Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Blazers forward Zach Collins out for remainder of NBA playoffs with ankle injury

Further imaging shows Portland forward Zach Collins with a hairline medial malleolus stress fracture of his left ankle, it was announced today by Trail Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey. The injury will require surgery to repair. A date for surgery is to be determined. Collins will miss the remainder of the postseason.

Collins, 22, appeared in 11 games (all starts) for the Trail Blazers this season, posting averages of 7.0 points (47.1% FG, 36.8% 3-PT, 75.0% FT), 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.45 blocks.

Clippers partner with CAA Sports to sell naming rights for Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center

The LA Clippers today announced that it has formed a global partnership with CAA Sports, a division of Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to bring to market the naming rights for the Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center, the future home of the franchise.

According to the Clippers, “the privately-financed IBEC project will include a world-class 18,000-seat facility, uniquely designed to prioritize fan comfort and ease, player experience, home court advantage, and community. The campus in Inglewood will serve as a hub to bringing the organization together, with the new team practice facility and corporate offices. The project, expected to break ground in summer of 2021, will open for the start of the 2024-25 NBA season. The Clippers one-of-a-kind basketball arena reflects the team’s commitment to being environmentally-friendly and energy efficient, while providing the City of Inglewood with the largest community benefits package ever connected to a sports venue.”

“We are proud to work alongside the visionary ownership and management team of the LA Clippers, to bring to market the naming rights for their new arena in the city of Inglewood,” said Paul Danforth, CAA Board Member and President, CAA Sports. “Steve’s vision for ‘the best home in all of sports,’ combined with the dynamic Clippers franchise and explosive growth of the NBA worldwide, makes this a singular opportunity for a marketer to plant its flag in the sand in the vibrant capital of sports, media, and entertainment.”

“We are thrilled to partner with CAA on this endeavor, as we work together to identify a corporate partner who shares our values and embraces our vision for what this campus will mean to the Clippers community,” said Gillian Zucker, Clippers President of Business Operations. “We have set an ambitious goal to provide disproportionate value to a naming rights partner by having them in-place before a shovel hits the ground in Inglewood. This aggressive timing will provide a unique opportunity to incorporate our partner’s brand into the design of the construction and deliver their own personal touch to this amazing facility.”

Sixers look bad in Game 2 loss to Celtics

On Wednesday, the Celtics put up a convincing 128-101 Game 2 win against the Sixers to take a 2-0 first round playoff series lead.

NBC Sports Philly:

The Sixers were up against the odds heading into their first round matchup against the Celtics. No Ben Simmons, a team that failed to gel all year long, and tough recent postseason history against the Celtics? Not ideal.

But no one could’ve predicted the absolutely listless effort they put forth on Wednesday night in the second game of the series.

After taking a double-digit lead in the first quarter, the Sixers were outscored by 29 points in the second and third quarters combined, and looked more like a lottery team than a playoff participant. The Celtics got whatever they wanted, and the Sixers looked helpless.

In the win for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum hit 8-of-12 from three-point range in finishing with 33 points, five rebounds and five assists. Kemba Walker scored 22 points. Jaylen Brown added 20, plus five rebounds.

For the Sixers, Joel Embiid put up 34 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Richardson scored 18. Tobias Harris grabbed 11 rebounds, but shot just 4-of-15 for 13 points.

Al Horford, coming off the bench, was not a factor.

A huge difference was three-point shooting. The Celtics hit 19-of-32, while the Sixers only hit 5-of-21.

Philly is without Ben Simmons, while Boston is missing Gordon Hayward.

Pelicans fire coach Alvin Gentry

New Orleans Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin announced today that Alvin Gentry has been relieved of his head coaching duties.

“I’m grateful for and appreciative of Alvin’s commitment to the organization and, most importantly, the local community,” said Griffin. “The City of New Orleans is richer because of his presence here. These types of moves are often about fit and timing, and we believe now is the right time to make this change and bring in a new voice.”

“I want to thank Alvin for his contributions to the Pelicans and the New Orleans community,” said Pelicans Owner Gayle Benson. “We believe that making a head coaching change is necessary at this time. I truly appreciate Alvin’s leadership, dedication and perseverance through some challenging circumstances over the past five seasons. He will always be a part of our Pelicans family, and we wish him and his family all the best in the future. Our intention moving forward is to find the right head coach that will guide this Pelicans team to compete for championships. That is what our fans deserve.”

