Los Angeles Notes: Drummond, Jackson, Rondo, LeBron
Lakers center Andre Drummond put forth a key performance in the team’s win over the Nets on Saturday, guiding the club to a 126-101 victory, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes.
Drummond finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in just over 22 minutes of action. He served as an enforcer on both ends of the floor, controlling the interior and pounding Brooklyn on the glass.
“He can do that against opposing centers,” coach Frank Vogel said of Drummond. “He can beat them up with his physicality, on the post or on drives, on the offensive glass and then he can more than hold his own and guard his position defensively as well as all the pick-and-roll defensive coverages that we put him [in] as well. He’s a two-way player and it’s a great sign to see him stepping up as a leader the way he did tonight.”
There’s more from Los Angeles today:
- The Clippers plan to start Reggie Jackson at point guard for “the long haul” with Patrick Beverley sidelined, coach Tyronn Lue said, as relayed by Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Beverley is expected to miss at least three-to-four weeks after suffering a fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand.
- Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe explores Clippers veteran Rajon Rondo‘s case for the Hall of Fame. Rondo is a two-time NBA champion, four-time All-Star and has made four All-Defensive teams in his career, playing 15 seasons with eight teams.
- Mark Medina of USA TODAY examines LeBron James‘ ankle injury, with the help of opinions from various medical experts. James sustained a high ankle sprain on March 20 and has missed 11 straight games for the Lakers, though a recent report from ESPN indicated that he’s likely to return in three weeks.
Southeast Notes: Dedmon, Porter Jr., Snell, Gafford
Heat center Dewayne Dedmon is ready to help his new team in any way he can as Miami looks to establish playoff positioning in the coming weeks, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes.
Dedmon, 31, signed a rest-of-season contract with the Heat earlier this month and is available to make his season debut on Sunday against Portland. He’s expected to provide depth for a Miami team that also has Trevor Ariza, Bam Adebayo, Andre Iguodala, Nemanja Bjelica and Precious Achiuwa in the frontcourt.
“I feel like I fit on the defensive end, helping with the rim protection, helping rebound, getting more opportunities for these shooters we’ve got here,” Dedmon said of his fit with the club.
“So I come in, block a couple of shots, get a couple more offensive boards, provide a little more offense for the guards. I feel like that will help a lot. … I’m not Bam. I’m not looking to come in here and do what Bam does. I come in here and try to fill a defensive void that I feel like they need.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division tonight:
- The Magic and forward Otto Porter Jr. didn’t hold any buyout discussions prior to Friday’s playoff eligibility waiver deadline, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports (via Twitter). Orlando acquired Porter in a deal with Chicago featuring Nikola Vucevic last month. The 27-year-old – who also didn’t have any buyout talks with the Bulls, per Stein – has appeared in three games with the team so far and is set to become a free agent this summer.
- Hawks guard Tony Snell has suffered a right ankle sprain and bone bruise, the team announced (Twitter link). In addition to Sunday’s game against Charlotte, Snell will also miss Tuesday’s game against Toronto and will be re-evaluated when the club returns to Atlanta.
- The Wizards were encouraged with the return of center Daniel Gafford against the Suns on Saturday, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. Gafford had missed the last six games with a sprained ankle. He finished with nine points, five rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes against Phoenix, playing off the bench. “It felt great,” Gafford said. “With the limited time that I was out there, it felt natural and it felt good to be out there after this six-game stretch where I’ve been missing. It was kind of sore at the end, but other than that I just felt good being able to get up and down the floor.”
Pistons Notes: Doumbouya, Jackson, Hayes, Draft
Pistons second-year forward Sekou Doumbouya has earned more playing time in recent games, serving as a key cog in the team’s rotation this past week.
The 20-year-old saw just over 23 minutes of action on Monday, nine minutes on Tuesday, 13 minutes on Thursday, and nearly 23 minutes on Saturday. He finished with 11 points and three rebounds in Saturday’s contest, also recording two steals and two blocks.
“He’s earning it and he’s playing well,” head coach Dwane Casey said, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). “A lot of it is the seriousness of his approach to the game. He’s put in the extra work, and it’s showing.”
