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And-Ones: 2019 FAs, MVP Odds, Oldest Vets

August 15th, 2018 at 7:38pm CST by clarkcrum

An ESPN panel was asked where they think some of the top-projected free agents of 2019 might end up next summer. The results were interesting, with the panel making a prediction for five players: Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson.

As we explored earlier this summer, both Irving and Butler have reportedly expressed interested in playing together, and the panel obviously took that into consideration, predicting both players to suit up for the Knicks next season. However, the Celtics were a close second for Irving.

Interestingly, the Lakers were the second-highest voted selection for both Butler and Thompson, and the first-place selection for Leonard by a wide-margin. Meanwhile, both Thompson and Durant are projected to return to the Warriors.

We have more from around the league:

Bovada has come out with their latest odds for next season’s MVP award, with LeBron James the favorite to win the award at 10/3. Anthony Davis is at 4/1, with Giannis Antetokounmpo at 4.5/1 and last season’s winner James Harden at 5.5/1.
Only three players who began their career before the turn of the century remain playing today. Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki, who debuted in February, 1999 during the lockout-shortened season of 1998/99; and Jason Terry, who debuted later that calendar year during the 1999/00 season.
Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders has created a list of players who he feels are prime candidates for a bounce-back season during 2018/19. The list includes Leonard, Markelle Fultz, Jabari Parker, Isaiah Thomas, Carmelo Anthony, and Danilo Gallinari.

Myers: Warriors Will Give Durant ‘Whatever He Wants’ On New Deal

June 12th, 2018 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant indicated several days ago that he fully intends to re-sign with the Warriors after opting out of his contract this summer, and it doesn’t sound like president of basketball operations Bob Myers will draw any sort of hard line in negotiations. As Janie McCauley of The Associated Press relays, Myers said the team is prepared to give Durant “whatever he wants.”

“Sometimes you don’t negotiate. I’d love to have him for 10 years. Kevin Durant, look what he did for us last year, he did us a great service,” Myers said. “He’s earned the right to sign whatever deal he wants. I just want him to sign a deal. But want him to be happy and want him to know that we want him as long as he wants to be here. He’s earned that, to kind of lay out the terms. He can do whatever he wants. That shouldn’t be a long negotiation.”

In each of the last two summers, Durant has signed a two-year contract with a second-year player option in order to maximize his flexibility. However, the Early Bird exception prohibits that sort of deal. If the Warriors re-sign the star forward using his Early Bird rights, the contract would have to be for at least two years (with no options) and couldn’t exceed four years.

Durant could still sign a one-year pact with an eye toward hitting free agency again in 2019, when he’ll have full Bird rights and could sign a five-year contract. But a one-year deal this year would use the Non-Bird exception and wouldn’t allow him to earn his full max, since he accepted a discount last summer. As such, Durant will have some decisions to make this offseason, and it sounds like the Warriors are ready to accommodate whatever path he chooses.

Meanwhile, the Warriors have a few other extension candidates to keep an eye on this summer, including Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and head coach Steve Kerr. For his part, Kerr said he expects to get a new agreement “done pretty quick,” suggesting that wouldn’t be an acrimonious negotiation either. As for Thompson and Green, Myers agreed with team owner Joe Lacob that the team will explore new deals for those stars this offseason, but suggested that won’t necessarily be a top priority.

“It’s a lot of different conversations that have to take place and if that’s something that we want to look into, I’m sure we could have those (conversations),” Myers said. “Klay’s got another year, Draymond’s got two more. Kevin’s really the free agent we have to focus on.”

Warriors Plan Extension Offers For Thompson, Green

June 9th, 2018 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

There have been concerns about the Warriors’ ability to afford Klay Thompson and Draymond Green when their free agency years arrive, but owner Joe Lacob plans to aggressively address the situation this summer, relays Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

Shortly after wrapping up the team’s third title in four years Friday night, Lacob said he intends to submit extension offers to both players during the offseason.

“All good things cost a lot,” he explained. “We’re going to try to sign Klay and Draymond to extensions this summer. They’ve earned the right to do whatever they want; maybe they want to wait until free agency. I can’t control that. But we’ll do whatever we can to keep them.

“We’ve proven that if we think we’re competing for a championship, we’ll be in the luxury tax. No one wants to be, but we expect to be. All I can tell you is we’re going to sit down and do our planning on how we’re going to improve the team for the future and setting ourselves up in the future. And it could go a number of different ways.”

Thompson is entering the final year of a contract that will pay him $18,988,725 next season. He has spent seven years with the Warriors and is coming off his fourth straight All-Star appearance. Green has two seasons left on his current deal, worth $17,469,565 next season and $18,539,130 in 2019/20. He has been with Golden State for six years and is a three-time All-Star.

