Author: Inside Hoops

InsideHoops.com has been a world leader in NBA basketball coverage for over 20 years. Read our blog, but also be sure to read our main website on www.insidehoops.com

Quick Orlando Magic free agency overview

The Magic have a fairly simple free agency situation this offseason. They don’t face particularly big decisions, at least in terms of their own current roster. Here’s the Orlando Sentinel:

With the NBA draft and free agency tipping off this week, the Orlando Magic are expected to make decisions that will shape their 2020-21 roster.

D.J. Augustin and Michael Carter-Williams will be unrestricted free agents, and the Magic will have to decide whether to extend qualifying offers to Wes Iwundu and Gary Clark. Plus, the Magic will need to carve out a spot for 2019 first-round pick Chuma Okeke, who signed his rookie-scale contract on Monday, and likely for their 2020 draft pick (or picks) as well.

Free agent negotiations around the league formally begin Friday, and signings are allowed starting Sunday.

Knicks and Jazz trade draft picks, Ante Tomic

The New York Knicks have acquired the 23rd overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft as well as the draft rights to Ante Tomić from the Utah Jazz in exchange for the 27th and 38th overall selections in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Tomić (7-2, 265-pound center), was originally selected by Utah in the second round (44th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft. He has played his entire professional career overseas, most recently signing with Jovenut (Spain) after playing for FC Barcelona (2012-2020), Real Madrid (2010-12) and Zagreb (2004-10). The 33-year-old, Croatia-native, has won four Spanish Cups (2012, 2013, 2018, 2019) and one Liga ACB title (2014). He was named the Adriatic League MVP in 2009 and is a four-time All-ACB selection and two-time All-Euro League first team selection.

Wizards announce additions to their athlete care and performance group

The Washington Wizards announced today three new additions to their athlete care and performance group, with Director of Player Health Dr. Michael Ashton, Director of Physical and Performance Therapy Dr. Michael Davis and Director of Athletic Performance Adam Petway joining the team under Monumental Basketball Chief of Athlete Care & Performance Dr. Daniel Medina.

“Dr. Ashton, Dr. Davis and Adam all have tremendous experience in their respective positions across various sports entities and add expertise across many different disciplines,” said Medina. “They will combine with our existing staff to maximize health and performance for the Wizards and assist with providing the best care possible for all of the athletes in the Monumental Basketball family.”

Ashton, Davis and Petway join Medina and Vice President of Player Performance Mark Simpson, Wizards Director of Player Rehabilitation and Therapy Jesse Phillips, Wizards/Go-Go Assistant Athletic Trainer Carlos Bustamante, Mystics Athletic Trainer Chalisa Fonza, Mystics Strength Coach Sarah Walls and Nutritionist Sue Saunders in the athlete care and performance group. The staff will continue to work in conjunction with MedStar Health and assist one another across the Monumental Basketball platform.

Ashton, a dual-credentialed clinician, will play a leading and pivotal role in the provision of medical care, integrative rehabilitation services and injury reduction strategies. In addition, he will perform the functions of a head athletic trainer and will provide technical leadership to the Monumental Basketball athletic trainers. After 10 years working as a physical therapist in orthopedic and sports settings, Ashton joined the Oklahoma City Thunder organization as a physical therapist and athletic trainer, serving in a dual role for the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue before transitioning to the Thunder full time in 2018.

Michael Davis will add his experience in the prevention, clinical management, and return to play strategies for the Wizards, while also providing technical leadership for all Monumental Basketball teams. He brings over 17 years of experience working as a physical therapist in neurological, orthopedic, circulatory, and sports settings, working with athletes from the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, and combat sports. Davis comes to the Wizards most recently from the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he worked for the past five seasons after joining the organization as a performance physical therapist in 2015.

Petway will be responsible for leading the delivery of evidence-based strength and conditioning programs for the Wizards and will work very closely with other members of the athlete care and performance group in the execution of player injury prevention and recovery programs. Petway comes to the organization from the Philadelphia 76ers, where he spent the last two seasons as the team’s lead biomechanist and strength coach. He began his career in the DMV area with strength and conditioning roles at The Catholic University of America, The George Washington University, and the University of Maryland before working as director of strength and conditioning for men’s basketball at the University of Arkansas.

Some 2020 NBA draft role-player prospects the Jazz could target

The Jazz are at No. 23 in this year’s NBA draft. Here’s the Salt Lake Tribune on it:

There are some promising role-player prospects for the Jazz at No. 23 this year, too. While the lottery of this draft is one of the worst ever, it’s generally regarded to have relatively good talent in the middle of the order that figure to fill NBA rosters.

