Tim Bontemps: The incentives in Domantas Sabonis’ extension with the Pacers are $2.6 million each year — which are split evenly for him being named an All-Star or to an All-NBA team in each year of the four-year deal, league sources told ESPN.
Storyline: Domantas Sabonis Extension
10 rumors in this storyline
More Rumors in this Storyline
“I’m very excited to remain with the Pacers, this is where I wanted to be,” said Sabonis. “I appreciate the organization showing their confidence in me; and I’m ready to be part of what’s going to be a great year for our team.”
Scott Agness: Pacers pres. Kevin Pritchard: “We love the toughness that Domantas brings to our team, and we can’t wait to see him play in his expanded role this year. He’s had so much growth in his career; and we’re excited for what that means for his future, as well as the future of our team”
Domantas Sabonis and Pacers get extension finalized
Shams Charania: Indiana Pacers center Domantas Sabonis has agreed to a four-year, $79.4M contract extension, league sources tell @The Athletic @Stadium.
Shams Charania: Clarification: Domantas Sabonis-Pacers deal is $74.9M. Pacers made it a priority to keep Sabonis — and got it done.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Domantas Sabonis has a chance to make as much as $85M with bonuses in deal, agent Greg Lawrence tells ESPN.
Nathan Brown: McMillan when asked about yesterday’s reports about Sabonis possibly being on the trade block and where the team may be on an extension: “I don’t talk about contracts.” Is that something you have to talk about with Domas? “I don’t talk about contracts.”
Donatas Urbonas: Domantas Sabonis told he expects to sign an extension with Indiana Pacers this offseason, but he remains patient: „Like my dad said: “You did your job. You did your best and now you just have to wait”. Now I can’t do anything. I just need to be patient and wait.“
January 20, 2020 | 12:46 pm UTC Update
Robert Covington not worried about trade rumors
So how is Covington dealing with the trade chatter? “I’m not even focused on that,” Covington said recently. “My main focus is this team and what I do every day. I’m not going to get caught up in rumors or hype or whatnot. I’m a Minnesota Timberwolf. That’s all my focus is.”
One player Saunders isn’t concerned with when it comes to handling speculation is Covington. “He’s a professional in terms of the way he approaches this game,” Saunders said. “His commitment to us and what we’re doing on a nightly basis has been a great example to our young guys especially. Cov is somebody I never worry about.”
Doug McDermott after the @Pacers ‘ win over the #Nuggets: “People don’t give us a lot of respect, and we like that. It’s just motivation for us. We feel like we’re one of the better teams in the East and we can play anyone, so we’re going to continue to play hard.” #Pacers
“Thankful, most of all,” Carter says of the treatment. “And I say that because I was an opponent for 22 years for most of these teams and obviously these are great organizations that are class acts and for them to do that is great. “I just enjoy playing the game regardless of being an opponent of these different organizations … regardless, it’s a brotherhood, it’s a small community and it makes for an emotional roller coaster.”
And he will hearken back to those glory days of the early 2000s and that special night in Oakland he got to witness in person. “I tell you what, I was thankful that I was able to be there and see those guys win. I remember sitting next to Tracy (McGrady) and thinking, ‘Do you believe what’s about to happen?’ There was like two minutes left, and it was like, ‘Dude, this is unreal.’
Bradley joined forces with James when he signed with the Lakers in July, but his appreciation for Boston has not wavered over the years. He still considers himself “a bit of a Bostonian” and remains close friends with people from the city, such as Dorchester-native and rapper Cousin Stizz.
“It’s different, but I prefer my people on the East Coast,” Bradley said. “Some people might be offended by that, but I mean, especially knowing I’m from the West Coast. I don’t know if it’s because it’s home for me or what, but I just feel like people are real good friends. That’s all it is. I could go years without talking to someone in Boston but [when] I see them, it’s a real friendship. People are honest, that’s the culture. East Coast, but specifically Boston. People are just good people.”
New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is officially listed as doubtful for Monday’s contest against the Memphis Grizzlies. The team announced the change in the injury report on Sunday evening, but don’t read too much into it. Williamson is still expected to make his NBA debut on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs.
Even if he does decide to play, he may make his signal behind the scenes in the coming weeks and let the world know when he arrives at training camp. For now, Wiggins is keeping his cards close to his chest. “I’m not sure [about the summer],” he said Saturday after recording his first career triple-double in a Timberwolves loss to the Toronto Raptors. “Right now my team is struggling a little bit [they were five games out of the 8th seed in the West as of Sunday] so we have to get back and try to get in a playoff run. That’s my main goal right now. And after that I’m going to decide on Canada Basketball.”
