Some free agency and summer league talk (plus numbers galore) in this Tuesday check-in from Las Vegas
We're on the ground at summer league for a few days trying to fill up the notebook
LAS VEGAS — Confession Time from Sin City:
My time at the NBA's annual Las Vegas Summer League is short this year and this particular Newsletter Tuesday is going to be a busy one.
So ...
This edition of the Tuesday Newsletter Extravaganza will wind up as a somewhat abbreviated version compared to the usual compilation so I can maximize my reporting time on the ground. Yet I suspect that will ultimately be good news for our community. The more I can stuff into my notebook now will lead to more quality reading later.
In the interim ...
I asked my tireless pal
My last two pieces on Markkanen:
And one on Ingram:
And Keith's list of available free agents:
POINT GUARDS
Tyus Jones
Markelle Fultz
Spencer Dinwiddie
Dennis Smith Jr.
Patty Mills
SHOOTING GUARDS
Luke Kennard
Lonnie Walker IV
Evan Fournier
Justin Holiday
Talen Horton-Tucker
SMALL FORWARDS
Isaac Okoro (Restricted)
Gordon Hayward
Doug McDermott
Cedi Osman
Oshae Brissett
POWER FORWARDS
Precious Achiuwa
Jae Crowder
Davis Bertans
Marcus Morris Sr.
Dominick Barlow
CENTERS
Chimezie Metu
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Bismack Biyombo
Tristan Thompson
Charles Bassey
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Buzelis vs. Holland
Among the highlights of our recent podcast conversation with Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis that I failed to highlight previously: Buzelis had lots to say to Chris Haynes and me on the latest #thisleague UNCUT about the reasons he believes that the NBA decided to scrap its G League Ignite program. Buzelis, of course, chose to play on the final edition of the Ignite rather than college before being selected No. 11 overall by Chicago in the June 26 draft.
Also: Buzelis spoke with excitement about the prospect of squaring off here in Vegas against his former Ignite teammate and close pal Ron Holland. That matchup is scheduled to materialize later Tuesday with the Bulls and the Pistons — who took Holland at No. 5 in last month's draft after they were widely expected to select Buzelis with that select — meeting at 6:30 PM ET on NBA TV.
"We're going to go at it — I already know what it's going to be like," Buzelis told us. "Honestly the media is going to think that we hate each other."
The full (and fun) convo with Buzelis, who scored 28 points in a recent summer league loss to Golden State, is enclosed here ... with highlights of his scoring outburst right below it:
Numbers Game
🏀 39.3
Gary Trent Jr. awoke Tuesday as the standout name on the list of available free agents posted above alongside Tyus Jones … but by lunchtime in the desert had a one-year deal with Milwaukee. Trent shot 39.3% from 3-point range last season in Toronto.
🏀 5
Can't let go of my Paul Skenes FOMO and will be determined to briefly abandon reporting this afternoon to sneak into the nearest sportsbook when he's on the mound. Pittsburgh's flamethrower from El Toro High will become just the fifth rookie pitcher to start Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, joining Hideo Nomo (1995), Fernando Valenzuela (1981), Mark Fidrych (1976) and Dave Stenhouse (1962).
🏀 1962
Must confess two things that are painful to admit for someone who really should know this history: I somehow didn't remember Stenhouse — or the fact that Major League Baseball staged two All-Star Games per season from 1959 to 1962 to try to generate extra revenue for the players' pension fund — until the above list started to circulate. The rookie rise of both Fidrych and Valenzuela, by contrast, were huge parts of my childhood.
🏀 68
Kawhi Leonard's 68 games last season represented his highest regular season total since appearing in 74 games for San Antonio in 2016-17. But it was announced last week that Leonard, who was assigned to wear No. 8 on the United States' Olympic team this summer, is not going to Paris now. Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank addressed Leonard's situation, losing Paul George in free agency, Russell Westbrook's future elsewhere and several other pertinent topics in this Monday session with reporters who cover the team (video published by The Athletic's Law Murray):
🏀 2020
There is no getting around the fact that Leonard — who was removed from Olympic team as he continues to recover from the right knee woes that limited him to just two games in the Clippers' first-round playoff loss to Dallas — has not finished a season healthy since the Walt Disney World bubble in 2020.
🏀 4
Leonard, who turned 33 in June, has appeared in just four playoff games for the Clippers over the past two seasons. He missed the entire 2021-22 season after sustaining a torn right ACL during the Clippers' second-round victory over Utah in 2021.
🏀 33
It's still amazing to think that Jalen Brunson was the fourth and last Villanova player selected in the 2018 NBA Draft. Mikal Bridges went No. 10 overall, followed by Donte DiVicenzo at No. 17 and Omari Spellman at No. 30, before Dallas drafted Brunson at No. 33.
🏀 34
My longtime colleague J.A. Adande couldn't wait to direct my attention to some undeniable echoes of the Buffalo Braves' color scheme in this new Giannis Antetokounmpo No. 34 Greece national team jersey.
🏀 17
DeMar DeRozan turns 35 on Aug. 7 but don't forget this about the newest Sacramento King: He missed only 17 regular-season games in his three seasons in Chicago.
🏀 2
Twice in three seasons as a Bull, DeRozan also earned All-Star status.
🏀 1,088
DeRozan (550) and new teammate De’Aaron Fox (538) were last season’s top two scorers in the fourth quarter based on total points according to StatMuse.
🏀 2032
San Antonio's willingness to acquire Harrison Barnes in the sign-and-trade transaction that sent DeRozan from Chicago to Sacramento landed the Spurs an unprotected pick swap with the Kings in 2032. The Spurs, remember, had already acquired an unprotected 2030 pick swap from Dallas for facilitating the Grant Williams sign-and-trade from Boston to Dallas last summer and also acquired a top-one-protected 2030 pick swap with Minnesota (in addition to an unprotected 2031 first-round pick) for the draft rights to No. 8 selection Rob Dillingham.
🏀 100
Somehow I didn't know until this year that July Fourth is not only Independence Day in the United States but regarded as the birthdate of the Caesar salad ... which was said to be served for the first time 100 years ago (July 4, 1924) at a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, known as Caesar's Place. Impossible to count: How many Caesar salads I've consumed in my lifetime.
Ty Jones being on the market still is baffling to me. Good work as always sir!
hey marc what do you think about Toronto and the direction of the team?