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No Paul George, Gordon Hayward On All-NBA Teams

May 18th, 2017 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-NBA teams for the 2016/17 season, and neither Paul George nor Gordon Hayward is among the 15 players honored. That’s big news for both players and their teams, since they’ll be ineligible for the Designated Veteran Extension, reducing the amount of money the Pacers and Jazz – respectively – could offer their star forwards in contract extensions this offseason.

Here are this year’s All-NBA teams:

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

All-NBA Third Team

Based on this year’s All-NBA voting results, Wall is now eligible to sign a Designated Veteran Extension this summer, while Leonard is eligible to sign one next summer. Harden, Westbrook, and Curry are also eligible to sign DVEs this summer, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes (via Twitter).

Those Designated Veteran Extensions – which are dependent on a player making an All-NBA team in the year before he signs an extension, or in two of the previous three years – apply to players finishing up their rookie scale extensions. They allow a player re-signing with his own team to earn up to 35% of the salary cap, rather than just 30%. So, if we assume a $101MM salary cap for 2017/18, a player like Curry could sign a new Warriors contract with a starting salary of $35.35MM, instead of $30.3MM.

The Pacers and Jazz will still be able to offer George and Hayward larger and longer contracts than any other team, but the advantage won’t be as significant as it would have been if those players had earned All-NBA spots. Teams can offer their own Bird-rights free agents up to five years (instead of four) and 8% raises (instead of 5%).

Hayward figures to opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer, while George is expected to reach free agency in 2018. George could still become eligible for the DVE in ’18 if the Pacers hang onto him through next season and he earns All-NBA honors a year from now. However, there’s no guarantee that Indiana will be willing to take that risk.

As for the rest of the All-NBA votes, there weren’t any major surprises, particularly on the first two teams. Perhaps the biggest surprise, in a year which was dominated by four clear-cut MVP candidates, is that Harden was the only player who received 100 out of 100 possible First Team votes. Westbrook and James received 99 apiece, while Leonard received 96.

Note: Hoops Rumors readers voted last month on All-NBA teams, and our squads looked awfully close to the official ones, with a couple notable exceptions. You can check out the results of our voting right here.

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Andre Iguodala Sidelined For Game 2

May 16th, 2017 at 7:34pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Warriors small forward Andre Iguodala has been ruled out for Game 2 against the Spurs Tuesday night due to left knee soreness, reports Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com. An MRI performed Monday revealed no structural damage, but the Warriors continue to be cautious with the veteran as they have done all season.

Iguodala will not be the only former NBA Finals MVP to be sidelined for the game. Spurs leading scorer Kawhi Leonard will also miss the contest. The Warriors lead the series 1-0.

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Southwest Notes: Leonard, Pelicans, Parsons, Nowitzki

May 15th, 2017 at 9:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kawhi Leonard‘s MRI revealed no structural damage, Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com tweets. Leonard injured his left ankle twice in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday, including a controversial play in which Warriors center Zaza Pachulia moved into his landing space after Leonard released a jump shot. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich ripped Pachulia on Monday for what Popovich felt was a reckless closeout. Leonard is expected to miss Game 2.

In other news around the Southwest Division

  • Donatas Motiejunas is unlikely to re-sign with the Pelicans because of their frontcourt logjam, Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas tweets. Motiejunas told Urbonas, ‘They don’t need me with already 4-5 big (men) on the roster for the next season.’ The 7-foot forward, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer, averaged 4.4 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 14.1 MPG over 34 games with the Pelicans.
  • Chandler Parsons‘ future with the Grizzlies could be as a stretch four rather than playing his natural small forward spot, according to Michael Wallace of the team’s website. That could be a sensitive subject this offseason with veteran power forward Zach Randolph becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer and fellow big man JaMychal Green entering restricted free agency. Knee injuries limited Parsons to 34 games in the first year of his four-year, $94MM contract with Memphis.
  • Dirk Nowitzki is willing to assist the front office as the Mavericks prepare for the draft, according to team website reporter Earl K. Sneed. The club holds the No. 9 overall pick, pending the results of Tuesday’s lottery. “Maybe I’ll be in the draft room this year, if that’s what it takes,” Nowitzki told Sneed. “I think we’ve got plenty of time over the next few weeks to set a plan, execute the plan on draft day hopefully and maybe in free agency, and we’ll go from there.”
  • Improving 3-point shooting is paramount for the Pelicans to make the playoffs next year, coach Alvin Gentry said on The Vertical podcast. Gentry’s comments were relayed in a story by Scott Kushner of the New Orleans Advocate. The Twin Tower duo of Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins won’t work unless the club acquires better perimeter shooters, according to Gentry. “We are going to have to upgrade there and the players that we have are going to have to show vast improvement over the summer,” Gentry said on the podcast. “If you’re going to play the two big guys that we have, obviously, there are going to be a lot of double-teaming. … in order to make that work, we’re going to have to be able to knock down perimeter shots.”
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Kawhi Leonard Expected To Miss Game 2

May 15th, 2017 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

While Kawhi Leonard said on Sunday night that he didn’t believe Zaza Pachulia‘s play that re-injured Leonard’s ankle was a dirty one, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich disagreed today with that assessment. Speaking to reporters, Popovich was critical of the play, and confirmed that the team expects Leonard to miss Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals due to his ankle injury (Twitter links via Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com).

