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Draft Notes: Jackson, Bolmaro, Atar, Fofana

April 19th, 2020 at 6:15pm CST by Chris Crouse

Marreon Jackson, who had previously declared for the NBA draft, has opted to stay in school for one more year, as he announced on his Twitter feed.

The Toledo guard writes that “COVID-19 has caused a lot of unfortunate complications,” suggesting that the coronavirus situation played a part in his decision. He added that he has received some “great feedback” from the NBA. Jackson averaged 19.8 PPG and 5.4 APG in 32 games (35.3 MPG) last season as a junior.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

19-year-old forward Leandro Bolmaro will enter in the 2020 draft, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando passes along. Bolmaro, who plays in Barcelona, is a candidate to go in the first round, though he’s expected to stay in the draft even if he begins to hear he may fall to round two.
Turkish center Berke Atar is entering the 2020 draft, according to Stefan Djordjevic of EuroHoops. Atar finished the 2019/20 season with KK MZT Skopje in Macedonia.
Selim Fofana has entered the draft, Nicola Lupo of Sportando relays. The guard averaged 6.9 points per game for Union Neuchatel Basket in Switzerland this past season.

Mixed Reviews On R.J. Barrett’s Rookie Season

April 19th, 2020 at 4:46pm CST by Chris Crouse

RJ Barrett had an up-and-down rookie season, but the 2019 No. 3 overall selection flashed the top-notch potential that made him a tantalizing pick. Some within the league believe Barrett’s strides are promising, as Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic hears.

“I think he’s a got a bright future if the Knicks handle him the right way and (give him) the resources to keep improving,” one Western Conference scout told Vorkunov.

Barrett’s 14.3 points per game were third among all rookies, though efficiency remains an issue. Barrett ranked in the 24th percentile as a scorer off the pick-and-roll, per Synergy Sports, and his turnover rate left much to be desired.

Another rival scout told Vorkunov that he doesn’t believe Barrett will become a “high-level” play-maker, but his ability to get the paint consistently provides hope for his future. Still, free throw shooting is an area of concern, as the rookie made just 61.9% of his attempts. Vorkunov notes that – within the last 10 years – only three rookies who shot at least 200 attempts during their respective rookie seasons were worse from the line (Nerlens Noel, Ben Simmons, Elfrid Payton).

Still, there’s optimism surrounding Barrett’s long-term viability in the league.

“Not sure (shooting guard is) his long-term role moving forward,” the aforementioned Western Conference scout added. “… I like his makeup. The way he plays. There’s definitely a competitive side to him that is not very common with a lot of these young players coming in … The pick for the Knicks was a good one … Once he finds his comfort zone he’ll be a really good player. He’s got to work on his shot.”

Bulls Notes: Jordan, Management, Butler

April 19th, 2020 at 2:57pm CST by Chris Crouse

Happy Last Dance Day! Tonight is the first of 10 episodes of the Michael Jordan documentary. In honor of the occasion, allow me to pass along one of my favorite quotes from Jordan:

“It’s heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody. My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can. People may not agree with that. I can’t live with what everyone’s impression of what I should or what I shouldn’t do.”

It’s a quote that I vividly remember reading before making a leap into sports full-time, leaving the comfy confines of a corporate position. It’s something I recall every time I make a move that hopefully brings me closer to my goal of being an NBA GM (dreamers can still dream), and it’s a reminder that everything you do is not going to please everyone, so excuse the bad analogy, but shoot your shot.

While we await an inside look into Jordan’s final season with the Bulls, let’s take a look at some notes from Chicago:

Sam Smith of NBA.com explains how the conflict between management, players, and coaches helped motivate Jordan’s final championship season with the Bulls. Jackson and Jordan knew they had to go out as winners and the internal feuds fueled the team.
Chicago feared paying Jimmy Butler the supermax and made one of the bolder franchise pivots over the past decade when they traded away the All-Star for a package of young prospects, ESPN’s Zach Lowe contends. The Bulls felt that a new core would bring them closer to championship contention, though they have yet to make the playoffs since trading Butler.
In the same piece, Lowe argues that better play-makers – whether acquired via outside acquisition or internal improvements – would help the Bulls’ young frontcourt improve. Neither Lauri Markkanen nor Wendell Carter Jr. has played at a high level for consistent stretches during their respective young NBA careers.

Andrew Bogut Deciding Between Olympics, Retirement

April 19th, 2020 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Andrew Bogut had hoped to use the Summer Olympics as his farewell to basketball, but the one-year delay caused by the coronavirus has complicated those plans, writes Dennis Passa of The Associated Press. At age 35, Bogut isn’t sure if he can go through another year of training to prepare for the competition.

