National Basketball Assn

Subterms

    More stories

    • 113 Shares199 Views

      in Basket

      N.B.A. Eastern Conference Preview: Will the Nets Reign Supreme?

      by

      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyN.B.A. Eastern Conference Preview: Will the Nets Reign Supreme?The Bucks got better, but the Nets with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant might be too much for Milwaukee — or any other team in the East — to overcome.With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant healthy, and a strong supporting cast, the Nets are poised to make a run to the top of the Eastern Conference.Credit…Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty ImagesDec. 21, 2020, 3:00 a.m. ETIs it already the most wonderful time of year again? With LeBron alley-ooping and referees demanding we be of good cheer? There’ll be dunks used for posting, Kawhi laughs for roasting and trash talking out in the snowwwww.Yes, the N.B.A. season is upon us, beginning Tuesday, with a much different landscape from any other season. Most arenas won’t have fans in the stands because of the pandemic. At the same time, several top stars who missed most or all of last season will be returning, shifting the balance of power in the N.B.A.And all eyes are on James Harden to see where he ends up, whether he has to stay in Houston for the season or gets sent to one of his preferred destinations, like Milwaukee, Philadelphia or Miami.The Eastern Conference is wide open this year. Here’s a look at where it stands.The ContendersNow that Kevin Durant, left, and Kyrie Irving are finally able to play together, they should make the Nets the best team in the East.Credit…Kathy Willens/Associated PressBrooklyn Nets2019-2020 record: 35-37 (No. 7 playoff seed)Key additions: Jeff Green, Landry ShametKey subtractions: Wilson Chandler, Garrett TempleOutlook: On paper, this is the most talented team in the East, if not the league. The only new players this season are key reserves, but the real addition is Kevin Durant, who is ready to play after missing last season with an Achilles’ tendon injury. His friend and fellow perennial All-Star Kyrie Irving also will be returning, from a shoulder injury that limited him to 20 games last season. If they are close to the players they were before their injuries, this team is a threat to win the finals, especially considering its dynamic supporting cast.The Nets have elite shooting in Shamet and Joe Harris; rebounding and shot-blocking in DeAndre Jordan and Jarrett Allen; quality playmakers in Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie; and bench sparkplugs like Green and Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot.Getting Giannis Antetokounmpo signed to an extension was a victory of its own kind for the Milwaukee Bucks.Credit…Pool photo by Ashley LandisMilwaukee Bucks2019-2020 record: 56-17 (No. 1 seed)Key additions: Jrue Holiday, D.J. Augustin, Bobby Portis, Torrey CraigKey subtractions: Robin Lopez, Eric Bledsoe, Marvin Williams, Wesley Matthews, Ersan IlyasovaOutlook: The Bucks enter the season without the cloud of whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will sign an extension hanging over Wisconsin. That’s a huge win in itself. But now the focus will be on whether this team will vie for a championship or disappear early in the playoffs again.Trading for Holiday, a former All-Star, was a great start. Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Holiday are a fearsome trio. The Bucks also revamped their bench, adding Augustin, a veteran who can shoot the ball, to make up for the loss of players like Matthews and Ilyasova. (Side note: Antetokounmpo has the opportunity to become the first player since Larry Bird in 1985-86 to win the Most Valuable Player Award for a third straight season.)Repeating as the Eastern Conference champions could be tough for the Miami Heat.Credit…Kim Klement/USA Today Sports, via ReutersMiami Heat2019-2020 record: 44-29 (No. 5 seed)Key additions: Avery Bradley, Maurice HarklessKey departures: Solomon HillOutlook: After last year’s Cinderella run to the finals, the Heat enter this season with the same team more or less, led by Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic. You