Draymond Green will be away from the defending champion Golden State Warriors indefinitely — which coach Steve Kerr called a “mutual decision” — after the star forward violently punched teammate Jordan Poole in the face Wednesday.
Green had been scheduled to rejoin the team for practice Saturday. He said he expects to play in Golden State’s season-opener on Oct. 18, but he is unsure of his status as well as how long he will be away.
“Yes, a mutual decision for him to step away for a few days. No set number,” a Warriors team spokesperson confirmed to CBS News Saturday in a brief statement.
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors enters the court prior to a game against the Washington Wizards at Saitama Super Arena on Oct. 2, 2022, in Saitama, Japan.
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Poole wasn’t injured in the fight. Neither was Green, a fiery veteran part of Golden State’s four championships since 2015-16.
Green did not get into specifics about what triggered the physical altercation, though he said he was already dealing with something hurtful that day before erupting and that it has nothing to do with either player’s unsettled contract situation.
He said he is giving Poole space after apologizing to everyone Thursday. Calling himself “a very flawed human being,” Green said he would use his leave of absence to work on ways to better deal with his emotions and wants to allow Poole and the Warriors to heal from the incident and focus on defending their title.
Green said he will take the challenge to “right the ship,” which he said would not be an “easy process.”
“But I also look forward to continuing to better myself and my emotional state and how I deal with my emotions,” he said. “I think that one thing that I lack is how to let emotions out.”
Kerr said there is “no set date” for when Green will be back and that it would be determined based on private discussions among everyone involved.
Video of the punch leaked to TMZ was published Friday. The footage shows Green approaching Poole near the baseline and them coming chest to chest. Poole used both hands to push Green away, then Green punched Poole in the face and sent the fourth-year guard into the wall behind the baseline.
“No. 1, I was wrong for my actions that took place on Wednesday. For that I have apologized to my team. I have apologized to Jordan,” Green said during a nearly 40-minute news conference. “I wanted to take that a step further. With the event yesterday with the video leaking, there is a huge embarrassment that comes with that, not only for myself … but the embarrassment that Jordan has to deal with and that this team has to deal with and this organization has to deal with, but also Jordan’s family.
“His family saw that video, his mother, his father saw that video. Quite frankly, if my mother saw that video, I know how my mother would feel.”
Kerr challenged the entire organization to be better regarding leaks.
“I’ve been in this league for 30-plus years, I’ve seen all kinds of crazy stuff,” Kerr said. “When things are kept internally it’s really almost easy to handle, it’s just so much cleaner and smoother and you can move forward. As soon as things are leaked now all hell breaks loose and that affects every single player … we’re having to answer all of these questions and it puts us in a very difficult spot, everybody in a very difficult spot.”
Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs has suffered a left knee capsule sprain and bone bruise, the team announced.
There’s relief that Suggs avoided a more serious injury, sources told ESPN. His timeline on a return will depend on response to treatment, the team said.
The fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft had his rookie season interrupted by a fractured right thumb. He averaged 11.8 points and 4.4 assists in 48 games.
Orlando already is without point guard Markelle Fultz, who is out indefinitely because of a fractured left big toe suffered before training camp.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has apologized following a fight with teammate Jordan Poole during a practice this week, according to general manager Bob Myers.
Myers addressed the incident at a press conference Thursday, after news broke about the altercation the day before. The Athletic first reported the fight.
“Everybody’s fine,” Myers told reporters, confirming that Green and Poole had fought. He added that Poole, a shooting guard, attended a team practice Thursday but that Green did not.
“Draymond apologized to the team this morning. Jordan was there in the room, we were — I was there in the room, the team, the coaches, players,” he continued. The general manager also said that any punishment or suspensions would be handled “internally.”
But if the Warriors organization hoped the frenzy surrounding the incident would quietly die down after the press conference, that wish was likely shattered Friday after TMZ published a leaked video of the brawl.
In the footage, which has no audio, Green approaches Poole, who appears to push the forward away from him before Green is seen throwing a punch. The clip quickly made the rounds on Twitter, with many usersweighing inon the scuffle.
“He’s gonna have to see me every time after this sucker punch. Damn. That ain’t it!” Isaiah Thomas, who most recently played for the Charlotte Hornets, tweeted Friday. “And whoever leaked this should be fired too.”
Thomas later wrote: “All I’m saying is you ain’t responding with a PUNCH if that’s somebody you really rock with!!! Especially after a PUSH.
“But I ain’t in the practice and I didn’t hear what was being said so ima leave that alone but DAMN.”
When asked about possible tensions within the team, Myers said Thursday that he didn’t see any “lingering awkwardness.”
“I’ve been on teams where people have fought. I’ve been in gyms where there’s been fighting,” he said. “No one likes that, but every team has moved past that. I’ve never seen it ruin a team.”
In 2018, he received a one-game suspension after an infamous altercation with then-teammate Kevin Durant. The two were seen engaging in an argument on the bench at a game against the Los Angeles Clippers. The exchange reportedly continued into the locker room, leading to the Warriors’ decision to suspend the veteran player.
