Atlantic Notes: Ntilikina, LeVert, Saric, Bayless
Knicks lottery pick Frank Ntilikina has played 20 or more minutes in 13 of the last 15 games, as coach Jeff Hornacek continues to gain trust in the French point guard, Roger Rubin of Newsday writes. Ntilikina had a 9-point, 11-assist outing late last month against the Spurs. He’s not posting big numbers like some other rookie guards around the league but the Knicks are pleased with hiss progress. “I think I’m making a step moving forward. The coach gives me more trust, more minutes,” Ntilikina told Rubin and other media members. “I think I’m getting more comfortable on the court. He sees that. I think I can help more than I was doing before. I just have to keep going, keep working on it.”
In other developments around the Atlantic Division:
- Swingman Caris LeVert is justifying the Nets’ 2016 draft-night trade to snag him with No. 20 pick, according to Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily.com. Brooklyn dealt veteran forward Thaddeus Young to the Pacers for LeVert, even though he underwent three foot surgeries during his collegiate career at Michigan. Last month, LeVert averaged 14.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.3 APG and 1.2 SPG in 28 MPG. “He’s been coming in with that second unit and he’s really been our spark right now and doing a great job,” coach Kenny Atkinson said.
- Forward Dario Saric can step into a starring role if needed, as he showed during the final three games of the Sixers’ recent road trip, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes. He averaged 24 PPG and 7.3 RPG while making two-thirds of his 3-point tries. “I need to stay focused and believing in myself, believing in what I’m doing on the court,” Saric told Pompey.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown considers guard Jerryd Bayless as the team’s hardest worker, as he relayed to Brian Seltzer of the team’s website. “His day starts when mine does. You go in at like 6:00 a.m., 6:30, and shortly thereafter you hear the tom toms, and he’s in a gym with a ball. That could be after a game,” Brown said. “He’s just a maniacal worker. … When he doesn’t perform like he wants to perform, he doesn’t shoot like he wants to shoot, he wakes up early and tries to fix it quick.”
Pistons Notes: Bradley, Leuer, Bullock, Galloway
Avery Bradley‘s role will change now that he’ll be playing alongside Ish Smith instead of Reggie Jackson until after the All-Star break, as he and coach Stan Van Gundy noted to me in a Detroit Free Press story.
The Pistons shooting guard returned to action on Wednesday after a seven-game absence due to a groin injury. While Bradley was on the mend, Jackson suffered a severe ankle sprain. Bradley will have to get used to quicker tempo and he’ll have the ball in his hands a little more. Van Gundy is running the offense more through the wings with Jackson on the sidelines.
“It’s going to change and I just have to make the adjustment,” Bradley said of his role. Bradley usually defended point guards with Jackson on the floor but those switched assignments will occur less often with the smaller Smith.
“The best part of Reggie Jackson’s defense is his post defense, so you could play him on a lot of bigger people,” Van Gundy said. “With Ish, that’s a lot different. So matchups will be a little bit different.”
In other Pistons developments:
- Forward Jon Leuer, who hasn’t played since October 31st due to an ankle injury, could be headed to surgery if his condition doesn’t improve soon. Leuer received a joint lubrication injection for his sprained left ankle a month ago after suffering a setback. He was put on anti-inflammatory medication recently to aid the healing process. Van Gundy hopes that Leuer will show significant progress by next weekend. “I can’t tell him to play and I can’t tell him to go get surgery,” Van Gundy said. “At that point, if we’ve gone another 12 days and we haven’t had anything change, he’s going to have to make some decisions on what he wants to do.”
- With Bradley returning to the lineup, Reggie Bullock and Anthony Tolliver will share a starting spot, depending on matchups. Against smaller lineups, Bullock will start. Against taller, more rugged power forwards, Tolliver will get the nod with Tobias Harris moving to small forward.
- The backup point guard job spot behind Smith is up for grabs. Langston Galloway played most of those minutes the first game Jackson was out. Dwight Buycks, who is on a two-way contract, played 18 minutes at the point the following game.
Addition Of Thomas Has Swift Impact On Cavs
Isaiah Thomas impacts the Cavaliers in a number of ways, as Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer breaks down. Thomas adds another dimension to the starting lineup, with LeBron James and Thomas sharing playmaking duties.
“It’ll be a good balance,” coach Tyronn Lue told the assembled media. “I just think LeBron has the ball, Isaiah is going to have the ball. They just play off each other. That’s what I like. I like being able to have two ball handlers in that first unit that can create and score the basketball and also playing off Kevin [Love].”
