Steph Curry Expected To Return For Warriors On Sunday
FEBRUARY 26: After Curry went through his second full-speed scrimmage today, head coach Steve Kerr said he’d like to see the star guard scrimmage a little more, downplaying the notion that a Sunday return is locked in (video link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic).
“If it’s Sunday, great,” Kerr said. “If it’s not, that’s fine too.”
FEBRUARY 25: Warriors star Stephen Curry will return to action on Sunday following his four-month recovery from a broken left hand, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
The March 1 contest, a home game vs. the Wizards, is the one Curry has been eyeing as a potential target date for more than a month. Now, barring an unexpected setback within the next few days, it appears he’ll meet that target date.
At 12-45, the Warriors rank dead last in the NBA, 4.5 games behind the Timberwolves, the next-worst team in the Western Conference. Although the team has no playoff hopes at this point, getting Curry back for the last month-and-a-half of the season will give the Dubs an opportunity to see how the two-time MVP meshes with some of the team’s new contributors.
Andrew Wiggins is the most notable of the Warriors’ newest additions, but Curry has also seen little to no playing time alongside youngsters like Eric Paschall, Ky Bowman, and Marquese Chriss, all of whom look like good bets to be part of next year’s squad.
Curry’s presence will add some extra intrigue to the Warriors’ matchups vs. contenders down the stretch. Following Sunday’s game against Washington, six of Golden State’s next seven contests will be against the Nuggets, Raptors, Sixers, Clippers, and Bucks.
While Curry’s return is around the corner, his fellow Splash Brother won’t be suiting up for the Warriors this season. The club publicly ruled out Klay Thompson for the season last week.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jazz Moving Joe Ingles Out Of Starting Lineup
3:33pm: The Jazz have changed their minds on removing Conley from the starting lineup and will instead move Ingles to the bench, according to Charania and Jones (via Twitter). The move will have a similar effect on the rotation balance, with a defensive specialist who doesn’t need the ball replacing a ball-handler in the starting five.
2:01pm: The slumping Jazz are shaking up their starting five, according to Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic, who report that forward Royce O’Neale will replace point guard Mike Conley in the team’s lineup. The change will go into effect beginning on Wednesday night against Boston, per Charania and Jones.
Conley is Utah’s highest-paid player and was the team’s major acquisition in the summer of 2019. However, he has struggled to adjust to his new NBA home this season, battling injuries over the course of the year and underperforming when he’s healthy enough to play. In 34 games (27.9 MPG), Conley has averaged just 13.4 PPG, 4.1 APG, and a .394 FG%, all of which are among the worst marks of his 13-year career.
As Charania and Jones explain, the Jazz believe that the lineup change will balance their rotation a little better, allowing Joe Ingles to take on more of an offensive role with the starters while O’Neale – the team’s best perimeter defender – handles the toughest assignments on the other end of the court. Conley will come off the bench and look to provide an offensive punch alongside Jordan Clarkson.
It has been an up-and-down season in Utah not just for Conley but for the Jazz as a whole. After a modest 13-11 start, the club won 19 of 21 of its next games. Since pushing their record to 32-13 though, the Jazz have endured a pair of losing streaks, winning just four of their last 12 contests. The roller-coaster season has left the team searching for an identity, Tim MacMahon of ESPN wrote today.
Despite their recent struggles, the Jazz are still fifth in the Western Conference, just one game back of the Rockets for home-court advantage in the first round. Utah will hope that its latest lineup change has a positive impact on its push for a top-four seed.
Southeast Notes: Haslem, Monk, Isaac, Wizards
The NBA’s oldest player, Vince Carter, is expected to retire at season’s end. However, the league’s second-oldest player isn’t sure whether he’ll call it a career too. Asked earlier this month if 2019/20 will be his final season, longtime Heat big man Udonis Haslem was noncommittal, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes.
“I can’t say,” Haslem said. “The guys want me around. Bam (Adebayo) tells me every day, ‘I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do when you retire.’ Jimmy (Butler) always has me around. We’ll see. My kids are getting older. We’ll see.”
According to Jackson, Haslem – who has logged 21 minutes all season – has acknowledged he’d like to play more, but says he has found “a joy” in a role as a veteran leader and mentor. Although the 39-year-old hasn’t been a regular rotation player since the 2014/15 season, the Heat value his leadership and believe it has outweighed the value of filling out the 15th roster spot with a prospect. We’ll have to wait to see if Haslem once again occupies that final roster spot in 2020/21.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- The Hornets issued a statement in response to Malik Monk‘s indefinite suspension today, which reads as follows (Twitter link): “We are disappointed in Malik’s decision-making that resulted in his suspension. As an organization, we do not condone his behavior. However, we are committed to supporting Malik during this time.”
