- Maryland’s Bruno Fernando, who also projects as a potential first-round pick, also worked out for the Celtics, and will do the same for the Hawks, Pacers, Timberwolves, Spurs, and Jazz, tweets Robbins. Workouts with Charlotte, Detroit, and Orlando had been previously reported for Fernando.
- After visiting the Lakers on Friday, French center Darel Poirier had workouts lined up with the Heat, Sixers, Jazz, and Timberwolves, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando (Twitter link). Poirier played in the G League in 2018/19 with Washington’s affiliate, but remains draft-eligible for 2019.
- According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (via Twitter), the workout list for Indiana forward Juwan Morgan includes the Suns, Pacers, Bulls, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Jazz, and Kings.
- The Jazz worked out 12 draft-eligible prospects on Sunday, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Grant Williams (Tennessee), Naz Reid (LSU), KZ Okpala (Stanford), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), Dylan Windler (Belmont), Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), Jared Harper (Auburn), Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), Louis King (Oregon), Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra) all got a look from the club.
- Many of those players could be in the mix for the Jazz‘s No. 23 pick in the first round. Tony Jones of The Athletic explores 10 prospects Utah may be eyeing at that spot, naming Reid, Okpala, Edwards, and Windler as potential targets. Jones adds (via Twitter) that Admiral Schofield (Tennessee) is working out with the Jazz this week.
- Injured Jazz point guard Dante Exum is trying to focus on the positives as he goes through another rehab process, per Aaron Falk of UtahJazz.com. “It’s frustrating to go into an offseason injured,” said Exum, who underwent knee surgery in March. “But I’ve thrown a lot of my energy and time into planning what my offseason will look like so I can be the best player I can be coming out of it.”
Jazz center Rudy Gobert was named to the All-NBA Third Team earlier today, and while he was not named to an All-NBA team last season, he will still be eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension in the summer of 2020, reports Tim Bontemps of ESPN, because he was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2017/18 season.
It’s always been clear that to be eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension, a player must:
- have 7 or 8 years of service at the time the extension is signed;
- have 1 or 2 years remaining on his current contract;
- play with the same team continuously since entering the league, unless he was traded during his first four years in the league; and
- meet the 35% Max Criteria
Gobert clearly meets the first three requirements. In the summer of 2020, he will have played seven seasons in the NBA, all for the Jazz, and have one year left on his contract. The fourth requirement wasn’t so clear. Before today, it seemed to be generally understood (h/t to Larry Coon’s NBA Salary Cap FAQ) that a player qualified for the 35% Max Criteria if:
- He was named to the All-NBA First, Second, or Third team in the most recent season, or both of the two seasons that preceded the most recent season;
- He was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or both of the two seasons that preceded the most recent season; or
- He was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in any of the three most recent seasons.
Gobert was named All-NBA Third Team this season, but did not make an All-NBA team last season. Gobert was named Defensive Player of Year last season, but that award hasn’t been handed out yet for this season. So how does Gobert meet the 35% Max Criteria?
Bobby Marks of ESPN provides the answer, tweeting that the NBA is allowing players to combine DPOY and All-NBA when factoring in whether a player met the criteria in “both of the two seasons that preceded the most recent season” (here, the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons, as Gobert’s extension would kick in after the 2019/20 season).
So, because Gobert earned DPOY or All-NBA in both 2017/18 and 2018/19, he meets the 35% Max Criteria and is eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension in 2020.
If the Jazz are willing to put that super-max extension on the table for Gobert, it would go into effect in 2021/22 and would add five years and an estimated $247MM to his current contract.
- Draft-eligible prospect Brian Bowen has workouts lined up with the Jazz, Warriors, and Kings, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Bowen previously worked out for Indiana.
- Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy, who previously worked out for the Grizzlies, will be part of the Jazz‘s group workout tomorrow, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Jon Axel Gudmundsson (Davidson), Zach Norvell Jr. (Gonzaga), Corey Davis Jr. (Houston), and Donnie Tillman (Utah) will also be part of that workout, according to the Jazz (Twitter link).