“I haven’t done any basketball since the season ended and it feels good waking up, getting out of bed and not feeling like I’m walking on glass,” Bogut said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Offsiders program. “It’s (my career) all been thrown into a washing machine essentially … but there’s a decision to be made probably by mid-May.”

After spending 13 years in the NBA, the top pick in the 2005 draft has played for Sydney in Australia’s National Basketball League for the past two seasons. He won an NBA title with Golden State in 2015 and rejoined the Warriors after his NBL season ended last year, averaging 3.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in 11 games.

Sydney reached the NBL finals this season, but the five-game series was stopped after three games because of the pandemic, and Perth – which held a 2-1 lead – was awarded the title. Bogut blasted the league’s handling of the situation, saying the players were “used like pawns.”

Bogut, who has been part of Australia’s international team since 2004, would love to cap off his career with an Olympic medal. He played an important role in a fourth-place finish at the 2019 World Cup and believes the Australians will be in contention with Sixers star Ben Simmons on the team.

“We’ve been tantalizingly close and the squad we’re going to have is arguably going to be the best squad in the history of the Boomers, on paper at least,” Bogut said. “To be part of that, selfishly, is something I really want to do, but the body is what it comes down to. I can get up for a basketball game any day of the week, but it’s hard to get up for five, six days of training a week and lifting weights.”

International Notes: EuroLeague, China, Spain, Australia

April 19th, 2020 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Ergin Ataman, coach of Anadolu Efes Istanbul in the EuroLeague, is confident the league will resume play in July, according to Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. Ataman believes all the teams will be brought to one city because of the risks of traveling, and games will take place behind closed doors.

“EuroLeague’s foresight is to gather all the teams in the most risk-free city and play the six regular season rounds remaining there, and then organize a Final Eight: this is the most likely scenario for me,” Ataman said in a teleconference with fans. “The city’s announcement will be made in May. But I think it will not be in Istanbul. My guess is that it can be played in a city in Germany. There were already some preparations for the Final Four. In summary, I think the Final Eight will be held in the city where the Final Four was scheduled (Colonia). I think it would be a big problem if the remaining games of this season are not played.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

The Chinese Basketball Association may try to finish its season without foreign players, Borghesan relays in a separate story. That’s the recommendation of Liaoning’s general manager, whose roster includes Lance Stephenson, Brandon Bass and O.J. Mayo. The original report came from Chinese journalist Zhang Duo. Borghesan notes that several U.S. players left China after the CBA delayed the resumption of its season last month.
Liga ACB, the top professional league in Spain, will consider a 12-team tournament played in a single location, Borghesan adds in another piece. The proposed tournament, which will be discussed in a teleconference Monday, would start June 15. Teams would be divided into two groups of six and the winners of each group would meet in a best-of-five final.
The National Basketball League in Australia has reached an agreement with its players union calling for salary reductions for 2020/21, Borghesian writes. The deal involves tiered cuts ranging from 27.5% for players making between $80K and $99K and 50% for those receiving more than $200K. Players will be given a two-week window to opt out of their current deals, which could affect the status of former NBA guard Bryce Cotton, who has become one of Australia’s top players.

Andre Roberson Talks About Returning

April 19th, 2020 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder swingman Andre Roberson believes he’s close to returning to action after missing more than two years with a knee injury, writes Moke Hamilton of USA Today. Roberson discussed his status during an appearance on the Catching Up With The Family podcast with Nate Tomlinson, his former college teammate.

“I’m kinda past the rehab stage,” Roberson said. “I’m almost to the point where — I should be playing, honestly. But I’m still taking it a day at a time until I get back into our medical staff’s hands and get reevaluated. Just staying patient through it all and knowing that the light is right there at the end of the tunnel. … It’s definitely been a long journey and it’s coming to an end.”

Roberson was a defensive specialist for Oklahoma City for four and a half seasons before tearing his left patella tendon in January of 2018. Some setbacks along the way have extended his rehab process. Roberson indicates in the interview that he would like to take the court if the NBA is able to resume its current season at some point.

Roberson’s desire to return may be related to his contract situation. He’s earning $10.74MM in the final year of his current deal and is headed for free agency whenever the offseason arrives.

Nuggets To Promote Calvin Booth To General Manager

April 18th, 2020 at 6:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Calvin Booth will be the next general manager in Denver, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Currently serving as assistant GM, Booth will be promoted to replace Arturas Karnisovas, who was hired this week as executive VP of basketball operations with the Bulls.

