Northwest Notes: Brown, D-Lo, Campazzo, Edwards
With the Thunder now officially eliminated from play-in tournament contention, the rebuilding team appears open to developing some of its less-heralded young prospects. According to head coach Mark Daigneault, 6’6″ second-year shooting guard Charlie Brown Jr. will start and receive significant run while on a 10-day deal with the club, tweets Cameron Jourdan of the Oklahoman.
Brown inked a two-way deal with the Hawks after going undrafted out of St. Joseph’s for the 2019/20 season. So far with the Thunder, he’s averaging 16.0 MPG across three games.
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- The minutes restriction has been lifted for Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell, who will continue to come off the bench for Minnesota, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. The Timberwolves are 8-7 since Russell returned to the lineup following a February left knee surgery.
- 30-year-old rookie Nuggets point guard Facundo Campazzo recently explained to Mike Singer of the Denver Post why he was ready to try his hand at the NBA after spending several years as a star overseas. “I just wanted the opportunity,” Campazzo said. “I don’t know if my level can work here or my game can fit here, but I just needed the opportunity to try at least. I don’t want to finish my career and think, ‘OK, I didn’t try at least, you know?’” In 58 games with Denver (including 12 starts), the 5’10” guard is averaging 20.8 MPG, 5.7 PPG, 3.3 APG, 1.8 RPG, and 1.1 SPG.
- The next step in the long-term evolution of the Timberwolves is for 2020 No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards to become a star, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “We know what [Karl-Anthony Towns] can bring to the table,” guard Ricky Rubio said. “We know what [D’Angelo Russell] can bring to the table. But Ant, he has to bring it every night. That’s the toughest part of the NBA if you want to be one of the best.”
Southwest Notes: Bradley, Porter, Pelicans, Martin
Rockets reserve guard Avery Bradley is close to returning to the floor from a calf injury, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Bradley has missed the past two games for Houston, and four of the last five.
“I’ve just been dealing with this calf situation all season,” Bradley noted. “Unfortunately, it came back a little bit. I’m just trying to be smart and making sure I’m working hard each and every day so I can come back strong.”
The Heat signed Bradley to a two-year, $11.6MM deal during the 2020 offseason, though the second year is a team option. Injuries and COVID-19 have limited the 30-year-old to just 25 games combined for Miami and Houston this season.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Though recently-acquired Rockets swingman Kevin Porter Jr. enjoyed a career night against the Bucks on Thursday, head coach Stephen Silas is hopeful Porter can have more consistently effective scoring nights, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I don’t really know if we have a true feel for how good he can be or not,” Silas observed. “I think if you take the game that he had against Minnesota (10 points on 2-of-12 shooting) and the game he had against Milwaukee, you don’t want to really focus on either. You want to focus somewhere in between. He had a poor game and then a great game. You can’t do that in an NBA season where you’re kind of going up and down, up and down with your emotions or your evaluations.”
- As the Pelicans remain in the play-in tournament mix, Will Guillory of The Athletic assesses several important threads worth tracking in May. Key among these is the play of Brandon Ingram, who Guillory believes needs to improve his passing and defense to be a true long-term compliment to All-Star forward Zion Williamson. Guillory also hopes to see more of versatile guards Lonzo Ball and Kira Lewis Jr. in tandem on the floor.
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle appraises the growth of athletic rookie wing Kenyon Martin Jr., the youngest Rockets player. Martin is all too aware of what he needs to improve going forward to achieve his full potential. “I know what I need to work on and I need to focus on to get ready for next season,” Martin said. “Making my shot more consistent… Being comfortable on the ball and defensively, just learning from watching film and picking it up on that side of the floor.” Martin is averaging 13.5 PPG on 53.8% shooting across his past four games.
Knicks Notes: Burks, Robinson, Quickley, Thibodeau
The Knicks will be cautious with Alec Burks, who missed the past seven games while in the league’s health and safety protocols, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Burks wasn’t listed on the team’s injury report that was issued Saturday night, but coach Tom Thibodeau hasn’t committed to playing him tonight at Houston. Burks was able to practice Saturday, but is being considered day-to-day.
“He’s got to get his conditioning up to speed,” Thibodeau said. “When he’s comfortable, we’ll get him in there.”
