Atlantic Notes: J. Harris, Knicks Trade Targets, Raptors, T. Harris
Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris still isn’t practicing yet after undergoing ankle surgery at the end of November, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post relays. There was a report last week indicating Harris was close to returning to practice and could return to games within a couple weeks, but that seems less likely based on Lewis’ update. Coach Steve Nash says Harris isn’t cleared for all activities.
“Yeah so I think he’s … he’s not full [ramp-up mode],” Nash said. “He’s not fully cleared to do everything yet. He’s got to get back to that, and he’s got to get his high-intensity stuff in. So, he’s not there yet.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- The Knicks are among the teams interested in Hawks wing Cam Reddish, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Begley also points to Myles Turner and Jalen Brunson as players the Knicks are known to be interested in.
- Eric Koreen of The Athletic believes the Raptors should be looking at acquiring a wing shooter prior to the trade deadline in order to shore up a weak spot in the roster.
- Chris Boucher has improved over the course of the season and his strong play has helped the Raptors go 6-1 over their past seven games. Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes that Boucher is learning his role is to provide energy and effort no matter how many minutes he receives. “He’s accepted whatever is there for playing time, whatever the lineup is, he’s accepted it with energy,” coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s played hard. There haven’t been a ton of offensive attempts, and that doesn’t seem to bother him either. He just keeps going and playing. He’s been really impactful.” Boucher is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter) that Sixers forward Tobias Harris has been playing through right shoulder bursitis and bicep tendinitis. Harris said he’s been dealing with shoulder soreness since a game against Utah, and that it’s an “irritating” type of pain rather than something severe, but it has been aggravated multiple times since original incident, tweets Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice.
Pacific Notes: Fox, J. Smith, Klay, Draymond
The Kings have missed out on the postseason for 15 straight seasons, which is tied for the longest playoff drought in NBA history (with the Clippers, from 1977-1992). Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has reportedly given GM Monte McNair the green light to make any roster moves necessary to improve their playoff chances and give them a pathway to sustained success going forward.
With that in mind, De’Aaron Fox‘s name has started popping up more in trade rumors. The Sacramento Bee’s guest columnist Brenden Nunes makes the case for building around the 24-year-old point guard. Nunes notes that there has been near-constant turmoil in Sacramento during Fox’s time with the team, including a rotating cast of ill-fitting teammates, three head coaches and two general managers.
Fox’s statistics of 20.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 5.1 APG on .450/.247/.750 shooting (39 games, 34.2 MPG) are down from last season’s numbers of 25.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 7.2 APG on .477/.322/.719 shooting (58 games, 35.1 MPG). Fox can be frustratingly inconsistent on both ends, but his talent is clear and Nunes believes the Kings should stick with Fox and Tyrese Haliburton as the backcourt of the future and build around the two young guards, as opposed to trading either of them.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Suns may have a dilemma on their hands with Jalen Smith‘s unrestricted free agency looming this summer, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Smith performed well over a recent six-game stretch while Deandre Ayton and JaVale McGee were in the health and safety protocols, averaging 15.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 1.0 BPG on .554/.385/.857 shooting in 25.5 MPG. Phoenix declined Smith’s third-year option of $4,670,160, so it can’t exceed that amount to retain him in free agency. If Phoenix were to trade Smith, the acquiring team also wouldn’t be able to exceed the amount of his third-year option, Hollinger writes. Given his strong play recently, it’s conceivable that a bidder in free agency could come up with an offer higher than the declined option, so any team interested in acquiring him via trade would essentially have Smith as a rental player in that scenario — severely limiting his trade value. Hollinger notes there’s still a chance the Suns could re-sign him relatively cheaply depending on how the rest of the season plays out, but it was a head-scratching move at the time that has come under more scrutiny after he was given actual playing time.
- Warriors guard Klay Thompson, who recently made his long-awaited season debut, is on a strict minutes limit of 20 per game right now, but he expects that to be bumped up “in a week or two,” writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Thompson has looked spry in his first two games back, averaging 15.5 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 20.0 minutes.
