NBA Teams – Page 461 – NBA Blog

The Utah Jazz backcourt is crowded

The Utah Jazz are a talent-filled serious Western conference team that won 48 games last season and should only keep getting better. Their backcourt is on the crowded side, however. Which can make it tough on a coach to fully maximize the talent. Here’s the Salt Lake Tribune reporting:

While coach Quin Snyder called it “a good problem to have,” the depth the Jazz have at the guard positions still is a problem.

Just look at the Jazz’s roster and you’ll see seven players with a “G” next to their name: Ricky Rubio, Donovan Mitchell, Dante Exum, Royce O’Neale, Alec Burks, Grayson Allen, and Raul Neto all will make the roster, and all have pretty good cases to earn playing time at their preferred position.

Rubio and Mitchell will take up the lions’ share of the minutes, though. Mitchell, after his meteoric rise, is the Jazz’s best scorer and face of the franchise, it seems reasonable to pencil him in for 35 minutes a night. Rubio has become part of the Jazz’s identity too, and it’d be a shock to see him play significantly less than 30 minutes a night.

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Celtics notes as NBA preseason opens tonight

NBA preseason action begins tonight with Celtics vs Hornets as the lone matchup. The Celtics remain built around Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford, with support from Marcus Morris, Marcus Smart, Aron Baynes and Terry Rozier. The Hornets are built around Kemba Walker, aging new addition Tony Parker, Jeremy Lamb, Nicolas Batum, and a big supporting cast, some of which will have to emerge as leaders for the Hornets to go anywhere. Here’s the Boston Herald with some notes on key Celtics items to watch:

Having gotten to see Gordon Hayward for all of five minutes and 15 seconds last season before he suffered an horrific lower leg injury, it will be interesting to see how he’s moving in the first game with brighter lights and referees and a crowd…

Kyrie Irving’s season-ending surgery wasn’t as traumatic in nature as Hayward’s injury. And, by all accounts, he’s been just fine physically in camp and in the pickup games that preceded it. What we’re interested in more is how he runs the show…

In that it won’t be a regular game rotation, it will be hard to get a handle on how Stevens will use his bigs. But if Al Horford is going to play mainly at center, we’ll be curious to see how Aron Baynes and Daniel Theis are able to find their respective grooves…

Even with being such a high draft pick (third overall), Jayson Tatum still had a better than expected rookie season. Now he’s had time to catch his breath and put in offseason work that included time with Kobe Bryant. His mates all say he’s demonstrably better, and even with the limited looks that come in the preseason, we’re looking forward to seeing it.

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Magic sign Devin Davis, waive Gabe York

The Orlando Magic have signed free agent forward Devin Davis. The team has also waived guard Gabe York.

Davis (6’6”, 225, 3/29/95) played in 55 career games (48 starts) during two seasons (2016-18) at the University of Houston, averaging 9.9 ppg., 5.9 rpg. and 1.2 apg. in 24.1 minpg. As a senior (2017-18), he played and started in all 35 contests, averaging 10.9 ppg., a team-high 6.3 rpg. and 1.3 apg. in 26.0 minpg. Davis was the only Cougar to start all 35 outings and ranked seventh in the American Athletic Conference in rebounding.

Spurs exercise options on Dejounte Murray, Jakob Poeltl and Derrick White

The San Antonio Spurs have exercised their fourth-year team option on guard Dejounte Murray and center Jakob Poeltl for the 2019-20 season.

In addition, the Spurs have exercised their third-year option on guard Derrick White for the 2019-20 season.

Murray is entering his third season with the Spurs after being selected by San Antonio in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft (29th overall). Last year, Murray was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to be named to an All-Defensive Team. He ended the season with 459 rebounds, setting the record for most total rebounds in a single season by a point guard in Spurs history passing the previous mark of 378 by Johnny Moore in 1984-85. The former Washington Husky has appeared in 119 career NBA games, averaging 6.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 17.4 minutes.

Poeltl is in his first season with the Silver and Black after being acquired from the Toronto Raptors on July 18. Last season, Poeltl averaged 6.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.22 blocks in 18.6 minutes. Selected by the Raptors with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the 7-0, 230-pound center has appeared in 136 games in his two-year NBA career, averaging 5.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in 15.8 minutes. Poeltl holds a career field goal percentage of .641 (320-499), which ranks fifth in the NBA among all players with at least 300 field goals made in the last two seasons.

White appeared in 17 games during his rookie season with the Spurs, averaging 3.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8.2 minutes. The former Colorado Buffalo helped lead the Austin Spurs to the 2018 G League Championship, averaging 24.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.80 steals in 32.8 minutes in the G League Playoffs. He appeared in 24 regular season games for Austin, averaging 20.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.29 steals and 1.17 blocks in 28.2 minutes. White was drafted by the Spurs with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Cavs hire Liron Fanan as Director of G League Player Development

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hired Liron Fanan as Director of G League Player Development. In her role, Liron will work to enrich Canton Charge players off the court through both League and team initiatives.

In addition to her Charge responsibilities, Fanan will also utilize her extensive international basketball background to assist the Cavs scouting department and General Manager Koby Altman.

“We are thrilled to welcome Liron to the Cavaliers organization and for her to become involved in all of our basketball operations initiatives,“ said Altman. “She’s a basketball lifer with incredible experience internationally and has a great basketball acumen we are very fortunate to have.”

