NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/16/17
Here are Sunday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Celtics are in action in the first round of the NBA playoffs tonight, but Demetrius Jackson and Jordan Mickey aren’t with them, having been assigned to the Maine Red Claws, per the team (Twitter link). Jackson and Mickey are playing in Maine’s game against the Raptors 905 today in the D-League postseason.
- The Rockets have assigned Chinanu Onuaku, Isaiah Taylor, and Kyle Wiltjer to the D-League, the team announced today (Twitter link). Like Boston, Houston has both its NBA team and its D-League affiliate playing postseason games today, so Onuaku, Taylor, and Wiltjer will suit up for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers rather than the Rockets.
Western Notes: Ginobili, Malone, Anderson
Manu Ginobili has not yet made a decision on whether or not he will play during the 2017/18 season, but nothing that happens during this year’s playoff run with the Spurs will impact his choice, Jeff McDonald of Spurs Nation relays.
“I’m not going to say it’s irrelevant, but pretty close,” Ginobili said. “Winning or not winning is not going to change what I decide to do in the future.”
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- The Nuggets should afford coach Mike Malone at least one more season to get the team into the playoffs, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post opines. The scribe acknowledges that Malone had a role in Jusuf Nurkic not reaching his potential on the team, but adds that the coach deserves credit for the development of Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris, and Jamal Murray.
- Ryan Anderson, who signed with the Rockets last summer, believes the team’s chemistry is a major reason why Houston has been able to have success this season, Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle writes. “Chemistry goes a long way in this league, and it’s very rare to play on a team where everybody really enjoys their time together,” Anderson said. “Everybody is a piece of a puzzle, and it feels good to come to a team where you know you’re making a difference, and you’re having fun along the way.”
- Free agent acquisition Eric Gordon enjoys being on the Rockets. He believes that he’s a much better fit in Houston than he was on his previous team in New Orleans, as he tells Zwerneman (same piece). “This team has better chemistry and probably better players,” Gordon said of the Rockets.
Mavericks Notes: Ferrell, Carlisle, Lottery
Yogi Ferrell is confident that he can be the Mavericks‘ starting point guard, though he’s willing to play whatever role is best for the team, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes.
“I feel like, yeah, I am a starting point guard, and I’m going to play whatever role coach decides to put me in,” Ferrell said. “I’m definitely just blessed to be here and glad to be here. I definitely want to be here for a very long time.”
Here’s more from Dallas:
- Coach Rick Carlisle believes Ferrell has earned a place in the league, but he added that it’s unfair to project what kind of role the Indiana product will play going forward, Sefko adds in the same piece. “I do like Yogi in our franchise, on our roster,” Carlisle said. “He certainly has proven that he can be a rotation player in this league. We didn’t have a good record. At this point in time, projecting exactly where he’s going to be is not really fair. I love him as a competitor. He’s grown each and every day, each and every game. I’m just really thrilled we have him here.”
- Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News can envision the Mavericks contending for the eighth seed next season, but he’s bearish on the team’s chances of rising any higher in the standings. The scribe adds that if unless Dallas moves up in the lottery, the team is a season or two away from 50 wins. Mark Cuban’s franchise has a 1.7% at the No. 1 overall selection and a 6.1% chance at a top-3 pick, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors details.
Pacific Notes: Barnes, Iguodala, Kings
Matt Barnes will not play for the Warriors in today’s playoff game against the Blazers, CBS Sports relays. Barnes, who was signed by the team earlier this season in the wake of Kevin Durant‘s knee injury, is dealing with a sprained right foot.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Andre Iguodala is staying with Landmark Sports, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Iguodala was previously represented by Rob Pelinka, who left the agency to become the Lakers’ GM. The Sixth Man of the Year candidate made slightly over $11.13MM for the Warriors this season in the last year of his contract.
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee wonders if the Kings will be patient enough to build something sustainable. Jones believes the team needs to give its young talent time to develop, something that will require the ownership to have more patience than they’ve shown in the past.
- The Kings could draft a point guard and re-sign either Ty Lawson or Darren Collison to mentor the young prospect, Jones contends in a separate piece. Sacramento has plenty of cap room this summer and Jones believes it could mean a lucrative contract for one of its veteran point guards.
