Northwest Notes: Harris, Blazers, Nurkic, Rose
The Nuggets are targeting Monday’s game in Philadelphia or Tuesday’s game in Toronto as possible return dates for Gary Harris‘ return from a knee injury, tweets Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. Harris, a key part of Denver’s lineup, has already been sidelined for the club’s last two games – both losses – and appears set to miss at least two more this week.
While the Nuggets would love to get Harris back for the start of next week, head coach Michael Malone said today that the 23-year-old hasn’t been able to do much running yet. Ally Sturm of Altitude TV adds (via Twitter) that Malone referred to a Monday or Tuesday return for Harris as a “best-case scenario,” which means he may end up missing those games too.
As Denver looks to pick up some wins in Harris’ absence, let’s round up a few more notes from around the Northwest division…
- Speaking to Chris Haynes of ESPN, Trail Blazers guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum discussed several topics, including the team’s performance this season, how best to deal with trade rumors, and even LeBron James‘ upcoming free agency.
- Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports takes a deep dive on the Trail Blazers, suggesting that Jusuf Nurkic‘s development – or lack thereof – could go a long way toward determining the ceiling for the franchise.
- Many observers viewed Derrick Rose as a questionable fit for the Timberwolves, given his inability to consistently make outside shots. However, since signing with the team two weeks ago, Rose has given Tom Thibodeau the flexibility to experiment with some new backcourt combinations, as Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes. The Wolves’ head coach said he likes having Rose play alongside Jamal Crawford and Jeff Teague (or Tyus Jones) to put pressure on opposing defenses, and also praised the former MVP’s play on the other side of the ball. “He’s playing great defense,” Thibodeau said. “I don’t think people see it. He did in the Washington game. But we need everyone playing well.”
How End Of G League Season Affects Two-Way Players
The 2017/18 league year represents the first time that NBA teams have had the opportunity to carry players on two-way contracts on their rosters. As such, the season has been something of a learning experience — with no history of two-way contracts to refer to, teams are figuring out in real time how to maximize the value of those two-way signings.
[RELATED: 2017/18 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker]
As we detailed last year in our glossary entry on two-way contracts, players on two-way deals are limited to 45 days of NBA service per season. That means a team can’t simply carry a two-way player on its active roster all season long — in order to maximize that player’s value, the club will likely transfer him back and forth between the NBA and the G League for much of the season, getting the most out of his days on the NBA squad.
However, there’s one crucial workaround for that 45-day limit. Here’s how it’s written in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement:
“If a player provides one or more NBA Days of Service before the first day of any NBADL training camp or after the final game of the player’s team’s NBADL Regular Season, such day(s) will not count toward the 45-Day Two-Way Service Limit.”
Again, we have no history of past two-way contracts to refer to, so we’re figuring out how those deals work as we go along this year, but the language in the CBA seems pretty clear — after a player’s G League team finishes its regular season schedule, the player is free to rejoin his NBA team without having to worry about the 45-day service limit.
The NBA G League schedule runs through the end of this week, with 22 of the league’s 26 teams playing their final games of the regular season on Saturday. That means that after Saturday, a player like Tyrone Wallace – who used up his 45 NBA days earlier this season – should be free to rejoin the Clippers. Meanwhile, someone like Quinn Cook, who is fast approaching that 45-day limit, will be able to stick with the Warriors without having to worry about that clock continuing to tick beyond Saturday.
Although two-way players should be free to play for NBA teams without service time concerns after this Saturday, they still won’t be eligible to participate in the postseason unless they’re signed to standard NBA contracts before the end of the regular season, as we’ve previously outlined. So if Golden State wants to have Cook on its playoff roster, the team will need to open up a roster spot and convert his contract before April 11.
Draft Notes: Spalding, Davis, Wigginton, Colson
Louisville power forward Ray Spalding will enter the 2018 NBA draft, as Jody Demling of 247Sports.com details. However, Spalding – a junior – won’t necessarily forfeit his final year of NCAA eligibility. He’ll hold off on hiring an agent for now before deciding whether to go pro or to return to Louisville for one more season.
“I didn’t get to test the waters last year, but I will be testing the waters this year,” said Spalding, who ranks 58th on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com. “I want to see where I fit. There’s nothing to lose doing that.”
