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It was a typically crowded Sunday at the popular Montclair Egg Shop in Oakland on June 30. David Kelly, the Warriors’ general counsel and resident salary capologist, was having breakfast with his wife and three children. He ordered the Ed’s Welsh Scramble — eggs with mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, potatoes and cheddar cheese — and was just chilling while they all waited for their food.
And then he got a call from Bob Myers, the Warriors president of basketball operations, some three hours before free agency actually began. Everything had to stop. Kevin Durant was officially gone. The 2019 free agency madness for the Warriors had begun in earnest.
“I looked at my wife,” Kelly recalled, “and said, ‘I need you to bring my food.’ And then I walked home. My wife knows. It’s not all year, it’s just this time of year. I literally was like, ‘I’ve got to go.’ I told the waiter I had to go and to pack up my food. And I left.”
For Kelly, this walk home was exciting. He’d spent months preparing for this, mapping out as many scenarios as possible. Of course, other movement around the league keeps the options fluid, which requires real-time tracking. But it was now “go time” for the Warriors. The future success of the franchise was on the line, hinging on the moves they made next.
With the dust now settled, hindsight reveals this as the most important and most frenetic free-agent period for the Warriors since 2013, when they pitched Dwight Howard and acquired Andre Iguodala. The work it took to get Iguodala — which required clearing cap space by finding trade partners — will always hold a special place in the heart of the Myers regime because it was their first crazy free agency. Kelly was new and still learning how it works.
But 2019 registers high on the list of craziest summers. The Warriors changed over most of the roster, acquiring eight new players. They transitioned from a grizzled championship staple to a young aspiring contender. And it all required a meticulousness that is Kelly’s specialty.
Losing Durant, especially with Klay Thompson being sidelined by a torn ACL, left the Warriors without two starters. DeMarcus Cousins wasn’t expected to come back and Andrew Bogut was returning to Australia, so really the Warriors were down three starters. Replacing those players, alone, wasn’t the most difficult part. Nor was revamping the rotation. It was navigating the intricacies of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and doing it all under the pressure of a ticking clock. Myers was basically Jack Bauer and Kelly was the head of CTU.
“I know there was a lot of speculation about what Kevin was doing,” Myers said last week. “But I wasn’t aware of any finality until I saw him and talked to him. So we, from that point on, explored some pretty immediate possibilities. … The rapidity of free agency, I’ve never seen it go so fast. Ever. I’ve been on the agent side about 13, 14 years and I don’t know how many, eight or something, on this side. Never in my life have I seen things move as fast as they did that first evening, whether it was our business or anybody’s business. So we were forced to act, act quickly. The whole league was moving at a very, very fast pace. So we didn’t have a lot of time.”
The Warriors had reportedly already gotten word from Thompson that he was staying, eliminating a chunk of scenarios Kelly had devised. Once Myers got the official word from Durant he was leaving for the Brooklyn Nets, the options were narrowed even more. At that point, the Warriors shifted to Operation D’Angelo Russell.
The Warriors had circled Russell as an option months earlier when mapping out the possible scenarios. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was reporting Kyrie Irving to the Nets as early as the evening of June 29, which signaled to the Warriors that acquiring Russell — whose wanted a max contract that Brooklyn instead gave to Irving — was a possibility.
Side note: Yes, the Warriors liked Russell. Technically, the CBA allowed for the Warriors to trade Durant to Brooklyn, get no player in return and instead receive a $30 million traded player exception (the TPE in sign-and-trades is for the previous season’s salary, not the new one). That scenario would have also avoided a hard cap. But that would’ve required: a) Brooklyn agreeing to the sign-and-trade without getting a draft pick; or b) the Warriors giving up a first-round pick in exchange for a traded player exception. This was an easy call for the Warriors, who like Russell as a player. But making it a no-brainer was the difficulty of using traded player exceptions. Since they can’t be combined with players or draft picks, they’re difficult to use to acquire quality players, certainly unlikely to get an All-Star in his early 20s. With a traded player exception, the high likelihood is the Warriors would’ve only been able to get a player who an opposing team was willing to dump, without even a pick in return, perhaps just for salary-cap relief. The Warriors have had a few exceptions over $10 million in the Myers’ era — for Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson in 2013, for Bogut in 2016 — and all of them expired.
The Nets were willing to part with Russell because they were getting Irving, creating a unique opportunity for the Warriors to land a player they liked. That opportunity might have been available next July when player movement could create an opening to land a player the Warriors desired. But the Warriors didn’t want to risk losing the first-round pick without knowing who they’d get. So they made the deal for Russell.
At some point, Russell’s camp made it clear he was interested in coming to the Warriors. It would have to be a sign-and-trade, which triggered a hard salary cap for the Warriors — meaning under no circumstances could their total salaries for this season exceed $138.627 million. Such started the linear algebraic quantum physics calculations needed to rebuild the Warriors.
And the first step to getting Russell was saying goodbye to Iguodala.
When Kelly arrived back home from the restaurant, he didn’t even bother using his home office. His materials were already sprawled out on the dining room table, where the light from the nearby windows brought freshness to his grind. The house was empty as he updated the remaining scenarios and fed them to Myers. First, he had to send him the teams who could absorb Iguodala’s contract.
On the list was Memphis. The Grizzlies had just traded point guard Mike Conley Jr. to Utah, giving them a traded player exception worth more than $32 million — large enough to absorb Iguodala’s contract without the Warriors taking a player back. (The Warriors also got a $17 million traded player exception for Iguodala.)
Part 2 was to say goodbye to veteran guard Shaun Livingston, a key component to the championship run. The Warriors initially tried finding a partner who could take Livingston’s contract — which only had $2 million guaranteed — off of their hands. When they couldn’t, the plan was to waive him and use what’s called the stretch provision to divide Livingston’s $2 million over three seasons for salary-cap purposes.
The CBA required the Warriors be beneath the hard cap at the conclusion of the Durant-Russell sign-and-trade. So this is where the math and sequence became critical, and thus Kelly’s role. A lawyer by trade and rapper by hobby, the tedious nature of plotting and executing complicated deals, the refinement necessary to pore over language and meanings, the diligence required to matriculate the CBA, it’s all right in Kelly’s wheelhouse. This stuff gives normal basketball executives a headache trying to understand. But for Kelly, the painstaking part is where the fun lies.
“Everything has to be in order,” Kelly said. “Bob’s big thing is, ‘If you’re telling me this is right, be right. When you say it’s right, be right. I need to know that you’re on top of this.’ So you have to know what you’re doing and when you’re doing it. And it’s true with this stuff even more than a lot of things because the rules, they’re not intuitive. Sometimes you wonder, ‘Why is it that you can’t use this or that?’ It doesn’t necessarily make sense. But if you trip it, that’s a wrap.”
That’s how Sunday was spent, mapping out the course for the Warriors to trade Durant, get Russell and stay under the hard cap. Kelly’s food eventually came hours later, after his wife took the kids out for some soccer to give him peace and quiet. He finally ate his scramble and finished off his 8-year-old daughter’s waffles.
The only players locked into the Warriors’ roster were Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and rookie Jordan Poole, whose salary was already determined based on where he was picked in the first round. As an example of the legalese, Thompson’s signing had to wait because his salary-cap figure was lower than the maximum contract he was set to sign. When a player is heading into free agency, even though he doesn’t have a contract yet, a slot is held for him in the salary cap — for Thompson, it was set at 150 percent of his salary the previous season. It’s called a cap hold. Thompson’s hold was about $28.5 million, much less than the $32.7 million he was going to get. So his signing had to wait while the Warriors made other moves.
The Warriors knew they were losing Durant and getting Russell. What had to be concocted was how.
“At one point,” Myers said, “I just said, ‘Tell me what I have to do. Tell me what to do.'”
The technical parts: Russell was acquired using the traded player exception created when the Warriors sent Durant to Brooklyn. According to Kelly, the Nets acquired Durant using the traded player exception created by Russell in the simultaneous trade — and that is why Brooklyn had to add Shabazz Napier and Treveon Graham to the deal, to match Durant’s $30 million salary as required by the CBA.
When the Russell sign-and-trade leaked, Kelly learned from his sons, 12 and 10. They saw the news come up on the iPad.
“I went on Twitter real quick and saw all the memes,” Kelly said. “That was fun, seeing the reaction to what we did.”
That Sunday, Kelly was up until 1 a.m. — which was 4 a.m. for Myers in New York — pouring over options and details and relaying the results to Myers. At 6 a.m. on Monday morning, Kelly was back at it. The Warriors were focused on free-agent big man Kevon Looney at that point.
With the hard cap looming, Kelly had to figure out the most they could give Looney. The Warriors had Looney’s Bird Rights, which means ordinarily they could sign the free agent to any amount up to the max even despite being over the cap. But since the Warriors had incurred the hard cap, Looney’s salary had a ceiling, and one lower than expected.
The Warriors had to pay Looney and still leave room to sign five more players — the two second-round draft picks (Alen Smailagić and Eric Paschall), one player for slightly above the minimum and two players at the minimum — since teams are required to have at least 14 players. That magic number for Looney wound up being $4.6 million in the first year of a three-year, $15 million deal with a player option in the third year.
It was also Monday when Kelly saved the whole sign-and-trade from falling apart.
