Brandon Jennings still says ‘Bucks in six’ in advance of Game 3 against the Heat

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By Brett PollakoffApr 25, 2013, 12:25 PM EDT

Before the first round playoff series between the eighth-seeded Bucks and the defending champion Heat got started, Brandon Jennings went on record as saying that his team would win the series in six games.

Now that we’re two games in, after Miami won Game 1 by 23 points and Game 2 by 12, Jennings (as seen in the video clip above) doesn’t see any reason to back down from those comments.

“I still said six,” Jennings told Craig Sager after Game 2. “So we’ll see what happens. Might take a little longer.”

In fairness to Jennings, what’s he supposed to say? That his team has no chance and is going to lay down to get willingly steamrolled for four straight games?

Milwaukee actually showed a lot of positive signs in Game 2, and those are the things they’ll need to build upon when the series shifts to Milwaukee Thursday night for Game 3.

The Bucks were within just three points after three quarters, before a 12-0 run from Miami to open the fourth put the game away. Milwaukee can’t afford those types of lapses, though the energy from Miami’s second unit, especially from Chris Andersen in this series, might be too difficult for the Bucks to match.

Regardless of how you view Jennings’ comments, he deserves credit for doing everything he can to back up his bold prediction. He leads the Bucks in scoring over the first two games of the series, although most of that damage was done during a stellar 18-point first half in Game 1; in Game 2, when Miami’s defense was focused on taking the ball out of the hands of both Jennings and Monta Ellis, he finished 3-15 from the field for just eight points.

Milwaukee got strong games offensively from Ersan Ilyasova and Larry Sanders in Game 2, as well as from Mike Dunleavy off the bench in a game where Jennings and Ellis both finished in single digits scoring. Milwaukee needs to get its two leading scorers more involved in Game 3, continue to get production inside from its bigs, and avoid being on the wrong end of one of those monster Miami runs to have a chance at extending the series beyond four games.

Report: Nick Young agrees to terms with Warriors on one-year, $5.2 million deal

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By Kurt HelinJul 5, 2017, 2:21 PM EDT

The NBA Champion Golden State Warriors just got a little more swagger.

Nick Young — the man who nicknamed himself Swaggy P — has agreed to join the Warriors for next season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports.

How does Kevin Durant feel about the signing?

That was a little joke, KD, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and the Warriors wanted this to happen.

This has been rumored for a while, and it’s not as bad a fit as it seems on the surface. We tend to think of Young as an unapologetic, inefficient, volume scoring isolation gunner, however, with the Lakers last season he got 47 percent of his shot attempts either on spot-up looks or in transition (via Synergy Sports), and he shot 40.4 percent on threes. That can work in the Warriors’ system.

That said, he does break out of the offense a lot, he doesn’t defend, and he’s a bit redundant on their roster. I think the signing of Omri Casspi at the minimum was a far better move that helps the Warriors far more next season. That said, the Young signing isn’t bad, it’s just neutral.

And getting expensive. If the Warriors fill out the final two roster spots they have with minimum deals, they will be about $15 million over the tax line, and their salary and tax total will be about $188 million.

Jazz keep it classy with official remarks on Gordon Hayward leaving

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By Kurt HelinJul 5, 2017, 1:33 PM EDT

There are plenty of Jazz fans pissed off at Gordon Hayward — and of course, we got the clichéd jersey burnings after Gordon announced he was heading to Boston. Difficult to blame the fans, Utah had put together a team on the rise in the West and did just about everything right, only to be undone by timing and past relationships more than anything. Hayward praised Utah and it’s fans on the way out the door, but you can’t fault fans for feeling betrayed.

Jazz official, however, were nothing but class in their official statements.

“We are proud of the player that Gordon developed into with the Jazz, and wish him and his family the best of luck,” Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said. “Utah Jazz Despite his departure, we still have a tremendous coaching staff and very good young core of players in place as we move forward.”

