Grind City Media’s Lang Whitaker and Kelcey Wright Johnson weigh in on the most pertinent news from around the NBA. What’s lit? What’s lame? Find out each week right here.
From: Lang Whitaker
Sent: Monday, September 7, 2020 9:52 AM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: IMHO
Kelc:
Happy Labor Day! And since today is a day celebrating those who have been putting in work, let’s start in our own backyard, with the newly-crowned Rookie of the Year, Ja Morant. Ja was a guy who was largely unheralded coming out of high school, but who played his way into the conversation of the best players in the world. And he did it by working harder than everyone else.
Let’s look ahead a little bit—we still don’t know when the 2020 NBA Draft is going to take place, but we know which players are in the conversation of those who could be a top pick in the draft. Who is your favorite to take the Rookie of the Year award in 2021?
From: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Sent: Monday, September 7, 2020 8:18 PM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO
What’s up, Lang? I hope you enjoyed the long weekend with your family!
This draft is so different than last year; it’s extremely guard heavy and there’s no clear-cut stars like last year with Zion and Ja. If I were to take a (very early) guess on Rookie of the Year for next year, I’d say either James Wiseman or Deni Avdija.
Wiseman, standing at 7’1″ with the athleticism of — dare I say it — Anthony Davis, he has the potential to dominate this draft class. He has high basketball IQ and his explosiveness makes him an incredible rim protector and inside scorer. With the guard-heavy draft this season, it could be the perfect class for Wise, who also has a 7’6″ wingspan. His measurements are completely insane for how agile he is on the court.
My dark horse prediction for ROTY next season is Isreal’s Avdija. I know a little bit less about him, but I have some of his highlights from the Under-20 European Championship, where he won MVP honors. And let me tell you; not only does this kid have unreal swag but he is a problem for defenses. The 6’9″ playmaking forward is dangerous in the open court in transition, and when he gets the hot hand, he can really shoot it well (the problem there is inconsistency). He does play off the ball really well, which is an important trait for a rookie forward and could work in his favor as he transitions to the NBA game. I don’t want to compare him to Luka, but I’m going to do anyway — he’s super smart, not the fastest, great scorer, tough defender.
I’m excited to see them both make their debuts! As I’m writing this, I just remembered that despite playing in Orlando Bol Bol is qualified for the Rookie of the Year award next year too. Do you think he could make a case for himself? What have you thought of his play in the bubble so far?
From: Lang Whitaker
Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2020 12:25 PM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: RE: IMHO
I do not, Kelcey. Bol Bol is clearly a special talent, with an unprecedented combination of size and speed and skill. But I don’t know how that translates over an 82-game season, or how the Nuggets utilize him in their system. Most of the time, a ROY is a starter who is logging heavy minutes. Denver is so stacked that even if he stays healthy, I’m not sure the minutes are there for Bol Bol. (FWIW, I’m going with LaMelo Ball as my ROY pick for next season. He’ll have the ball in his hands and he’ll likely play a ton for whoever drafts him. And if he ends up in NYC, he’ll get even more eyes on him.)
Meanwhile, it seems like Tyronn Lue is about to get hired at the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. Setting aside that the Sixers once stepped over him in the Finals (shoutout AI!), this seems like a great fit – T-Lue is used to dealing with a lot of personalities and egos and getting them to work together. With Steve Nash getting hired in Brooklyn and Tom Thibodeau in NYC, this leaves three open coaching gigs – New Orleans, Chicago and Indiana. Which coaches would you like to see get a shot with each of those teams, which are each in different stages of development?
From: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2020 3:52 PM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO
My pick for the Pelicans is Mark Jackson. Looking back and remembering what he did with a young Warriors team, I believe he could find success with another young team with a superstar in Zion.
I’d love to see Juwan Howard get a head coaching job with the Bulls for no other reason than bringing a Chicago guy back to Chicago for the resurgence of a legacy franchise would be so cool. He’s been an assistant for almost a decade now, so he will get a shot at a head coaching position soon and I think the Bulls would just be a great fit.
And then let’s bring in Stan Van Gundy for the Pacers. His half-court, hard-nose, grind-it-out style of play may be exactly what Victor Oladipo, TJ Warren and Myles Turner need to make a deeper playoff push in the East next season.
Now, I named a bunch of well-known coaches here that I think could be great fits to these teams but I can bet that you’ve got some names that are more under the radar for these coaching openings. Other than Juwan Howard, are there any other assistants that deserve a shot in the head coaching chair next season? Becky Hammon? Maurice Cheeks? Or possibly a coach from the G-League like Brian Shaw or Jama Mahlalela?
Let me know!
From: Lang Whitaker
Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 9:33 AM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: RE: IMHO
First of all, there’s another job to fill! In between us emailing last night, the Thunder and Billy Donovan decided to part ways, a conscious uncoupling that took most of the NBA by surprise. I really like all of your picks, although I do think Donovan would be a great fit in Indiana, where they have a bunch of low-ego, hard-working players who seem like they’d fit into Donovan’s system. Donovan is a pretty quiet dude who mostly deflects attention, but I’ve really appreciated his play calls through the years.
And before I throw out some names, here’s an idea to replace Donovan in OKC: Make Chris Paul the player-coach. As far as I can tell, the last player-coach in the NBA was Lenny Wilkens back in 1975. It’s a ton of work, sure, but I can’t think of a current NBA player better suited for this role than CP3.
OK, back to assistants, I keep hearing Ime Udoka’s name thrown around for the Bulls gig. I’m old enough to remember him as a player, but he’s spent a while around the Popovich coaching tree and seems primed to take that next step. Becky Hammon certainly deserves a shot somewhere, it’s just going to take the right organization willing to give her that chance. I’ve known Stephen Silas for almost two decades and he’s going to be a great head coach once he gets that permanent position somewhere. Mike Budenholzer has had a few assistants get tabbed for head coaching gigs (Taylor Jenkins, Kenny Atkinson), and I’d love for Darvin Ham to be the next Coach Bud assistant hired for a top spot somewhere. I’m also rooting for Nate Bjorkgren, who is on Nick Nurse’s staff in Toronto and once let me shadow him for a weekend for an NBA TV piece back when he was a G-League head coach.