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More Than 30 NBA Players On Track To Suit Up For EuroBasket

August 18th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The first EuroBasket tournament in five years will tip off in two weeks and there are currently 34 NBA players on track to participate in the event, representing 17 different countries, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net.

EuroBasket is a 24-team international basketball competition also known as the European Basketball Championship. It historically took place every two years, but that gap was recently adjusted to four years, emulating the FIBA World Cup schedule.

The last EuroBasket tournament was played in 2017 — the next one had been scheduled for 2021, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. As a result, after being played every two years since 1947, it has now been five years since the last EuroBasket tournament, easily the longest layoff since World War II.

It’s possible that some NBA players will be cut from their teams’ rosters or will have to drop out due to injuries or personal reasons before the event begins on September 1, but in general enthusiasm to participate in the long-awaited event appears high.

Here’s the list of NBAers currently set to play in EuroBasket, per Eurohoops:

There are also multiple NBA free agents on EuroBasket rosters, including French swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and German guard Dennis Schröder.

A number of young NBA players, such as 2022 draftees Jeremy Sochan and Nikola Jovic, have dropped out to focus on getting ready for the 2022/23 season, while others, including Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) and Frank Ntilikina (France), were ruled out due to injuries.

Round robin play will begin on September 1, with each team facing the other five clubs in its group once. The top four teams in each group will advance to a 16-team bracket that begins on September 10. The final will take place on September 18, just over a week before NBA training camps get underway.

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International Notes: Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Yurtseven, Pokusevski, Jovic

August 3rd, 2022 at 9:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is looking forward to representing Serbia on the basketball court for the first time in three years, writes Johnny Askounis of EuroHoops. The two-time MVP will join the national team for a pair of 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifying games, hosting Greece August 25 and traveling to Turkey August 28.

“I feel great, similar to every time I reunite with these guys. I just met some of them,” Jokic said in advance of the Serbian team’s training camp. “We are preparing, we just started and we will see how far we can go. Up first are the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and the goal of helping Serbia qualify to the World Cup.”

Jokic also plans to participate in EuroBasket next month, and he could return for both the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics if Serbia qualifies. Jokic cited a special pride in being able to play for his home nation.

“It means a lot, I talked with my family, it’s a totally different feeling when you play for the national team,” Jokic said. “I felt different when I came here than when I go to Denver.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

  • Another MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and his brother and Bucks teammate, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, are in Athens waiting to join the Greek team for training camp, per Aris Barkas of EuroHoops. An agreement limits NBA players to 28 days of preparation before major FIBA tournaments and 14 days before the Olympics. The other Antetokounmpo brothers, Alex and Kostas, are already training with Greece. New Mavericks signee Tyler Dorsey is under the same restrictions as Giannis and Thanasis and can’t start training until Thursday.
  • Heat center Omer Yurtseven elected not to join the Turkish national team’s training camp in Italy, but he didn’t inform team officials of his decision or seek permission in advance, according to a EuroHoops report. The decision was made by Yurtseven rather than the Heat, the story adds, as the rookie center chose to stay in Miami and focus on preparing for training camp. The report notes that Yurtseven was suspended for eight games in 2018 for skipping national team activities without providing notice.
  • Thunder forward Aleksej Pokusevski and Heat rookie Nikola Jovic were denied permission by their respective teams to join Serbia for EuroBasket and the World Cup qualifiers, Askounis states in a separate story. Hawks forward Bogdan Bogdanovic is also unavailable because he’s recovering from knee surgery.
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Nuggets’ Booth Talks Offseason Moves, Murray, MPJ, Jokic

July 25th, 2022 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Following Tim Connelly‘s departure for Minnesota, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth was thrust into the lead role of Denver’s front office just weeks before the 2022 draft and wasn’t shy about immediately shaking up the roster this offseason.

Of the 17 players who currently have standard guaranteed contracts or two-way deals with the Nuggets for 2022/23, eight have joined the team since the ’21/22 season ended. That group includes wings Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown and rookies Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, among others.

Speaking to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Booth said that last year’s team was “a little bit smaller” than the front office had envisioned, so it was a priority this summer to add some size, especially on the perimeter. Upgrading the defense was also a goal, according to Booth, who discussed a few specific roster moves in his conversation with Vorkunov.

