Pacers Notes: Turner, Collison, GRIII, McMillan
It has been a somewhat disappointing season for third-year center Myles Turner, who was viewed as a strong candidate to have a breakout year for the Pacers following Paul George‘s offseason departure. Instead, Turner has been slowed by health issues and has seen his numbers decline in several offensive categories this year.
Still, as Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star details, Turner has lost the support of “exactly zero” members of the Pacers’ organization, and remains an important building block for the club’s future. Turner will be extension-eligible for the first time during the offseason.
Here’s more on the Pacers, who currently hold the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference:
- Mark Montieth of Pacers.com has an in-depth feature on Pacers point guard Darren Collison, who says he feels like he’s been underrated throughout his NBA career. Collison, who has played for five teams in nine NBA seasons, also said he’d like to stick in Indiana a while longer. “I love it here,” Collison said. “If you ask me, I would like to be here a long time. We all know how this business works. You do the best you can and hopefully this is the place. Hopefully I can help these young guys grow.”
- Currently sidelined with a knee injury, Collison will remain out of action for at least another week, tweets Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. The Pacers will get one injured player back though, as Glenn Robinson III is ready to make his season debut after missing several months with an ankle injury. Monteith has the details at Pacers.com.
- Clifton Brown of The Indianapolis Star lays out the case for why head coach Nate McMillan deserves his share of the credit for the Pacers’ surprising success this season. “Nate’s been brilliant. Our offensive and defensive strategies this year have been terrific,” said president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard. “Without Nate, we don’t have this. We’re not talking about this. He’s overachieved, and more importantly, he’s put our players in a position where every single night they can succeed.
Suns Notes: Tanking, Triano, Len, Harrison
Suns GM Ryan McDonough promises there won’t be a repeat of the “strategic resting” that saw Eric Bledsoe and Tyson Chandler held out of the lineup late last season, relays Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix reached the All-Star break tied with the Hawks for the top spot in our Reverse Standings, but McDonough said the team won’t make any changes to try to improve its odds for the No. 1 pick.
“We’re planning on doing what we have been doing, that’s playing our young players. For us, that’s not a change,” he said. “… We want to continue to have them improve and get minutes and try to win as many games as we can.”
Interim coach Jay Triano echoed those sentiments and recalled that Bledsoe was angry about being forced to sit out the final 15 games last season, which played a part in his request to be traded. “I think we learned from last year with guys sitting out,” Triano said. “I don’t think that was real productive for us.”
There’s more tonight out of Phoenix:
- Triano, who has served as interim coach since Earl Watson was fired in October, would like to be considered for the full-time job after the season ends, Bordow adds in the same story. “Listen, I love coaching, I love it here, I love the relationship I’m starting to develop with these players, so I’d like to keep it going and be a part of their development because I see a lot of positives,” Triano said. … “So there’s no reason I would not want to be [the coach].”
- Fifth-year center Alex Len no longer seems to be in the Suns’ plans for the future, Bordow notes in a separate story. The plan for the final 23 games of the season is to start Chandler at center with Dragan Bender as the primary backup as Marquese Chriss gets another shot at the starting lineup. Len will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after agreeing to the Suns’ qualifying offer last year. He is averaging 8.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in 49 games, but the organization doesn’t seem to think his future will be in Phoenix.
- Shaquille Harrison is thrilled to make his NBA debut after spending two seasons with the Suns’ G League affiliate in Northern Arizona, relays Craig Grialou of ArizonaSports. “I’m just trying to seize the opportunity,” said Harrison, whose 10-day deal became official today. “I’m very grateful to be here. It’s a great organization, that’s why I stuck with them the past year-and-a-half, two years. I’m loving it and enjoying the process.”
Southeast Notes: McGruder, Wade, Isaac, Hawks
Heat guard Rodney McGruder is getting closer to his season debut after participating in a second full-contract practice Wednesday, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. McGruder has been sidelined since having surgery in mid-October to fix a left tibia stress fracture. He is hoping to be ready when the Heat resume play Friday in New Orleans, but coach Erik Spoelstra hasn’t commited to that.
“I’ve got to work a little bit,” McGruder said. “Being off a couple of months, you just don’t hop right back into basketball shape, so I have some more conditioning that I need to work on. I’ve been doing a little more with practicing and just conditioning, preparing myself for when the time comes on my return that I’m ready to play.”
There’s more tonight from the Southeast Division:
- Dwyane Wade plans to come off the bench for the Heat for the rest of the season, Jackson adds in the same story. Because of the All-Star break, he has only been in Miami for four days since being acquired in a trade two weeks ago and needs time to get used to playing alongside new teammates Wayne Ellington, Bam Adebayo and James Johnson. “It’s definitely going to continue to be a work in progress, but the biggest thing is getting to know them personally,” Wade said. “On the court, it comes. You practice together, you play together, that’s going to come. Getting to know each other on the personal side helps even more. That builds trust and on the court you need that trust.”