The Pistons drafted Doumbouya with the No. 15 pick back in 2019. His role has fluctuated this season, but it’s one that could be worth keeping an eye on as the campaign moves forward.
Here are some other notes from Detroit today:
- Point guard Frank Jackson is finding his groove as a scoring option off the bench, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. Jackson scored 17 points in just over 20 minutes on Saturday against Portland, shooting 6-of-9 from the floor. “He’s instant offense off the bench,” Casey said. “He’s one of our best defenders on the ball. That young man is really growing right before us. For me, he’s grown as much as anyone else. Just really impressed with his approach. He stays ready. It’s not easy to come off the bench and score the way he does with ease.”
- Omari Sankofa II examines a number of Pistons-related topics in his latest mailbag, including the return of rookie Killian Hayes (hip). Hayes has only appeared in 11 games this season, averaging 4.9 points per contest on 32% shooting. He made his return against New York last week after missing nearly three months of action.
- Rod Beard of The Detroit News considers which prospect the team should draft if it obtains the No. 2 pick this year. Players such as Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs are all potential options depending on who gets selected with the first pick — which could ultimately wind up with Detroit. The Pistons currently trail the Timberwolves by three games and the Rockets by two games in the NBA’s “reverse standings.”
Atlantic Notes: Birch, Barrett, Raptors, Sixers
Nick Nurse expects the Raptors‘ new buyout addition, center Khem Birch, to join the club tonight against the Knicks, tweets Josh Lewenberg of The Athletic.
“I think he’s a guy that could become a quality backup big man in this league,” the Raptors’ head coach said. “He’s got some length, athleticism, shot blocking and rebounding. I’m excited to have him and hope we can help him develop.”
Birch joins the Raptors after having cleared waivers following his buyout from the Magic, where he was a solid contributor.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Standout second-year Knicks forward RJ Barrett has greatly improved his shooting stroke, thanks in large part to the efforts of skills trainer Drew Hanlen, as Michael Grange of Sportsnet details. “Not pointing fingers, but there was a level of frustration that he played with because he felt like he had made the shot change that he needed to make during the pre-draft and after putting three months of hard work to lock in those mechanics, they instantly go tweaked and changed to a place where he felt really uncomfortable and he lacked the confidence and consistency he needed,” Hanlen said of Barrett’s rookie Knicks season.
- Many Raptors players are more concerned about their future contracts than helping contribute to a potential team tank during a strange season for Toronto-by-way-of-Tampa, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports.
- Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid is learning to adjust to playing with a left knee brace, according to Rich Hoffman of The Athletic. “It just feels like every shot that I take, I just have a hitch. Like it’s not a full motion,” Embiid said. In the same piece, head coach Doc Rivers noted that new addition Anthony Tolliver could help the club, though he may not receive much playing time. “He’s a veteran, can shoot the ball, been around the block, which I think this team needs,” Rivers said. “So I think he can help.”
James Wiseman May Miss Rest Of Season With Meniscus Injury
2:50pm: The Warriors have tweeted that Wiseman suffered a “right meniscal injury,” while noting that the team is continuing to evaluate his most recent MRI results.
2:18pm: Warriors rookie center James Wiseman, the No. 2 pick out of Memphis in the 2020 draft, has been ruled out indefinitely with a right meniscus injury. There is concern that Wiseman may miss the rest of the 2020/21 season.
Multiple reporters indicate that the injury is a meniscus tear. Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that Wiseman has a torn meniscus. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN echoes that statement, though he notes that the Warriors intend to consult with more doctors during the next few days.
Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets that two league sources informed him it was indeed a torn meniscus. Poole adds that the team has called it a meniscus injury while stopping short of confirming that it’s a tear (Twitter link).
After a strong start, Wiseman has had an up-and-down rookie season. Though at one point he had lost his starting role to veteran center Kevon Looney following a February injury absence, he had gotten the starting nod long-term once again beginning on March 23. Head coach Steve Kerr noted last week that Wiseman’s play would dictate his exact minutes load.
Across just 39 games (including 27 starts), the athletic 20-year-old is averaging 11.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 0.9 BPG in 21.4 MPG.
