Category: Gators in NBA

Here’s where Tre Mann lands in ESPN’s latest NBA mock draft

The latest mock draft from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony shows Tre Mann falling out of the lottery to the Hawks with the 19th pick.

Former Florida guard Tre Mann has seen his stock improve tremendously since he almost single-handedly led the Gators through the postseason. The team got knocked out in the second round, but Mann averaged 21.3 points per game in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments, improving upon his already impressive season average of 16.

Unsurprisingly, Mann made the decision to enter the NBA draft with an agent after the season, forfeiting his remaining college eligibility with the Gators in the process. He’s expected to end a drought of Florida players being drafted into the NBA that dates back to 2013. He’s also very likely to be the first UF first-round pick since Bradley Beal went third overall in 2012.

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But where exactly will Mann land? There’s not exactly a clear consensus. Some mock drafts show the former five-star recruit from The Villages landing near the tail end of the lottery, while others show him falling deeper into the first round. The only consistency is that most prognosticators don’t expect Mann to fall beyond the first 30 picks.

The draft order is far from set, as the NBA playoff field was only finalized with Golden State’s loss to Memphis on Friday night in the eight-seed play-in game. We now know which teams will be in the lottery, but that’s about it. But based on current projections, the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony shows Mann falling out of the lottery to the Atlanta Hawks with the 19th pick.

Finding a combo guard who can play on or off the ball and complement star point guard Trae Young could very well be a priority for the Hawks. Mann is a promising pick-and-roll ball handler whose size and 40% 3-point shooting will allow him to play in a variety of lineup configurations.

This would be an interesting spot for Mann. As Givony mentions, the Hawks already have one of the best up-and-coming guards in Trae Young, who (as his name suggests) is only 22. Young primarily runs the point, and successfully, at that. He’s averaging over 25 points per game in 2020-21 and led the Hawks to a No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Adding Mann to the equation would give Atlanta quite a formidable backcourt, but it would be interesting to see how he and Young would coexist considering they’re both facilitators.

NEXT: Were any other Gators mentioned?

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Two-time Gators national champion Joakim Noah to retire from NBA

Joakim Noah, whose game helped usher in the era of versatility for big men in today’s NBA, is “effectively” retiring from basketball.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by USA TODAY Sports and has been republished in its entirety below. 

Joakim Noah, whose game helped usher in the era of versatility for big men in today’s NBA, is “effectively” retiring from basketball, The Athletic reported Monday.

Noah, who turned 36 last week, spent the first nine nine seasons of his career with the Chicago Bulls and it is expected he will retire as a member of the organization, according to The Athletic. He was a two-time All-Star and won Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2014.

Chicago drafted Noah ninth overall in the 2007 draft out of the University of Florida. With the Bulls, he first served as a complement to Derrick Rose, but became more of a focal point under coach Tom Thibodeau after Rose injured his knee and never returned to MVP form.

The 6-foot-11 center could score down low, step outside the paint for jumpers, distribute the ball to teammates for scoring opportunities and protect the rim on the defense. His first All-Star campaign arrived in 2012-13, when he averaged 11.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and four assists. The next season, he went for 12.6-11.3-5.4 and finished fourth in MVP voting.

Noah will also be remembered for being a foil to LeBron James, starting with James’ first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010, as the two exchanged words during free throws. Noah then famously disparaged the city of Cleveland. Their feud lasted through the 2015 playoffs, when James was called for a technical after dunking on Noah and they confronted each other once more.

After the 2015-16 season, in which he started two games, Noah signed a four-year contract with his hometown New York Knicks. He eventually was assigned to the G-League before being waived in October 2018. He played the rest of that season with the Memphis Grizzlies

Last year, Noah joined the Los Angeles Clippers for one game prior to the NBA suspending its season due to the coronavirus. He appeared in five games in the bubble and appeared in two games (1:52 total playing time) during the postseason.

He was waived by the Clippers on Dec. 1.

Noah’s professional career followed back-to-back national championships with the Florida Gators men’s basketball team.

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Former Gator Bradley Beal selected as a 2021 All-Star Game starter

The Washington Wizards guard is averaging career-highs in both points and rebounds after a torrid first half of the 2021 NBA schedule.

Former Gators guard Bradley Beal was named a member of the NBA All-Star team for the third time in his career. The 27-year-old, who has been with the Washington Wizards since they selected him third overall after his freshman season at Florida in 2012, has been chosen as one of the game’s starters.

Beal is off to a strong start as we approach the halfway mark of the season. He’s averaging career highs in points per game (32.8) and rebounds per game (5.2). He’s also facilitating well, averaging 4.7 assists.

On Jan. 6, Beal scored a career-high 60 points in a loss to the 76ers, tying Gilbert Arenas’ franchise record for points scored in a single game.

Beal has been one of the lone bright spots on a struggling Wizards team. Despite his play this season, Washington has just a 7-17 record through the first 24 games.

