Latest On Heat Center Hassan Whiteside
Heat center Hassan Whiteside expressed regret on Monday over his postgame tirade on Saturday in which he ripped coach Erik Spoelstra, Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel reports. Whiteside was upset when he didn’t play in the fourth quarter and overtime during a loss to the Nets. “The minutes have been like that all year. It’s really frustrating. … It’s crazy. I don’t understand it,” he told reporters afterward. After meeting with Spoelstra, Whiteside said he didn’t handle the situation the right way.
“I was just frustrated, man,” Whiteside told Richardson and other reporters. “I was frustrated that we lost. I really wanted to get that game … I could have handled it different. But I got so caught up in wanting to get that win. I get real competitive. I really want to be out there. But I just trust coach’s decision.”
Whiteside was fined for his tirade and Spoeltra said the issue has been resolved. “We’re moving on. It’s behind us,” he said. “You can tell right now by the mood of the gym that’s long gone.”
Whiteside has played an average of 25.6 MPG, 7.0 less than last season. Whiteside has two years and $52.4MM remaining on his contract after this season but can opt out after next season.
Florida reporters weighed in on Whiteside’s future:
- Tensions between Whiteside and the team can only hurt his trade value, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel opines. It’s now uncertain whether Whiteside will remain on the team after this season but the Heat sent a message by fining him that they’re fed up with him and will no longer coddle him, Winderman adds.
- Whiteside will get traded after the season despite his efforts to end the controversy, Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel anticipates. He has constantly frustrated the team with his inconsistent play and rookie Bam Adebayo can take over at center with a more unselfish mindset, Hyde adds.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 4/2/18
Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Knicks assigned Damyean Dotson to their Westchester affiliate for its playoff game Monday against Raptors 905, the Knicks’ PR staff tweets. The rookie shooting guard out of Houston is averaging 18.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 2.5 APG in 13 games with Westchester. The second-round pick has appeared in 39 games with New York.
- The Hawks have assigned forwards Tyler Cavanaugh and Jeremy Evans to the Erie BayHawks, according to a team press release. The BayHawks face Fort Wayne in the playoffs Tuesday. Cavanaugh is averaging 14.5 PPG and 7.3 RPG in 11 G League, while Evans has posted averages of 15.3 PPG and 9.9 RPG in 39 games with Erie.
Pacific Notes: Ayton, Wear, Caruso, Fox, Thomas
Potential top pick DeAndre Ayton indicated during a radio interview that he and Devin Booker could form a duo similar to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant during their Lakers years if he winds up with the Suns, the team’s SB Nation blog The Bright Side tweets. “Honestly, I could see myself in Phoenix,” the University of Arizona freshman center said in a CBS Sports Radio interview. “I could see a little Shaq and Kobe 2.0.” The Suns currently have the worst record in the league and will likely remain there. If they get the No. 1 selection, they could draft Ayton and then trade the first-rounders owed to them by the Heat and Bucks to move up and draft a point guard, according to Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic. If they fall to the No. 2 pick and Ayton is off the board, they would be happy to land Euro guard Luke Doncic and then move those same picks to get frontcourt help, Bordow adds.
In other news around the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers have been forced to recall forward Travis Wear and guard Alex Caruso during the G League playoffs due to injuries, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register notes. They will likely stay with the Lakers for their game against the Jazz on Tuesday if Brandon Ingram is still recovering from a concussion and Lonzo Ball remains sidelined with a knee contusion.
- The Kings want to see rookie point guard De’Aaron Fox take ownership of the team and become a better playmaker during the remaining games, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports. Fox needs to realize he can impact the game without having a hot shooting night, coach Dave Joerger told Jones. “He’s got to demand from the rest of his team that he’s the leader, and going forward, set the tone for what he’s looking for,” Joerger said. “And get the ball out faster, or ‘give me some space and I’ll get you a shot.’ Those kinds of things where you go to the next level of leadership or you can kind of just finish the season.”
- Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas will be represented once again by Excel Sports Management, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal tweets. Sam Goldfeder will be his agent, Mullen adds. Excel had been representing Thomas before signing with Goodwin Sports last fall.
Injury Notes: Butler, Kawhi, Hayward, Evans
Jimmy Butler‘s return date remains unclear, but it looks like the Timberwolves forward is getting closer and closer to getting back into the lineup. According to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link), Butler took part in five-on-five action during practice today for the first time since injuring his knee in February.
