The NBA offseason has arrived
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It all adds up to very little downtime.
There is no shortage of questions about what will happen this summer – leading off, of course, with yet another decision to be made by LeBron James about his future and where he’ll play next season as he resumes his quest for more championships.
Here are some non-James topics heading into the offseason:
KAWHI LEONARD
The mystery of the 2017-18 NBA season is the mystery of the offseason as well. Leonard played in only nine games for the Spurs this season while dealing with a leg injury, the specifics of which are a closely guarded secret even by San Antonio’s notoriously tight-lipped standards. He could get a supermax deal, he could get traded, he might still be hurt. But the Spurs – and the league – need answers
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COACHES
The vacancies in Detroit and Toronto should be filled soon. The Pistons might be best-served to hire Dwane Casey, who led the Raptors to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference this season. This is a crucial hire for the Raptors, since whoever will be calling the shots next season will have a team that should be good enough to contend for the East title.
THE DRAFT
Arizona center Deandre Ayton will likely go No. 1 to Phoenix, which makes sense on a lot of levels. The intrigue really starts there. Does Vlade Divac use the No. 2 overall pick and bring Luka Doncic, the young Slovenian who has been talked about as a can’t-miss NBA star for some time, to Sacramento? What does Atlanta do at No. 3? Inevitably, someone will move up on draft night and that probably means an established player (or players) will be on the move.
GAMBLING
The Supreme Court ruling already has bets on games being placed in Delaware, and more states will be following suit soon. Expect the NBA to continue pushing for 1 percent of the action, which the league says is needed in part to cover what will be its new costs as far as protecting the integrity of the game and the players. It’s also unclear if injury reports will have to be more specialized in a betting world. Wouldn’t bettors have liked knowing LeBron James had a badly injured – he says broken – hand in Games 2, 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals?
OFFICIATING
The NBA knows fans, players and coaches aren’t thrilled with the level of officiating in the league right now. This will absolutely be a big topic – maybe the primary topic – when the board of governors meet in Las Vegas next month. Also, there will be a challenge-flag-type item tinkered with during summer league games; it won’t be a red cloth like in the NFL
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THE LAKERS
Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka should have about $62 million in cap space to go shopping with when free agency opens July 1 – including for James, meaning the Lakers could get transformed and become a playoff team again in a hurry. Expect them to use the No. 25 pick in the draft on a 3-point shooter, since no team can surround James with enough of those.
CHRIS PAUL AND PAUL GEORGE
Again, like so many other topics, the futures of Chris Paul and Paul George will probably have some impact on whatever James decides to do this summer – or vice versa. Paul wants a max contract, and if his hamstring didn’t pop late in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals he and the Houston Rockets may very well have been in the NBA Finals. George seemed to be hinting that he could stay in Oklahoma City, but is a Los Angeles native. It seems likely that either, or both, would try to align with James – but how?
THE PELICANS
Yes, the Pelicans. West semifinalists this season, New Orleans needs to decide what it wants to do with DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo. The Pelicans have already given coach Alvin Gentry an extension , and keeping either Cousins or Rondo – or both – to play alongside Anthony Davis might make New Orleans a sleeper pick in the West next season. Question is
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THE HEAT
Dwyane Wade has been talking about retirement, and there’s been no indication yet if he’s anywhere near a decision. Miami is in a tough situation on the cash front – Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, Goran Dragic and James Johnson will make nearly $78 million themselves next season – and the Heat wants to find a way to keep Wayne Ellington. What will Wade do? And if he stays, how much can the Heat pay him? Or do they make big trades and add some star power?
THE KNICKS
Two questions for the Knicks to figure out: Will they allow David Fizdale the time he needs to build the team he wants? And what will they do with Kristaps Porzingis this season? Give Fizdale time, and he’ll win in New York. But rushing Porzingis back off ACL surgery could be a most unnecessary risk for a team that isn’t going to contend next season anyway.
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Jaren Jackson Jr. is so excited about heading to the Memphis Grizzlies as the fourth overall pick in the NBA draft that he doesn’t care where he plays.
”It could be the 5, the 4, the 3, the 2, the 1,” Jackson said Thursday night in a conference call with reporters. ”Realistically, the 5 or the 4. Whatever coach can put me in
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Well, the Grizzlies have a veteran at center in Marc Gasol. But they do need plenty of help coming off their worst season in nearly a decade. The power forward from Michigan State became Memphis’ pick after pre-draft reports that the Grizzlies might trade out of the franchise’s first lottery pick since 2010.
But the Grizzlies stayed put Thursday night and selected Jackson.
There also were reports the 6-foot-11 Jackson wasn’t initially excited about the projections putting him in Memphis. Jackson said he got a call from Memphis coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Wednesday, a conversation that put him at ease. Jackson also said scheduling conflicts was the bigger issue with him not visiting Memphis before the draft.
”I’m excited to get going,” Jackson said. ”The team they’ve got in place right now is spectacular.”
In his lone year at Michigan State, the forward averaged 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game. Jackson has good defensive skills with quickness that allows him to keep pace with smaller players.
The fourth pick was the highest for the Memphis franchise since picking Hasheem Thabeet with the second overall pick in 2009. The previous time the Grizzlies had the fourth overall pick was in 2007 when they chose point guard Mike Conley from Ohio State.
Standing alongside the new Grizzly at the draft were his father, Jaen Jackson Sr., a former NBA player and coach, and his mother, Terri, who was wearing a championship ring from Jackson’s time with the San Antonio Spurs.
With Jackson
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”We got two exceptional defensive players,” Wallace said. ”We got the best shot-blocker in the draft in Jaren Jackson, got the best perimeter defender in Jevon Carter. Got two great intangible guys with a lot of room to grow.
”I think we got a shot at grit-n-grind back tonight.”
Jackson joins a franchise coming off an ugly season that featured a coach firing with Bickerstaff given the job May 1 for good after replacing David Fizdale in late November. With a rash of injuries, the Grizzlies went only a 22-60 for the second-worst record in the NBA behind Phoenix.
The poor record didn’t help Memphis in the lottery drawing with the Grizzlies landing in the fourth spot. Still, it was the first time the Grizzlies had a lottery pick since selecting Xavier Henry out of Kansas with the 12th overall pick. The choice of Henry was part of run of unproductive choices for Memphis over the years.
Owner Robert Pera predicted last week that with the right pick – someone to complement Conley and Gasol – Memphis could consider a 50-win season.
Conley welcomed Jackson to Memphis on Twitter soon after the selection .
The personable Jackson joked with the local media about being a rib-lover and showed off his knowledge of Memphis hip-hop artists like You Gotten and Young Adolph. He also expects to come in ready to contribute.
”I know that I’m young, and there’s always growing to go,” Jackson said. ”Any player has to go through a lot of learning curves. I think with the vets they’ve got there, it will help me speed up the process.”
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