Here are a few of the most noteworthy comments from the Nuggets’ new head of basketball operations:

On the motivation for the trade that sent JaMychal Green to Oklahoma City:

“It helped us open up another roster spot to get a more regarded or better defender on the perimeter. JaMychal brought a lot of toughness and explosion around the rim and he’s a great shooter, but (defending) in space wasn’t his strength. So, it allowed us to open up a roster spot where we can get somebody that could be more versatile and switch and do something like that.”

On whether Booth thinks the defense will be better in 2022/23, particularly on the perimeter:

“Yeah, definitely do. I think, again, with the injuries, and Jamal (Murray), I think, is an underrated defender. Obviously, it’s gonna take a while to get back into tip-top form for him coming back off the injury, but I fully expect him to be a two-way guy once he’s back feeling like himself.

“But Aaron Gordon had to cover a lot of holes last year; he had to go into the backcourt a lot more probably than Coach (Michael) Malone or himself would have liked to. So, hopefully with the addition of KCP and Bruce Brown and Christian Braun and some of the guys of this nature — Davon Reed, he’s back, he does some good things for us — Aaron won’t have to go into the backcourt quite as much.”

On the plan for Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. as they return from injuries this fall:

“I definitely think they’ll both be healthy (to start the season). Especially with the nature of Mike’s injury, and even Jamal, we’ll probably have to be wary about back-to-backs and things of that nature. As we get close to the season Coach Malone and I will sit down with performance staff and map out a plan for what that looks like during the regular season.”

On attempting to maximize Nikola Jokic‘s prime years:

“That’s just a priority. That’s the No. 1 focus. Maximize the timeline. Put personnel around him that allows him to play his best and get the most out of his teammates. So, that’s the No. 1 priority in our organization right now.”

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Nuggets Notes: Murray, Hyland, Jokic, Connelly, Cousins

July 21st, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

When Jamal Murray was practicing with the Nuggets in April and weighing the possibility of returning from his ACL tear, he was more apprehensive on the defensive side of the ball than on offense, Mike Singer of The Denver Post said on the HoopsHype podcast with Michael Scotto.

“He was concerned about fighting around screens, getting dinged, diving for loose balls, and that half-second hesitancy that might still be there as a result of that ACL tear he had,” Singer said.

However, that hesitancy was no longer evident when Murray practiced with Denver’s Summer League team a few weeks ago, according to Singer, who suggests that Denver’s decision to trade Monte Morris signals the club is confident in Murray’s ability to return strong in 2022/23.

The Morris trade was also a sign that Bones Hyland will have a bigger role going forward, according to Scotto, who has heard that the 2021 first-rounder has put on six pounds of muscle this offseason and is working out twice a day as he prepares for a minutes bump in the fall.

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

  • Singer suggests that if Morris had reached free agency this summer, he likely would’ve earned a deal in the range of $14-15MM annually, as opposed to the $9MM he’ll make on his current deal. The Nuggets’ reluctance to pay that much to retain the point guard once his contract expires in 2024 was one reason why the team was willing to move him. As for Will Barton, his age (32 in January), injury history, and defensive limitations were factors in Denver’s decision to trade him, per Singer.
  • People around the Nuggets were “pinching themselves” when Nikola Jokic signed a five-year extension to remain with the team and appreciated that those negotiations were drama-free, according to Singer. As Singer points out, Denver is typically viewed as “a place where (star) free agents don’t want to come,” so Jokic’s decision to commit long-term was a testament to the relationship he has built with the franchise. Of course, the fact that he’ll be in line for a projected $270MM (an NBA record) on the five-year deal probably didn’t hurt either.
  • Singer believes that if the Nuggets had offered president of basketball operations Tim Connelly an extension worth about $5-6MM per year before the Timberwolves began pursuing him in earnest, he likely would’ve been “eager to stay” in Denver. However, the Nuggets were unwilling to match the five-year, $40MM offer Minnesota eventually made.
  • Singer got the impression there was some “friction” behind the scenes with DeMarcus Cousins last season, which is one reason why the Nuggets signed DeAndre Jordan this summer to fill that backup center role.
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Nuggets Sign Jack White To Two-Way Contract

July 19th, 2022 at 9:45pm CST by JD Shaw

JULY 19: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 17: The Nuggets are signing Australian forward Jack White to a two-way contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). As Wojnarowski notes, White is coming off a strong summer league stint with the team.

