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World Cup Notes: Fox, Olynyk, Boucher, Fall

August 8th, 2019 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

While fans may be disappointed that they won’t get a chance to see stars like Anthony Davis, James Harden, and Damian Lillard represent Team USA in the 2019 World Cup, the players at this week’s training camp don’t sound too broken up about several stars removing their names from consideration, as Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston writes.

“This is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot of us. I think a lot of us are happy those guys pulled out,” Kemba Walker said. “This is our chance, this is our chance to get on the big stage and showcase our talents. It’s a chance for us to do something new, to be a new-look team.”

Of the players on Team USA’s training camp roster, Walker is one of a handful who likely would’ve been in position to claim a 12-man roster spot even if the program had a more robust turnout. But that’s not necessarily the case for younger players like Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell.

According to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link), Fox and Mitchell were among the Team USA standouts during the first couple days of this week’s training camp. Although there has been no official word yet, Marc Stein of The New York Times tweets that Fox – who was elevated from the Select Team – looks like a virtual lock to be part of Team USA’s final 12-man roster for China.

Here are a few more notes on the World Cup:

  • Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca passes along some good news and some bad news for Team Canada (via Twitter). According to Grange, Kelly Olynyk‘s knee injury appears likely to sideline the Heat big man for about a week, but shouldn’t keep him out of World Cup action next month. However, it sounds more and more like Raptors forward/center Chris Boucher won’t be playing for Canada at the World Cup, Grange adds.
  • After being listed on Team Senegal’s preliminary 24-man World Cup roster, Tacko Fall didn’t show up on the team’s updated 16-man roster this week (Twitter links). According to Keith Smith of RealGM (Twitter link), Fall and Team Senegal reached a mutual agreement that he wouldn’t participate in the World Cup as he focuses on trying to make the Celtics. Timberwolves power forward Gorgui Dieng has also withdrawn from Senegal’s roster.
  • In a pair of separate articles for ESPN.com, Brian Windhorst tries to answer some pressing questions for Team USA and digs into why Gregg Popovich is coaching Team USA when he seemingly has nothing left to prove.
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Durant Doesn’t Blame Warriors, Never Considered Knicks

August 7th, 2019 at 5:59pm CST by clarkcrum

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports sat down with Nets forward Kevin Durant earlier this week to discuss several notable topics, including how the 30-year-old star perceives the opinion of some that the Warriors mishandled Durant’s return from a Grade 2 right calf strain. His response?

“Hell, no. How can you blame [the Warriors]? Hell, no. I heard the Warriors pressured me into getting back. Nobody never said a word to me during rehab as I was coming back. It was only me and [director of sports medicine and performance] Rick [Celebrini] working out every day. Right when the series started, I targeted Game 5. Hell, nah. It just happened. It’s basketball. S— happens. Nobody was responsible for it. It was just the game. We just need to move on from that s— because I’m going to be back playing.”

Durant also spoke about his choice to sign with Brooklyn, saying that the decision was not made until the morning of June 30, as he didn’t want to “disrespect the game” by putting his focus on the future during the season. Interestingly, he also said that he only considered the Warriors and the Nets as potential destinations.

Of course, speculation ran rampant throughout the entire 2018/19 season that the Knicks were a strong, if not primary contender to land both Durant and Kyrie Irving this summer. In response, Durant said “If I was leaving the Warriors, it was always going to be for the Nets. They got the pieces and a creative front office. I just like what they were building.”