Burks has been an important part of the Knicks’ progress this year, averaging 12.6 points per game, mostly off the bench, and shooting 40.8% from three-point range. However, the team was able to win six of its seven games while he was sidelined.
“I think it’s one of the strengths of our club in that we do have a deep team,” Thibodeau said.
There’s more on the Knicks:
- It’s been more than a month since Mitchell Robinson had surgery on his broken foot, but he’s still not involved in any basketball activities, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Robinson has missed the last 17 games and isn’t expected back during the regular season, although it’s not clear if the playoffs are a possibility. “I don’t want to put any timetable on it,” Thibodeau said. “To be honest, I don’t know. That would be up to the doctors, the trainers, all the medical people. We don’t want to take any chances with it. So we’re going to be very patient and make sure he’s completely healed before we get him going again.”
- Immanuel Quickley has started shooting from several feet beyond the three-point line, which doesn’t bother his coach, Bondy adds in the same piece. “I don’t want to put a lid on it,” Thibodeau said. “… We want him to read the defense. When he has an opening, sometimes in transition those are the best looks that he’ll get. Particularly when teams are blitzing him. So we have a lot of confidence in his shooting. That’s his gift.”
- In a separate story, Braziller looks at what the Knicks will have to do for the rest of the regular season to avoid a play-in game. New York is currently fourth in the East with a game and a half lead over the seventh-place Heat.
Cavaliers Notes: Love, Sexton, Dellavedova, Varejão
Kevin Love‘s latest display of anger raises the question of why the Cavaliers are willing to be so patient with him when they won’t do the same for other players, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Frustrated with not getting a foul call in Monday’s game, Love swatted the ball away when a referee threw it to him for an inbounds pass. It bounced to a Raptors player and led to an open three-pointer in a lopsided loss. Love apologized for the incident, and the team handled it internally.
It’s the latest in a series of outbursts involving Love, whose behavior keeps getting overlooked by the organization, Vardon contends. It happened during the same week as a 50-point game by Kevin Porter Jr., who was traded to Houston after throwing food at the wall and screaming at general manager Koby Altman when his locker was given away. The Cavaliers stopped playing J.R. Smith and Andre Drummond under similar circumstances and eventually waived both players.
Cleveland has fewer options when it comes to Love, Vardon adds. He still has two years and $60MM left on the contract extension he signed as a show of loyalty after LeBron James left. It’s too expensive for other teams to consider a trade or for a buyout to be realistic. The front office promised Love that it would try to remain competitive when he signed the deal, Vardon notes, but the team quickly switched to rebuilding.
Love is 32, coming off a string of injuries and is posting the worst statistical season of his career, so he and the team may be stuck in an unpleasant situation for a while longer.
There’s more from Cleveland:
- Vardon expects the Cavs to offer Collin Sexton a rookie scale extension this summer, despite the fact that it might not be in their best interest. Vardon doesn’t see a strong market for Sexton if he becomes a restricted free agent in 2022, even though he has developed into a reliable scorer. Sexton still tends to dominate the ball a lot, and the Cavs might be better off waiting another year to see if he and Darius Garland can be a successful backcourt, but Vardon believes they will give Sexton the extension to show Love and the other veteran players that the team has a plan that’s being followed.
- Matthew Dellavedova is likely out for the rest of the season, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The veteran guard suffered a neck strain April 25 and hasn’t been with the team since. Dellavedova’s absence is part of why the Cavs hope to be granted a hardship exception to sign Anderson Varejão. The front office wants the 38-year-old big man to finish his NBA career in Cleveland, where he was a popular figure during his 12 years with the team.
- The Cavaliers are focused on developing their young players as they wind down a disappointing, injury-filled season, Fedor adds in a separate story.
Sixers Sign Anthony Tolliver For Rest Of Season
MAY 2: The move is official, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
APRIL 30: The Sixers intend to sign veteran power forward Anthony Tolliver for the remainder of the season once his current 10-day deal expires, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Tolliver, who was out of the NBA for most of the 2020/21 season, signed a 10-day contract with Philadelphia on April 12, then got a second 10-day commitment from the team on April 22. That second deal will expire on Saturday night, so the 35-year-old’s rest-of-season deal figures to be finalized on Sunday.