Here are a few more draft-related notes, including more updates on prospects deciding to test the waters in 2018:
- Charlotte guard Jon Davis will declare for the 2018 NBA draft without hiring an agent, a source close to the situation tells Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports. Davis averaged 17.6 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 3.8 RPG in his junior year, though he struggled a little with his shot (.392 FG%).
- Iowa State guard Lindell Wigginton will test the draft waters for 2018 without hiring an agent, his father tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Wigginton, who averaged 16.7 PPG in his freshman year, is a strong candidate to receive an invite to the NBA combine, according to Givony.
- Wofford junior Fletcher Magee announced (via Twitter) that he’ll declare for the 2018 draft without hiring an agent and losing his NCAA eligibility. The 6’4″ guard increased his scoring average to 22.1 PPG in 2017/18, with an impressive shooting line of .484/.439/.907.
- Notre Dame senior Bonzie Colson, viewed as a potential second-round pick, suffered a fractured left foot during Saturday’s loss to Penn State, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. While Colson is expected to be healthy for predraft workouts, it’s the second time he has fractured that foot, so NBA teams figure to keep a close eye on his recovery.
Bucks Sign Brandon Jennings To Second 10-Day Deal
MARCH 21: The Bucks have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Jennings to a second 10-day contract.
MARCH 20: The Bucks intend to sign Brandon Jennings to a second 10-day contract, reports Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Jennings’ initial 10-day deal with Milwaukee is set to expire on Tuesday night, so the club will be able to make his second contract official on Wednesday.
Having spent the first four years of his NBA career with the Bucks, Jennings returned to Milwaukee on a 10-day deal earlier this month. The veteran guard looked great in his first game back, racking up 16 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds in just 24 minutes. However, he has played a more modest role since then, averaging just 2.7 PPG and 3.3 APG in three subsequent games.
By re-signing Jennings, the Bucks will continue to carry a full 15-man roster. Assuming Jennings’ new deal is finalized on Wednesday, it will run through Friday, March 30. At that point, Milwaukee will have to decide whether to commit to the 28-year-old for the rest of the season, or whether to use that 15th roster spot on another player down the stretch.
As was the case with his first 10-day contract, Jennings’ second 10-day pact will add a cap hit of $83,129 to the Bucks’ books.
Elfrid Payton Facing Uncertain Future With Suns
Having been sent from Orlando to Phoenix at this season’s trade deadline, Elfrid Payton has enjoyed his time with the Suns so far, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic, who says Payton likes his teammates and the city, and believes the club will be a winner soon.
“I think they have a chance to be really good, especially in the near future,” Payton said. “So I would love to be here.”
However, even though the Suns surrendered a second-round pick for Payton in that deadline deal, there’s no guarantee that the franchise will invest in the point guard beyond this season, says Bordow. The 24-year-old will be eligible for restricted free agency in the offseason, giving Phoenix the opportunity to match any offer he receives, but it’s unclear whether the team will do so, according to Bordow.
Payton got off to a fast start with the Suns, averaging 16.4 PPG, 8.2 APG, and 8.0 RPG with a pair of triple-doubles during his first nine games with the team. However, he has posted just 8.3 PPG, 4.4 APG, and 2.9 RPG with poor shooting numbers in seven games since then.
Additionally, even when Payton was posting those impressive counting stats, the advanced numbers suggested that he was struggling on both ends of the court. In nearly 500 minutes with Payton on the floor so far, the Suns have a -17.8 net rating — they’ve been worse on both offense (97.4 rating) and defense (115.1) when he plays, per NBA.com.
As Bordow notes, the Suns expect veteran point guard Brandon Knight to be healthy and have a role next season. Phoenix will also likely hold multiple first-round picks in this year’s draft, putting the team in a good position to draft a point guard. If the Suns go that route, there may not be a clear-cut role for Payton that would make it worth investing in a new deal for him.
Plenty can change between now and July, so we’ll wait to see how Payton’s free agency plays out, whether that means remaining in Phoenix or joining his third team of 2018. For his part, the former lottery pick is trying to avoid dwelling on his uncertain future.
“It can be a stressful time, but I’m in a good place,” Payton said, per Bordow. “I’m going to work on everything and whatever happens for me, happens for me.”
Atlantic Notes: Fultz, Carroll, Russell, Horford, Noah
In an opinion piece for The Philadelphia Inquirer, David Murphy writes that the Sixers should play Markelle Fultz this season if and when he is healthy enough to return, even though there is an argument to be made for shutting Fultz down for the remainder of the 2017/18 campaign.