can expect Tyler Herro, who mostly came off the bench last season and delivered many strong performances in the playoffs, to have a bigger role. You do wonder whether Miami will be able to take teams by surprise again, with many teams in the East making significant moves to get better or having players return from injury.The MaybesThe Sixers brought in two elite shooters, but they still need Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to improve to avoid last season’s disappointment.Credit…Matt Slocum/Associated PressPhiladelphia 76ers2019-2020 record: 43-30 (No. 6 seed)Key additions: Seth Curry, Danny Green, Dwight HowardKey departures: Al Horford, Josh RichardsonOutlook: Daryl Morey, the new team president, already left his mark on the roster, shipping out the ill-fitting Horford for Green, who will provide Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons some much needed spacing, as will Curry. The team is better balanced than the disappointing one last season, but Embiid and Simmons still must elevate their play. (And let’s not forget: The Sixers are in play to trade for Houston’s James Harden.)The Celtics are counting on Jayson Tatum’s improvement to go deeper into the playoffs this season.Credit…Matt Slocum/Associated PressBoston Celtics2019-2020 record: 48-24 (No. 3 seed)Key additions: Jeff Teague, Tristan ThompsonKey departures: Gordon Hayward, Brad WanamakerOutlook: This was a bad off-season for the Celtics, who lost Hayward, an All-Star talent, in a free-agency-related trade that netted Boston a record trade exception, which the franchise could use to acquire a solid rotation player. To contend, the Celtics will need Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to make another leap, plus better-than-expected contributions from their stable of young players like Grant Williams, Robert Williams and Romeo Langford, especially given Kemba Walker’s knee troubles.The dynamic guard Trae Young and a much-improved roster make the Hawks a must-watch this season.Credit…Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports, via ReutersAtlanta Hawks2019-2020 record: 20-47Key additions: Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Rajon Rondo, Kris Dunn, Solomon HillKey departures: Vince Carter, Evan Turner, Jeff TeagueOutlook: The Hawks are a team primed to make The Leap. Aside from having an elite talent like Trae Young, the team signed several strong veterans to surround a dynamic core that includes John Collins, Clint Capela, Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish. Melding so many new faces will be difficult, and this team will probably be poor defensively. But Atlanta will be a must-watch on League Pass.Russell Westbrook was a surprise addition to a Wizards team that struggled last season.Credit…Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesWashington Wizards2019-2020 record: 25-47Key additions: Russell Westbrook, Robin Lopez, Raul NetoKey departures: John WallOutlook: Both of the team’s stars — Bradley Beal and Westbrook — will be playing this season with chips on their shoulders: Beal, for being snubbed for All-N.B.A. teams despite his stellar last season and Westbrook for the narrative surrounding his campaign in Houston, despite making an All N.B.A. team. Look for Rui Hachimura to be in the conversation for the Most Improved Player Award after a strong rookie season.The Indiana Pacers had a quiet off-season, but at least Victor Oladipo is still with them.Credit…David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty ImagesIndiana Pacers2019-2020 record: 45-28 (No. 4 seed)Key additions: NoneKey departures: NoneOutlook: The biggest acquisition the Pacers made this off-season was a new coach, Nate Bjorkgren. Aside from that, they’ll have a healthy Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to build around, as well as Malcolm Brogdon and TJ Warren, who had a great run in the Florida bubble. Hard to see this team making any real noise as the season progresses, though.Pascal Siakam wasn’t great in the playoffs, but he still has value for the Raptors this season.Credit…Kim Klement/USA Today Sports, via ReutersToronto Raptors2019-2010 record: 53-19 (No. 2 seed)Key additions: DeAndre’ Bembry, Alex Len, Aron BaynesKey departures: Serge IbakaOutlook: This might be the toughest team in the East to peg. Pascal Siakam’s stock took a dive after his performance in the playoffs, and replacing Ibaka with the combination of Baynes and Len might not be enough. Kyle Lowry turns 35 this season. Toronto was knocked out of the playoffs in the second round and didn’t upgrade much in talent. Even so, the Raptors are never to be counted out.The Non-ContendersThe Magic sneaked into the playoffs last season and look to be only so-so again.Credit…Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesOrlando Magic2019-2020 record: 33-40 (No. 8 seed)Key additions: Cole AnthonyKey departures: D.J. AugustinOutlook: The only reason to watch this team is to see what kind of player Anthony, drafted 15th over all last month, will be. Otherwise, the team is set up to be average again, especially with Jonathan Isaac likely to miss the year with a knee injury. It’s time for this franchise to start over. Building around Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier is just not good enough.LaMelo Ball, the Hornets rookie, has already made waves during the preseason with his playmaking skills.Credit…Chris Carlson/Associated PressCharlotte Hornets2019-2020 record: 23-42Key additions: LaMelo Ball, Gordon HaywardKey departures: Nicolas BatumOutlook: This team could challenge for the playoffs. Hayward had a great year in Boston last season, and Ball is showing himself to be a talented playmaker during the preseason. Devonte’ Graham (18.2 points a game in his sophomore N.B.A. campaign) is a solid young talent poised for a leap.Zach LaVine can put up big numbers for the Bulls, but this season they need him to be consistent.Credit…Nam Y. Huh/Associated PressChicago Bulls2019-2020 record: 22-43Key additions: Garrett Temple, Patrick WilliamsKey departures: NoneOutlook: The Bulls have a new coach, Billy Donovan, who has a penchant for squeezing production out of less-than-stellar rosters. Zach LaVine put up all All-Star numbers (25.5 points a game) last season, but will need more consistent playmaking to actually become one. If the Bulls want to be competitive, they’ll need Lauri Markkanen to recover from a down year.Obi Toppin will give Knicks fans something to cheer about this season.Credit…Raj Mehta/USA Today Sports, via ReutersKnicks2019-2020 record: 21-45Key additions: Obi Toppin, Alec BurksKey departures: Bobby Portis, Wayne Ellington, Maurice HarklessOutlook: The Knicks, aside from hiring Tom Thibodeau as coach, didn’t make any major moves this off-season, which is fine. They sat out a weak free-agent class and kept their flexibility. Barring any major star trades, this is another development year for the franchise. It’s a chance to determine what exactly RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson can do. Separately, Toppin may be the most exciting Knicks draft pick in years.Blake Griffin’s future with the Detroit Pistons is uncertain.Credit…Raj Mehta/USA Today Sports, via ReutersDetroit Pistons2019-2020 record: 20-46Key additions: Killian Hayes, Mason Plumlee, Jahlil Okafor, Josh Jackson, Jerami Grant, Saddiq BeyKey departures: Luke Kennard, Christian WoodOutlook: It was an odd off-season for Detroit, as the team stocked up on big men who can’t shoot, while trading away talented pieces like Kennard and Wood. But Blake Griffin is healthy, and the franchise is hoping Hayes is ready for big minutes. This is probably not a playoff team right now, but players like Hayes offer hope for the future. Will Griffin be on the team come season’s end?The Cavaliers were at the bottom of the East last season, and their prospects now don’t look much better.Credit…Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty ImagesCleveland Cavaliers2019-2020 record: 19-46Key additions: Isaac Okoro, JaVale McGeeKey departures: Tristan ThompsonOutlook: Collin Sexton, going into his third year, is one of the few guaranteed bright spots on the team. He’s a proven scorer. But Andre Drummond and Kevin Love on the frontline are … an interesting pairing. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Cleveland last in the conference again.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