Per the New Orleans Times-Picayune, “this season, the Pelicans got off to a 6-22 start. They lost 13 consecutive games, a franchise record, before rebounding. They were a popular pick to make the Western Conference play-in tournament entering the eight-game seeding round inside the Walt Disney World bubble, but they lost four of their first six games and were eliminated from playoff contention with two games still remaining in the restart.”

Gentry was named head coach of the Pelicans on May 30, 2015. He compiled a 175-225 (.438) regular season record in five seasons with New Orleans, earning one playoff berth in 2018 and advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals. The Pelicans finished the 2019-20 season with a 30-42 record.

More from the Times-Picayune: “The Pelicans’ inconsistent effort, turnover-prone ways, poor defense and crunch-time struggles were all factors in their up-and-down season. They ranked 29th in turnover percentage and had a 13-28 record in games that were within five points at any point during the final five minutes. They finished with a 30-42 record, their fourth losing season in the past five years.”

Peja Stojakovic steps down as Sacramento Kings Assistant General Manager

The Sacramento Kings announced today that Peja Stojakovic has stepped down as Assistant General Manager.

“It has been a great joy and honor to work in the Kings front office for the past five years,” said Peja Stojakovic. “I want to thank the organization and especially the incredible fans around the world for the support over the years. Sacramento will always be home to me and I wish the franchise nothing but the very best.”

“We are deeply appreciative to Peja for his contributions and commitment to the Kings and to the city of Sacramento both as a legend and as an executive,” said Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “Peja is a pillar of the community and he will always remain a part of our Kings family. We wish him and his family all the best in the future.”

Since 2015, the former Kings standout has served in various front office executive roles, including as Assistant General Manager for the past two seasons and prior to that as Vice President of Basketball and Team Development.

Vlade Divac steps down as Sacramento Kings GM; Joe Dumars named interim replacement

The Sacramento Kings announced today that Vlade Divac has stepped down as General Manager. In the interim, Joe Dumars has been named Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and will immediately assume General Manager duties.

“This was a difficult decision, but we believe it is the best path ahead as we work to build a winning team that our loyal fans deserve,” said Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “We are thankful for Vlade’s leadership, commitment and hard work both on and off the court. He will always be a part of our Kings family.”

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the General Manager for the Kings,” said Vlade Divac. “I want to thank Vivek for the opportunity and recognize all of the incredible colleagues who I had the great pleasure of working with during my tenure. Sacramento and the Kings will always hold a special place in my heart and I wish them all the best moving forward.”

The team will work with Dumars to develop a long-term strategy for the organization’s basketball operations structure, to include a search for a permanent General Manager. No further personnel decisions will be made until a new General Manager is in place.

“Joe has become a trusted and valued advisor since joining the team last year, and I am grateful to have him take on this role at an important time for the franchise,” said Ranadivé.

In June 2019, Dumars was named Special Advisor to the General Manager and has over 30 years of NBA experience both as a player and front office executive in addition to an extensive executive business background.

Raptors beat Nuggets as starters focus on rest

The regular season “seeding play” portion of the NBA restart is wrapping up, with the playoffs starting Monday. Here’s the Denver Post on today’s Nuggets game:

For seeding purposes, Friday’s game between the Nuggets and Raptors was meaningless, and both teams would treat it as such. The Nuggets’ playoff quest begins Monday vs. Utah, and they would do nothing to jeopardize the availability of the team’s regulars.

On the bus ride to the arena, Denver’s coaching staff got word Toronto planned to rest several of its starters, including Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam. The Nuggets acted accordingly, limiting starters Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray to just 10 minutes each.

The Raptors hung on against most of Denver’s reserves, winning the final game of the regular season, 117-109. The Nuggets finished the regular season 46-27, content to cede minutes to reserves Monte Morris, P.J. Dozier and Troy Daniels.

In the win for the Raptors, Stanley Johnson came off the bench to put up 23 points, four rebounds and six assists, while Paul Watson, also off the bench, had 22 points and six rebounds.

In the loss for the Nuggets, PJ Dozier off the bench had 20 points, five rebounds, eight assists and two steals.