Among the highlights: TCU’s Desmond Bane is one of the draft’s best outside shooters while also showing defensive toughness, Arizona’s Josh Green is a menace on the wing while flashing the shooting and athleticism to be much more, Mississippi State’s Robert Woodard has the muscular, long frame to help defensively immediately, and Tyrell Terry, Tyrese Maxey and Theo Maledon all figure to be at least good backup guards in the NBA.

There is another wildcard to consider, though: the possibility of the Jazz trading up, trading down, or trading out of the draft.

The draft is tomorrow night, on ESPN TV.

Jabari Parker reportedly exercises option to remain with Kings for 2020-21

Jabari Parker will remain in Sacramento. Here’s the Sacramento Bee:

Kings forward Jabari Parker has reportedly exercised his player option and will remain in Sacramento for the 2020-21 season.

Sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Tuesday that Parker is picking up his $6.5 million option for next season, a move that comes as no surprise. Parker is still only 25 years old, but his career has been plagued by injuries since the Milwaukee Bucks selected him from Duke with the No. 2 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Parker played 32 games for the Hawks last season and averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds, and was traded to the Kings, for whom he played just six games, averaging 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per outing.

Rockets superstar James Harden reportedly seeks trade to Nets

Now this is big. James Harden, one of the best players in the NBA, and one of the league’s most potent offensive superstars in many years, is reportedly ready to move on from the Houston Rockets. Where would Harden like to be traded? Brooklyn, reportedly. Here’s the Houston Chronicle:

James Harden on Monday went from interested to determined in regard to making the career- and franchise-changing move of leaving the Rockets for the Brooklyn Nets. And he took an unprecedented step to prove it.

Harden turned down the Rockets’ offer of a two-year, $103 million contract extension, two individuals with knowledge of the offer confirmed. ESPN was the first to report the offer that would have had Harden, 31, under contract, for five more seasons.

The extension would have put Harden in line to become the highest-paid player in NBA history.

Harden made it clear that rather than finish his career with the Rockets, he wants to be dealt to the Nets to play with Kevin Durant, his former Oklahoma City teammate, and Kyrie Irving. He also indicated he has no interest in going anywhere besides Brooklyn and believes the Rockets should make the best deal with the Nets that they can, even if they do not consider it satisfactory.

Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer the past three seasons, has three seasons, worth $133 million, remaining on his contract, the last season at a player option.

Harden and Kyrie Irving aren’t necessarily a perfect backcourt match, but their individual talent is undeniable, and their potential, along with Durant in the frontcourt, would make for an incredibly powerful NBA trio.

For now, this just remains Harden’s alleged wish. By no means does this appear to be a trade in motion just yet.

2020 NBA draft prospect Isaac Okoro could be nice fit for Knicks

The 2020 NBA draft is Wednesday evening. Here’s the New York Post with a Knicks note:

Isaac Okoro, the Auburn small-forward defensive specialist, would seem just what Dr. Thibodeau ordered.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is trying to change the franchise’s culture to one that emphasizes winning and defense. And Okoro says that’s all he knows.

Okoro, who has interviewed with Knicks brass ahead of Wednesday’s draft, says he’s tried to tell teams he will “bring in a winning culture.’’ By all accounts, Okoro shapes up as the draft’s best perimeter defender…

The Knicks will select at No. 8 and Okoro remains on the radar with the club potentially passing on a point guard.

The draft will be held virtually this year, over the Internet, based out of ESPN studies in Bristol, Connecticut.

Pelicans reportedly trading Jrue Holiday to Bucks

The Bucks are about to upgrade their backcourt. Here’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

The New Orleans Pelicans are trading the star two-way guard to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and three first-round picks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The move largely completes the transition from the team’s last playoff run in the 2018. Star big man Anthony Davis was traded to the Lakers in 2019, and previous coach Alvin Gentry was fired in August.

Now that Holiday has been sent north, the lone player from the roster that swept the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs in 2018 still under contract is Darius Miller, who missed the entirety of last season with an Achilles injury.

Three first round picks? That’s a lot for the Bucks to give up.

For the Pelicans last season, Holiday averaged 19.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. For the Bucks last season, Bledsoe put up 14.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists, while Hill off the bench averaged 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan exercises contract option for 2020-21 NBA season

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that guard DeMar DeRozan has exercised his player option for the 2020-21 season.

Per the San Antonio Express-News, it’s a $27.7-million contract option.