    • 88 Shares149 Views

      in Basket

      ‘Challenges and Bumps’ Expected as N.B.A. Returns

      by

      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesThe Latest Vaccine InformationU.S. Deaths Surpass 300,000F.A.Q.AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyon pro basketball‘Challenges and Bumps’ Expected as N.B.A. ReturnsPlaying without a bubble during the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t been smooth for sports leagues that tried this fall. Now it’s the N.B.A.’s turn.Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is set to star in the first game of the new N.B.A. season on Tuesday.Credit…Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports, via ReutersDec. 20, 2020, 3:00 a.m. ETOn Tuesday night at Barclays Center, Stephen Curry will take the floor for the Golden State Warriors and Steve Kerr will coach the team in its first meaningful game in more than nine months. The considerable wait to get back to work is where the oddities only begin for Kerr.As he returns from the longest hiatus he has known in an N.B.A. career that began when he was a rookie in 1988-89, Kerr must confront two familiar faces leading the Nets. He will be coaching against Kevin Durant, the co-pillar of two Warriors championship teams alongside Curry, and against a good friend, Steve Nash, who will be making his official debut as the Nets’ (and Durant’s) coach.It is a lot to track in terms of story lines and, at the same time, it is only half the story on opening night of the N.B.A.’s 75th season. To lead off a schedule that was moved up to begin just before Christmas, after strong urging from the league’s television partners in their quest for maximum profit, Warriors vs. Nets comes amid a pandemic that is wreaking its worst havoc yet across the United States.“We are in the same boat as a lot of people out there,” Kerr said. “Everything is strange for everybody. We’re lucky to be working, and we recognize that. So we are embracing our circumstances rather than lamenting them.”There figures to be enough worry to go around, from various corners of the league, even if Kerr manages to stifle his concerns. The N.B.A. is starting anew after its shortest off-season ever and will do so in the coronavirus-ravaged real world, just 72 days removed from the Los Angeles Lakers’ emerging as champions from the league’s bubble at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla.There will be no fans allowed inside Barclays to witness the various reunions for Kerr, Durant, Curry and Nash, but there will also be no bubble to protect the participants. The N.B.A. is counting on daily testing of players, coaches and team staff members, vigilant mask-wearing and social distancing, and an expanded book of health and safety guidelines to get through the winter — even as public health experts project January to be the most devastating month yet in the country’s battle against the virus.All 30 teams will also have a league-assigned “protocol officer” with them on the road and on team planes, trying to ensure adherence to the many restrictions outlined within the league’s nearly 160 pages of rules to govern the season.Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, recently predicted that access to a Covid-19 vaccine should be widespread nationally by late spring or early summer, with those who have no underlying conditions likely able to be vaccinated by the end of March or the beginning of April. The months until then, however, could be grim — something the N.B.A. has essentially acknowledged by releasing only the first half of its regular-season schedule, through March 4. The league office wants to maintain calendar flexibility to deal with the sort of coronavirus-related disruptions that have upended other sports, such as the N.F.L. and college football, which have not employed bubbles.“We know there are going to be challenges and bumps, but so far things are good and we’re optimistic that we have a plan that we can work through those challenges and bumps,” said David Weiss, the N.B.A.’s vice president of player matters.The Coronavirus Outbreak More