There’s more from Durant’s interview with Haynes, which is worth a read in its entirety:

  • Speaking on how some Toronto fans cheered and applauded his injury before several Raptors players signaled the crowd to stop, Durant smirked and said, perhaps with a suggestion of karma, “It will probably be the last time they will be in the Finals.”
  • Durant had a difficult time watching the remainder of Game 5 from his hotel room, even turning the channel at one point before flipping back later to cheer on his teammates.
  • Durant would not confirm that he will miss the entire 2019/20 season, leaving open the possibility that he could return before season’s end.
  • Durant’s perspective on the entire injury situation is a positive one, saying “Yeah, I still think about that night… that one is definitely always going to be a huge part of my career because it’s the biggest stage and the type of injury I had. But now I look at it as me just going out there playing basketball, and I happened to get hurt. And now I’m just waiting to get back. I know it’s a huge deal to everybody else, but I just try to take it on the chin and keep it moving.”
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And-Ones: Pasecniks, Beauchamp, Motiejunas

August 7th, 2019 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The No. 25 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, Anzejs Pasecniks had his rights renounced by the Sixers earlier this offseason, then joined the Wizards for Summer League action in July. Pasecniks averaged just 4.0 PPG on 28.6% shooting in four games (12.5 MPG), though he did chip in 5.3 RPG.

Despite his modest Summer League numbers, Pasecniks suggests that he’s receiving NBA interest, as Bruno Perkons of Sportazinas.com relays (hat tip to Sportando).

“I don’t have a contract at the moment and am a free agent, but let’s just say the negotiations are mostly with NBA teams,” Pasecniks said.

Acquired by Philadelphia from Orlando in a draft-night trade in 2017, Pasecniks remained overseas for the last two seasons, playing for Gran Canaria in Spain. He has yet to sign an NBA contract, so we’ll see if that changes before the 2019/20 season gets underway.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • A top-30 high school recruit, MarJon Beauchamp plans to forgo college and will instead go through a year-long training program with Chameleon BX to prepare for the 2021 NBA draft, writes Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com. Beauchamp was ranked as the fifth-best small forward in the 2020 recruiting class, Borzell notes. A press release from Chameleon BX provides more information on Beauchamp’s decision.
  • After finishing the 2018/19 season with the Spurs, veteran power forward Donatas Motiejunas is headed back overseas for the 2019/20 campaign. Motiejunas recently signed a contract with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, tweets journalist Zhang Duo (hat tip to Nicola Lupo of Sportando). The Lithuanian big man previously spent two seasons with China’s Shandong Golden Stars.
  • In an interesting story for ESPN.com, Jackie MacMullan explored how head coaches like Kenny Atkinson (Nets) and Doc Rivers (Clippers) found out about – and reacted to – their teams signing star free agents this offseason. MacMullan also examined the other side of the coin, talking to Nick Nurse (Raptors) and Steve Kerr (Warriors) about losing their stars.
  • The NBA G League released its list of 50 invitees for this year’s NBAGL Player Invitational. The group of undrafted rookies and veteran free agents will get the opportunity to showcase their skills at the event in the hopes of securing a G League roster spot for the 2019/20 season.
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NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2019/20

August 6th, 2019 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $109,140,000 threshold once their room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax limit of $132,627,000 as well — the Trail Blazers have this season’s highest payroll at the moment, more than $11MM above the tax line.

The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows a club like Portland to build a significant payroll without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped.

When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion ($5,718,000) of the mid-level exception, that club will face a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.

When a team becomes hard-capped, it cannot exceed the “tax apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. The tax apron was set $6MM above the luxury tax line in 2017/18 (the first year of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement) and creeps up a little higher each season. For the 2019/20 league year, the tax apron – and hard cap for certain clubs – is set at $138,928,000.

More teams than ever this offseason have been willing to hard-cap themselves, and in at least a couple cases, it will significantly impact a team’s ability to add further reinforcements later in the league year. The Warriors and Heat are nearly right up against the hard cap, and won’t be players in free agency during the season unless they can shed salary.

So far this year, half the teams in the NBA have imposed a hard cap on themselves by using the bi-annual exception, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, or acquiring a player via sign-and-trade. Listed below are those 15 teams, along with how they created a hard cap.

Boston Celtics

  • Acquired Kemba Walker from the Hornets via sign-and-trade.

Brooklyn Nets

  • Acquired Kevin Durant from the Warriors via sign-and-trade.