Murphy opines that the Sixers often struggle to find an offensive dimension that allows opportunities for guys to create their own shots, the need for which increases during playoff time as defenses more readily prepare for the opposition. As veteran Ersan Ilyasova put it, “In the playoffs, when you play a seven-game series, you have to execute and kind of always bring something unique, because everybody’s studied each other.”
The Sixers had scored just 251 points on isolation plays this season, the fewest in the NBA, and they also rate poorly in pick-and-roll efficiency, scoring on drives, and getting fouled on drives.
Enter Fultz, who could be the type of player to possibly add this needed dimension to the Sixers’ rotation. “He can make us better,” head coach Brett Brown said. “… Just what he does in open court, what he does with a live ball. I think he can be different from any player that we already have. What I see in practice sometimes, you understand completely why he was the first player chosen in the NBA draft.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- In his first season with the Nets, veteran forward DeMarre Carroll has done everything asked of him and more, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Carroll has started at power forward and even played center, all while keeping an upbeat attitude through the team’s rebuilding. “I’m feeling good,” said Carroll. “This is the best I’ve felt in my career. I feel like playing with these young guys is rejuvenating me and making me feel even younger. I’ve just got to keep trying to show these guys by example, rather than doing the talking.”
- In another article for the New York Post, Lewis reports that Nets guard D’Angelo Russell is finally learning to work on his defense. Always a gifted scorer, Russell will continue to improve defensively as he gets older, bigger, and stronger, per head coach Kenny Atkinson.
- Current Thunder head coach Billy Donovan still speaks highly of his former player at Florida – Celtics big man Al Horford, reports Taylor Snow of Celtics.com. “What I’ve always respected about (Al) is that it’s always about winning; he’ll do whatever he has to do to win and sacrifice whatever he has to to win.”
- Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek doesn’t have much news to report on the Joakim Noah front, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN. Asked how the whole situation would resolve, Hornacek punted to general manager Scott Perry and team president Steve Mills.
Southwest Notes: Green/Paul, Aldridge, Ginobili, Parsons
Late in Sunday night’s win over Minnesota, Gerald Green of the Rockets shoved Timberwolves big man Gorgui Dieng into the stands in retaliation for Dieng pushing Chris Paul to the floor after being fouled.
Green was ejected, causing Paul to speak out on his behalf, telling Rockets‘ beat writer Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that he would take care of any fine levied against Green by the league. Said Green, “I’m just trying to be there for my teammate. I saw something happen and I reacted. I paid the consequences for it. I learned my lesson, got ejected, try not to do that again, and hopefully we’re going to move forward from this.”
Despite Green’s contrition, the league announced today that it has fined the Rockets swingman $25K for the incident, with no word yet on whether or not Paul with stay true to his word and foot the bill for Green coming to his defense.
There’s more coming out of the Southwest Division:
- With all of the uncertainty surrounding the injury to and possible return of superstar Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge has quietly saved the Spurs‘ season, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “I’m a leader, so I have to do what we need – playing defense, blocking shots, scoring,” Aldridge said. “It all comes with it. But my teammates have been great. Everyone has gotten better in this stretch. It’s been good for us.”
- In another article for the San Antonio Express-News, McDonald reports that Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr believes that Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili, 40, still has another year or so left in the tank. “I could see Manu playing when he is like 58, honestly,” Kerr said before Monday’s game. “He loves the game. He keeps himself in such great shape. I thought he was going to retire last year, so the fact he came back this year surprised me. (But) it wouldn’t shock me at all if Manu came back next year.”
- It has been a frustrating tenure so far in Memphis for Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons, but as reported by Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com, Parsons believes he can get back to form next season barring any additional injury setbacks. “Obviously, there were high expectations coming here and I haven’t come close to meeting them. But in my head, it’s all health. I know if I’m healthy, I can play with the best of them. And I’ve shown flashes of that this year when I’ve played minutes.”
Stephen Curry Targeting Friday Return
7:46pm: Curry’s re-evaluation by team medical staff indicated that his ankle is making “good progress.” As a result, Curry has been cleared to practice as a full participant beginning tomorrow, per an official statement from the team.