The NBA has formally announced the All-NBA First, Second, and Third Teams for the 2018/19 season, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden leading the way as the two unanimous selections for the First Team.
The full All-NBA teams are listed below, with their vote totals in parentheses. Players received five points for a First Team vote, three points for a Second Team vote, and one point for a Third Team vote, so Antetokounmpo and Harden scored a perfect 500 — First Team nods from all 100 voters.
All-NBA First Team
- Guard: James Harden, Rockets (500)
- Guard: Stephen Curry, Warriors (482)
- Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (500)
- Forward: Paul George, Thunder (433)
- Center: Nikola Jokic, Nuggets (411)
All-NBA Second Team
- Guard: Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers (306)
- Guard: Kyrie Irving, Celtics (195)
- Forward: Kevin Durant, Warriors (358)
- Forward: Kawhi Leonard, Raptors (242)
- Center: Joel Embiid, Sixers (372)
All-NBA Third Team
- Guard: Russell Westbrook, Thunder (178)
- Guard: Kemba Walker, Hornets (51)
- Forward: Blake Griffin, Pistons (115)
- Forward: LeBron James, Lakers (111)
- Center: Rudy Gobert, Jazz (89)
As we detailed in March, this year’s All-NBA selections have significant financial implications for several players. Here’s a breakdown of how several All-NBA candidates were impacted:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo is now eligible for a super-max extension with the Bucks, which he can sign in 2020. It would start at 35% of the cap in 2021/22 and would extend his contract by five years.
- Damian Lillard is now eligible for a super-max extension with the Trail Blazers, which he can sign in 2019. It would start at 35% of the cap in 2021/22 and would extend his contract by four years.
- Kemba Walker is now eligible for a super-max contract with the Hornets, which he can sign in 2019. It would start at 35% of the cap in 2019/20 and would be for five years.
- Bradley Beal, Klay Thompson, Nikola Vucevic, and other super-max candidates who didn’t earn All-NBA honors aren’t eligible for super-max contracts (or a super-max extension, in Beal’s case). Thompson’s and Vucevic’s maximum contracts this summer would start at 30% of the cap.
- Karl-Anthony Towns‘ extension with the Timberwolves, which goes into effect in 2019/20, will start at 25% of the cap, rather than 30%, because he didn’t earn All-NBA honors.
Beal and Thompson received the most All-NBA votes of any guards who missed out on the All-NBA teams, receiving 34 and 27 points respectively. Sixers guard Ben Simmons got seven points, while no other guards had more than four.
LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs) and Danilo Gallinari (Clippers) were the runners-up at forward, receiving 17 and seven points, respectively. Pascal Siakam (Raptors) had four points, while no other forwards had more than three.
At center, Towns received 20 points, followed by Vucevic at four and Pistons center Andre Drummond with three.
Interestingly, the 15 players named to the All-NBA teams for 2018/19 were the same 15 players that Hoops Rumors readers voted for in our end-of-season All-NBA polls last month. The only differences were George swapping places with Durant and Irving flipping spots with Westbrook.
The full and official All-NBA voting results can be found right here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
It looks like the Grizzlies will have to scratch one name off their list of potential head coaches. Lithuanian basketball journalist Donatas Urbonas is reporting that Zalgiris Kaunas is confident Sarunas Jasikevicius will return to coach the team next season (Twitter link). Memphis, the only NBA team currently without a head coach, reportedly has interest in Jasikevicius if he decides to leave Europe.
“Today it seems like everything is OK and Saras is staying in Zalgiris,” team executive Robertas Javtokas said in a TV interview. “I think last year we had even bigger headache due to Saras’ future status. Of course, if [an] NBA offer comes, we will be very glad for him. It would be an issue for us, but we know Saras won’t be here forever and we must be ready for this.” (Twitter link)
Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin was the latest candidate to interview for the Grizzlies’ vacancy. He joins former Suns coach Igor Kokoskov, Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen and Warriors assistant Jarron Collins.
There’s more out of Memphis:
- By conducting a thorough coaching search, the Grizzlies are making up for their mistake last summer when they didn’t talk to anyone outside the organization before giving the job to interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, writes Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. Herrington recommends that the team look for someone relatively young who has head coaching experience at some level and a track record of player development.
