NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls 3/11/17
Here are Saturday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Mavericks have assigned Manny Harris and Jarrod Uthoff to their D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, according to a team press release. Dallas signed both players to 10-day deals earlier this week.
- The Warriors have recalled Damian Jones from the Santa Cruz Warriors, their D-League affiliate, per a team press release. Jones is seeing court time for Golden State tonight, as coach Steve Kerr decided to rest several of the team’s top players.
Community Shootaround: Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves beat the Warriors on Friday night in a game that came down to a missed Stephen Curry jumper in the remaining seconds of regulation. Minnesota is 7-3 over its last 10 contests (only the Spurs can claim a better record) and the team’s defense deserves credit for the stretch. The team held Curry to just one made 3-pointer on his eight attempts and as a team, Golden State shot just 29.3% from behind the arc.
Entering their game with the Warriors, the Wolves had the highest defensive rating in the league post All-Star break, as I recently mentioned. It takes time to learn defensive schemes in the NBA and it appears that the team’s young talent is starting to grasp Tom Thibodeau’s playbook.
The franchise enters the day just 2.5 games behind the Nuggets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference, though the Wolves would also have to jump the Blazers and Mavs to punch a ticket to the NBA’s second season.
That leads us to tonight’s shootaround topic: Can the Wolves make a run over the last quarter of the season and make the playoffs or are they a piece or two away from being a playoff team? Let us know if you think Minnesota can climb in the standings or what the team should do this offseason to complement Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. We look forward to what you have to say!
Monty Williams Expected To Coach In 2017
Monty Williams is expected to be one of the “elite candidates” on the NBA coaching market once the season concludes, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter links). The University of Illinois offered Williams its head coaching gig and was willing to make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NCAA. Williams turned down the offer, as he focuses his attention on making a return to an NBA sideline.
Williams is currently working in the Spurs’ front office. He’s had various roles in the organization over his lifetime, ranging from player to coaching intern.
He was an associate head coach with the Thunder during the 2015/16 campaign. Prior to his time in Oklahoma City, he spent five years as the coach of the Pelicans, where he made the playoffs on two occasions. He owns a 173-221 record as a head coach.
Week In Review: 3/4/17 – 3/11/17
It was a relatively quiet week in the NBA, at least compared to the flurries leading up to and immediately after the trade deadline. Still there were some significant headlines that will impact contenders over the course of the next little while. Take a look through the transactions, injuries and rumors that popped up over the last seven days.
Signed
- The Hawks claimed Jose Calderon off of waivers.
- The Pelicans signed Jordan Crawford to a 10-day contract.
- The Sixers signed Shawn Long to a 10-day contract.
- The Mavs signed Jarrod Uthoff to a 10-day contract.
- The Mavs signed Manny Harris to a 10-day contract.
- The Rockets signed Troy Williams to a 10-day contract.
- The Timberwolves signed Lance Stephenson to a second 10-day contract.
- The Pelicans signed Hollis Thompson to a second 10-day contract.
- The Lakers signed David Nwaba to a second 10-day contract.
- The Hornets signed Briante Weber to a second 10-day contract.
- The Hornets signed Johnny O’Bryant III to a second 10-day contract.
Injured
- Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge has been ruled out indefinitely with a heart arrhythmia.
- Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard entered concussion protocol following a collision on Thursday.
- Cavaliers center Andrew Bogut fractured his tibia in the first minute of his Cavs career. He’s been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
- Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith is back in the lineup for the first time since fracturing his thumb in December.
- Trail Blazers center Festus Ezeli has undergone knee surgery and been ruled out for the remainder of the 2016/17 season.
News
- The Lakers formally announced the hiring of Rob Pelinka as general manager of the franchise. Pelinka has fully divested from his sports agency.
- Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer was suspended one game for making incidental contact with an official.
- Acclaimed draft prospect Markelle Fultz has announced that he’ll enter the NBA Draft this summer.
Rumors
- The Cavaliers are in serious discussions with free agent big man Larry Sanders, though no deal has yet been announced.
- The Cavaliers are planning to waive Andrew Bogut in light of his season ending tibia fracture.
