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Nikola Jokic

And-Ones: Brantley, NBA Awards, Seattle, Brogdon

March 5th, 2022 at 11:59am CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA player Jarrell Brantley has been sued by Russia’s UNICS Kazan after he left the country, Ian Begley on SNY.tv tweets. The Russian club has sued Brantley for $250K after he returned to the U.S. with his wife and infant daughter. The forward will pursue G League opportunities but he could be blocked from playing in that league because he requires permission from Kazan. Brantley played 37 games with the Jazz from 2019-21.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • It’s a coin flip between Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic in the race for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, Zach Harper of The Athletic opines. Ja Morant has moved up to the third spot with his offensive outbursts in recent weeks. Harper updates his rankings on numerous postseason awards in his column.
  • Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell is confident the NBA will return to the city, but the league denied that any expansion plan is in the works, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports writes. “The odds are high,” Harrell said. “We’re very intentional about it. I chase down rumors and I chase down actual people in a position to make that happen. I feel good about our opportunity.” A league spokesman told NBC Sports that there’s “no truth” to a report that expansion is on the front burner this offseason.
  • Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon has some interest in playing for the Polish national team and the country’s basketball federation will try to make it a reality, according to a Eurohoops.net report. Brogdon’s connection to Poland comes from his wife, who has Polish roots and relatives who live in the country.
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Agent Anticipates Jokic Will Sign Super-Max Deal In Offseason

March 2nd, 2022 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Misko Raznatovic, the agent for Nikola Jokic, expects the star center to sign a super-max contract extension with the Nuggets during the 2022 offseason, he said during an appearance on Donatas Urbonas’ podcast at BasketNews.com.

“According to our expectations, it should be signed this summer,” Raznatovic said. “The extension of the maximum amount, what he obviously deserved.”

Raznatovic’s comments are essentially just further confirmation of an outcome that has long been anticipated.

Jokic qualified for a super-max contract – also known as a designated veteran extension – when he won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award in 2021. However, he only had six years of NBA service at that time, and a player signing a super-max deal, which starts at 35% of the salary cap instead of 30%, must have at least seven years under his belt. So even though he had met the performance criteria, Jokic had to wait one more year to extend his contract.

The 27-year-old has done nothing this season to dissuade the Nuggets from putting that super-max offer on the table, having averaged 25.5 points, 13.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 1.4 steals on .567/.364/.806 shooting in 55 games (33.0 MPG).

Jokic, who will be eligible to officially sign his extension once the new league year begins in July, can tack five new years onto the final season of his current contract, which will pay him $33.6MM in 2022/23. We can’t yet pin down the exact value of the reigning MVP’s super-max extension, since it will be based on the salary cap in 2023/24.

Last month, the NBA projected a $121MM salary cap for the ’22/23 season, so it’s a safe bet that number will continue to rise the following year — we just don’t know by how much. For instance, if the ’23/24 salary cap is $124MM, Jokic’s five-year extension would be worth $251.7MM. A $128MM cap would result in a $259.8MM deal.

No matter what the precise amount of the extension is, it’ll be a record-setting payday for Jokic, one that his agent expects him to take in stride.

“Luka Doncic organized a nice party for his last contract that put some kind of challenge primarily for me because I am very well known for organizing parties and participating in social life,” Raznatovic told Urbonas with a smile. “But knowing Nikola, probably nothing will happen, and everything will be the same. Just one piece of paper to be signed.”

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Northwest Notes: Towns, Presti, LeBron, Jazz, Jokic

February 20th, 2022 at 9:31pm CST by JD Shaw

Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns staked his claim of being the greatest shooting big man ever by winning the three-point contest on Saturday, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes.

Towns defeated several guards and wings to win the contest, including Trae Young, Zach LaVine and Patty Mills. He’s averaging 24.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game this season, shooting 41% from three-point range. Prior to this season, he’s shot above 40% from deep in three of his six campaigns.