Many thought he was snubbed from the game last season, but now he will have the opportunity to start in it for the first time in his career.

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Wizards struggle despite Bradley Beal’s explosive offense. Will they trade their star?

Beal earned some unwanted infamy on Wednesday when he dropped 47 points on the New Orleans Pelicans in a losing effort.

Former Florida Gators standout Bradley Beal has absolutely been on fire so far this season for the Washington Wizards as he currently leads the NBA in points per game with an eye-popping 34.7 — almost four full points more than second-place Kevin Durant’s 30.4 per.

However, all is not well in the capital city as the Wiz has limped to a 3-12 start despite Beal’s savage scoring output.

In fact, Beal earned some unwanted infamy on Wednesday night when he dropped 47 points on the New Orleans Pelicans in a losing effort. With that defeat, the “Big Panda” became the first player in league history to lose 10-straight games while scoring at least 40 points. Ouch.

So it should hardly come as a surprise that a shining star on a struggling team would garner some trade interest, especially if Beal can provide the final piece to the puzzle for a franchise with young talent to swap. But that does not quite seem to be in the cards just yet, as Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Washington is not looking to deal its marquee player… yet.

Here is Wojnarowski’s breakdown of the Beal deal:

Right now, Bradley’s focus with the Wizards is just on trying to get this season turned around, and trying to get this team on track. Beal when he signed that extension, adding on a couple years to his deal — remember he’s under contract next season, 2021-22, has a player option for 2022-23 — he knew that there was going to be a period that they needed to see growth.

He wanted to see where the Wizards could go as an organization: John Wall was coming back, they brought in Rui Hachimura, Thomas Bryant, that was a significant injury losing him for the season. This wasn’t the team they envisioned going into the year. The one thing with Beal and the relationship he’s had with that organization is he’s not impetuous with what’s going on. He has been extremely loyal. I think people were surprised when he decided to do that extension given where the team was.

Now, the trade deadline is March 25, that’s less than two months away. You talk to other teams who are all over the league monitoring the Beal situation closely and looking for any inkling to think that he might be coming available. And teams will typically know before anybody else does, before we even report it, that there’s an opening there. And none of them sense that now.

Things change, but right now he’s trying to get this team back on track. But there’s no question that his future, his long-term future, is very uncertain there.

There is absolutely no question that Beal’s future is very uncertain, but much of his destiny lies in how well — and how soon — the Wizards organization can get its product on the court to a higher level. Frankly, it would not be terribly surprising if he is shipped off before the March 25 trade deadline.

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Is former Gator Bradley Beal on the NBA trading block?

CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn sees the nine-year veteran as the premier talent currently available on the NBA trade market.

Despite the successes of the Billy Donovan era in Gainesville, Florida basketball does not have much in the way of representation currently in the National Basketball Association, as only five players are signed to active contracts and only four of those have actually played in a game. However, there is one former Gator who has been making big waves in the league these past few years and he is currently at the top of the trade talk discussion.

Washington Wizards star guard Bradley Beal, a one-and-doner in Gainesville who dropped a career-high 60 points last week, is the primary focus of CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn, who sees the nine-year veteran as the premier talent currently available on the trade market. Here is what he had to say about the Wizards’ prolific scorer.

1. Bradley Beal

Beal is the obvious name here. The Wizards are 3-8 and have missed the past two postseasons. He has openly complained about his team’s defense and how it continually manages to waste his best individual games. His contract lasts only through the 2021-22 season, and after giving up a first-round to acquire Russell Westbrook, the Wizards are incentivized to get as much back for Beal as possible to help ensure a smooth rebuild. Nothing they’ve said or done to this point indicates a willingness to deal their star shooting guard, but history says that if the Wizards don’t turn things around soon, Beal will force the issue. This much, we can safely assume.

What is more open to speculation, though, is what impact Beal’s potential availability had on the Harden sweepstakes. Brooklyn paid a premium for Harden, and justifiably so. He is a better player than Beal, but he’s five years older and much more difficult to fit within a typical contending roster. Offenses need to be constructed around Harden. Beal can fit within any offensive construction.

Philadelphia was willing to give up Ben Simmons in a deal for Harden, but haggled over Tyrese Maxey, according to The New York Times’ Marc Stein. Miami bowed out early in the process according to multiple reports, but they have reportedly coveted Beal for quite some time. Both teams have star big men in their 20s. Might they prefer to pair those big men with the 26-year-old Beal to the 31-year-old Harden?

We won’t know for certain until Beal becomes available. For now, what we can say is that reports throughout the process suggested that Houston was not interested in Brooklyn’s offer for Harden. That they eventually took it likely means that other teams with preferable packages just didn’t offer what the Rockets expected them to. Beal is the simplest answer as to why. Multiple teams kept their powder dry in the Harden sweepstakes, and without an obvious follower to Beal on the star market, it’s almost impossible to deny his impact on the Harden deal.

