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NBA Announces 2018/19 All-Defensive Teams

May 22nd, 2019 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2018/19 season, with Jazz center Rudy Gobert once again coming in as the leading vote-getter.

Gobert, a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, was listed on 99 of 100 ballots, with 97 of those ballots giving him a First Team vote, for a total of 196 points (two points per First Team vote; one point per Second Team vote). The All-Defensive nod ensures that the big man receives a $500K bonus, which had been considered likely since he was named to an All-Defensive team last season, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Gobert was closely followed by fellow Defensive Player of the Year candidates Paul George (Thunder) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), who received 195 and 193 total points, respectively.

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday secured a $100K bonus by earning a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team, notes Marks (via Twitter). Like Davis, he was an All-Defensive player last season as well, so that bonus had been considered likely — his cap hits for this year or next won’t be impacted by him earning it.

Here are the full voting results for the All-Defensive First and Second Teams, with each player’s point total noted in parentheses:

First Team:

Rudy Gobert, C, Jazz (196)
Paul George, F, Thunder (195)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Bucks (193)
Marcus Smart, G, Celtics (145)
Eric Bledsoe, G, Bucks (100)

Second Team:

Jrue Holiday, G, Pelicans (90)
Klay Thompson, G, Warriors (82)
Joel Embiid, C, Sixers (80)
Draymond Green, F, Warriors (61)
Kawhi Leonard, F, Raptors (39)

Raptors guard Danny Green actually totaled 66 points, including 19 First Team votes, while Clippers guard Patrick Beverley had 48 points (14 First Team votes). However, All-Defensive teams are determined by position, so they didn’t make the cut because they ranked fifth and sixth in voting among guards.

Pacers center Myles Turner (39 points), Rockets forward P.J. Tucker (38), Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (24), and Spurs guard Derrick White (15) were the other leading vote-getters.

You can find the full voting results right here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Draft Notes: Reddish, Clarke, Paschall

May 16th, 2019 at 10:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Cam Reddish met with the Lakers during the draft combine, Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). Los Angeles owns the No. 4 overall pick and the organization apparently sent all stakeholders to the meeting. When asked who was there, Reddish replied, “Everybody, you name it.”

Reddish also sat down with the Bulls this week, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. He has a meeting set up with the Cavaliers on Friday, as we passed along earlier today.

There are more draft notes to pass along:

Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga) met with the Timberwolves today and the forward feels like they had a “really, really good talk,” as Dane Moore of Zone Coverage tweets. “Obviously, I think I would love playing with KAT,” Clarke said. The 22-year-old will work out for Minnesota in June.
Clarke’s first workout will be with the Hornets and Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter link) that the team “clearly” has interest in him. Clarke, who met with Charlotte during the combine, will also meet with the Suns, per Gina Mizell of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets that Clarke will work out for the Celtics. The forward also has a workout set up with the Heat, per Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).
Villanova’s Eric Paschall is performing some personal PR, checking through his social media to make sure he hasn’t tweeted out anything a team might deem as a red flag. “I thought I was in the clear… In today’s age, social media is everything,” Paschall said, as Mike Vorkunov of the Athletic passes along (Twitter link). Paschall has met with the Suns, Wizards, Spurs, Warriors, Nuggets and Lakers. He’ll add the Pacers to that list on Friday.

2019 NBA Draft Picks By Team

May 15th, 2019 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Sixers and Celtics suffered disappointing losses in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and face uncertain futures, both teams can at least fall back on the fact that they’re still loaded with draft assets. Philadelphia and Boston are two of only three NBA teams – the Hawks are the other – that possess at least four picks in the 2019 NBA draft.

As our full 2019 draft order shows, there are five other teams that more than two selections in this year’s draft. On the other end of the spectrum, nine teams own just one pick in 2018, while two teams – the Nuggets and Rockets – don’t have any selections.