Extensions for Thompson and Green would come at the same time the Warriors have to spend big to re-sign Kevin Durant, who is virtually certain to opt out of a $26.25MM salary and enter free agency for the third straight summer. If all three players agree to new contracts, the Warriors would likely be headed for the largest luxury tax bill in NBA history.

Klay Thompson To Play In Game 2

June 3rd, 2018 at 4:59pm CST by marksuleymanov

6:09pm: Thompson will play in tonight’s contest, according to the Warriors’ Twitter feed.

4:59pm: Klay Thompson suffered a high left ankle sprain with significant bruising during the Warriors‘ Game 1 victory but is likely to play tonight, according to reports from ESPN’s Ramon Shelburne and USA TODAY’s Sam Amick.

The injury occurred when Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith dove for a loose ball early in the first quarter and landed on Thompson’s leg. After briefly leaving the game, Thompson returned to the game and played through the injury. Thompson told reporters yesterday that the pain worsened the day after the victory and if Game 2 had been scheduled for Saturday, he was unsure he could play.

Walking with a noticeable limp, Thompson said he was angered when he saw a replay of Smith’s dive.

“From watching that replay, it pissed me off,” Thompson said. “That’s a tough play on the ball, and then just to tumble into somebody’s legs like that. You’ve got to move past it, but it’s just life, and I’m going to be better from it. It’s just a minor setback. But I don’t think it was intentional.”

Thompson remains listed as “questionable” for tonight’s game. The Warriors sharpshooter has never missed a postseason game and while he’ll likely attempt to play, it’s uncertain how effective he will be on a bothersome ankle.

Injury Updates: James, Thompson, Iguodala

June 2nd, 2018 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Even though he scored 51 points, LeBron James played much of Game 1 of the NBA Finals with blurred vision after being poked in the eye by Draymond Green. As the Cavaliers ran through their first practice today since Thursday’s loss, James reported that his eye has improved, relays Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

“It doesn’t look better, but the docs told me it’s better,” James said. “It’s just going through a stage right now of recovering. … I’m taking my medication that I’ve been given by the doctors. My eyedrops and my antibiotic to help me with the recovery as fast as possible. But it’s an eye. I mean, it’s going to recover as fast as it can on its own. There is nothing you can do. I can’t ice it or anything like that.”

James was attempting a dunk in the second quarter when Green contested it and hit him in the eye, recounts Jenna West of Sports Illustrated. That eye was seen bleeding during a close-up camera shot later in the game.

As we passed along earlier, Golden State guard Klay Thompson is hopeful about his chances to play in Game 2 after a collision with J.R. Smith that left him with a high ankle sprain. Thompson was limping at today’s practice, tweets Ethan Strauss of The Athletic, and said he’s not sure he could play if the game were tonight.

Thompson expressed frustration at Smith for what he considers a reckless play, relays Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who adds that Nick Young will probably start if Thompson can’t go.

“I’m going to do what I can in these next 24 hours or so to loosen it up as much as possible, get some stability back,” Thompson said. “I’m optimistic for tomorrow. That’s the hard part of the game we all have to endure. Got to let it go. It happens. I’ve just got to move on.”

While Thompson is listed as questionable for tomorrow, Andre Iguodala remains doubtful with a bruised knee he suffered in the Western Conference finals, West relays in a separate story. Iguodala continues to make progress, but still has pain in the knee and inflammation in the surrounding nerve.

Klay Thompson Plans To Play In Game 2

June 2nd, 2018 at 3:23pm CST by clarkcrum

Lost in much of the hoopla surrounding the newsworthy finish in Game 1 of the NBA Finals was the injury suffered by Warriors’ guard Klay Thompson during the middle of the first quarter when J.R. Smith rolled under him and crashed into his legs.

Thompson ended up returning to the game and finished with 24 points, but according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, Thompson suffered a high left ankle sprain during the play that has left him with significant bruising in the ankle.

Thompson still plans to play in Game 2 tomorrow night, but admits that he has been receiving around-the clock treatment since late Thursday night. Per Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Thompson said the pain got worse from last night to today and that if the game were tonight, he’s not sure if he could play.

Slater adds that the team is officially listing Thompson as “questionable” for tomorrow night.

Western Notes: Rockets, Jazz, Westbrook, Allen

May 27th, 2018 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have reduced their rotation to seven players but they won’t use fatigue as an excuse for their second-half collapse against the Warriors in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Stephen Curry have all played more minutes per game than any Rockets player, Feigen notes. “Fatigue is never a factor in the playoffs,” Rockets forward Trevor Ariza told Feigen and other media members. “This is what we prepare for. This is what we work hard all summer for. They started playing harder. They started making shots. That’s it.”