- Draymond Green is likely to miss at least three more games for the Warriors with calf soreness, Slater tweets. Head coach Steve Kerr said it’s “doubtful” that Green will join the team on its current road trip, which runs through Sunday in Minnesota.
Paris Bass Signs Second 10-Day Contract With Suns
January 12: The Suns have officially signed Bass to a second 10-day hardship deal, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
January 11: Rookie small forward Paris Bass is expected to sign a second 10-day contract with the Suns via the team’s hardship exception, his agent Daniel Hazan tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Bass will likely rejoin the team on Wednesday, Wojnarowski adds.
The 6’8″ forward out of Detroit Mercy, 26, signed his first such deal with Phoenix in late December. He has appeared in two games for Phoenix so far, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 3.5 MPG.
After going undrafted, Bass played for a variety of international clubs, including teams in Austria, the Dominican Republic, Taiwan, and most recently Puerto Rico. He also earned some G League experience, joining the then-Erie BayHawks for the 2016/17 season. He averaged 3.9 PPG and 2.7 RPG across 11.9 MPG in 15 games for the BayHawks. The team was subsequently relocated to Lakeland, Florida from Erie, Pennsylvania in 2017, and re-branded as the Lakeland Magic.
Earlier this season, Bass returned to the G League, receiving significantly more playing time in his second stint. He averaged 17.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.1 SPG and 0.8 BPG in 14 games with the Lakers’ NBAGL affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.
As of this writing, forward Ish Wainright is the only Sun in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and the team already has Justin Jackson under contract on a 10-day hardship deal. In order to sign Wainright on Wednesday, Phoenix will have to either terminate Jackson’s deal early or place a second player in the protocols.
COVID-19 Updates: Whiteside, Adams, Barton, Hornets, Spurs, More
Jazz center Hassan Whiteside has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter). Utah’s frontcourt depth is extremely depleted; in addition to Whiteside, Rudy Gobert, Rudy Gay, and Udoka Azubuike are all in the protocols, while 10-day hardship signee Norvel Pelle is out Wednesday against Cleveland with a non-COVID illness, Walden tweets. Whiteside is now the sixth Jazz player currently in the protocols.
Here are more COVID-related updates from around the NBA:
- Grizzlies center Steven Adams is listed as questionable with a non-COVID illness for Thursday’s contest against Minnesota, Memphis’ PR department tweets, so he has cleared the protocols.
- The Nuggets received two pieces of good news, as Will Barton has exited the COVID-19 protocols and Markus Howard, who was supposed to be sidelined at least six weeks with a sprained knee, is listed as questionable for Thursday’s contest against Portland, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). Howard has missed the past four weeks.
- The news out of Charlotte is a mixed bag, as Vernon Carey Jr. has cleared the protocols, but rookie big man Kai Jones has entered for the Hornets, per the team’s PR department (Twitter links).
- Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell have cleared the protocols for the Spurs and are available Wednesday night against Houston, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News tweets.
- Bucks guard Grayson Allen said he was fortunate to have an asymptomatic case of COVID-19 and will be available Thursday against the Warriors, according to Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link). Allen also mentioned that the time away helped him recover from the flu.
- Rockets guard Armoni Brooks has cleared the health and safety protocols and is available Wednesday against the Spurs, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
De’Andre Hunter Set To Return For Hawks
Forward De’Andre Hunter is set to return on Wednesday night for the Hawks after recovering from right wrist surgery, according to Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).
In a couple of separate tweets, Spencer notes that Clint Capela and Cam Reddish are out Wednesday due to sprained ankles, so Atlanta’s starting lineup will be made up of Trae Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, John Collins, and Onyeka Okongwu.
We noted on Tuesday evening that Hunter was close to returning to action after participating in a full five-on-five practice. Now in his third year as a pro, the 24-year-old has played just 11 games this season after injuring a tendon in his right wrist which required surgery in November. At the time, the Hawks said he could return in approximately eight weeks, which aligns nearly perfectly with his return date, so it’s great news for both player and team that he’s right on schedule.
