NBA Rumors

There reportedly are "no guarantees" regarding Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka's future status following news from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that he will likely be suspended for the entire 2022-23 season because of a violation of organizational guidelines related to a "consensual relationship with a female staff member."

Wojnarowski made the remarks on SportsCenter Thursday:

"There's not going to be any guarantees after a year of what the future might look like for Udoka," Wojnarowski said in part (2:00 mark).

Udoka, 45, just finished his first season as the Celtics' head coach after spending nine years as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.

Boston won its first Eastern Conference title since 2010 under Udoka, who propelled the C's to a 26-6 regular-season finish en route to a second-place mark in the East standings.

Assistant coach Joe Mazzulla will "likely" take over as the team's interim head coach, per Wojnarowski.

Mazzulla, 34, joined the Celtics as an assistant in 2019 when Brad Stevens was still the head coach. Stevens has since moved into the front office to run basketball operations, but Mazzulla stayed on when Udoka came aboard.

Mazzulla was a head coach at Division II Fairmont State from 2017-19, compiling a 43-17 record and leading the team to the NCAA tournament in his second year. He was also as an assistant for the Celtics' G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws (now Celtics), in 2016-17.

The opportunity is there for Mazzulla if he is in fact named the team's head coach. Even if Udoka comes back in 2023, Mazzulla could be auditioning for another head coaching job elsewhere in the league if he does well enough in Boston this year. And if Udoka doesn't come back, then he could be in line to lead the Celtics long term.

Boston opens the season on Oct. 18 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Publicly, NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended his decision to suspend Phoenix Suns governor Robert Sarver for one year.

Privately, Silver reportedly put "pressure" on Sarver to exit the league entirely.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Silver and other team governors worked behind the scenes to convince Sarver it was in the best interest to sell the Suns and Phoenix Mercury.

"There was a lot of private pressure on Robert Sarver behind the scenes," Shelburne said Wednesday on NBA Today. "We heard PayPal, but there were a lot of other league sponsors and team sponsors that were lining up to pull away from the Suns and not be publicly associated with them.

"There was also the pressure applied by other owners and Adam Silver behind the scenes. Adam Silver is obviously very good at applying pressure when needed to be and facilitating these types of conversations and discussions to get to this place."

Sarver announced his intention to sell the Suns and Mercury earlier Wednesday, casting blame on an "unforgiving climate" amid public pressure to sell.

"As a man of faith, I believe in atonement and the path to forgiveness," Sarver said in a statement. "I expected that the commissioner's one-year suspension would provide the time for me to focus, make amends and remove my personal controversy from the teams that I and so many fans love.

"But in our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible—that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past."

The NBA suspended Sarver and fined him $10 million earlier this month after an investigation found he used racial slurs, bullied employees, engaged in inequitable treatment of female employees and ran a hostile work environment over the course of his 17-year tenure with the Suns.

“I fully support the decision by Robert Sarver to sell the Phoenix Suns and Mercury. This is the right next step for the organization and community," Silver said in a statement.

Sarver was a largely unpopular figure among the Suns fanbase, particularly for his penchant for penny-pinching rather than investing in the team. His finance-over-basketball decisions are regarded among some fans as the reason the Seven Seconds or Less Suns never won a championship.

NBA executives recently called Sarver out for the team's decision to not offer Deandre Ayton a maximum contract extension. The team instead allowed Ayton to hit restricted free agency and then matched a four-year maximum offer sheet from the Indiana Pacers. By taking this route, the Suns saved about $43 million versus the full five-year max.

Past criticisms of his spending paled in comparison to the reaction to the NBA's independent report. Silver's decision to suspend Sarver for one year was roundly criticized as being insufficient, with stars LeBron James, Chris Paul and Draymond Green publicly calling out the league.

NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio called on the league to permanently ban Sarver. While there was a precedent set by the league in banning former Los Angeles Clippers governor Donald Sterling for life, Silver called the situations "dramatically different."

Fans, players and sponsors disagreed with Silver's categorization, and it seems the commissioner may have worked behind the scenes to quell the public criticism.

Jae Crowder may be on the trading block, and the veteran wing reportedly would be happy reuniting with the Miami Heat.

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald: "We hear Jae Crowder would welcome a return to the Heat and ESPN's Brian Windhorst—while not mentioning the Heat or any team—said the Phoenix Suns are 'in trade negotiations right now. A lot of them are centered around Crowder. Crowder is a player who is available on the market right now.'"

