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And-Ones: G League, Olympics, NBA Africa, COVID-19

May 24th, 2021 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

As the league mulls the possibility of a midseason tournament at the NBA level, G League officials are making progress toward finalizing an in-season tournament of their own for the 2021/22 season, sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

According to Fischer, the plan is for the G League’s tournament to be an enhanced version of the event that took place at the league’s annual showcase in 2019. Teams would play a series of 12 or 14 round-robin games leading up to the showcase, then the top four teams would compete in a prize-money tournament at the showcase, while the rest of the NBAGL’s clubs participate in the annual event as usual.

The G League is still working to finalize the format and the reward of its potential fall/winter tournament, which would be labeled as some type of “Cup,” sources tell Fischer.

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

  • Team USA officials aren’t counting on any players who participate in the NBA Finals – or even the conference finals – to be available for the Tokyo Olympics this summer, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. That means getting commitments from certain players whose teams didn’t make the postseason will be a priority for the program, according to Vardon, who points to Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Pelicans forward Zion Williamson as two top targets for USA Basketball.
  • The NBA has announced the formation of NBA Africa, a new business investment entity that will oversee the league’s business endeavors in Africa, writes Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Former NBA stars such as Dikembe Mutombo and Grant Hill are among the investors, as the league tries to expand its presence in key African markets.
  • While the worst of COVID-19’s impact on the NBA may be in the rear view, the league isn’t taking anything for granted during its non-bubble postseason, writes Marc Stein of The New York Times. “We’re optimistic that what we’ve been doing will work, but we certainly can’t relax because it’s the playoffs,” said David Weiss, the NBA’s senior VP of player matters. “We have to emphasize that it’s important to keep following the protocols and getting vaccinated.”
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Western Notes: Booker, Paul, Curry, Muscala

May 23rd, 2021 at 8:51pm CST by JD Shaw

Suns star Devin Booker is ready to produce in the playoffs after Phoenix’s six-year postseason drought, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes.

“It’s been a long journey since I’ve been here,” Booker said. “A full six years to get to this point and I know it’s been even longer for the city of Phoenix and this organization to get to this point. So I don’t want to take these opportunities for granted. We gave the fans what they wanted with a playoff berth and now, we want to give them even more of what they asked for.” 

Booker is looking to create something special in Phoenix, finishing with 34 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in a Game 1 victory over the Lakers on Sunday. The team will host Game 2 on Tuesday.

There’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:

  • Suns guard Chris Paul sustained a right shoulder contusion in the club’s game against the Lakers, the team announced (Twitter link). Paul appeared to be in significant pain before exiting for the locker room. He later returned for a brief stint, exited again and returned to finish the game. With Phoenix up 1-0 in the series, it’s an injury to monitor as the team looks to take a 2-0 lead this week.
  • The Warriors owe Stephen Curry more next season, says Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Golden State failed to make the playoffs despite an excellent season from Curry, who averaged a league-best 32 points per game on 48% shooting from the floor and 42% shooting from deep.
  • Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman examines why veteran big man Mike Muscala wanted to stay with the Thunder this season. Oklahoma City shut down Muscala and teammate Al Horford to focus on its young core late in the season, but Muscala had no interest in leaving the team. “I’m going to get a little emotional probably,” he said as part of a larger quote. “But coming to OKC, it was just like — I’m grateful for it, and it helped me a lot as a man and as a player.”
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Warriors Notes: Thompson, Curry, Poole, Green

May 23rd, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors‘ season ended with a pair of disappointing losses in the play-in tournament, but the team believes it can become a title contender again. Part of the optimism involves the expected return of Klay Thompson, who has missed the past two seasons with a torn right Achilles tendon and a torn ACL in his left knee.

Thompson was an important part of the Golden State teams that reached five straight NBA Finals and won three rings. He absence was noticeable this year as the Warriors couldn’t find a reliable second scorer to pair with Stephen Curry.

