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World Cup Notes: SGA, Brooks, Doncic, F. Wagner

September 7th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has separated himself from the field in the race for World Cup MVP, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet. The Thunder guard had 31 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday against Slovenia and has been outstanding while leading Canada to its first semifinals appearance in tournament history.

Among those impressed by SGA’s exploits is Canadian star Steve Nash, who served as general manager of the national team and had him on the roster for an Olympic qualifying tournament in 2016. Although Gilgeous-Alexander was just a teenager at the time and barely played, Nash could tell he had the potential to become something special.

“I mean, he’s got it, right?” Nash said. “He has the game, the feel, the understanding of his responsibility in the moment. It’s just a beautiful thing when you have a player like that in your arsenal.”

There’s more on the World Cup:

Canadian coach Jordi Fernandez credited Dillon Brooks for his strong defensive effort against Luka Doncic in the win over Slovenia, per Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. The Slovenians were upset by some of Brooks’ tactics before both players were ejected in the fourth quarter, but Fernandez doesn’t mind if Brooks takes the same approach in the semifinals against Serbia. “If they complain, they complain,” he said. “We have to play our game and we have to keep our composure, so we can control what we can control. I think yesterday we did a great job as a team defensively and especially Dillon put on a defensive clinic and it should be in a FIBA museum at some point.”
Doncic was upset at not getting more foul calls and made a money-sign gesture toward FIBA officials during the game, but he and Slovenia remain on good terms with the organization, Barkas adds in a separate story. Doncic downplayed the incident in a post-game press conference, according to Barkas, and Slovenian Federation president Matej Erjavec sat with FIBA secretary general Andreas Zaglis for Thursday’s contest against Lithuania.
Franz Wagner is confident that German teammate Dennis Schröder will bounce back in Friday’s semifinal meeting with Team USA after shooting 4-of-26 from the field against Latvia, relays George Efkarpidis of Eurohoops. Wagner also discussed the ankle injury that sidelined him for much of the tournament before he returned for the quarterfinals. “We tried to do as much rehab, icing, all that stuff as much as possible, and I think we did a really good job,” Wagner said. “And then the last week or so, I started working out on the court and was able to do a little bit more. I did a bunch of conditioning stuff, too, just so I can play again.”

And-Ones: Ignite, 2024 Draft, Unsuccessful Pairings, Eddy Curry

September 7th, 2023 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The G League Ignite’s impressive collection of talent was on display Wednesday night in Nevada, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. Six players who may be selected in next year’s draft were on the court for the Ignite, and a seventh, Thierry Darlan of France, missed the game against Perth, Australia, with an ankle injury.

The biggest attraction was guard Ron Holland, whom Hollinger considers the “betting favorite” to be the top pick in 2024. Hollinger adds that Holland isn’t a clear-cut No. 1 choice like Victor Wembanyama was this year, but he looked good in his first pro game, using a mix of explosiveness and ferocity to put up 23 points.

“Ron is very, very competitive” Ignite coach Jason Hart said. “So now I’m wanting to channel it to where the opposition doesn’t know if you’re mad or you’re happy. I just told him to relax, calm down … I think he heard me. But that’s going to be a process because he’s so competitive, and I don’t want to take that from him. That’s his thing; he’s just has to learn how to use it.”

Matas Buzelis and Izan Almansa, who are projected to be top-10 picks, also showed off their skills, Hollinger adds, along with Tyler Smith, London Johnson and Perth prospects Alex Sarr and Ben Henshall. The teams will meet again on Friday.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

Buzelis tops the first mock draft posted by Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. O’Connor sees the 6’9″ point forward as a comfortable fit for any team because he’s capable of running the offense and reliably hitting mid-range jumpers. Buzelis will have to get stronger and improve his defense throughout the season to keep his No. 1 ranking, O’Connor adds. Rounding out O’Connor’s top five are Holland, Baylor’s Ja’Kobe Walter, UConn’s Stephon Castle and Almansa.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report looks at NBA combinations that haven’t worked out, starting with the Timberwolves‘ pairing of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. He also mentions Trae Young and Dejounte Murray in the Hawks‘ backcourt, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George with the Clippers, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland with the Cavaliers, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving with the Mavericks and Joel Embiid and James Harden with the Sixers.
Former No. 4 overall pick Eddy Curry talks to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic about how he was able to find peace by helping others after a tumultuous playing career. At age 40, Curry is working as a consultant in Texas, advising young players as they deal with the challenges of basketball stardom.

