Caris LeVert Out Indefinitely
Pacers guard Caris LeVert will be sidelined indefinitely after an MRI found that he has a small mass on his left kidney, according to a statement from the team. More medical tests will be conducted and details will be released as needed, per the Pacers.
“On behalf of my family and myself, we want to thank the Indiana Pacers for their support and guidance,” LeVert said. “We are grateful for their extreme thoroughness during the physical process.” (Twitter link)
LeVert was part of this week’s four-team deal that sent James Harden to Brooklyn, and the mass was discovered during a physical that was required for the trade to be completed, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). The medical issue delayed the deal, which wasn’t officially finalized until today.
Indiana could have opted to void the trade, but chose to accept additional compensation in the form of a 2024 second-round pick and cash. That indicates a level of trust that LeVert will eventually be OK physically, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (via Twitter).
“His basketball skill and on court play speaks for itself and we know he has a great career ahead of him,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “We will support Caris through this time and know that he will join us on the court as soon as he is able.”
Pritchard will address the situation further in a media session later tonight, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
LeVert, 26, was a first-round pick in 2016 and had spent his entire career with the Nets. He was averaging 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 12 games this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Los Angeles Notes: George, Scrubb, James
Paul George is playing with a chip on his shoulder after his subpar performances during last season’s playoffs, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. George’s shooting percentages are a career best while averaging 25.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.2 APG and 1.3 SPG. “I’m coming back with vengeance,” the Clippers forward said. “I didn’t like, not so much of the noise and everything around [the way last season ended], but just the fact that people saw weakness. And I had to address that. I had to answer that. That fueled me.” George signed a four-year, max extension last month.
We have more on the two Los Angeles teams:
- Clippers rookie guard Jay Scrubb got his cast removed last week after he fractured a bone in his foot, Adam Zagoria of the New York Times tweets. He may play during the G League’s “bubble” season in Orlando, which begins next month, Zagoria adds. A second-round pick and last season’s JUCO Player of the Year, Scrubb signed a two-way contract with the Clippers in November.
- Lakers star LeBron James said that playing fewer minutes during lopsided games has very little impact on him, he noted during a press conference this week. “I’m 36 years old, 18 years in this league. Ain’t no saving something for later on in the season,” he said. “My body is ready to play whenever I need to play throughout the course of the game. … I wish I could ‘bank’ time.” James has appeared in all 14 Lakers games this season, averaging 31.8 MPG.
- James is making a major swap in the cola wars. He’s signing with Pepsi to promote the Mountain Dew brand, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. James has been endorsing Coca-Cola products since his rookie season in 2003.
Oladipo-LeVert Deal Complete; Pacers Get Additional Compensation
The Rockets and Pacers have officially completed their swap of high-scoring guards, with Caris LeVert going to Indiana and Victor Oladipo heading to Houston, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
It’s part of the four-team blockbuster that sent former Most Valuable Player James Harden to Brooklyn, even though all other aspects were officially announced earlier this week. LeVert was acquired by the Rockets in that trade.
The part of the deal flipping LeVert to Indiana initially looked like it would be completed as a separate transaction, which would’ve allowed the Rockets to maximize the value of a trade exception created in the original trade.
However, an additional second-round pick and cash are being sent to Indiana due to an issue discovered in LeVert’s physical, per Charania, requiring the trade to be formally completed as a four-teamer.
[UPDATE: LeVert Out Indefinitely Due To Small Mass On Left Kidney]
In addition to Oladipo and a 2023 second-round pick (from the Rockets), the Pacers are also receiving cash and a 2024 second-round pick, says Charania. That additional pick, which is coming from Cleveland, was originally supposed to land with the Nets.
Per RealGM’s list of traded picks, the two picks headed to Indiana will technically be the least favorable of Houston’s, Dallas’, and Miami’s 2023 second-rounders; and the least favorable of Cleveland’s and Utah’s 2024 second-rounders.
With all aspects of the deal now completed, Harden is available to play Saturday for the Nets. Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press tweets.
