Travess Armenta Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Northwest Notes: Simmons, Wolves, Nuggets

September 11th, 2021 at 12:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

As the NBA nears the start of the 2021/22 season, tensions continue to simmer between All-Star Ben Simmons and his current team, the Sixers. Philadelphia is hoping to deal Simmons for win-now assets, while Simmons, despite having four years left on his current contract, has threatened to not report for training camp and beyond if he is not moved. The more the two sides’ stalemate drags on, the better the Timberwolves‘ odds are of swooping in to deal for the former No. 1 lottery pick, posits Michael Rand of the Star Tribune.

Rand wonders if adding Simmons could be the move Minnesota needs to return to the playoffs for the first time since the team’s lone full Jimmy Butler season in 2017/18. Rand thinks the Timberwolves should be ready to offer anyone not named Anthony Edwards or Karl-Anthony Towns in exchange for Simmons.

A year ago, the Sixers would most likely have even balked at an offer for Edwards or Towns, though that has changed now as Simmons’ value has declined following a disastrous postseason performance on offense. Simmons, a great defender and passer, could be an ideal fit for a hyper-athletic wing like Edwards and a jump-shooting center like Towns. The Timberwolves could be an excellent landing spot for Simmons, but whether or not they have enough to offer in return for the All-Defensive First Teamer without including Edwards or Towns remains to be seen.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

The Timberwolves managed to avoid the NBA’s luxury tax this summer while still retaining Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan McLaughlin, two promising young players, on affordable three-year contracts, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. The 22-year-old Vanderbilt looks ready to take next steps at the power forward position, where he should see significant run, along with the newly-acquired Taurean Prince. Krawczynski notes that the 6’9″ Vanderbilt should especially help the club with rebounding, and could even be given the nod as the team’s starting power forward heading into the year.
The Nuggets have revealed the assistant coaches slated to join their new G League team, the Grand Rapids Gold, per a team press release. Head coach Jason Terry, a former Sixth Man of the Year and champ with the Mavericks, will be helped on the bench by assistant coaches Travess Armenta (most recently a Nuggets player development coach and video department member), former Mississippi State assistant coach Tamisha Augustin, former Wizards assistant coach Jim Lynam Jr. and former Hawks assistant Nathan Babcock. This marks the first head coaching gig for Terry, a 19-year NBA veteran. He spent the 2020/21 season as an assistant coach at Arizona, his alma mater.
In case you missed it, free agent power forward Patrick Patterson has agreed to a training camp deal with the Trail Blazers.