To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2019 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 60 picks by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…

Teams with more than two picks:

Atlanta Hawks (5): 8, 10, 35, 41, 44
Philadelphia 76ers (5): 24, 33, 34, 42, 54
Boston Celtics (4): 14, 20, 22, 51
New Orleans Pelicans (3): 1, 39, 57
Charlotte Hornets (3): 12, 36, 52
Brooklyn Nets (3): 17, 27, 31
San Antonio Spurs (3): 19, 29, 49
Sacramento Kings (3): 40, 47, 60

Teams with two picks:

New York Knicks: 3, 55
Cleveland Cavaliers: 5, 26
Phoenix Suns: 6, 32
Chicago Bulls: 7, 38
Minnesota Timberwolves: 11, 43
Detroit Pistons: 15, 45
Orlando Magic: 16, 46
Indiana Pacers: 18, 50
Utah Jazz: 23, 53
Golden State Warriors: 28, 58
Los Angeles Clippers: 48, 56

Teams with one pick:

Memphis Grizzlies: 2
Los Angeles Lakers: 4
Washington Wizards: 9
Miami Heat: 13
Oklahoma City Thunder: 21
Portland Trail Blazers: 25
Milwaukee Bucks: 30
Dallas Mavericks: 37
Toronto Raptors: 59

Teams with no picks:

Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets

2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: San Antonio Spurs

May 8th, 2019 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

After a tumultuous offseason that included the departures of three longtime core players – Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker – the revamped Spurs did what they always do and earned a playoff spot for the 22nd consecutive year. The current roster may not have the same upside as the title-winning squads led by Tim Duncan, but with Derrick White on the rise and Dejounte Murray on the mend, there’s still room for San Antonio to improve.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Spurs financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:

Guaranteed Salary

DeMar DeRozan ($27,739,975)
LaMarcus Aldridge ($26,000,000)
Patty Mills ($12,428,571)
Davis Bertans ($7,000,000)
Marco Belinelli ($5,846,154)
Pau Gasol ($5,074,856) — Waived
Jakob Poeltl ($3,754,886)
Bryn Forbes ($2,875,000)
Lonnie Walker ($2,760,480)
Dejounte Murray ($2,321,735)
Derrick White ($1,948,080)
Chimezie Metu ($1,416,852)
Total: $99,166,589

Player Options

None

Team Options

None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

None

Restricted Free Agents

None

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Rudy Gay ($13,113,360): Early Bird rights
Dante Cunningham ($2,984,400): Non-Bird rights
No. 19 overall pick ($2,686,440)
Nikola Milutinov ($2,033,160) ¹
No. 29 overall pick ($1,947,960)
Joffrey Lauvergne ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights ²
Donatas Motiejunas ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights
Quincy Pondexter ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights
Matt Costello ($1,443,842): Non-Bird rights ²
Darrun Hilliard ($1,443,842): Non-Bird rights ²
Ben Moore ($1,443,842): Non-Bird rights
Total: $31,952,304

Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000

Offseason Cap Outlook

Realistic cap room projection: $0
Barring a cost-cutting move or two, the Spurs project to have $103.8MM on their books for 11 guaranteed salaries plus two first-round picks. Working as an over-the-cap team and retaining their mid-level and bi-annual exceptions makes more sense than renouncing those exceptions for a mere $5.2MM in potential cap room. If they want to re-sign Gay, going under the cap becomes even less realistic.

Cap Exceptions Available

Mid-level exception: $9,246,000 ³

Footnotes

Milutinov was the 26th overall pick in the 2015 draft. His cap hold (the equivalent to the 26th overall pick in the 2019 draft) will remain on the Spurs’ books unless the team receives permission to remove it, which would ensure Milutinov won’t be signed in 2019/20.
Lauvergne’s, Costello’s, and Hilliard’s cap holds remain on the Spurs’ books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2018/19. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
This is a projected value. In the unlikely event the Spurs risk going into the tax, they may forfeit the bi-annual exception and have to use the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,711,000) rather than the full mid-level exception.

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Summer League, Stretch Candidates, Sloukas

May 7th, 2019 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League now features all 30 of the league’s teams and is the epicenter of NBA activity in July, but it’s not the only Summer League that remains active.

According to a press release, the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Cavaliers will join the Jazz for the 2019 Salt Lake City Summer League, which is scheduled to take place in Utah from July 1-3. Each of the four participating teams will play the other teams once, for a total of three games, before moving onto Vegas.