“I remember everyone told me to do the same way. ‘Have your back to the basket. Why is Karl shooting 3s? There’s no reason for him shooting 3s. We’re experts. We know better than you,'” Towns said. “Me and my dad said screw them. We’re going to do it our way.”

Here are some other notes from Northwest:

  • Thunder general manager Sam Presti recently received praise from LeBron James, who called him the MVP of Oklahoma City’s franchise, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. “The MVP over there is Sam Presti. He’s the MVP,” James said when asked about Josh Giddey and the Thunder. “I mean, Josh Giddey is great. But Sam Presti, I don’t understand this guy’s eye for talent. He drafted [Kevin Durant], Russ [Westbrook], Jeff Green, Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Josh Giddey and the list goes on and on and on. This guy is pretty damn good.”
  • The Jazz will have many questions to answer after the All-Star break, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News writes. Utah is 36-22 on the season, dropping a 106-101 road game to the Lakers before the break. “Come back ready to go,” Donovan Mitchell said on what needs to happen. “We have no choice. It’s not like we can say anything else. We have no choice but to be ready.”
  • Mike Singer of The Denver Post explores the story of how Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic once hated a Denver assistant coach. Jokic and the coach, Ogi Stojakovic, are now great friends. “He’s like a big brother, like a mentor, father, he’s like a really good friend,” Jokic said of Stojakovic. “He’s really everything. … How much he helps me on the court, he helps me off the court just to get out of the basketball … We hang out, for real. When we have a day off, my family is always with his family.”
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And-Ones: MVP Race, I. Thomas, Draft, I. Clark

February 17th, 2022 at 9:46am CST by Luke Adams

The top two finishers in last season’s MVP voting appear to be the top two candidates for this year’s award too, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Bontemps recently conducted a straw poll of 100 media members and found that Sixers center Joel Embiid narrowly – and unofficially – leads Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic in the MVP race.

As Bontemps details, Embiid received 45 first-place votes from the poll respondents, while Jokic got 43. Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (nine), Suns guard Chris Paul (two), and Warriors guard Stephen Curry (one) were the other players who got first-place votes. Interestingly, Embiid was the only player to show up on all 100 five-player ballots, while Jokic was left off five.

Curry received 94 first-place votes when Bontemps conducted a similar straw poll in December, but the veteran sharpshooter has slowed down since his hot start, while players like Embiid, Jokic, and Antetokounmpo have made stronger MVP pushes.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Free agent guard Isaiah Thomas is expected to rejoin the Grand Rapids Gold – the Nuggets‘ G League affiliate – after the All-Star break, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link). Thomas had a very brief stint in Grand Rapids in December, scoring 42 points in his only NBAGL game before getting called up to the NBA. Thomas signed 10-day contracts with the Lakers and Mavericks before returning to the open market.
  • Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has published a new 2022 mock draft, while Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has updated his top-50 big board. Both draft experts currently have Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren at No. 1 and Jabari Smith of Auburn at No. 2, with Purdue’s Jaden Ivey moving up to No. 3 ahead of Duke’s Paolo Banchero.
  • Veteran guard Ian Clark, who has 330 regular season appearances on his NBA résumé and won a title with Golden State in 2017, has signed with the Sydney Kings, the Australian team recently announced in a press release. Clark played in 60 games for New Orleans in 2018/19, but has been out of the NBA since then.
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LeBron Chooses Giannis, Curry In All-Star Draft; Durant Picks Embiid, Morant

February 10th, 2022 at 7:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After James Harden was traded away from the Nets on Thursday, former teammate Kevin Durant opted not to pick him in the All-Star draft conducted on Thursday night. Harden was the last player chosen by LeBron James for Team LeBron, as the league announced (via Twitter).

LeBron’s starters, besides himself, are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Jokic.

Durant, who won’t play in the All-Star Game at Cleveland due to his knee injury, chose Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, Trae Young and Andrew Wiggins as Team Durant’s starters.