The Timberwolves only have four games left in the regular season, but Butler is still expected to return before the playoffs. Minnesota’s next game is on Thursday in Denver, and the Wolves would certainly like to have their veteran star back for that contest, which will be big for playoff purposes.
If Butler can’t suit up for the Timberwolves on Thursday, he could aim to return Friday against the Lakers, next Monday against the Grizzlies, or for next Wednesday’s finale against the Nuggets once again.
Let’s round up a few more injury updates from across the NBA…
- Asked on Sunday for the latest on Kawhi Leonard‘s status, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said there has been no word on the star forward since he headed to New York last week for rehab purposes. “I don’t know when he and his group are going to feel like they are ready to go,” Popovich said, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “If I knew, he’d be here. When he and his group feel he’s ready, then he’ll be ready.” Leonard has already been ruled out of San Antonio’s Tuesday game against the Clippers (Twitter link via Jeff McDonald of The Express-News).
- Gordon Hayward took another key step forward in his rehab from ankle surgery today, jogging up and down the Celtics‘ practice court. Although head coach Brad Stevens has said Hayward won’t return this season, the forward himself hasn’t ruled out the possibility. “I think every day where he can accomplish something new is a big deal,” Stevens acknowledged today, per Marc D’Amico of Celtics.com. Still, the Celtics’ coach cautioned that Hayward remains “a long, long way away.”
- Jawun Evans‘ rookie year with the Clippers has come to an early end, according to head coach Doc Rivers, who said today that Evans will undergo sports hernia surgery and won’t play again this season (Twitter link via Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times). Evans averaged 4.8 PPG and 2.1 APG in 48 games for L.A. this season.
Hawks Sign Damion Lee For Season
3:39pm: The Hawks have officially signed Lee to a rest-of-season contract, the team announced in a press release.
8:30am: Damion Lee‘s second 10-day contract with the Hawks expired overnight, but he appears set to stick with the team. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN (Twitter link), Atlanta expects to re-sign Lee to a rest-of-season deal. It’s not clear yet if the agreement would cover the 2018/19 season or if it would allow the rookie guard to return to the free agent market this summer.
During his 20 days with the Hawks, Lee has appeared in the first 10 games of his NBA career, averaging 9.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 1.9 APG. After a hot start, the 25-year-old cooled off a little during his second 10-day contract, shooting just .388/.190/.667 over his last five games.
The Hawks, who signed Jeremy Evans to a 10-day contract on Sunday, currently have a full 15-man roster. However, the league granted Atlanta a hardship exception, which allows the club to carry a 16th player, so no corresponding roster move will be necessary to re-sign Lee.
That hardship exception can be granted when a team has at least four players who have missed three consecutive games and are expected to miss at least two more weeks. In the Hawks’ case, Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore, Antonius Cleveland, Jaylen Morris, and Malcolm Delaney are all on the shelf, so at least four of those players appear unlikely to return this season.
Mark Suleymanov of Hoops Rumors recently took an in-depth look at Lee’s long road to the NBA, a journey that saw him make his way back from ACL tears in both knees.
Draft Updates: Carr, Mitchell, Reed, Taylor, Rose
Penn State guard Tony Carr announced today that he has decided to enter the 2018 NBA draft and will hire an agent, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility, as Tyler King of The Daily Collegian details.
Carr, a 6’5″ point guard, posted big numbers for the Nittany Lions in his sophomore year, averaging 19.6 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 4.9 RPG with a .408/.433/.799 shooting line. He also helped lead Penn State to the NIT title last week.
Ranked 44th on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com, Carr is viewed as a possible first-round pick by some draft experts, but at this point he seems more likely to be picked in the second round or even to go undrafted.
Here are more draft-related notes from around the basketball world:
- Clemson guards Shelton Mitchell and Marcquise Reed are declaring for the 2018 NBA draft without hiring representation, per a press release (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports). Both Mitchell and Reed just finished their junior seasons for the Tigers, with Mitchell posting 12.2 PPG and 3.6 APG, while Reed contributed 15.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 3.3 APG.
- Cornell junior guard Matt Morgan is testing the draft waters without hiring an agent, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN. The Ivy League’s leading scorer, Morgan averaged 22.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 2017/18. He tested the draft waters last spring, but ultimately returned to school.
