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Nuggets Notes: Westbrook, Murray, Title Window, Malone, Gordon

September 27th, 2024 at 8:19am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing at the Nuggets‘ media day on Thursday after joining the team as a free agent over the summer, Russell Westbrook expressed excitement about his new opportunity and earned praise from teammates and his new head coach alike, as Ryan McFadden of The Denver Post writes.

“He has a competitive, ‘I’m going to get in your s–t’ mindset that I love,” head coach Michael Malone said. “… I think he’s going to help individual players achieve their potential and push them to be the best they can be. I love guys (who) bring it every single night, and that’s what he has done.”

While the former MVP has a much different skill set than Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets’ former starting shooting guard who signed with Orlando in July, Malone believes Westbrook is underrated on defense and is capable of making up some of what Denver lost on that end of the court as a result of Caldwell-Pope’s departure.

“When we went back and watched his defense last year with the Clippers, at the end of games, he was on the opposing team’s best player every night,” Malone said.

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

  • Jamal Murray struggled in both the postseason in the spring and the Olympics in the summer, and Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said last month that health issues were a significant factor. However, Murray told reporters on Thursday that he has no injury-related limitations entering training camp and that he feels good, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
  • The Nuggets believe their championship window remains very much open entering the 2024/25 season, as Baxter Holmes of ESPN relays. “In a best-case scenario, I think Nikola (Jokic) has a prime 10-year contention window,” general manager Calvin Booth said. “I think we’re about halfway through it. So, we probably have about five more similar shots and all the shots count. We hit one of them, that’s great. The earlier we hit it, the more we can have conversations about other things, but it’s going to be incredibly hard to win another one.” According to Malone, Murray has expressed to his teammates that they should feel a sense of urgency to capitalize on that title window. “He reminds his teammates, don’t take this for granted,” Malone said. “He goes, ‘We have a championship window, not every team has a championship window. And what do you do? Do you take advantage of that, or do you look back in 20 years and have regrets?'”
  • Booth acknowledged that he’ll be keeping a close eye during the first half of the season on whether the Nuggets have enough shooting in their rotation and will be prepared to move at the trade deadline to address that area if necessary, writes Sean Keeler of The Denver Post.
  • Asked on Thursday about offseason rumors of tension between him and Booth, Malone offered a diplomatic answer, Keeler notes. “Calvin and I shouldn’t always agree. If we’re always agreeing, then we’re not really accomplishing what we need to accomplish,” the Nuggets’ head coach said. “But through those disagreements and through those conversations, you come to a greater good.”
  • Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, who becomes eligible on Friday for an extension worth up to $143MM over four years, indicated on Twitter that he’d be interested in representing Team USA at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. In case you missed it, Gordon and the Nuggets expressed optimism this week about the possibility of reaching a long-term deal.
  • A total of 20 Nuggets games will be televised over the air for free locally in 2024/25, while a new streaming service called Altitude+ will allow subscribers to watch the team’s other non-national broadcasts, according to Durando. Nuggets executive Kevin Demoff told Durando that the team is still looking to resolve a carriage dispute between Altitude Sports and Comcast that would allow local Comcast customers to watch Nuggets games. Altitude had been blacked out on Comcast since 2019.
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Kyle Kuzma Wants To Play In 2028 Olympics

September 16th, 2024 at 9:21am CST by Arthur Hill

Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma is hoping to play in the 2028 Olympics, and he’s willing to represent another nation if he doesn’t land a spot with Team USA. In an interview with All-Star Magazine (YouTube link), Kuzma talked about watching the U.S. win a gold medal in Paris last month and wanting to be part of that experience.

“My number one goal is to play with Team USA in the Olympics, 100%, in four years,” he said during a visit to Manila. “I had the opportunity to play for Team USA back in the 2019 FIBA World Cup before I broke my foot, but I think it’s really cool that other players are going other places to play. Because it’s very, very tough to play for Team USA. It’s the top of the top, and it’s a little political at some times. But I’m going to work really hard and hopefully one day I can get back there.”

Kuzma celebrated his 29th birthday this summer, so he’ll be 33 when the Olympic Games return to Los Angeles in four years, likely making it his last chance to participate. While the Flint, Michigan, native prefers to represent his native country, he expressed an openness to the idea of playing for the Philippines national team, which would require clearance from FIBA and Team USA.

“I could rock out with JC (Jordan Clarkson),” Kuzma said. “That’d be cool.”