Going back over the details, player by player, and clarifying the specifics of each move, Kelly came across some snags. First, when signing players using the minimum exception, the longest they can sign for is two years. But the Warriors wanted to sign Paschall and Smailagić for longer, to make sure they would have the players’ Bird Rights at the end of their rookie deals. That meant the two rookies would have to be signed using the mid-level exception, which sent Kelly down another rabbit hole.
That’s when he came across a little-known rule: if the Warriors use the mid-level exception allowed for teams paying the luxury tax, they would be prohibited from doing a sign-and-trade. Paschall and Smailagić’s salaries are also set, so it was easy to think they could be signed right along with Poole. But doing so before they got under the luxury tax would have nixed the Russell deal. After Kelly found this nuance, the Warriors had to delay signing the two second-round picks until after completing the Durant-Russell sign-and-trade.
And then he got a call from Bob Myers, the Warriors president of basketball operations, some three hours before free agency actually began. Everything had to stop. Kevin Durant was officially gone. The 2019 free agency madness for the Warriors had begun in earnest.
“I looked at my wife,” Kelly recalled, “and said, ‘I need you to bring my food.’ And then I walked home. My wife knows. It’s not all year, it’s just this time of year. I literally was like, ‘I’ve got to go.’ I told the waiter I had to go and to pack up my food. And I left.”
For Kelly, this walk home was exciting. He’d spent months preparing for this, mapping out as many scenarios as possible. Of course, other movement around the league keeps the options fluid, which requires real-time tracking. But it was now “go time” for the Warriors. The future success of the franchise was on the line, hinging on the moves they made next.
With the dust now settled, hindsight reveals this as the most important and most frenetic free-agent period for the Warriors since 2013, when they pitched Dwight Howard and acquired Andre Iguodala. The work it took to get Iguodala — which required clearing cap space by finding trade partners — will always hold a special place in the heart of the Myers regime because it was their first crazy free agency. Kelly was new and still learning how it works.
But 2019 registers high on the list of craziest summers. The Warriors changed over most of the roster, acquiring eight new players. They transitioned from a grizzled championship staple to a young aspiring contender. And it all required a meticulousness that is Kelly’s specialty.
Losing Durant, especially with Klay Thompson being sidelined by a torn ACL, left the Warriors without two starters. DeMarcus Cousins wasn’t expected to come back and Andrew Bogut was returning to Australia, so really the Warriors were down three starters. Replacing those players, alone, wasn’t the most difficult part. Nor was revamping the rotation. It was navigating the intricacies of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and doing it all under the pressure of a ticking clock. Myers was basically Jack Bauer and Kelly was the head of CTU.
“I know there was a lot of speculation about what Kevin was doing,” Myers said last week. “But I wasn’t aware of any finality until I saw him and talked to him. So we, from that point on, explored some pretty immediate possibilities. … The rapidity of free agency, I’ve never seen it go so fast. Ever. I’ve been on the agent side about 13, 14 years and I don’t know how many, eight or something, on this side. Never in my life have I seen things move as fast as they did that first evening, whether it was our business or anybody’s business. So we were forced to act, act quickly. The whole league was moving at a very, very fast pace. So we didn’t have a lot of time.”
The Warriors had reportedly already gotten word from Thompson that he was staying, eliminating a chunk of scenarios Kelly had devised. Once Myers got the official word from Durant he was leaving for the Brooklyn Nets, the options were narrowed even more. At that point, the Warriors shifted to Operation D’Angelo Russell.
The Warriors had circled Russell as an option months earlier when mapping out the possible scenarios. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was reporting Kyrie Irving to the Nets as early as the evening of June 29, which signaled to the Warriors that acquiring Russell — whose wanted a max contract that Brooklyn instead gave to Irving — was a possibility.
Side note: Yes, the Warriors liked Russell. Technically, the CBA allowed for the Warriors to trade Durant to Brooklyn, get no player in return and instead receive a $30 million traded player exception (the TPE in sign-and-trades is for the previous season’s salary, not the new one). That scenario would have also avoided a hard cap. But that would’ve required: a) Brooklyn agreeing to the sign-and-trade without getting a draft pick; or b) the Warriors giving up a first-round pick in exchange for a traded player exception. This was an easy call for the Warriors, who like Russell as a player. But making it a no-brainer was the difficulty of using traded player exceptions. Since they can’t be combined with players or draft picks, they’re difficult to use to acquire quality players, certainly unlikely to get an All-Star in his early 20s. With a traded player exception, the high likelihood is the Warriors would’ve only been able to get a player who an opposing team was willing to dump, without even a pick in return, perhaps just for salary-cap relief. The Warriors have had a few exceptions over $10 million in the Myers’ era — for Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson in 2013, for Bogut in 2016 — and all of them expired.
The Nets were willing to part with Russell because they were getting Irving, creating a unique opportunity for the Warriors to land a player they liked. That opportunity might have been available next July when player movement could create an opening to land a player the Warriors desired. But the Warriors didn’t want to risk losing the first-round pick without knowing who they’d get. So they made the deal for Russell.
At some point, Russell’s camp made it clear he was interested in coming to the Warriors. It would have to be a sign-and-trade, which triggered a hard salary cap for the Warriors — meaning under no circumstances could their total salaries for this season exceed $138.627 million. Such started the linear algebraic quantum physics calculations needed to rebuild the Warriors.
And the first step to getting Russell was saying goodbye to Iguodala.
When Kelly arrived back home from the restaurant, he didn’t even bother using his home office. His materials were already sprawled out on the dining room table, where the light from the nearby windows brought freshness to his grind. The house was empty as he updated the remaining scenarios and fed them to Myers. First, he had to send him the teams who could absorb Iguodala’s contract.
On the list was Memphis. The Grizzlies had just traded point guard Mike Conley Jr. to Utah, giving them a traded player exception worth more than $32 million — large enough to absorb Iguodala’s contract without the Warriors taking a player back. (The Warriors also got a $17 million traded player exception for Iguodala.)
Part 2 was to say goodbye to veteran guard Shaun Livingston, a key component to the championship run. The Warriors initially tried finding a partner who could take Livingston’s contract — which only had $2 million guaranteed — off of their hands. When they couldn’t, the plan was to waive him and use what’s called the stretch provision to divide Livingston’s $2 million over three seasons for salary-cap purposes.
The CBA required the Warriors be beneath the hard cap at the conclusion of the Durant-Russell sign-and-trade. So this is where the math and sequence became critical, and thus Kelly’s role. A lawyer by trade and rapper by hobby, the tedious nature of plotting and executing complicated deals, the refinement necessary to pore over language and meanings, the diligence required to matriculate the CBA, it’s all right in Kelly’s wheelhouse. This stuff gives normal basketball executives a headache trying to understand. But for Kelly, the painstaking part is where the fun lies.
“Everything has to be in order,” Kelly said. “Bob’s big thing is, ‘If you’re telling me this is right, be right. When you say it’s right, be right. I need to know that you’re on top of this.’ So you have to know what you’re doing and when you’re doing it. And it’s true with this stuff even more than a lot of things because the rules, they’re not intuitive. Sometimes you wonder, ‘Why is it that you can’t use this or that?’ It doesn’t necessarily make sense. But if you trip it, that’s a wrap.”
That’s how Sunday was spent, mapping out the course for the Warriors to trade Durant, get Russell and stay under the hard cap. Kelly’s food eventually came hours later, after his wife took the kids out for some soccer to give him peace and quiet. He finally ate his scramble and finished off his 8-year-old daughter’s waffles.
The only players locked into the Warriors’ roster were Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and rookie Jordan Poole, whose salary was already determined based on where he was picked in the first round. As an example of the legalese, Thompson’s signing had to wait because his salary-cap figure was lower than the maximum contract he was set to sign. When a player is heading into free agency, even though he doesn’t have a contract yet, a slot is held for him in the salary cap — for Thompson, it was set at 150 percent of his salary the previous season. It’s called a cap hold. Thompson’s hold was about $28.5 million, much less than the $32.7 million he was going to get. So his signing had to wait while the Warriors made other moves.
The Warriors knew they were losing Durant and getting Russell. What had to be concocted was how.
“At one point,” Myers said, “I just said, ‘Tell me what I have to do. Tell me what to do.'”
The technical parts: Russell was acquired using the traded player exception created when the Warriors sent Durant to Brooklyn. According to Kelly, the Nets acquired Durant using the traded player exception created by Russell in the simultaneous trade — and that is why Brooklyn had to add Shabazz Napier and Treveon Graham to the deal, to match Durant’s $30 million salary as required by the CBA.
When the Russell sign-and-trade leaked, Kelly learned from his sons, 12 and 10. They saw the news come up on the iPad.
“I went on Twitter real quick and saw all the memes,” Kelly said. “That was fun, seeing the reaction to what we did.”
That Sunday, Kelly was up until 1 a.m. — which was 4 a.m. for Myers in New York — pouring over options and details and relaying the results to Myers. At 6 a.m. on Monday morning, Kelly was back at it. The Warriors were focused on free-agent big man Kevon Looney at that point.