Oladipo will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and the Pacers feared they wouldn’t be able to re-sign him. In contrast, LeVert is in the first year of a three-year, $52.5MM contract. Both players have missed time in recent years due to injuries, but are healthy and playing well this season.
“We want to thank Victor for what he gave to the Pacers through his play, his diligence in rehab coming back from a serious injury, and his community efforts,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement confirming today’s deal. “These decisions are obviously never easy and this one in particular was hard because of our relationship.
“Caris is a high-quality person who will fit in with what we as an organization are doing, on and off the floor. He’s a versatile young talent who we think will be a great fit with the direction our team is taking. He can play multiple positions and affect the game at both ends of the floor.”
The Rockets, meanwhile, could retain Oladipo and attempt to re-sign him beyond 2021 or could explore flipping him at the March 25 trade deadline. Houston can trade him immediately but would have to wait until after March 7 to move him in a deal that aggregates his salary for matching purposes. For now, the Rockets will probably want to see how Oladipo looks in their revamped lineup.
Because of the amended structure of the trade, the trade exception generated by the Rockets will be worth approximately $10.65MM instead of $15.45MM.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this story.
Central Notes: Donovan, Weaver, Drummond, LeVert
The frustration for the Bulls and new head coach Billy Donovan is mounting over their penchant for blowing big leads. Chicago squandered a 10-point cushion in the final two minutes of regulation and lost in overtime on Friday to the Thunder, prompting Donovan to make some pointed comments about his team’s psyche.
“This is a hard-working group. It’s a good group of guys. They want to win,” the Bulls’ coach said, per Royce Young of ESPN. “They don’t know how to. They are learning how to.
The Bulls have committed a league-worst 18.3 turnovers per game and Donovan believes that’s the crux of their problem. “We’ve gotten destroyed in the turnover battle the whole entire year,” he said.
We have more from the Central Division:
- New Pistons GM Troy Weaver engineered a number of draft-night trades and wound up with four rookies on the roster. He’s thrilled with all of them, even though lottery pick Killian Hayes struggled as a starter before suffering a hip injury, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart have jumped into the rotation and second-rounder Saben Lee is getting some spot time with Hayes sidelined. “We can debate the player all day long, but we’re not going to debate the person,” Weaver said. “These are high-character guys who work and are selfless. Extremely excited about them.”
- Jarrett Allen appears to be the Cavaliers’ main man in the middle after they acquired the restricted free agent from the Nets this week, but they shouldn’t be so quick to give away Andre Drummond, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines. Drummond has been highly productive this season, as his 33-point, 23-rebound outing against the Knicks demonstrates. Trading Drummond, an unrestricted free agent after the season, could wind up making the team less competitive.
- The Pacers are replacing Victor Oladipo with Caris LeVert in their impending trade with the Rockets. While those guards have similar stats, their skill sets vary greatly. J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star provides a breakdown of their strengths and weaknesses.
Pacific Notes: Bridges, Ramsey, Lakers, Kings
Suns forward Mikal Bridges discussed a variety of topics with Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com, including the early buzz for Most Improved Player, playing with Chris Paul and his relationship with Deandre Ayton.
Bridges, a 24-year-old defensive-minded player, has improved his offensive game and starts alongside Jae Crowder and Ayton in Phoenix’s frontcourt. He scored a career-high 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting (including 6-of-8 from deep) in the team’s game against Indiana a week ago, averaging 15.1 points per contest in 11 games so far this season.
“I was just hoopin’, man,” Bridges said of his performance. “Just playing basketball. Reading things, being aggressive, taking shots when I’m open. The Pacers do a lot of things out there, so still keying in on the other end, but just being more aggressive and taking the shots where I thought I could be aggressive.”
Phoenix has opened the season with a 7-3 record. The team’s last three games have been postponed because it didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available due to health and safety protocols, as noted in our new 2020/21 NBA Game Postponement Tracker.