In two seasons with the Spurs, DeRozan has averaged 21.6 points, 5.9 assists and 5.8 rebounds in 34.5 minutes while shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 83.7 percent from the foul line.

More from the Express-News: “With NBA coffers decimated by the pandemic and the salary cap remaining flat at $109 million next season, free agency became a less attractive option for players in DeRozan’s position. Of players across the league with an option worth more than $10 million next season, only one — the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis — chose to opt out.”

Last season, DeRozan and league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo were the only two players in the NBA to average 20-plus points, 5-plus rebounds and 5-plus assists while shooting over 50.0 percent from the field. He is also the first player in Spurs history to total more than 3,000 points, 800 rebounds and 800 assists in his first two seasons in San Antonio.

A two-time All-NBA selection, DeRozan is one of just five players to score 1,500-plus points in each of the last five seasons, joining LeBron James, James Harden, Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook.

An 11-year veteran, DeRozan was originally drafted by the Toronto Raptors with the ninth overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. For his career, the four-time All-Star has appeared in 820 games, averaging 20.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 34.0 minutes. DeRozan has seen action in 58 playoff games, averaging 21.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 37.3 minutes.

Pelicans add Bob Beyer, Casey Hill, Rex Walters, Corey Brewer and Beno Udrih to coaching staff

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the hiring of Bob Beyer, Casey Hill, and Rex Walters as assistant coaches, along with Corey Brewer and Beno Udrih as player development coaches. They join Assistant Coach Fred Vinson and Teresa Weatherspoon, who has been promoted to assistant coach, and Player Development Coach Darnell Lazare on Head Coach Stan Van Gundy’s staff.

“I am excited about our coaching staff,” said Van Gundy. “We have a great mix of background, experience, perspective and expertise. Four of our assistants have been head coaches at the professional or NCAA Division I levels. Five of our coaches played in the NBA or WNBA. Three coaches have institutional knowledge having worked for Griff, Trajan and current Pelicans players, while three others have worked with me and two bring us an entirely new perspective. I am looking forward to working with this staff to maximize the potential of our talented players.”

Bob Beyer joins the Pelicans bench with over 35 years of coaching experience at the NBA and collegiate levels. He was most recently an assistant coach on the Sacramento Kings staff during the 2019-20 season. Prior to joining the Kings, Beyer served as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2018-19 season. Beyer has spent nine seasons on Stan Van Gundy’s coaching staff, including four seasons with the Detroit Pistons (2014-18) and five seasons with the Orlando Magic (2007-12), where he helped Orlando reach the postseason five consecutive times including a 2009 NBA Finals appearance. Beyer has also been an assistant coach for the Charlotte Bobcats (2013-14), Golden State Warriors (2012-13) and Toronto Raptors (2003-04). Before joining the NBA ranks, Beyer spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Tech under Bob Knight from 2001-03. His college coaching experience also includes stints at the University of Albany, Siena College (head coach), University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University and University of Dayton.

Casey Hill enters his first season with the New Orleans Pelicans after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers. Prior to joining Doc Rivers’ staff, Hill spent the 2017-18 season as head coach of the Clippers’ NBA G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers, leading the team to a 23-27 record in its inaugural season. Hill joined the Clippers after four seasons as head coach of the Santa Cruz Warriors, G League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors, where he led the franchise to its first-ever G League title in 2014-15. Hill and his staff in Santa Cruz earned the 2013-14 NBA G League “Development Champion” award, an annual honor that recognizes the team that best embodies the league’s goals of developing NBA basketball talent via call-ups and assignments. Prior to joining Santa Cruz staff, the Trinity University grad worked under his father, longtime NBA coach Bob Hill, with the Tokyo Apache, a professional team in Japan.

Fred Vinson begins his 11th season as an assistant coach in New Orleans. Prior to joining the Pelicans, Vinson was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers from 2007-09. In addition to his duties as an assistant coach, Vinson also served as director of player programs for the Clippers, where he was responsible for mentoring young players and easing their transition to the NBA. Vinson played 13 years of professional basketball, including two NBA seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and Seattle SuperSonics. In addition to playing in the United States Basketball League, Continental Basketball Association and American Basketball Association, Vinson spent several years overseas with professional clubs in the Philippines, Israel, Venezuela, Poland and France. In 2003, Vinson was a member of the CBA Champion Yakima Sun Kings, in addition to being named a CBA All-Star that season. He also holds the record for most points in a game in Guaiqueries de Margarita (Venezuela) team history with 53.