With the hard cap looming, Kelly had to figure out the most they could give Looney. The Warriors had Looney’s Bird Rights, which means ordinarily they could sign the free agent to any amount up to the max even despite being over the cap. But since the Warriors had incurred the hard cap, Looney’s salary had a ceiling, and one lower than expected.
The Warriors had to pay Looney and still leave room to sign five more players — the two second-round draft picks (Alen Smailagić and Eric Paschall), one player for slightly above the minimum and two players at the minimum — since teams are required to have at least 14 players. That magic number for Looney wound up being $4.6 million in the first year of a three-year, $15 million deal with a player option in the third year.
It was also Monday when Kelly saved the whole sign-and-trade from falling apart.
Going back over the details, player by player, and clarifying the specifics of each move, Kelly came across some snags. First, when signing players using the minimum exception, the longest they can sign for is two years. But the Warriors wanted to sign Paschall and Smailagić for longer, to make sure they would have the players’ Bird Rights at the end of their rookie deals. That meant the two rookies would have to be signed using the mid-level exception, which sent Kelly down another rabbit hole.
That’s when he came across a little-known rule: if the Warriors use the mid-level exception allowed for teams paying the luxury tax, they would be prohibited from doing a sign-and-trade. Paschall and Smailagić’s salaries are also set, so it was easy to think they could be signed right along with Poole. But doing so before they got under the luxury tax would have nixed the Russell deal. After Kelly found this nuance, the Warriors had to delay signing the two second-round picks until after completing the Durant-Russell sign-and-trade.
Part two
Maaaan,” Kelly said. “That was like, ‘Whoa. Wait a minute. Hold the presses. Slow everything down.’ And it’s not like the deal almost blew up. But it’s a moment where, if you aren’t as diligent, that’s what happens. This is how things get screwed up. And there might have been a way to get around it. But we don’t even want to go down that road.”
Kelly finally left his house on Tuesday. He doesn’t respond to the outside world this time of the year. Nor does he talk to anybody. Not even his wife gets the gossip in real time, not that she would care. But the main rush was over so he could go back in the office, multitask with a few non-free-agency duties. Still, he had enough work to warrant keeping his office door closed.
With Looney locked in that Monday, Tuesday was spent on the next target, Willie Cauley-Stein, the former Kings center who wanted to join the Warriors as a free agent. They signed him using part of their mid-level exception, the same tool they would use to sign the second-round picks. Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks were signed using the veteran-minimum exception as the CBA allows for teams to fill out their roster with as many minimum-contract players as necessary.
Once all the moves were decided in principle, Kelly was still verifying numbers and rules, confirming with teams that their agreements were still holding up. He was communicating with the NBA, making sure everything was fine. He was also constantly fielding requests from Myers or checking in to see what was needed by the front office.
On July 4, Kelly finally got his life back. Some friends invited him and his family over for an Independence Day dinner. And he actually went.
He still had work to do. Once the NBA moratorium ended on July 6 and deals could be made official, he then had to execute the plans the Warriors orchestrated. Confirming all the numbers and exceptions. Making sure everything happened in the right order — for example, the Warriors could do nothing until Memphis finalized its trade of Conley — and doing all the trade calls with the league office. Kelly didn’t go to Las Vegas for Summer League, so he coordinated with Nick U’Ren, the Warriors director of basketball operations, who was with the players and gathering signatures. But the frenzy subsided enough for a night out.
Kelly still ended up telling his wife to go ahead without him, he’d be 15 minutes behind because he had to finish up something. He still showed up an hour later because in free agency, time is on uppers. He still had to step away a couple of times when Myers called.
But this time, Kelly got to sit down and eat.
“It was real good,” Kelly said. “It was a make-your-own-tacos kind of thing. I went with the Caribbean shrimp.”
(Photo: Jordan Jimenez/Special to The Athletic)
Kelly finally left his house on Tuesday. He doesn’t respond to the outside world this time of the year. Nor does he talk to anybody. Not even his wife gets the gossip in real time, not that she would care. But the main rush was over so he could go back in the office, multitask with a few non-free-agency duties. Still, he had enough work to warrant keeping his office door closed.
With Looney locked in that Monday, Tuesday was spent on the next target, Willie Cauley-Stein, the former Kings center who wanted to join the Warriors as a free agent. They signed him using part of their mid-level exception, the same tool they would use to sign the second-round picks. Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks were signed using the veteran-minimum exception as the CBA allows for teams to fill out their roster with as many minimum-contract players as necessary.
Once all the moves were decided in principle, Kelly was still verifying numbers and rules, confirming with teams that their agreements were still holding up. He was communicating with the NBA, making sure everything was fine. He was also constantly fielding requests from Myers or checking in to see what was needed by the front office.
On July 4, Kelly finally got his life back. Some friends invited him and his family over for an Independence Day dinner. And he actually went.
He still had work to do. Once the NBA moratorium ended on July 6 and deals could be made official, he then had to execute the plans the Warriors orchestrated. Confirming all the numbers and exceptions. Making sure everything happened in the right order — for example, the Warriors could do nothing until Memphis finalized its trade of Conley — and doing all the trade calls with the league office. Kelly didn’t go to Las Vegas for Summer League, so he coordinated with Nick U’Ren, the Warriors director of basketball operations, who was with the players and gathering signatures. But the frenzy subsided enough for a night out.
Kelly still ended up telling his wife to go ahead without him, he’d be 15 minutes behind because he had to finish up something. He still showed up an hour later because in free agency, time is on uppers. He still had to step away a couple of times when Myers called.
But this time, Kelly got to sit down and eat.
“It was real good,” Kelly said. “It was a make-your-own-tacos kind of thing. I went with the Caribbean shrimp.”
(Photo: Jordan Jimenez/Special to The Athletic)
Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson by October is set to top $100 million in career salary, 45 percent more than anyone else in NFL history at his position. And despite that, creditors are all but banging at his door, even leaving a summons attached to his front gate.
A Pennsylvania lender is suing Peterson for allegedly defaulting on a $5.2 million loan, the proceeds of which he used to pay back other debts he incurred, including millions from a “pay-day lender,” court documents in New York show.
The sum, which with interest and legal fees is now $6.6 million, is separate from the $2.4 million a Maryland state judge last week ordered Peterson to pay another creditor — Democracy Capital Corp. In 2018, a Minnesota court ordered him to pay $600,000 left unpaid on a $2.4 million loan.
The New York litigation is embroiled in charges that the lender’s counsel surreptitiously represented Peterson in another lawsuit regarding the player’s insurance, creating a conflict of interest. As a result, the judge canceled Peterson’s scheduled deposition Monday and held a hearing that in part centered on allegations that the running back’s confidential information, including his playing contract, were obtained irregularly.
That means DeAngelo Vehicle Sales (the term “vehicle” here means a financial instrument), which had Peterson served by affixing the summons to his front gate at his home in Houston on Sept. 18, 2018, according to court papers, may have to wait longer to receive a judgment on its claim.
Peterson borrowed the $5.2 million on Oct. 26, 2016, while with the Minnesota Vikings, according to documents filed in New York State Supreme Court by DeAngelo Vehicle Sales (DVS), a McAdoo, Pa.-based lender. According to the DVS loan agreement, Peterson would pay all of it back at once, plus 12 percent interest, just over four months later. If he did not, another 10 percent interest rate accrues on top of the base one, according to the loan documents.
The proceeds of the loan were largely to pay back other lenders: $3,197,250 to Thrivest Specialty Funding; and $1,339,695 to Crown Bank, the lender owed in the Minnesota bank default, the loan document shows.
In court papers last week, Peterson’s attorney referred to Thrivest as “some sort of pay-day lender for professional athletes and the insurance policy at issue had been procured to secure a loan agreement with Peterson.”
The insurance policy in question is known as a loss of value policy, which is taken out by athletes to insure if they are injured and thus get a smaller contract, they get the lost value. And that is precisely what happened to Peterson; he took the insurance on Aug. 24, 2016 and tore his meniscus and sprained his lateral collateral ligament during the third quarter of the Vikings’ 2016 NFL Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Minnesota released him after the season, and he signed with the New Orleans Saints for $3.5 million a year, apparently triggering the policy which set the floor at $4 million per year (in this case the insurer pays out the difference, though Lloyd’s is rejecting the claim).
Because Peterson owed Thrivest, the lender became the “assured” in the contract, meaning it effectively had a lien on any payout. Thrivest then sold this claim to DeAngelo Vehicle Sales, and that’s where the controversy started.
Acting on behalf of DeAngelo in a federal court lawsuit, lawyer Darren Heitner advocated on behalf of Peterson’s claim (DVS would want the insurance claim approved to offset the loan), the running back’s lawyer argued. In doing so, Heitner obtained confidential information that has been used in the loan default case for DVS, the lawyer wrote.
“(T)here is evidence to indicate that Heitner Legal acquired confidential Information from Peterson,” wrote the running back’s attorney, Scott Philbin.
“(O)pposing counsel acquired confidential financial information of a party it is suing prior to judgment where it would not otherwise be entitled to this information.”
Philbin did not reply for comment.
“As I have stated to Mr. Peterson’s counsel, my firm has never held Mr. Peterson out as a client to third-parties,” Heitner wrote in a message to The Athletic. “Heitner Legal was never communicating with Mr. Peterson. There was and is no actual or perceived conflict of interest. No confidential information was obtained by Heitner Legal from Mr. Peterson. We have only represented the assured, DVS, in the relevant matters. I view Mr. Peterson’s tactics as nothing more than the latest attempt to stall the taking of his deposition.”