Southwest Notes: Luka, Brooks, Mavs, Whitmore, Branham

September 6th, 2023 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters after Slovenia’s loss to Canada on Wednesday, Mavericks star Luka Doncic claimed that the FIBA officials said they weren’t inclined to give him foul calls due to the way he was arguing with them all night, as Aris Barkas of Eurohoops relays.

“The refs told one of the guys, ‘We’re not going to call a foul on him because he’s coming at us,'” Doncic said. “I know I complain a lot, but I don’t think this is fair. They were playing physically against me, but that’s not fair, to say something like this.”

Both Doncic and Rockets forward Dillon Brooks were ejected from the game with technical fouls in the fourth quarter — Doncic for objecting to a non-call and Brooks for taunting. Brooks was the primary defender on Doncic and guarded him aggressively for much of the game. However, Doncic said his anger wasn’t aimed at Brooks.

“I respect Dillon, he is very physical,” Doncic said. “People may not like him, but I respect him for what he does. And he does that really good.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The Mavericks will benefit a little financially from JaVale McGee‘s contract with Sacramento, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Dallas will receive $697,340 in “set-off” based on McGee’s new deal, and that amount will spread across the five years he remains on the team’s books, reducing his annual cap hits by $139,468.
Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore, the MVP of the Las Vegas Summer League in July, spoke to Kelly Iko of The Athletic about his experience in Vegas and his expectations for his first NBA season. According to Whitmore, his focus when he reports to the team this fall will be on learning his role. “Whatever the coaching staff wants me to do, I’ll do it,” Whitmore said. “If they mention something to me, I’ll make sure it’s taken care of. I’m all ears in training camp.”
As he prepares for his second NBA season, Spurs wing Malaki Branham has spent the offseason in gyms in San Antonio, Washington, D.C., and even in Madrid during his first ever trip overseas, part of an NBPA retreat. As Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes in a subscriber-only story, Branham is optimistic that the work he has put into improving his game this summer will be readily apparent in the fall. “Even the guys I’ve seen since I’ve been back are like, ‘I see you’ve been in the gym a lot this summer,'” Branham said.

World Cup Semifinals Set; Serbia, Germany Qualify For Olympics

September 6th, 2023 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

Germany completed a comeback win over Latvia on Wednesday to earn a place in the World Cup semifinals, while Canada defeated Slovenia to claim a spot in the final four as well.

The World Cup semifinal games, which will take place on Friday, are as follows:

United States vs. Germany
Canada vs. Serbia

Although Team USA will enter the semifinal as a heavy favorite, Germany is the only undefeated team left in the tournament, having come out victorious in all six of their games so far.

The Germans, who got Magic forward Franz Wagner back on Wednesday following an ankle injury, recovered from an early deficit and overcame an off day from guard Dennis Schröder, who made just four of his 26 shot attempts from the floor. The rest of the team shot 54.5% (24-of-44), with Wagner contributing a team-high 16 points to overcome Davis Bertans (20 points) and the Latvians by a score of 81-79.

The Canadians, meanwhile, pulled away from Luka Doncic and the Slovenians in a strong third quarter and won 100-89, earning their first-ever berth in a World Cup semifinal.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points on 8-of-12 shooting) and RJ Barrett (24 points on 9-of-22 shooting) scored more than half of Canada’s points, while Dillon Brooks (14 points on 5-of-7 shooting) chipped in and played tough defense on Doncic, who scored 26 points on 8-of-20 shooting. Both Doncic and Brooks were ejected during a chippy fourth quarter.

While Latvia and Slovenia will join Lithuania and Italy in the classification games to determine the fifth-through-eight seeds, Germany and Serbia have assured themselves of spots in the 2024 Olympics by finishing as the top two European teams in the World Cup, regardless of the semifinal outcomes.

The eight teams that have qualified for the Paris Olympics so far are the United States, Canada, Germany, Serbia, France, Australia, Japan, and South Sudan. The remaining four spots will be claimed next summer in a series of qualifying tournaments.