Fanan comes to Northeast Ohio after having spent the last nine years co-founding and managing her own agency, 2Talent Sports Management, where she built a roster of athletes to serve their needs through player contracts, individual business interests and community engagement. Prior to venturing on her own, Liron served as Assistant General Manager for Maccabi Tel Aviv from 2005 to 2009, where she oversaw the club’s marketing and ticket sales efforts in addition to her basketball responsibilities. Fanan, a native of Israel, also has spent time on the side involved with NBA Summer League, NBA Basketball Without Borders and the NBA’s Global Camp in Italy.

Magic exercise contract option on Jonathan Isaac

The Orlando Magic have exercised their third-year team option on forward Jonathan Isaac.

Isaac is now signed through the 2019-20 season.

Isaac (6’10”, 210, 10/3/97) played in 27 games (ten starts) during his rookie campaign last season with the Magic, averaging 5.4 ppg., 3.7 rpg., 1.22 stlpg. and 1.11 blkpg. in 19.8 minpg. Isaac was originally selected by Orlando in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Dion Waiters still recovering from ankle surgery

Dion Waiters played just 46 games for the Heat two seasons ago, and just 30 games last season. Both seasons combined, he started all but three of those games, Clearly a core member of the team when healthy, though he struggled with his shot in 2017-18 (39.8% FG, 30.6% 3FG). Where’s he at now? Still on the Heat, still recovering from ankle surgery, and perhaps a few pounds bigger than he’d want to be. Here’s the Miami Herald reporting:

With photos of Dion Waiters going around social media, Spoelstra was asked if the guard is in the type of shape the Heat would expect as he works to return from January ankle surgery.

“Taking everything into consideration, yes,” Spoelstra said Thursday. “He’s working. Either you’re going to be on the court with us … if you’re healing from something, we’re going to find something you’re able to do to work your cardio and be smart about it. That’s the biggest thing.”

Spoelstra said Waiters is meeting the expected conditioning thresholds. Waiters continues to miss practice, but he is with the team at FAU for training camp.

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Anthony Davis and Julius Randle could do big things together

Anthony Davis no longer has DeMarcus Cousins as a teammate, but new squad member Julius Randle could do big things next to him. The two form one of the most interesting frontcourt combos in the league, and are worth keeping an eye on, especially early in the season to see how well they learn to play together. Of course, chemistry development takes time. Here’s The Advocate reporting:

“The stuff I’ve seen (Julius) do with the Lakers has been awesome,” Davis said. “His ability to be a playmaker. His ability to score out of the post on anybody. It can be bigger guys or smaller guys. He’s going to go through your chest and get a bucket, go to the line. He’s another guy who can do pretty much everything. When you have a guy like that, it’s hard not to be excited to play with a guy like that. I’m excited to see how it flows in a game.”

Collectively, David and Randle averaged 44.2 points and 19.1 rebounds last season for their respective teams. That’s 28.1 points and 16.1 rebounds for Davis and 16.1 points and 8 rebounds for Randle.

Randle looks forward to the possibilities.

For the first time in his NBA career, he’ll be playing alongside an MVP-caliber player.

“I’ve never been in a situation where I got to play with a player like AD,” Randle said. “For me, I feel like it makes my job a lot easier. I can just go out there and do what I naturally do, which is play hard. Everything else works itself out because he takes so much pressure off all of us. We already know hat he can do on both ends of the floor and how he affects the game.”

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On Rudy Gobert`s offensive development

Rudy Gobert’s defensive ability is widely known, but here’s the Salt Lake Tribune with some insight on his offensive development:

Opponents could really reduce Gobert’s effectiveness in seasons past by preventing him from facing and rolling the rim, but he’s trying to develop counters to that: a quick hook shot if he happens to have his back to the basket, and a not-exactly-deft but still effective floater if he’s stopped short. And yes, if the situation requires, a mid-range jumper to hold up his end of the offensive bargain.

Improving his strength was also a big focus of Gobert’s offseason: bumps impacted Gobert’s lanky frame more than most players, so his effective finishes in practice can become ineffective in game traffic. With more lower body and core strength, he’s hoping to be more sturdy, to be able to handle more contact.

For what it’s worth, he also says that the lower body work he’s done has made him a quicker player on the perimeter, for when the league’s elite role players force the Jazz into a switch.

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More on the Knicks starting lineup

The Knicks starting lineup this season can’t be predicted right now. Not if what new head coach Dave Fizdale is saying will hold up, that the five starting jobs really are up for grabs. Of course, Kristaps Porzingis, when fully healthy, is expected to be a core starter. As for the rest of the team? Here’s the New York Post with more on this:

Tim Hardaway Jr. said he believes coach David Fizdale will make the right call on starters and won’t play favorites. Fizdale has opened up the competition for all five spots.

On the surface, Hardaway has an advantage, having known Fizdale for longer than any other Knick. Fizdale was first Miami’s video coordinator in 1997-98 when Hardaway’s father, Tim Sr., played for the Heat. And Tim Sr. was a scout for the team when Fizdale became a Heat assistant.

It would be an upset if the $71 million man isn’t starting at shooting guard opening night versus Atlanta on Oct. 17, but the 26-year-old Hardaway won’t win the job because of the close relationship between Fizdale and Hardaway’s father.

“He doesn’t show any favoritism to myself, treats everybody equal out here on the floor,’’ Hardaway said. “Growing up, knowing Fiz, going back to the days of my dad playing with the Heat, Pat Riley, he knew when I was out here running on the court as a little kid. Me going back after college, during college, and watching the Heat in the playoffs, saying a few words [to him]. It was just mutual respect.”

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