Calling Pachulia’s play on Leonard a “totally unnatural closeout,” Popovich also referenced the big man’s history of unsportsmanlike plays, particularly against the Spurs, including an elbow on Patty Mills and an arm-bar on Leonard (video link).

“The two-step lead with your foot closeout is not appropriate,” Popovich said, per Anthony Slater of The Bay Area News Group. “It’s dangerous, it’s unsportsmanlike, it’s just not what anybody does to anybody else. This particular individual has a history with that kind of action.”

While Popovich didn’t go so far as to say that Pachulia was intentionally attempting to injure Leonard on Sunday, the Spurs coach suggested that intent didn’t really matter, likening it to unintentionally killing someone while texting and driving (video links via Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News).

The Spurs have yet to announce an official diagnosis or recovery timetable for Leonard, but assuming he does sit out Game 2, he’d have a few days to prepare for Game 3. Due to a scheduling quirk, the Spurs and Warriors will have three days off after Game 2, with the series not resuming until Saturday.

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Leonard Re-Injures Ankle, Exits Game 1

May 14th, 2017 at 6:07pm CST by Austin Kent

6:07pm: Team sources inform Marc Spears of ESPN that Leonard will undergo an MRI on his left ankle tonight.

5:50pm: Leonard’s ankle “doesn’t look good,” Marc Spears of ESPN tweets, adding, however, that Leonard hasn’t ruled out playing in Game 2 on Tuesday.

5:38pm: ESPN’s Michael C. Wright reports that Leonard walked to the training room without a limp and with nothing on his ankle. Wright tweets that they’re taping the ankle now. Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News tweets that Leonard is limping “a bit.”

5:30pm: The Spurs watched a 25-point lead fade away against the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals but their biggest loss may be of a different nature. As Sam Amick of USA Today outlines, with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter, Kawhi Leonard appeared to re-aggravate his injured left ankle.

Minutes into the second half, Leonard pulled up for a three in the corner, defended by Zaza Pachulia. At that point Pachulia closed out hard and Leonard landed on the big man’s extended foot.

The injury is particularly concerning for two reasons, the obvious one being that the superstar MVP candidate missed the remainder of the game, another being that this is the same ankle Leonard hurt in Game 5 of San Antonio’s previous series.

Last week Leonard sat out Game 6 against the Rockets and it appears the forward could miss time here as well, although no official declarations have been made by the team.

Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune noted that if the Spurs rest Leonard for Game 2 on the road, he’ll have six days of recovery prior to the series shifting back to San Antonio for Game 3.

As details about Leonard’s status come in, we’ll update this post.

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Leonard Will Play Game 1 Against Warriors

May 13th, 2017 at 12:53pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Gregg Popovich says that small forward Kawhi Leonard will play for the Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals series against the Warriors on Sunday, reports Melissa Rohlin of MySA.com.

As Rohlin tweets, Leonard was a full participant in Saturday’s practice. After rolling his ankle in Game 5 of the Spurs’ series against the Rockets, the Spurs’ star missed the series’ decisive Game 6, which the Spurs won 114-75.

 

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Southwest Notes: Leonard, Nene, Mavericks

May 13th, 2017 at 12:03pm CST by marksuleymanov

As the Warriors and Spurs prepare to kickoff the Western Conference Finals tomorrow night, San Antonio expects to have Kawhi Leonard in the starting lineup, a source tells ESPN’s Michael C. Wright.

Leonard injured his left ankle on Tuesday and sat out the Spurs’ 39-point decimation of the Rockets in Game 6 on Thursday, which clinched the series win. Jonathon Simmons replaced Leonard and promptly added 18 points in the rout. Now, the Spurs will look to having their superstar player back in the lineup, hoping to utilize his defensive prowess to tame at least one of the Warriors’ three superstars.

In 11 games this postseason, Leonard is averaging 27.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG and shooting 52 percent from the floor.