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Billy Donovan hired to be the next coach of the Chicago Bulls

Donovan left UF after 19 years for the Thunder job in 2015 and in 5 seasons in OKC he led them to 5-straight NBA playoff appearances.

Former Gators and Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan, who won back-to-back national titles while at Florida, has accepted the head coaching position with the Chicago Bulls, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday night.

Donovan left Florida after 19 years for the Thunder job in 2015, and in five seasons in Oklahoma City, he led them to five-straight NBA playoff appearances.

But the franchise was looking for a change after a disappointing first-round exit in the 2020 playoffs, and it chose not to renew Donovan’s contract.

Donovan was reportedly the Bulls top target, and they “aggressively pursued” his coaching services.

On Aug. 14, the Bulls dismissed coach Jim Boylen after he achieved just a 39-84 record in two seasons. Chicago hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2016-17 season, and it has won less than 30 games in each of the three seasons since.

The Bulls have a young roster, and they believe Donovan, who has a strong track record at the college level and a 243-157 record in the professional ranks, is the one to lead one of the NBA’s most prolific franchises back to its glory days.

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Former Gators coach Billy Donovan parts ways with Oklahoma City Thunder

Billy Donovan who won back-to-back national championships as the head coach at UF will no longer be the coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Billy Donovan, who won back-to-back national championships as the head basketball coach at the University of Florida, will no longer be the coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder moving forward.

Donovan’s contract expired after the Thunder were eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Houston Rockets in Game 7, and both parties mutually agreed not to pursue an extension, making Donovan a coaching free agent. The news was first reported by ESPN Senior Basketball Insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

“This place will always be special to us. I will always hold this organization in the highest regard and wish the Thunder and their fans the success they deserve,” Donovan said in a statement.

Donovan left Gainesville for the NBA in 2015 after 19 years at the helm of the Florida program. Donovan had originally decided to leave the Gators in 2007 for the Orlando Magic’s head coaching position after winning his second national title, but he decided to return before coaching a game and accepted a five-year show-cause in the NBA, which prevented him from taking another professional job until 2012.

He got off to a fast start in Oklahoma City, leading the Thunder to the Western Conference Finals in Year 1. They were one game away from the NBA finals, but couldn’t hang on to a 3-1 lead against the Golden State Warriors, eventually losing the series in seven games.

In the four seasons that followed, Donovan’s team couldn’t get past the first round of the playoffs. Though he finishes his OKC tenure with a solid 243-157 record, his record in the playoffs is just 18-23.

Thunder general manager and executive vice president Sam Presti gave this statement on the decision to make a change.

“We had planned to sit down at the end of the season and discuss the best way to move forward for both of us,” Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. “After those discussions, it became apparent that we couldn’t provide him the information on the future direction of the team over the next several seasons to give him the level of clarity that he understandably desires at this stage of his career.

“Therefore, we close this chapter and reflect fondly on all that he has given to the team, organization and community. Billy will always have a place in the Thunder family.”

If Donovan decided to end the professional experiment and return to the collegiate level, he would likely have his choice of high-profile availabilities. However, there are still a number of open NBA coaching positions that Donovan, who never missed the playoffs with Oklahoma City despite losing superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, will likely be considered for, such as openings in Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Indiana.

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Injured Beal won’t participate in NBA restart, Wizards announce

After consulting with team doctors, Beal, who suffered a torn rotator cuff injury, agreed with the team to miss the remainder of the season.

Former Florida and current Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal won’t be joining his team in Orlando when the 2019-20 NBA season restarts later this month. After consulting with team doctors, Beal, who suffered a torn rotator cuff injury, agreed with the team to miss the remainder of the season.

Beal said the decision was made with his longterm health in mind.

“This was a difficult decision and one that I did not take lightly as the leader of this team,” said Beal. “I wanted to help my teammates compete for a playoff spot in Orlando, but also understand that this will be best for all of us in the long term. I appreciate the support of my teammates, the fans and the entire organization and look forward to returning next season to continue the progress we have made.”

He originally injured his shoulder earlier in the season, and his symptoms worsened during the hiatus. He was rehabilitating with the intention of returning, but he will instead continue rehabilitation throughout the summer.

General Manager Tommy Sheppard said the decision was mutual between Beal and the team.

“Bradley did everything possible to be ready to play, but after closely monitoring his individual workouts we came to the conclusion that it was best for him to sit out the upcoming games in Orlando and avoid the risk of further injury,” said Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard. “Although he was able to play through the majority of the season with the injury, the layoff from March until now did not leave any of us feeling comfortable that he would have enough time to be ready to perform at the extremely high level we are all accustomed to seeing and agreed that not participating in the games in Orlando was the right decision.”

When the season hiatus began on March 12, Beal was averaging 30.5 points and 6.1 assists. One of the 22 teams selected for the restart, the Wizards are currently 24-40 and hold the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference. Starting on the outside looking in, Washington will vie for a playoff spot during the seeding rounds, though it will have to do it without the NBA’s second-leading scorer in Beal.