Aaron Gordon Expected To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Ankle Injury
Magic forward Aaron Gordon has been diagnosed with a severe left ankle sprain and is expected to be sidelined for the next four to six weeks, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Gordon suffered the injury during the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to Toronto when he rolled the ankle while bringing the ball up the court. He was seen on crutches after the game.
While Gordon didn’t sustain a fracture, it’s still terrible news for a Magic team that has already been hit hard this season by injuries. Jonathan Isaac won’t play at all in 2020/21 due to a torn ACL and Markelle Fultz was limited to eight games before suffering an identical season-ending ACL tear.
Evan Fournier, Michael Carter-Williams, and Chuma Okeke have also missed time due to injuries, while Al-Farouq Aminu hasn’t been able to play at all as he continues to recover from a knee issue. With Gordon, Isaac, Aminu, and Okeke all currently on the shelf, Orlando will have to lean heavily on Gary Clark and Khem Birch at the power forward spot.
The Magic currently sit at No. 12 in the East with an 8-13 record. Without Gordon and so many other players available, they’ll be hard-pressed to make a run and push their way back up the standings in the coming weeks.
Fischer’s Latest: Beal, Wizards, Pelicans, Hawks, Ujiri
Reiterating a point made by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday and Wizards head coach Scott Brooks on Saturday, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report confirms that Bradley Beal is not available via trade, citing one longtime executive who notes that the team’s stance on the matter appears sincere and isn’t a bluff to drive up the guard’s price.
Despite there being no change in Beal’s potential availability, it continues to be a popular subject of speculation around the NBA. As Fischer explains, opposing front offices anticipate an “inevitable inflection point,” since there’s an expectation that the Wizards won’t be able to transform into a contender before Beal becomes eligible for free agency in 2022.
That inflection point isn’t here yet though, and the expectation is that it won’t arrive prior to this season’s trade deadline. According to Fischer, there’s a sentiment around the league that, regardless of Washington’s record, team ownership is unlikely to approve a Beal trade until the 2021 offseason at the very earliest.
“Teams say it all the time, but you feel like it’s real,” one assistant GM told Fischer, referring to the Wizards’ unwillingness to engage.
Here are a few more items of note from Fischer’s latest report:
- New Orleans’ interest in Beal is one of the “biggest open secrets” around the league, according to Fischer, who suggests that the Pelicans and Hawks could be among the potential suitors for the Wizards guard if he eventually hits the trade block. Washington had been eyeing Onyeka Okongwu with the No. 9 pick in the 2020 draft before Atlanta scooped him up at No. 6, Fischer notes.
- The Hawks “widely signaled” prior to draft night in the fall that Kevin Huerter was available via trade, per Fischer. It’s unclear whether the team’s stance has changed at all since then or if Huerter will be a trade candidate at next month’s deadline.
- Word in NBA circles is that the Wizards may try to make another run at Masai Ujiri this summer, according to Fischer, who says the franchise has some deep-pocketed minority stakeholders interested in pursuing the Raptors‘ president of basketball operations. Although the Wizards denied it at the time, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in June 2019 that the club was ready to make an aggressive offer to Ujiri, whose contract with Toronto expires later this year.
NBA G League Affiliations For 2020/21 Season
In recent years, the NBA has gradually moved closer to establishing a 30-team G League, with each NBAGL club directly affiliated with an NBA franchise. During the 2019/20 season, 28 of the NBA’s 30 teams had their own affiliates — the Trail Blazers and Nuggets represented the only outliers.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and a handful of other factors, that march toward a G League full of 30 NBA affiliates has taken a detour in 2020/21.
The G League has introduced one franchise, the G League Ignite, that’s not affiliated with any NBA team, with another unaffiliated squad on the way for 2021/22, when the Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico are expected to enter the fray.
Meanwhile, the Pistons purchased the Suns‘ G League affiliate and will relocate the team to Detroit in ’21/22, leaving Phoenix without an affiliate of its own. However, neither the Pistons nor the Suns will have an NBAGL squad in action in ’20/21 anyway, since the revamped G League season at Walt Disney World will only include 17 of 28 affiliates.
Here’s the full list of the G League affiliates who will be participating in the 2020/21 season:
- Brooklyn Nets: Long Island Nets
- Charlotte Hornets: Greensboro Swarm
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Canton Charge
- Golden State Warriors: Santa Cruz Warriors
- Houston Rockets: Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- Indiana Pacers: Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- Los Angeles Clippers: Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario
- Memphis Grizzlies: Memphis Hustle
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Iowa Wolves
- New Orleans Pelicans: Erie BayHawks
- Note: The Washington Wizards will be sharing the costs and operations of the BayHawks this season.