Dwyane Wade, who has played a lot at the point this season, can return to his usual shooting guard spot with Thomas on the floor. Thomas had 17 points and three assists in his season debut Tuesday.
“He’s a scorer, and when he has the ball it allows me to be a scorer and not have to worry about being a playmaker,” Wade said. “I can be a little more aggressive, so it was fun.”
Thomas’ return is also a boon to center Tristan Thompson in pick-and-roll situations, freeing the big man to get garbage baskets. “When [Thomas] raises to shoot, bigs are trying to contest his shot and that gives T-Top a free run at the rim to get those offensive rebounds,” Lue said.
In other Thomas-related news:
- Thomas may have been a high-scoring All-Star last season but he felt like he was starting his career all over again on Tuesday, as he told Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. “I couldn’t sleep (Monday) night,” Thomas said. “This was a crucial moment for me to step foot on the floor. New team, new arena … I’ve felt like I didn’t know what to expect, what it felt like to be on an NBA court. I felt like a rookie.”
- Thomas went from the last pick of the 2011 draft to one of the game’s most dynamic players, and James has a deep appreciation for Thomas’ work ethic, as he relayed to Joe Vardon of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and other writers. “What I like most about him is he has a chip on his shoulder for life,” James said. “That’s just who he is. When a guy’s got a chip on his shoulder for life he ain’t going to, he’s never going to not work hard.”
Community Shootaround: Clippers’ 2017/18 Outlook
As recently as mid-December, many NBA observers were preparing obituaries for the Clippers’ 2017/18 season and proposing trade scenarios involving potential 2018 free agent DeAndre Jordan. Within the last two weeks though, the Clips have dug themselves out of an early-season hole, winning six of seven contests and pulling to within a game of a playoff spot in the West.
The Clippers’ recent success can be attributed at least partially to improving health. Noteworthy offseason acquisition Danilo Gallinari remains on the shelf, but Blake Griffin is back in the lineup, as is first-year point guard Milos Teodosic. While Teodosic’s numbers (8.9 PPG, 5.3 APG, .343/.310/.786 shooting line) are modest, L.A. seems to be a better team when he’s in the rotation — the club is 9-3 when Teodosic plays, and just 8-16 when he doesn’t.
Lou Williams, acquired in June’s blockbuster Chris Paul trade, has also been a key part of the Clippers’ latest winning streak. Since the start of December, Williams has been one of the NBA’s top scorers, pouring in 25.7 PPG and chipping in 5.8 APG.
The new-look Clippers are playing like the team that many fans and experts envisioned heading into the season, one that was expected to compete for a back-end playoff spot in the Western Conference. Still, while the Clips are getting closer to the top eight in the West, they’re still just 17-19 overall, and they’ve been streaky all season — another string of losses before next month’s deadline could once again alter the team’s short-term outlook.
How do you expect the rest of the Clippers’ 2017/18 season to play out? Will they continue to play well and move into playoff position? Will they slip in the standings and seriously entertain the idea of moving Jordan before the trade deadline? Or will they ultimately hang right around where they are now, not quite good enough to make the playoffs, but not quite bad enough to become trade-deadline sellers?
Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/3/2018
Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
4:39pm:
- The Rockets have recalled little-used big man Chinanu Onuaku from the G League, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). It appears the team is bringing Onuaku back to the NBA for health reasons, not because he’ll get a chance to play — Feigen indicates that the secodd-year center is undergoing sinus surgery.
3:49pm:
- The Wizards have assigned third-year forward Chris McCullough to the G League, according to the team. Washington doesn’t have a G League team of its own, so McCullough will join Milwaukee’s affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. The Herd are in action tonight, but McCullough’s assignment may end up lasting multiple games beyond that, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post.
- After being sent to the G League on Tuesday, rookie guard Derrick White was recalled by the Spurs today, per a press release. White helped lead the Austin Spurs to a win on Tuesday night, putting up 22 points in just 24 minutes.
- The Pacers have assigned rookie center Ike Anigbogu to the G League, the team announced today in a press release. The NBA’s youngest active player, Anigbogu has appeared in seven games so far for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate, averaging 6.6 PPG and 6.7 RPG.
Wizards Waive Michael Young
The Wizards have waived one of their players on a two-way contract, announcing today in a press release that rookie forward Michael Young has been released. The move opens up one of Washington’s two-way contract slots, with forward Devin Robinson still holding the other.
Young, 23, was one of the first players to sign a two-way contract back in July. The Wizards don’t have a G League affiliate of their own, so the former Pitt standout spent time with the Sixers’ and Suns’ affiliates, averaging 12.4 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 23 total G League contests.