James selected Luka Doncic as his top reserve. His guard-heavy team also features Darius Garland, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Fred VanVleet and Harden.

Team Durant’s bench includes Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine, Dejounte Murray, Khris Middleton, LaMelo Ball and Rudy Gobert.

Thus, numerous teammates will be on opposing clubs for the All-Star game, including the Jazz’s Gobert and Mitchell and the Suns’ Paul and Booker.

The game will be played February 20 in Cleveland.

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Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid Named Players Of The Month

February 2nd, 2022 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of All-NBA centers have earned Player of the Month honors for January, with Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic winning the Western Conference award, while Joel Embiid of the Sixers was named the winner in the Eastern Conference (Twitter link).

Jokic appeared in all 17 of the Nuggets’ January games and led the team to an 11-6 record. He averaged 26.2 PPG, 13.4 RPG, and 8.9 APG in 33.5 minutes per contest, posting a scorching-hot shooting line of .596/.420/.881. Jokic earned Player of the Week honors on January 24, but this is his first Player of the Month award this season.

Embiid, meanwhile, is the East’s Player of the Month for a second straight time, having also won the award in December. He appeared in 14 games, including 11 Sixers victories, in January and averaged an eye-popping 34.0 PPG to go along with 10.8 RPG, 5.1 APG, and 1.5 BPG in 32.1 minutes per game.

Jokic and Embiid are firmly in contention for this year’s Most Valuable Player award after finishing first and second, respectively, in voting a year ago. Embiid’s Sixers are currently 31-19, just one game out of first place in the East. Jokic’s Nuggets rank sixth in the West at 28-22, but are only 1.5 games out of fourth place.

According to the league (Twitter links), the other Player of the Month nominees were Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson, Ja Morant, Dejounte Murray, Anfernee Simons, and Karl-Anthony Towns in the West, and Jimmy Butler, DeMar DeRozan, Darius Garland, Pascal Siakam, Jayson Tatum, and Trae Young in the East.

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Andrew Wiggins Named All-Star Starter; Morant Selected For First Time

January 27th, 2022 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Western Conference starter pool for next month’s NBA All-Star Game included a big surprise.

Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins was chosen along with Lakers forward LeBron James and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic among Western Conference frontcourt candidates. Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was also named a starter for the first time, joining Warriors guard Stephen Curry as the backcourt duo in the starter pool, NBA Communications tweets.

James will be a team captain once again because he is the All-Star starter from the West with the most fan votes in the West.

Wiggins was third in the most recent fan voting results among Western Conference frontcourt players but the fan vote counted for only 50% in the selection. Player voting accounted for 25% and the media also had a 25% say.

Wiggins is averaging 18.1 PPG. He beat out more decorated Western Conference frontcourt players such as Rudy Gobert, Anthony Davis, Deandre Ayton, Karl-Anthony Towns and Draymond Green.

Morant’s selection is much less controversial. He’s averaging 25.8 PPG, 6.9 APG and 5.9 RPG. However, Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell and Suns guards Devin Booker and Chris Paul also had compelling cases to be starters.

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Nikola Jokic, Trae Young Named Players Of The Week

January 24th, 2022 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been named the Western Conference’s Player of the Week, while Hawks guard Trae Young has earned the honor in the Eastern Conference, the league announced today (via Twitter).

It’s the first time this season that Jokic has won the award, which is a little surprising, given his MVP-caliber numbers. During the week of January 17-23, the big man averaged a triple-double in three games, putting up 36.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 10.0 APG, and 2.3 SPG on .650/.400/.862 shooting in 39.2 MPG. The Nuggets went 2-1 in those games, with a loss to Memphis on Friday.

Young, meanwhile, led the Hawks to a 4-0 week, pulling the team within 1.5 games of a play-in spot in the East. The 23-year-old averaged 31.3 PPG, 9.0 APG, and 4.0 RPG with a .476 3PT% in 36.6 MPG, earning Player of the Week honors for a second time this season. He poured in eight 3-pointers in Atlanta’s win over Charlotte on Sunday.