Grizzlies to play the Trail Blazers in NBA play-in round

The Memphis Grizzlies have clinched the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference and will face the No. 8 seed Portland Trail Blazers in a play-in round that will tip-off on Saturday, August 15 at 1:30 p.m. (all times Central) at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Saturday’s game will be televised nationally on ABC.

Under the NBA’s play-in format, the No. 8 seed would need to win one of two games against the No. 9 seed to advance to the 2020 Western Conference Playoffs. The No. 9 seed would need to defeat the No. 8 seed twice. A second play-in game, if necessary, would be played Sunday, Aug. 16 at 3:30 p.m. and would be televised on ESPN.

The winner of the play-in round would face the No. 1 seed Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2020 Western Conference Playoffs.

Eric Hasseltine will call play-by-play action for each play-in game on the team’s flagship radio station 92.9 FM ESPN alongside analyst Elliot Perry with all radio broadcasts presented by Sonic Drive-In. Grind City Media’s Jessica Benson will host the pregame, halftime and postgame shows. Play-in games also will be available on the Grizzlies’ Regional Radio Network.

Chicago Bulls fire head coach Jim Boylen

Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas announced today that head coach Jim Boylen has been fired.

MICHAEL REINSDORF: “No one could question Jim’s passion for our team and our organization. We sincerely appreciate his tireless efforts and contributions during his time with the Bulls, and we wish him and his family the very best.”

ARTURAS KARISOVAS: “After doing a comprehensive evaluation and giving the process the time it deserved, I ultimately decided that a fresh approach and evolution in leadership was necessary. This was a very difficult decision, but it is time for our franchise to take that next step as we move in a new direction and era of Chicago Bulls basketball. Jim is a great human being that cares deeply about this organization and the game of basketball. I want to thank him for his professionalism and commitment to the franchise.”

Boylen first came to Chicago as an associate head coach during the 2015-16 season and was named the team’s 23rd head coach on December 3, 2018. During his time at the helm of the Bulls, he compiled an overall record of 39-84 (.317).

A formal coaching search will begin immediately.

In G League news, Salt Lake City Stars hiring Nathan Peavy as new coach

The Salt Lake City Stars, the official NBA G League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, have finalized an agreement for Nathan Peavy to become the team’s new head coach, it was announced today. Peavy, a three-year assistant coach of the Stars, becomes the Stars’ third head coach since the team relocated to Salt Lake City in 2016.

Peavy, 35, began his coaching career in the 2017-18 season as an assistant under Martin Schiller, the 2019-20 NBA G League Coach of the Year. As a member of Schiller’s staff, Peavy helped guide the Stars to two playoff berths and an improved winning percentage each season. He aided in the development of current Jazz players Tony Bradley, Jarrell Brantley, Juwan Morgan, Georges Niang, Royce O’Neale, Miye Oni, Rayjon Tucker, Nigel Williams-Goss and Justin Wright-Foreman while they appeared in games with the NBA G League franchise. Three players have earned GATORADE Call-Ups to the NBA during Peavy’s tenure with the team.

The Stars finished the 2019-20 season atop the Western Conference with a 30-12 (.714) record, amassing the most wins in a single season in Salt Lake City team history. The club also won the first-ever MGM Resorts NBA G League Winter Showcase Tournament last December in the midst of a 14-game winning streak, the longest in the NBA G League last season and tied for second-longest in a single season in league history. Peavy served as acting head coach in the team’s 134-128 victory over the South Bay Lakers at Vivint Arena on March 2.

Prior to beginning his coaching career, Peavy played internationally for eight seasons in both Germany and Puerto Rico, including a stint as a member of the Puerto Rican National Team.

“Nathan has grown tremendously over the past three years due to his work ethic and devotion to his craft. He brings a wealth of knowledge from his playing career and has a passion for teaching the game,” said Bart Taylor, director of scouting for the Utah Jazz and vice president of basketball operations for the Stars. “He has been a pivotal part of establishing a solid foundation for the organization and is absolutely the right person to be the next leader of the team as we move forward.”

“I’m honored to be named the new head coach of the Salt Lake City Stars,” said Peavy. “I’m looking forward to building on the momentum we’ve created to help the Stars compete at the highest level on the court while continuing to help develop players and staff members for the Jazz, and to have a positive impact in our community. I’m grateful for the opportunity and eager to get started on preparations for the 2020-21 season.”