Northwest Notes: Giddey, Australia, Markkanen, Nuggets

August 31st, 2023 at 12:36pm CST by Rory Maher

The Australian national team reshaped its starting lineup ahead of the 2023 World Cup, with Thunder guard Josh Giddey taking over as the team’s lead play-maker, writes Olgun Uluc of ESPN.

The results have been a little uneven through three games at the World Cup, which is to be expected with different players playing together. Still, the Boomers advanced out of their group after going 2-1, and they believe the move will pay long-term dividends, per Uluc.

“Josh Giddey’s growth throughout his career has just been astounding,” Boomers assistant coach Adam Caporn said. “Being around him, you see why. Every game, he’s studying the opposition, he’s improving things, he’s got great feedback and input for us on what he needs and what he feels like the team needs. It’s really great having that level of floor leader out there. Super fun. The ball will be in his hands a lot, and he’s gonna do a lot of great things.”

Giddey, 20, is averaging 19.0 PPG, 7.3 APG and 5.0 RPG on .528/.222/.684 shooting thus far (28.7 MPG).

Here’s more from the Northwest:

Next up for Australia is a rematch of the bronze medal game from the Tokyo Olympics, with the Boomers set to face off against Slovenia on Friday. Giddey says he’s looking forward to competing against Mavericks star Luka Doncic, according to Uluc. “It’s a lot of fun,” the Thunder‘s 2021 lottery pick said of Doncic. “Obviously a lot of people are here to see him. He carries a heavy load for Slovenia, so a lot of our game plan is gonna revolve around him, just like it did with Lauri [Markkanen] and Yuta [Watanabe] tonight. We’ve had the opportunity to play against these teams where they have a superstar or an NBA player, so Luka is obviously on a different level, but we’ve got Josh Green, Matisse [Thybulle] — those types of guys — for that job. We’ll be ready for it. Just one game at a time, and keep moving forward.”
The Finnish national team has been eliminated from medal contention at the World Cup, but the team is still competing in the classification games. On Thursday, Jazz star Lauri Markkanen was dominant in Finland’s victory over Cape Verde, recording a game-high 34 points (on 12-of-19 shooting), nine rebounds and a game-high plus-23 in 27 minutes of action, notes Eurohoops.net.
Former Nuggets point guard Andre Miller will return as head coach of the Grand Rapids Gold for a second season in 2023/24, the team announced in a press release. The Nuggets’ NBA G League affiliate will also have a new general manager in Ben Tenzer, who will continue to serve as Denver’s vice president of basketball operations. Travess Armenta will be the Gold’s new associate head coach. Armenta has had various roles with the Nuggets and Gold over the years, per the release.

Southwest Notes: Doncic, World Cup, Ingram, Whitmore

August 26th, 2023 at 8:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

The early end to the Mavericks‘ season after failing to reach the play-in tournament had nothing to do with Luka Doncic‘s decision to participate in the World Cup, writes Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. Speaking to reporters after dropping 37 points in a victory over Venezuela, Doncic said he wants to represent Slovenia whenever possible.

“There is no difference,” he said. “Every time I can play for the national team, I will play. Representing your country, you are always motivated, no matter what happens in the season. Obviously, it was disappointing that we could not make the playoffs, but playing for your country is special. It is from the heart. And representing your country, it is amazing.”

One of the benefits of being in the tournament for Doncic is a chance to play against Edy Tavares of Cape Verde, whom Slovenia will face on Wednesday. They were teammates with Real Madrid, and the 31-year-old center captured MVP honors at the EuroLeague Final Four in May.

“It is going to be special to play against him,” Doncic said. “I never played against him. It is going to be very tough.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Doncic recently signed a contract extension with Jordan Brand, Marc Stein reveals in his latest Substack article. Sources tell Stein that the deal will continue Doncic’s relationship with the company through 2029. The Mavericks star debuted his second signature shoe, the Luka 2 Matador, in a recent exhibition game. Doncic will continue to have significant input into how the shoes are designed and marketed, according to Stein.
Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram is the newest Jordan Brand client, per Christian Clark of NOLA. The company announced Saturday that it has signed Ingram to a multi-year footwear and apparel contract. “Signing with Jordan Brand is a game-changer,” Ingram said. “A life-changer, and now that it is a reality, I can’t wait to do special things together on and off the court.” Clark notes that Ingram was previously affiliated with Adidas, but he didn’t have a shoe contract the past two seasons.
Cam Whitmore narrates a behind-the-scenes video about the Rockets‘ Summer League team, according to Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire. The rookie forward surprisingly slipped to 20th in the NBA draft, but he bounced back by earning MVP honors in Las Vegas. “It felt like that it was meant to be,” Whitmore said in the video. “There was a reason I dropped to 20. Now I’m the Summer League MVP. I knew it wasn’t for nothing. All the work is paying off.”