While Utah’s Summer League generally flies under the radar, it will represent an opportunity for young players and recent draftees on those four teams to get a head start on their professional careers. If the Cavaliers luck out in the lottery, we could even see a top prospect like Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, or R.J. Barrett make his debut that week in Salt Lake City.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Which players around the league are the best candidates to be waived and stretched this offseason? Danny Leroux of The Athletic identifies several of them, including players with small partial guarantees – such as George Hill and Avery Bradley – and vets with overpriced contracts, like Tyler Johnson and Bismack Biyombo.
Jeremy Woo of SI.com takes a closer look at the stability of the eight remaining playoff teams, exploring which of those clubs could be in for major changes this summer once they’re eliminated from the postseason.
Greek guard Kostas Sloukas is said to be drawing interest from a pair of NBA teams, tweets journalist George Zakkas (hat tip to Sportando). Sloukas, who went undrafted back in 2012, has had an impressive career with Olympiacos and now Fenerbahce — the 29-year-old has three EuroLeague championships and three Turkish League titles under his belt.
The NBA recently issued a press release announcing that its 2019 Global Camp will take place in Monaco from May 30 to June 2. The event is a pre-draft showcase focusing on the top draft-eligible prospects from outside America.

Draft Notes: Hampton, Elite Camp, Celtics, Simonds, Hawks

May 5th, 2019 at 9:56pm CST by JD Shaw

RJ Hampton has decided to graduate high school early and reclassify to the Class of 2019, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Hampton is the No. 4 player in ESPN’s top-100 class of early 2020 rankings, explaining his major decision to reclassify to Givony.

“I’ve decided to reclassify to the 2019 class,” Hampton told ESPN. “I am doing this because I feel that from a development standpoint, this is the right move for me at this time in order to play against the highest level of competition possible. I am eager to test myself against older and more physically developed players in order to help improve my weaknesses and prepare me for reaching the ultimate goal of playing in the NBA.”

With his decision, Hampton will enroll for college this summer and be eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft. A 6-foot-5 versatile player at 188 pounds, Hampton is one of the most promising young point guards in high school, now shifting his focus to interested schools such as Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis and Texas Tech, according to ESPN.

“This is a move we’ve been contemplating for some time and we don’t take lightly,” Hampton’s father, Rod, told ESPN. “As someone that played in college as well as professionally in Europe, I know that you can’t skip steps in a player’s development. Thankfully, because of the hard work that RJ has put in in the classroom — achieving a 3.75 GPA and a 1280 SAT — he was able to have this option. This weekend playing against the top players in high school basketball at the Nike EYBL, as well as earlier this month at USA Basketball, my wife, Markita, and I realized that RJ is ready to take the next step and challenge himself by taking the next step in level of competition.”

Here are some other draft-related notes today:

In speaking with some agents and executives around the NBA, there appears to be some confusion over whether prospects attending the NBA G League Combine are only working out for teams in the G League, according to Givony (Twitter link). The combine is set to include officials from all 30 NBA teams.
The Celtics brought in several players for a workout last week in preparation for the NBA Draft, as relayed by Sportando. Among the players who attended the workout were Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman, Ole Miss’ Terence Davis , Auburn’s Bryce Brown, St. Bonaventure’s Courtney Stockard and Iowa’s Joe Wieskamp.
Georgia State’s D’Marcus Simonds sprained his ankle while working out for the Hawks, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Simonds said he should be fine, according to Vivlamore, and future workouts have already been scheduled with the Cavaliers and Spurs.
The Hawks will hold a pre-draft workout on Monday, the team announced today. Tennessee center Kyle Alexander, St. Louis forward Javon Bess, Terence Davis, Shaw guard Amir Hinton, Xavier guard Paul Scruggs and Stanford center Josh Sharma are all set to be in attendance.

Texas Notes: Spurs, Milutinov, Walker, Bzdelik

May 5th, 2019 at 11:29am CST by Arthur Hill

Barring any surprises, the Spurs‘ starting five for next season appears set, writes Jeff McDonald of The Athletic. Dejounte Murray, returning from a torn right ACL, should take over at point guard, with Derrick White joining him in the backcourt. DeMar DeRozan will move to forward, alongside LaMarcus Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl, who impressed the coaching staff after a midseason move into the starting lineup.

That means, if he returns, Rudy Gay will continue in a bench role, along with Bryn Forbes, who started much of this season. Coach Gregg Popovich wants DeRozan to become more proficient from 3-point territory to make up for not having Forbes as a starter.

“That’s what the league is all about now,” Popovich said. “End of the game, the first thing that you look at is 3-point shooting, and it covers up a whole lot of warts. You can get beat on the boards — I mean, in one of the games that we beat Denver, they had 28 second-chance points, but they shot horribly, and we shot very well. Game over. It’s not very interesting. It’s not much fun. But that’s the way the league is.”