    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Basket

      N.B.A. Hopes for ‘as Close to a Normal Season as Possible’

      by

      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesThe Latest Vaccine InformationU.S. Deaths Surpass 300,000F.A.Q.AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storymarc stein on basketballN.B.A. Hopes for ‘as Close to a Normal Season as Possible’The league is embarking on a season with restrictions but no bubble: Yes to trips to Whole Foods. No to crowded elevators and the hotel gift shop.The N.B.A. is back, but it’s clear it’s not the same — and no one can be sure when it will be closer to what it was before the pandemic.Credit…Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesDec. 16, 2020, 4:38 p.m. ETThe first team to take up residence at the N.B.A. bubble in July was one of the first to be assigned a road trip last week. The Orlando Magic on Thursday afternoon boarded a team flight for the first time since March and made the short journey to Atlanta to jump-start a season like no other.Upon arrival, Orlando’s 47-passenger contingent — including two coronavirus testers — was divided up and ushered onto four separate buses to maximize social distancing. Players were reminded to avoid the hotel gift shop and crowded elevators and were instructed to stay on the hotel property, apart from visits to a nearby Whole Foods Market.“I don’t know if it’s going to be like that all season long,” Orlando’s Evan Fournier said in a phone interview. “I still don’t know what I’m really allowed to do. I guess that’s what the preseason is for.”Dress rehearsals, for a league adjusting to new realities, are indeed underway. Tuesday marked Day 5 for the N.B.A.’s rapid-fire exhibition schedule — with a countdown clock in the bottom left-hand corner of NBA TV, the league’s official channel, offering repeated reminders that next Tuesday’s opening night for the 2020-21 season is fast approaching.As Fournier noted, N.B.A. teams are trying to make road life as restrictive as possible, hoping to keep their traveling parties safe with the coronavirus still surging across the country. It’s way too soon to say the league’s measures are working, when leaguewide travel has just begun, but Fournier sounded refreshingly hopeful when we spoke, saying he feels safe given the players’ daily testing, combined with as many old bubble practices as teams are able to replicate now that they’re on the move.The French guard joked Saturday on Twitter, in his native language, that he was getting sick of himself after three days in the same Atlanta hotel room, but Fournier left little doubt in our chat that he was “super happy” to be back on the court for two games against the Hawks.“It’s so much better than just being in the bubble, in my opinion, because we actually get to travel and play in real arenas,” Fournier said.You can understand the sentiment. Everyone who plays and works in the league knows that the restricted-access village erected by the N.B.A. at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., was by far the safest way to conduct business and finish the 2019-20 season, but no one wanted to do it again because of the mental-health toll exacted by long stays behind Disney’s gates, cut off from the outside world.Orlando’s Evan Fournier, right, said playing in arenas, even without fans, is still better than playing inside the bubble.Credit…Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesSo the N.B.A. will try to do it this way, with nearly 160 pages of safety guidelines for teams to follow to try to keep the coronavirus from infiltrating practices and mostly fan-less arenas, even as the increasing (and at times farcical) ineffectiveness of college football and basketball in combating the virus suggests that major disruptions are looming. The N.F.L., without a bubble, has likewise had countless troubles.A month ago, as the draft and free agency approached, I wrote about how strange it was to see and hear so little public concern about the daunting challenges that the N.B.A. would face this winter, when medical experts were rightly predicting an alarming spike in Covid-19 cases. Not much has changed in the weeks since — James Harden’s uncertain future in Houston gets far more coverage from the basketball media than health issues — but I do get it. The virus has been a constant in our lives for nine months. Many have grown weary of worrying.It was thus so tempting, starting Friday night, to get swept up in the basketball as the preseason began. Training camps landed a little later on the calendar than usual, but this, after all, is the time of year for just that — for all teams and their fans to dream before the games start counting.John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins have looked healthier and livelier than the Houston Rockets, who are otherwise soaked in the drama of the disgruntled Harden, could have hoped. Golden State’s Stephen Curry returned from his own injury woes with a new trick shot that he flung from the empty stands at Chase Center during pregame warm-ups and that may have topped every past trick shot in a career full of them. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had majestic moments together in their long-delayed debut as Nets teammates. Talen Horton-Tucker, who turned 20 on Nov. 25, looked as dangerous as Los Angeles Lakers insiders have whispered for months he would be when he got a chance to play real minutes. Zion Williamson, too, was back to his wrecking-ball best Monday night in the New Orleans Pelicans’ exhibition opener.Thursday’s Minnesota at Dallas preseason game is the first I will have the chance to attend in person. Members of the news media are not allowed to get anywhere near the floor or the two teams, as we used to, but I don’t think I will be able to stay home after getting Fournier’s description of the State Farm Arena scene for the Magic’s 116-112 victory over the Hawks in the teams’ Friday exhibition.“It was really fun, actually,” Fournier said. “I didn’t really pay attention to the empty seats. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s just because I was so happy to be out there.”Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers spent months in the bubble this summer, which took a mental toll. Some elements of the bubble environment, like sideline masks, remain as the league goes forward in fan-less arenas.Credit…Kyusung Gong/Associated PressWhere I live, in the same city as one of the game’s loudest optimists, talk about the coming season tends to be even more bullish, in contrast to my typical fear-the-worst anxiety, which I am once again struggling to stifle. Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks’ owner, is a self-professed vaccines “geek” who has been reading everything he can as a mass vaccination campaign begins to roll out nationwide. Last week on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Cuban said it was “my personal belief” that there would be a “huge snap back” in March or April “where most of the people in the country will have had access” to coronavirus vaccination “if they wanted it.”Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, has predicted that most people will be able to get the vaccine by late spring or early summer, and that those with no underlying conditions could be vaccinated by the end of March or beginning of April. Seemingly taking his cue from such projections, Cuban told SiriusXM that he thinks “things are going to get really fun” in N.B.A. arenas in the second half of the season, provided that the league’s rush to start before Christmas to satisfy its television partners proceeds into the spring with no serious setbacks.When I reached Cuban on Tuesday, he insisted that the Mavericks’ mantra is “safety first, safety second and safety third.” He also confirmed that he would be at American Airlines Center on Thursday night, which will be Cuban’s first opportunity to watch his team in person since the viral clip of his stunned in-game reaction to news of the season’s suspension on March 11.“So far, so good,” Cuban said. “The most important aspect is that the players and staff that are traveling are treating each game as a self-imposed bubble. We won’t be able to eliminate cases and outbreaks, but if we can minimize them, then hopefully it can be as close to a normal season as possible.”The Coronavirus Outbreak More