Charlotte Hornets

  • Acquired Terry Rozier from the Celtics via sign-and-trade.

Chicago Bulls

Dallas Mavericks

  • Acquired Delon Wright from the Grizzlies via sign-and-trade.
  • Used approximately $7.46MM of their mid-level exception to sign Seth Curry.
  • Used their bi-annual exception to sign Boban Marjanovic.

Detroit Pistons

  • Used approximately $7.32MM of their mid-level exception to sign Derrick Rose.
  • Used their bi-annual exception to sign Markieff Morris.

Golden State Warriors

Indiana Pacers

Memphis Grizzlies

  • Used their full mid-level exception ($9,258,000) to sign Tyus Jones.
  • Used their bi-annual exception to sign Marko Guduric.

Miami Heat

Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Acquired Jake Layman from the Trail Blazers via sign-and-trade.

Orlando Magic

  • Used their full mid-level exception ($9,258,000) to sign Al-Farouq Aminu.

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

Washington Wizards

Outside of the Warriors and Heat, no clubs on the list above are really being restricted by the hard cap at this time. A few teams – such as the Pistons and Magic – are near the luxury tax threshold, but that still gives them several million dollars in breathing room below the hard cap.

While it’s possible that trades could push some teams closer to the apron, Golden State and Miami appear to be the only clubs that will be noticeably affected by the hard cap in 2019/20.

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Kyle Lowry Would “Love” Extension With Raptors

August 6th, 2019 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA champion Raptors had two All-Stars on last season’s roster. One – Kawhi Leonard – has since left for Los Angeles and will play for the Clippers in 2019/20. However, the other – Kyle Lowry – told reporters on Monday at USA Basketball’s World Cup training camp that he hopes to remain in Toronto going forward.

“I want to be there,” Lowry said, per Chris Mannix of SI.com. “I would love to do an extension, but we’ll see what happens … I would love to be there long-term. We’ll have the discussion when the time is right.”

Lowry, who is entering the final year of his current contract, became eligible for an extension last month. Veterans who sign three- or four-year deals can ink extensions after the two-year anniversary of their signing — Lowry finalized his current contract on July 7, 2017.

There has been no indication yet that the Raptors have discussed a new contract with Lowry this offseason or plan to do so before the season begins. Lowry’s $35MM expiring salary is one of several that the team will have off its books next summer, along with Marc Gasol ($25.6MM), Serge Ibaka ($23.3MM), and Fred VanVleet ($9.3MM). To maximize flexibility, Toronto may want to keep its 2020/21 cap sheet as clean as possible for now.

Still, if the price is right, I expect the Raptors to be open to extending their relationship with their starting point guard. Another $100MM commitment seems unlikely, but Lowry was one of the club’s most important players last season and remains productive at age 33.

As for the departure of the Raptors’ Finals MVP, Lowry conveyed no disappointment or frustration with Leonard’s decision. As Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com details, Lowry said he told his teammate, “I’m happy for you” when he heard the news of Kawhi’s move to the Clippers.

“I am happy for the guys that … especially a guy that helped do something fantastic and something great,” Lowry said. “He’s an unbelievable friend of mine and is a good guy. He made a decision to go home and he is happy with that and I am happy for him. Truly. I am genuinely happy for him. It gives him a chance to be around his family and friends. You got to respect the guy and be happy for him.”

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Raptors Waive Two-Way Guard Jordan Loyd

August 2nd, 2019 at 5:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

5:01pm: Loyd has reached an agreement to play overseas with Valencia Basket, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.

4:48pm: The Raptors have waived guard Jordan Loyd, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link) and other media members.

Loyd was one of the team’s two-way players. He appeared in 12 games last season, averaging 2.4 PPG in 4.6 MPG. Loyd, 26, excelled at the G League level last season, making the NBAGL First Team.

Loyd, who went undrafted in 2016 out of Furman, averaged 22.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 6.0 APG and 1.8 SPG in 41 games for Raptors 905.

