Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Cleveland Cavaliers sign radio broadcast agreement with iHeartMedia Cleveland

The NBA Cleveland Cavaliers, AHL Cleveland Monsters and NBA G League Canton Charge have signed a multi-year, multi-team broadcast agreement with iHeartMedia Cleveland that will start with the 2020-21 season.

The agreements for iHeartMedia’s network of official flagship stations include WTAM 1100 AM/106.9 FM and WMMS 100.7 FM for Cavs basketball; FOX Sports 1350 AM “The Gambler,” the new home for Monsters hockey; and 99.7 FM Canton’s New Country for Charge basketball.

The stations will broadcast each team’s preseason, regular season and postseason games as well as pre-and postgame programming.

“We are excited to extend our already successful relationship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Monsters, and Charge,” said Keith Hotchkiss, Metro President for iHeartMedia Cleveland. “These teams are an important part of the iHeartMedia family, and this multiyear agreement allows us to continue delivering content to fans who listen to iHeartRadio’s WTAM, WMMS, and FOX Sports 1350 The Gambler.”

“Our decades-long partnership with iHeartMedia Cleveland reflects a mutual commitment and collaboration by all involved to continually find ways to deliver the highest quality broadcast and fan experience possible,” said Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse CEO Len Komoroski. “We’re excited to keep the good times rolling with the great team at iHeartMedia as we introduce a new level of broadcast and promotional inclusion across all of the flagship stations for the Cavs, Monsters and Charge.”

WTAM 1100 AM will continue as the Cavaliers’ long-time flagship station, broadcasting all 82 Cavs regular season games, select preseason games and all playoff games, which will also simulcast live on sister station 100.7 WMMS, Cleveland’s Rock Station.

Both WTAM 1100 AM and 100.7 WMMS will also serve as flagship stations for the 30-station Cavs Radio Network that reaches 38 states and half of Canada.

The extension marks the 31st consecutive season that WTAM 1100 AM has been the official flagship radio home of the Cavaliers, which began in 1990-91 when the station was then WWWE 1100 AM.

It is the 46th season that Cavs games have been broadcast on 1100 AM, starting in the 1971-72 season.

Veteran broadcaster Tim Alcorn will return for his 2nd season as the radio play-by-play voice of the Cavaliers and will be joined by Cavaliers legend, Jim Chones, as the game analyst, who will be back for his 11th season as the game analyst. Returning for his 29th year is studio host Mike Snyder, who will anchor all pregame, halftime and postgame shows. Former OSU great and NBA player Brad Sellers will be back for his 11th year as a postgame studio analyst.

Heat reportedly may pursue Jerami Grant this offseason

A role player who will likely receive increased attention in free agency this NBA offseason is Nuggets forward Jerami Grant. Here’s the Miami Herald reporting that the Heat may choose to pursue him:

Add Jerami Grant to the list of players expected to interest the Heat this offseason. Grant is expected to opt out of his $9.3 million player option with Denver, but it would be a coup if Miami could land him with its $9.3 million mid-level exception.

Grant, a 6-8 swing forward, averaged 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 26 minutes and shot 38.9 percent on threes in 71 regular season games, including 24 starts. He averaged 11.6 points during Denver’s postseason run, starting 16 games and coming off the bench in three others.

Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix reportedly are expected to have interest.

Grant is 26 years old, so this is a pivotal time in his career as he continues to grow as a player were he to change teams and enter a new situation.

Indiana Pacers hire Nate Bjorkgren as head coach

The Indiana Pacers have hired Nate Bjorkgren as their new head coach.

Bjorkgren (pronounced BEE-ork-gren) served as assistant coach of the Toronto Raptors during the past two seasons (2018-20), and helped the Raptors win their first NBA championship during the 2018-19 season. He also served as player development coordinator and assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns for two seasons from 2015-17 before joining the Raptors as an advance scout during the 2017-18 season.

Per the Indianapolis Star, “Bjorkgren replaces Nate McMillan, who was fired after four seasons in charge and three first-round sweeps.”