    • 100 Shares99 Views

      in Basket

      Giannis Antetokounmpo Signs $228 Million Extension With Bucks

      by

      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyGiannis Antetokounmpo Signs $228 Million Extension With BucksWith less than a week before the deadline, Antetokounmpo signed a five-year extension with the team that drafted him in 2013. He has won the past two N.B.A. Most Valuable Player Awards.Giannis Antetokounmpo posted on social media that he was “blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years.”Credit…Ashley Landis/Associated PressDec. 15, 2020Updated 7:01 p.m. ETGiannis Antetokounmpo redoubled his commitment to the only N.B.A. franchise he has known by signing a five-year contract extension worth an estimated $228 million from the Milwaukee Bucks.Six days before a Dec. 21 deadline to either sign the so-called supermax extension or become an unrestricted free agent after this season, Antetokounmpo on Tuesday released a statement via his social media channels proclaiming himself “blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years.”“This is my home, this is my city,” Antetokounmpo wrote.This is my home, this is my city.. I’m blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years. Let’s make these years count. The show goes on, let’s get it. 🤎🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/895tCBE9RK— Giannis Ugo Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) December 15, 2020
      In a team statement later Tuesday confirming the deal, Antetokounmpo said: “You took a chance on us eight years ago and now putting my signature on a contract like this is unreal — but it’s all because of hard work. This is my home and I’m going to continue working hard and do my best to make the Bucks, our fans and the city proud. Let’s have fun, win and make these years count.”The Bucks selected Antetokounmpo, who was born and raised in Greece by Nigerian parents, with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft, despite Antetokounmpo’s limited professional experience in the Greek second division. Antetokounmpo has blossomed beyond all expectations to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player Awards and, by committing his long-term future to the Bucks, has delivered the team its most significant victory since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson led Milwaukee to its lone N.B.A. championship in 1970-1971.“This is one of the great days in Bucks history,” Peter Feigin, the Bucks’ team president, said during a virtual meeting organized by the Milwaukee Press Club shortly after Antetokounmpo revealed the news.Antetokounmpo, who turned 26 on Dec. 6, is under contract for one more season on his current deal and, because he signed an extension, cannot be traded by the Bucks before next season. The extension is the largest contract in N.B.A. history, surpassing the five-year, $207 million contract Russell Westbrook signed to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder in September 2017. Antetokounmpo’s new deal includes a player option after the 2024-25 season that would allow him to enter free agency one year early.After winning M.V.P. honors for the first time in 2018-19, Antetokounmpo averaged 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game last season to repeat as M.V.P. He was also named Defensive Player of the Year last season, joining Michael Jordan (1987-88) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94) as the only players to win the M.V.P. and defensive player awards in the same season.The Bucks posted the league’s best regular-season record in each of the past two seasons but have had back-to-back playoff disappointments, which led to considerable apprehension in Milwaukee that Antetokounmpo might pass on the extension and choose a new team next season. After a meek second-round playoff series loss to the Miami Heat this summer, Bucks officials promised Antetokounmpo that they would upgrade the roster — and they duly agreed to a trade in November to acquire the highly rated guard Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans.But a planned sign-and-trade deal with the Sacramento Kings to acquire the sharpshooting restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic in addition to Holiday collapsed and, as The New York Times first reported, prompted the league office to open an investigation. The N.B.A. is exploring possible violations of its anti-tampering rules, since it appeared that the Bucks and Kings had already reached an agreement on a sign-and-trade transaction more than three days before free-agent discussions of any kind were allowed to start. Bogdanovic eventually joined the Atlanta Hawks after he signed a four-year, $72 million offer sheet with the Hawks that Sacramento elected not to match.Tuesday’s announcement ended a nervy period for the Bucks since the Holiday acquisition and the Bogdanovic drama, sparing the small-market franchise from the specter of constant questions about Antetokounmpo’s future as the Bucks try to make it back to the N.B.A. finals for the first time since 1973-74. After that season, Abdul-Jabbar quietly asked Milwaukee to trade him, saying he preferred to live in New York or Los Angeles. The request ultimately led the Bucks to trade Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers in June 1975.In a 2017 interview with The Times, Antetokounmpo described himself as “a low-profile guy” who had no interest in “all these flashy cities like L.A. or Miami.”“I don’t know if I could be the same player if I played in those cities,” Antetokounmpo said then.Teams such as Miami, Toronto and Dallas had been managing their payrolls in hopes of making a free-agent run at Antetokounmpo in 2021, but to the Bucks’ great relief, teams in flashier markets won’t get that chance.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in Basket