Kuzma is currently preparing for his eighth NBA season and his fourth with Washington. He’s one of the few veteran players on the Wizards, who are in the midst of a youth movement and are likely to have one of the top picks in next year’s draft.

Kuzma’s long-term role with the franchise appears uncertain. He’s coming off one of the best seasons of his career — averaging 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 70 games — so he could have more value to a contender, and the front office may be willing to part with him to add to its stockpile of draft assets. Kuzma has three seasons remaining on the extension he signed last summer, so he doesn’t have much leverage if he decides he’d rather play for a team with a better chance of winning.

Among the other topics Kuzma addressed in the interview was his admiration for Heat president Pat Riley, although their paths have never crossed in the NBA.

“I’ve always admired him,” Kuzma said. “I just admired his no-nonsense approach when it came to basketball, and being professional, because that’s me. When I’m off the court, I’m very fun, I have all these different passions, but when I step (on the court), I’m very serious because I love it and it’s important to me. I just love what he stands for and his tutelage of the sport. From the Showtime (Lakers) years up until just building what the Heat culture is, it’s pretty phenomenal.”

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And-Ones: Rondo, Free Agency, Centers, USA 3×3 U23 Men

September 3rd, 2024 at 5:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA guard Rajon Rondo avoided jail time with a plea deal related to an unlawful possession of a gun charge in Indiana, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports relays via a report from Indiana’s WDRB. Rondo was arrested in Indiana in January for unlawful possession of a firearm, drug paraphernalia, and marijuana.

Rondo pled guilty to misdemeanor unlawful possession of a firearm and was given probation as part of the deal. The charges of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were dismissed. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, which was suspended. Rondo was also credited for two days of time served, and put on probation for 180 days.

Rondo, who had a 16-year NBA career, confirmed his retirement in April.

We have more from the basketball world:

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Tatum Ready To Move On After ‘Challenging’ Olympic Experience

August 29th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jayson Tatum‘s benching became one of the big storylines during Team USA’s run to the gold medal in the Paris Olympics. The Celtics star didn’t see the court in the team’s opening game against Serbia. He did play in four of the other five games and says he’s not bitter over his modest role.

“I wasn’t moping around. I didn’t have an attitude. I wasn’t angry at the world,” Tatum told Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “I stayed ready and did what was asked of me and I won a gold medal, right?”

The first-game benching was big news and Tatum was well aware of it.

“It was a lot. In the age of social media, you see everything,” Tatum said. “You see all the tweets and the people on the podcasts and people on TV giving their opinion on whether they thought it was a good decision or it was an outrageous decision or whatever. Obviously, I wanted to contribute more, and I’ve never been in (this) situation. I started playing basketball at (age) three at the YMCA, and I’ve never not played, so it was different and it was challenging.”

Tatum, who also won a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, averaged 5.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 17.7 minutes in his Olympic appearances this summer.

If there was a lingering issue to come out of his individual Olympic performances, it’s that his jump shot went AWOL. He shot  38.1% overall and missed all four of his 3-point tries.

Tatum also struggled from long range throughout the NBA playoffs, as he made only 39-of-138 three-point attempts (28.3%). He was still an offensive force while winning the first championship ring of his career, posting averages of 25.0 points and 6.3 assists in 19 playoff games.

He isn’t concerned that his shooting woes will carry into next season.

“I have two (gold medals) now, I have a championship, and everything doesn’t necessarily go the way you expect it to go, right?” Tatum said. “I’ve learned to be like, ‘OK, that’s a part of it.’ You move on, and I’m getting ready to enjoy the last little weeks I have before the season starts and get ready for another season.”

Tatum was one of several Celtics who received extensions after the season. He was rewarded with a five-year, super-max contract that will begin in 2025/26. He’s not going to rest on his laurels as Boston aims to become the first team since Golden State in 2017-18 to win back-to-back titles.

“I’m of the mindset that after ring night, in a weird way, we got to put that behind (us),” he said. “Last year was last year. We did it. It was a dream come true. We worked our (butt) off for it. But after ring night, we gotta move on. We gotta get ready for game two.”

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Stein’s Latest: Curry, James, Embiid, Yurtseven, Micic

August 18th, 2024 at 3:51pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry is eligible for a one-season, $62.6MM contract extension prior to October 21. He could also wait until the 2025 offseason to seek a two-year deal worth a projected $130MM, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story.