Toronto reduced its roster count to 19 players with the move and both of its two-way slots are now open. Murphy speculates that Loyd received a big overseas offer and the franchise didn’t want to hold him back (Twitter link). The parting was a mutual decision, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets.

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Clippers/Lakers To Headline NBA’s 2019 Christmas Day Schedule

August 2nd, 2019 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has set its Christmas Day schedule for the 2019/20 season, according to reports from multiple ESPN writers. Adrian Wojnarowski, Tim Bontemps, and Malika Andrews have details on the five games set for December 25, 2019.

While the order and times of the games haven’t yet been confirmed, these are the five matchups we’ll see on Christmas Day this December, per ESPN’s reporting:

  • Los Angeles Clippers vs. Los Angeles Lakers
  • Milwaukee Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers
  • Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors
  • Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors
  • New Orleans Pelicans at Denver Nuggets

The Clippers/Lakers and Bucks/Sixers matchups will pit the two current favorites from the Western and Eastern Conferences against one another. Those games figure to be the headliners of the day, with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George squaring off against LeBron James and Anthony Davis, plus Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid going head-to-head.

The Rockets/Warriors game – a rematch of the most competitive Western postseason rivalry of the last two years – should be an entertaining showdown as well, even without Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson in the picture. James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and D’Angelo Russell will still provide plenty of star power.

The defending champion Raptors will make a rare Christmas Day appearance, hosting the new-look Celtics, led by Kemba Walker. It’ll also be a rare December 25 home game for the Nuggets, who will take on the young, up-and-coming Pelicans and No. 1 pick Zion Williamson.

Which Christmas Day game are you most looking forward to in 2019? Are there any teams or matchups you’re disappointed to see (or not see) on the December 25 schedule? Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!

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Atlantic Notes: Gasol, Lin, Poirier, Erman

July 28th, 2019 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Raptors center Marc Gasol is thankful that the Grizzlies didn’t agree to his request not to be traded, relays Alex Madrid of Eurohoops. Gasol had been with Memphis for more than a decade before the team committed to rebuilding and sent him to Toronto in a deadline deal. The move led to Gasol collecting his first NBA championship ring.

“There have been few players that haven’t been traded over the years in the NBA,” Gasol said. “If it had been dependent on me, I wouldn’t have been traded. I always thought I could reverse the situation there (in Memphis) and bring the team to the top. But, thank God, they ignored me.”

Gasol will be part of the remaining foundation as the Raptors try to stay in contention without Kawhi Leonard. The 34-year-old will earn $25.6MM this season in the final year of his contract.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Jeremy Lin appears distraught about his free agency situation in a video tweeted by Daily Sports Dosage. “Free agency has been tough,” Lin says. “Because I feel like in some ways the NBA has kind of given up on me.” The Raptors signed Lin in February to provide backcourt depth, but he shot just 37% in 23 games and was barely used during the playoffs.
  • French center Vincent Poirier could have made more money in Europe, but he wanted the challenge of playing in the NBA, tweets Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports. Poirier was the EuroLeague’s top rebounder last season, and the Celtics believe his athleticism will translate well.
  • Former Celtics assistant Darren Erman will become head coach of the organization’s G League affiliate in Maine, according to Jay King and Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Known as a defensive specialist, Erman has spent the past four seasons with the Pelicans.
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Community Shootaround: Kawhi Leonard

July 27th, 2019 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

It only lasted five days, but it seemed much, much longer at the time. In a summer where many of the NBA’s top free agents announced their agreements suspiciously close to the official start of free agency, Kawhi Leonard‘s decision seemed to linger forever.

While we all waited, the rumor mill got wacky. First came reports that he was definitely joining the Lakers, followed by other reports that he was definitely staying with the Raptors. The Clippers were presented as an afterthought and were rumored to be out of consideration. Intrepid reporters tracked a flight from Los Angeles to Toronto without knowing for sure that Leonard was on board. And Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter somehow became an NBA insider.