      Endeavor Expands N.B.A. Talent Reach With Stake in BDA Sports

      by

      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyEndeavor Expands N.B.A. Talent Reach With Stake in BDA SportsBill Duffy, who founded BDA Sports Management more than two decades ago, represents rising basketball stars like the N.B.A.’s Luka Doncic and the W.N.B.A.’s Sabrina Ionescu.Bill Duffy, who represents stars like the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, center, is selling a stake in his agency, BDA Sports, to Endeavor.Credit…Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty ImagesDec. 15, 2020, 9:01 a.m. ETEndeavor, the entertainment and sports conglomerate, expanded its sports representation business Tuesday by purchasing a stake in BDA Sports Management, the firm led by the influential N.B.A. agent Bill Duffy.The partnership calls for Duffy, who represents the rising basketball stars Luka Doncic and Sabrina Ionescu, to become an adviser in the sports division of William Morris Endeavor, one of Hollywood’s major talent agencies. Duffy will continue to serve as chairman and chief executive of BDA Sports, which will retain its own branding and represents an estimated 130 players in the N.B.A., W.N.B.A. and professional leagues internationally.“We don’t really have an uber-N.B.A.-agent in our company,” Mark Shapiro, Endeavor’s president, said in an interview. “I’m certain this will accelerate our growth plan as it relates to representing more N.B.A. players both on and off the court.”Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but Shapiro described Endeavor’s stake as a “meaningful, strategic investment.” WME Sports has provided full-service representation for several tennis and golf clients, including the tennis stars Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, but the sports division’s co-head, Karen Brodkin, said the alliance with Duffy was part of a broader strategy to work with “more clients earlier in their career trajectory” in sports where they haven’t historically. Duffy said the union with WME would position BDA Sports “to build something even bigger and better than what we’ve been able to do.”“The modern athlete has a high expectation for off-the-court opportunities,” Duffy said. “They want to get into gaming, into fashion, into entrepreneurial endeavors. WME has a history of doing that at the highest level, so with this partnership, it’s like we’re expanding our menu from one page to four.”Duffy, who turns 61 in January, oversees a team of six agents domestically and seven internationally. He has represented Hall of Fame N.B.A. players like Yao Ming and Steve Nash, now the head coach of the Nets. Duffy’s current clients include Ionescu of the W.N.B.A.’s Liberty and the N.B.A. players Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, Miami’s Goran Dragic and the Knicks’ RJ Barrett.A fifth-round draft pick by the Denver Nuggets in 1982 after playing in college at Minnesota and Santa Clara, Duffy began his agent career by representing the former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Webster Slaughter in 1985. Duffy was connected to Slaughter by his boyhood friend Ronnie Lott, the former San Francisco 49ers star and Hall of Famer, and soon moved into basketball representation. He founded BDA Sports in 1996.Endeavor, which is led by Ari Emanuel and represents entertainers like Denzel Washington and Selena Gomez, has been making other sports moves. The agency’s recent hires include Bret Just, who represents pro and college basketball coaches and N.B.A. front-office executives, and the N.F.L. player agents Brian Ayrault and Ben Renzin, who were lured away from the rival Creative Artists Agency to launch a football group for WME Sports.The arrangement between WME and BDA Sports is the latest in a string of partnerships between top Hollywood agencies and player-representation companies in both basketball and soccer — the team sports with the most global reach. In July 2019, the prominent N.B.A. agent Rich Paul sold what the buyer United Talent Agency called a “significant stake” in Paul’s Klutch Sports Group to establish Klutch as UTA’s sports division.Even before their partnership was formalized Tuesday, Duffy’s BDA Sports had enlisted WME Sports’ help with off-the-court pursuits for various clients. Nash’s forays into soccer and basketball broadcasting after he retired as player in 2015 were largely arranged by WME. BDA and WME also each signed Ionescu as a client in the spring, for on- and off-court representation, after the Liberty selected the former Oregon star with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 W.N.B.A. draft.“I’m an ex-athlete and I understand the importance of stability and support during that transition in life when the ball stops bouncing,” Duffy said. “I have to be thinking about longevity for them and their careers always.”Shapiro said the deal with Duffy’s BDA “would have been done a lot sooner” if not for the coronavirus pandemic. Like other agencies in Hollywood, Endeavor instituted a round of layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts earlier this year. Public events in many of its specialty areas — like Broadway, stand-up comedy, music and fashion — remain “primarily closed,” Shapiro said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Basket

      Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving Shine in Preseason Homecoming