World Cup Notes: Neto, Jones, Doncic, Bogdanovic

August 26th, 2023 at 12:03pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Brazilian guard Raul Neto ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee during Brazil’s 2023 FIBA World Cup opener against Iran, Eurohoops.net reports. Neto will miss the rest of the World Cup.

It’s a brutal blow for Neto, who recently signed overseas with Turkish club Fenerbahce. In a recent interview with Eurohoops, the veteran spoke about his excitement for joining one of the top overseas clubs. Neto, who played in the NBA from 2015-23, didn’t rule out a return stateside, but said he was a bit disappointed not to receive a contract offer.

Neto averaged 8.7 points per game with the Wizards in 2020/21. After leaving Washington in 2022, he signed with the Cavaliers, where he spent all of last year, but he didn’t play much.

“I just think that the NBA season… it’s very hard if you aren’t a role player,” Neto said. “It’s hard on you. You don’t play much.”

Neto, 31, was hoping that his time with Fenerbahce would allow him to see the floor more and show that he’s still got his guard skills, according to his interview with Eurohoops. However, this recent injury puts his time with Fenerbahce in doubt. Patellar tendon ruptures typically take six-to-12 months to recover from, so it’s safe to say that Neto’s ’23/24 season is in jeopardy.

The Brazilian guard was poised to be a significant part of not only Brazil’s national team, but also Fenerbahce, as he was essentially signed to replace Nick Calathes.

We have more World Cup notes:

Bulls guard Carlik Jones, playing with South Sudan in the World Cup, put up a record-breaking performance in the team’s opening loss to Puerto Rico. Jones recorded 38 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and four steals in the defeat, hitting four of his nine attempts from downtown. According to HoopsHype, that is the best scoring mark for any African national team at the World Cup. He also recorded the first 30-point, 10-assist game in tournament history. This was South Sudan’s World Cup debut. Jones is signed to a non-guaranteed deal for the Bulls — it becomes partially guaranteed for $250K if he makes the opening-night roster.
Mavericks star guard Luka Doncic made a statement in Slovenia’s opening game of the World Cup, putting up 37 points in their matchup with Venezuela. Doncic’s 37 points were a tournament high briefly before Jones had his record-setting performance. Former NBA center Mike Tobey had a terrific game for Slovenia, putting up 21 points on 9 of 9 shooting.
Serbia’s World Cup experience has been a roller coaster so far. While the team blew out China 105-63, it also lost center Filip Petrusev due to injury. Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic is one of the leaders on Serbia’s team and spoke about its World Cup experience thus far in a recent interview with Eurohoops. “We expect the next two games to be much harder than the first against China. They’re both experienced teams, with a lot of good players,” he said of the schedule. Serbia takes on South Sudan and Puerto Rico next. In the interview, Bogdanovic talked about his main goal for the World Cup, which is to qualify for the Olympics and medal in the event.
In case you missed it, we had more World Cup notes on Friday.

World Cup Notes: Edwards, Team USA, Rocket Launch, Canada

August 24th, 2023 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Edwards has become the star of Team USA, but Steve Kerr and the rest of the coaching staff originally pictured him in a sixth-man role, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. When the coaches held their first vote on starters, they put Cameron Johnson in the lineup instead of Edwards. That changed by the second scrimmage, and Edwards’ role in the first five is now secure.

“I mean, of course I wasn’t cool with it,” Edwards said. “If that’s what it takes, I mean, I am willing to do it, but nah, I’m never cool with that. … (Coach Steve Kerr) said Dwyane Wade came off the bench when Kobe (Bryant) played. I was like, all right, we don’t have a Kobe, but all right.”