Heitner for his part said his client, DVS, is worried Peterson can’t pay back the money.
“I have no reason to believe that he has the capacity to pay it back,” he said. “It’s very concerning that he has existing liabilities, and that there are publicly announced large judgments against him. And so, you know, without even knowing whether he has the capacity to pay those debts … I have no confidence that he’ll be able to make any other sort of payment.”
Peterson in court papers does not deny owing DVS money, noting in an Oct. 12 answer to the lawsuit, “Defendant ADMITS that he has not made full repayment of the loan.”
Through 2018, Peterson had earned $99.2 million in salary, and is due to earn $2.5 million this season, according to Spotrac, which tracks players salaries. The next closest running back is the retired Edgerrin James with $68.9 million, according to Spotrac. The nearest active running back is Frank Gore with $60.2 million.
Peterson appears to be the latest example of athletes who despite enormous earnings, spend and borrow beyond their means.
“They make this money, they spend it, they then bank on the fact that, ‘OK, I’ve gotten through that, I’m going to get this next contract, and it’s going to be big, and I’m going to be able to write (away) all my woes at that point,’” said Drew Hawkins, speaking generally as the founder of Edyoucore Sports & Entertainment, which offers financial literacy programs. “And the sad fact is that once you get into, you know, this lifestyle and this habit of doing these things, it’s not something that you can just snap your fingers and change.”
UPDATE: Peterson’s lawyer released a statement hours after this report appeared.
Chase Carlson@ChaseACarlson
https://twitter.com/ChaseACarlson/status/1153720555377315840
My statement regarding Adrian Peterson:
1:36 PM - Jul 23, 2019
A Pennsylvania lender is suing Peterson for allegedly defaulting on a $5.2 million loan, the proceeds of which he used to pay back other debts he incurred, including millions from a “pay-day lender,” court documents in New York show.
The sum, which with interest and legal fees is now $6.6 million, is separate from the $2.4 million a Maryland state judge last week ordered Peterson to pay another creditor — Democracy Capital Corp. In 2018, a Minnesota court ordered him to pay $600,000 left unpaid on a $2.4 million loan.
The New York litigation is embroiled in charges that the lender’s counsel surreptitiously represented Peterson in another lawsuit regarding the player’s insurance, creating a conflict of interest. As a result, the judge canceled Peterson’s scheduled deposition Monday and held a hearing that in part centered on allegations that the running back’s confidential information, including his playing contract, were obtained irregularly.
That means DeAngelo Vehicle Sales (the term “vehicle” here means a financial instrument), which had Peterson served by affixing the summons to his front gate at his home in Houston on Sept. 18, 2018, according to court papers, may have to wait longer to receive a judgment on its claim.
Peterson borrowed the $5.2 million on Oct. 26, 2016, while with the Minnesota Vikings, according to documents filed in New York State Supreme Court by DeAngelo Vehicle Sales (DVS), a McAdoo, Pa.-based lender. According to the DVS loan agreement, Peterson would pay all of it back at once, plus 12 percent interest, just over four months later. If he did not, another 10 percent interest rate accrues on top of the base one, according to the loan documents.
The proceeds of the loan were largely to pay back other lenders: $3,197,250 to Thrivest Specialty Funding; and $1,339,695 to Crown Bank, the lender owed in the Minnesota bank default, the loan document shows.
In court papers last week, Peterson’s attorney referred to Thrivest as “some sort of pay-day lender for professional athletes and the insurance policy at issue had been procured to secure a loan agreement with Peterson.”
The insurance policy in question is known as a loss of value policy, which is taken out by athletes to insure if they are injured and thus get a smaller contract, they get the lost value. And that is precisely what happened to Peterson; he took the insurance on Aug. 24, 2016 and tore his meniscus and sprained his lateral collateral ligament during the third quarter of the Vikings’ 2016 NFL Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Minnesota released him after the season, and he signed with the New Orleans Saints for $3.5 million a year, apparently triggering the policy which set the floor at $4 million per year (in this case the insurer pays out the difference, though Lloyd’s is rejecting the claim).
Because Peterson owed Thrivest, the lender became the “assured” in the contract, meaning it effectively had a lien on any payout. Thrivest then sold this claim to DeAngelo Vehicle Sales, and that’s where the controversy started.
Acting on behalf of DeAngelo in a federal court lawsuit, lawyer Darren Heitner advocated on behalf of Peterson’s claim (DVS would want the insurance claim approved to offset the loan), the running back’s lawyer argued. In doing so, Heitner obtained confidential information that has been used in the loan default case for DVS, the lawyer wrote.
“(T)here is evidence to indicate that Heitner Legal acquired confidential Information from Peterson,” wrote the running back’s attorney, Scott Philbin.
“(O)pposing counsel acquired confidential financial information of a party it is suing prior to judgment where it would not otherwise be entitled to this information.”
Philbin did not reply for comment.
“As I have stated to Mr. Peterson’s counsel, my firm has never held Mr. Peterson out as a client to third-parties,” Heitner wrote in a message to The Athletic. “Heitner Legal was never communicating with Mr. Peterson. There was and is no actual or perceived conflict of interest. No confidential information was obtained by Heitner Legal from Mr. Peterson. We have only represented the assured, DVS, in the relevant matters. I view Mr. Peterson’s tactics as nothing more than the latest attempt to stall the taking of his deposition.”
Heitner for his part said his client, DVS, is worried Peterson can’t pay back the money.
“I have no reason to believe that he has the capacity to pay it back,” he said. “It’s very concerning that he has existing liabilities, and that there are publicly announced large judgments against him. And so, you know, without even knowing whether he has the capacity to pay those debts … I have no confidence that he’ll be able to make any other sort of payment.”
Peterson in court papers does not deny owing DVS money, noting in an Oct. 12 answer to the lawsuit, “Defendant ADMITS that he has not made full repayment of the loan.”
Through 2018, Peterson had earned $99.2 million in salary, and is due to earn $2.5 million this season, according to Spotrac, which tracks players salaries. The next closest running back is the retired Edgerrin James with $68.9 million, according to Spotrac. The nearest active running back is Frank Gore with $60.2 million.
Peterson appears to be the latest example of athletes who despite enormous earnings, spend and borrow beyond their means.
“They make this money, they spend it, they then bank on the fact that, ‘OK, I’ve gotten through that, I’m going to get this next contract, and it’s going to be big, and I’m going to be able to write (away) all my woes at that point,’” said Drew Hawkins, speaking generally as the founder of Edyoucore Sports & Entertainment, which offers financial literacy programs. “And the sad fact is that once you get into, you know, this lifestyle and this habit of doing these things, it’s not something that you can just snap your fingers and change.”
UPDATE: Peterson’s lawyer released a statement hours after this report appeared.
Chase Carlson@ChaseACarlson
https://twitter.com/ChaseACarlson/status/1153720555377315840
My statement regarding Adrian Peterson:
1:36 PM - Jul 23, 2019
VegetasHairline
Veteran
Some basketball players really care about their ratings on video games.
De’Aaron Fox is not one of those players.
He thinks his overall rating of 86 on the new NBA 2K20 video game is cool, but it’s not as if Fox plans to log hours playing the game. That’s not to say Fox isn’t into youthful endeavors (he does play video games), but when it comes to basketball, he prefers real-life games.
Fox was in the midst of over 200 children Wednesday on the second day of the De’Aaron Fox Basketball ProCamp at Hardwood Palace in Rocklin. He is known to have a lot of fun in this environment. His easy-going personality allows him to playfully rib campers with a smile as easily as he exchanges high fives.
When it comes to Fox’s primary job, starting point guard for the Sacramento Kings, the days of Fox having youthful expectations are over.
The Kings improved by 12 games last season, tallying 39 wins, and Fox was a finalist for Most Improved Player. The 2019-20 Kings won’t sneak up on the rest of the NBA, and Fox knows that. Last year, Fox was a second-year player coming off an underwhelming rookie campaign. The Kings were a fun story. The team that wasn’t supposed to win 30 games hung around in the playoff race until late March. Fox knows the Kings will not be likable underdogs this season.
“I think it’s a little bit different because last year there weren’t many expectations, so we were winning games and it was surprising people,” Fox said. “Now with the way our roster is filled out, we kind of got the things that we needed and if we come out guns blazing the way we did last year, I don’t think it will be as surprising. Of course the West got stronger but we have expectations.”
Expectations for Fox go beyond improving on averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 assists last season. Though Fox took more control of the team on the court last season, the Kings want more of that from the fifth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Fox must build on the strides he made as a leader and become a more assertive locker room presence.
So when the Kings hired Luke Walton to coach, it was important their new coach and their point guard connected and forged the kind of bond management wanted to see more of from fired coach Dave Joerger with his players. If Fox and Walton can bond, Walton should be able to push him to be the player the Kings believe he can be, which is an All-Star caliber guard.
“He’s been great,” Fox said of Walton. “Worked out with him a few times before we left for the summer and just a great guy. He calls my phone frequently. Being able to talk to him and get to know him, and not just as a player, but as a person. They’ve definitely been great conversations.”