Oshae Brissett Signs Second 10-Day Contract With Pacers
The Pacers have signed second-year swingman Oshae Brissett to his second 10-day contract with the club this season, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. The Pacers have confirmed the deal in a press release.
Indiana officially signed Brissett to his first 10-day with the club on April 1, meaning that his prior contract expired overnight.
During his first 10-day deal with the Pacers, the 6’7″ Brissett appeared in two games for the club, averaging just 2.5 MPG. He will most likely continue to be an insurance policy for the team’s perimeter rotation as it continues to push for a playoff appearance. At 24-27, the Pacers are currently the No. 9 seed in the East, which would qualify them for a play-in tournament stint were the season to end today.
Earlier this year, the 22-year-old wing played for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League Affiliate, during the condensed Orlando “bubble” season. Brissett appeared in 12 games, starting 10, averaging 18.6 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.9 SPG, and 0.7 BPG. He connected on 43.8% of his field goals for the Mad Ants, and connected with 33.3% of his 6.5 three-point attempts a night.
After going undrafted out of Syracuse in 2019, Brissett signed a two-way contract with the Raptors. He appeared in 19 games for Toronto as a rookie. He averaged 7.1 MPG with the team.
Mavericks Notes: Redick, Cauley-Stein, Porzingis, Brunson
J.J. Redick participated in his first full practice Saturday since joining the Mavericks and could be ready to play Monday against the Sixers, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. The veteran guard said he experienced no new problems with the sore right heel and Achilles that have kept him out of action since March 3. While he felt pain during practice, Redick said the heel and Achilles are “sore all the time. I’m just managing right now. It was the first time going live and I thought it went really well.”
Dallas acquired Redick from the Pelicans at the trade deadline to provide another outside shooter heading into the postseason. He’s coming off a non-surgical procedure last month to help ease the soreness.
“He really is a very intense, machine-like worker,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “A guy like that is great for the culture of your team. It was great having him out there (Saturday), in as much of a full practice situation as you can get in this kind of a season.”
There’s more from Dallas:
- Willie Cauley-Stein, who has been in the NBA’s health and safety protocols since March 18, may be cleared to return today, Townsend adds in a separate story. Cauley-Stein was listed as probable on the team’s injury report. He has missed 12 games, the most of the six Mavericks players who have been in the protocols this season.
- In another piece, Townsend examines the relationship between Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis amid rumors of behind-the-scenes friction involving the franchise cornerstones. “We’re trying to play together and help each other,” Porzingis said when asked about the topic this week. “We want to win. At the end, we all want to win here. We have to keep playing, keep playing together, and keep playing well and help each other.”
- Dallas considered Jalen Brunson “basically untouchable” in talks before the trade deadline, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his latest podcast (hat tip to Tyler Watts of FanSided). Windhorst added that the Mavericks view the third-year point guard as “a foundational core piece going forward.”
Latest On The Sale Of The Timberwolves
Any agreement to sell the Timberwolves will include a provision that the team must be kept in Minnesota, owner Glen Taylor tells Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.
News broke Saturday night that Taylor was in the late stages of a deal to sell the team to former MLB star Alex Rodriguez and billionaire investor Marc Lore. The Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA would also be included, according to Hine.
“They will keep the team here, yes. We will put it in the agreement,” Taylor said. “At this point we have a letter of intent, but when we make up the contract we’ll put that in there. That’s no problem. That won’t be a problem.”
Hine checked with legal experts last summer who said it might be difficult to enforce contract provisions that the team can’t be moved. The franchise has a lease for use of the Target Center with the city of Minneapolis that runs through 2035 and includes a $50MM penalty for leaving early.
However, the potential new owners haven’t indicated that they plan to take the Wolves anywhere else. Taylor said they bonded quickly during a meeting this week at his home in Naples, Florida, and signed a letter of intent Saturday afternoon that gives Rodriguez and Lore exclusive negotiating rights for 30 days.
“Just in the last week or so did I make contact with these guys,” Taylor said. “They had indicated they had some interest in being involved in the ownership. I had not known them personally, so contacted them, talked to them on the phone, did all that, really liked how it went.”
Taylor said they agreed on “everything” once negotiations began, including his vision of mentoring a new ownership group for two seasons before the transfer becomes complete. Under the reported agreement, Rodriguez and Lore will become partial owners before taking over completely in 2023.