Rex Walters enters his first season with the Pelicans. Walters, who served as an assistant coach under Stan Van Gundy in Detroit during the 2017-18 season, most recently served as an assistant coach at Wake Forest University during the 2019-20 season. Prior to joining Van Gundy’s staff in 2017, Walters was the head coach of the Grand Rapids Drive, the NBA G League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons. At the collegiate level, Walters spent eight seasons (2008-16) as head coach at the University of San Francisco where he guided the Dons to two 20-win seasons and two postseason appearances. Walters was named West Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2013-14, becoming the first USF coach to win the award since Pete Barry in 1980-81. He amassed a 126-125 (.501) record at USF. Prior to becoming head coach at USF, he served two seasons (2006-08) as head coach at Florida Atlantic University after being an assistant coach in the 2005-06 season. Walters has also served as an assistant coach on the collegiate level at the University of Nevada (2018-19) and Valparaiso (2003-05). Drafted 16th overall in the 1993 NBA Draft by New Jersey, the University of Kansas product played seven seasons with the Nets, Philadelphia, and Miami.

Teresa Weatherspoon returns for her second season with New Orleans after serving as a two-way player development coach in 2019-20. Prior to joining the Pelicans, Weatherspoon served as the director of player and franchise development with the WNBA’s New York Liberty from 2016-19. Weatherspoon served as the head coach at her alma mater, Louisiana Tech University, from 2009-14, leading the Lady Techsters to a 99-71 (.582) record over six seasons, making consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament in 2010 and 2011, and winning the WAC tournament in 2010. She initially joined the women’s basketball program at Louisiana Tech in the 2008-09 season, serving as associate head coach after serving as the head coach of the Westchester (NY) Phantoms of the American Basketball Association during the 2007-08 season. After a collegiate playing career at Louisiana Tech from 1984-88, where she helped lead her team to the 1988 NCAA National Championship during her senior campaign, Weatherspoon embarked on a 16-year playing career, beginning overseas with stops in Italy, France and Russia from 1988-1996, then joining the New York Liberty from 1997-03, and finishing her professional career as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks in 2004. In 254 career regular season games in the WNBA, Weatherspoon averaged 5.0 points, 5.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals while earning multiple accolades along the way, including back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1997 and 1998, four consecutive All-WNBA Second Team nods from 1997-2000 and five straight All-Star appearances from 1999-2003. At the conclusion of her career, Weatherspoon was named one of the WNBA’s top 15 players of all time in 2011 and was a member of the WNBA Top 20@20 list in 2016. A 2010 inductee into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Weatherspoon was recently enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts as part of the 2019 class.

Corey Brewer joins the Pelicans as a player development coach after a 13-year NBA career. Selected seventh overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, Brewer holds career averages of 8.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 819 regular season games for Minnesota, Dallas, Denver, Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia and Sacramento. Brewer averaged 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists during his three-year collegiate career and was a key member of the University of Florida’s back-to-back National Championship teams in 2006 and 2007, earning the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award in 2007.

Darnell Lazare returns for his second season as player development coach with the Pelicans. Prior to joining the Pelicans, Lazare served as a player development coach and assistant video coordinator for the Memphis Grizzlies and previously served as an assistant coach for the NBA G League’s Iowa Energy. The Baton Rouge native played four years at Louisiana State University, where he appeared in 120 games and helped lead the Tigers to the 2006 Final Four. Lazare played professionally in the NBA G League for the Maine Red Claws, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, and Idaho Stampede, as well as overseas in Sweden, Ukraine, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Beno Udrih joins the Pelicans organization as a player development coach after most recently serving as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks’ NBA G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, during the 2019-20 season. Selected 28th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft, the Slovenian native holds career averages of 8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 831 regular season games for San Antonio, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Orlando, New York, Memphis, Miami and Detroit, winning two NBA Championships with the Spurs (2005, 2007). In addition to his 13-year NBA career, Udrih has played professionally in Israel, Russia, Italy, Lithuania, and his native Slovenia, winning multiple championships across Europe.

Brian Ormandy begins his fourth season as the Pelicans’ video coordinator after serving as the team’s assistant video coordinator from 2015-17. Prior to joining the Pelicans, Ormandy served as a video intern with the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors during the 2014-15 season and the Houston Rockets during the 2013-14 season. In 2012-13, Ormandy served as a graduate assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Ormandy is joined by video assistants Nathan Bubes and Jon Tramer, who enter their second seasons with the Pelicans, along with player development assistant Brandon Demas, who begins his third season with the team.