Kerr was referring to the 2008 Olympic team, where Wade was the top scorer as the sixth man. The coaches may have envisioned Edwards coming off the bench to spark the offense, but he’s proved throughout camp and exhibition play that he’s capable of more than that. Kerr referred to Edwards as “the guy” after his 34-point outburst Sunday against Germany, and his teammates agree.

“Yeah, I think so, (because of) his aggressiveness and confidence,” Mikal Bridges said. “(There are) so many guys that can go out there and score as well, but him going out there and scoring the ball helps us a lot. So I have no problem with that term at all.”

There’s more as the World Cup tournament prepares to tip off:

Team USA held its first practice Wednesday at the venue in the Philippines where it will play all its World Cup games, according to The Associated Press. Okinawa, Japan, and Jakarta, Indonesia, will also serve as host cities for pool play, but the medal rounds will be held in Manila, so the Americans won’t have to travel if they advance.
Preparations in Okinawa weren’t affected by a North Korean rocket launch on Thursday, but some of the players were shaken up, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The launch was unsuccessful, and practices and press conferences went on as scheduled. “It was a little scary,” Luka Doncic said. “I didn’t sleep much.”
Canada has officially released its final World Cup roster, which includes seven current NBA players. After going 3-2 in exhibition play, Canada will face France, Lebanon and Latvia in pool play.

Mavericks Notes: Jones, Survey, Doncic Docuseries

August 22nd, 2023 at 7:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks added forward Derrick Jones Jr. on a one-year guaranteed contract over the weekend. So what can Dallas expect from Jones?

Jones’ athleticism is well-known, considering he won the All-Star dunk contest in 2020. He’s also a superior shot-blocker who can guard multiple positions, according to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com.

“His versatility on both ends of the floor will allow us to utilize his skill set and athleticism in a variety of different lineups,” Mavs GM Nico Harrison said when the team signed Jones.

We have more on the Mavs:

A fan survey conducted by The Athletic’s Tim Cato produced some interesting results. Outside of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Josh Green gained the most votes for “favorite current player.” Among the respondents, 54 percent had a confidence level of 5 (the highest amount) that Doncic and Irving are capable of being the two best players on a title contender. However, the survey revealed little confidence in Jason Kidd’s coaching ability.
Doncic is documenting Slovenia’s experience in the FIBA World Cup this summer. He’ll be self-producing and releasing, “Everything It Takes,” a short-form docuseries that will provide an inside look on its journey throughout the tournament, according to BreAnna Bell of Variety.com.
Dallas is waiving JaVale McGee and adding Markieff Morris. Get the details here.

Mavericks Notes: Green, Hardy, Doncic

August 18th, 2023 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have opened contract extension talks with fourth-year swingman Josh Green, according to veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link). As we outlined earlier this week, Green will be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension up until October 23, the day before the 2023/24 regular season tips off.

Green said in Australia earlier this week that it would be “amazing” to sign a contract that would keep him in Dallas long-term, and it appears the two sides have mutual interest in making that happen.

The 18th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Green played a modest role for the Mavs as a rookie and saw a slight uptick in playing time during his second year. But it wasn’t really until 2022/23 that he emerged as an important rotation player for the club, averaging 9.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 25.7 minutes per game across 60 contests (21 starts). He also shot an impressive 53.7% from the field, including 40.2% on three-pointers.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscriber link) breaks down some of the factors that the Mavericks will have to consider as they weigh a possible extension for Green. Signing him this year would make him difficult to trade during the 2023/24 season due to the poison pill provision, and would further reduce the club’s cap flexibility in 2024 and beyond, Townsend notes.
Within the same story, Townsend cites a Mavericks official who says that Green and/or Jaden Hardy have been the subject of virtually every trade inquiry the team has received this offseason. Dallas has been “steadfast” so far in refusing to considering moving either youngster, per Townsend, who adds that Green looks like the franchise’s small forward of the future.
In his final installment of his player tier rankings, Seth Partnow of The Athletic places Mavericks star Luka Doncic in his “1B” tier, alongside Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid. The only players ranked higher by Partnow are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, and Nikola Jokic, who occupy the “1A” tier. As Partnow explains, concerns related to Doncic’s defense, conditioning, and ability to play off the ball alongside a second star are holding him back from joining that very top tier.