Here is some more news around the Southwest:

  • The Mavericks are in a unique position this offseason, Bobby Marks of The Vertical writes. Despite having a team primarily built by free agent signings, the team has the chance to strike gold in the NBA Draft as the team holds a top-10 pick. Marks also points to re-signing Nerlens Noel in free agency and the year 2018 — when Dirk Nowitzki‘s $25 million salary comes off the books.
  • Veteran center Nene recently found out he will not need surgery to repair a ruptured groin muscle he suffered in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. Nene revealed he expects to re-sign with Houston this offseason despite the injury.”Of course I expect (to be back),” Nene said. “That’ll depend on me. I did my job. I just leave it for the coaches, the general manager, my agent. Of course, I’d like to be back. This place, was a blessing for me. They brought me back. They brought the real Nene back. When you’re happy. When you feel good. When you’re engaged, people know you’re work, of course you want to be back.”
  • Feigen also relays that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey feels “it would be normal business” to discuss an extension with center Clint Capela (via Twitter). Caperla averaged 12.6 PPG and 8.1 RPG in 65 contests for Houston.
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Pacific Notes: Leonard, Anthony, Paul

May 11th, 2017 at 9:40pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns did not select Kawhi Leonard during the 2011 draft in part because of how he acted during the combine that year, Charles Curtis of USA Today shares. It wasn’t that the MVP candidate was misbehaving or appeared to dismiss the process — it was because Leonard was nervous during interviews. The San Diego State product sweated through his suit and Lance Blanks, who was Phoenix’s GM at the time, apparently took that as a negative indicator.

Phoenix had the No. 13 overall pick and selected Markieff Morris out of Kansas. Leonard went to the Pacers at No. 15 before being dealt to the Spurs for George Hill.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post believes the Clippers have the best shot at landing Carmelo Anthony should the 10-time All-Star waive his no-trade clause and leave New York. Bontemps can’t envision coach/executive Doc Rivers passing up on a chance to acquire Anthony if the opportunity presents itself.
  • Chauncey Billups, who played with the Clippers for two seasons, believes the team is asking Chris Paul to do too much, as Paul Coro of the Los Angeles Times relays.“This isn’t a jab at anyone but they just don’t have enough guys who can make plays late in games,” Billups said. “They depend too much on Chris.” 
  • The Kings front office appears more stable than it has in past season, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee details. The scribe writes that the franchise was previously “viewed as a mess,” but now it has a changed approach, something that should help with securing visits from top prospects. Projected No.1 overall pick Markelle Fultz met with the team on Wednesday.
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Kawhi Leonard Won’t Play In Game 6

May 11th, 2017 at 5:51pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kawhi Leonard will sit out tonight’s Game 6 against the Rockets with knee and ankle injuries, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). If the Spurs fall tonight, they will play against Houston in Game 7 on Sunday.

Gregg Popovich made the decision to sit Leonard and he was asked if the MVP candidate fought him on the matter, as Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post tweets. Popovich responded with a Popovichian line: “He’d rather play.”

Jonathon Simmons, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, will start in Leonard’s spot. It’s a great opportunity for Simmons to increase his market value in free agency. The 27-year-old Houston native has seen 16.4 minutes per game this postseason and he’s averaging 7.9 points per game while shooting 45.5% from the field.

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Spurs Notes: Parker, Lee, Leonard

April 30th, 2017 at 11:00pm CST by Austin Kent

Although Tony Parker‘s 2016/17 numbers may be a far cry from what he’s posted throughout his career, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle flags him as a possible game-changer in the upcoming Spurs/Rockets second-round series.

Parker posted just 10.1 points per game this season, his 16th, but raised that to 16.3 in his squad’s first-round victory over the Grizzlies.

Rockets guard Patrick Beverley, one man who will have to check the veteran playmaker, knows all too well that Parker is still capable of dealing damage.

“He gets better with time, right?” he said. “He just continues to get better. Tony. His mid-range, his floaters, his spin moves. At his age, how fast he is is unbelievable. He’ll go down as a Hall of Famer, for sure. It’s always good to play a type of player like that.”

There’s more from the Spurs:

  • When Dewayne Dedmon was under the weather prior to Game 4, Gregg Popovich thrust David Lee into the starting lineup. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News discusses how the veteran was able to make the seamless transition into the starting lineup.
  • Even though he’s made a case for the award himself, Kawhi Leonard understands that he’ll have his work cut out for him guarding MVP candidate James Harden. “It’s going to take my all to try to make it difficult for him out there,” the forward told Melissa Rohlin of MySanAntonio.com.
  • One of the key matchups to watch in the second-round tilt between the Spurs and Rockets will be Parker versus Beverley. Tom Osborn of the Houston Chronicle wonders if the 34-year-old veteran can keep his offensive streak alive against his pesky counterpart.
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