“Gordon has been an important part of our Jazz family for the past seven years. While disappointed that he is moving on, we thank him for his contributions to the organization and wish Gordon, Robyn and their family well,” said Gail Miller, Chairman of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, which owns the Jazz. “We thank him for his play, his leadership and how well he represented the Jazz and the state of Utah.”

“The Jazz made a compelling case for Gordon to stay and managed the process well,” said Steve Starks, Jazz president. “A foundation for success has been established here, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to bring a championship to Utah. From our renovated facilities to our dedicated ownership, we are building a winning culture that will make Jazz fans proud.”

Report: Wizards matching Otto Porter’s max offer sheet from Nets

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By Dan FeldmanJul 5, 2017, 12:49 PM EDT

Otto Porter is reportedly signing a max offer sheet with the Nets, which would be worth $106,524,975 over four years.

The Wizards have indicated at every turn they’d match any offer. With the pressure on, that stance apparently isn’t changing.

David Aldridge of NBA.com:

This is the right move. Porter – an excellent outside shooter and cutter who plays solid team defense – fits well around more ball-dominant players like John Wall and Bradley Beal. Capped out, Washington had no mechanism to adequately replace him.

The only question is whether the Wizards should have just given Porter a five-year contract in the first place. The max on that would have been $143,684,850, though perhaps they could have found a middle ground between that and the average salary on the offer sheet. Porter is just 24, and in a few years, Washington might regret not having him locked up longer. (See Gordon Hayward with the Jazz in 2014.)

Either way, Porter’s high starting salary will push the Wizards into luxury-tax range. Look for them to try trading Marcin Gortat, Ian Mahinmi and/or Jason Smith. Washington probably must attach a sweetener to dump those players, so the team must weight the cost-benefit of that relative to just paying some luxury tax.

It’s official: Jeff Van Gundy to coach Team USA in AmeriCup 2017, World Cup qualifying

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By Kurt HelinJul 5, 2017, 11:55 AM EDT

We’ve known this was coming, but now it is official: Jeff Van Gundy is coming out of the broadcast booth and getting back on the sidelines to coach Team USA in the AmeriCup 2017 (you might remember it better as the FIBA Americas Championship) and the World Cup Qualifying games over the next two years.

“USA Basketball is excited and appreciative that coach Van Gundy is willing to undertake this challenge and help lead the United States in these competitions,” said Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball Men’s National Team managing director in a statement. “Qualifying for the 2019 FIBA World Cup is the first step in our attempt to repeat as gold medalist, and we’re delighted that we were able to secure a coach of Jeff’s caliber to lead these USA teams.”

Van Gundy may be the highest profile coach available, and he will get the instant respect of the D-League players on this team because of his standing. He’s a smart, high-level coach who can work with the talent given to play an up-tempo international style taking advantage of the USA’s general superior athleticism to its opponents. No, that’s not what Van Gundy’s NBA teams were known for, but he is certainly a coach capable of more than one style of play.

Yes, you read that last paragraph right, we’re sending D-Leaguers. Remember that FIBA — the body that oversees international basketball competitions — changed the timing of the qualifying for the 2019 Basketball World Cup from the summer to the fall and winter. Of course, those times fall during the NBA season, not to mention the seasons of other major leagues around the globe. This is not soccer where breaks are built into the season to allow international competitions — nor will it ever be — so the USA is sending a team of D-League players to those games, as well as the FIBA Americas tournament this year. Van Gundy will coach them.

Despite winning the last World Cup (and last Olympics), the USA has to qualify for the 2019 World Cup through the games in November and next February. Gregg Popovich will coach a team of NBA players in the 2019 World Cup in China. If the USA is one of the two best teams from the Americas in the World Cup — which it will be — that will qualify the USA for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Popovich will coach that as well (with likely much of the same roster from 2019).

Van Gundy will still have plenty of time to be an NBA broadcaster for ESPN/ABC. Could this be the first step to him returning to an NBA bench? That’s up to him, he’s had plenty of offers before, and he can get one if he wants.