- Ahead of schedule in his recovery from a thumb injury, free agent forward Omri Casspi is said to be drawing interest from playoff teams.
- Kings forward Rudy Gay has apparently not yet decided whether or not he’ll turn down his player option for the 2017/18 season.
- Lakers veteran Luol Deng is seeing his role decrease in Los Angeles as the club makes room for its young core.
Comprehensive BIG3 Rosters/Player List
The BIG3 Draft is in the rearview mirror and now we can get a sense of the players that will play on each of the eight squads.
Below the rosters is a list of players who were announced to be available for the draft but who ultimately went undrafted.
(Note: Mobile and Trade Rumors app users, be sure to turn your phone sideways to view the tables in full).
Lakers Sign David Nwaba To Second 10-Day Deal
The Lakers have signed guard David Nwaba to a second 10-day contract, the team announced via press release on its official website. The move was announced by recently (formally) appointed general manager Rob Pelinka.
In five games with the Lakers over the course of his first 10-day deal, Nwaba averaged 2.6 points in 11.2 minutes per game while showcasing good energy and defense.
In addition to his time with the Lakers this season, the 24-year-old has also played in 39 contests, starting 30 of them, for the club’s D-League affiliate. In 29.0 minutes per game with the D-Fenders, Nwaba has averaged 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
LaMarcus Aldridge Out Indefinitely With Heart Arrhythmia
The Spurs will be without forward LaMarcus Aldridge for an indefinite period of time, the team has reported on Twitter. The 31-year-old big man is suffering from a minor heart arrhythmia.
Although serious arrhythmias can be life-threatening, they aren’t necessarily always harmful. The franchise, needless to say, has taken the wise approach to sit Aldridge until further examination can be conducted.
In 58 games with the Spurs so far this season, Aldridge has posted 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
We will provide updates as they come in from the Spurs organization.
Of note is that, per Jeff Stotts of Rotowire, Aldridge suffers from Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome and has undergone at least two procedures to address the issue since his rookie campaign in 2006.
In 2007, Casey Holdahl of the Oregonian wrote about Aldridge’s 2006/07 campaign being cut short when the Trail Blazers announced that he would undergo treatment for the congenital condition.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 3/4/17 – 3/11/17
- Fresh off of a Mark Cuban appearance at this year’s MIT Sloan Conference, Chris Crouse wrote about how the Mavericks built around Dirk Nowitzki in a must-read feature.
- Luke Adams broke down the early decisions dates for individuals like Rudy Gay with player options for the 2017/18 season.
- Did you know that you can follow specific players on Hoops Rumors? Here’s how you can tap into a dedicated stream of content specifically for your favorite player.
- Several young players due for rookie-scale extensions have been hit hard by injuries. Luke Adams takes a closer look at the cases of Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker and Zach LaVine.
- Amid one of the most hotly debated MVP races in recent memory, we decided to ask our readers who they thought should win the year-end award. If we learned anything from the results, it’s that this is a good year to be an NBA fan.
- The NBA blogosphere is a powerful thing. This week Milo Taibi scoured the internet for some of the best blog features online.
- Looking for help from the waiver wire in your fantasy basketball league? Chris Crouse examined some of the most valuable free agents that could still be available
- Missed Luke Adams’ live chat with fans on Monday? Check out a transcript of the conversation and don’t forget to participate for yourself next time he goes live.
- Every year the D-League gains ground as a valuable development system for NBA teams and this year has been no different. As Luke Adams explains, an impressive 16 of this year’s 30 first-round picks have already been on assignment this year.
- Have a question for Hoops Rumors? Looking for somebody to validate (or quash) your outlandish fan theory? Don’t hesitate to send your inquiries for a chance to be featured in our weekly mailbag series.
- Five pending free agents have seen their values impacted by recent trades. Luke Adams wrote about what recently moved players like Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson will be able to expect this offseason.
- Every week we like to turn the floor over to our readers so that they can weigh in on pressing issues relevant to the league. This week was no different, below are our Community Shootaround posts.
- Does the NBA need a better system in place for handling “buyout season“?
- The Knicks caused a stir when they decided to forgo in-game music in a game at Madison Square Garden this week. What do you think about the a capella approach?