Crowder, 32, last played for the Heat in the 2019-20 season, joining the team in a midseason trade from the Memphis Grizzlies. He helped Miami reach the NBA Finals, averaging 12 points and 5.6 rebounds in 31.4 minutes per game as a starter during that run, shooting 34.2 percent from the field.

He then signed a three-year, $29.1 million deal with the Phoenix Suns, and again helped lead the team to the NBA Finals while averaging 10.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game during that playoff run.

But while Crowder shot 38 percent from three that postseason, that number dropped to 30.2 percent last year in Phoenix's disappointing second-round exit against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

His regular-season averages also took a small hit:

• 2020-21 Season: 10.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 40.4 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from three. 
• 2021-22 Season: 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 39.9 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from three.

As for why the Suns may be shopping Crowder, it would appear they are looking for an upgrade in the starting lineup.

Per Windhorst (h/t Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic): "Folks that I'm talking to, they don't get the sense that the Suns are afraid to continue to spend. It would not surprise me if the Suns get involved in the negotiations for Bojan Bogdanovic from the Utah Jazz ... several teams are bidding for him."

The Heat would be an obvious location for Crowder, giving them a tough, 3-and-D wing to replace the departed P.J. Tucker. The issue would be matching his $10.1 million contract and sending back a player the Suns were interested.

Would the Suns want to take on Duncan Robinson's $16.9 million salary, for instance? Probably not. Victor Oladipo wouldn't make much sense with Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges holding down the starting spots on the wing.

The Heat may have interest in Crowder, and vice versa, but it's hard to find a logical swap between the teams unless a third organization gets involved.

With a roster spot available, the Boston Celtics appear to have their sights set on adding a big man before the 2022-23 season begins.

The C's expressed "a little interest" in LaMarcus Aldridge during free agency, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who also noted that Dwight Howard could be an option for the franchise.

Boston's interest in adding a veteran center comes as little surprise following the news that Robert Williams III will reportedly be sidelined four-to-six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic left knee surgery this week.

The "cleanup" procedure comes six months after Williams underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He is expected to miss the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign.

Williams emerged as a key contributor for the Celtics in 2021-22, averaging 10 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocks in 61 games—all starts—while shooting 73.6 percent from the floor.

Behind Williams, the Celtics have Al Horford and Luke Kornet on the depth chart. Horford will see the majority of minutes at center to begin the season, but having Kornet as his backup isn't ideal.

Aldridge, 37, is undoubtedly past his prime. However, he was still a key contributor for the Brooklyn Nets in 2021-22, averaging 12.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 block in 47 games while shooting 55 percent from the floor.

The seven-time All-Star might not be set on returning to the NBA in 2022-23, though. During an appearance on The Crossover NBA Show, Chris Mannix and Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated reported that Aldridge will "likely" retire this offseason.

If that's the case, the Celtics would need to do some heavy convincing in order to get the veteran to return to the court.

If Aldridge does retire, the C's could pivot to Dwight Howard, who had a decent season off the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021-22. He averaged 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 60 games while shooting 61.2 percent from the floor.

Hassan Whiteside, Tristan Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins are among the other centers still available for the taking.

Luckily for the Celtics, Williams shouldn't be sidelined for too long. However, as they look to get back to the NBA Finals in 2022-23, adding another veteran big man could be a wise decision.

The Golden State Warriors may eventually have some difficult decisions to make when it comes to the contracts of Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, but they reportedly are in no hurry.

"With the Warriors' salary, with the landscape of their money, they're not rushing into any of these conversations," ESPN's Kendra Andrews reported on The Jump. "So, when you look at Andrew Wiggins, they have all season to figure out that extension. And Draymond Green, that's a couple years away. So that is definitely lower on their list of priorities right now."

On their current deals, Wiggins is set for unrestricted free agency after the upcoming campaign, and Green has a player option for the 2023-24 season. Poole is eligible for a rookie extension but could become a restricted free agent in 2023.

That means all three players could hit free agency by next year, although it is frankly difficult to envision Green playing for another team given his overall importance to the franchise's ability to build a modern-day dynasty.

Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers appeared on the The TK Show with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami (h/t Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors) and said the team would prefer to keep all three:

"We've had conversations with all three players (and) their representatives. I'm not going to get into the likelihood or not of any of them getting done, but we know how important they are. I don't know that we win a championship last year if you take any of them away. … Too early for me to say what will happen or won't happen, but the goal is to keep those guys, all three of them, as long as we can. But again, there's a financial component."

That financial component is a real one considering Sam Quinn of CBS Sports in June noted Golden State was the most expensive team in NBA history during the 2021-22 campaign at approximately $346 million in combined salary and luxury taxes.