- Center Jonas Valanciunas recently indicated that the coaching hire will affect whether he decides to opt in to a $17.6MM salary next season, Herrington notes. Valanciunas, who averaged 19.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game after being acquired from the Raptors midway through the season, has a June 13 deadline to make his decision.
- A Mike Conley trade is more likely to happen after July 1 because more teams will have cap room to absorb part of his salary, Herrington writes in a separate story. The Grizzlies will be well stocked at point guard if they draft Ja Morant and keep free agent Delon Wright, so Herrington expects the club to focus on players who get drafted next month, along with future draft picks and young players with affordable contracts for the next few years. The Timberwolves, Heat, Pistons, Jazz and Pacers are considered the most likely landing spots for Conley, according to Herrington, but the Knicks, Lakers, Clippers and Celtics are candidates to enter the mix depending how free agency turns out.
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.
[RELATED: NBA Announces 2018/19 All-Rookie Teams]
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.
Tobias Harris is set to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and he will have options outside of Philadelphia. The Grizzlies, Jazz, Mavericks, and Nets were previously linked to the combo forward and Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds the Kings and Pacers to the growing list of teams that may pursue Harris.
Every team on that list outside of the Grizzlies has the ability to offer Harris a maximum-salary contract, though Memphis is expected to trade Mike Conley this summer. It’s possible the franchise could make cost-cutting moves that would open up max space.
Harris is eligible for a five-year deal from the Sixers worth slightly under $190MM. Should he leave for a rival team, the max is four years and roughly $140.6MM. Pompey hears that the Sixers will likely have to offer Harris a five-year max to keep him.
Philadelphia has already invested heavily in Harris. The franchise sent Landry Shamet (former first-rounder), a protected 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 unprotected pick (originally from Miami), two second-rounders, Wilson Chandler, and Mike Muscala to the Clippers in order to acquire Harris. The Sixers also received Mike Scott and Boban Marjanovic—two players who will be free agents this summer as well.
Team chemistry is expected to be a factor in Harris’ decision, per Pompey. While the 26-year-old also yearns for a chance to win an NBA title and a max contract, he’s a high-character guy who wants to be in a good situation.
University of Michigan freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis is strongly leaning toward staying the draft, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. “Definitely leaning toward staying in,” he said while working out for the Pistons on Monday. Brazdeikis’ representatives have told him he’ll go anywhere from No. 20-40 in the draft, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony currently pegs the power forward at No. 46 overall.
We have more developments regarding draft prospects:
- The Pistons brought in two groups of prospects, including Brazdeikis, on Monday, Langlois notes in a separate tweet. The first group included centers Naz Reid (LSU) and Marques Bolden (Duke), point guards Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech) and Andrew Nembhard (Florida) and forward Louis King (Oregon) came in during the morning session; Shooting guards Quinndary Weatherspoon (Mississippi State), Ethan Thompson (Oregon State) and Ahmed Hill (Virginia Tech), forwards Martin Krampelj (Creighton) and Savion Flagg (Texas A&M) and point guard Phil Booth (Villanova) visited during the afternoon session.
- The Pacers will conduct a pair of draft workouts on Tuesday, the team announced in a press release. The first group includes Brian Bowen II (Australia), Ty Jerome (Virginia), Jaylen Nowell (Washington), Josh Perkins (Gonzaga), Dylan Windler (Belmont) and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra). The second group includes Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), CJ Elleby (Washington State), Krampelj, Derrik Smits (Butler), and Lamar Stevens (Penn State). Edwards (No. 25) and Jerome (No. 29) are the highest-rated prospects among those groups, according to Givony.
- Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Luguentz Dort will work out for the Suns, Warriors, Trail Blazers and Jazz next week, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets. The 6’5” Dort (Arizona State) is rated No. 27 overall by Givony and No. 7 among shooting guard prospects.
- Oregon forward Kenny Wooten wrote on his Instagram account that he will remain in the draft, Steve Mims of DuckSports.com reports. Wooten averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 2.2 BPG in his sophomore year. He is not listed among Givony’s Top 100 prospects.