- Magic forward Jonathan Isaac isn’t expected to return this season due to a knee injury, but he’s back with the team and participating in some light shooting drills this week, per John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com. “I’m not completely sure,” Isaac said when asked if he could play again this season. “I just want to continue to be wise, listen to the coaching staff and what management is thinking and then move accordingly.”
- Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said on Sunday after losses to Cleveland and Chicago that his team was “playing soft,” writes Eric Woodyard of ESPN. The club lost again on Monday, but was far more competitive in that game, pushing Milwaukee to overtime.
- Michael Lee of The Athletic implores frustrated Wizards guard Bradley Beal to look on the bright side of a losing season that Lee argues should be considered at least a “partial success,” given preseason expectations.
Hornets’ Malik Monk Suspended Indefinitely
Hornets guard Malik Monk has been suspended by the NBA for violating the terms of the league’s anti-drug program, according to a press release issued this afternoon.
The NBA didn’t announce a specific number of games for Monk’s suspension. According to the press release, the ban will begin when the Hornets face the Knicks tonight and will continue until Monk is determined to be “in full compliance” with the anti-drug program.
We don’t know the full details surrounding Monk’s suspension, but the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that certain drug violations – including for drugs of abuse – require a player to enter a treatment or care program. If the player violates the terms of that program, he will be suspended “until such time as the Medical Director determines that he has fully complied” with the program, per the CBA.
Because Monk’s suspension is open-ended, it remains to be seen how much money it will end up costing him, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. A suspension of less than 20 games will cost Monk 1/145th of his $4,028,400 salary per game. A suspension of 20+ games would result in a loss of 1/110th of his salary per game. So if he’s suspended for the rest of the season (25 games), he’d lose $915,545.
The 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Monk hasn’t been the scorer and shooter the Hornets hoped for through his first three NBA seasons, averaging just 8.6 PPG with a .322 3PT%. However, he had played well lately, scoring 17.0 PPG on .457/.350/.851 shooting in his last 13 games (27.9 MPG).
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Nets, Raptors, Celtics
Sixers center Joel Embiid has received a $25K fine for making an obscene gesture on the court and using profane language during a TV interview, the NBA announced today in a press release. Embiid gave Kevin Huerter the middle finger following an end-of-game steal by the Hawks’ swingman (video link), then dropped an f-bomb during a live postgame interview (video link). According to the league’s announcement, the amount of Embiid’s fine “reflects his multiple prior violations of acceptable on-court decorum.”
Here are a few more notes from around the Atlantic:
- Kyrie Irving made some waves last month when he suggested the Nets had “glaring” needs and would need to add more pieces even after Kevin Durant‘s return. However, in a WFAN appearance this week, GM Sean Marks said he welcomes feedback from his star players. “I always take a select handful of player’s opinions in terms of how we can build this,” Marks said. “We’ve done this since day one. Because these guys know the players better than anyone else. …They’ll be brutally honest because they’ve got to go play with those guys. I think it’s important to weigh their opinions from time to time.”
- In a Q&A with Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype, Raptors guard Terence Davis talked about his rookie season and his first impressions of living in Toronto, declaring that he’s “in love with the city.”
- The Raptors were searching for more scoring at this month’s trade deadline, sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Besides its 2020 first-round pick, Toronto didn’t really have any expendable trade assets of value, so the club ultimately ended up standing pat.
- Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston examines a few potential – and oft-mentioned – targets on the buyout market for the Celtics, explaining why most of them are unlikely fits.
Injury Updates: Lillard, Powell, Holmes, Herro, More
Having already missed the three games since the All-Star break, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard is expected to be sidelined for “a couple more,” a source tells Jason Quick of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, Lillard will make the three-game road trip to Indiana, Atlanta, and Orlando, Quick notes. Although we haven’t heard an official update from the Blazers, it sounds like there’s a chance Lillard could be back in the lineup by Monday when Portland faces the Magic.
Here are several more injury-related updates from around the NBA:
- Raptors swingman Norman Powell, sidelined for nearly a month with a broken finger, is scheduled for a check-up in about a week, head coach Nick Nurse said on Tuesday evening (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of The Athletic).
