Celtics No Longer Expected To Sign Sean Kilpatrick
3:35pm: Murphy is now hearing that another, unnamed team has stepped in and provided a better offer to Kilpatrick (Twitter). Accordingly, it is unlikely that the Celtics will sign him to a 10-day deal after all.
11:38am: The Celtics are expected to sign Sean Kilpatrick to a 10-day contract later today, tweets Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
Keith Smith of RealGM tweeted last night that sources expected Boston to utilize the NBA’s roster hardship exception to sign another player.
The team is currently without Gordon Hayward (dislocated left ankle), Daniel Theis (torn left meniscus), Marcus Smart (right thumb), and Kyrie Irving (left knee). Irving will undergo a “minimally invasive” procedure today on his left knee and his timetable to return should be clearer post surgery.
To qualify for the exemption, at least four players must miss a minimum of three consecutive games, and later be deemed to be out for an additional two weeks.
It has been a well-traveled 2017/18 campaign for Kilpatrick, who started the season with the Nets followed by cameos with the Bucks and Clippers. Kilpatrick suited for the Clippers on a pair of 10-day contracts recently, averaging 4.8 PPG in four games. He was not signed to a deal for the rest of the season after the second contract expired.
In 43 total games this season, Kilpatrick has averaged 4.4 PPG and 1.4 RPG.
Stephen Curry Suffers MCL Sprain; Out Three Weeks
2:53pm: Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Curry suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain and will be reevaluated in three weeks.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic adds that a Grade 2 sprain is worse than the injury Curry suffered in the 2016 playoffs, forcing him to miss 15 days, and that a Grade 2 sprain generally causes a player to miss 4-6 weeks.
8:33am: Warriors point guard Stephen Curry suffered a left MCL sprain in Friday’s win over the Hawks and he is set to undergo an MRI later today, per the team’s public relations department (Twitter link).
The two-time Most Valuable Player scored 29 points and grabbed 7 boards in 25 minutes on Friday. Curry suffered the MCL injury late in the third quarter when teammate JaVale McGee — attempting a block — fell onto Curry’s left knee. He left the game and never returned.
Curry had missed Golden State’s previous six games due to a right ankle injury. The Warriors’ second-leading scorer had a minor limp but was in good spirits inside the team’s locker room after the game, tweets ESPN’s Chris Haynes.
“Well, at least it’s not my ankle,” Curry said.
In 51 games this season, Curry has averaged 26.4 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 5.1 RPG.
The Warriors have been conservative with their star players as injuries mounted with Kevin Durant (rib fracture), Draymond Green (pelvic contusion) and Klay Thompson (thumb fracture) sidelined.
Depending on the results of today’s MRI, it could put the Warriors in a precarious position with the playoffs three weeks away. Golden State is four games back of the Rockets for the top seed in the Western Conference with 10 games left. Chasing Houston for first place with a depleted roster is less of a concern than having the five-time All-Star healthy for the postseason.
“We’ll see what the MRI says tomorrow,” head coach Steve Kerr said, per ESPN. “There’s not a lot we can do or predict. Kind of a strange, cruel twist of fate, you know. He rehabs his ankle for the last couple of weeks, gets that strong, and then the knee goes. So we’ll see what happens. Keep our fingers crossed.”
Kyrie Irving Out Three To Six Weeks
MARCH 24: Irving has undergone a minimally-invasive procedure to remove a tension wire in his left knee, the team has announced. The wire, removal of which should relieve the irritation Irving has been going through, was originally placed as part of the surgical repair of his fractured patella sustained during the 2015 NBA Finals.
Irving’s knee was otherwise found to be completely structurally sound and he is expected to return to basketball activities in 3-6 weeks. As a point of reference, the playoffs begin exactly three weeks from today.
MARCH 23: Celtics star Kyrie Irving will undergo a procedure on his troublesome left knee on Saturday, the Celtics announced today in a press release. The team classified it as a “minimally invasive” procedure, but didn’t provide a timeline for Irving’s return to the court.
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets, that recovery timetable is expected to become clearer after Saturday, with the C’s hoping that the procedure will help alleviate the soreness in Irving’s knee.
Given the fact that the Celtics’ announcement suggests that the procedure is a minor one, and the team isn’t taking any extra time to deliberate whether or not to get it done right away, I expect the goal is to get Irving back on the court in time for the postseason. Still, we’ll have to wait for specifics from the team.