- New York Knicks: Westchester Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Oklahoma City Blue
- Orlando Magic: Lakeland Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers: Delaware Blue Coats
- San Antonio Spurs: Austin Spurs
- Toronto Raptors: Raptors 905
- Utah Jazz: Salt Lake City Stars
This group of teams will be joined by the unaffiliated Ignite, whose roster is made up partly of NBA prospects who chose to play in the NBAGL (rather than attend college) before entering the draft, and partly of G League veterans who will serve as mentors to those young prospects.
Here’s the full list of G League franchises that won’t be in action this season:
- Atlanta Hawks: College Park Skyhawks
- Boston Celtics: Maine Red Claws
- Chicago Bulls: Windy City Bulls
- Dallas Mavericks: Texas Legends
- Detroit Pistons: Grand Rapids Drive
- Los Angeles Lakers: South Bay Lakers
- Miami Heat: Sioux Falls Skyforce
- Milwaukee Bucks: Wisconsin Herd
- Phoenix Suns: Northern Arizona Suns
- Sacramento Kings: Stockton Kings
- Washington Wizards: Capital City Go-Go
This would have been the last season that Grand Rapids was the Pistons’ affiliate and Northern Arizona was affiliated with the Suns. The Northern Arizona franchise will be relocated for 2021/22 and will become the Motor City Cruise, the new affiliate for the Pistons.
The Grand Rapids franchise reportedly hopes to remain in the G League as an unaffiliated team. Theoretically, an NBA club without an affiliate could enter into an agreement with the Drive, but the location wouldn’t be very geographically convenient for the Suns, Trail Blazers, or Nuggets.
Additionally, the plan is for Mexico City’s Capitanes to enter the G League in 2021/22, with the Erie BayHawks (the Pelicans’ affiliate) relocating to Birmingham, Alabama for the 2022/23 season.
If the Suns, Trail Blazers, and Nuggets look to establish affiliates in the coming years, we could eventually see a G League that features upwards of 32 teams. For this season though, barely over half that number will be in action when the NBAGL regular season schedule tips off on February 10 at Disney World.
Southwest Notes: Winslow, JJJ, Aldridge, DeRozan, Rockets
Justise Winslow, who has yet to appear in a game for the Grizzlies since being acquired nearly a year ago at the 2020 trade deadline, hopes to return to the court later this month, he said on Monday. As Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes, Memphis’ lengthy hiatus due to contact tracing in January set Winslow back slightly due to a lack of practice opportunities, but he’s getting close.
“I’m feeling great, my hip feels great. I’m really close to getting back on the court, hopefully sometime this month,” the Grizzlies forward said. “I really don’t have an exact day in mind. Just with COVID and how our team had to miss almost a week of practice and that sort of thing, that set me back, just without being able to have proper access to workouts and things like that.”
Meanwhile, Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. will have his rehab process ramped up in the coming weeks as he looks to return from meniscus surgery, as Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian reports (via Twitter). Herrington doesn’t anticipate Jackson will return to action before the first half ends on March 4, but there’s no set timeline yet for the 21-year-old’s season debut (Twitter link).
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- People around the NBA are curious to see what the Spurs will do with veterans LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, who are both on expiring contracts, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. Aldridge’s value is “declining quickly,” according to O’Connor, who believes that DeRozan might be the best player on the trade market if San Antonio were to make him available.
- Within the same story, O’Connor notes that some executives around the NBA are wondering if the Rockets could end up being a buyer – rather than a seller – at the trade deadline. O’Connor expects teams to call about Victor Oladipo and P.J. Tucker, who will both be free agents this summer, but suggests Houston shouldn’t feel any pressure to make a deal. The club could entertain any favorable opportunities that arise, whether that means buying or selling, O’Connor adds.
- The Rockets got back to .500 on Saturday night by winning their fifth consecutive game, prompting head coach Stephen Silas to express that his club is “moving in the right direction for sure.” Kelly Iko of The Athletic has the story on Houston’s recent hot streak, as well as Oladipo’s comfort level, Christian Wood‘s All-Star case, and the team’s strong depth.