- Rookie forward Jonathan Isaac will test his injured ankle with the Magic’s G League affiliate, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. He will practice with the Lakeland team on Thursday and play on Friday, according to Orlando coach Frank Vogel. “I definitely understand why they want me to spend some time there [with Lakeland],” said Isaac, who hasn’t playing since spraining his ankle November 11. “I’m just focused on getting back up here [with Orlando] as fast as possible and getting back around these guys.”
- Coach Mike Budenholzer said the Hawks won’t be making the type of moves that are typical of tanking teams, relays Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta is tied with Phoenix for the top spot in our latest Reverse Standings at 18-41. “I think we’ve been a mix of young and veteran guys all year,” Budenholzer said. “I think the way we progressed through the season — of course when you start the season you think it could be a little different — [but] right now but I think the way we’ve played, and the way we continue to play, won’t be that much different.”
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/21/18
Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA.
9:32pm:
- The Warriors have recalled guard Quinn Cook and center Damian Jones from their affiliate in Santa Cruz, tweets Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area.
- The Cavaliers have assigned center Ante Zizic to their Canton affiliate, the team announced on its website.
- The Jazz assigned center Tony Bradley to their affiliate in Salt Lake City, according to the team website.
4:05pm:
- The Rockets have assigned Zhou Qi and Chinanu Onuaku to their Rio Grande Valley affiliate, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
- The Celtics have sent Guerschon Yabusele to their affiliate in Maine, the team announced on Twitter.
- The Raptors have assigned Alfonzo McKinnie and Malachi Richardson to the G League, according to a tweet from Raptors905.
Latest On Mark Cuban, Mavericks Investigation
The Mavericks may be in danger of having a first-round pick taken away in the wake of their workplace misconduct allegations, writes Matt Mosley of The Dallas Morning News. With a series of high-profile sex scandals dominating the news in recent months, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will want to make a strong statement against the behavior that was reportedly taking place in the Mavericks’ team office, Mosley reasons.
Mosley suggests owner Mark Cuban may have to remove himself from the team for a while in an act of contrition as a way to prevent the draft pick from being lost. He adds that “massive changes” will likely be needed in the organization to make sure the behavior that resulted in the allegations is never repeated.
There’s more news today out of Dallas:
- The Mavericks have hired two independent investigators from the Krutoy Law Firm in New York to examine the organization, the team announced in an email. Evan Krutoy spent more than 20 years as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and served as Acting Deputy Bureau Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit. Anne Milgrim is a former Attorney General of New Jersey and a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at New York University School of Law. They will be conducting confidential interviews with all Mavericks staff members, along with former employees who want to add their input to the investigation, the email states.
- Cuban tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN it was a “horrible mistake in hindsight” not to fire former Mavs.com reporter Earl K. Sneed after two domestic violence incidents. Cuban decided to terminate Sneed in advance of the Sports Illustrated report after learning the “gruesome details” involving a 2011 domestic dispute. The magazine shared a Dallas police report saying that Sneed’s girlfriend at the time suffered a fractured right wrist in the altercation and had bruises on her arms and chest. “I want to be clear: I’m not putting the blame on anybody else,” Cuban said. “It came down to my final decision that I made.”
- Cuban’s reputation of being thoroughly involved with the team makes it difficult to believe he was unaware of what was going on in the main office, writes Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News. That’s especially true in the case of former executive Terdema Ussery, Sherrington adds, whose alleged conduct was a key part of the Sports Illustrated story. The columnist notes that the Mavericks conducted their own investigation of Ussery in 1998, two years before Cuban bought the team, which resulted in new guidelines on interoffice conduct.
Kawhi Leonard Choosing To Remain Inactive?
Kawhi Leonard has received medical clearance to return from a quad injury, but has made a decision to remain inactive, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Leonard met with a specialist in New York prior to the All-Star Game to get a second opinion on the right quad tendinopathy problem that has sidelined him for all but nine games this season. Sources told Wojnarowski that the decision on when Leonard will return is entirely up to him, and his comfort level with the injury will determine whether he plays again this season (Twitter link).
Earlier, we relayed the news that San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich told reporters tonight that he doesn’t expect Leonard back before the season ends. This report from Woj sheds some light on why he made those comments.
During his 10 days in New York, Leonard held workouts at the gym inside NBPA headquarters with representatives from the Spurs on hand to watch him in action.
Sources have told Wojnarowski that Leonard’s prolonged absence has caused stress within the organization, and the deteriorating relationship between the team and its star player could affect his decision when free agency arrives in 2019.
Blazers Sign Brandon Rush To 10-Day Contract
FEBRUARY 21, 6:52pm: The signing is official, the Blazers announced on their website.