And those workouts are an important building block for this season. Walton let Fox know then he wanted him to be assertive and take even more control on the court. The message was Fox would be pushed to be great by Walton and it is expected that Fox will demand that greatness from his teammates.
“I told (Walton) I’d be back in Sac kind of early,” Fox said. “I just want to be able to develop that relationship with him, that chemistry. Just so that we can hit the ground running when training camp starts and we don’t start behind.”
Fox isn’t big on showing off his offseason workouts, but said he continues to work on “every aspect” of his game.
“At the position I play you can’t just be good at one thing,” Fox said. “You’ve got to be able to do a lot of things. I never just go into it focusing on one thing.”
Fox will have the opportunity to show off what he’s worked on Aug. 5-8 in Las Vegas as part of the USA Select team that will practice against players on the US National Team as it prepares for the FIBA World Cup in China. With many players on the National Team withdrawing from competition for various reasons, Fox was asked if he’s thought about the possibility of being added to the National Team.
Fox was coy, but he’s clearly ready to compete.
“Got a couple calls, but I’m just looking forward to going out there and competing against some of the best guys in the league,” Fox said.
Then, there will be no childish games played on the court.
(Photo: Glenn James / NBAE via Getty Images)
De’Aaron Fox is not one of those players.
He thinks his overall rating of 86 on the new NBA 2K20 video game is cool, but it’s not as if Fox plans to log hours playing the game. That’s not to say Fox isn’t into youthful endeavors (he does play video games), but when it comes to basketball, he prefers real-life games.
Fox was in the midst of over 200 children Wednesday on the second day of the De’Aaron Fox Basketball ProCamp at Hardwood Palace in Rocklin. He is known to have a lot of fun in this environment. His easy-going personality allows him to playfully rib campers with a smile as easily as he exchanges high fives.
When it comes to Fox’s primary job, starting point guard for the Sacramento Kings, the days of Fox having youthful expectations are over.
The Kings improved by 12 games last season, tallying 39 wins, and Fox was a finalist for Most Improved Player. The 2019-20 Kings won’t sneak up on the rest of the NBA, and Fox knows that. Last year, Fox was a second-year player coming off an underwhelming rookie campaign. The Kings were a fun story. The team that wasn’t supposed to win 30 games hung around in the playoff race until late March. Fox knows the Kings will not be likable underdogs this season.
“I think it’s a little bit different because last year there weren’t many expectations, so we were winning games and it was surprising people,” Fox said. “Now with the way our roster is filled out, we kind of got the things that we needed and if we come out guns blazing the way we did last year, I don’t think it will be as surprising. Of course the West got stronger but we have expectations.”
Expectations for Fox go beyond improving on averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 assists last season. Though Fox took more control of the team on the court last season, the Kings want more of that from the fifth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Fox must build on the strides he made as a leader and become a more assertive locker room presence.
So when the Kings hired Luke Walton to coach, it was important their new coach and their point guard connected and forged the kind of bond management wanted to see more of from fired coach Dave Joerger with his players. If Fox and Walton can bond, Walton should be able to push him to be the player the Kings believe he can be, which is an All-Star caliber guard.
“He’s been great,” Fox said of Walton. “Worked out with him a few times before we left for the summer and just a great guy. He calls my phone frequently. Being able to talk to him and get to know him, and not just as a player, but as a person. They’ve definitely been great conversations.”
And those workouts are an important building block for this season. Walton let Fox know then he wanted him to be assertive and take even more control on the court. The message was Fox would be pushed to be great by Walton and it is expected that Fox will demand that greatness from his teammates.
“I told (Walton) I’d be back in Sac kind of early,” Fox said. “I just want to be able to develop that relationship with him, that chemistry. Just so that we can hit the ground running when training camp starts and we don’t start behind.”
Fox isn’t big on showing off his offseason workouts, but said he continues to work on “every aspect” of his game.
“At the position I play you can’t just be good at one thing,” Fox said. “You’ve got to be able to do a lot of things. I never just go into it focusing on one thing.”
Fox will have the opportunity to show off what he’s worked on Aug. 5-8 in Las Vegas as part of the USA Select team that will practice against players on the US National Team as it prepares for the FIBA World Cup in China. With many players on the National Team withdrawing from competition for various reasons, Fox was asked if he’s thought about the possibility of being added to the National Team.
Fox was coy, but he’s clearly ready to compete.
“Got a couple calls, but I’m just looking forward to going out there and competing against some of the best guys in the league,” Fox said.
Then, there will be no childish games played on the court.
(Photo: Glenn James / NBAE via Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mike White wants to be careful.
As the Florida coach recently sat in his office inside the Gators’ basketball facility with a coffee in hand, the black cap with the bent bill over his eyes and the day-old scruff on his face did little to conceal the grin that occasionally appeared. White beamed as he answered certain questions about a group this season that will feature new and exciting pieces, but his smile never lingered too long. White knows it can’t. Not yet, at least.
“In full transparency, this is the most excited that I’ve been about a team this time of year — on paper,” White said. “But I’m also hesitant to allow myself to go there because we haven’t really got to work yet.”
That doesn’t mean there aren’t times when he has to catch himself.
“Definitely,” White said.
White, 42, is beginning his fifth season at Florida. He spent the previous four seasons as the coach at Louisiana Tech and has been part of teams that have exceeded expectations. He has also been part of teams that haven’t lived up to them. In Gainesville, expectations couldn’t be much higher than they are right now after Florida underwent a roster makeover in the offseason featuring major upgrades.
The talent matches White’s level of excitement. The Gators return a solid nucleus of sophomores in point guard Andrew Nembhard, guard Noah Locke and forward Keyontae Johnson, and they added much more. Kerry Blackshear Jr. is a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech who immediately delivers an all-conference frontcourt presence as one of the best big men in the country. White also signed one of the country’s top recruiting classes, led by McDonald’s All-Americans Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann, along with top-50 big man Omar Payne.
Was the Gators’ offseason the most prosperous in the country? Probably. The challenge for White now is making sure the accumulation of talent translates into a special season with a deep tournament run.
The big question
While the noise on the outside will continue to amplify as the season approaches, the staff is working internally to temper expectations — or, at least trying to — just because one major aspect remains an unknown.
With so many newcomers in vital roles, how will the team chemistry evolve? How will it manifest on the court and during inevitable periods of adversity? The freshmen are talented, but how they respond after a loss or a poor stretch of individual play or a benching will determine the culture.
“Those pieces, chemistry and culture, are so big now,” White said. “As you get older, I guess, you become more aware of how important they are. And we are coming off a season in which I felt we struggled the most in that area, where three years ago, it was the opposite, where we felt like we were pretty certain that team was going to max out. So those things remain to be seen.
“It will be more telling when minutes are divvied and roles are refined with five starters out there on the floor. At that point, we’ll learn a lot about our team.”
For White, a positive culture is when everyone on the roster is pulling in the same direction, allowing team success to come ahead of personal goals. Blackshear is a cerebral veteran who has experienced success and was looking for a program with players who shared his desire to win. Anyone who has played with Lewis or coached him have described him similarly: He is an effective communicator and mature beyond his age. Nembhard is a returning floor general with a magnetic and unselfish personality. In theory, the pieces will mesh just fine, the Gators will have a good mix of leaders and chemistry won’t be an issue.
But with a whopping nine newcomers —including several used to thriving on an individual level to varying degrees of success — Florida won’t know until the games are played.
“Will our guys want to be a part of something that is bigger than themselves?” White said. “If everyone in the locker room can do that, we can be pretty good.”
Roster analysis
Guards: The backcourt is reliable and productive. Point guard Andrew Nembhard and shooting guard Noah Locke are back after establishing themselves last season.
Nembhard started all 36 games as a freshman and recorded 196 assists, the fourth-highest single-season total in program history and the second-most by a freshman. His 2.59 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked No. 34 in the country. Nembhard again will be asked to be the facilitator of what should be a more dynamic offense, but the staff also would like him to improve his shot. Nembhard shot a respectable 45.8 percent on 2-pointers and 34.7 percent on 3-pointers, but he is capable of better. The idea is opponents will tighten up defensively on ball screens against him, so if he is consistently making shots, so much more of the offense can open up.
“I just want to be better than last year,” Nembhard said. “Anything better than last year would be a plus, in my opinion.”
Locke was the Gators’ best 3-point shooter last season. He could get more open looks from deep with Florida prioritizing getting out in transition more and scoring off of turnovers, based on the more athletic and quicker personnel. Locke and Nembhard were also two of the team’s better defenders last season.
“Me and Noah, just knowing how the team works, we can really do some things on the defensive side of the ball,” Nembhard said. “Noah is just a gym rat.”
Combo guard Tre Mann is expected to provide a boost offensively as a volume shooter who can score 2s and from deep. White said Mann was as good a shooter as there was in the 2019 class. If his defense from high school translates to college as the staff anticipates it will, he should drive competition and create quality depth. At the least, the hope is Mann will be a good option to run the offense when Nembhard is on the bench.
One easily overlooked player is freshman point guard Ques Glover, who doesn’t have an obvious path for minutes. At just 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Glover lacks size, but he has plenty of speed. He could come in handy, particularly defensively against smaller guards.