White, 6’7″, played four seasons at Duke before going undrafted in 2020. He signed with the NBL’s Melbourne United that summer, helping the team win a title in his first professional season. The 24-year-old also averaged 9.5 points and 6.6 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game this past year.

“This is an amazing opportunity for me to take another step towards living out my dream of playing in the NBA, so I couldn’t be more grateful to the Nuggets for giving me a shot,” White said, as relayed in Melbourne United’s press release.

Denver now has both two-way spots and every spot on its 15-man roster filled. The team has a strong nucleus of Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic and expects to be a perennial championship contender next season.

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Northwest Notes: Blazers, Watford, Hardy, Jokic, Russell, Finch

July 17th, 2022 at 8:39pm CST by JD Shaw

The Trail Blazers defeated the Knicks on Sunday to win the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League championship, winning the contest 85-77. Portland was led by Trendon Watford, who finished with 19 points and was named the championship game MVP.

In addition to his 19 points, Watford also recorded seven rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block, shooting 7-of-15 from the floor. The Blazers finished 4-1 during summer league play and also received a strong performance from two-way player Brandon Williams (22 points) in the final game.

There’s more from the Northwest Division this evening:

  • Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe interviewed new Jazz coach Will Hardy, who recently joined Utah after serving as an assistant with the Celtics. Hardy reflected on his experience with Boston, which included a successful trip to the NBA Finals. “It’s not lost on me that what our guys in Boston did on the floor is a huge reason why I had an opportunity to get this job,” Hardy said. “I think sometimes we can get a little bit full of ourselves as coaches thinking we’re the reason, and I think we’re a part of it. We have a role in the team, and the success of last year, I think the coaching staff had a part of that. But the players and what they did in between the lines and their winning … that’s a huge reason I got this job. So I feel very fortunate for the year in Boston for a variety of reasons.”
  • Mike Singer of the Denver Post examines how Nikola Jokic‘s super-max extension become a family reunion this summer. Jokic was joined by Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth and other staff members in his home country of Serbia before signing the extension.
  • The Timberwolves are hoping Rudy Gobert can help unlock the best version of D’Angelo Russell next season, head coach Chris Finch said, as relayed by Chris Hine of the Star Tribune. Hine and Finch also discussed a variety of other topics, including what the offense will look like, how Finch wants to see Jaden McDaniels grow, and more.
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Contract Details: Kornet, Wall, Jokic, Garland, Reed, More

July 13th, 2022 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Luke Kornet‘s new two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Celtics includes multiple salary guarantee dates this year, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Currently, Kornet’s $2.13MM salary for 2022/23 is only partially guaranteed for $100K, but that guarantee would increase to $300K if the big man remains under contract through August 15. If Kornet makes Boston’s regular season roster, half of his salary (approximately $1.07MM) would become guaranteed.

Kornet’s deal with the Celtics doesn’t include any guarantee triggers beyond that, so his ’22/23 salary would become fully guaranteed after the league-wide salary guarantee deadline in January. His ’23/24 salary is non-guaranteed and would become fully guaranteed if he remains under contract through January 7, 2024.

Here are a few more details on newly signed contracts:

  • The second year of John Wall‘s two-year deal with the Clippers is a team option, Hoops Rumors has learned. Los Angeles used its full $6,479,000 taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Wall.
  • Nikola Jokic‘s super-max extension with the Nuggets and Darius Garland‘s new maximum-salary extension with the Cavaliers both feature 15% trade kickers.
  • Davon Reed‘s two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Nuggets is fully guaranteed in year one and non-guaranteed in year two. Reed’s second-year salary will become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived by July 8, 2023.
  • The Magic used a portion of their mid-level exception to sign second-round pick Caleb Houstan to a four-year contract that includes guaranteed $2MM salaries in each of the first two seasons. The third and fourth years are worth the minimum and are non-guaranteed — there’s also a team option on the fourth year.
  • As expected, the Lakers signed second-rounder Max Christie to a two-year, minimum-salary contract. That deal will be fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. L.A. couldn’t offer Christie more than two years or more than the rookie minimum after using the full taxpayer mid-level exception on Lonnie Walker.
  • Michael Foster Jr.‘s deal with the Sixers is an Exhibit 10 contract, meaning the team has the option of converting it into a two-way contract before the season.
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Nuggets Sign Nikola Jokic To Super-Max Extension

July 8th, 2022 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: Jokic’s super-max extension is now official, the Nuggets announced today in a press release.