The Warriors will also be subject to the repeater penalty given to teams that paid the luxury tax in three of the previous four seasons, bringing the financial situation even more into the picture.

Golden State's expensive roster paid off last season, as it won its fourth championship in eight years by defeating the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

It even felt like slightly more of an underdog story than in past years considering Kevin Durant wasn't on the team and Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were both coming off injury-marred seasons.

The Warriors figure to be on the short list of realistic contenders again in 2022-23 with the core of Curry, Thompson and Green leading the way and Wiggins and Poole spearheading the supporting cast, but the window may be closing if they can't keep the roster together for the foreseeable future.

Boston Celtics center Robert Williams will reportedly undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee that will require four-to-six weeks of recovery, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.

Williams is expected to have the procedure at some point this week, per Deveney.

The Celtics begin their regular season on Oct. 18, exactly four weeks from Tuesday.

The 24-year-old also underwent knee surgery in March, which limited him throughout the team's playoff run to the NBA Finals.

Williams was initially diagnosed with a torn meniscus, which cost him the final seven games of the regular season, but he returned in the playoffs after less than a month off the court. He ended up missing seven games during the postseason run, but the team was confident he would return to full strength by the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

"There is no long-term concern about his knee injury," Brian Robb of Mass Live reported. "No surgery was needed so ample rest this summer should have him at 100 percent in camp."

The latest issue now raises question marks heading into a season where the Celtics have high expectations.

Williams is coming off his best season in the NBA, averaging 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 73.6 percent from the field. He became a full-time starter in his fourth season in Boston, and rewarded the coaching staff with a team-high 9.9 win shares, per Basketball Reference, seventh-best in the league.

Losing the top rim-protector for an extended stretch would be damaging for Boston as it battles for seeding with the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

Veteran Al Horford will become even more important in the early part of the season, while Luke Kornet and Grant Williams will likely also see extra minutes at center.

Don't be surprised if Bojan Bogdanovic is the next Utah Jazz veteran to be moved this offseason after Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were traded.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype: "A lot of executives around the league are expecting Bogdanovic to be the next guy for the Jazz to get moved. They [rival executives] are keeping tabs on guys like Jordan Clarkson and Malik Beasley, but Bogdanovic is the next domino that most people think is going to fall for Utah."

Don't be shocked if the Los Angeles Lakers come calling. By most accounts, those talks have already been happening.

Last week, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that the team has "targeted Bogdanovic, Clarkson and Beasley" in trade talks, which would in theory send back Russell Westbrook and draft capital to the Jazz.

Surely the Jazz would target the two future first-round picks the Lakers could part with in a trade in such a deal.

While Westbrook has proven to be a poor fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis—given his ball-dominant play style clashing with James' playmaking abilities, his lack of perimeter shooting that shrinks the floor and his inconsistent on-ball defense—the Jazz trio would make far more sense in complementary roles.

Bogdanovic in particular would provide a bit of perimeter scoring and floor spacing. The 33-year-old averaged 18.1 points and 4.3 rebounds for the Jazz last season, shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three.

For his career, he's shot 39.2 percent from beyond the arc, making him the sort of role player that James has traditionally played well alongside.

Bogdanovic has his weaknesses. His lack of athleticism makes him a suspect defender out on the perimeter, for one. But his catch-and-shoot game would open up a lot in the Lakers' offense after the team had major floor-spacing and shooting issues in last year's disastrous 33-49 campaign.

Of course, that will make him attractive to other contenders around the league looking to improve their roster as well. But while those teams may have trouble matching his $19.5 million salary in deals without giving away valuable players, the Lakers have a $47 million black hole on their roster they could part with in a potential deal.

Russell Westbrook hasn't come off the bench since his rookie season, but it could be a possibility with the Los Angeles Lakers next season.

"The prospect of Westbrook coming off the bench is being strongly considered," Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported.

The Lakers acquired Patrick Beverley this offseason before agreeing to a one-year deal with Dennis Schröder on Friday, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Though Schröder will make $2.64 million and Westbrook will earn $47.1 million, it seems the starting job will have to be earned on the court.

According to Buha and Amick, new head coach Darvin Ham has "the full backing of the organization" to make whatever roster decisions are needed.

NBA reporter Marc Stein provided more insight on the backcourt plans:

The lineup decisions to come will be Darvin Ham's, league sources say, but as it stands on Sept. 16: The Lakers head to training camp viewing Westbrook and Schroder as lead guards, PatBev as another 2-guard alongside Kendrick Nunn and Austin Reaves as a 3 behind LeBron James. https://t.co/sTQx9kE6ur

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 16, 2022

Schröder finished second on the team with 5.8 assists per game when he last played with the Lakers in 2020-21, trailing only LeBron James. He added 15.4 points per game to rank third behind LeBron and Anthony Davis.