FEBRUARY 20, 7:55am: The Trail Blazers will fill one of their two open roster spots by signing veteran swingman Brandon Rush to a 10-day contract this week, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Rush, a lottery pick back in 2008, has spent time with the Pacers, Warriors, Jazz, and Timberwolves over the course of nine NBA seasons. Known for his outside shooting ability, the 32-year-old has a career .402 3PT%. While he didn’t play a major role for Minnesota last season, averaging a modest 4.2 PPG, he continued to knock down outside shots when he took them, with a .386 3PT%.
This past offseason, Rush caught on with the Bucks for training camp, but failed to earn a spot on Milwaukee’s regular season roster, having been cut just before opening night. In Portland, he’ll get an opportunity to establish himself as a player worth keeping on the roster down the stretch.
As we outlined on Monday, the Blazers are one of four NBA teams that needs to sign a player this week in order to get back up to 14 players on standard contracts. Portland, Washington, Cleveland, and Atlanta all dipped to 13 players around the trade deadline, which is only permitted for two weeks.
The Blazers are well positioned to remain under the luxury tax following Rush’s signing, since his contract will feature a modest cap hit of $83,129, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks details (via Twitter). Portland will still be about $573K below the tax line after signing Rush.
That cushion would allow the Blazers to re-sign Rush to another 10-day contract and – eventually – a rest-of-season deal and stay out of the tax, though the equation would become more complicated if the club wants to add a 15th player to its roster at some point.
Pelicans Sign Walter Lemon Jr. To 10-Day Contract
FEBRUARY 21, 6:20 pm: The signing is official, the Pelicans confirmed in an email.
FEBRUARY 20, 1:42pm: A busy day of 10-day contract agreements continues, as Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that the Pelicans have agreed to sign G League guard Walter Lemon Jr. to a 10-day deal.
New Orleans currently has 13 players on standard NBA contracts, plus Emeka Okafor on a 10-day contract of his own, leaving one open spot on the 15-man squad. As such, no corresponding move will be required to finalize Lemon’s agreement.
Lemon, a former Bradley point guard who went undrafted in 2014, has made stops in Hungary, Germany, and Greece during his professional career, but is having his most successful season this year for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
In 36 games for Indiana’s G League affiliate, Lemon has averaged 22.7 PPG, 5.9 APG, 4.6 RPG, 2.1 SPG, and a .490 FG%, with Dedrick Hendrix of Ridiculous Upside recently singling out the 6’3″ guard as a rising star in the G League. The 25-year-old will get a chance to make his NBA debut for the Pelicans.
NBA Planning Preseason Game In Seattle
The NBA will return to Seattle next preseason with a familiar face for Pacific Northwest fans, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee.
Kevin Durant, who spent his rookie season with the SuperSonics before the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, will lead the Warriors against the Kings on October 6 at Key Arena, Voisin writes. It will be the first NBA game at the facility since the Sonics left after the 2007/08 season.
The Kings also have a connection with Seattle, as it appeared the team might move there when it was put up for sale five years ago. A deal to sell the team to a Seattle-based ownership group was reached in January of 2013, but it fell through when Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson was able to assemble a group to keep the Kings from leaving.
Two months ago, Seattle’s City Council approved a proposed $650MM renovation of Key Arena in hopes of attracting an NBA or NHL franchise by the end of the decade. The refurbished arena will hold 18,350 spectators for NBA games and 17,150 for NHL games.
Popovich: Kawhi Leonard May Be Out For The Season
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters he will be surprised if Kawhi Leonard returns to action before the end of the season, tweets Michael C. Wright of ESPN.
“We only have X number of games left in the season and he’s still not ready to go,” Popovich says in a video tweeted by Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. “If by some chance he is, it’s going to be pretty late into the season and it’s going to be a tough decision, you know, how late you bring somebody back. That’s why I’m just trying to be honest and logical. I’ll be surprised if he gets back this year.”
Leonard missed the first two months of the season with a lingering quad injury, then was shut down by the team after appearing in just nine games. He was originally expected to miss just the preseason when the injury was discovered at an intersquad scrimmage in late September, but his debut date kept getting pushed back.
Tensions over the injury and the prolonged recovery process have reportedly led to some behind-the-scenes discord between Leonard and the organization. ESPN reported last month that a rift has developed between Leonard’s camp and San Antonio’s front office.
Leonard is coming off his best NBA season, averaging 25.5 points per game and finishing third in last year’s MVP voting. The Spurs had been hoping he could return for a late-season playoff push, but now that appears unlikely. San Antonio entered the All-Star break in third place in the Western Conference, but two games ahead of the ninth-place Clippers in the loss column.
“We’ve got to move on,” Popovich added. “The team has to realize this is who we have, this is who we are, this is who’s going to play, and wishing and hoping doesn’t do anybody any good.”