“He’s going to do everything in his power to get back to 100 percent, knowing what he’s been through the last two years,” Curry told Janie McCauley of The Associated Press. “There’s going to be a lot of support around to help him get there, but whatever version of him comes back is definitely a boost. We’ll patiently wait for what that looks like.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Jordan Poole spent part of the season in the G League, but he made a strong impression on coach Steve Kerr once he returned, McCauley adds in the same story. Kerr envisions the second-year guard in a sixth-man role when Thompson is available. “A season ago, he was lost. He was lost in the woods like most rookies are, and it’s just confirmation that hard work and perseverance pays off,” Kerr said. “Jordan was in the gym more than any other player during the pandemic, and he’s earned this. So thrilled for him. I think he’s got a really bright future, and obviously will play a big role for us going forward.”
  • The Warriors are likely to explore any trade possibilities that don’t involve Curry, Thompson or Draymond Green, according to Mark Medina of USA Today. Medina expects Kelly Oubre to leave in free agency, while inconsistent play from Eric Paschall and Kent Bazemore could decide their fates. “I expect to be extremely involved. It’s just the way it’s got to be,” Green said about personnel decisions.
  • Curry hasn’t made a decision on whether he will try to be part of this year’s Olympic team, writes Alex Didion of NBC Sports Bay Area. Curry has never played in the Olympics, but he does have two gold medals at the FIBA World Cup.
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Finalists For Major 2020/21 NBA Awards Announced

May 20th, 2021 at 6:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

During a TNT broadcast ahead of tonight’s Wizards-Pacers play-in matchup, the finalists for six big end-of-season 2020/21 awards were announced. Here is the full list, as voted on by reporters.

NBA Most Valuable Player:

NBA Defensive Player of the Year:

NBA Rookie of the Year:

NBA Most Improved Player:

NBA Sixth Man of the Year:

NBA Coach of the Year:

  • Quin Snyder (Jazz)
  • Tom Thibodeau (Knicks)
  • Monty Williams (Suns)

Some of these current contenders are familiar with the hardware they’re up for again. Curry is a two-time MVP, having won the award previously in 2015 and 2016. Gobert and Green have both previously won Defensive Player of the Year awards — Green in 2017 and Gobert in 2018 and 2019. Thibodeau was voted Coach of the Year a decade ago while with the Bulls.

The winners for the awards will be announced during the 2020/21 NBA playoffs.

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Play-In Tournament Notes: LeBron, Curry, Grizzlies, Ratings

May 20th, 2021 at 9:04am CST by Arthur Hill

After two lopsided games on the first night of the NBA’s play-in tournament, the league got the drama it had been hoping for on Wednesday. The Grizzlies defeated the Spurs by four points in an elimination game, then the Lakers and Warriors delivered an instant classic with LeBron James posting a triple-double and Stephen Curry scoring 37 points.

The outcome was in doubt until the final play, and the game-winner turned out to be a desperation three-pointer that James hit from about 30 feet away with 58 seconds remaining. James had been poked in the eye moments earlier and said his vision was blurry on the shot, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

“After (Draymond Green‘s) finger to the eye, I was literally seeing three rims out there,” he said. “I just shot for the middle one.”

Sources tell Shelburne that the NBA’s competition committee had discussed the idea of a play-in tournament for five or six years before trying it out last year in the Orlando bubble. The original plan was to have the ninth- and 10th-place teams meet for a chance to face the eighth team for the final playoff spot. That never happened, but last year’s setup was so successful that the league expanded it to include four teams in each conference.

There’s more from the play-in tournament:

  • The Warriors won 15 of their last 20 games to finish eighth in the West, but they now face a must-win game Friday night against the Grizzlies to avoid an early elimination. Curry promises the team will “come out swinging” with its season on the line, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. “We’ve had to do it the last 20 games, so it’s no different,” he said. “It is a win-or-go-home scenario, but we’ve had a high confidence and put together a string of wins and had a tough loss and had to bounce back, so we’ve been there.”
  • Memphis is also very confident heading into Friday’s game, states Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. The winner will travel to top-seeded Utah for the first two games of a first-round series. “Our plan is to pack for a three-game road trip,” Ja Morant said after Wednesday’s win. “No matter who we’re facing … our goal is to go out and win.”
  • The first night of the new tournament was a success in the ratings, according to Sports Media Watch. The Hornets-Pacers matchup averaged an 0.8 rating and had 1.39 million viewers, and the Wizards-Celtics game had a 1.5 rating with 2.5 million viewers, making it TNT’s most-watched game since opening night.
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Pacific Notes: Curry, LeBron, Walton, Ibaka

May 17th, 2021 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

While Nikola Jokic is considered the odds-on favorite to win this season’s NBA MVP award, Lakers forward LeBron James has endorsed a division rival for the honor, telling reporters on Sunday night that Warriors guard Stephen Curry would get his vote.