Westbrook had better raw numbers in his first season in Los Angeles, averaging 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game. His 1.7 win shares were still a career low, per Basketball Reference, while the Lakers were 3.6 points worse per 100 possessions when he was on the court.

Efficiency could still be an issue coming off the bench, but Westbrook's offensive production could be a major plus for the second team when James and Davis are sitting.

Beverley, meanwhile, could be a quality fit in the starting lineup as a low-usage guard who is known for his defensive ability. He has been named to the All-Defensive team three times in his career, and he could help turn around a unit that ranked 21st in the NBA in efficiency last year.

After a 33-49 finish in 2021-22, it's clear the Lakers will try whatever it takes to turn things around next year.

The New York Knicks front office hierarchy is considered "confusing" by other teams around the NBA, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Leon Rose is the team's president, but he didn't take the lead role in the failed negotiations for Donovan Mitchell.

"Leon delegates too much—delegates to a fault," one coaching source told Berman. "They had a breakaway layup and blew it."

Even Mitchell admitted he thought he was going to the Knicks—his hometown team—before ultimately being traded from the Utah Jazz to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via RealGM) previously reported Gersson Rosas was the lead negotiator for the Knicks in the Mitchell pursuit. Rosas was previously president of the Minnesota Timberwolves before being fired in 2021, but he was only hired by the Knicks as a consultant last February.

He still took on major responsibilities for the team in recent months, while Rose never spoke to Jazz president Danny Ainge during negotiations.

General manager Scott Perry, executive vice president William Wesley and vice president Brock Aller also all have significant roles within the front office, although opposing teams clearly don't know who is in charge.

Rose notably has minimal front-office experience, spending most of his career as an agent before joining the Knicks in 2020. Wesley was also new to NBA management when taking his current job.

It has led to mixed results, featuring few high-profile moves.

The most notable free-agent signing was Jalen Brunson, who was Rose's former client at CAA and has family ties with the Knicks that go back decades. Other signings, like Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, have proved to be disastrous.

New York made the playoffs in 2021 to end a seven-year drought, but last year's team couldn't follow up on it with just a 37-45 record. Another poor season in 2022-23 could lead to some changes among the brass.

Free-agent NBA guard Dennis Schroder is reportedly turning heads and helping his chances of landing another contract thanks to his performance at the EuroBasket tournament.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Schroder is generating "rising buzz" with his play for Germany, and the expectation is that he will "almost certainly" be with a new NBA team by the end of September.

One team believed to have interest in Schroder is the Dallas Mavericks, with Stein reporting last week that Mavs executives Nico Harrison and Michael Finley had been scouting Schroder and were considering the possibility of signing him.

In six games for Germany at EuroBasket 2022, Schroder is averaging 20.2 points, 7.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds, making him one of the most productive players in the tournament.

Schroder has also helped lead Germany to the semifinals, where it will face Spain. Along the way, Schroder and Co. have beaten France, Lithuania and Greece, among others.

Since getting selected 17th overall in the 2013 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks, Schroder has spent nine seasons in the league, playing for the Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets.

Schroder, who turns 29 on Thursday, has largely been a productive player during his NBA career as well, averaging 14.2 points, 4.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 621 regular-season games.

His numbers have been down over the past couple of seasons after averaging a career-high 19.4 points per game with the Hawks in 2017-18 and 18.9 points per game with the Thunder in 2019-20.

Schroder spent last season split between the Celtics and Rockets, averaging 13.5 points, 4.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Dallas would perhaps be the best possible landing spot for Schroder since the Mavericks are still in search of someone to replace Jalen Brunson.

Brunson was the Mavericks' second-best player last season behind Luka Doncic, and when the MVP candidate missed several games during the playoffs, Brunson kept the team afloat.

The New York Knicks signed Brunson in free agency, leaving the Mavs without a player who can spell and play alongside Doncic (whose Slovenia team plays in the EuroBasket semifinals Wednesday) when needed.

Spencer Dinwiddie is the top internal candidate to take on that role, but Schroder's experience as both a starter and a bench player, plus his explosive offensive ability, makes him arguably the closest comparison to Brunson of any player currently available.

Playing a key role for a team that reached the Western Conference Finals last season would be a huge win for Schroder, considering it wasn't long ago that his NBA future was in doubt.