      by

      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyKevin Durant and Kyrie Irving Shine in Preseason HomecomingWith both players returning from injuries, Durant and Irving combined for 33 points in their first game together, more than a year after joining the Nets.Kevin Durant scored 15 points in his first game since June 10, 2019. “It felt great to get back in the routine and get back on the floor and feel like a player again,” he said.Credit…Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesDec. 13, 2020It’s rare that an N.B.A. preseason game is must-see television.But Sunday night’s matchup featuring the Nets and Washington Wizards might have been the most anticipated preseason game in New York basketball history.Steve Nash roamed the sidelines for the first time as head coach.But more important for Nets fans and the franchise, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, one of the most talented duos in the league with a combined 16 All-Star selections, took the floor for the first time as teammates after injuries forced Durant to miss all of last season and limited Irving to 20 games.The Nets won, 119-114, at Barclays Center but what mattered was the product on the floor: Durant and Irving looked every bit the All-Stars they have been their entire careers.Let’s put in a caveat here: It was one preseason game. One. Preseason. Game. Players aren’t in shape yet. They are rusty. Coaches are still figuring out their personnel.But preseason or not, Durant and Irving mostly looked like the same players, and that alone is enough reason for Nets brass to be optimistic about their championship aspirations for the 2020-21 season. If this was what the rusty versions of Durant and Irving could do, what will the in-rhythm ones look like?It took all of 46 seconds to get Nets fans salivating, when Durant, who won the Most Valuable Player Award in 2014, drove along the baseline on the left side for an open dunk. It was his first basket in a game since Game 5 of the 2019 N.B.A. finals, when Durant tore his right Achilles’ tendon, one of the most serious injuries a basketball player can suffer.Kyrie Irving, right, guarding the Wizards rookie Deni Avdija. Irving scored 18 points in his first game with Durant.Credit…Kathy Willens/Associated PressBut Durant showed minimal sign of that injury. He made all three of his field goals in the first quarter and looked spry running up and down the court. He finished the first half with 15 points on eight shots. One of the best scorers in the history of the N.B.A., Durant pulled out moves he had refined before his injury, like his one-footed fadeaway. He was also active defensively, blocking two shots and taking a charge.Durant said afterward that he didn’t think he had played particularly well, but that the game was a “good first step.”“It felt great to get back in the routine and get back on the floor and feel like a player again,” Durant said. “It felt great. Everybody’s texting and calling asking me how I’m feeling. So I can’t wait to get back into the swing of the things so I feel like one of the guys.”After the game ended, a smiling Durant exchanged hugs with his teammates and several Wizards players, including his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook.“The beauty of Kevin, obviously on top of all the ability he brings to the game, is his love for the game,” Nash said after the game. “He brings a childlike joy and a love for the game every day when he comes to work. So it’s beautiful to see him back on the basketball court. I think the world missed him out there.”Irving was not any different, matching Durant shot for shot early on. In the first half, Irving went 7 of 9 from the field for 18 points and added four assists before checking out for good. While Durant is one of the best shot makers in N.B.A. history, Irving is one of the best dribblers the league has ever seen. That ability was on full display Sunday night, as he easily made creative angles on jumpers.“That’s one of the perks of this position is you get to coach two incredible players,” Nash said. “Ky was super sharp and Kevin, after such an extensive layoff, was very good and close to being incredible. He’s going to keep building and getting comfortable. When you have that kind of injury, it’s kind of remarkable that he’s at the level he’s at.”Entering the game, there was some intrigue over what kind of offense Irving and Durant wanted to run, as a result of an Instagram Live session the two held Saturday. During their talk, Irving argued that he should receive eight post-ups a game, because of the mismatch he thought it would create.This would be a highly unconventional use of a point guard, typically the quarterback of the offense from outside the 3-point line. Durant disagreed with Irving’s assessment, saying, “I don’t think that’s good for the continuity of our offense if our point guard always wants to be underneath the rim.” As they to continued to debate the finer points of Irving’s proposal, Durant essentially ended the conversation with, “We’re going to see, though.”Irving did not receive the ball much under the basket on Sunday night, like he had pitched. He didn’t need to. He got his shots off as he had his entire career: whenever and wherever he wanted.“Kyrie looked incredible,” Durant said. “I mean, he’s unstoppable. He’s a master at his craft. So he could do pretty much whatever he wants out on the floor. He set the tone for us.”Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie said after the game that he was “not too surprised” by the strong play of Durant and Irving.“They’re phenomenal scorers, obviously,” Dinwiddie said. “And best friends. So I think the flow and the vibe that they’re going to have is going to be one of the best duos in the league, if not the best duo in the league.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

    • 150 Shares189 Views

      in Basket

      An N.B.A. Veteran Turns Wisdom Into Wins, On and Off the Court

      by

      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyAn N.B.A. Veteran Turns Wisdom Into Wins, On and Off the CourtAt 36, Andre Iguodala is on the back end of his N.B.A. career, as an elder statesman with the Miami Heat, but he’s hitting his stride in the tech world.Andre Iguodala has used his N.B.A. savvy to help build his career on the court and in the tech world.Credit…Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesBy More

    • 150 Shares139 Views

      in Basket

      Why is Russell Westbrook Headed to His Third Team in Three Years?

      by

      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWhat’s the Deal With Russell Westbrook?Despite being a regular All-Star and former M.V.P., Westbrook is headed to his third team in three years. His value appears to be a matter of opinion.The pairing of James Harden, left, and Russell Westbrook in Houston lasted only one season, as the Rockets traded Westbrook this week to the Washington Wizards for John Wall and a draft pick.Credit…Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports, via ReutersBy More