Stein notes that, having missed out on Jazz All-Star Lauri Markkanen and Sixers All-Star Paul George, Golden State continues looking for opportunities to upgrade the roster via trade. The Warriors believe they have the current and future assets necessary to do just that.

Last year’s Warriors went 46-36, finishing with just the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. Golden State failed to make the playoffs after falling to the Kings in the play-in tournament.

Curry, 36, had yet another excellent individual year. The 10-time All-Star averaged 26.4 points on .450/.408/.923 shooting splits, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.7 steals in 74 games.

Here are some other key notes from Stein’s newest Substack article:

  • According to Stein, there’s a belief that the Lakers would have “reluctantly” engaged in trade discussions to send All-NBA combo forward LeBron James to the Warriors, so he could join then-future Team USA colleague Curry and friend Draymond Green, if that’s what James had wanted. However, Stein’s sources say that Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, James’ longtime agent, urged both L.A. and Golden State to scrap the idea — in part because Paul didn’t want James to be faced with criticism for jumping teams for a fourth time.
  • Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid, fresh off winning his first Olympic gold medal for Team USA this summer, hinted that he might be interested in playing for his native Cameroon during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. However, as Stein writes, a player over the age of 17 can only change his country affiliation if he receives clearance from FIBA and his previous country (in this case, USA Basketball). Stein is skeptical that Embiid will be permitted to do so.
  • According to Stein, free agent center Omer Yurtseven was one of several players to recently work out for the Knicks, who opted not to sign him at that time. Greek club Panathinaikos reportedly remains intrigued by the 7-footer. New York lost its 2023/24 starting center, Isaiah Hartenstein, to the Thunder in free agency, and no doubt needs to get creative filling out its frontcourt depth, so Yurtseven would have made sense as a fringe rotation option. Across three NBA seasons with the Heat and Jazz, the big man has appeared in 113 contests (24 starts), averaging 5.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.7 steals per night.
  • Hornets point guard Vasilije Micic is considered a potential down-the-road trade target for the Nuggets, given his close relationship with Nikola Jokic, Stein writes. Micic may not be a practical option for Denver at this point though, given his $7.7MM salary and the team’s proximity to the tax aprons. Acquired midway through his 2023/24 rookie season, the 6’5″ guard averaged 10.8 points and 6.2 assists across 30 games for Charlotte down the stretch.
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Western Notes: Mills, Booker, Mavericks

August 17th, 2024 at 11:58am CST by Tristan Tucker

New Jazz guard Patty Mills is a respected veteran who has been a key part of several contenders and championship winners across the span of his 15-year career. That’s what made him an appealing target for Utah, Tony Jones of The Athletic writes.

As Jones observes, Mills and Jazz coach Will Hardy crossed over in San Antonio and Hardy observed as Mills worked hard to become the player who helped the Spurs win a ring in 2014. Mills isn’t the player he was a decade ago, but his hard work and veteran guidance could help aid Cody Williams, Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George and others in their professional development.

Jones notes that the Jazz have been interested in Mills for a while now and almost acquired him at the February trade deadline. The guard was eventually bought out from Atlanta and finished the 2023/24 season with Miami. While the Jazz won’t officially announce the signing quite yet as they continue exploring taking in salaries from trades, it says a lot about Mills that he was able to land a guaranteed deal with the team.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • Stars like Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant rightfully dominated Olympic headlines as the U.S. brought home the gold, but there were impressive showings up and down the roster. One such “unsung” player is Devin Booker, Doug Haller of The Athletic writes. Haller ponders whether Booker will gain more respect as he enters his 10th NBA season, arguing that he isn’t as “strongly appreciated” as he should be outside of Arizona.
  • Bucks guard Damian Lillard praised Booker for his role on the Olympic team, saying he was able to put his head down and fill various team needs, Dana Scott of Arizona Republic writes. “Watching the games, I thought it was extremely obvious that he went into it with that mentality,” Lillard said of Booker. “Like, ‘I’m gonna pick guys up, I’m gonna get into the ball, make open shots, I’m gonna compete for the team.’ I think it takes a special type of person to take that role when there’s so many outside voices and people talking about every little thing, and he definitely did that.” Lillard sees the Suns superstar as holding a critical role on the 2028 iteration of Team USA.
  • The Mavericks are holding their training camp in Las Vegas this year, Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com relays. They’ll train on UNLV’s campus from Oct. 1-4 before returning to Dallas, where they play Memphis in their preseason opener on Oct. 7.
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Team USA Notes: Curry, LeBron, Durant, Haliburton, Banchero

August 13th, 2024 at 7:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Could some of the gold-medal winners from Team USA pair up in the future on an NBA team? Sam Amick of The Athletic explores that topic, noting that superstar-laden teams are sometimes born out of their bonding experiences with USA Basketball.