The Celtics are a banged-up bench right now, with several key rotation players sidelined due to injuries. Daniel Theis and Gordon Hayward are expected to be out through the postseason, while Marcus Smart is hoping to return by the end of the first round of the playoffs. Jaylen Brown hopes to return on Sunday in Sacramento, while Irving remains a wild card, based on today’s news.
Despite all those injuries, the Celtics continue to hold a comfortable lead for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. They’re currently six games up on the third-seeded Cavaliers, with just 11 games left to play.
Bulls Sign Jaylen Johnson
The Bulls have signed rookie forward Jaylen Johnson to an NBA contract, the team announced today via an official press release.
Johnson, 21, has until now spent this season with Chicago’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, where he has put up averages of of 29.0 minutes, 11.7 points, 7.6 boards and 2.9 assists per game in 49 games (37 starts).
Johnson went undrafted last summer before catching on with the Bulls on a training camp deal. He was waived a few days before the regular season began.
It isn’t yet clear whether the new deal for Johnson is a 10-day contract or rest-of-season deal, but a 10-day contract would count as $46.1K towards the Bulls’ cap, while a rest-of-season pact, assuming it’s signed today, would count as $87.6K.
Five Key Stories: 3/17/18 – 3/24/18
In case you missed any of this past week’s top stories from around the league, we have you covered with our Week in Review. Below are the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days.
Cavaliers’ head coach Tyronn Lue has taken a leave of absence for health issues/reasons. Associate head coach Larry Drew has taken over for Lue on an interim basis, with Lue hoping to return to the team sometime over the next week.
In his first game back from an ankle injury that sidelined him for six games, Stephen Curry suffered a sprained MCL last night and is set to undergo an MRI later today. Curry was injured when teammate JaVale McGee fell on his knee after attempting to block a shot.
In better news for the Cavs, All-Star Kevin Love returned to action this week for his first game since January 30. The Cavs are 3-0 this week with Love back in the line-up, and Love averaged 20.3 PPG and shot 47.6% from long range in those three games.
Despite conflicting reports on the nature/tone of the meeting, it is clear that a players-only meeting to discuss the status of Kawhi Leonard, among other topics, occurred in the Spurs’ locker room this week. Unfortunately, the meeting ended without a clear update or timeline on Leonard’s status.
Celtics’ star Kyrie Irving will undergo a minimally invasive procedure on his left knee today with the hope of alleviating some nagging discomfort. A clearer timetable for Irving’s return should be known after the procedure takes place.
Magic head coach Frank Vogel’s job may be in jeopardy at the end of the year after two seasons as head coach. Orlando replaced the GM who hired Vogel and cleared out several other members of the basketball operations department last summer, and new team president Jeff Weltman and GM John Hammond may prefer to select their own coach this offseason.
Here are 16 more headlines from last week:
- The Magic signed guard Rodney Purvis to a second 10-day deal.
- The Trail Blazers have signed center Georgios Papagiannis to a multi-year deal through next season.
- The Cavaliers signed forward Okaro White to a 10-day contract.
- Pelicans’ rookie guard Frank Jackson will not play this season after undergoing follow-up surgery to remove residual scar tissue from earlier right foot operations.
- Oklahoma point guard Trae Young will hire an agent and enter the 2018 NBA Draft.
- The Pistons are reportedly interested in a front office role for their former All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups.
- Texas big man Mohamed Bamba will forego his remaining collegiate eligibility and enter the 2018 NBA Draft.
- The Bucks signed point guard Brandon Jennings to a second 10-day contract.
- The Hawks have signed rookie guard Jaylen Morris to a a multi-year deal.
- Potential first-round pick Anfernee Simons will forego college and enter the 2018 NBA Draft.
- The Mavericks signed shooting guard Aaron Harrison to a 10-day deal.
- Texas A&M big man Robert Williams will enter the 2018 NBA Draft.
- The Lakers signed forward Travis Wear to a rest-of-season contract.
- The Rockets plan to waive Brandan Wright and replace him on the roster with former Oklahoma State player Le’Bryan Nash.
- The Hawks signed rookie Damion Lee to a second 10-day contract.
- The Grizzlies signed former first-round pick Marquis Teague to a 10-day contract.
Grizzlies Sign Marquis Teague To 10-Day Contract
MARCH 24: The Grizzlies made their 10-day deal with Teague official, according to a press release from the team.
MARCH 23: The 10-day contract of Grizzlies guard Briante Weber expires today, and league sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports that Memphis will sign former first-round pick Marquis Teague of the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, Memphis Hustle, to the open roster spot vacated by Weber as early as tomorrow.
