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Jayson Tatum shot off through first four games of NBA Finals

Via the Boston Herald:

As evidenced by Steph Curry’s elevated level of shotmaking in this series, the greatest players are at their best in the NBA Finals.

Jayson Tatum, who has struggled to reach that level heading into Monday night’s Game 5, is still searching to do more after a slow start over the first four. He’s shooting 34% overall (28-for-82) and a particularly rough 27.5% on 2-point attempts, with a 45% 3-point percentage (14-for-31) that’s a bit misleading, considering his lack of opportunities and makes late in those games.

Though the Celtics star has admitted he needs to do more in a scoring sense, he remains focused on making the right play – an approach supported by his assist numbers (7.8 average).

“Obviously I want to win by any means necessary and I’ll do whatever it takes,” Tatum said before Sunday’s practice when asked about building his young legacy on the Finals stage.

“That’s all I really care about right now is winning,” he said.

Draymond Green comments on Jayson Tatum’s play in NBA Finals through Game 4

Via Boston.com:

Celtics star Jayson Tatum hasn’t played to his usual standards through four games of the NBA Finals, but Warriors forward Draymond Green — who has grilled his share of beef with Celtics fans — believes Tatum has still been integral to the Celtics’ success…

“It’s tough,” Green said. “You’re experiencing something for the first time. I think he’s handled it well. He’s maybe not shot the ball as well as he’d like or everyone else would like, but overall I think he’s been playing well, and that’s why it’s a 2-2 series, coming back for Game 5.

“I think he’s handling it all extremely well. He’s taking what the defense gives him, and that’s what great players do. But I think he’s doing a good job.”

The latest on Sacramento Kings NBA draft workouts

Here’s the Sacramento Bee with the latest on Kings draft workouts:

The Kings have been tightlipped about their preparation for the NBA draft over the past couple of weeks, but one of the players they are evaluating has revealed he is coming to Sacramento for a pre-draft workout.

Dyson Daniels, a projected top-10 pick in the June 23 draft, shared his itinerary Friday following a workout with the Indiana Pacers. Daniels told the Indianapolis Star’s James Boyd he will visit the Kings and Washington Wizards in the days to come after participating in previous workouts with the Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Pacers. A league source confirmed Daniels is expected to make a stop in Sacramento.

LeBron James wants an NBA team in Las Vegas

A growing number of people, including many fans as well as those in the business of basketball, would be happy to see a Las Vegas-based NBA team in the future. Well, add LeBron James to that list. Via ESPN.com:

LeBron James, whose net worth was recently valuated north of $1 billion by Forbes, has made it known for years that he plans to own an NBA team when he is finished playing.

Now that vision has a location.

“I want a team in Vegas,” James said in a clip from the latest episode of his talk show, “The Shop,” that will debut Friday. “I want the team in Vegas.”

James, who is already a part-owner of Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox, said last season that his “goal is to own an NBA franchise,” adding, “and it will be sooner than later.”

The guess continues to be that if the NBA does add expansion teams again someday, Vegas and Seattle are the favorites to land squads.

The latest on the Utah Jazz coaching search

The Utah Jazz need a new head coach. Here’s the latest on that search from ESPN.com:

The Utah Jazz have received permission to interview several assistant coaches in their search for Quin Snyder’s replacement, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

The list includes New York Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant, Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee, and Boston Celtics assistant coaches Will Hardy and Joe Mazzulla, sources said.

Utah also intends to interview Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen and former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, sources said.

Jayson Tatum discusses his shot heading into NBA Finals Game 2

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum did lots of great things in Finals Game 1 – when he wasn’t shooting. Here’s Boston.com on it:

Celtics star Jayson Tatum didn’t shoot well in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He made just 3-of-17 shots from the field and was 1-of-5 from 3-point range, giving him 12 points on the evening.

Despite that, not only did the Celtics beat the Warriors in Game 1, but they also scored an astonishing 120 points against the league’s second-best defense. A big reason for that was Tatum’s playmaking. He finished with a career-high 13 assists on Thursday, which were also the most ever by a player in their first NBA Finals game.