MIAMI — UDONIS HASLEM was vacationing in Orlando with his family this past July when he saw a black SUV pull up to his rental house.
“My antenna goes up,” the Miami Heat veteran says of the moment. “A black SUV? I can’t see inside it? I told my kids, ‘Go in the house.’”
Haslem was right to be suspicious.
“I start walking up to the car, and [Heat vice president of sports media relations] Tim Donovan jumps out with T-shirts [with an image of Udonis on them],” he says. “I think he was shocked by my initial response, but that’s because I didn’t know who the hell it was.”
It’s ironic, given how much this surprise visit was so much about two decades of familiarity.
Donovan’s arrival marked the Heat’s invitation for Haslem, then a free agent, to return for a 20th NBA season, an offer he officially accepted when he re-signed for one year with Miami in August. He will join Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks) and Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) as the only NBA players to have played at least 20 seasons all with one franchise. And at 42, he will remain the oldest player in the league for one more season — one he announced in August at his basketball camp in Miami.
But Haslem would still like his say in the discussion of what exactly a power forward in his 40s can offer a team.
“This is not a f—ing charity case,” he says. “My guys know what I bring to the table, appreciate me and respect me.
“I’m not joking. Trust me, I’d be the first one to get the f— out of here if I couldn’t do it anymore. I’m not gonna get my ass kicked by little guys every day.”
When his signing was announced, critics discussed the Heat’s inability to quit Haslem on social media. Among the more popular posts was one pointing out that since 2017, Haslem made the most money per minute played in the league: He has played just 273 minutes, or the equivalent of less than six full NBA games, in that time.
Udonis Haslem is the highest-paid active player per minute in the last five seasons.
Could the spot be better utilized on developing young talent? Would Haslem be just as valuable as an assistant coach? Or does the man, who is affectionately called “UD” as well as “OG,” because of his extensive tenure with his hometown franchise, have something left to offer a team with which he’s already won three championships?
“I understand what my role is, so why not play?” he counters. “Some day, it’s gonna be over. But everything about me being here and being a part of this is based on the fact that I can still contribute if I need to.”
Haslem is the fabric of the Heat franchise and probably the greatest single contributor to the oft-referenced Heat culture. Those who see him daily recognize his contribution to winning is real, and not some myth the organization is keeping alive.
This is, after all, still a Pat Riley-led franchise. One of the former Heat coach-turned-president’s consistent messages is, the older you get in the NBA, the better condition you must maintain. Hence, Haslem has gotten more lean in the past few seasons to maintain his agility. Riley says Haslem is currently under 5% body fat.
Despite not seeing the floor in the playoffs since 2016, Haslem felt he played his part in Jimmy Butler’s impressive performance in Miami’s 2022 playoff run by testing him in one-on-one battles before home games.
“It gets competitive up here, bro,” Haslem says. “He makes some shots on me that drive me nuts sometimes.
“If you ask anybody, that [playoff run] started up here. I was watching that s— on Joel Embiid, it was literally déjà vu of the s— he makes on me up here. I said to myself, ‘This is why we do what we do. This is why we come up here and we play 1s, and we get competitive. That’s how I know he can lead us to where we need to go.’”
Those individual sessions aren’t reserved for just Butler. Any Heat player, any size, any age gets a shot at Haslem whenever they want to sharpen their skills.
“That definitely surprised me, because I didn’t think he was gonna be playing and moving like that,” Heat forward Caleb Martin says. “A lot of people at his age have been done playing for years. He’s still in here getting it in, top-tier shape. To see him coming in and working like he does every day, knowing he’s probably not gonna get into the game … it’s impressive.”
Added teammate Victor Oladipo: “I played against him when I was coming back in rehab. OG can still slide ’em. It’s not no tough out. He’s gonna make you work for every inch. He’s willing to do whatever to help us be better, and he doesn’t even have to. He’s the most selfless person we have.
“He’s not UD sometimes. He’s UD all the time.”
THE LEGEND OF Haslem began during George W. Bush’s first presidential term in 2003, after a year playing overseas and getting in NBA shape.
A leaned-out Haslem had spent time with both Miami’s and San Antonio’s summer squads, looking almost nothing like the wide-bodied post-presence he was in three years at Florida. He’d spent his college career dominating in the low post with hook shots and heart, but was now trying to make his name with defense and an evolving midrange jumper.
“I didn’t want him to get down to [Spurs coach Gregg] Popovich, because I knew Pop would sign him in a heartbeat,” Riley recalls.
Playing for his hometown team eventually convinced Haslem to sign his first NBA deal with Miami over San Antonio, joining rookie Dwyane Wade and the newly-acquired Lamar Odom from the LA Clippers.
Before Haslem’s initial game in a Heat uniform, Riley gave the first indication that Haslem and the organization would begin a long-standing partnership.