Clippers Notes: Austin Rivers, D-League, Ingles
Austin Rivers will miss at least one more game of the playoff series with the Jazz because of a left hamstring strain that he suffered late in the season, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. His father and coach, Doc Rivers, said Austin went through a shooting session Saturday for the first time since the injury. He also did some light sprints and dribbling drills as the workout went better than a previous attempt. “I was on the court three or four days ago,” Austin Rivers told Bill Oram of The Orange County Register, “and it didn’t really go as I planned. Didn’t feel good and they took me off and waited a couple more days, with a little treatment and stuff like that. Today we tried it again and it worked.” He is aiming to be ready for Game 3 Friday night in Utah.
There’s more today out of Los Angeles:
- The Clippers are hoping to add a D-League franchise next season, reports Adam Johnson of D-League Digest. The original plan was to have a team in place for 2018/19, but the organization decided it doesn’t want to wait that long. Ontario, California, is the preferred location, and the Clippers are awaiting league approval for that site. If that doesn’t work out, Johnson suggests Bakersfield as an alternative. The city hosted the Bakersfield Jam before that franchise was purchased by the Suns and moved to Northern Arizona. The new team would be the 26th in the D-League and the fourth to join next season.
- The Clippers are facing Utah’s Joe Ingles in the playoffs three years after waiving him. Doc Rivers says the move was necessary because of another contract that the Clippers were obligated to keep, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. That contract belonged to Jared Cunningham, who only spent 19 games in L.A., according to Dan Woike of DanWoikeSports (Twitter link). Ingles was waived by the Clippers on October 25th, 2014, and claimed by the Jazz two days later.
- The Clippers should have been more inspired in Game 1 considering that their long-term future is at stake, writes Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin can both opt out this summer, and the core of the team could be broken up with another early playoff exit.
Pistons Committed To Keeping Caldwell-Pope
The Pistons plan to match any offer that restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope receives, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.
The organization is prepared to give the fourth-year shooting guard a maximum deal if that’s what it takes to keep him in Detroit, Ellis adds, with several sources saying he is an important part of the team’s future.
Caldwell-Pope averaged 13.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game this season, but his numbers declined after the All-Star break. Ellis states that the Pistons may have viewed the situation differently if they were confident that Stanley Johnson was ready to become a starter, but they believe keeping Caldwell-Pope is vital and they wouldn’t be able to get an adequate replacement because of their cap situation.
Ellis touches on several other Pistons-related matters:
- Trade talks involving Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson will continue this offseason. Ellis states that the organization is becoming impatient with Drummond, with coach/executive Stan Van Gundy saying in Friday’s press conference that he needs a “sense of urgency to elevate his game.” Jackson’s drop in production stemmed from left knee tendinitis that plagued him throughout the season, and Ellis claims the only available replacement who might be an upgrade is the Suns’ Eric Bledsoe.
- The Pistons believe they have enough young players and future first-rounders to acquire a star this offseason. There were rumors that Drummond was offered to the Kings for DeMarcus Cousins before he was sent to New Orleans, and a source told Ellis the Pistons contacted the Pacers about Paul George but never got close to a deal. George has another season left before he can opt out, and Detroit might be interested in taking the chance that it can re-sign him, but only if the price in a trade comes down. Other targets could include Jimmy Butler and Carmelo Anthony.
- Although the Pistons might benefit from a franchise-altering move, Van Gundy said smaller deals are more realistic. “There’s a couple things we’d like to do and make us a little bit better, but I don’t think we’re broken” he said. “Getting our point guard situation back to where it was or even better is more than feasible and corrects a great deal of the problems we’re talking about. Our roster is pretty good from there.”
Weekly Mailbag: 4/10/17 – 4/16/17
We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com. Here are this week’s inquiries:
What are the chances Klay Thompson could be pried away from Golden State when he hits free agency? — FTD, via Twitter
Thompson signed a rookie scale extension three years ago that has him under contract through 2018/19. It’s hard to predict how the NBA will look two seasons down the road, but we do know a few things. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant will both sign max deals this offseason, while Draymond Green has a near-max contract that he agreed to last summer. That leaves Golden State with a very top-heavy salary structure with four players putting the team close to the cap. In two years, Curry will be 31, Durant will turn 30 and Thompson and Green will be 29. All four will still be in their primes and Golden State figures to remain among the NBA’s elite teams. There’s no reason to think the Warriors will be ready to break up their core by then, even with looming luxury tax concerns. Look for Thompson to get another max deal in 2019 and finish his career with Golden State.