- Temple sophomore guard Quinton Rose is declaring for the 2018 draft, but won’t hire an agent yet, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. “I’m confident in my abilities going forward and think that I have a good chance of being drafted,” Rose told Givony. “In order to stay in I would have to move into projected mid-first round.” In other words, Rose is a good bet to return to Temple for his junior year.
- Fresno State guard Deshon Taylor is testing the 2018 NBA draft waters without an agent, he announced (via Twitter). Taylor enjoyed a big junior year for the Bulldogs, averaging 17.8 PPG on .439/.386/.833 shooting.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Enters 2018 NBA Draft
Top prospect Jaren Jackson Jr. has declared his intention to enter the 2018 NBA draft, making the official announcement today on Twitter. Within his announcement, Jackson wrote at length about his time at Michigan State, stressing that the decision to make the leap to the NBA wasn’t an easy one.
“Spartans, this was not an automatic decision. And honestly, thank you for making it one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to think about,” Jackson wrote. “While playing in the NBA was always my dream and desire, I did not know the opportunity would present itself in quite this way. I’m ready to live my dreams and I cannot pass it up. Therefore, the time has come to declare for the 2018 NBA Draft.”
Jackson, a freshman at Michigan State this season, averaged 10.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and an impressive 3.0 BPG in just 21.8 minutes per contest. The 6’11” forward/center has the ability to space the floor and scored his points efficiently this season, with a shooting line of .513/.396/.797.
A potential top-five pick in this year’s draft, Jackson currently ranks third on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN, and was the No. 4 pick in the site’s most recent mock draft. Noting that Jackson is the youngest projected first-rounder for 2018, Givony writes that the 18-year-old may also “have the highest ceiling in terms of his ability to affect the game on both ends of the floor.”
While Jackson’s announcement didn’t say anything specifically about hiring an agent, he indicated that he’ll “no longer” play at MSU, signaling that he’s not simply testing the waters — he’ll remain in the draft.
Five Traded 2018 Draft Picks With Protections To Watch
A ton of 2018’s first- and second-round picks have been included in trades already, and many of those traded picks have protections on them. In those instances, the pick only changes hands if the protection conditions are met — for example, the Hawks traded their second-round pick to the Clippers, but included top-55 protection on it, meaning L.A. would only receive it if it falls between 56 and 60. Given Atlanta’s record, that obviously won’t happen.
For many of this year’s traded picks, there’s not much drama left related to those protections. Either they definitely won’t change hands, like that Hawks second-rounder, or they definitely will — like the Rockets‘ first-round pick, which is headed to Atlanta with top-three protections on it.
However, there are a handful of traded draft picks whose status remains up in the air. The season’s final few games will determine which teams end up with those picks, or whether they change hands at all.
Let’s dive in and take a closer look at five of those protected picks worth watching down the stretch…
- Pistons‘ first-round pick (to Clippers; top-4 protection)
- The Pistons are likely to finish the season 12th in the lottery standings, so this pick is extremely likely to end up with the Clippers. But that could change if Detroit lucks out in the lottery — at No. 12, the Pistons would have a 2.5% chance of jumping into the top three and keeping their pick.
- Bucks‘ first-round pick (to Suns; top-10 protection and 17-30 protection)
- As of today, the Bucks’ 41-36 record has them tied with the Heat for the 15th or 16th pick in the draft. That would mean the Suns receive Milwaukee’s selection. That could change though, if the Bucks get hot to finish the season, pushing the pick back to 17th or 18th overall. Milwaukee has games left against Boston, Philadelphia, and three lottery teams, so that scenario is in play. If it happens, Milwaukee would keep its 2018 first-rounder and owe the Suns a protected first-rounder (protected for 1-3 and 17-30) in 2019.
- Timberwolves‘ first-round pick (to Hawks; top-14 protection)
- At 44-34, the Timberwolves are up one game in the loss column on the ninth-seeded Nuggets, and two on the tenth-seeded Clippers. The Wolves’ remaining two games against Denver will be crucial for determining whether they make the playoffs and lose their pick or miss the playoffs and keep it (they’d owe their 2019 lottery-protected first-rounder to Atlanta in that case).
- Thunder‘s first-round pick (to Timberwolves; top-14 protection)
- The 45-33 Thunder are slightly better positioned than Minnesota to clinch a playoff spot, but that could change quickly — Oklahoma City has games against Golden State, Houston, and Miami on tap, and doesn’t hold a tiebreaker edge over most of the other Western Conference playoff contenders. I expect the Thunder to hang onto a playoff spot, but if they don’t, they’ll keep their 2018 first-rounder and owe their 2019 lottery-protected first-rounder to Minnesota. Interestingly, if the final playoff spot comes down to the Thunder and Wolves, Minnesota could end up with two first-round picks for 2018 or none.