“He is an underrated recruit,” assistant coach Darris Nichols said, “but he is one of the better shooters on our team.”
Importantly, there is depth in the backcourt now as opposed to last year when the starters logged too many minutes. That is one reason why Florida had the flexibility to add Cleveland State transfer Tyree Appleby, who won’t be eligible until 2020-21.
Wings: The hope is that the offensive tempo will drastically change from last year, that the defensive turnover rate can also improve, the offensive rebounding will be better and the number of fouls drawn will increase. Scottie Lewis represents hope for all of that. He projects to be that good.
Lewis moves without the ball, and White said he is “fantastic in the open floor.” He uses his elite speed to effectively cut and drive to the basket. He can also defend at a high level and crash the offensive glass.
Keyontae Johnson improved as the season went on last year and secured a role in the starting lineup. He turned a corner in the SEC tournament, where he averaged 13.7 points and 10 rebounds in three games. More of a true wing, Johnson (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) may be asked to play the 4 with Lewis likely sliding to the 3. With his energy and athleticism, Johnson, who last season had a knack for making hustle plays that led to second-chance points, can play multiple positions.
“When you watch him play and then you get up to him in person, everybody says, ‘I thought he was bigger than that,’” Nichols said. “Because of his athleticism and wingspan with the way he plays, people seem to think he’s 6-8 when he’s really 6-5.”
Lewis and Johnson can be tenacious defenders, and both present versatile options offensively. Both can score at all three levels and should be able to cash in on fast breaks, an area in which the Gators struggled last season.
“In our Elite Eight year, we had a lot of guys and you couldn’t focus on one particular guy,” Nichols said. “I think this year, hopefully, it will be the same way where on any given night we can have someone else step up and be the guy. We have a lot of options. Hopefully, if they don’t mind sacrificing, I think we can be really good.”
Bigs: Kerry Blackshear Jr. is arguably the most talented big man White has coached. At 6-foot-11, Blackshear averaged 14.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game last season for the Hokies. He is an elite offensive rebounder, and that’s an area Florida needs to improve considerably from last season.
Blackshear is a perfect fit for the Gators, and he provides something they haven’t had in recent years: a low-post presence offensively. He can be used for pick-and-rolls and is skilled at back-to-the-basket post-ups. He’s a good passer from inside and has the shooting ability to draw defenders out to the perimeter.
By advanced metrics, Florida was a strong defensively, and defense has long been a hallmark of White’s teams. But Florida graduated its best defender in big man Kevarrius Hayes. From White’s perspective, Blackshear is arguably as good a defender as Hayes, but they’re different players. Hayes focused more on blocking and altering shots, but Blackshear is a terrific communicator who boxes out, switches and helps as necessary. Additionally, Blackshear has a knack for staying out of foul trouble; he averaged only 4.3 fouls per 40 minutes.
“He is really good at a lot of things,” White said.
But he also has room for improvement. His ball-screen defense can get better. Same goes for his defensive rebounding.
That’s nitpicking, though. Blackshear is a known commodity and a proven talent. He’s the guy at the 5 position with no one else in his path, and that’s one reason why the Gators were so attractive to him.
Behind him, though, the depth is unproven. Gorjok Gak is expected back, but knee problems limited him two years ago and knee surgery cost him all of last season. He has still yet to go through a full practice.
“Gak coming back will be a big help for shot-blocking,” Nembhard said. “I’m excited about him.”
Omar Payne has the most upside among the reserves bigs, but he may need time to develop before he is someone who can be counted on for important minutes.
“He’s long and active and can be disruptive,” Nichols said. “People don’t understand how skilled he is.”
Dontay Bassett doesn’t have that kind of upside, but the junior provides toughness, likes contact and works hard. Jason Jitobhis another promising freshman, but at 6-foot-11 and 300 pounds, he’ll probably need time to get his body right and develop.
“We’ve got a lot to figure out,” White said. “But that was part of the opportunity with (Blackshear), that he had in coming here and being able to step in and be an immediate impact with good pieces around him.”
Lewis was the No. 7 overall prospect in the Class of 2019, according to the 247Sports Composite. (Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports)
Spotlight on: Scottie Lewis
The first time Andrew Nembhard shared a court with Scottie Lewis and played on the same team was in a pickup game a few weeks ago. The experience confirmed everything Nembhard heard about Lewis.
“We played well together because he runs and plays hard,” Nembhard said. “He’s not really worried about getting up a lot of shots. He was ready to make a play when he needed to, and he plays really good defense. He plays really hard on that side of the floor. It solidified some things about him.”
Lewis has what White refers to as an “attacking mentality.” Put simply, Lewis is uber-competitive. He celebrates teammates and has the maturity to hold himself accountable on the court, often talking to himself after a questionable play. Lewis isn’t interested in a passive role; he wants to influence culture and success.
“He’s very motivated and he’s talkative,” Nembhard said. “I think he could bring a leadership piece, even though he is young.”
Lewis’ name already appears on way-too-early mock drafts. He has been written about since he was in the seventh grade. His time in Gainesville may be short, but it will almost certainly be highly impactful. His versatility will enable some lineup flexibility, and his skill set will allow the Gators to play faster with a much more dynamic offense.
“He’s a great two-way player,” Nembhard said. “Defensively, he’s going to be really good for us. Offensively, I can’t wait to get out and run with him. His shot is looking really good. He can help us in a lot of ways.”
Recruiting
A top-10 class headlined by a one-and-done talent such as Lewis was a multi-year process for White and his staff, who needed time to make inroads with elite high school talent after coming to Gainesville from Louisiana Tech. The reasons for signing Lewis, the No. 7 overall prospect from the class, are obvious, and his presence alone would have improved the offense. Most important for the future, regardless if Lewis stays beyond this season, his addition legitimized Florida again as a destination for superior talents.
Beyond that big-picture outlook, the Gators solidified the roster with this class. Nembhard’s future beyond this season is uncertain after he flirted with the NBA in the offseason, but Florida has its point guard of the future in Mann. After the departure of seniors KeVaughn Allen and Jalen Hudson, Mann give Florida much-needed scoring and energy in the backcourt .
In signing Payne and Jitoboh, White addressed Florida’s size and depth issues in the frontcourt. Quality options and consistency haven’t been there from the bigs recently, and both signees will be afforded time to develop and learn on the job in low-leverage situations while Blackshear and the more experienced reserves perform the heavy lifting.
The signees and transfer additions led to some attrition, which shows the staff is massaging the roster more to its liking with more talented players.
As the Florida coach recently sat in his office inside the Gators’ basketball facility with a coffee in hand, the black cap with the bent bill over his eyes and the day-old scruff on his face did little to conceal the grin that occasionally appeared. White beamed as he answered certain questions about a group this season that will feature new and exciting pieces, but his smile never lingered too long. White knows it can’t. Not yet, at least.
“In full transparency, this is the most excited that I’ve been about a team this time of year — on paper,” White said. “But I’m also hesitant to allow myself to go there because we haven’t really got to work yet.”
That doesn’t mean there aren’t times when he has to catch himself.
“Definitely,” White said.
White, 42, is beginning his fifth season at Florida. He spent the previous four seasons as the coach at Louisiana Tech and has been part of teams that have exceeded expectations. He has also been part of teams that haven’t lived up to them. In Gainesville, expectations couldn’t be much higher than they are right now after Florida underwent a roster makeover in the offseason featuring major upgrades.
The talent matches White’s level of excitement. The Gators return a solid nucleus of sophomores in point guard Andrew Nembhard, guard Noah Locke and forward Keyontae Johnson, and they added much more. Kerry Blackshear Jr. is a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech who immediately delivers an all-conference frontcourt presence as one of the best big men in the country. White also signed one of the country’s top recruiting classes, led by McDonald’s All-Americans Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann, along with top-50 big man Omar Payne.
Was the Gators’ offseason the most prosperous in the country? Probably. The challenge for White now is making sure the accumulation of talent translates into a special season with a deep tournament run.
The big question
While the noise on the outside will continue to amplify as the season approaches, the staff is working internally to temper expectations — or, at least trying to — just because one major aspect remains an unknown.
With so many newcomers in vital roles, how will the team chemistry evolve? How will it manifest on the court and during inevitable periods of adversity? The freshmen are talented, but how they respond after a loss or a poor stretch of individual play or a benching will determine the culture.
“Those pieces, chemistry and culture, are so big now,” White said. “As you get older, I guess, you become more aware of how important they are. And we are coming off a season in which I felt we struggled the most in that area, where three years ago, it was the opposite, where we felt like we were pretty certain that team was going to max out. So those things remain to be seen.
“It will be more telling when minutes are divvied and roles are refined with five starters out there on the floor. At that point, we’ll learn a lot about our team.”
For White, a positive culture is when everyone on the roster is pulling in the same direction, allowing team success to come ahead of personal goals. Blackshear is a cerebral veteran who has experienced success and was looking for a program with players who shared his desire to win. Anyone who has played with Lewis or coached him have described him similarly: He is an effective communicator and mature beyond his age. Nembhard is a returning floor general with a magnetic and unselfish personality. In theory, the pieces will mesh just fine, the Gators will have a good mix of leaders and chemistry won’t be an issue.