Will the Lakers be better next season? — Broad Feet, via Twitter
With a nucleus of young, talented players, L.A. should improve at least a little bit every season. D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance Jr. could eventually develop into a team that makes regular playoff appearances. But what the Lakers need is a star to build around, and there are only a few ways to get one. L.A. has imperiled its draft pick with a few late-season victories, falling behind Phoenix into third place in our Reverse Standings. If that pick drops out of the top three on lottery night, it will be transferred to Philadelphia, leaving the Lakers with no shot at Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz or any other franchise-changing talent. The team won’t appear more attractive to free agents than it was last year, and the huge contracts it gave to Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov will be a drain on the salary cap for the next three years. The dream of signing Paul George is at least a year away. So the Lakers might be a little bit better next season, but real improvement will require patience.
Whenever anyone makes the MVP case for James Harden over Russell Westbrook, they point to Houston’s record vs. OKC’s. Couldn’t the same argument be used to make the case for Kawhi Leonard over Harden? The Spurs’ supporting cast isn’t much better than the Rockets’, and the gap between San Antonio and Houston is as big as the gap between Houston and OKC. — Jonathan C., via email
That’s a very good argument. Leonard averages nearly 26 points per game on the second best team in the league, and the defensive gap between him and Harden is huge. It should be a very interesting three-man race for MVP, with LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas and maybe some others also getting votes. Westbrook’s triple-doubles will impress voters, as will Harden’s gaudy numbers in points and assists, but you could make the case that no one has done more to help his team win on a nightly basis than Leonard.
Porzingis To Spend Summer In Latvia; Anthony May Resist Trade
Kristaps Porzingis, who made a statement about the Knicks organization by skipping his exit interview Friday, plans to spend most of the summer in his native Latvia, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
Porzingis’ move was seen as a protest against the “unprofessionalism and routine chaos” that he has encountered during his two seasons with the team, Wojnarowski writes, noting that he may not return to the United States until just before the start of camp.
His stance appears to represent the prevalent feeling in the locker room. Many players are saying privately that they don’t want to be involved in summer tutoring sessions in the triangle offense that are planned at the Knicks’ practice facility. Wojnarowski describes the atmosphere as an “open rebellion” against team president Phil Jackson’s philosophy.
It also appears that Jackson’s statements on Friday urging Carmelo Anthony to accept a trade this summer have backfired. Wojnarowski writes that the Knicks plan to reopen trade talks before the draft in June, but Anthony has become more determined to spend two more years in New York and try to outlast Jackson. With the Knicks picking up Jackson’s option this week, both he and Anthony have two seasons left on their current contracts.
Jackson’s press conference was the latest addition to the chaos that has left Porzingis disillusioned. He developed a good working relationship with coach Derek Fisher as a rookie, Wojnarowski writes, but Fisher was fired midway through last season, partly because of a dispute with Jackson over the triangle and the best way to use Porzingis in the offense.
Jackson appointed Kurt Rambis as interim head coach and wanted to give him the job permanently, but opposition inside and outside the organization forced him to hire someone else. He chose Jeff Hornacek, who had recently been fired by the Suns and had little leverage to oppose the triangle or force out Rambis, who remains as an assistant.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/15/17
Here are Saturday’s assignments/recalls from around the league:
- The Thunder assigned forward Josh Huestis to their Oklahoma City Blue affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Huestis has participated in four D-League playoff games with OKC, averaging 19.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per night, while shooting 56% from the floor.
Thomas’ Status Uncertain After Sister’s Death
The Celtics may not know until game time if Isaiah Thomas will be available for Sunday’s playoff opener with the Bulls after the death of his sister in an auto accident today, tweets Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald.
Chyna Thomas, 22, was killed in a one-car crash early this morning on Interstate 5 in Federal Way, Washington. Isaiah Thomas was told about the tragedy after the Celtics finished practice today, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. A source close to Thomas informed ESPN that he plans to play in the Sunday evening game, but nothing is certain at this point.
Thomas’ father told Murphy that no decision has been made on when his son will fly to Washington, adding “It’s a crucial time for our family right now.” A league source said the sixth-year guard is in “a state of shock.”
Coach Brad Stevens visited Thomas tonight and the Celtics issued a statement that read, “We are terribly saddened by the tragic loss of Chyna Thomas. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Celtics organization are with Isaiah and his family.”