According to contract data from Basketball Insiders, Young’s two-way contract was for two years, with $50K guaranteed in each season. The Wizards will remain on the hook for that full amount, though salaries for two-way players don’t count against a team’s cap.
January 15 is the deadline for teams to sign players to two-way contracts for 2017/18, so the Wizards will have nearly two weeks to fill the opening created by waiving Young.
Lakers Notes: George, Lopez, Ball, Kuzma
The Thunder have a pair of Staples Center dates on their schedule this week, with games against the Lakers on Wednesday and the Clippers on Thursday. As a result, Paul George has been prompted by reporters to revisit his reported desire to be dealt to the Lakers this past offseason. Asked about that on Tuesday, George confirmed that he would have “loved to go back home and play for my city,” but called the deal that sent him to Oklahoma City a “win-win.”
Of course, it wasn’t necessarily a “win” for the Lakers, who missed out on George and were subsequently fined $500K for tampering with the Pacers. The NBA’s official announcement on that fine suggested that GM Rob Pelinka had improper contact with George’s agent, but the former Pacers forward suggested today that the penalty stemmed from interactions he had with Lakers associate head coach Brian Shaw.
“There was no tampering at all,” George said of the Lakers and his conversations with Shaw (link via Bill Oram of The Orange County Register). “The only thing me and B-Shaw ever spoke about was fishing, and challenge each other on fishing trips. B-Shaw has way, way, way better class than to try to recruit me.”
Sources confirmed to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN that the league’s investigation did probe the relationship between George and Shaw, but found no evidence of tampering on that front.
Here’s more on the Lakers, including another note on George:
- Russell Westbrook isn’t preparing a sales pitch for George to keep him in Oklahoma City and away from the Lakers, preferring to let the Thunder’s results speak for themselves, tweets Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. “Sales pitch is when we win a championship,” Westbrook said. “Beat that pitch.”
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores whether or not it makes sense for the Lakers to try to push to acquire George before the trade deadline. Of course, as Pincus acknowledges, unless the Thunder slump in the coming weeks, George probably won’t be on the block.
- Having been initially ruled questionable for Wednesday night’s game against the Thunder, Lakers center Brook Lopez will be available to play, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). Lonzo Ball will miss tonight’s game and is day-to-day.
- Speaking of Ball, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report revisits the 2017 NBA draft and suggests that if teams were to re-draft today, Ball would slip to No. 4 instead of going second overall to the Lakers. Wasserman has Markelle Fultz going to the Lakers at No. 2, with the Sixers using the top pick on Jayson Tatum. Kyle Kuzma also soars into the lottery in Wasserman’s hypothetical re-draft, going fifth overall to Sacramento.
Northwest Notes: Aminu, Thunder, Timberwolves
Before he signed with the Trail Blazers as a free agent in 2015, veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu had converted just 28.6% of his career three-point attempts. However, he knew he’d be counted on to improve his outside shot after signing a lucrative four-year deal with Portland, and he has delivered so far. Aminu has made 36.1% of his threes during his time with the Blazers, including a career-best 42.1% this season.
“I’ve always been a slasher, so knowing the instincts and what you’re supposed to be doing as a shooter and how they need you for a team, it’s different,” Aminu said, per Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com. “But you learn, for sure, because you want to stick around.”
Aminu remains under contract in Portland for one more season beyond this year, but if he continues to knock down outside shots at an improve rate, he should be a very appealing three-and-D target in free agency in 2019.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Thunder forward Patrick Patterson was fined $10K this week for publicly criticizing the NBA’s officiating, per an Associated Press report. After a blown call cost OKC a game on Friday, Patterson published a tweet on Saturday suggesting that there “needs to be some kind of consequence for [referees’] downright awfulness rather than pointless apologies from their bosses.”
- Second-year guard Alex Abrines continues to make more than 38% of his three-point attempts, but his inconsistency on the defensive end has cost him minutes with the Thunder, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. Given his $5.725MM salary, Abrines could become a nice mid-sized trade chip for the Thunder at the deadline if he’s not a regular part of the club’s rotation.
- The positive energy surrounding the Timberwolves as of late has been noticeable, as the new-look roster is hitting its stride. “I feel like everyone’s comfortable,” Andrew Wiggins said, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Everyone’s together. Everyone’s playing together. Everyone likes each other. We’re in a good flow right now.”
Poll: Which Team Is Biggest Threat To Warriors?
As the odds at offshore betting site Bovada.lv show, the Warriors remain the overwhelming favorites to win the 2018 NBA Finals. In order to win $100 betting on the Dubs over the field for this season’s championship, you’d have to risk $180. Still, over the first two and a half months of the 2017/18 season, a handful of potential threats to Golden State have emerged.