But with a whopping nine newcomers —including several used to thriving on an individual level to varying degrees of success — Florida won’t know until the games are played.
“Will our guys want to be a part of something that is bigger than themselves?” White said. “If everyone in the locker room can do that, we can be pretty good.”
Roster analysis
Guards: The backcourt is reliable and productive. Point guard Andrew Nembhard and shooting guard Noah Locke are back after establishing themselves last season.
Nembhard started all 36 games as a freshman and recorded 196 assists, the fourth-highest single-season total in program history and the second-most by a freshman. His 2.59 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked No. 34 in the country. Nembhard again will be asked to be the facilitator of what should be a more dynamic offense, but the staff also would like him to improve his shot. Nembhard shot a respectable 45.8 percent on 2-pointers and 34.7 percent on 3-pointers, but he is capable of better. The idea is opponents will tighten up defensively on ball screens against him, so if he is consistently making shots, so much more of the offense can open up.
“I just want to be better than last year,” Nembhard said. “Anything better than last year would be a plus, in my opinion.”
Locke was the Gators’ best 3-point shooter last season. He could get more open looks from deep with Florida prioritizing getting out in transition more and scoring off of turnovers, based on the more athletic and quicker personnel. Locke and Nembhard were also two of the team’s better defenders last season.
“Me and Noah, just knowing how the team works, we can really do some things on the defensive side of the ball,” Nembhard said. “Noah is just a gym rat.”
Combo guard Tre Mann is expected to provide a boost offensively as a volume shooter who can score 2s and from deep. White said Mann was as good a shooter as there was in the 2019 class. If his defense from high school translates to college as the staff anticipates it will, he should drive competition and create quality depth. At the least, the hope is Mann will be a good option to run the offense when Nembhard is on the bench.
One easily overlooked player is freshman point guard Ques Glover, who doesn’t have an obvious path for minutes. At just 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Glover lacks size, but he has plenty of speed. He could come in handy, particularly defensively against smaller guards.
“He is an underrated recruit,” assistant coach Darris Nichols said, “but he is one of the better shooters on our team.”
Importantly, there is depth in the backcourt now as opposed to last year when the starters logged too many minutes. That is one reason why Florida had the flexibility to add Cleveland State transfer Tyree Appleby, who won’t be eligible until 2020-21.
Wings: The hope is that the offensive tempo will drastically change from last year, that the defensive turnover rate can also improve, the offensive rebounding will be better and the number of fouls drawn will increase. Scottie Lewis represents hope for all of that. He projects to be that good.
Lewis moves without the ball, and White said he is “fantastic in the open floor.” He uses his elite speed to effectively cut and drive to the basket. He can also defend at a high level and crash the offensive glass.
Keyontae Johnson improved as the season went on last year and secured a role in the starting lineup. He turned a corner in the SEC tournament, where he averaged 13.7 points and 10 rebounds in three games. More of a true wing, Johnson (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) may be asked to play the 4 with Lewis likely sliding to the 3. With his energy and athleticism, Johnson, who last season had a knack for making hustle plays that led to second-chance points, can play multiple positions.
“When you watch him play and then you get up to him in person, everybody says, ‘I thought he was bigger than that,’” Nichols said. “Because of his athleticism and wingspan with the way he plays, people seem to think he’s 6-8 when he’s really 6-5.”
Lewis and Johnson can be tenacious defenders, and both present versatile options offensively. Both can score at all three levels and should be able to cash in on fast breaks, an area in which the Gators struggled last season.
“In our Elite Eight year, we had a lot of guys and you couldn’t focus on one particular guy,” Nichols said. “I think this year, hopefully, it will be the same way where on any given night we can have someone else step up and be the guy. We have a lot of options. Hopefully, if they don’t mind sacrificing, I think we can be really good.”
Bigs: Kerry Blackshear Jr. is arguably the most talented big man White has coached. At 6-foot-11, Blackshear averaged 14.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game last season for the Hokies. He is an elite offensive rebounder, and that’s an area Florida needs to improve considerably from last season.
Blackshear is a perfect fit for the Gators, and he provides something they haven’t had in recent years: a low-post presence offensively. He can be used for pick-and-rolls and is skilled at back-to-the-basket post-ups. He’s a good passer from inside and has the shooting ability to draw defenders out to the perimeter.
By advanced metrics, Florida was a strong defensively, and defense has long been a hallmark of White’s teams. But Florida graduated its best defender in big man Kevarrius Hayes. From White’s perspective, Blackshear is arguably as good a defender as Hayes, but they’re different players. Hayes focused more on blocking and altering shots, but Blackshear is a terrific communicator who boxes out, switches and helps as necessary. Additionally, Blackshear has a knack for staying out of foul trouble; he averaged only 4.3 fouls per 40 minutes.
“He is really good at a lot of things,” White said.
But he also has room for improvement. His ball-screen defense can get better. Same goes for his defensive rebounding.
That’s nitpicking, though. Blackshear is a known commodity and a proven talent. He’s the guy at the 5 position with no one else in his path, and that’s one reason why the Gators were so attractive to him.
Behind him, though, the depth is unproven. Gorjok Gak is expected back, but knee problems limited him two years ago and knee surgery cost him all of last season. He has still yet to go through a full practice.
“Gak coming back will be a big help for shot-blocking,” Nembhard said. “I’m excited about him.”
Omar Payne has the most upside among the reserves bigs, but he may need time to develop before he is someone who can be counted on for important minutes.
“He’s long and active and can be disruptive,” Nichols said. “People don’t understand how skilled he is.”
Dontay Bassett doesn’t have that kind of upside, but the junior provides toughness, likes contact and works hard. Jason Jitobhis another promising freshman, but at 6-foot-11 and 300 pounds, he’ll probably need time to get his body right and develop.
“We’ve got a lot to figure out,” White said. “But that was part of the opportunity with (Blackshear), that he had in coming here and being able to step in and be an immediate impact with good pieces around him.”
Lewis was the No. 7 overall prospect in the Class of 2019, according to the 247Sports Composite. (Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports)
Spotlight on: Scottie Lewis
The first time Andrew Nembhard shared a court with Scottie Lewis and played on the same team was in a pickup game a few weeks ago. The experience confirmed everything Nembhard heard about Lewis.
“We played well together because he runs and plays hard,” Nembhard said. “He’s not really worried about getting up a lot of shots. He was ready to make a play when he needed to, and he plays really good defense. He plays really hard on that side of the floor. It solidified some things about him.”
Lewis has what White refers to as an “attacking mentality.” Put simply, Lewis is uber-competitive. He celebrates teammates and has the maturity to hold himself accountable on the court, often talking to himself after a questionable play. Lewis isn’t interested in a passive role; he wants to influence culture and success.
“He’s very motivated and he’s talkative,” Nembhard said. “I think he could bring a leadership piece, even though he is young.”
Lewis’ name already appears on way-too-early mock drafts. He has been written about since he was in the seventh grade. His time in Gainesville may be short, but it will almost certainly be highly impactful. His versatility will enable some lineup flexibility, and his skill set will allow the Gators to play faster with a much more dynamic offense.
“He’s a great two-way player,” Nembhard said. “Defensively, he’s going to be really good for us. Offensively, I can’t wait to get out and run with him. His shot is looking really good. He can help us in a lot of ways.”
Recruiting
A top-10 class headlined by a one-and-done talent such as Lewis was a multi-year process for White and his staff, who needed time to make inroads with elite high school talent after coming to Gainesville from Louisiana Tech. The reasons for signing Lewis, the No. 7 overall prospect from the class, are obvious, and his presence alone would have improved the offense. Most important for the future, regardless if Lewis stays beyond this season, his addition legitimized Florida again as a destination for superior talents.
Beyond that big-picture outlook, the Gators solidified the roster with this class. Nembhard’s future beyond this season is uncertain after he flirted with the NBA in the offseason, but Florida has its point guard of the future in Mann. After the departure of seniors KeVaughn Allen and Jalen Hudson, Mann give Florida much-needed scoring and energy in the backcourt .
In signing Payne and Jitoboh, White addressed Florida’s size and depth issues in the frontcourt. Quality options and consistency haven’t been there from the bigs recently, and both signees will be afforded time to develop and learn on the job in low-leverage situations while Blackshear and the more experienced reserves perform the heavy lifting.
The signees and transfer additions led to some attrition, which shows the staff is massaging the roster more to its liking with more talented players.
Part two
White has won 89 games in four seasons at Florida, including three straight trips to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament. (Christopher Hanewinckel/USA Today Sports)
Schedule analysis
The results weren’t pretty last season against nonconference opponents, but at least the Gators were tested, and perhaps that helped them down the stretch. With a young team and high expectations, it’s imperative for Florida to secure wins and play well early on. November projects favorably; the Gators get Florida State at home after getting blown out last year in Tallahassee.
Florida plays Butler to open December, gets a decent matchup in Providence in mid-December and will again appear in the SEC/BIG 12 Challenge in late January.
Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are the home-and-home conference opponents. Along with Kentucky being tops in the conference, LSU projects to be a preseason top-25 team, albeit much closer to 25 than 15.
The only other team in the SEC that has appeared on early top-25 lists is Auburn, and the Gators get the Tigers at home along with Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi State. Tennessee is among the conference away games for Florida.