“I mean, just look at what he’s done this year,” James said of the NBA’s leading scorer (link via Dave McMenamin of ESPN). “I don’t know anything else if you’re looking for an MVP. If Steph is not on Golden State’s team, what are we looking at? … We get caught up in the records sometimes. We get caught up in the, ‘OK, who has the best record?’ instead of just saying who had the best season that year. And Steph has had, in my opinion, the best season all year.”

Curry has won two MVP awards, but his performance this season may have been his most impressive yet, considering the Warriors didn’t have high-scoring options like Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant available to draw attention away from him. Despite facing double-teams and traps for much of the season, Curry averaged a career-best 32.0 points per game on .482/.421/.916 shooting in 63 games (34.2 MPG). His 5.3 three-pointers per game also represented a new career high.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Bill Shea of The Athletic explores what life after basketball might look like for LeBron James, who will turn 37 later this year. The Lakers star, who has already ventured into the media and business worlds during his playing career, also aims to one day own an NBA franchise.
  • After expressing last week that he was “very confident” about keeping his job as the Kings‘ head coach, Luke Walton explained on Sunday why he’s not worried, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee relays. “It doesn’t weigh on me because it’s the same thing I always talk about — it’s control what you can control — the same message I give my players every day,” Walton said. He added that he felt the story of Sacramento’s season should be the growth of the team’s young players. “I’m excited about this group and excited about our future,” the Kings’ coach said.
  • Having returned on Friday after missing two months due to a back injury, Clippers big man Serge Ibaka told reporters that he has played with back pain since the start of the season, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). It’s a nerve issue, according to Ibaka, who admitted he’s still not back to 100%.
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Pacific Notes: Drummond, Metu, Bagley, Curry

May 1st, 2021 at 3:57pm CST by JD Shaw

LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond played together for the first time as teammates on Friday night in the Lakers‘ loss at home to the Kings.

Drummond, who signed a free-agent deal to join the team in March, had yet to play with the superstar duo together as James and Davis recovered from injuries. The 28-year-old finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and 24 minutes in the losing effort against Sacramento.

“He makes the game very easy for everybody,” Drummond said after his first game with James, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “I feel like he sees everything. He’s like a quarterback, so having him out there’s been really fun — my first game being on the same side as him. It’s definitely been a great learning experience for me, I’m looking forward to being on the court with him more to do better things.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division today:

  • Kings center Chimezie Metu underwent an X-ray on his lower back that came back clean on Friday, Sean Cunningham of ABC10 Sacramento tweets. Metu is experiencing back soreness after sustaining a hard fall in the contest. He left in the second quarter and didn’t return.
  • Marvin Bagley III‘s recent time away from the Kings was something that he and the team both agreed upon, Jason Jones of The Athletic tweets. Bagley, who returned on Friday after missing 23 games due to a fractured left hand, told reporters that his absence wasn’t a vacation and said that both sides felt it was best.
  • Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is continuing to accelerate his team’s timeline, Ethan Strauss of The Athletic writes. Curry has put forth an MVP-caliber season despite Golden State owning just a 31-32 record, averaging a career-high 31.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
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Warriors Notes: Curry, Wiseman, Toscano-Anderson

April 16th, 2021 at 7:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors star Stephen Curry will be entering a contract year in 2021/22 if he doesn’t reach an extension agreement in the offseason with the team. However, he doesn’t sound like someone eager to test free agency. Asked by ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (video link) how much of a priority it is to spend his entire career in Golden State, Curry affirmed that’s his plan.

“It’s always been a priority,” Curry said. “When you look at guys like Dirk (Nowitzki), Kobe (Bryant), that I played against and have heard them talk about what that’s meant, they don’t speak on it lightly. There’s a reverence for that club.