“We were down in Puerto Rico after a week of training camp, I think it was our first preseason game,” recalls Riley, who would eventually hand the head-coaching duties to Stan Van Gundy five days before the 2003-04 season began. “We all went to the shootaround, and this is the first time I’m going to say, ‘OK, this is our starting lineup.’ And I called out Dwyane, I called out Eddie [Jones], I called out Brian [Grant], I called out Caron [Butler]. And I said, ‘OK UD, you’re starting at the 4 ahead of Lamar Odom.’
“Players were looking around because Lamar was a very, very talented player. And that’s where Udonis showed me, showed everybody that he was one of the great competitors in our franchise and in this game.”
Haslem started the first 24 games of that season (Odom eventually started all 80 regular-season games he played with the Heat that season) before being moved to the bench. He averaged 7.3 points and 6.3 rebounds for a surprising Heat team that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals. Haslem would then start 360 of the next 362 games he played over the following five seasons, and all 22 games of the 2006 Heat championship run — capped by a 17-point, 10-rebound performance in the championship-clinching Game 6 in Dallas.
“I said to him, you’re going to be wide open a lot,” Riley recalls telling Haslem before that game. “Get into the creases, get into the gaps. He hit a baseline jumper, hit another elbow jumper, and then he got an offensive rebound and put that back in. He had no fear of the big moment. He never did.”
Among the greatest signs of respect Haslem received from his peers was when the Heat’s Big Three — Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh — took slightly less than their maximums in 2010 so Haslem could re-sign with the team and be a part of what would be a run of four Finals appearances in four years.
Haslem, at this point playing mostly as a reserve, thanked them with moments of unforgettable support — most notably by filling in for an injured Bosh early in the 2012 playoffs. Against the Indiana Pacers in the second round, Haslem’s Game 5 retaliation against Tyler Hansbrough would become the moment that most typified that stage of his career.
Hansbrough had fouled Wade in the head and neck area one play earlier. So Haslem, himself wearing eight stitches over his right eye from a collision one game earlier, committed a hard foul against the Pacers forward, leaving Hansbrough bloodied and getting OG ejected and suspended for Game 6.
“Just staying ready so I didn’t have to get ready,” Haslem says, of his biggest contribution to that championship. “CB gets hurt, we don’t win the Indiana series or the Boston series without me. Regardless of what my role was, we don’t win that series without me, which means we don’t win the Finals without me.”
When the current iteration of the Heat was built around Jimmy Butler, Haslem discovered a running mate with a similar affection for work. And as the Heat were making a run to the NBA Finals in the Orlando bubble in 2020, he had another chance to prove his worth.
“We were going to be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Haslem says. “This is not home. This is our job. It’s almost like going to Europe to play: You spend your nine months there, and then you bring your ass home.”
Together, they came up with a plan. “Soon as we hit the bubble, we were on some militant s—,” Haslem recalls.
“I was crazy, I was sleeping on the couch. I never slept in the bed. I slept on the couch for the three months I was in there. I had my cabinets full of Campbell’s soup, water bottles and a little shot of Hennessy on the side. I never left my room, either. Me and Jimmy didn’t have many friends.”
Haslem is proud of his part in taking the fifth-seeded Heat to the NBA Finals inside the bubble, even though they lost to the Lakers in six games. Last season, he remained visible throughout Miami’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals. The most in-your-face moment came when he broke up an on-bench argument between Butler and coach Erik Spoelstra in the midst of a late-season losing streak.
“He brought it down to a level where all parties understood this was about winning, period,” says former Heat all-star Alonzo Mourning, now the team’s vice president of player programs and development. “Every team wants a player like that in their locker room. We’re just fortunate enough to have that.”
HASLEM WAS INITIALLY unsure about returning for this season. But it was a conversation from two years ago with his father Johnnie that convinced him to reach that round number.
“We were just going through the summer, and he was like, ‘S—, the way you’re going, you could do 20,’” Haslem recalls from their talk in 2020. “I thought he was crazy. I was like, ‘I don’t know about that.’ But he said I should really think about it.
“And then Dwyane mentioned it. Those are two people that I trust and I value their opinions. So I started thinking, ‘If the mind holds up and the body holds up, that’s a hell of a class to be in.’”
But while Haslem is inevitably being celebrated with jersey swaps and tributes for the next seven months, his father won’t be around to see what he helped inspire.
Johnnie died Aug. 30, 2021, at the age of 70, taking with him the perfect ending to his son’s underdog story.
“It just wasn’t gonna be the ending I envisioned after 20 years,” Haslem says. “That was the most important piece, my dad. Not to take anything away from my stepmom or my wife or my kids, but from the day I picked up a freakin’ basketball, that dude’s been right there.
“It definitely dampened it, put a dark cloud over it. But there are a lot of people that deserve to be a part of this. I didn’t want to forget about those people.”
Those include his family and friends, and his teammates.
“He’s constantly making me better, whether it’s talking, breaking down film, playing one-on-one,” Butler said. “He’s in everybody’s ear for the better because he knows what it takes to win, he’s been a champion, and he wants everybody else to feel the same. Glad to have that guy back.”