Rob Perez: huge assist here from Becky Hammond…she convinces Pop to challenge Jimmy Butler’s AND 1 continuation in tight game with one minute to play. Pop originally says no, then says yes. Spurs win challenge, points taken off board, and eventually win game.
January 20, 2020 | 1:29 am UTC Update
Scott Agness: Jeremy Lamb tested his bruised left hip and will play tonight in Denver, where the Pacers haven’t won since 2007. pic.twitter.com/aP9Ro5nkSD
Greg Logan: Garrett Temple & Joe Harris are off injury report for #Nets against 76ers, but Wilson Chandler is out: Chandler (left hamstring tightness) – OUT, Jordan (right middle finger dislocation) – OUT.
January 19, 2020 | 10:33 pm UTC Update
Paul Garcia: The Spurs defeat the Heat and improve to 18-23 this season, 12-10 at home, 7-12 against .500 and above teams, and 9-10 against the East. The Spurs have wins against the Top-4 teams out East now pic.twitter.com/rHBKJ1irYt
Fred Katz: Lots of status updates from Scott Brooks today about John Wall, who played “controlled” 4-on-4 with teammates for the first time. Brooks says he still doesn’t know if Wall will play this year. All the quotes and info below: pic.twitter.com/VVN0EBpsDo
Fred Katz: More Brooks on Wall: “That guy is as competitive as I’ve seen an NBA player be, and it was taken away from him. Think about it. It’s 40 games. Last year, 50 games. This year, 41 so far — maybe 82. That’s not easy.” The rest of this is good stuff from Brooks: pic.twitter.com/XhWHQvVwES
Chris Forsberg: Celtics list Jaylen and Kemba as questionable for Monday vs Lakers.
January 19, 2020 | 10:08 pm UTC Update
Serena Winters: Al Horford is questionable for #Sixers #Nets with a left hand sprain.
Sarah K. Spencer: Hawks injury report: Alex Len (low back pain) is doubtful. Jabari Parker (right shoulder impingement) is out. Chandler Parsons (concussion/whiplash) is out.
January 19, 2020 | 9:19 pm UTC Update
And now here we are, with the Sixers charging headlong toward the playoffs, ready to make good on what head coach Brett Brown has proclaimed is a championship-caliber team. This is new territory for Brown, who was hired as coach seven years ago, just when the team embarked on an epic intentional collapse — dubbed “The Process” — in order to position itself near the head of the worst-goes-first line in the drafting of the best college players. The team set records for losing over four years, and Brown, all along, stood behind this method, often talking about his players as if helping them become men might be his real job. Was Nerlens Noel, a center the team drafted in the early days of the Process, engaged in timeouts? Was he helping teammates off the floor? How was he comporting himself on planes when the team went on the road? At the end of 2014, when Embiid was proving to be high-maintenance as he rehabbed a broken foot, Brown said this: “Joel Embiid has a good heart. At the end of the day, he has a good heart. I don’t throw that sentence out lightly. That needs to be the criteria of everybody in here.”
Meanwhile, Brown’s approach hasn’t changed. He talks up his best players, never criticizing them publicly. And to this point, it’s worked, obviously: Embiid and Simmons, 25 and 23 years old, are All Stars. But they still have a big piece of themselves to overcome, or to unlock. They still need to grow up. Which gives Brown, who started out in Philly with all the room in the world, a dilemma: Suddenly, he has very little time. Sixers owner Josh Harris has a history of listening to the noise of fans and media, plenty of whom think the team’s head coach should stop babying his two stars and force-feed their growth, given that they’re being paid tens of millions a year and we’re so close to that championship.
IT MIGHT SEEM, then, a bit strange that Brett Brown talks a lot about toughness as central to what he’s all about, though it’s not by accident. “Philly tough, Philly strong” was the banner phrase of an early-season team promo featuring the coach’s voice. Talking toughness is a part of getting his team to play in a certain style, but for Brown, it’s also been a natural way of connecting to the city, of molding a certain persona. “You become a spokesperson and mouthpiece of the owners and players,” Brown says. “I am quite calculated on what I want to talk about.” It helps his standing here, too.
But Brown, who’s 58, does come by toughness, in his own way, naturally. He grew up in seaside Maine towns where his father coached basketball. His father’s father made a living taking wealthy businessmen from New York and Boston and Montreal to fish or hunt moose and bear in Northern Maine. And his father — Brett’s great-grandfather — had a job as a railroad switchman, changing the tracks to direct trains either to Quebec or Montreal. “He had to shovel snow off the tracks and remove dead animals, too,” Brown says. “Which could be anything.”