“We are very pleased and excited to have Nate as our new coach,” said President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “This was an extensive and thorough search, and when we reached the conclusion, we felt strongly Nate is the right coach for us at the right time. He comes from a winning background, has experienced championship success, is innovative and his communication skills along with his positivity are tremendous. We all look forward to a long, successful partnership in helping the Pacers move forward.”

Prior to his tenure as an NBA assistant, Bjorkgren served as a head coach in the NBA G League for four seasons and compiled a 126-74 record (.630) with the Bakersfield Jam (2014-15), Iowa Energy (2013-14), Santa Cruz Warriors (2012-13) and Dakota Wizards (2011-12). He served as an assistant coach under current Raptors head coach Nick Nurse for Iowa from 2007-11 and helped the Energy win the 2010-11 NBA G League championship.

“I am honored to take on the role as head coach of the Indiana Pacers,” said Bjorkgren. “This is something I have prepared for during my career. I want to thank Kevin, Chad (Buchanan), Kelly (Krauskopf), Larry Bird, Donnie Walsh and Herb and Steve Simon for this opportunity. I also want to thank Nick Nurse for giving me my first professional coaching job 14 years ago.

“I’m looking forward to working with this great team to achieve our goal as NBA champions.”

Bjorkgren is a native of Storm Lake, Iowa. He played basketball collegiately at the University of South Dakota and Buena Vista University in Iowa.

Kobe Bryant honored with display at Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Honors for the late Kobe Bryant will continue to roll out for a long time. The latest comes by way of Washington, D.C. Here’s the Los Angeles Times:

For the transformative effect he had on the sport of basketball and on American culture more broadly, the late Kobe Bryant will be remembered with a new display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.

The display — featuring a Lakers jersey that Bryant wore during the 2008 NBA Finals — was installed in the museum on the National Mall last week and will be revealed to the public for the first time Monday, said Damion Thomas, the museum’s sports curator.

“We wanted to be able to share his impact,” Thomas said. “It really is about the cultural significance of basketball as an expression of the African American fight for greater rights.”

The display, which also features other jerseys and basketball items of historic significance, further cements Bryant’s presence at the museum, which already featured his image in its Sports Gallery. Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, also helped to build the museum with a $1-million donation from their foundation.

Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders reflects on Sid Hartman, who recently passed away

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune with additional reporting on the passing away of a legend, Sid Hartman:

If it was Sunday morning in the Saunders household and the phone was ringing at 6 a.m., it was usually only one person doing the calling: Sid Hartman.

“He was just looking for the scoop at the house,” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said with a laugh Monday. “He didn’t care who was on the other line. He was going to find a way to get that scoop.”

Saunders has fond memories of the relationships he and his late father Flip had with Hartman, the decades-long Star Tribune columnist who died Sunday at 100.

Saunders said his first memory of meeting Hartman came when he was 9 just after the Timberwolves had hired Flip. The Saunders family and Hartman went for a ride on Hartman’s boat on the Saint Croix River.

“You’d go over to his house and I’m picturing it right now, that house, it felt like something out of a movie and you see all those pictures of him shaking hands with so many incredible people,” Saunders said. “You felt like you were in the presence of a movie star, in a way. You knew he was a celebrity. He was more than that.”

Hartman never retired. He just kept going.

Examining the idea of a Bradley Beal to Nuggets trade

Here’s the Denver Post examining the idea of a Bradley Beal trade from the Wizards to the Nuggets:

The most tantalizing “win-now” move for the Nuggets would be to acquire 27-year-old Washington shooting guard Bradley Beal. The league’s No. 2 scorer behind James Harden, Beal represents arguably the juiciest trade chip across the league. But there are several obstacles to Beal landing in Denver.

The first is that he’s given no indication he wants to leave Washington, and multiple league sources believe the Wizards don’t want to move him. He has two more seasons before deciding on a 2022-’23 player option, which buys the Wizards time. Not that the Wizards have been in anything other than purgatory the last few seasons, but moving Beal means a full-scale rebuild.

From Denver’s perspective, trading for Beal means including rookie Michael Porter Jr. Remember, the Nuggets had no intention of trading Porter at the trade deadline, and that was before he showed well in the bubble. Now, after earning second-team All-Bubble during the seeding games and earning enough trust from coach Michael Malone to be on the floor during crunch time of elimination games, it’s likely his internal value has only increased. In addition, Porter should have a more consistent role next season considering the question marks around Gary Harris’ confidence and Will Barton’s health.

