Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

No timetable on a Will Barton return for Nuggets

The Nuggets, who will face the Lakers in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, will remain without the services of Will Barton. Here’s the Denver Post with a report:

It’s been nearly a month since Nuggets wing Will Barton left the “bubble” to continue rehabilitation of his right knee, and there remains “no timetable” for his return, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly told The Denver Post.

Barton left Aug. 19 in search of a second opinion due to the knee issue that had lingered and had led to soreness in other areas of his body, a league source told The Post.

Barton was the third-leading scorer for the Nuggets this regular season, averaging 15.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

The Lakers in these playoffs remain without guard Avery Bradley, who was one of a small handful of players who elected not to participate in the league restart at the Disney NBA bubble.

Game 1 between the Nuggets and Lakers is tomorrow at 9PM ET, televised on TNT.

Raptors and team president Masai Ujiri not talking contract extension yet

The Raptors won the championship last season, had an excellent regular season despite widespread predictions of a drop-off, and fell one win short of a trip to the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals. Here’s the Canadian Press via the Toronto Star on the front office:

Raptors president Masai Ujiri said he hasn’t had any contract discussions with team owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment since the club’s season ended last week.

Ujiri’s contract has one year left.

The team recently announced an extension for head coach Nick Nurse. A similar announcement for Ujiri is certainly expected as well. The only question is when.

Timberwolves forward Juancho Hernangomez has role in new Adam Sandler basketball movie

The latest Timberwolves news isn’t the usual. Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune on a fun development:

Timberwolves forward Juancho Hernangomez won’t be present at the team’s voluntary group workouts the next two weeks. But Hernangomez isn’t injured, nor he is staying away because he’s a restricted free agent. Instead, he’s filming a movie…

A team spokesperson said Hernangomez is filming Adam Sandler’s latest project in Philadelphia. Netflix is producing the film called “Hustle.” It revolves around a basketball scout who searches for talent overseas.. Lakers forward LeBron James is also listed as a producer on the movie.

I haven’t looked into the storyline for this movie beyond much more than the quick description above, but anything involving Adam Sandler and basketball, I’m definitely watching.

Sacramento Kings hire Monte McNair as General Manager

The Sacramento Kings have hired Monte McNair as General Manager. In this role, McNair will be responsible for all decisions made in the Kings basketball operations department and serve as the team’s top basketball executive reporting to the owner and chairman. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Monte is one of the NBA’s top basketball minds who has played an instrumental role in building several winning teams in Houston,” said Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “I am excited to bring his extensive experience and vision onboard to lead our basketball operations department, and it is my pleasure to welcome Monte and his family to Sacramento.”

“I am thrilled to join the Kings organization and honored to shape the franchise’s bright future for the team’s loyal fans,” said McNair. “I would like to thank Vivek for this opportunity and look forward to becoming a part of the Sacramento community.”

A native of Oak Park, California, McNair returns to his home state from the Houston Rockets, where he has held the title of Assistant General Manager since 2018. Prior to that, McNair led the analytic efforts of the Rockets basketball operations department where he worked closely with Houston’s coaching staff to provide on-court strategy and analysis along with opponent preparation.

During his time in Houston, the organization has reached the NBA Playoffs over the course of eight consecutive seasons, including two trips to the Western Conference Finals, while amassing seven seasons with 50+ wins.

Over his 13 years with the Rockets, McNair was involved with all aspects of player evaluation, including trade, free agency and the Draft. He began his career in Houston as a Basketball Operations Senior Analyst in 2007, was promoted to Director of Basketball Operations in 2013 and became Vice President of Basketball Operations in 2016.

Before joining the Rockets, McNair worked as a sports programmer and researcher at STATS LLC. McNair played football at Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science.

Sacramento Kings name Joe Dumars as Chief Strategy Officer

The Sacramento Kings announced today that Joe Dumars has been named Chief Strategy Officer. In this new role, he will continue to report to the owner and chairman, and help drive strategy across the organization’s entire portfolio of activities, including business, basketball, new ventures, entertainment and real estate.

“Joe’s business acumen along with his deep experience in the league will serve as a valuable resource across the organization,” said Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “He has achieved proven results in the corporate world on top of many notable accolades as a player and basketball executive, and I am excited to have him serve in this position.”

“I want to thank Vivek for this opportunity and look forward to supporting both sides of the business as we work together to build the successful future that this franchise and community deserves,” said Dumars.

In June 2019, Dumars joined the Kings as Special Advisor to the General Manager, most recently serving as Interim Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations.

Raptors sign coach Nick Nurse to contract extension

The Toronto Raptors have signed head coach Nick Nurse to a multi-year contract extension.

This past season, Nurse guided the Raptors to a 53-19 record during the regular season (second best in the NBA) and set a franchise-record with a .736 winning percentage. Toronto also reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the fifth straight year.

“Our confidence in Nick just continues to grow, and part of that comes from what we’ve experienced together. The past two seasons have been unlike any other in our team’s history – first, winning our championship, and then navigating a global pandemic and committing long-term to the fight against racism and for social justice,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri said. “Nick has proved that he can coach on the court and lead in life, and we’re looking forward to accomplishing great things in the future.”