A LeBron James–Stephen Curry pairing seems unlikely now that LeBron’s son is on the Lakers roster and Curry would like to finish his career with the Warriors. Could Golden State eventually wind up with Durant-Curry reunion or a Devin Booker–Curry backcourt? Suns owner Mat Ishbia has squashed talk of trading his stars but Amick speculates that could change if Phoenix flops in the postseason again.

We have more USA Basketball-related news:

  • If Kevin Durant wants to play for Team USA in Los Angeles, team officials would like to have him back, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (hat tip to Zach Bachar of Bleacher Report).  “I would not rule out KD playing, and I talked with Team USA officials, and they would give him a provisional yes right now,” Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective. Durant has already set the Olympic record with four gold medals in men’s basketball. Durant, who averaged 13.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in Paris off the bench, will be 39 in 2028.
  • Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton hopes to retain his spot on Team USA in future Olympics, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. He informed managing director Grant Hill that he’d welcome an invite to the Los Angeles Games. “I’ve told Grant — I’ve said it many times — I want to represent USA Basketball for as long as I can,” Haliburton said. He was essentially the 12th man on this year’s squad, averaging 8.8 minutes in three appearances. He was dealing with a minor leg injury during the tournament.
  • Magic forward Paolo Banchero, a member of USA’s last World Cup team, was under serious consideration for the Paris Olympics, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. He’s a player Hill wants to feature in future Olympics. In the same piece, Vardon speculates which players from this year’s gold medal squad might be back for 2028.
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Western Notes: Durant, Holmgren, Williams, Wolves, Grizzlies

August 13th, 2024 at 5:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Durant admits that retirement has crossed his mind, the Suns superstar revealed on the latest episode of TV One’s “Raising Fame” (hat tip to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic).

“As I get older in the league and the league is getting younger, I tend to think about retirement more,” the Suns forward said. “… Should I stop thinking about it? What is that? But it creeps in my mind for sure.”

Durant, 35, remains one of the league’s most productive players — he averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game last season. He has also battled his share of injuries in recent years, though he was durable enough to start 75 regular-season games for the Suns in the 2023/24 season. Durant is entering the third year of his four-year, $194.2MM contract.

Durant has been in the league since 2007, when he was the second overall pick of the draft.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • With the Olympics still fresh on everyone’s mind, will a couple of Thunder players represent Team USA in 2028? Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman explores that question in his latest mailbag. Lorenzi speculates that Chet Holmgren has a strong chance to be on that 12-man U.S. roster, noting that his skill set translates well to the international game. He’s a shot-blocker and rim protector who stretches out defenses with his range at the offensive end. Jalen Williams could also be in the mix as a combo wing if his game continues to develop as expected.
  • The Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Lynx have agreed to a multiyear corporate sponsorship deal with Sezzle Inc., which includes a jersey patch sponsorship, according to Nick Williams of the Star Tribune. Terms of the sponsorship deal were not disclosed but those sponsorship deals around the league are expected to average $10MM for the upcoming season. The Wolves, according to Williams, are expected to earn near the average via their sponsorship.
  • The Grizzlies, who were overwhelmed by injuries to key players last season, didn’t do much this offseason beyond drafting two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey to fill their void in the middle and re-signing Luke Kennard on a one-year deal. They also hired six new assistant coaches. Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal gives the front office high marks for its approach to this offseason.
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Team USA Notes: Booker, Curry, Legacies, Durant

August 11th, 2024 at 3:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Though Devin Booker generally wasn’t one of Team USA’s primary offensive options in the club’s run to gold at the Paris Olympics, ranking just fifth on the team in points per game, head coach Steve Kerr made it clear that the Suns’ All-Star guard provided an essential, steady two-way presence, David Aldridge of The Athletic (Twitter link).

“He was incredible this entire round,” Kerr said of Booker’s play during the knockout games. “Just what he does, play to play to play. Rock solid. Completely changed his role from the NBA to now. He was kind of our unsung MVP. I just wanted to say that.”