A league source confirmed the Nuggets‘ intentions to Mike Singer of the Athletic (Twitter link), but said the timing of an official announcement is uncertain because of the league’s hiatus.

Booth has served as assistant GM with Denver since 2017. After a 10-year playing career, he became a scout for New Orleans during the 2012/13 season, then joined Minnesota a year later, eventually becoming director of player personnel.

Lou Williams Wants To Finish Career With Clippers

April 18th, 2020 at 6:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

After bouncing around the NBA for much of his 15-year career, Lou Williams is determined to finish up with the Clippers. The three-time winner of the Sixth Man of the Year award made his intentions clear in an interview with Ros Gold-Onwude of ESPN (hat tip to Garrett Chorpenning of Sports Illustrated).

“This is it,” Williams said. “Listen, all teams out there, I’m not playing for anybody else after this. … That’s my leverage. I identify with this group of guys, I identify with this organization. I don’t see me finding that somewhere else.”

After spending his first seven seasons in Philadelphia, Williams played for the Hawks, Raptors, Lakers and Rockets in a span of five years before being shipped to the Clippers in the Chris Paul trade in 2017. He admits he didn’t feel comfortable at first with his new team, but eventually coach Doc Rivers helped him revive his career.

“Never give up,” Williams said. “That’s my Clippers story, never give up. I was at a place in my career where I thought that I was done, and Doc and the rest of the guys rejuvenated me again and gave me that confidence that I needed to move forward in my career. And I’ve had the best years of my career with the Clippers.”

Williams has remained productive at age 33, averaging 18.7 PPG through 60 games before the hiatus and putting himself in contention for another Sixth Man award. He’s making $8MM this season and the same amount next year before becoming a free agent in 2021. Williams told Gold-Onwude he believes he can play four more years of “high-level” basketball.

Spencer Dinwiddie To Play For Nigeria In Olympics

April 18th, 2020 at 5:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie plans to acquire a Nigerian passport and represent the country in the Olympics, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Dinwiddie’s decision comes after he was left off the list of 44 finalists for Team USA that was released in February.

Dinwiddie will join several other NBA players on the Nigerian team, which is coached by Warriors assistant Mike Brown. Dinwiddie’s teammates will include Al-Farouq Aminu, Josh Okogie, Chimezie Metu and Ekpe Udoh. Nigeria has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as the highest-ranked African team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

The addition of Dinwiddie will bring some extra firepower to an already-strong team. He was averaging career highs with 20.6 points and 6.8 assists through 64 games before the NBA season was put on hold.

Brown, who was named as Nigeria’s head coach in February, talked recently to Marc J. Spears of The Athletic about the advantages of having the games postponed until 2021.

“It helps from the standpoint of there are a lot of teams that have been together … the players, especially. A lot of countries have players who have grown up playing together on national teams or All-Star teams,” Brown said. “There are a lot of coaches out there that are in charge of programs that they have been a part of for many years. To have another year to grasp, not only the talent level of the team, but the direction the team needs to go and making sure we are able to put the best Nigerian team out there, it’s a welcomed advantage to have a little bit more time for a new guy like myself.”

Draft Decisions: Jarreau, Elleby, Blazevic, Krejci

April 18th, 2020 at 3:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

Houston guard DeJon Jarreau will enter the NBA draft without hiring an agent, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston. He averaged 9.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists during his junior season with the Cougars.

“I’m gonna test the waters, go through the process and get a draft grade. I want to get evaluated. If I don’t like what I hear I plan on coming back,” Jarreau said (Twitter link). “Basketball is my world. I’ve played all my life to get to this point. Coach (Kelvin) Sampson has helped me a lot, from being a basketball coach to a major role model (Twitter link). I’m very nervous because you never know what can happen. This is a big step. It’s always been my dream. So of course nervous, but confident.” (Twitter link)

There are more draft decisions to pass along:

CJ Elleby, a sophomore forward from Washington State, has entered the draft but plans to preserve his eligibility, a sources tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Elleby averaged 18.4 PPG and 7.8 RPG this season and was a first-team All-Pac 12 selection.
Lithuanian center Marek Blazevic has also declared for the draft, agent Tadas Bulotas tells Givony (Twitter link). The 18-year-old stands 6’11” and played professionally with Rytas this year.
Czech guard Vit Krejci, who saw regular minutes with Zaragoza this season, has announced he will enter the draft, Givony tweets. Bulotas also confirmed the decision for Krejci, who is 6’7″ and 19 years old.

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