“When I met them and talked to them and just in the conversation what they were after — they’re bright people, very bright people, very competitive,” Taylor said. “I could see them challenging me which I liked to have. … They said, ‘We got to learn about basketball. We’d like you to stay around and help us run it for a while.’ Then we’ll switch over. Those meet all of my goals.”
Rodriguez and Lore will be in Minneapolis on Monday to meet with Timberwolves and Lynx employees, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Taylor told Wolfson he met with four other groups that were interested in buying the team, but Rodriguez and Lore made the best impression.
Taylor has put the team on the market before without finding a buyer, leading to questions about how serious he was in his desire to sell. A group led by Arron Afflalo was interested, and Kevin Garnett was reportedly preparing a bid for the team last summer. However, Taylor said he never heard from Garnett or any group that was affiliated with him.
Taylor has owned the team since 1994, when he bought it to prevent a move to New Orleans. As he nears his 80th birthday, he wants to be sure the franchise will be in good hands.
“It gives me peace of mind,” Taylor said. “At my age, going ahead, if something happens to me, I know what’s going to happen to the Timberwolves. It’s all kind of set. I don’t have to worry about that. I don’t have to have my family worry about it. In the next couple years, if everything goes as I hope, I still can participate. So it gives me the best of both worlds.”
Alize Johnson Signs Multiyear Deal With Nets
9:36am: The deal is official, the Nets announced in a press release.
8:03am: The Nets have reached an agreement on a multiyear contract with power forward Alize Johnson, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Johnson’s agent, George Langberg, confirmed the deal, which could be worth up to $4.1MM. Johnson could have received more guaranteed money from another team, but he was comfortable in Brooklyn, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).
Johnson, 24, signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Nets, the second of which expired overnight. He has appeared in six games, averaging 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per night. Coach Steve Nash told reporters earlier this week that the Nets were happy with Johnson’s production and hoped to keep him around.
Brooklyn was able to sign Johnson for up to three years because the team still had part of its taxpayer mid-level exception available, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link).
A second-round pick in 2018, Johnson played his first two seasons with the Pacers and was in training camp this year with the Raptors.
Warriors Notes: Wiseman, Oubre, Beal, Draft
Rookie center James Wiseman will have an MRI on his right knee, but the Warriors don’t believe his latest injury is a long-term one, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Wiseman hurt the knee on a dunk attempt in Saturday’s game against the Rockets. He grimaced in pain and tried to stay in the game, but was taken to the locker room to be evaluated.
Slater cites a “low level of concern” in the organization that it’s serious enough to keep Wiseman out for the rest of the season.
“Hopefully he doesn’t miss too much time,” Stephen Curry said. “It seems like when he takes a couple strides, he gets dealt a little adversity, so it’s kinda tough.”
“I asked him if he was straight,” Jordan Poole said. “He said he was all right. He’s tough. He’ll be all right.”
Wiseman had been playing well on the current homestand, with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the first half Tuesday against the Bucks, followed by an 18-point performance Friday against the Wizards. His rookie season has already been interrupted by a wrist injury in January that kept him out for 11 games. If Wiseman is sidelined again, coach Steve Kerr plans to start Kevon Looney at center and give Draymond Green and Juan Toscano-Anderson some minutes in the middle.
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Kelly Oubre missed Saturday’s game with a sprained left wrist, but Kerr told reporters it doesn’t appear to be serious, Slater adds. Oubre also got hurt on a dunk attempt, landing on the wrist after colliding Friday with Washington center Robin Lopez. Kerr considers him day to day. With Oubre headed toward free agency this summer, Sean Deveney of Heavy looks at his potential value and says the Warriors would prefer to re-sign him.
- With limited resources to improve this offseason, Golden State’s best option may be to hope the Wizards decide to trade Bradley Beal, writes David Aldridge of The Athletic. If Washington decides to hold onto Beal, Aldridge suggests Pacers center Myles Turner or Pelicans center Steven Adams as alternatives.
- Slater and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic take an early look at the Warriors’ draft options, depending on where their picks land. The Timberwolves’ selection will convey to Golden State if it falls outside the top three.