“We have a chance to be very good,” White said. “But a lot of teams in our league do.”
Ceiling
The Gators are appearing in early top-10 rankings because they have one of the best big men in the country, a five-star wing and a dependable point guard with tantalizing role players. All of the pieces are in place for a special season; the ifs surrounding the program — if Blackshear fits in seamlessly, ifLewis impacts games as a freshman the way everyone believes he will — are more nitpicks than serious concerns.
The pieces need to gel, the defense can’t be sacrificed and chemistry must be fostered, but White has secured enough talent for Florida to be a legitimate Final Four pick and national championship contender.
The floor
The Gators are too young and are still a year away. That would be an unfortunate situation, considering this is Blackshear’s final year. Florida may experience some speed bumps early on as it builds chemistry with a young group that is unfamiliar playing together. Assuming everyone stays healthy, at worst the Gators will limp into the tournament and exit early.
Final report
If what happens in July means anything, the Gators have to feel good about the early returns on their additions. Nembhard said the freshmen are constantly asking him specific questions about plays, concepts and ball screens. The first impressions of the new players from the coaching staff and returning players have been all positive: Guys are engaged and communicating at an impressive level. The energy inside the practice facility is in line with the high expectations.
Will it all translate? The talent level suggests it should.
The Gators are formidable and have the pieces for a deep tournament run. The belief is they will remain in the national conversation all season
Schedule analysis
The results weren’t pretty last season against nonconference opponents, but at least the Gators were tested, and perhaps that helped them down the stretch. With a young team and high expectations, it’s imperative for Florida to secure wins and play well early on. November projects favorably; the Gators get Florida State at home after getting blown out last year in Tallahassee.
Florida plays Butler to open December, gets a decent matchup in Providence in mid-December and will again appear in the SEC/BIG 12 Challenge in late January.
Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are the home-and-home conference opponents. Along with Kentucky being tops in the conference, LSU projects to be a preseason top-25 team, albeit much closer to 25 than 15.
The only other team in the SEC that has appeared on early top-25 lists is Auburn, and the Gators get the Tigers at home along with Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi State. Tennessee is among the conference away games for Florida.
“We have a chance to be very good,” White said. “But a lot of teams in our league do.”
Ceiling
The Gators are appearing in early top-10 rankings because they have one of the best big men in the country, a five-star wing and a dependable point guard with tantalizing role players. All of the pieces are in place for a special season; the ifs surrounding the program — if Blackshear fits in seamlessly, ifLewis impacts games as a freshman the way everyone believes he will — are more nitpicks than serious concerns.
The pieces need to gel, the defense can’t be sacrificed and chemistry must be fostered, but White has secured enough talent for Florida to be a legitimate Final Four pick and national championship contender.
The floor
The Gators are too young and are still a year away. That would be an unfortunate situation, considering this is Blackshear’s final year. Florida may experience some speed bumps early on as it builds chemistry with a young group that is unfamiliar playing together. Assuming everyone stays healthy, at worst the Gators will limp into the tournament and exit early.
Final report
If what happens in July means anything, the Gators have to feel good about the early returns on their additions. Nembhard said the freshmen are constantly asking him specific questions about plays, concepts and ball screens. The first impressions of the new players from the coaching staff and returning players have been all positive: Guys are engaged and communicating at an impressive level. The energy inside the practice facility is in line with the high expectations.
Will it all translate? The talent level suggests it should.
The Gators are formidable and have the pieces for a deep tournament run. The belief is they will remain in the national conversation all season
G.O.A.T Squad Spokesman
Logic Is Absent Wherever Hate Is Present
For the first time in 35 seasons, the Warriors will have a new color commentator on the TV side. Kelenna Azubuike will replace Jim Barnett on the team’s NBC Sports Bay Area broadcasts, with Barnett calling games on the radio with Tim Roye.
According to a team press release, Azubuike will work alongside Bob Fitzgerald, who in a few months will enter his 23rd season as the team’s TV play-by-play announcer.
“The season can’t get here soon enough now. I’m hyped,” Azubuike said in a phone interview on Friday. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to work with Bob. He’s a professional. I’m just thankful. Thank you to the Warriors, Joe Lacob, Peter Guber, Rick Welts for believing in me.”
“We think Kelenna is one of the bright, young stars in the broadcasting business,” Warriors president and COO Rick Welts said in a team press release. “He’s done an outstanding job the last few seasons as a member of our pre, halftime and post-game shows on NBC Sports Bay Area, and his familiarity with our team, our players and our fans dating back to the ‘We Believe’ days will serve him well in this new role. His presence will add a new dimension to our TV broadcasts and we are thrilled with the addition.”
Mostly, Azubuike has been known as a studio analyst working alongside Greg Papa and Garry St. Jean, but he has called Warriors games before, both on the radio and on TV with Barnett and Fitzgerald. It’s easy to forget that he’s only 35, as his career was cut short by a brutal knee injury suffered playing for the Warriors early in the 2009-10 season. He retired after playing the 2011-12 season with the Mavericks. Now he’s going to replace Barnett, whom he’s been connected with since his playing days.
“I love Jim. Jim is a class act. He did it so long and did it so well. We always had a great relationship, even when I played. We’d talk about shooting and simple things, fundamentals of basketball,” said Azubuike. “He was one of the first people I talked to when I got into broadcasting. He gave me some advice and had a nice long conversation. He’s the one who connected me with NBC Sports Bay Area. I’m not going to try to be Jim because he’s one of a kind. I’m just going to be myself and bring my own personality into it.”
The Warriors originally looked to replace Barnett in 2014, with the stated intention of Barnett transitioning to a team ambassador role. That didn’t go smoothly, as fans rallied to “#KeepJim” and that passion at least played a part in Barnett sticking around to call the next five seasons. And we all know what happened during those five seasons, so at least Barnett was able to remain in his role for an absurdly dominant stretch that bore no resemblance to Barnett’s first 29 seasons on the call.
This time, the Warriors handled things differently. No farewell tour, no announcers from outside the organization rumored to get the job (like Brent Barry back in 2014), and Barnett gets to continue announcing. In fact, when I spoke with Barnett a week ago about his future, he mentioned how if the Warriors decided to replace him on TV, he wanted to call games on the radio with Roye.
It’s probably the kind of move we all saw coming to some extent, with the team moving to a new arena and they looked to replace Barnett five years ago when he was turning 70. To celebrate Barnett’s TV career, the Warriors plan to have him call the first regular-season game at Chase Center with Fitzgerald and Azubuike
According to a team press release, Azubuike will work alongside Bob Fitzgerald, who in a few months will enter his 23rd season as the team’s TV play-by-play announcer.
“The season can’t get here soon enough now. I’m hyped,” Azubuike said in a phone interview on Friday. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to work with Bob. He’s a professional. I’m just thankful. Thank you to the Warriors, Joe Lacob, Peter Guber, Rick Welts for believing in me.”
“We think Kelenna is one of the bright, young stars in the broadcasting business,” Warriors president and COO Rick Welts said in a team press release. “He’s done an outstanding job the last few seasons as a member of our pre, halftime and post-game shows on NBC Sports Bay Area, and his familiarity with our team, our players and our fans dating back to the ‘We Believe’ days will serve him well in this new role. His presence will add a new dimension to our TV broadcasts and we are thrilled with the addition.”
Mostly, Azubuike has been known as a studio analyst working alongside Greg Papa and Garry St. Jean, but he has called Warriors games before, both on the radio and on TV with Barnett and Fitzgerald. It’s easy to forget that he’s only 35, as his career was cut short by a brutal knee injury suffered playing for the Warriors early in the 2009-10 season. He retired after playing the 2011-12 season with the Mavericks. Now he’s going to replace Barnett, whom he’s been connected with since his playing days.
“I love Jim. Jim is a class act. He did it so long and did it so well. We always had a great relationship, even when I played. We’d talk about shooting and simple things, fundamentals of basketball,” said Azubuike. “He was one of the first people I talked to when I got into broadcasting. He gave me some advice and had a nice long conversation. He’s the one who connected me with NBC Sports Bay Area. I’m not going to try to be Jim because he’s one of a kind. I’m just going to be myself and bring my own personality into it.”
The Warriors originally looked to replace Barnett in 2014, with the stated intention of Barnett transitioning to a team ambassador role. That didn’t go smoothly, as fans rallied to “#KeepJim” and that passion at least played a part in Barnett sticking around to call the next five seasons. And we all know what happened during those five seasons, so at least Barnett was able to remain in his role for an absurdly dominant stretch that bore no resemblance to Barnett’s first 29 seasons on the call.
This time, the Warriors handled things differently. No farewell tour, no announcers from outside the organization rumored to get the job (like Brent Barry back in 2014), and Barnett gets to continue announcing. In fact, when I spoke with Barnett a week ago about his future, he mentioned how if the Warriors decided to replace him on TV, he wanted to call games on the radio with Roye.
It’s probably the kind of move we all saw coming to some extent, with the team moving to a new arena and they looked to replace Barnett five years ago when he was turning 70. To celebrate Barnett’s TV career, the Warriors plan to have him call the first regular-season game at Chase Center with Fitzgerald and Azubuike
Flex Luger
Job Is Finished