Having made five appearances so far for the 76ers, Tolliver hasn’t exactly put up big numbers in his limited role, averaging just 1.6 points and 1.6 rebounds on .100/.143/.833 shooting in 12.4 minutes per contest. However, the 13-year veteran has a strong NBA track record, including a career .373 3PT%, and brings some playoff experience to Philadelphia’s roster.
Tolliver currently holds the 15th and final spot on the Sixers’ standard roster, and the team has also filled both two-way slots, so re-signing the former Creighton standout on Sunday could be the last roster move the club makes before the playoffs begin.
After earning $175,668 on each of his 10-day contracts, Tolliver will make $263,502 over the final 15 days of the regular season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
L.A. Notes: Leonard, Clippers, LeBron, Lakers’ Centers
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard revealed that he has been dealing with a sore right foot for several weeks, but said it’s “nothing significant,” writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Saturday marked Leonard’s first game since April 18, but he said the injury occurred before then.
“I’m feeling good,” he said. “We took the proper steps to get me right, to make sure nothing significant is wrong with me … so hopefully we can just keep moving up from here.”
With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Clippers are focused on rebuilding chemistry ahead of the playoffs, Youngmisuk adds. In addition to Leonard’s absence, starting center Serge Ibaka has missed the last 25 games with an injured back and Patrick Beverley has only played in two of the last 26 because of hand surgery and other injuries. That’s why Leonard traveled with the team on its most recent road trip, even though he didn’t expect to play.
“Just making sure the team sees my face,” he said. “Just wanted to still be in that motion, be in that rhythm and most importantly letting guys know I’m here and, you know, just let them hear my voice and see my face.”
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- The Clippers face the challenge of building a new narrative in the playoffs, contends Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Until it has a breakthrough, the organization will be haunted by its past failures, including letting a 3-1 lead slip away in the second round last season.
- LeBron James‘ return on Friday happened earlier than even his Lakers teammates expected, according to Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. James admitted feeling frustrated while being out of action for 41 days with a high-ankle sprain. “That’s the stressful side when you know that if you were on the floor, you could make those plays and you could help your teammates win, but you know you can’t physically be out there to do it,” he said. “It’s both sides of the coin, giving my teammates pointers and things I see on the floor, but also having that stressful point where you know you can’t affect the game because you know you can’t play.”
- In a separate story, Goon looks at the Lakers‘ situation at center, where there probably won’t be enough postseason minutes to satisfy Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell. Gasol has seen his playing time reduced since Drummond was added, but Goon notes that he could be useful if the Lakers need to spread the floor in a playoff series.
Magic Sign Ignas Brazdeikis To 10-Day Deal, Release Donta Hall
9:39am: The Magic announced the Brazdeikis signing (via Twitter) and have released Hall from his 10-day contract a day before it would have expired.
8:33 am: Ignas Brazdeikis will sign a 10-day contract with the Magic, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
Brazdeikis, 22, started the season with the Knicks, but only played four games before being traded to the Sixers in March. He got into one game for Philadelphia, but was waived last month to open a roster spot.
In two NBA seasons, Brazdeikis has played a total of 14 games, averaging 1.4 points in 4.9 minutes per night. Most of his action has come in the G League, where he averaged 20.9 PPG and 8.1 RPG in two seasons with Westchester.
Orlando has a full roster, with Donta Hall‘s second 10-day contract expiring later today, so it appears Hall won’t be signed for the rest of the season. The 23-year-old big man got into eight games for the Magic, averaging 3.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per night.
Atlantic Notes: Birch, Trent, Hill, Harden
Center Khem Birch has expanded his game since joining the Raptors and will likely be a priority for the team in free agency, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Birch, who signed with Toronto after being waived by the Magic last month, said the coaching staff has given him a green light to try new things.
“Coach (Nick) Nurse told me today to work on my ball-handling and to go coast-to-coast or even just be a threat in transition,” Birch said. “So it’s stuff I’ve worked on but I’ve never implemented it into my game. But the fact that the coaching staff here allows me to do that type of stuff, you’re right, it is like starting over again.”