Back in a jersey, specifically. Not only because OG still has something left in those 42-year-old legs, but because when he is finally done, he envisions more than just an assistant coach role.
Haslem looks at what Buster Posey just did in San Francisco, joining the Giants’ ownership group just one year after his 12-year career with the team, and is determined to do the same with the Heat.
Until then, his goals are more about making sure his impact carries on. His value over the past several years of his career can only truly be measured by those in uniform with him. And he’s hopeful his work resonates well after he’s retired.
“I want to pass the torch to Bam [Adebayo] as the next bearer of the culture,” Haslem says. “I want to continue to mold and help Jimmy be the champion that he deserves to be. And I just want to leave this locker room headed in the right direction.
“I want kids somewhere to say, ‘I want to have a career like Udonis Haslem — undrafted, worked for everything I got, won three championships, retired and went into ownership with the same organization I played with for 20 years.’”
Victor Wembanyama has been the talk of the NBA for the last few days. Now, even LeBron James is impressed by him.
A 7-foot-4 center and projected No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, Wembanyama scored 37 points Tuesday night against the G League Ignite and Scoot Henderson, the projected No. 2 pick. Wembanyama plays for the French pro team Metropolitan 92.
“Everybody has been labeling this unicorn thing,” James said. “Everybody has been a unicorn for the last two years, but he’s more like an alien. I’ve never seen — no one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is, but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor.
“… His ability to put the ball on the floor, shoot step-back jumpers out of the post, step-back 3s, catch-and-shoot 3s, block shots … He’s for sure a generational talent.”
For his part, Wembanyama describes himself in other terms.
“I’ve always been trying to be original,” he told the Associated Press. “Unique, that’s the word. “My goal is to be like something you’ve never seen.”
The hype train for Wembanyama is off and running. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony reported that there is no plan to shut down Wembanyama ahead of June’s draft. That likely won’t slow down the comparisons.
“He’s a 7-foot-4 Durant who blocks shots — and he’s not even close to what he’s going to be,” one NBA GM told Wojnarowski and Givony. “He will be the most hyped player since LeBron.”
In a snake draft if you don’t have the No. 1 pick, you’ll have a hard time getting Nikola Jokic. However, in a salary cap draft you can absolutely land the Joker, you just need to pony up.
The reigning two-time MVP has been going for an average of $70 of the standard $200 budget used in ESPN salary cap drafts. You can even pair him with his rival Joel Embiid for a cool $130 and create an incredibly talented, if awkward, MVP competition on your own fantasy roster. This strategy leaves you little left to build out the rest of your team, but speaks to the freedom managers have in this format.
With this freedom comes the responsibility to refine and define your strategy and player valuations. You determine which players best fit your philosophy, rather than the draft spot you have. Longtime ESPN fantasy hoops analyst Jon Cregan even wrote an evergreen opus covering all things salary cap. If you want to dive into the details of budgeting strategies and team-building philosophies germane to salary drafts, start with that piece.
Some might call paying up for Embiid and Jokic the beginning of a “stars and scrubs” approach, one that surrounds a handful of pricey superstars with a series of sleepers and fringe fantasy options. The extreme version suggests, in snake draft terms, you pay for two or three first rounders and then 10 late-round players.
This isn’t an ideal approach, mostly because there are so many high-level NBA stars and thus scarcity isn’t in your favor when pursuing a top-heavy build. Such an approach is more palatable in fantasy football, where there is more scarcity of reliable elite skill players.
In basketball, you can argue there are nearly 20 players “worthy” of first-round consideration in statistical terms. You should still pursue multiple stars atop your hoops roster, but it shouldn’t take up such a disproportionate part of your budget.
While snake drafts can certainly offer surprises and create real pivot points you might not have expected, the volatility of the unique market that develops in each salary cap draft is more pronounced. Being informed allows you to be adaptive in the draft, so you can recognize where to spend and where to stay patient.
What makes fantasy basketball so rewarding is how managers recognize and value versatility. Save for points formats, most leagues are driven by categories. You need your superstar wings to produce, but you also need rim-protection specialists to supplement the build.
You know who the high-dollar superstars are but can you get the best price? It’s good to have some price points that you really stick to. There’s not a ton of strategy when it comes to pairing Durant and Dejounte Murray to open your draft if the driving force was purely value.
If you believe Durant is still a bankable $55 player (worth more than that last season) and you can land him at $46, that’s highly advisable. If the room was too scared to pay market value for Murray amid the mystery of his fit with Trae Young, that can prove profitable. Some drafts might unfold and see each player go well above expectations or projections. Variance from draft to draft is a feature of the format.
My favorite approach in recent years has been to identify a collection of sleepers and specialists at each position who can serve to complement whatever collection of higher-dollar stars I’ve already built. Which is to say, I’m more likely to consistently target and land these players given their markets aren’t as fluid as those of star players. I might not intend to draft Damian Lillard and Anthony Davis, but I am fine doing so if the prices are true values. I do intend, however, to draft Desmond Bane in almost all salary cap leagues this season.