Considering the Nuggets’ success both in the regular season and the 2020 NBA playoffs, a guess is they will look to keep their core together and not make any dramatic trades this offseason. But of course, anything is possible, and examining possibilities is always fun.

What should the Miami Heat do next?

Here’s the Sun Sentinel responding to a reader question on if it’s realistic for the Heat to improve their roster this upcoming season while also maintaining salary cap flexibility to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo the following offseason:

The Heat, without question, will attempt to improve. It’s what they do. Always. It could be player development. It could be through a trade that minimizes 2021-22 payroll impact. It could be forgoing cap space for the 2021 offseason with eyes perhaps instead on a trade (remember, Jimmy Butler was acquired in a sign-and-trade at a stage when the Heat lacked cap space). So, if you are asking whether the Heat will be stuck running in place, the answer is the Heat don’t do the treadmill (unless, of course, it is part of their conditioning program).

Key free agents for the Heat this offseason include Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder. Kelly Olynyk has a player option. Dragic might be open to agreeing to a one-year deal. Olynyk as well. Crowder might be looking for something bigger.

After what the Heat just accomplished, their priority is likely to keep their current core together and strengthen things in an effort to return to the Finals in 2021. That’s a more logical focus than hoping that Giannis, a player on another team, somehow might become available to them in the future.

NBA scout Brent ‘BJ’ Johnson dies in bike accident

There was a tragic accident Thursday that took the life of one of the most popular scouts in the NBA. Per the Houston Chronicle:

Longtime Rockets personnel scout Brent “B.J.” Johnson, a well-known and popular fixture throughout basketball, died Thursday evening following a bicycle accident in Houston. Johnson was 65.

“He was riding his bike and hit a culvert,” Johnson’s wife Claudette said. “There was construction. They are thinking he fell forward and broke his neck because there was no blood.”

Johnson was one of the longest-tenured members of the Rockets organization.

Everyone who knew Johnson has very kind words about him. He’ll be greatly missed.

Utah Jazz add Sergi Oliva to coaching staff

The Utah Jazz added Sergi Oliva to their coaching staff today.

Oliva joins the Jazz after spending the past six seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, most recently as Vice President of Strategy.

A native of Gelida, Catalonia, he first joined the 76ers in 2014 as a Basketball Operations Analyst after he’d earned multiple degrees from Polytechnic University of Catalonia, including a PhD in Computational Complexity and both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science.

Oliva spent 12 years previously as a head coach at the youth and senior amateur levels in Catalonia. He is also a regular collaborator of the Catalan Basketball Federation (FCBQ), particularly as a lecturer in their coaching certification courses.

Will Timberwolves trade No. 1 pick in 2020 NBA draft?

Will the Timberwolves keep their No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, or trade it? Usually, if a team has the first pick in the entire draft, they use it. But exceptions happen. Here’s the Star tribune noting what one betting site’s odds suggest on the matter:

They are trying to build around [Karl-Anthony] Towns and D’Angelo Russell, the top two picks from that 2015 draft, and timelines are different when your projected cornerstones are in their mid-20s instead of below legal drinking age.

Combine that with the notion that there is no sure thing at the top of the draft and there emerges the notion that the Wolves might trade the top selection instead of keeping it.

It’s rare for a top pick to be dealt before playing for the team that held the pick; the last time it happened, in fact, was when Wiggins came to the Wolves in 2014.

But this year, it’s a intriguing combination of something rare being perhaps more likely to happen than not — at least according to betting markets.

Online bookmaker Sports Betting Dime this week put the odds of the Wolves trading out of the No. 1 spot at 4 to 5 — better than even money. Adding to the intrigue, the site listed Anthony Edwards (3 to 2), James Wiseman (3 to 1) and LaMelo Ball (7 to 1) as the most likely No. 1 picks — hardly a consensus.

If a team with the draft’s first pick loved two or three prospects fairly equally, it makes perfect sense for them to consider trading down a slot or two, just to see what they can get in return.