NBA rumors, on the Sixers, Heat, Kevin Durant and more
InsideHoops.comNovember 16, 2017
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The irony of Robert Covington's impending payday is that he was so drastically underpaid before that the Sixers were well-situated for another team-friendly deal. And that's exactly what they got. Covington is expected later this week to sign a four-year, $62 million contract to remain a Sixer. Per multiple reports, the framework of the deal is that $15 million will be added to Covington's salary this season, and then it will play out past this season as a four-year, $45 million deal. NBC Sports Philly
A healthy Covington could have surely received more money on the open market next summer, but that's where his previous contract came into play. Covington was making $1.6 million this season. The idea of immediately adding $15 million to his net worth was too tempting for Covington to pass up. Plus, he wanted to be here after helping build the foundation for the Sixers' future. His contract situation was always set up to play into the Sixers' favor. NBC Sports Philly
Heat captain James Johnson is being honest about his play this season. “I’m killing myself every night, every day,” he said Thursday before Miami traveled to Washington D.C. for Friday’s game against the Wizards. “It’s just been terrible performances out of me and not just from an offensive standpoint, the defense. I can put my prints on the game better on the defensive end. Our second unit, Tyler (Johnson) and me we should come in and have that same affect we had last year and we haven’t been able to do that.” Palm Beach Post
Point guard, and fellow captain, Goran Dragic, believes the 6-foot-8 Johnson is pressing, possibly trying to live up to the four-year, $60 million contract he signed this summer. “He’s putting too much pressure on himself and that’s what we want to eliminate, those thoughts. Just go out there, don’t think too much, play free and only good things are going to happen,” Dragic said. “I talk to him a lot, I already tell him ‘Don’t put pressure on yourself.’ He’s set, he signed the deal and we need him to be back to his old JJ, not to put too much pressure about the contract or what people expect." Palm Beach Post
Miami Heat forward Okaro White has undergone surgery to repair a fifth metatarsal fracture in his left foot. The 85-minute procedure was performed by Dr. Thomas San Giovanni and HEAT team physician Dr. Harlan Selesnick at Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute at Doctors Hospital. Inside Hoops
The shot will forever be remembered in Warriors history. Scratch that, the shot will forever be remembered in NBA history. “I made the game-winning shot in the finals against my f---ing idol," Kevin Durant said to GQ Magazine. "Somebody that I really, really, really followed since I was a ninth-grade high schooler. I felt like he was passing the torch to me.” With 52 second left in Game 3 of the NBA Finals and the Warriors trailing the Cavaliers, 113-111, Kevin Durant grabbed a rebound from an errant 3-point attempt. He dribbled down the left-side of the court and squared up LeBron James behind the 3-point line with 47 second left. Swish. NBC Sports Bay Area
The Jazz (6-9) have lost six of their last seven games and now face the hardest December schedule in the NBA, according to ESPN’s NBA Basketball Power Index. Utah’s next three games will be played on the road at Brooklyn on Friday, at Orlando on Saturday, then in Philly on Monday. Then to make matters worse, star center Rudy Gobert continues his battle with a right tibia contusion for a minimum of four weeks while Joe Johnson is still dealing with right wrist tendon instability and is out for at least two more weeks as well. Both guys are with the team on the road trip. Deseret News
Washington has won five of its last six games — the outlier, the Nov. 7 humbling to the Dallas Mavericks — while holding each opponent to fewer than 100 points. This season, the Wizards are 6-0 when keeping a team to under the century mark. “That is our go to,” Bradley Beal said after the Wizards’ 102-93 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday. “When we do that, it is proven. We have success keeping teams under 100 and getting wins. When we continue to have that defensive mind-set we are a really good team. We showed a lot of glimpses of it [Wednesday].” Washington Post
Paul Pierce sees things a little bit differently, though. That’s because the longtime Celtics star believes the time is now — not “the future” — for Boston to overtake the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference. Pierce, now working as an NBA analyst, debated the topic Wednesday on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown.” He faced some pushback from Jalen Rose and Chauncey Billups, both of whom still like the Cavs in the East despite Cleveland’s sluggish start and status as the oldest team in the NBA. NESN
Very rarely does Draymond Green ever shy away from expressing himself, through his on-court aggressiveness, emotions with officials and his honest opinion. So after initially declining to address Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for saying Green demanded an apology for criticizing the use of the term “owner” in sports, Green spent about 7 1/2 minutes defending himself during an appearance on Thursday at the Harvard Kennedy School. “When you look at the word ‘owner,’ it really dates back to slavery,” Green said. “The word ‘owner’ and ‘master’ dates back to slavery. However it was then, if you were a slaveowner, it’s kind of your job. You owned slaves. They did the work for you. You sold the cotton.” San Jose Mercury News
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said Thursday he is "in the very early stage of evaluating" the opportunity to bring an NHL team to Houston. That came on the heels of a report that Fertitta recently met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Houston Chronicle
For daily stories, see our main NBA rumors page.