- Kings center Richaun Holmes (shoulder) has yet to practice and there’s still no timetable for his return, per head coach Luke Walton (Twitter link via James Ham of NBC Sports California).
- There’s still no set return timetable for injured Heat players Tyler Herro (foot) or Meyers Leonard (ankle), writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami has been without both players for the last eight games, going 2-6 during that stretch.
- Pelicans forward Kenrich Williams recently received an injection to treat pain and inflammation in his back, according to the team. Williams, who hasn’t played since January 6, is making “good progress” and is expected to be re-evaluated before the end of the week.
Leon Rose To Start Role With Knicks On Sunday
Veteran CAA agent Leon Rose, who reached an agreement with the Knicks during the first week of February to become the team’s new president of basketball operations, will officially begin his new role on Sunday, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter).
Rose has been one of the NBA’s top agents for years and had a star-studded list of clients that includes Joel Embiid, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Karl-Anthony Towns. It has taken him a few weeks to tie up loose ends with those clients and to prepare to transition from his role as a player rep to a team executive.
A report last week suggested that one reason for the delay was Rose’s involvement in Dwyane Wade‘s three-day retirement celebration with the Heat last weekend. Rose helped plan the event for Wade, a longtime CAA client.
Once Rose officially takes the reins in New York, he’ll have several areas to address in both the short- and long-term. He’ll have to make a decision on the future of interim head of basketball operations Scott Perry and potentially make additional changes to the basketball operations department. He may also have some thoughts on how Knicks head coach Mike Miller should balance playing veterans and young players in the season’s final month-and-a-half.
This spring, Rose will be tasked with hiring a permanent head coach and preparing for an important draft and free agency period. The Knicks will have a top-10 pick in the draft and could also have a major chunk of cap room available, depending on how they handle their players with team options and non-guaranteed salaries for 2020/21.
Grizzlies’ Clarke Out At Least Two Weeks With Quad Injury
Already missing Jaren Jackson Jr. due to a knee injury, the Grizzlies will now be without another key forward as they attempt to hold onto their playoff spot. The team announced on Tuesday night that Brandon Clarke has been diagnosed with a right quad injury and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Clarke suffered the injury on Monday night against the Clippers, leaving the game early in the first quarter with what was initially referred to as hip soreness.
The 21st overall pick in the 2019 draft, Clarke has been one of the NBA’s most impressive rookies this season, averaging 12.0 PPG and 5.8 RPG with a .623/.404/.785 shooting line in 50 games (21.7 MPG) for the upstart Grizzlies.
Clarke and Jackson are both among the top five Memphis players in minutes per game this season, so the team will have to rely on its depth to fill those holes in the next couple weeks. Having also traded away forwards Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill, and Bruno Caboclo prior to this month’s deadline, the Grizzlies figure to lean more heavily on players like Kyle Anderson, Gorgui Dieng, Josh Jackson, and Jordan Bell. Grayson Allen and Justise Winslow also remain on the shelf with injuries of their own.
The 2019/20 season has already been a success for the 28-29 Grizzlies, whose win total has surpassed their preseason over/under projection. Still, down two important rotation players and facing the NBA’s toughest remaining schedule, the club will be hard-pressed to hang onto its three-game lead for the No. 8 seed in the West.
Latest On Evan Turner, Wolves Buyout Talks
Evan Turner is still weighing the idea of a buyout, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. The wing was reportedly in buyout talks with the Timberwolves earlier this month but it has been quiet on that front until now.
Turner, who was scheduled to work out for the Clippers earlier this month, would be open to a reunion with the Celtics, Deveney hears. The former No. 2 overall pick spent two seasons in Boston, starting in 163 games for the club.
The Hawks traded for Turner during the offseason, hoping to use him as a backup point guard to starter Trae Young. That didn’t exactly work out and the team shipped him to Minnesota in its deal for Clint Capela.
The 31-year-old Chicago native has played for five teams in his career, as he has suited up for the Sixers, Pacers, and Blazers in addition to the Celtics and Hawks.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/25/20
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Wizards have assigned three players to the Capital City Go-Go, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Anzejs Pasecniks, Gary Payton II and Admiral Schofield all played in today’s contest for the G League squad. The team then recalled Pasecniks and Payton but left Schofield in Southeast D.C.
- The Clippers have assigned Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann to the Agua Caliente Clippers, per the team’s Twitter feed. Kabengele was the team’s first-round pick in the 2019 draft.