Bane leaps off the page as a major value in salary cap drafts because he going to see a career high in minutes, he’s entering his prime in his third season, and the Grizzlies’ dont have much depth behind him. If Bane cruises past 30 minutes per night, he is on the path to posting prime Klay Thompson lines, with an average price point of just $8 in ESPN drafts.
In addition to Bane, I also like Herbert Jones for his incredible steal and block rates and scoring forces Jamal Murray and Collin Sexton. These are players that are going below $10 that could triple their current value this season. Guys like Devin Vassell, Gordon Hayward, Monte Morris, and P.J. Washington won’t cost much more than a dollar in most drafts, but will be on almost all of my rosters. Having a list of players you want will often result in you landing a lot of those players.
Being nimble during those early big-name nominations is pivotal. Value will absolutely develop; it just might not be in those first few names. Then you can pursue your own list of sleepers and values at each position. It sounds like something on a terrible motivational poster, but the balance between patience and preparation is what we aim to strike in salary cap drafts.
The Phoenix Suns, which had the NBA’s best record during the 2021-22 season, shockingly lost to a team from Down Under during a preseason matchup on Sunday.
The Adelaide 36ers of Australia’s National Basketball League pulled off the 134-124 upset in what marked the first time a non-NBA team beat an NBA team in the preseason since 2016, ESPN reported.
It was only the fifth time in the past decade that an NBA team lost in an international exhibition, according to SB Nation.
The Adelaide squad finished in seventh place among their league’s 10 teams during the 2021-22 season.
The team was led by Robert Franks and Craig Randall II, who formerly played in the G League, the NBA’s minor league. They combined for 67 points in the victory.
Notably, the Suns and the 36ers typically play on different courts: The 36ers normally play with the 3-point line set by the International Basketball Federation (or FIBA), which is 18 inches closer to the basket than the NBA’s 3-point line, ESPN noted.
The Suns’ previous game, which was Game 7 of the conference finals this year, ended in a devastating loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The independent law firm probe into Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka found that he used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman, an element that significantly factored into the severity of his one-year suspension, sources told ESPN.
Those investigative findings — which described verbiage on Udoka’s part that was deemed especially concerning coming from a workplace superior — contribute to what is likely a difficult pathway back to his reinstatement as Celtics coach in 2023, sources told ESPN.
The power dynamic associated with a superior’s improper relationship with a staff member was the primary finding and policy violation cited in the law firm’s report, which was commissioned by the Celtics and completed early last week, sources said.
At a news conference last week, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said the suspension — which extends through June 30, 2023 — was a product of multiple violations of team policies, and sources told ESPN the Celtics won’t stand in Udoka’s way should he have the chance to become a coaching candidate elsewhere. There are teams that have tried to gather a preliminary understanding of the full explanation for Udoka’s suspension in preparation for possibly evaluating him for future coaching employment, sources told ESPN.
Grousbeck also said Udoka would be receiving a cut in his salary during the suspension.
In his first season, Udoka, 45, led the Celtics to an Eastern Conference championship and NBA Finals berth, where Boston lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors. The Celtics return a team expected again to be a championship favorite, and Udoka had appeared destined for a long runway as the franchise’s coach after replacing Brad Stevens, who moved into the front-office role previously occupied by Danny Ainge during the 2021 offseason.
Grousbeck said during the news conference that no one else within the organization faced discipline as a result of the investigation. The Celtics wouldn’t confirm the nature of the violations, but Stevens, the team’s president of basketball operations, became emotional when describing the number of women employed by the Celtics who were targeted by unfounded social media rumors and allegations.
The Celtics promoted assistant coach Joe Mazzulla to interim coach for the upcoming season. Mazzulla, 34, is well-regarded inside and outside of the Celtics organization and counts Stevens among his most significant supporters. Mazzulla was a finalist for the Utah Jazz head-coaching job over the summer that went to top Celtics assistant Will Hardy.
Grousbeck and Stevens would not elaborate on the criteria Udoka would need to meet to return to coaching the Celtics following his suspension.
Grousbeck defended the Celtics’ decision to suspend Udoka for the entire season, insisting it was the proper response based on the probe’s findings.
“This felt right, but there’s no clear guidelines for any of this,” he said. “It’s conscience and gut feel. … We collectively came to this and got there but it was not clear what to do but it was clear something substantial needed to be done, and it was.”
The Brooklyn Nets gave the NBA offseason extended life. Every move the organization made — and didn’t — was examined; every whisper, every tweet broken down to the syllable as the league watched the turmoil unfold throughout the summer.
Kevin Durant, who on June 30 requested a trade, then requested for general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash to be fired, now appears ready to start the season with the Nets.
The roller coaster continued, as guard Kyrie Irving dealt with questions about his own future in Brooklyn. While speculation about a potential reunion with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers took up the first week of free agency, no deal materialized.
Irving, who played just 29 games last season because of his vaccination status and New York City’s mandate, could not come to terms with the Nets on an extension, announcing June 27 his decision to opt in to final year in his contract, a player option worth $36.5 million.