Jokic won the West’s Player of the Week award over fellow nominees Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Dejounte Murray, and Jusuf Nurkic. The other nominees in the East were Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Miles Bridges, Darius Garland, and Khris Middleton (Twitter link).

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Nuggets Notes: Cousins, Jokic, Campazzo, Barton

January 14th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been six days since word broke that the Nuggets intended to sign DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract. Denver has yet to officially move forward with that deal, but according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link), the club still has “significant interest” in adding the veteran center. Head coach Michael Malone discussed the possibility during a radio appearance today without making a commitment one way or the other.

“If (Cousins) becomes a member of this Nugget team at some point, obviously you’d be adding a terrific player,” Malone said (Twitter link via Harrison Wind of DVNR Sports). “I think his short stint in Milwaukee is proof of that. He went to the defending world champions and played lights out.”

For the moment, the Nuggets may not have a clear path to adding Cousins. They don’t have any players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, so they’re ineligible to sign a player to a 10-day contract using a COVID-related hardship exception. They also don’t have an opening on their 15-man roster.

Denver does qualify for an injury-related hardship exception, since Jamal Murray, Michael Porter, PJ Dozier, and Vlatko Cancar are all sidelined with long-term injuries. But James Ennis is already under contract on a 10-day hardship deal, so the Nuggets likely aren’t eligible to add another player until Ennis’ pact expires next Wednesday night.

As we keep an eye on the Nuggets’ roster situation and monitor their plans for Cousins, here are a few more notes out of Denver:

  • Michael Malone believes Nikola Jokic doesn’t get the credit deserves for his ongoing MVP-caliber play, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN details. “I think he is one of the more disrespected reigning MVPs that I can think of in terms of the attention,” Malone said this week, adding that Jokic’s lack of highlight-reel plays may undersell his impact. “… I mean, Nikola Jokic is not sexy. He’s just not. There is nothing about Nikola … his wife might disagree. But if you are a true student of the game, a coach, someone that loves the game being played the right way, then you appreciate him at the level that he should be appreciated at.”
  • Addressing what he called “nonsensical rumors,” Octagon Basketball Europe CEO David Carro Funes, who represents Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo, said (via Twitter) that his client fully intends to remain in the NBA going forward. Campazzo, who played in Argentina from 2008-14 and Spain from 2014-20, will be a free agent at season’s end. He spoke last month about his commitment to continue playing in the NBA beyond his current contract.
  • Will Barton sustained a scary-looking injury on Thursday when he lost his footing on a drive and banged his head against Jusuf Nurkic‘s knee. Barton remained on the floor for several minutes, but eventually walked to the locker room under his own power and later returned to the bench. He should be OK going forward, writes Kyle Fredrickson of The Denver Post.
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Northwest Notes: Wolves, Mitchell, Nuggets, Jokic

December 26th, 2021 at 8:54pm CST by JD Shaw

Three Timberwolves players took advantage of their expanded roles in the team’s game against the Jazz on Thursday, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune writes. Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels and Jake Layman all gave a solid effort, but the team still lost 128-116 without Karl-Anthony Towns or Anthony Edwards available.

Beasley finished with 33 points on 13-of-25 shooting, while McDaniels (16 points and nine rebounds) and Layman (13 points and seven rebounds) provided respectable contributions. Minnesota struggled to contain Utah’s star players, however, also letting the Jazz shoot 16-of-39 (41%) from deep.

“He’s shooting at a high level from three and getting a lot of good looks and staying really committed to it,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said of Beasley, whose 33 points led all scorers in the game. “There’s no second-guessing his shot. He’s locked in. He’s been really, really good. Mostly it’s just his shot selection is leading to good shots.”

Here are some other notes from the Northwest tonight:

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