Two-Way Players Making Bids For Promotions
Players on two-way contracts are free to appear in NBA games, but there are limitations on the amount of time they can spend with their respective NBA teams. Even in 2020/21, with those restrictions loosened a little, each two-way player can only appear in 50 of his team’s 72 games, assuming he signed before the season began.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Two-Way Contracts]
While 50 games should be more than enough for most teams to get through the season without maxing out the eligibility of their two-way players, some have emerged as regular rotation pieces for their respective clubs and are likely to reach the 50-game mark before season’s end, barring an injury.
In order to remove those restrictions, a team has to promote a two-way player to its 15-man roster, either converting him to a rest-of-season, minimum-salary contract or negotiating a new multiyear deal.
While it’s a little early in the 2020/21 season to determine which two-way players will ultimately end up being promoted to 15-man rosters, a handful of players on two-way deals have made strong cases for standard contracts in the early going.
Here are some of the top candidates to receive promotions among this year’s two-way players:
Jordan McLaughlin (Timberwolves)
McLaughlin spent the 2019/20 season on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves and played well enough to earn a standard deal in the offseason, having averaged 7.6 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game with a .489/.382/.667 shooting line in 30 contests (19.7 MPG).
A restricted free agent, McLaughlin reportedly received a multiyear contract offer from Minnesota, but it would’ve been a team-friendly deal that included multiple non-guaranteed years. The 24-year-old opted to bet on himself instead, playing another year on a two-way contract and hoping for a better opportunity when he returns to the free agent market in the summer of 2021.
We’ll have to wait to see whether or not that was the right call, but so far it doesn’t look like last season was a fluke. With D’Angelo Russell, Ricky Rubio, and Anthony Edwards in the picture, there are fewer backcourt minutes to go around, but McLaughlin has played well in a limited role, with 5.5 PPG, 4.1 APG, and .455/.375/.800 shooting in 17.2 MPG (11 games).
Garrison Mathews (Wizards)
Like McLaughlin, Mathews was on a two-way contract last season and played well, but ended up having to take another two-way deal. He’s once again proving that he deserves consideration for a promotion, with 8.9 PPG and 1.4 SPG on .429/.405/.889 shooting through 10 games (19.7 MPG).
Unfortunately for Mathews, the Wizards currently have a full 15-man roster made up of mostly non-expendable players. If the team cuts recent signee Alex Len at some point or makes a trades that opens up a roster spot, that could create an opportunity for Mathews.
Yuta Watanabe (Raptors)
Invited to training camp on an Exhibit 10 contract alongside other NBA veterans like Henry Ellenson and Alize Johnson in the fall, Watanabe played his way onto the 17-man regular season roster, with the Raptors converting his non-guaranteed camp deal into a two-way contract at the end of the preseason.
Since then, Watanabe who spent the last two years on a two-way deal with the Grizzlies, has gradually been making a case for more playing time. His box-score numbers (3.9 PPG and 3.4 RPG) are modest, but he’s been hot from three-point range so far, knocking down 12-of-25 attempts (48.0%) and is providing energy and defensive itensity off the bench.
In Toronto’s last five games, Watanabe has been one of the team’s most-used bench players, logging 18.8 minutes per game and bumping his averages to 8.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG.
Since releasing Len, the Raptors have been holding an open spot on their 15-man roster. If that spot doesn’t get filled in a trade at some point in the coming weeks, Watanabe looks like the best bet to fill it before the end of the season.
Others to watch:
- Jordan Bone (Magic)
- Mason Jones (Rockets)
- Reggie Perry (Nets)
- Max Strus (Heat)
- Gabe Vincent (Heat)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
New York Notes: DSJ, Brazdeikis, Harper, Harden, Shumpert
The Knicks have granted Dennis Smith Jr.‘s request to be sent to the G League bubble, announcing today (via Twitter) that the former lottery pick is among the players being assigned to the Westchester Knicks. Smith reportedly asked to be sent to Westchester in order to get some regular minutes, since he hasn’t been part of the rotation in New York this season.
In addition to Smith, the Knicks have assigned second-year forward Ignas Brazdeikis to the G League and transferred two-way player Jared Harper there as well. Those three members of New York’s 17-man NBA roster will join a Westchester squad that also features former NBA first-round picks like Skal Labissiere and James Young.
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York-based teams:
- Unlike Harper, Theo Pinson – the Knicks‘ other two-way player – will remain with the NBA team rather than heading to the G League. As Marc Berman of The New York Post explains (via Twitter), Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose, who formerly represented Pinson at CAA, loves the 25-year-old as a locker-room presence.
