn down Dallas’ extension offer.
The Sixers have signed a deal with Crypto.com to be their new jersey patch partner, according to a team press release. According to Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the multiyear deal is worth eight figures annually and is among the top five most lucrative jersey ad deals in the league.

Contract Details: Forbes, Richardson, R. Williams, Randle

August 29th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Spurs used their room exception to finalize the signing of shooting guard Bryn Forbes, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Forbes’ deal with San Antonio, which is worth $4.5MM, only covers one year, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2022.

Although Forbes’ contract technically doesn’t use up the Spurs’ entire room exception, the amount left ($410K) isn’t big enough to be used on a second player. It’s possible it could come in handy very late in the season, when the prorated portion of the room exception exceeds the prorated minimum salary, but I’d expect it to just go unused.

Our full breakdown of how teams are using their mid-level/room exceptions this season can be found right here.

Here are a few more contract details from around the NBA:

The one-year extension that Josh Richardson signed with the Celtics is worth $12,196,094, which represents a 5% raise on 2021/22 salary ($11,615,328), tweets Smith. Because Richardson was traded to Boston just a few weeks ago, extend-and-trade rules limited his raise to 5% of his previous salary.
Smith also provides the specifics, down to the dollar, of Robert Williams‘ rookie scale extension with the Celtics (Twitter link). We took a closer look at that deal, along with details on some of the incentives, last week.
Julius Randle‘s new four-year extension with the Knicks includes a 15% trade kicker, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). Unlike several other deals with 15% trade kickers, Randle’s contract is well below the maximum, so he’d be in position to earn a sizeable bonus if he’s traded in the coming years.

Celtics Sign Josh Richardson To One-Year Extension

August 24th, 2021 at 7:00am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 24: Richardson has officially signed his extension, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

AUGUST 23: The Celtics have agreed to tack on a one-year extension to the current contract of newly-acquired swingman Josh Richardson, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The former Mavericks wing’s contract was initially set to expire in 2022 after paying him $11.6MM this season. Charania notes that Richardson is now set to earn $24MM over the next two years, indicating that Richardson’s one-year extension will likely be worth about $12-13MM in 2022/23.

Earlier this summer, Richardson was sent to Boston in exchange for 7’2″ center Moses Brown in a one-for-one exchange. The Celtics used the remaining portion of their Gordon Hayward trade exception to accommodate the acquisition.

The 6’5″ Richardson, 27, will suit up for his fourth team in four seasons this fall. Initially drafted by the Heat with No. 40 pick out of Tennessee in 2015, he spent his first four seasons in Miami, flashing the potential to become a reliable 3-and-D wing, one of the hottest commodities in the NBA. He was sent to the Sixers as part of the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade in the summer of 2019, and then was moved again, this time to the Mavericks, during the 2020 offseason.

During the 2020/21 season, Richardson averaged 12.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 2.5 APG, his worst output in those categories since becoming a full-time starter with the Heat in 2017/18. A career 35.8% shooter from long range (on 4.5 attempts a night), Richardson could help Boston in a more limited role as a floor spacer, supporting All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

Richardson’s extension is the third one the Celtics have agreed to this month. The team also recently announced a new contract for Marcus Smart and also has a deal in place with Robert Williams.

And-Ones: Offseason Roundup, 2022 Free Agency, Evans, Nogueira

August 21st, 2021 at 1:04pm CST by Eli Cohen

Despite the recent surge in COVID-19 breakthrough cases, the expectation around the NBA is that things will return roughly to normal for the 2021/22 season, writes ESPN’s Tim Bontemps in his offseason roundup.

Bontemps polled 10 executives and scouts on some of the most pressing questions of the offseason, such as who the best player will be this season (Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant tied for first), the best moves of the offseason (the Heat signing Kyle Lowry won out over the Magic drafting Jalen Suggs and the Wizards getting off Russell Westbrook‘s contract), the worst moves (DeMar DeRozan‘s signing with the Bulls), and others.

The executives also gave their thoughts on why fewer teams seem to be tanking this season and who should be considered the favorites to win the title.

We have more news from around the world of hoops:

2022 was at one point considered a loaded free agency class, writes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link), but after the most recent round of extensions, the big names have been whittled down to Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine. Marks predicts some, if not all of Josh Richardson, Aaron Gordon, Jalen Brunson, Tyus Jones and Mitchell Robinson will sign extensions before the season starts and quotes a Western Conference executive who says that due to scarcity of stars on the market, he expects the regular season trade scene to be extremely active. Marks also breaks down the teams who have or could have cap space next summer.
2012 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion Jeremy Evans, who spent five seasons with the Jazz and two more with the Mavs and Hawks, has signed with the Greek team Panathinaikos, according to Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw (Twitter link).
JD Shaw also tweets that former Raptor Lucas “Bebé” Nogueira, who was picked just one spot after Antetokounmpo in the 2013 draft, has come out of retirement to play for Sao Paolo in his home country of Brazil. As Shaw notes, Nogueira had announced his retirement in February.