Birch has taken over as the Raptors’ starting center and is averaging career highs in points (10.8 per game), rebounds (7.3) and assists (1.4). The 28-year-old was making $3MM this season with Orlando and should be in line for a sizable raise this summer.
“I didn’t expect this much freedom,” Birch said. “Honestly, I just thought I was just going to protect the rim, get rebounds and everything else. I wasn’t expecting this kind of freedom now. I was kind of expecting it maybe next season or something like that, but not right now.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Raptors swingman Gary Trent Jr. will miss both games this weekend, but the team hopes to have him back Tuesday or Thursday, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Trent hasn’t played in a week because of a bruised left leg.
- George Hill is making a difference for the Sixers as a ball-handler and veteran presence off the bench, according to Ky Carlin of USA Today’s Sixers Wire. Philadelphia had to wait for Hill, who was acquired at the trade deadline but was unavailable until Monday because of a sprained right thumb. “Having George is just another vet who can really just talk to the guards and explain certain plays, offense and defense,” Dwight Howard said. “How to defend, how to get set up in pick-and-rolls, and get our offense going, and what plays we want to run and stuff like that.”
- Nets coach Steve Nash told reporters Friday that he’s not sure if James Harden will play any more during the regular season, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Harden has missed the past 13 games with a strained right hamstring and it doesn’t sound like he’ll be back soon. “I just don’t want to make a guess one side or the other because I don’t think it serves anyone, because it’s out of our control,” Nash said. “We’re really waiting to see how he responds and how he heals and how quickly he gets there and then how quickly can he handle high-intensity, NBA-level work. I’ll have to say we’ll see. But both are possible.”
Kelly Oubre Has Torn Wrist Ligament, Palm Fracture
Warriors forward Kelly Oubre has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his left wrist and a fracture on the palm of his left hand, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Further evaluations will be conducted to see if Oubre can continue playing, sources tell Charania. He reaggravated the wrist injury in an April 9 game, then returned to the court 11 days later, Charania adds.
Oubre hurt the wrist twice this season while falling to the floor after dunks, explains Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter). One happened in practice and the other was in a game against the Wizards on April 9.
Oubre is averaging 15.4 points and 6.0 rebounds through 55 games in his first season with Golden State after being acquired in a November trade. He is headed toward unrestricted free agency after making $14.375MM this season.
Injury Notes: Porzingis, Hart, Adams, Hayward, Walker, Hartenstein, Hunter, Beverley
The Mavericks will hold center Kristaps Porzingis out of both games this weekend as he deals with pain in his right knee, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “He’s going to rehab and work out,” coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. “He’s doing better than he was two nights ago in Detroit. Things are moving in a good direction.”
Porzingis was also dealing with a sprained left ankle last week, so Thursday’s game against the Pistons marked the only time he has played since April 22. Carlisle said he had no other specifics to offer and no timetable beyond this weekend. He added that Porzingis is “very diligent” about rehab work.
There’s more injury news from around the league:
- The Pelicans aren’t sure if guard Josh Hart will be able to return before the end of the regular season, according to Jim Eichenhofer (Twitter link). Hart had surgery April 6 to fix a torn UCL in his right thumb. “We knew going in that his timetable to get back (in uniform) would be the last week to 10 days (of the regular season), coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We’ll have to wait and see as we get later into next week.”
- Pelicans center Steven Adams suffered a sprained toe this week, but Van Gundy said it’s a day-to-day issue and Adams should be available for the rest of the season (Twitter link from Andrew Lopez of ESPN).
- Hornets forward Gordon Hayward no longer needs a walking boot for his sprained right foot, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
- Celtics guard Kemba Walker is listed as doubtful for Sunday with a strain in his left side, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). It would be the fourth straight missed game for Walker.
- Cavaliers center Isaiah Hartenstein was able to work out at the arena tonight for the first time since entering concussion protocol, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Hartenstein has missed the past four games.
- Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter, who has been out since March 23 with a knee injury, hasn’t been able to work out for several days, tweets Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Coach Nate McMillan said he has no idea if Hunter will be able to play again this season.
- Clippers guard Patrick Beverley may be able to return in the “next couple games” if his left hand continues to improve, coach Tyronn Lue told Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).