Teague, 25, was drafted by the Bulls with the 29th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, but failed to make an impact in the league. Chicago traded Teague to Brooklyn, who subsequently traded him to Philadelphia, who waived him before his rookie-scale contract expired. In 88 career NBA games, he has averaged 2.3 points and 1.4 assists in only 9.5 minutes per game.
Recently, Teague played for Ironi Nahariya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League before being drafted by the Hustle in the G League expansion draft last summer. This season, he has averaged 17.6 PPG, 6.2 APG, and 3.4 RPG while shooting 42.7% from long range in 47 G League games.
With two seasons of NBA experience under his belt, Teague’s 10-day contract will count as $83,129 against Memphis’ cap.
Knicks Notes: Mudiay, Porzingis, Jackson, Knox
Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek pulled struggling point guard Emmanuel Mudiay from Friday night’s game against the Timberwolves, citing his performance. In Mudiay’s place, Hornacek tried an all point guard backcourt with Trey Burke and Frank Ntilikina, which worked out well.
Earlier this week, Hornacek said he was hesitant to pull Mudiay from the starting lineup, despite his struggles since the All-Star break. While no permanent decision has been made, the Hornacek liked how the Burke and Ntilikina lineup played, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.
“We haven’t thought about that game yet,’’ Hornacek said. “I liked what those two guys [Burke and Ntilikina] did tonight. Emmanuel may not have had it tonight, but we’ll see.’’
Mudiay admitted that sitting for the most of the game was surprising but he was happy to see his teammates play well.
“Yeah [I was surprised], but at the same time I wasn’t going to be a sore loser about it,’’ Mudiay said. “I was going to cheer my teammates on. Frank, Trey and Tim had it going. We got back in the game after starting out a little slow.”
Check out more Knicks notes below:
- In a separate story, Berman caught up with Dr. Carlon Colker, who is working with injured big man Kristaps Porzingis, said the 7’3″ Latvian will be better than ever once he returns. “He’ll be better than ever. He’s going to blow people away,” Colker said. “If you’re around people who know what they’re doing, it’s not the end of the world. It’s the end of the world if you have the wrong people around you.”
- Berman also caught up with Knicks veteran Jarrett Jack, who feels that his former coach with the Warriors, Mark Jackson, deserves to be considered for any head coaching role. Jackson’s name has come up as a possibility for the Knicks if the team decides to move on from Hornacek. “I do believe and I am surprised he hasn’t been back in the league,’’ Jack said. “I think one thing you judge people on is the body of work in front of them. If you look at the body of work — what he did three years there — I think he matches up with any coach anywhere. I’m not saying you should hire him here, but he should be considered for any job. I think he’s got the wherewithal to execute no matter what the situation.”
- Hornacek told reporters earlier this week that small forward is a position of need for the Knicks this offseason. With that said, sources within the organization view Kentucky’s Kevin Knox as a potential draft target, ESPN’s Ian Begley tweets.
Rockets Waive Brandan Wright, Sign Le’Bryan Nash
MARCH 24: The NBA’s official transactions log indicates that both moves are now official. The league’s site classifies Nash’s new deal as a 10-day contract.
MARCH 23: Brandan Wright‘s time in Houston will be coming to an early end, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, who reports that the Rockets are waiving the veteran. The team will sign forward Le’Bryan Nash to fill the newly-opened roster spot, Feigen adds.
Wright, 30, received a buyout from the Grizzlies after last month’s trade deadline and quickly reached an agreement to join the Rockets. While the versatile big man was viewed as a good fit for Houston, he only appeared in one game for the club before being shut down due to right knee soreness. Wright underwent a minor procedure to address that issue and will continue to work on his rehab with the Rockets’ medical staff even after being waived, a source tells Feigen.
It sounds like Wright won’t be healthy enough this season to return to the court for the postseason anyway, but even if he were to make a quick recovery, he wouldn’t be playoff-eligible for a new team, since he’s being waived after March 1.
As for Nash, the former Oklahoma State standout played in South Korea this season after spending 2016/17 with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate. I would expect him to be assigned to the Vipers again for the NBAGL playoffs once he officially signs with the Rockets.
It’s also worth noting, as Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report recently observed, that signing a player like Nash to a multiyear, minimum salary deal could help the Rockets accommodate another summer trade like the one they made a year ago for Chris Paul, but that’s merely hypothetical for now.