Tension was high all week for the three teams involved in the chase as other free agents came off the board. When Leonard announced his decision late on the night of June 5, there was jubilation at Clippers headquarters and severe disappointment across town and throughout Canada.

Hard feelings in the Lakers’ camp led to accusations that Leonard had “played” them in the process. There were also reports that he asked for extreme considerations from the Raptors before abandoning an organization that had just won its first NBA title. The grumblings grew so loud that Leonard felt compelled to address them at his introductory press conference this week.

“I didn’t lead anyone on,” he said. “I took my time in free agency, as I should, to make sure I made the best decision for myself and my family. I feel like some of the media coverage over it made it feel that way, with people saying I’m signing with Toronto 99 percent or I’m going to the Lakers 99 percent. I don’t ever want to have that bad karma come back on me trying to make the Lakers miss out on players they should have gotten or vice-versa with the Raptors.”

Leonard added that all the teams were free to change their strategy if they thought waiting was too risky.

“If they didn’t want to wait for me, they didn’t have to,” Leonard said. “They had a big opportunity to sign me. [The Lakers] were close, but I ended up on the other side.”

Leonard isn’t the first free agent to take his time in reaching a decision. In 2016, Kevin Durant waited until July 4 to announce that he was joining the Warriors. A year later, Gordon Hayward picked the same date to confirm his agreement with the Celtics. LeBron James took until July 11 before releasing the Sports Illustrated article proclaiming his return to Cleveland in 2014.

We want to get your opinion on Leonard. Do you believe he did anything to intentionally hurt the Raptors or Lakers in free agency or is this just sour grapes from the teams that didn’t sign him? Please leave your responses in the space below.

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Kawhi Leonard Addresses Reports He ‘Led On’ Teams in Free Agency

July 27th, 2019 at 11:54am CST by marksuleymanov

Kawhi Leonard‘s free agency held up a lot of other deals as his three primary suitors, the Lakers, Clippers and Raptors, pushed for his services. The two-time NBA Finals MVP ended up choosing the Clippers after the organization managed to swing a trade for Paul George.

Subsequent reports have suggested the two teams who missed out on Leonard may have felt that Kawhi and/or his representatives led on teams during the recruitment process. On the day he and George were introduced at a press conference, a more-talkative-than-usual Leonard set the record straight to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

“I didn’t lead anyone on,” Leonard said. “I took my time in free agency, as I should, to make sure I made the best decision for myself and my family. I feel like some of the media coverage over it made it feel that way, with people saying I’m signing with Toronto 99 percent or I’m going to the Lakers 99 percent. I don’t ever want to have that bad karma come back on me trying to make the Lakers miss out on players they should have gotten or vice-versa with the Raptors.”

With his decision, Leonard will become the first player to win an NBA Finals MVP and play for a different team the following season. Leonard’s lone campaign in Toronto was a successful one as the two-time Defensive Player of the Year helped the Raptors advance to and win the first NBA championship in franchise history.

However, the Riverside, California, native had long been known to be seeking to return home. The Lakers and Clippers both represented that opportunity but his childhood fandom for either team had no bearing on his decision.

“Y’all kept saying that me and Paul’s favorite team growing up was the Lakers. I’m not going to say [Yahoo Sports], but whatever media outlet was out there saying that Kawhi prefers the Lakers over the Clippers, or Paul loves the Lakers, was wrong,” Leonard said. “I wasn’t a fan of the Lakers growing up. Not saying that’s why I didn’t choose them, but that’s not what it is. I wasn’t a fan of them, and [Paul] just told you guys he was a Clippers fan.”

At the end of the day, Leonard said the teams in pursuit of him could have pivoted in a different direction at any time if there issues with his approach.

“If they didn’t want to wait for me, they didn’t have to,” Leonard said. “They had a big opportunity to sign me. [The Lakers] were close, but I ended up on the other side.”

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