- Bucks‘ second-round pick (to Nets if in 31-47 range; to Suns if in 48-60 range)
- As is the case with their first-round pick, the Bucks’ second-round selection is right on the edge here, currently projected to be 45th or 46th. A strong finish for the Bucks could mean that second-rounder lands with Phoenix, but for now it seems more likely to head to Brooklyn.
Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine Done For Season
A pair of Bulls guards, Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine, won’t return to action for Chicago this season, the team announced today (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune). Dunn and LaVine have been dealing with toe and knee injuries, respectively, and haven’t made enough progress to get into game shape within the next 10 days, according to the Bulls.
Both Dunn and LaVine debuted for Chicago this season after arriving from Minnesota in last summer’s Jimmy Butler trade. Dunn, 24, had a promising season for the Bulls after struggling in his rookie season. In 52 games (43 starts), the former Providence standout averaged 13.4 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 4.3 RPG. He has two more years left on his rookie contract entering 2018/19.
As for LaVine, he missed the first half of the season while recovering from last year’s ACL surgery, ultimately appearing in just 24 games for the Bulls. Although he averaged a solid 16.7 PPG, LaVine struggled with his shot a little, posting a .383 FG% and .341 3PT%. Still, the Bulls view him as a key piece of their long-term core, and are expected to lock him up to a long-term contract when he reaches restricted free agency this July.
If the Bulls were in a playoff race, the recovery timelines for Dunn and LaVine may have looked a little different. But the club is currently 26-51 and would probably be happy to lose the rest of its games for lottery purposes, making it an easy decision to hold the duo out of action. As our reverse standings show, Chicago currently ranks eighth in terms of lottery position.
Nets Rumors: Harris, Okafor, Russell
In his second season with the Nets, Joe Harris has enjoyed a career year, establishing new career bests in PPG (10.7), FG% (.486), 3PT% (.411), and several other categories. However, as Michael Scotto of The Athletic details, Harris isn’t necessarily eager to parlay his success into a big payday with a new team.
“In my short experience in the NBA, this has been a very ideal fit just overall in terms of having the opportunity to play and all the great people that are within the organization,” Harris said of the Nets. “It’s hard to say the grass is greener on the other side or somewhere else.”
While Harris sounds interested in staying in Brooklyn, and agent Mark Bartelstein calls the relationship between the Nets and his client a “great marriage,” the young wing will be in line for a raise. Scotto cites eight NBA executives who believe that Harris will command between $4-7MM annually on a new deal after earning the minimum in 2017/18.
“He shoots, plays hard, cuts, and moves well off the ball,” one Eastern Conference executive said of Harris. “He’s really improved.”
Given how well wings have done in free agency over the past couple years, a deal in the $4-7MM range sounds to me like a conservative estimate for Harris and a possible bargain for a team that ends up with him. If his price tag is in that neighborhood, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Harris back with the Nets next season.
Here’s more out of Brooklyn:
- A midseason trade from Philadelphia to Brooklyn initially seemed to be the opportunity Jahlil Okafor needed to earn some minutes, but the third-year center isn’t playing much more for the Nets than he did for the Sixers. With unrestricted free agency approaching, Jahlil Okafor said he’ll consider several factors when deciding on a team, but it sounds like an opportunity for more playing time will be at or near the top of his list. “At the end of the day, I want to play basketball,” Okafor said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
- Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson indicated that Okafor would be in better positioned for a regular role if he’d spent a full offseason and training camp with the squad. However, the 22-year-old sounds unconvinced by that line of thinking, as Lewis details. “I don’t really know what that means. I’ve been here for three or four months,” Okafor said. “Saying a full offseason would help me, I’ve been with these guys for three or four months now, done everything they’ve asked of me. I’m not sure what they want. But everybody’s treated me really well.”
- Although D’Angelo Russell is still considered an important part of the Nets’ long-term future, there have been some bumps in the road this season. The latest one came on Saturday, when Russell was benched for the final three quarters and overtime in Brooklyn’s win over Miami. NetsDaily has the story.
- On Sunday, our Austin Kent took a closer look at the stocks of several Nets free-agents-to-be, including Harris and Okafor.