Also around the Western Conference:

The Jazz might keep their core group intact going into next season, GM Dennis Lindsey told Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. “My best guess is the option that we’ll ultimately consider, is bringing the team back intact, but I don’t know what other things are going to come our way,” Lindsey said. In order to do that, they’d have to sign unrestricted free agent Derrick Favors and restricted free agent Dante Exum. If both players receive significant raises and the Jazz make other moves, they could find themselves close to the luxury tax. They currently have approximately $90MM in salary guarantees next season.
If Paul George re-signs with the Thunder, it will deal a blow to the narrative that other stars don’t like playing with Russell Westbrook, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes. That’s why Westbrook has made public statements about wanting George to return, saying he thinks George “definitely wants to be here,” Dawson adds.
Duke combo guard Grayson Allen could be an option for the Kings if he slips into the second round, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Sacramento holds the No. 36 overall pick and Allen is currently ranked No. 30 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Allen would be a fit because the Kings need guards who can provide size and shooting, Jones adds.

Pacific Notes: Thompson, Green, Clippers, Suns

May 25th, 2018 at 9:25am CST by Luke Adams

The results of this year’s All-NBA voting will have an impact on a pair of Warriors, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (Twitter links). If Klay Thompson had earned a spot on an All-NBA team, he would have been eligible for a super-max extension this offseason. If Thompson doesn’t sign an extension with the club in the coming months, he could still gain super-max eligibility in 2019 by being named to next year’s All-NBA squad.

Meanwhile, Draymond Green, who also missed out on All-NBA honors this year, would’ve been eligible for a super-max in 2019 if he’d made the First, Second, or Third Team. Like Thompson, he could gain eligibility by earning an All-NBA nod next season, though only one of those two players could actually sign an early super-max extension with the Warriors — teams are limited to two such contracts, and Stephen Curry has already signed one (Kevin Durant‘s next deal isn’t a factor in this equation, since it’s a different form of contract).

While it’s worth monitoring Thompson’s and Green’s eligibility for those contracts worth 35% of the cap, it seems unlikely that the Warriors would be willing to offer either player that sort of deal anyway. The Dubs and Thompson have reportedly engaged in talks on an extension that would be worth well below the max, and Green will be on the wrong side of 30 when his current contract ends.

Here’s more from around the Pacific division:

Determining DeAndre Jordan‘s future and getting value out of their two late-lottery picks are among the top items on the Clippers‘ offseason to-do list, Marks writes in his offseason preview for the club (Insider link). The point guard position is also something of a mystery, with Milos Teodosic holding a player option and Patrick Beverley returning from a major knee injury.
While it remains to be seen whether Mike Woodson will formally join the Suns‘ coaching staff, as rumored, the team has hired another assistant, bringing aboard Magic assistant Corliss Williamson. Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic has the story on the hiring of Williamson, who appeared in over 800 regular season games as an NBA player.
Addressing the small forward spot will be one of the Kings‘ top priorities this summer, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, who rates the position a perfect 10/10 in terms of level of need.

Andre Iguodala Out Again For Game 5

May 24th, 2018 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors forward Andre Iguodala will miss his second consecutive game in the Western Conference Finals, according to the team’s Twitter feed (Twitter link).

Iguodala has a left lateral knee contusion, suffered during Game 3 when he bumped knees with James Harden. Iguodala missed Game 4 on Tuesday, when Houston rallied in the fourth quarter to even the series at 2-all. Iguodala has started 12 of 13 postseason games, averaging 7.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.1 APG and 1.4 SPG in 27.5 MPG.

Kevon Looney could draw his second consecutive start. On the positive side, shooting guard Klay Thompson is available to play despite a left knee strain, according to the tweet.

Latest On Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala Injuries

May 24th, 2018 at 12:15pm CST by clarkcrum

MAY 24, 12:15pm: Kerr indicated today that Thompson is expected to play, while Iguodala is listed as a game-time decision (Twitter link via Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News).

MAY 23, 7:20pm: In somewhat surprising news, both Warriors forward Andre Iguodala and shooting guard Klay Thompson are listed as questionable for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals tomorrow night, per an official tweet from the team.

Head coach Steve Kerr is confident both Thompson and Iguodala will play, per Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, but the fact that both remain questionable is noteworthy nevertheless.

Iguodala, who suffered a knee contusion in Game 3, was sorely missed in the team’s Game 4 loss to the Rockets last night, while Thompson is one of the team’s four marquee stars, along with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green. Missing either one of the two could hamper the Warriors’ chances in Game 5, let alone both.

Thompson suffered a strained right knee during the second quarter of Game 4, forcing him to leave the game for several minutes before returning before halftime. Per Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area, GM Bob Myers was concerned while accompanying Thompson back in the locker room.

“Watching him try to run up and down, I thought it was bad. I was thinking meniscus or something. So then when he got back to the locker room, you can always kind of gauge a player’s concern by their mannerisms. And he just threw a towel over his face and laid down on the training table. And that’s not a good sign.”

It’ll be interesting to see how Kerr will adjust his rotation if Iguodala, Thompson, or both can’t play, but one would assume both Kevon Looney and Nick Young are logical candidates to receive the increased playing time, as they did in Game 4.