“You never know what can happen, obviously, but I feel like that’s always been something that would mean so much to me. You want to stay competitive, you want to stay in that fight where you’re winning championships. If I can accomplish both, that’s the ultimate goal.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

  • Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed on Thursday night that James Wiseman‘s surgery was the more intricate meniscus repair, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN. That procedure involves a longer recovery time, as we discussed earlier this week. It’s the same route the Grizzlies took with Jaren Jackson Jr., who has yet to play this season.
  • Anthony Slater of The Athletic breaks down the takeaways from Wiseman’s rookie season and looks ahead to what’s next for the young center, noting that the 20-year-old’s offense was ahead of his defense in year one.
  • Juan Toscano-Anderson has outplayed his two-way contract this season and figures to earn a promotion to the standard roster at some point, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “You hope that (two-way) tag doesn’t last too much longer,” Curry said. “But while it does, he’s obviously playing way above that label.”
  • Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report takes a closer look at the challenging financial situation that the Warriors face this offseason and beyond.
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Warriors Notes: Wiseman, Center, Oubre, Curry

April 13th, 2021 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Monday about James Wiseman‘s status, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said the team was still getting “multiple opinions” on the rookie’s right knee injury. Reports on Sunday suggested Wiseman may miss the rest of the season due to a torn meniscus, but Kerr suggested last night that no decisions have been made yet.

“He had an MRI and so we’re having multiple experts look at the MRI to determine what’s next,” Kerr said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. “We don’t have any timetable yet. The biggest thing is making sure James is OK. He’s obviously had a lot of adversity this rookie season, with the wrist injury, now the knee injury and of course missing training camp, not having a summer league. He’s really gutted through a lot of difficulty. … And so this is yet another obstacle that’s been put in front of him.”

Here are a few more notes on the Warriors:

  • Kevon Looney will replace Wiseman in Golden State’s lineup, and Kerr acknowledged on Monday that the team will consider adding another center to its roster before the end of the season, Friedell writes. “We’re obviously very thin in the frontcourt,” Kerr said. “That’s obviously something that we will be looking at as we go forward and once we get word on what James’ prognosis is.” The Warriors currently have one open spot on their 15-man roster and could create a second if they don’t re-sign Gary Payton II when his 10-day deal expires.
  • Within the same ESPN story, Friedell notes that Kelly Oubre remains day-to-day with the wrist injury that sidelined him on Saturday and Monday. “I talked to him (on Monday), he said he’s feeling better,” Kerr said. “So I don’t think this will be a long absence, but we’ll just continue to say day-to-day.”
  • Stephen Curry passed Wilt Chamberlain on Monday night to become the all-time leading scorer in Warriors history. With that in mind, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic explores what Curry and Chamberlain have meant to the Warriors and how both stars changed the game of basketball.
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Warriors Notes: Wiseman, Curry, Poole, Kerr

April 6th, 2021 at 1:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

James Wiseman could be a difference-maker as the Warriors try to reach the playoffs, but head coach Steve Kerr won’t “force the issue” when it comes to playing time for the rookie center, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.

Wiseman, the second pick in last year’s draft, is averaging 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, but he hasn’t provided the consistent production that Golden State was hoping for. He saw just 18 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Hawks, and Kerr indicated his playing time moving forward will depend on his performance.

“I think development also includes observation from the sidelines, earning time, earning minutes,” Kerr said. “If there are mistakes made in the previous game, let’s work on those mistakes. And if we correct those then we get more playing time; if we don’t correct them then we get less playing time. So it can’t just be throw him out there and let him go for 30 minutes because frankly he’s not ready for that.”

Kerr expressed confidence that Wiseman will eventually reach his potential, but said he needs to take part in summer league and training camp before that can happen. Last year’s summer league was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, and Wiseman missed most of training camp because he was in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Stephen Curry admitted the team had much higher expectations than battling to reach a play-in game, Friedell adds in a separate story. Curry’s return after missing most of last season with an injury was supposed to make the Warriors a contender again, but they’re clinging to 10th place after losing seven of their last eight games. “I hope it stings. I hope it’s uncomfortable,” Curry said after the latest loss. “I hope it motivates you to keep grinding, challenging yourself to get better. I hope nobody is content just being in this middle-of-the-road situation.”
  • Jordan Poole quickly won Draymond Green‘s respect by standing up to him in practice last year, according to Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area. The second-year guard has raised his numbers across the board this season and appears to be part of the Warriors’ core for the future.
  • This season is Kerr’s biggest challenge since becoming a head coach, writes Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle. Kerr inherited a team that was loaded with talent when he took the job in 2014 and has never had to focus on player development while trying to reach the playoffs.
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