- Don’t forget to check out last week’s Hoops Rumors Originals if you didn’t catch them the first time around.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Yabusele, Triangle Offense
Confirmed out for the season earlier this month, the next step in the recovery process for Sixers rookie Joel Embiid is figuring out what approach to take with regard to his torn meniscus. Embiid and the organization took the club’s west coast road trip as a chance to discuss surgery options with Los Angeles doctors, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
“We are trying to study his path and go about it meticulously,” head coach Brett Brown sqaid, adding that they’re actively trying to keep him a part of the Sixers team even though he may not be suiting up.
As Pompey writes, there are three major types of surgeries for a torn meniscus and the Sixers now face the challenge of finding an option that works best for Embiid. “He’s got an inner circle around him that’s helping guide him. We are just taking all the information in. Ultimately, he’s the one that has to feel comfortable with it,” added Brown.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Fresh off a dominant season with the Chinese Basketball Association, Celtics 2016 first-round pick Guerschon Yabusele – who profiles as a super mobile, 270-pound force of nature – could be making his way to the D-League to play with Boston’s affiliate in Maine, says Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.
- Eager to employ the triangle offense, Knicks president Phil Jackson took to the court to teach the system himself. According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, the 71-year-old Jackson ran a session breaking down the offense for guards on the roster.
- Unheralded Sixers forward Robert Covington has made a case to be included on ballots for the NBA’s all-defensive teams, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Covington currently leads the league in deflections and sits tied for fourth in steals per game.
Northwest Notes: Eighth Seed, Denver’s Defense, Towns
Jazz coach Quin Snyder is receiving contributions from seldom-used players Jeff Withey and Raul Neto, Jody Genessy of Deseret News writes.
“To be honest, we’ve been in these situations a lot, so there are different guys each night,” Snyder said. “When you have the right spirit, the game rewards you and that’s what happened with those two guys tonight. It’s easy to say, ‘Stay ready,’ and we say that stuff as coaches, but it’s hard to do. For those guys to literally be ready and contribute like they did, it was pretty good.”
The Jazz have won seven of their last 10, enjoying a successful 2016/17 campaign despite occasional injuries to George Hill, Derrick Favors, and Gordon Hayward.
“It’s tough because you never know when your name will be called, so you have to be ready,” Withey said. “On days off, I’m always in the gym running, trying to stay in shape, get shots up and stuff. It’s tough mentally also. It’s part of the business. It’s part of the job.”
More from the Northwest…
- The Nuggets still hold the eighth seed of the Western Conference, but the team’s defense must improve to sustain a playoff run, Nick Kosmider of the Denver Post writes. Denver’s opponent field goal percentage ranks 28th in the league since the All-Star break, Kosmider writes, and 24th in defensive rating. Coach Michael Malone is well-aware of the problem. “You go back to the start of the regular season, and we were playing good defense the first 10, close to 15 games. Obviously, the wheels have fallen off,” Malone said. Interestingly, Darrell Arthur was hesitant to blame his teammates for the defensive shortcomings: “We’re still learning. We’ve got a young team. It takes a while to go from a mediocre team to a good team to a great team. We’re trying to be great. We’re right there around good, but not so consistent.”
- Karl-Anthony Towns has taken charge of the “desperate” Timberwolves, Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press writes. Towns has been the key to Minnesota’s recent playoff push; winning seven of their last 10, climbing to within two games of the eighth seed. Following tonight’s crucial win over the Warriors, hopes are high for the young Wolves. “Desperation makes you do a lot of things you couldn’t normally do,” Towns said. “Being so close to the playoffs, I have a lot of desperation trying to play the best that I can so I can try to help us get to the playoffs and get that eighth spot.”
- Tom Thibodeau praised his team’s defensive improvements, saying they’ve taken a “quantum leap” in the right direction. “We’re not where we need to be, but when you look at the past couple of years and where we are now, (the point differential) says we’ve made a big jump,” Thibodeau told AJ Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today. “I believe we’re down to 13th now in points allowed (on the season), so that’s a quantum leap, and it’s still not where it needs to be, and we have to understand that.”