Meanwhile, Ben Simmons, who was acquired just before February’s trade deadline from the Philadelphia 76ers, hasn’t played in over 16 months. After arriving in Brooklyn, Simmons missed the rest of the year while dealing with mental health concerns and a back injury that ultimately forced him to have surgery over the summer.
As the Nets head into their preseason opener Monday against the 76ers, they appear to be on the same page for the first time in years.
Here are the five biggest questions surrounding the Nets heading into the 2022-23 season:
1. How will Durant respond to the Nets’ summer of discontent?
Durant made clear after getting swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round last season that he had “no regrets” about the way the year unfolded. “No time to feel regret or be too pissed off. It’s about how we can find solutions to get better, proactive as an organization to get better,” he said in April.
What a difference a few months can make.
As Durant vented frustration about last season and the way he believed some players weren’t being held accountable, he outlined exactly what he wanted to see moving forward after internal conversations within the organization.
“It’s just a matter of team building,” Durant said. “… I just felt like that’s what great teams do. I feel like we don’t have any respect out there on the court, and that’s what I want for us. Respect amongst the NBA community as a team on how we play on both ends of the floor from GM [Marks] all the way down to the equipment manager.
“I want that respect. I think you [get that] by how you work every single day and we skipped some steps in how we worked throughout that year last year because of the circumstances — vaccine mandates, people disgruntled, injuries. I felt like we could have just kept pressing forward, and that’s what I try to do as a player. I’m not preaching something that I don’t practice. I come in here, every rep matters to me, so I want everybody to feel the same way.”
Since he signed with Brooklyn over three years ago, the organization has put Durant at the center of everything it does. That likely won’t change now, either — but how he approaches each day, with a team that mere weeks ago he appeared to not want to be on anymore, will set the tone for everything else that happens this season.
2. Will Irving be a fully committed member of the team?
Irving’s decision not to get vaccinated last season hung over everything.
During the 2020-21 season, he took a leave of absence for personal reasons and was away from the team for two weeks. The hope within the organization, team sources said, is that without a vaccination requirement this season, and with the motivation of a potential contract extension hanging in the balance, Irving will rebound.
“That first year he played more games than me and James [Harden],” Durant said at Nets media day on Monday. “So you can say he was more reliable than us that first year. And last year if it wasn’t for the vaccine he would have played. There’s not a vaccine mandate this year. The year I played with him before he was very reliable, so once the mandate was gone I figured he’s going to be here every day. And he loves to play. I shouldn’t even have to say that. We all know that.”
When Irving is on the floor, he has shown he can still play at a high level, as evidenced by the 27.4 points he averaged over 29 regular-season games last year. but he has also shown, at times, that he can’t be counted on. “He understands that in order for him to be a free agent and get what he rightfully wants,” Marks said, “he’s going to have to show commitment out there.”
3. Is Ben Simmons ready to play?
While the Durant and Irving storylines drove most of the headlines the past few months, Simmons’ reemergence is arguably the team’s most critical variable if the Nets want to contend in the East.
Simmons hasn’t played one minute of professional basketball since the Philadelphia 76ers’ Game 7 loss against the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals in which the point guard took a heap of criticism from the public and his own teammates for his passive play.
Simmons was traded to the Nets the following season and after offseason back surgery and missing time last season to address his mental health, he must show he is still capable of playing at an All-Star level — and has to learn to play with a new team. For his part, Simmons said he is confident that both his body and mind will hold up all season.
“I’m glad I got it done,” Simmons said of the back surgery. “It was much needed. I don’t think people really realize where I was at. That day I was supposed to play Game 4 [of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals], I woke up on the floor, I couldn’t move. I could barely walk. So I’m glad to be in this position, this situation. Rehabbed myself and got myself into a place where I can compete. So I’m excited.”
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Stephen A. Smith takes issue with Kyrie Irving’s lack of commitment to the teams he plays for.
How he fits alongside Durant and Irving is one of the most intriguing questions in the league. How he handles adversity is just as important. Simmons was quick with a response when asked what it has been like practicing with both players over the past week.
“Incredible,” he said.
4. How does Nash respond?
In the midst of a season-long 11-game losing streak in February, Steve Nash came into a training room after a shootaround in Salt Lake City and started to describe how the team would break it. He referenced how he’d carved out a career by finding a way through whatever obstacles appeared in his path — notably as an undersized guard out of Santa Clara University, far off the NBA map. “I love this s—,” Nash said with a smile.
Nash has spent his professional life inside the NBA. He understands the scrutiny that can boil when losses mount and things go haywire — but he also earned a Hall of Fame induction and two MVP awards during 18 seasons in the league.
“That’s pro sports, right?” Marks said, when asked about Durant’s offseason request that he and Nash both be fired. “I’m sure there are plenty of things that go on behind the scenes. [Nash and I] both lived on both sides of that locker room as well, so we know what happens inside the locker room, and that’s completely fair …
“I totally understand [Durant’s] frustration. I don’t know if there was anybody more frustrated than the two of us. We’re all in on this. We all know what’s at stake here, what our ultimate goal is.”