JUNE 30: The Nuggets and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic have agreed to terms on a five-year, super-max extension that projects to be the richest contract in NBA history, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Jokic has one year remaining on his current contract, so his new deal will begin in 2023/24 and will be worth 35% of that year’s cap, with subsequent 8% raises.

With the NBA now projecting a $133MM cap for ’23/24, per Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), Jokic is on track to earn a starting salary of $46.55MM and a total of $269.99MM across five seasons.

The contract will include a player option in the fifth year, per Charania. Jokic’s salary for that season (2027/28) projects to be worth $61.45MM. The deal will also include a trade kicker, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Jokic, who met the criteria for a super-max extension a year ago when he won his first Most Valuable Player award, wasn’t technically eligible to sign such a deal until this year, when he had seven years of NBA experience under his belt.

He cemented his case for that super-max deal by winning a second MVP award in 2021/22, establishing new career highs in PPG (27.1), RPG (13.8), and FG% (.583) while also averaging 7.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in 74 contests (33.5 MPG).

This extension agreement had long been anticipated. Jokic’s agent Misko Raznatovic said earlier in the year that he anticipated his client would sign a super-max extension, and the center himself confirmed in April that he’d accept the offer if the Nuggets put it on the table.

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Extensions Imminent For Jokic, Booker, Towns, Morant, More

June 30th, 2022 at 3:41pm CST by Rory Maher

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Suns guard Devin Booker, Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns, and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant are all expected to reach verbal agreements with their respective teams on new long-term contract extensions soon after the NBA’s new league year begins tonight, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link).

Pelicans forward Zion Williamson and Cavaliers guard Darius Garland are also “widely expected” to receive extensions this offseason, Stein notes (via Twitter).

Morant, Williamson, and Garland will be eligible for rookie scale extensions, with the exact figures yet to be determined. Rookie scale extensions are available for former first-round picks entering their fourth seasons. The three players’ offers will likely include Rose Rule language that allows them to earn a starting salary of up to 30% of the 2023/24 salary cap (instead of 25%) if they meets certain performance criteria.

Even though Morant, for example, earned an All-NBA spot this year, he would have to make an All-NBA team again next season to qualify for the higher max — the Rose Rule criteria require a player to make All-NBA in either the season before his new contract goes into effect or in two of the three prior seasons.

Williamson’s extension could take a little longer to figure out, given that he’s appeared in just 85 career games and missed all of last season after setbacks following foot surgery last summer. Still, Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin said he was “confident” that an agreement would be reached, the only question is how much money will be guaranteed up front.

Jokic, Booker, and Towns will all be eligible for super-max extensions, also known as Designated Veteran Extensions, worth up to 35% of the salary cap. At least one of the following must be a true for a player to be eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension:

  • He was named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
  • He was named NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.
  • He was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.

Booker and Towns both made All-NBA teams this past season, and Jokic was named the back-to-back MVP in addition to making All-NBA teams the past four seasons.

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard is also likely to receive a two-year extension worth in excess of $100MM once the new league year begins, as relayed by Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report and Stein (Twitter links).

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Fischer’s Latest: Turner, Sixers, Thybulle, Jazz, Micic

June 23rd, 2022 at 8:31am CST by Luke Adams

As the Pacers continue to weigh the possibility of trading center Myles Turner, the Timberwolves, Raptors, and Hornets are among the teams believed to be interested, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

According to Fischer, the Knicks have showed interest in Turner in recent years too, but the expectation is that they’d only be a serious suitor for the big man if Mitchell Robinson leaves in free agency.

Here’s more from Fischer:

  • The Sixers have called “a healthy portion” of the teams around the NBA in an effort to gauge their interest in Tobias Harris, Danny Green, and Matisse Thybulle, sources tell Bleacher Report. Fischer suggests Philadelphia has been trying to find teams that would give up a first-round pick for Thybulle as part of a three-team trade that would send an impact veteran rotation to the 76ers.
  • The Jazz are seeking a first-round pick in exchange for any of their rotation players besides Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, according to Fischer, who adds that Royce O’Neale is generating significant trade interest around the NBA.
  • Nikola Jokic is thought to be a “driving factor” in the Nuggets‘ interest in Serbian point guard Vasilije Micic, a draft-and-stash EuroLeague star whose NBA rights are held by the Thunder. The Spurs, Bucks, and Bulls have also been mentioned as potential suitors for Micic, Fischer reports.
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