There’s more NBA news from Texas:

The Spurs may be ready to add draft-and-stash project Nikola Milutinov to their roster, McDonald adds. The 26th pick in 2015, Milutinov has been playing for Olympiacos B.C. of the Greek Basketball League, where he averaged 10.7 PPG and 6.8 RPG this season. The Spurs will explore the 24-year-old center’s market value before bringing him to the U.S., and McDonald expects them to let him adjust to the league gradually, just as they did with Boban Marjanovic and Davis Bertans.
Kemba Walker appears to be the Mavericks‘ most realistic option in free agency, Marc Stein of the New York Times said in a recent radio interview in Dallas. Stein said the Mavs are “legitimately intrigued” by Walker, and he believes they will get a meeting with him when free agency begins in July.
Rockets associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik has found a way to balance basketball and family after briefly walking away from the game last fall, relays Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle. Houston convinced him to return in November and he helped fix the defense after a disastrous start. “He was kind of resolute for a little while,” said Rockets CEO Tad Brown. “Fortunately for us, we were able to wear him down and end up bringing him back. The first thing was always, let’s make sure everything is OK, personally, with he and his family. And then, secondarily, how do we handle this, how do we move forward? But at the same time, he’s a key part of what we do. How do we get him back to (our) family?”

Cavs Secure Permission To Interview Ettore Messina

May 4th, 2019 at 9:19am CST by JD Shaw

The Cavaliers have received permission to interview Spurs assistant Ettore Messina for their vacant head coaching job, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link).

Messina adds to a long list of coaches who have registered interest from Cleveland, including Blazers assistants David Vanterpool and Nate Tibbetts, Nuggets assistants Jordi Fernandez and Wes Unseld Jr., Mavs assistant Jamahl Mosley, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen, Heat assistant Juwan Howard, Spurs assistant Ime Udoka and former Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

Among the group, only Mosley, Howard, Bickerstaff, and Jensen have interviewed to date. The Cavs are conducting a wide-ranging search in wake of their mutual parting with former coach Larry Drew, but the team has yet to ask for permission to interview any college coaching candidates, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Messina holds several years of coaching experience and started with the Spurs in 2014. Before that, he spent over two decades coaching overseas and eventually agreed to become a consultant for the Lakers in 2011-12.

“Coach Messina is one of the finest coaches we have in the business, and hopefully he will get a shot to show that (as a head coach) in the NBA at some point” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said this season, as relayed by Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.

This would be the second head coaching gig Messina has interviewed for in the past calendar year. He pursued the Suns’ job last spring and ultimately lost to the recently fired Igor Kokoskov, also receiving interest from teams such as the Kings and Lakers in their coaching searches at the time.

Cavs To Meet With Spurs Assistant Udoka

May 3rd, 2019 at 8:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers will interview Spurs assistant Ime Udoka this weekend for their head coaching vacancy, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Udoka was a candidate for the Pistons’ head coaching job last summer before Detroit owner Tom Gores chose Dwane Casey.

Udoka joins a growing list of possible replacements for Larry Drew, who mutually agreed to part ways with the organization after the season.

Former Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff interviewed for the position on Tuesday and Jazz assistant coach and former Canton Charge assistant Alex Jensen was interviewed on Friday. Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley sat down with Cleveland’s brass last week. Nuggets assistants Jordi Fernandez and Wes Unseld Jr. are also expected to be interviewed.

Spurs, Rudy Gay Have Mutual Interest In New Deal

May 2nd, 2019 at 6:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Rudy Gay has transitioned from a top-flight scorer to a veteran mentor ready to take on whatever role is best for the team. The combo forward has been particularly helpful with the Spurs‘ young prospects.

“He’s a very outgoing individual,” coach Gregg Popovich said (via Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News). “He’s an easy teammate to be with, so he makes people feel comfortable. For young guys just starting out like Lonnie [Walker], it’s important to see the vets and be able to sit down and have a meal with them and laugh. [Gay] does that well.”

Gay appreciates how the organization has treated him and his family, and likes the city of San Antonio, Orsborn writes. Gay will be a free agent this offseason, but both he and the Spurs have a mutual interest in a new deal.

“We are hoping we can figure out a way to keep him here,” Popovich said.

San Antonio has a reputation for cohesiveness even as the franchise shuffles its roster. Gay said he has never experienced a unit as close as this year’s Spurs team.

“We had a lot of new pieces, played through a lot of adversity, the media saying we weren’t going to the playoffs,” he said. “We played through a lot. That forced us to be a tight team.”