The first of those threats is no surprise, but the Cavaliers looked re-energized on Tuesday night with Isaiah Thomas in their lineup for the first time. The Cavs will likely still have some problems on defense against the Warriors, and there are a couple rotation spots that could use an upgrade. But if Thomas stays healthy and keeps producing like he did in his Cleveland debut (17 points in 19 minutes), the club’s offense is well-rounded and well-equipped to keep up with Golden State.
Speaking of explosive offenses, the Rockets looked like the team best positioned to compete with the Warriors over the first two months of the season. Even with Chris Paul sidelined, the team was one of the league’s best — with both Paul and James Harden active, the Rockets have been even more unstoppable. Houston has struggled in recent weeks, with Paul, Harden, and Clint Capela all battling injuries, but the club should cruise to a top seed in the West, and if the roster is healthy in the spring, it has as much firepower as just about any team in the NBA.
Of course, it’s not the Cavs or Rockets that currently holds the league’s second-best record behind Golden State — it’s the 30-10 Celtics, who have thrived even without a healthy Gordon Hayward. While Boston has certainly missed its top summer acquisition, Hayward’s absence has allowed young players like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to assume larger roles, which may pay off for the team in the long run. The franchise also hasn’t fully closed the door on the possibility of getting Hayward back in the playoffs. That may be a long shot, but it would make the Eastern playoffs a whole lot more interesting.
Elsewhere, the Spurs thrived without Kawhi Leonard to start the season and will be a very tough out in the postseason. The Raptors have overhauled their offense approach and have seen it pay dividends in the first half. And the Timberwolves and Thunder have hit their stride recently after undergoing major roster changes in the offseason.
When we asked back in September which team is the biggest threat to the Warriors, the Cavs received the most votes, followed by Oklahoma City, Boston, San Antonio, and Houston, respectively. I suspect that order may look a little different this time around.
What do you think? Which of the NBA’s 29 non-Warriors teams represents the biggest threat to Golden State’s chances of back-to-back titles?
Which team represents the biggest threat to the Warriors?
-
Cleveland Cavaliers 28% (521)
-
Houston Rockets 23% (429)
-
Boston Celtics 22% (412)
-
Oklahoma City Thunder 6% (108)
-
San Antonio Spurs 6% (106)
-
Toronto Raptors 6% (104)
-
Minnesota Timberwolves 5% (86)
-
Another team 4% (78)
Total votes: 1,844
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
MacMullan’s Latest: Irving, LeBron, Cavs, Suns
With Isaiah Thomas having returned to the Cavaliers on Tuesday, and the Cavs now poised to square off against the Celtics on Wednesday, it only makes sense to revisit one of the 2017 offseason’s biggest trades. ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan has done just that, taking a deep dive into the factors that led to Kyrie Irving heading from Cleveland to Boston.
Along the way, MacMullan passes along several noteworthy tidbits — while the whole piece is worth checking out, especially for Cavs and Celtics fans, we’ve rounded up some of the most interesting details below:
- While Irving made his trade request in July, the Cavaliers explored the possibility of moving the point guard in June, which MacMullan suggests contributed to Irving’s decision to ask out of Cleveland. “They didn’t want me there,” Irving said of the Cavs. Former teammate LeBron James disputes that notion, which he says “makes absolutely no sense.”
- One deal the Cavs explored in June would have sent Irving and Channing Frye to the Suns and resulted in both Paul George and Eric Bledsoe landing in Cleveland. However, Phoenix balked at that deal, since the club was unwilling to give up the No. 4 overall pick, says MacMullan. A few days later, the Pacers dealt George to the Thunder instead.
- Although no formal offer was made during those negotiations, Irving caught wind of the talks and believed they were orchestrated by James’ camp, since LeBron shares an agent with Bledsoe. Team and league sources suggest otherwise, telling MacMullan that former Cavs GM David Griffin sensed that an Irving trade request may be coming and initiated talks with the Suns.
- When Irving and his agent met with the Cavaliers on July 9, they pressed owner Dan Gilbert about the team’s direction, and mentioned the Spurs, Knicks, and Timberwolves as preferred landing spots for Irving. Boston didn’t come up during that meeting, but Gilbert coveted the Nets‘ 2018 first-round pick that was held by the Celtics, and Irving’s camp didn’t oppose a deal to the C’s.
- When the Celtics emerged as a viable trade partner for Irving and the Cavs, Gilbert went to James and attempted to secure a promise that he’d stay in Cleveland beyond the 2017/18 season, but LeBron declined to commit, sources tell MacMullan.