There’s more out of Team USA:

  • During the 98-87 gold medal game win against Team France on Saturday, 10-time Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry saved the day by shooting 4-of-4 from long range in the game’s final three minutes, making his final three-pointer over a double team. Even by Curry’s lofty standards, he had a night to remember, writes Aldridge in an article for The Athletic. “Coach (Kerr) reminded me, at a certain point, early, the game will come to you if you allow it,” Curry said. “And even if I was missing shots, just stay engaged. And that kind of fed into being locked in for these last two games, because the game called for me to get shots up, and knock them down. … you just stay confident, stay present, and don’t get rattled by the moment.”
  • Nabbing a gold medal in Paris helped seal the historic legacies of several Team USA personal, opines Sam Amick of The Athletic. Thirty-nine-year-old LeBron James, 36-year-old Curry, and 35-year-old Kevin Durant may have put the finishing touches on their international careers with this summer’s victory. It was Curry’s first Olympic medal, James’ third gold and fourth medal overall (he won bronze on that infamous 2004 team), and Durant’s record-breaking fourth gold. Curry had won gold at two FIBA World Cup events, but had never participated in an Olympics. “It’s everything I imagined, and more,” Curry said. “The guys in that locker room, we all signed up for the mission to continue USA Basketball dominance. Obviously, I understand it’s gonna be a really tough task, with some great teams that we’re gonna have to face, and there’s a sense of relief at the end, but it’s more a sense of accomplishment, obviously, knowing what we were able to do.”
  • Durant explained how the team that James has nicknamed the ‘Paris Avengers’ got together, per Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.  “[Team USA managing director Grant Hill and Kerr] came to Brooklyn and they tried to get me to play in the World Cup,” Durant said. “So I knew how important it was for us to be here for 2024 and kind of committed there. And I think last summer, Bron had started texting everybody, giving his input on who should be on the team and if everybody was playing. And so when you start sending those texts out, I kind of knew we were all gonna get together.” Having Curry onboard for the first time in the Olympics made it all click, according to Durant: “This was a special time. I knew Steph was gonna play, as he had never been on an Olympic team before. He had a couple of world championships but never won an Olympic medal. So it was a no-brainer, especially when them two committed. And once the team was built, I kind of knew it was gonna be special.”
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Olympic Notes: France, Hill, Lue, Spoelstra, Winners & Losers

August 11th, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Team USA has defeated France in the gold medal game in each of the last two Olympics, but the challenge could be more difficult if they meet again in four years, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Both games have been extremely close, and while the U.S. will likely lose several veteran stars by 2028, French basketball appears to be on the rise.

It starts with Victor Wembanyama, who is already a force at age 20 and could be the best player in the world by the next Olympiad. He led France with 15.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game this year and is already looking ahead to his next Olympics opportunity.

“Nobody knows what’s going to happen, but what’s for sure is we’re growing. Basketball is growing here,” Wembanyama said after Saturday’s game. “Nobody is going to take [this experience] from me. I’m learning and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple years.”

France had the top two selections in this year’s NBA draft, Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr, neither of whom played in the Olympics. French guard Nolan Traore is projected to go in the 2025 lottery and could be part of a loaded roster in 2028.

Nicolas Batum, who retired from international basketball on Saturday after a long career, believes France is ready to challenge the Americans for Olympic superiority.

“The U.S. is still the best team in the world but we’re getting closer and closer,” he said. “We respect them, but we’re not scared of them. We’ll just go out there and try to beat them.”

There’s more from the Olympics:

  • USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill is looking forward to a break after overseeing a fifth straight gold medal, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The U.S. won’t have another major international tournament until the 2027 World Cup in Qatar, so he’ll have some time to think about assembling the next roster. “Over four years, a lot can and will happen,” Hill said. “Now, getting away from it a little bit, just letting things play out and see how guys continue to develop and see what kind of season guys have over the next year or so. And then, at some point, you start that process all over again.”
  • Assistants Tyronn Lue and Erik Spoelstra appear to be the favorites to succeed Steve Kerr as Team USA’s head coach, Reynolds adds in the same piece. Kerr committed to coach in the 2023 World Cup and this year’s Olympics when he took over for Gregg Popovich.
  • As the Olympics prepare to wrap up, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today picks winners and losers from the men’s basketball competition. Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Team USA are obvious winners, along with France and Serbia for also capturing medals. Zillgitt’s losers are Canada, Germany, Australia and Spain, which all went home empty-handed despite high expectations, along with Nikola Jokic, whom Zillgitt criticizes for not talking to the media during his brilliant performance.
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