5. What are the Nets going to do at center?
Nic Claxton is the only center currently on the roster who played rotational minutes (18.7 per game) last season. One much-talked-about option would be to use Simmons at the 5, where he played just 8% of the time in his four seasons in Philadelphia, per NBA Advanced Stats. Nash acknowledged this week that Simmons at center will happen.
“If he’s the quote, unquote ‘lone big,’ that’s a role we would definitely play him at,” Nash said. “But he’s also our playmaker and point guard.”
Nash said the 13-year veteran “is a 5 for us.” While discussing his role a few minutes later, Morris said he was open to helping the team in whichever way he can but added:
“I wouldn’t call myself a center. But if you want to put me there, Steve wants to call me a center, I’m a center.”
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics have suspended Ime Udoka for a full year, banning the coach who led them to the NBA Finals last spring for the entire 2022-23 season over what two people with knowledge of the matter said was an improper relationship with a member of the organization.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not reveal that detail publicly. In a statement issued Thursday night after a full day of wrangling over the terms of the punishment, the Celtics said Udoka violated team policies and left open the possibility that a longer separation could follow.
“A decision about his future with the Celtics beyond this season will be made at a later date,” the team said.
Assistant coach Joe Mazzulla will take over as interim coach, one of the people who spoke with The AP said. The defending Eastern Conference champions are scheduled to hold media day on Monday and open training camp on Tuesday in preparation for the Oct. 18 season opener.
In a statement published by ESPN, Udoka apologized “to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down.”
“I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team’s decision,” he said. “Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment.”
A longtime assistant in his first NBA head coaching job, Udoka led Boston to a 51-31 record last season — going 26-6 in the final 32 games. The Celtics beat Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Miami on the way to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
The developments stunned the NBA and shook up a team that had been among the favorites to contend for a championship this season. It would be an unprecedented 18th title for the franchise.
But in Boston, the story was reminiscent of the shakeup across town in 2020, when Red Sox manager Alex Cora was suspended by Major League Baseball for a year for his role in a sign-stealing scandal at his previous job, with the Houston Astros. Instead, the sides parted ways.
After a last-place finish under Ron Roenicke in the pandemic-shortened season, Cora was re-hired a year later and welcomed back.
It is unclear if Udoka and the Celtics will be as eager to reunite.
The 45-year-old Udoka spent the bulk of his NBA playing career with San Antonio and then joined Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s staff as an assistant. Udoka was on the Spurs’ staff from 2012 through 2019, winning it all in ’14, and he quickly found his way onto short lists for open head coaching jobs.
He spent the 2019-20 season in Philadelphia and the 2020-21 season in Brooklyn before the Celtics hired him in June 2021 as the successor to Brad Stevens — who moved up to the front office. In Year 1, Udoka finished fourth in coach of the year voting and the Celtics came within two wins of the championship.
“The future is bright and we’re just getting started,” Udoka said after the NBA Finals.
Perhaps not.
The bombshell on the eve of training camp is the latest twist heading into what was supposed to be a promising season for the NBA’s most-decorated franchise.
The Celtics bolstered their runner-up roster by acquiring guard Malcolm Brogdon in a trade from Indiana, then added sharpshooting veteran forward Danilo Gallinari as a free agent. But last month, Gallinari tore the ACL in his left knee and will be lost for the coming season.
Center Robert Williams, a key part of the Boston defense scheme who played through injuries during last season’s playoffs, is still dealing with knee soreness and is expected to miss the start of the season.
The Celtics were also mentioned in speculation over a new home for Brooklyn forward Kevin Durant, a perennial All-Star who asked for — and then backed off — a request to be traded. Although the talks amounted to nothing, it raised questions about Boston’s commitment to young star Jaylen Brown.
It’s also the second major disciplinary situation in as many weeks in the NBA: Commissioner Adam Silver decided last week to suspend Robert Sarver — the owner of the Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury — for one year and fine him $10 million after an investigation showed his pattern of disturbing workplace conduct, including abusive and racist language. Sarver said Wednesday he intends to sell his teams.
Mazzulla interviewed for the Utah Jazz coaching job this summer, a position that ultimately went to Will Hardy — another of Udoka’s assistants in Boston last season.
Mazzulla’s only previous experience as a head coach is a two-year stint at Division II’s Fairmont State in West Virginia, where he went 43-17 and made the NCAA tournament in his second season. A native New Englander from Rhode Island, Mazzulla played at West Virginia, was an assistant for the Celtics’ G League team before taking over at Fairmont State, and then got hired by the Celtics again in June 2019 to be part of Stevens’ staff.
Mazzulla’s last game at Fairmont State was against Mercyhurst. His first real game with the Celtics will attract a bit more attention: Boston is scheduled to host longtime rival Philadelphia in the opener, when they will tip off a year-long tribute to Hall of Famer Bill Russell.