Tania Ganguli: The Lakers are listing Anthony Davis as questionable for tomorrow’s game in Boston. Although Frank Vogel had indicated Davis might work out this morning before the team flew, the Lakers say that didn’t happen.
January 19, 2020 | 7:24 pm UTC Update
Tim Reynolds: Tyler Herro will play today, Heat announce.
January 19, 2020 | 6:26 pm UTC Update
Andy Larsen: Royce O’Neale signing now official. Statement quotes below. We’re also about to talk to Dennis Lindsey/Justin Zanik/David Morway at ZBBC. pic.twitter.com/dU55N4tHfu
Royce O’Neale: Jazzzzzzz Nation @Utah Jazz Let’s get it 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 #Blessings pic.twitter.com/4ieoXYwqfR
Joe Ingles: Big money @Royce O’Neale!!! Dinner on youuuuuuuu!!! 💰💰💰 Congrats brother ❤️
The question is not if Stephen Curry is coming back this season, but when. And, from what I’ve been told, you might want to clear your schedule for March 1. The Warriors host the Washington Wizards that night. That’s not set in stone, of course. More like a target date. But expect a return by the face of the franchise before next season.
Curry already looks ready to play in his post-practice sessions. Judging by his shooting, his broken left hand looks healed. He is no longer wearing the brace. But he hasn’t played since Oct. 30. Saturday was his 40th game missed since the injury. By the All-Star break, Curry will have missed 51 games — the most he’s missed in a season since he missed 40 games in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season when he severely sprained his right ankle.
Last week, I passed along how the Pacers were informed that Domantas Sabonis could not hurt his left knee anymore but would have to play through pain in the meantime. Many were upset with that strategy and wanted to see Sabonis take it easy. We’ve seen other guys play through injuries, and it often leads to something else, sometimes something worse. So I went to Sabonis to get the full story. Many players hate discussing injuries; they’d rather talk about almost anything else. Sabonis, though, opened up and shared what he had learned.
“I’ve been told it’s a bone bruise, so there’s swelling in the bone that all doctors say it can’t get worse unless you get hit in that same spot,” he said. Sabonis was evaluated by the team doctor, and then his representatives also had him checked out by two additional specialists, which is normal. And all three doctors were in agreement: It’s simply a bone bruise and he’s not subject to additional risk by continuing to play on it.
“It’s the same thing if I get hit in my healthy knee,” Sabonis said, pointing to his right knee. “There’s the same chance. It’s not a muscle or anything, so by doing more stuff, you can’t technically get it worse.” Sabonis tried the rest thing. He strategically didn’t do much on it for three days. He didn’t practice before their game in Chicago on Jan. 10 and didn’t play in the game, and the team had the following day off. “Not even ice helps it,” he said. “You can’t really put anything on it. It just has to heal.”
January 19, 2020 | 5:27 pm UTC Update
Jazz extend Royce O'Neale
Utah Jazz forward Royce O’Neale has agreed to a four-year, $36 million contract extension, agents Ty Sullivan and Steven Heumann of CAA Sports told ESPN. O’Neale plans to sign the deal on Sunday, the agents said. Although he could’ve become a restricted free agent this summer, O’Neale and his reps negotiated a long-term deal that keeps him with the franchise that signed him out of Europe in 2017.
Tony Jones: The Utah Jazz and Royce O’Neale have agreed to a four year $36 million extension, league sources tell myself and @Shams Charania
Most notably, the Blazers are now in position to consummate a Hassan Whiteside trade that gets them all the way under. For example, a team needing a big could send Portland $22M in expiring contracts and take back Whiteside and one of Mario Hezonja or Gabriel; that would allow the Blazers to limbo under the tax line.
For what it’s worth, the Rockets weren’t depressed following the loss — not like Westbrook would ever let it get to that point. “Nobody put their head down in here,” Westbrook said. “If I see it, I’ll go grab it myself and put their head up. It’s no reason to put your head down. We’re all blessed to have an amazing job, to be able to support our families and to go out and play basketball — something that we all love to do. There’s no reason you should ever walk out of here with your head down. I’m obviously disappointed [with] the loss, but we got bigger things in life that’s bigger than a basketball game.”
When are you going to convince Kobe Bryant to give the league a shot? Ice Cube: I’ve asked him, and he said he was done. I believe him. I’m not going to harass the man; if he’s done, I don’t want him in the Big3. I only want you in the Big3 if you still got that chip on your shoulder; if you still want to play and show people that you’re the best.