Here are some other notes from the Pacific Division today:
- Kings guard Jahmi’us Ramsey will be re-evaluated in 2-to-3 weeks after undergoing an MRI that confirmed a left groin strain, the team announced. Ramsey, the No. 43 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has only appeared in four games this season.
- The Lakers have made the most of their somewhat limited time together, building their chemistry on the court to start the season, Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register writes. COVID-19 has restricted teams this season, but at 11-3 (and five straight wins), the Lakers look to be maximizing their situation so far. “I think it’s all about having fun and being happy with your job,” Dennis Schroder said. “So I think everybody when they wake up, they like to come to work and I think that’s pretty important for us and I’ll always be on the sidelines and just talking and trying to get everybody engaged.”
- De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton will likely be the only Kings players untouchable in trade talks this season, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes. Fox, 23, is coming off a season where he averaged 21.1 points and 6.8 assists per game, while Haliburton, 20, was drafted by the team No. 12 overall last fall.
Atlantic Notes: Harden, Simmons, Embiid, Knicks, Ntilikina
Nets superstar James Harden is ready to embrace the sacrifice needed for his team to succeed this season, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes.
Harden, who was acquired by Brooklyn in a massive three-team trade on Wednesday, joins a Nets team already featuring two of the league’s best offensive players in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The looming question, of course, is whether the three talents will be able to co-exist going forward.
“Chemistry. Sacrifice,” Harden said, as relayed by Lewis. “We’re all elite, so depending on the game and what’s going on throughout the course of the game, that’s going to determine who gets the ball and who makes the plays.
“We’re all unselfish, we’re all willing passers and we play basketball the right way.”
Harden is currently listed as questionable to play in Saturday’s game against Orlando, with Irving set to miss the game due to health and safety protocols. The team could have its full Big 3 available for Monday’s showdown against the defensive-minded Bucks on TNT.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division today:
- Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer explores the fit between Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, a pairing he believes is still questionable even with some added shooting. Simmons was prepared for the possibility of being traded by the Sixers in a deal centered around Harden this past week, but Houston made a deal with Brooklyn instead.
- The Knicks considered extending the contract of Mitchell Robinson last offseason, perhaps showing how they value the 22-year-old, Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets. Robinson’s game remains a work in progress, but he possesses the tools needed to be an intriguing player for the future. In 13 games this season, he’s averaged 8.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per contest.
- Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau issued a brief injury update on Frank Ntilikina, who hasn’t seen action since Dec. 29 due to a knee sprain. “We have to be patient and let him work through that,” Thibodeau said, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link). “He’s making steady progress. It will probably be a little while longer.”
Cavaliers Notes: Allen, Prince, Drummond, McGee, Porter Jr.
The acquisitions of Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince from the Nets in the multi-trade trade that sent James Harden to Brooklyn accelerated the Cavaliers’ rebuild, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic writes. Acquiring Allen, a restricted free agency, gives the Cavs a long-term answer in the middle if they re-sign him. Prince provides the team with a 3-and-D wing who could also see minutes at power forward.
We have more on the Cavaliers:
- Once Allen is in uniform, coach J.B. Bickerstaff will have a pleasant dilemma of finding time at center for him as well as Andre Drummond and JaVale McGee, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes. However, that dilemma may not stretch beyond March’s trade deadline. According to Fedor, shortly after the blockbuster trade, the team received calls on Drummond and McGee, both of whom will be unrestricted free agents after the season. Drummond erupted for 33 points and 23 rebounds against the Knicks on Friday.
- Second-year swingman Kevin Porter Jr. rejoined his teammates on the bench for the first time this season on Friday, according to Fedor. Porter hasn’t played or practiced since the season started due to personal reasons. In November, he was arrested after flipping his Mercedes SUV. He was charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a felony, in addition to misdemeanors for driving without a license and marijuana possession. All charges were dropped in December by a grand jury.
- After facing the Knicks on Friday, the Cavaliers don’t play again until they host the Nets on Wednesday. Their two games in-between against the Wizards were postponed due to COVID-19 issues within Washington’s team.
Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Embiid, Johnson, Watanabe, Knicks
Ben Simmons is keeping a positive attitude — at least publicly — despite the knowledge the Sixers were willing to deal him to acquire James Harden, according to Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Simmons had a triple-double against Miami on Thursday. “I am blessed. I get to play the game I love every day at the highest level in the world, so there’s far worse things going on in the world,” he said. “So I’m in a blessed position. If you tell me I’ll never play the game again, that would be a different story.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Sixers center Joel Embiid will miss the next two games due to right knee discomfort, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Embiid won’t join the team during its road trip to Memphis and Oklahoma City. Embiid only played 24 minutes and was held to nine points and five rebounds against Miami on Thursday.
- Stanley Johnson and Yuta Watanabe provided a defensive spark for the Raptors on Thursday and could be in line for bigger roles, according to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg. Johnson, who becomes a free agent after the season, played 21 minutes and Watanabe, who earned a two-way contract in training camp, played 15 against Charlotte. “They did a great job of just playing hard,” coach Nick Nurse said. “They were keeping balls alive, they were jarring balls loose on the defensive end, they were limiting them to one shot.”
- The Knicks shouldn’t deviate from their rebuilding plan despite the splashy moves made by the cross-town Nets, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines. The Knicks are playing harder under new coach Tom Thibodeau and they will get healthier and continue to improve as long as they exercise patience.
Southwest Notes: Alexander-Walker, Harden, Porzingis, Jackson
Continued improvement and consistency from Nickeil Alexander-Walker could make it more feasible for the Pelicans to move Lonzo Ball down the road, Scott Kushner of the New Orleans Times-Picayune writes. Alexander-Walker, a first-round pick in 2019, erupted for a career-high 37 points against the Clippers on Wednesday.
“The big measure for young guys is not what happens when everything is rolling your way,” Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said. “It’s what happens when you’re having a frustrating night.”
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- The Rockets defeated the Spurs in their first game since the James Harden trade and rookie forward Jae’Sean Tate said the team was determined to put up a unified front, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. Houston also played without the most prominent player it acquired, Victor Oladipo, as well as injured guards John Wall and Eric Gordon. “There’s a lot of guys — on the team and coaching staff and the GM — everybody has so much to prove,” Tate said.
- Kristaps Porzingis‘ season debut reinforced the feeling that he may be best suited at power forward, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes. Porzingis often played center last season when Dwight Powell injured his Achilles. The Mavericks are unbeaten this season since Willie Cauley-Stein became the starter at center. The Mavs are likely to keep Porzingis at power forward for the time being, Townsend adds.
- Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. vows that he’ll return to action this season, as he told Marc Spears of The Undefeated. He suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee in August. “I’ll be back this [season]. Who knows when, but it won’t be too long,” he said.
Karl-Anthony Towns Reveals He’s Tested Positive
Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has tested positive for COVID-19, he revealed on his Twitter account.
His announcement came shortly after the league postponed the Grizzlies–Timberwolves game on Friday due to coronavirus issues within Minnesota’s team.
Towns, whose family has been devastated by the virus, said he will “immediately isolate and follow every protocol.”
“I pray every day that this nightmare of a virus will subside and I beg everyone to take it seriously by taking all of the necessary precautions,” Towns said.
Towns lost his mother and several other relatives to the virus. In his statement, he expressed concern for the health of his father and sister.
President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas says it is “heartbreaking” that Towns tested positive, especially with what the Towns family has been through with COVID-19, ESPN’s Malika Andrews tweets.
“It’s a lesson for all of us. Basketball is a microcosm of society right now…this virus is powerful,” Rosas said.
Rosas confirmed two players have tested positive and another is out due to contact tracing, Andrews adds in another tweet.
The Timberwolves previously announced that power forward Juan Hernangomez would isolate for at least 10 days due to health and safety protocols and that point guard Ricky Rubio would miss Friday’s game due to those regulations.