9:43am: Warriors star Stephen Curry is aiming to return from his latest ankle injury this Friday vs. Atlanta, according to Chris Haynes and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Golden State has the next three nights off, so Friday is the earliest that Curry could get back on the court.
Curry, who has missed the Warriors’ last six games after tweaking his right ankle, will have that ankle re-evaluated on Tuesday. If the team is satisfied with that assessment and Curry avoids setbacks this week, he should be able to face the Hawks on Friday.
The defending champions have been hit hard by the injury bug as of late, with all four of their All-Stars battling various ailments. Klay Thompson (hand) and Kevin Durant (ribs) are each expected to miss a little more time, sources tell Haynes and Shelburne. Meanwhile, Draymond Green left Monday’s loss to the Spurs with a pelvic contusion, but said after the game that the injury is “not serious,” per Haynes.
Because Curry is due back soon and Green’s injury sounds minor, the Warriors won’t be eligible to apply for a hardship exception — that provision allows a team to add a 16th player to its 15-man roster when it has at least four players who have missed three straight games and are expected to remain sidelined for another two weeks apiece.
The Warriors are currently 3.5 games back of the Rockets for the No. 1 seed in the West, but have an 8.5-game cushion over Portland for the No. 2 spot. With their seed all but locked in, the Dubs are expected to focus on simply getting everyone healthy for the start of the postseason, rather than rushing players back for the last three weeks of the regular season.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/20/18
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Suns have assigned veteran big man Alan Williams to their G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, as part of his rehab process in returning from a torn right meniscus, per an official press release. In his first rehab assignment last week, Williams scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Northern Arizona.
- The Magic have assigned 10-day contract recipient Rodney Purvis to their G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, per an official tweet from the team. Purvis, 24, has averaged 20.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.5 APG in 37 G League games so far this season.
Also, two other G League assignments transpired on Sunday:
- The Rockets assigned Zhou Qi to their G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, per the G League’s official transaction log. Qi, 22, is averaging 11.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 21 G League contests this season.
- The Nets have assigned Isaiah Whitehead to the Long Island Nets of the G League, according to the G League’s official transaction log. In 27 G League games this season, Whitehead, 23, is averaging 20.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.7 APG.
Celtics Notes: Smart, Irving, Morris, Thomas, McCarty
As indicated in previous stories, Marcus Smart is expected to miss about six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. The plan is for Smart to return to action should the Celtics make it to the second round of the playoffs and, per Chris Forsberg of ESPN, Smart is supremely confident that he will be able to return this postseason.
“I am confident [I’ll be back for the playoffs],” Smart said Monday night. “I had one of the top [hand] doctors do it. The surgery was a success… I’m real, real, real excited and eager to get back out there, whenever that is, hopefully it’s sooner than later, like I said. Hopefully the team can and, like I think they’re gonna do, is handle their business and have me back [in the postseason].”
Smart originally thought his injury was only a sprain, and even after further testing revealed more extensive ligament damage, he weighed non-surgical treatment options before finally deciding on having the surgery when doctors told him he risked further complications that might force him out of action for a longer period of time should he have tried to play before undergoing the procedure.
“The first [thing] was could I damage it any more?” Smart said. “When we went to get the second opinion, they said the same thing: The ligament is torn completely. There’s nothing else you can do. Then there was, ‘OK, could I possibly play with it and get the surgery afterwards?’ That came into play and when she said — the doctor pretty much said, ‘If it was me, I would get this now. The longer you wait, the harder it [will be] and cause more complications. So just get it over with and then there’s a possibility you could be back sooner than you thought.'”
There’s more out of Boston:
- All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving plans on obtaining a second opinion later this week for his ailing left knee, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
- Marcus Morris was fined $15K for “verbal abuse of a game official,” it was announced today by the NBA. The incident occurred at the conclusion of the Celtics’ 19-point loss to New Orleans on Sunday.
- Former Celtic and soon-to-be free agent guard Isaiah Thomas is willing to return to Boston next season, reports NBC Sports Boston. Asked on Twitter whether he would consider a reunion this offseason, Thomas tweeted, “Anything can happen.”
- Celtics assistant coach and former player Walter McCarty will interview for the head coaching vacancy at the University of Evansville, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Born and raised in Evansville, IN, McCarty is looking to become a head coach for the first time after also having spent time as an assistant at the University of Louisville and with the Pacers.