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Reynolds reported from Miami.
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
NBA Champion Dwight Howard focuses on financial wellness with his new venture Jayde Life Investment Group. The firm offers legacy planning and financial literacy education.
Press Release –
Aug 4, 2022
ATLANTA, August 4, 2022 (Newswire.com)
– NBA Champion Dwight Howard launches Jayde Life Investment Group, a life insurance firm located in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia. The company is a boutique agency that specializes in legacy planning and asset protection for professional athletes and their families, high wage earners, celebrities, and small business owners.
“Jayde Life has positioned itself as the go-to agency for financial education and tax-free investment strategies,” states Kim M. Braud, Jayde Life Managing Partner. “Our approach to the market is a bit different. As a young recruit straight out of high school and one of the highest earning players in the NBA celebrating his 18th year, Dwight’s vision is clear. He wants to educate players and provide strategies to grow and maintain their wealth. We are not here to write policies and disappear into the sunset. We want to provide sound financial education and mentorship to professional athletes and their families to lower to rate of bankrupt players exiting the league.”
Jayde Life offers Whole and Permanent Life, Term Life, Fixed Annuities, Fixed Index Annuities, Long Term Care, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability coverage, Trust and Estate Planning and Premium Financing. Their carriers include John Hancock, Allianz, AIG, Nationwide, North American Company, Symetra and other top A+ high net worth carriers.
The firm has also partnered with professional women’s sports to spearhead a national campaign to insure women across America. “Dwight has always been an advocate for women in sports, so partnering with athletes to reach the local community is a win for everyone,” states Braud. As the President of Howard’s non-profit organization, Grand Champions Foundation, Braud has found a way to close the financial literacy gap in the local community, utilizing professional athletes that normal everyday people can connect to. “Life insurance is a very difficult conversation to have, so we must use creative ways to get the message into the community,” she states. “Dwight cares and he wants to celebrate life. He wants athletes, their families, and the community to have the tools they need to make sound financial decisions.”
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ABOUT JAYDE LIFE INVESTMENT GROUP Jayde Life Investment Group is a life insurance firm founded by NBA Champion Dwight Howard. Jayde Life provides asset protection, income planning, legacy transfer insurance and financial literacy training in all 50 states. These diverse offerings help athletes, small business owners and others protect their assets. Jayde Life Investment Group is a privately owned company.
Contact: Kim M. Braud, Managing Partner kim@jaydelife.com 770.652.7103
NBA Legend hosts a series of social and community events, launches new chapter with memoir and startup
Press Release –
Feb 16, 2022
CLEVELAND, February 16, 2022 (Newswire.com)
– Retired NBA All-Star Charles Oakley will celebrate 2022 All-Star Weekend with a series of community and social events by his non-profit Charles Oakley Foundation in partnership with MyWagerScore.com and Entain Foundation US.
“It was only right with the NBA All-Star coming to my hometown, that I got my team together so we could get out in the community to make a difference,” said Charles Oakley.
On Friday, Oakley will cook and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at the state’s largest homeless shelter.
Charles Oakley started his NBA career in 1985 when he was the 9th overall pick from HBCU Virginia Union University by the Cleveland Cavaliers and traded to the Chicago Bulls, where he was selected for the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He became teammate, protector, and close friend to Michael Jordan.
Now Oakley is protecting the next generation of online sports bettors as a partner at My Wager Score™, a patented technology designed to protect sports bettors’ financial health through the delivery of real-time affordability data. My Wager Score™ is a financial empowerment tool that also converts 1% of every dollar bet on gaming partner sites into charitable, tax-deductible donations.
“We’re asking folks to Bet Smart and Give Back,” Oakley said. “My Wager Score™ is the future of sports betting because it creates financial safety for players and positive impact for society. We want folks to see that they can take fair play into their own hands by getting their score at MyWagerScore.com.”
Oakley’s dedication to social responsibility and hard work traces to his childhood, detailed in Oakley’s new memoir, “The Last Enforcer.” The book also offers entertaining, unfiltered stories from his journey in the NBA.
Media are welcome to attend the following events.
John Hay All-Star Pep Rally (Wednesday, February 16th, 1:30 p.m.)
Charles Oakley will speak with student athletes at John Hay High School, Oakley’s alma mater, about his journey from the inner city of Cleveland to the NBA and beyond.
Oak Out Hunger (Friday, February 18th)
Charles Oakley will prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for the residents of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM). LMM’s Men’s Shelter at 2100 Lakeside is the largest homeless shelter in the state. At the shelter, LMM staff and social service partners provide on and off-site services to increase resident self-sufficiency.
Oak In The City with Special Invited Guests (Thursday, February 17th, Saturday, February 19th and Sunday, February 20th)
Charles Oakley and special invited guests will host (5) events at The Madison, located at 4601 Payne Avenue, Cleveland OH 44103. Guests will enjoy food prepared by Oakley, live entertainment and much more. VisitCharlesOakley.Eventbrite.com for tickets.
