Utah’s Donovan Mitchell upset with team over scratch from lineup.
Utah Jazz leading scorer Donovan Mitchell was angry with the team over its decision to scratch the twotime All-Star hours before the team’s first-round playoff series opener Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies, ESPN reported.
Mitchell continues to recover from a right ankle sprain he suffered last month. However, he practiced three days in a row and took part in Sunday morning’s shootaround. Mitchell was not listed on the injury report Saturday or Sunday.
“I’m ready to go,” Mitchell said Sunday morning. “No pain. I’m excited to get going.”
Instead, the team’s training staff recommended he remain inactive for the game, which the top-seeded Jazz lost, 112-109.
“Sorry y’all... I wish I could say more .... I’ll be out there soon!” he tweeted.
The rehab has created tensions between Mitchell and the team, per the ESPN report, with Mitchell opting to work with his personal training staff during the recovery.
Mitchell averaged a career-best 26.4 points per game during the regular season, adding 5.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. WARRIORS GM SAYS SIGNING CURRY A PRIORITY » Warriors general manager
Bob Myers has little doubt Golden State will sign newly crowned scoring champion Stephen Curry to a contract extension this offseason.
“I don’t see any reason not to be optimistic,” Myers said Monday, three days after his team’s season ended in a play-in game. “He seems like he’s motivated, we’re motivated. I would say pretty confident we’ll get something done.”
In December, Curry said discussions were underway and that he is “fully committed.” The two-time NBA MVP signed a $201 million, five-year contract in July 2017 that initially was the richest ever, until James Harden topped it with a $228 million extension from the Rockets.
At 33 and in his 12th NBA season, Curry became the oldest scoring champion since Michael Jordan did it at age 35 in 1998. Curry averaged 32.0 points to lead the league for the second time in his career after also doing it in 2015-16. LEAGUE FORMS NBA AFRICA GROUP » The NBA announced Monday that it has formed NBA Africa, which will oversee all league business on the continent, including the Basketball Africa League.
At least five former NBA players — Junior Bridgeman, Grant Hill, Joakim Noah, Congo native Dikembe Mutombo and South Sudan native Luol
Deng — are investors in the venture. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum will be on the board of directors.
Silver said the current enterprise value of NBA Africa is “nearly $1 billion,” though amounts of the league and individual investments were not disclosed. The league said some of its primary areas of focus with the venture are to grow the BAL and to launch additional NBA academies in Africa.
PACERS STILL EVALUATING BJORKGREN » Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard intends to stand pat — for now.
He’d rather not break up the big-man tandem of Myles Turner, the NBA’s blocks champion, and twotime All-Star Domantas Sabonis. He hopes free agents Doug McDermott and NBA steals champ T.J. McConnell return.
And he’s not pulling the plug on coach Nate Bjorkgren. At least not yet.
After missing the playoffs for the first time in six years and amid a tumultuous final month, Pritchard used a 45-minute, seasonending video call to explain why he’s still evaluating the first-year coach’s fate.
“You don’t win 34 games with a decimated roster without doing some good things, too,” Pritchard said.