Central Notes: Cavs, LeBron, Felicio, Kennard
Like many teams this season, the Cavaliers have been bit by the injury bug, with All-Star Kevin Love the most glaring omission from the line-up for most of this year’s campaign. In a recent game against Chicago, the Cavs were without six rotation players – Love, Kyle Korver, Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood, Tristan Thompson, and Cedi Osman.
Moreover, Cavaliers’ head coach Tyronn Lue remains out with health issues. Yet, things are now beginning to turn around. Osman and Korver remain out, but Love returned earlier this week and, as reported by Joe Vardon of The Plain Dealer, Nance Jr., Hood, and Thompson all returned for tonight’s game against Phoenix, albeit on minutes restrictions.
Vardon adds that there is still no word on whether Lue will join the Cavaliers on an upcoming three-game road trip, with interim coach Larry Drew stating, “I haven’t heard anything. I’m just going to proceed and take it a game at a time until I hear something different.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- In another article for The Plain Dealer, Vardon details LeBron James‘ response to Cavaliers‘ fans putting up a billboard in James’ favor in his hometown of Akron, OH. “I haven’t seen it, but, like I said before, it’s very flattering. It’s just, I don’t know, it’s very humbling. I know my hometown, so, I already know there’s no place like Akron, that’s for sure.”
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com takes a look at how Bulls‘ big man Cristiano Felicio is looking to improve his game to show he deserves the $32MM contract Chicago gave him over the summer. “I know a lot of people talk whatever they want to. I am not focusing on them. I am just focusing on myself and trying to get better. I know I wasn’t playing well at the beginning of the season (but) now they are giving me an opportunity again, and I am trying to show, go out and show them I can play.”
- It may have taken awhile, but Pistons‘ rookie shooting guard Luke Kennard is now firmly entrenched in the Pistons’ rotation and is an important part of Detroit’s future, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Teammate Blake Griffin likes what he’s seen out of Kennard lately, saying, “He’s been great this stretch. Not only scoring the ball but running offense with poise when he has it, playing good defense, being in passing lanes, passing the ball well. He’s done everything. He’s very capable of doing that and it’s been huge for us.”
Southeast Notes: Spoelstra, Prince, Gordon/Isaac, Johnson
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is excited about the prospect of getting the team’s two-way players, Derrick Jones Jr. and Derrick Walton, back with the team this weekend, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.
With the G League regular season concluding tomorrow, the 45-day restriction upon two-way players is lifted, freeing them to return to the NBA for the remainder of the regular season. Jones Jr. is back with the Heat for tonight’s game against Oklahoma City, with Walton joining the team before Sunday’s game in Indiana. As for the two-way system itself, Spoelstra is a fan, even though he thinks a few issues need ironing out.
“The system is a little bit clumsy, but I’m sure we’ll iron that all out in years to come. I’m a big fan of the two-way contract. I think it’s good for teams, it’s good for the player. We’ve seen the benefits of developing our guys with us (the Heat), but also getting those guys a lot of game reps in our culture, in Sioux Falls.”
Jones Jr., 21, is averaging 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 29.1 minutes per game this season for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s G League affiliate, while also starting eight games for the Heat during the team’s struggle through injuries. Asked whether his development is of importance to the team, Spoelstra said of course:
“Absolutely. We always envision where a player can go. We do that with an open mind and a commitment to our player development. He’s improved this year with us and that’s worth noting, because he’s committed to our (the Heat’s) process. I think he has to break into this program as a defensive-minded player. That’s really where his potential is. It’s been very intentional that we try to get him on the best wing opponent every night and really embrace that challenge regardless of how many minutes he plays and what his offensive responsibility is. He has to guard, he has to be able to impact on that side of the floor. And that got better. It still has a long ways to go, but he’s starting to understand where he can break through.”
As we’ve noted generally before, neither Jones Jr. nor Walton are playoff-eligible for the Heat unless signed to a standard contract before the final game of the regular season. This is unlikely as Miami already has 15 players on its roster.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Hawks‘ forward Taurean Prince has improved his three-point prowess throughout his career, but no more so than this season, writes Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype, where he is shooting 40.4% from behind the stripe.
- The Magic are excited to be able to play versatile forwards Aaron Gordon and rookie Jonathan Isaac together for the remainder of this season, writes John Denton of NBA.com.
- Just in time for the playoffs, James Johnson is finally realizing the level of play the Heat expected when they signed him to a lucrative contract this summer, Winderman adds in another piece.