Duane Rankin: Pero Antic on the Phoenix Suns #NBA2KSummerLeague bench, but he’s not on Suns staff as a coach. Played for Mike Budenholzer with the Atlanta Hawks. Has worked with Macedonia national team. Call it a tryout as Budenholzer said Suns still working on coaching staff. #Suns pic.twitter.com/MRLofRjb9n
Duane Rankin: Pero Antic on the Phoenix Suns #NBA2KSumm…
August 30, 2024 | 12:09 pm EDT Update
Ky Carlin: Guerschon Yabusele is here #Sixers pic.x.com/higvruxiqs
Christian Clark: Zion in Shanghai pic.x.com/ncdxtldx5g
August 30, 2024 | 10:37 am EDT Update
Boban Marjanovic hopes to play at least until he is 40
Marjanović added that, inspired by LeBron James, he hopes to play at least until he is 40. “I want to stay in [the] NBA; this is the main goal,” he said. “I want my kids to be there and I want myself to be there.”
Marjanović told me that he has received interest from teams in Europe and China but isn’t ready to consider such pitches. He wants to give NBA free agency more time to see if a suitor emerges.
March expectation: Potential for an extension in the $20 million range. Current expectation: Kuminga is believed to be looking for more than that projection. It’s unclear where the Warriors stand. Other teams seem to prefer Johnson and Murphy over Kuminga—not to suggest that Kuminga doesn’t also have fans around the league. It’s one of the tougher calls on the list, but the dearth of cap room in 2025 suggests Kuminga should seek a viable compromise. An alternative may be a sign-and-trade next July if the Warriors aren’t prepared to pay him.
In asking several competing executives about the 2021 draft class, Jalen Johnson’s name came up as one they’re watching closely, with his combination of size (6’9″) and skill. The Atlanta Hawks are expected, however, to retain him. 2023-24 averages (56 games, 52 starts): 33.7 minutes, 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 35.5 percent from three Closest comp: Vassell, McDaniels March expectation: Johnson could fight for $25-30 million annually. Current expectation: Competing executives suggested he could end up even higher.
Research: LeBron James' rookie team was the tallest in NBA history
Today, we’re focusing on listing the tallest teams in NBA history. For this exercise, we went through all NBA rosters throughout history, calculating the weighted average height of each team. We relied on the league’s official measurements (though we know they are to be taken with a grain of salt) and factored in the playing time of each player. (For example, a seven-footer averaging 35 minutes per game would have a greater impact on the final result than one playing only 10 minutes.) The Showtime Lakers showed up a lot at the top of the ranking (playing with a 6-foot-9 point guard and a 7-foot-2 center will do that for you), but the No. 1 spot belongs to LeBron‘s rookie team: the 2003-04 Cavaliers.
August 30, 2024 | 9:26 am EDT Update
Stephen Curry after signing extension: 'It's still about winning'
Curry took the money now and not later. He curated a three-year window instead of scheming for four and perhaps set up what just might be a final trifecta. In doing so, he crafted a clever way of giving a vote of confidence to Golden State’s front office without sacrificing urgency. “It’s still about winning,” Curry said, “and taking the steps necessary to give ourselves a chance. The standard hasn’t changed. The expectation hasn’t changed.”
“It’s not different from my perspective,” Curry told The Athletic. “You have an appreciation for the position and the opportunity and the support from people who’ve been with you on the journey. I’ve always said I wanted to play for one team my whole career. So it’s good to get (the extension) question out of the way and give complete focus to basketball and to the season.”
Avery Johnson on GOAT debate: 'Everybody else is a distant second behind Michael Jordan'
Avery Johnson: “You know, we can really peel back all of the numbers. You can even go with the eye test, but everybody else is a distant second behind Michael Jordan. Just a distant second. And there’s no disrespect on it, so please do not send me any hate mail. It’s my opinion, right? Michael, just for all the different reasons. But when you win six championships, you’re the MVP of all six, you never get to a Game 7, and all of the defensive —first team All-Defense, first team All-NBA, MVPs, regular season MVPs—I think there was another stat that you know, he didn’t have as many, it was a revolving door of free agents that he played with, and he did it with one team. And he had to go through the Detroit Pistons, the Boston Celtics, the Lakers, the Phoenix Suns, and Clyde Drexler with that Portland team that could have easily won championships, and Karl Malone and Stockton with Utah. The rules were different—there was a lot more restricted freedom of movement and physicality. So yeah, it’s Michael. The clutch shots, two-way player—it’s just Michael. What they did with the Dream Team, yeah, it’s just Michael.”