While Tatum’s certainly expecting to shoot better in Sunday’s Game 2, he said he isn’t going to go out of his way to try and score.

“I don’t think [I’ll try to force shots],” Tatum told reporters at Saturday’s practice. “I had more assists than points last game. So I feel like I made the right play more often than not. You know, it’s not much to overthink. I feel like it’s a lot of shots, the open shots that I miss more often than not that I make.

“So it’s not something that I’m losing sleep over. You know, we won. That was most important, right? It’s the Finals. That’s all that matters. Obviously, I know I’ve got to play better. I can’t shoot like that every game and hopefully we win. I expect to play better shooting-wise, but just impacting the game in different ways to do my part, and let’s get a win. I will continue to do that. Just read the game, read each play. That’s how I kind of approach next game.”

Finals Game 2 is Sunday night at Golden State.

Timberwolves reportedly adding Matt Lloyd to front office

Via the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Tim Connelly has his first major hire since taking over the Timberwolves’ basketball operations department in place.

Minnesota is set to hire Matt Lloyd as senior vice president of basketball operations, a move first reported by ESPN.

Lloyd has worked for the Orlando Magic since 2012.

Prior to last season, Lloyd was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in Orlando.

The Timberwolves finished last season with a 46-36 record, good for 7th best in the Western conference. They qualified for the playoffs via the league’s play-in tournament, and fell in six games to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

Now official: Lakers hire Darvin Ham as new head coach

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Darvin Ham to a multi-year contract as head coach, it was announced today by Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.

“When someone begins his NBA coaching career at the G League level and goes all the way through playing an integral role on the front bench of an NBA Championship team, it really speaks to a certain strength of character. Our players and fans will immediately identify with Darvin’s no-nonsense and hard-working approach, which we feel will bring toughness and a competitive edge to all we do,” said Pelinka. “When you add that to Darvin’s sophisticated grasp of in-game strategy and deep knowledge of the game of basketball, we have the ideal coach for this next chapter in Lakers history. We could not be more honored and proud to name Darvin Ham as our new head coach.”

Ham, 48, will be the 28th head coach in franchise history and the 24th of the Los Angeles era.

Ham enjoyed an eight-year NBA playing career (1996-98, 1999-2005), suiting up with Detroit, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Washington, Indiana and Denver. He was a member of the 2004 championship team with the Pistons.

Per the Orange County Register, “by now the broad strokes of Ham’s career are familiar to most Lakers fans: Ham was a journeyman player who won a championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, followed by a long tenure as an assistant with the Lakers, Atlanta and Milwaukee. He’s coming from the Bucks, with whom he won a championship in 2021 under Mike Budenholzer. Ham’s previous experience with the Lakers – a two-year stint under Mike Brown – mattered in the hiring process. On Friday morning as they officially acknowledged the hire, the Lakers re-shared a 10-year-old Twitter post of Ham working out with Kobe Bryant.”

Per ESPN.com, “Ham will be tasked with turning around a Lakers team that went 33-49 this season and missed the playoffs, leading to Frank Vogel’s firing… The Lakers also interviewed Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts and former Warriors coach and current ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson, sources told ESPN.”

After his successful playing career, Ham began coaching in 2008 as an assistant coach with the New Mexico Thunderbirds of the NBA Developmental League before taking over as general manager and head coach of the team in 2010. In 2011, Ham joined the Lakers as an assistant coach, spending two seasons with Los Angeles. He would then spend five seasons as an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks (2013-18) and joined the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach in 2018, helping the Bucks to the 2021 NBA Championship.

A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Ham graduated from Texas Tech and played internationally in Spain, the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Jaylen Brown reportedly signing with Kanye West’s Donda Sports

Some sports marketing news, via ESPN.com:

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown said he believes joining up with Kayne West’s marketing firm is the start of a “beautiful collaboration.”

It became public this week that the Celtics forward was the first NBA player to sign with Donda Sports, a fledgling marketing company that is part of West’s larger clothing line. Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald recently said he’d joined the firm.

With the NBA Finals set to begin, Donda Sports would be smart to issue a press release on this, sooner rather than later.