- James Harden missed Sunday’s game vs. Washington due to a left thigh contusion, but it’s not expected to be an injury that lingers or keeps the Nets star sidelined for much longer, according to head coach Steve Nash. “I think it’s pretty manageable, but just a precautionary measure not to get it banged again and make it severe,” Nash said on Sunday, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “… Hopefully, it’s just this game.”
- In a separate story for The New York Post, Lewis examines how offseason acquisition Bruce Brown has established himself as a regular part of the Nets‘ rotation.
- Barring a setback in the health and safety protocols, Iman Shumpert – who signed with the Nets over the weekend – should be available by Saturday’s game vs. Philadelphia, says Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. As Schiffer notes, besides playing for the Nets last season, Shumpert has also played alongside Harden and for Mike D’Antoni in the past, giving him a level of comfort in Brooklyn.
Latest On J.J. Redick
A Sunday report indicated that Pelicans sharpshooter J.J. Redick is interested in returning to a team in the Atlantic Division, where he could be closer to his family in Brooklyn. That report identified the Sixers, Nets, and Celtics as teams that would intrigue Redick, and noted that all three of those clubs have expressed some interest in the veteran wing.
In addition to those three teams, Redick would have interest in joining the Knicks, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. It’s unclear if New York reciprocates the 36-year-old’s interest. If so, it would be a pretty clean fit from a salary cap perspective, since the Knicks are the only team in the NBA with enough cap room to accommodate Redick $13MM cap hit without sending out any salary. The Celtics are among the teams that could take on Redick’s contract outright via a trade exception.
That leaves Toronto as the only Atlantic team not on Redick’s reported wish list, which makes sense — the Raptors are playing in Tampa this season due to the COVID-19 restrictions applying to the U.S./Canada border, so they’ve been temporarily displaced from the northeast.
Here’s more on Redick:
- One Eastern Conference general manager who spoke to Sean Deveney of Forbes is skeptical that the Pelicans will get much of a return for Redick, since he looks like a potential buyout candidate. “No one wants to give up a young player or a pick for a guy you could sign a week after the deadline passes anyway,” the GM said. For what it’s worth, I think the Pelicans will have a hard time finding a first-round pick for Redick unless they’re willing to take on some bad multiyear money, but landing a second-rounder or two seems more realistic, especially if suitors view his struggles this season as a short-term slump.
- David Aldridge, Joe Vardon, and John Hollinger of The Athletic consider whether Redick would fit best with the Nets, Sixers, or Celtics, ultimately concluding that Boston makes the most sense of the three. Hollinger suggests that a pair of second-rounders and some “dead-ish” money would be a fair return for the Pelicans if they make a deal with the C’s.
- As noted by The Athletic and others, Tuesday, February 2 is the last day this season that a player can be traded and then have his salary aggregated in a second trade by deadline day (March 25). If a player is traded on Wednesday, that re-aggregation restriction wouldn’t lift until March 26. It remains to be seen whether that deadline will prompt any action today or tomorrow on the Redick front or elsewhere.
And-Ones: Graham, Green, James, Free Agents
Free agent guard Treveon Graham has committed to play with Team USA in this year’s AmeriCup qualifying tournament, according to a report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
The tournament is scheduled to be held from Feb. 19-20 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Graham is the fifth reported player to commit thus far, joining Joe Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, Dakota Mathias and Josh Boone.
Other former NBA players could join the team in the coming days, as the tournament is being held in the midst of the G League season. Graham, 27, has made past stops with the Hornets, Nets, Timberwolves and Hawks since going undrafted in 2015.
Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Ethan Strauss of The Athletic examines the G League dream of Jalen Green, who’s currently preparing to play with the Ignite in the G League bubble next month. Green, 18, is a high-level prospect for the 2021 NBA Draft. “It’s different,” said Green, who opted to join the Ignite instead of attending college last year. “It’s a different path from what others are used to. We’re learning overall NBA terms. We’re getting stronger, faster. We’re getting ahead of the game, so, I think overall it’s been a great experience.”
- Veteran guard Mike James will stay with CSKA Moscow, according to Lithuanian basketball journalist Donatas Urbonas (Twitter link). James was suspended by the team due to an incident with his participation on Jan. 22, prompting him to release a statement on social media. He holds NBA experience with the Suns and Pelicans.