In his two seasons at the helm of the Raptors, Nurse has posted a 111-43 record (.721) during the regular season. In the playoffs, he has compiled a 23-12 mark (.657), while leading Toronto to its first NBA Championship in 2019. Nurse has earned Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honours three times (Jan. 2020, Oct./Nov. 2019, Nov. 2018) and coached Team Giannis at the 2020 NBA All-Star Game in Chicago.

“My family and I will always be appreciative of Larry Tanenbaum and MLSE ownership for this opportunity. I’m grateful to Masai, Bobby, and the players for their trust and their hard work,” Nurse said. “Toronto has been my home for the past seven years, and I look forward to it being home for many more. I’ve watched this franchise grow and reach the pinnacle, and I look forward to the challenge of helping us win another championship.”

Nurse was named the 2019-20 NBA Coach of the Year, becoming the first coach to be selected as Coach of the Year in both the NBA and the NBA G League. Highlighting Toronto’s season last year was a franchise-record 15 straight victories (Jan. 15 – Feb. 10). The winning streak was the longest in Canadian sports history (NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and CFL).

In 2018-19, the Raptors won 58 regular season games and set franchise records for points per game (114.4), assists per game (25.4), rebounds per game (45.2), and three-point field goals made (1,105). The team went 16-8 in the postseason, defeating Orlando, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Golden State en route to the Raptors’ first NBA title.

A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Nurse was named the ninth head coach in Raptors history on June 14, 2018, taking the job after five years as an assistant coach with the team.

Nurse came to the NBA after several successful years in the NBA G League – where he was the only coach to lead two different teams to the league championship – Rio Grande Valley in 2013 and Iowa in 2011. For his accomplishments with the Energy, Nurse was named the 2010-11 recipient of the Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year award.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra speaks on matchup with Celtics

The Eastern Conference Finals series between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics starts tomorrow. The Miami Herald:

“You’re not expecting it to be easy,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Monday’s practice of this year’s series against the Celtics. “When you get to the conference finals, there are four teams left and it’s not like the NCAA Tournament, where you can just get hot for three weeks. You have to be a good team that has proved it for months, that you’ve earned that right. So the last four teams should be the teams that have the most complexity and we feel that way. Boston is a really good team. They’re talented. They play the right way. They defend. Really well coached. You can’t expect there to be pushovers when you get to this point.”

The Celtics took out the defending-champion Raptors — sure, Toronto is without Kawhi Leonard these days, but a series win is a series win. And the Heat took out the best-record-in-league Bucks. We should be in for a great series.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray should be okay to play in Game 7 vs Clippers

The Nuggets and Clippers are tied 3-3 in their second round playoff series. Game 7 is Tuesday night. And it sounds like Denver will have star guard Jamal Murray in action. Here’s the Denver Post reporting:

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Monday he expects point guard Jamal Murray to be “ready to go” come Tuesday’s winner-take-all Game 7 against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals.

Murray was leveled early in the third quarter on a layup by Clipper wing Paul George and was on the ground writhing in pain for a few tense moments. Though Malone hadn’t seen him yet Monday morning when he talked with the media, he said he expected that with rest until tomorrow night’s late tipoff Murray should be able to recover.

Both Murray and star Nuggets center Nikola Jokic are averaging 26.1 points per game so far in the 2020 NBA playoffs. After those two players, there’s a drop-off in scoring, at 11.8 PPG from reserve Michael Porter Jr.

Murray has put up some incredible games in these playoffs.

Tuesday’s Game 7 is must-watch.

The Lakers await the winner of the series.

Should Mike D’Antoni get Sixers coaching job?

Mike D’Antoni has reportedly notified the Houston Rockets that he won’t be returning to the squad next season. His contract was up. The Sixers recently parted ways with head coach Brett Brown. Could D’Antoni be a fit? Here’s Philly Voice with some of the reasons why it could work:

If you want somebody to come to Philadelphia and run more pick-and-roll, look no further. D’Antoni’s spread pick-and-roll offense has coaxed the best out of both his ballhandlers and his big men, with rim-running threats like Amare Stoudemire and Clint Capela blossoming under his watch.

Joel Embiid doesn’t seem to fit the mold of that sort of player, but perhaps D’Antoni’s arrival would signal a change of emphasis for Embiid, who could do with a steadier diet of rim runs (and an improvement to his actual diet). Ben Simmons, however, feels like a natural fit as the athletic, downhill forward who can put pressure on the rim to create gaps for ballhandlers. D’Antoni is one of the game’s best stewards of positionless basketball, and Simmons would give him a terrific building block for all sorts of lineup experimentation.

Though D’Antoni has not had the strongest defensive reputation throughout his career — okay, that’s an understatement — the Sixers should be able to play high-level defense in almost any system with Embiid and Simmons as the building blocks. What they need is someone who can make their lives easier on offense, and extract more offensive value out of a jumbled collection of role players, easing the scoring burden on two guys still developing their games.

The Sixers are built around Embiid, Simmons, Tobias Harris and Al Horford. A somewhat confusing mix of players. The team’s offense is what does need the biggest help, as the Sixers were higher-rated on the defensive side of the floor this past season.

It’ll take a clever coach to help these guys take things to the next level. As well as some GM work on the roster, but that’s a discussion for another day.