- Danny Leroux of The Athletic examines the supply and demand of free agency, along with the potential domino effect for the class of 2021. Several players — such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George and Rudy Gobert — opted to sign extensions with their teams last year, choosing not to reach free agency this summer.
Atlantic Notes: DSJ, Knicks, Sixers, J. Green
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau believes the G League will be a great opportunity for Dennis Smith Jr. this season, according to Steve Popper of Newsday.
Smith reportedly asked to play in the G League due to receiving a lack of minutes, a wish that’s expected to be granted. The Knicks’ minor league affiliate team in Westchester is among 18 clubs attending the G League bubble this season, which is set to tip off on Feb. 10.
“I think the G League is a very valuable tool,” Thibodeau said. “I think you see it being used more and more by virtually every team in the league. It’s an opportunity, you can get obviously a lot out of practice, but I think playing time is important, also. So when we have those opportunities, we do want to utilize it. I think it will be great for him.”
Smith has only appeared in three games this season, logging a total of 28 minutes. The former No. 9 pick played 34 games with the team last season, averaging 5.5 points, 2.9 assists and 15.8 minutes per contest on 34% shooting.
Here are some other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Thibodeau has a decision to make on the team’s starting point guard going forward, Popper examines in a different story for Newsday. New York must choose between veteran Elfrid Payton and rookie Immanuel Quickley, with Payton starting in the club’s first 20 games this season. Quickley has shown flashes of potential, however, averaging 11.6 points in 18.5 minutes per game off the bench. His current shooting marks sit at 39.5% from the floor and 38% from downtown.
- Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines how many All-Stars the Sixers should have this season. Joel Embiid, who’s currently enjoying a career-best season to date, is widely expected to be named to his fourth All-Star Game, but Pompey ponders whether Ben Simmons or Tobias Harris could make cases of their own.
- Brian Lewis of the New York Post examines the strong production Jeff Green has offered for the Nets. Green, a 13-year NBA veteran, has provided frontcourt depth as a starter and off the bench this season. The 34-year-old is averaging 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 25.2 minutes per game, shooting 55% from the field and 44% from three-point range. “He’s been outstanding,” head coach Steve Nash said as part of a larger quote. “He’s been great on the court, his versatility, his experience and his skill has been really important to us. [But] his maturity, his personality, his leadership, he’s really added a ton to our team in that respect.”
Central Notes: Love, Carter, Stewart, Valentine
Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (right calf strain) is progressing in his rehab and could be getting closer to a return, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes.
No specific timetable has been set for Love, who has missed the past 16 games. The Cavaliers have opened the season with a 9-10 record in his absence, mostly starting Larry Nance Jr. in his place.
“He’s doing light stuff on the court now and our expectation is he’ll do even more,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Then we’ll get a fair judge of where he is once he gets on the floor.”
Love, 32, is coming off a campaign that saw him average 17.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 31.8 minutes per game. He’s in the second season of a four-year, $120MM extension signed during the summer of 2018.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- The injury to Wendell Carter Jr. will force rotation changes for the Bulls, Sam Smith of Bulls.com writes. Carter recently sustained a quad contusion and is expected to miss multiple weeks. “There may be some lineups that maybe we need Gaff (Daniel Gafford) out there, Cris (Cristiano Felicio) out there,” coach Billy Donovan said. “It could be a variety of different things. I think we’re going to have to be prepared to have significant and different rotations based on matchups and who we’re playing against.”
- Pistons rookie Isaiah Stewart embodies the spirit of Detroit, James Edwards of The Athletic writes. Stewart, a tough-minded 19-year-old forward, is averaging 4.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 17.6 minutes through 18 games, showing potential on both ends of the floor. “When you play against him, you’re going to go against a ball of energy,” coach Dwane Casey said, “and you better bring your work boots and hard hat to go against him because he is going to bring it.”
- Bulls forward Denzel Valentine has benefited from the team’s offseason coaching change, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Valentine appears to be in a much better situation than he was a year ago, with the former No. 14 pick now getting meaningful minutes off the bench. “Man, I actually do think about that,’’ Valentine said. “It’s just funny because at this time last year, I didn’t know what was going to happen. Granted, it’s different seasons. I was in and out of the lineup. It’s just crazy that things come full circle. You never know what can happen in this business. All you can do is bring a positive mindset and work hard every day. That’s what I try to do, no matter the situation. Obviously, it can be hard if you’re not playing or stuff like I went through last year. But I just have to control what I can control, and the rest will take care of itself.’’