Hunter has struggled with injuries in his young career, but he’s shown tantalizing glimpses of improved offense and strong defense in the 34 games he’s played over the past two seasons. Through 11 games (27.8 MPG) in 2021/22, Hunter is averaging 10.8 PPG and 2.7 RPG for Atlanta, currently 17-22, 12th in the East.
Damian Lillard To Undergo Surgery On Abdominal Injury
Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard is planning to have surgery soon to deal with lingering pain from his abdominal injury, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Windhorst adds that Lillard may be able to return this season after the surgery, but that’s still up in the air.
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Lillard will undergo surgery on Thursday and will be re-evaluated in six-to-eight weeks.
Haynes notes that Lillard saw specialists in St. Louis and Philadelphia recently and both agreed surgery was the best route to take. Lillard’s possible return to the court this season depends on his health and where the team is in the Western Conference standings, Haynes adds. Portland is currently 16-24, the No. 10 seed in the West.
Lillard missed five games at the beginning of December after an MRI revealed lower abdominal tendinopathy. He later stated that he’s been dealing with the injury for a few years and considered having surgery last offseason. However, he ended up participating in the Tokyo Olympics instead, winning a gold medal with Team USA, but he didn’t look like his normal dominant self. Within his column, Windhorst writes that Lillard aggravated the injury at the Olympics.
Prior to returning to the court last month, Lillard had a cortisone injection to deal with the pain in his abdomen. As we noted at the time, cortisone injections are typically short-term solutions, and the injury continued to bother Portland’s best player. A week ago the team announced that Lillard would miss at least three more games as he continued to struggle with the injury, and ultimately surgery was determined to be the best course of action.
The Blazers hold a 4-7 record without Lillard this season, but have won two in a row. On the season, the six-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA member has played 29 games (36.4 MPG), averaging 24 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 7.3 APG on .402/.324/.878 shooting. 24 points per game represent his lowest scoring average since 2014/15, and his shooting percentages from the field and from three are career-lows, so clearly the injury has impacted his performance.
With Lillard out and CJ McCollum sidelined with a collapsed lung, Portland has been leaning heavily on 22-year-old Anfernee Simons in January. Simons has shined through five games (37 MPG) this month, averaging 27.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 7.6 APG on .511/.446/.947 shooting. It’s a huge opportunity for the fourth-year guard, who’s set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
Wizards’ Sheppard Talks Beal, Dinwiddie, Hachimura, Bryant, More
The maximum-salary contract extension the Wizards offered to Bradley Beal in October remains on the table and will stay there all season long, general manager Tommy Sheppard told Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Beal may end up opting for free agency – where he could earn a longer, more lucrative deal with Washington or explore other destinations – but Sheppard wants to make sure the All-Star guard knows the extension is still an option.
“There’s no reason to take it off. It stands all year. He can sign it all season,” Sheppard said. “I’ve never been anything but transparent. We delivered it the first day that it was available. That’s out of respect to him. He’s an All-NBA player, and we expect him to be an All-Star again this year, and I think he’ll be there at the end for All-NBA. That’s a matter of respect. I think for him he’s going to do what’s very best in his interest. And for the franchise, it’s the same.”
With no guarantee that Beal will eventually sign a new contract, Robbins wondered if the Wizards might have to at least consider the possibility of trading him by the February 10 deadline rather than risk losing him for nothing. However, that doesn’t appear to be a path Sheppard is exploring. The general manager told Robbins that the club remains focused on keeping and building around Beal and believes the 28-year-old remains committed to that plan too.
“I understand the question,” Sheppard said. “I can only keep coming back to the same things I say over and over again: We have constant dialogue. And I’ve been very transparent. He’s been very transparent. We want the same things. We want this to work, and I see every reason to believe we’ll keep moving forward.”
Here are a few more highlights from Sheppard’s conversation with Robbins:
- Sheppard isn’t concerned about the fact that the Wizards have been outscored by 5.5 points per 100 possessions when Beal and Spencer Dinwiddie share the court. He preached patience and still believes the two guards complement each other well. “Last I checked, Spencer’s got a three-year deal, not a 40-game deal,” Sheppard said. “It takes time for things to kind of come together. They’ve still got to figure out each other. … Forty games isn’t enough to say this is working or not working. We’ve seen it when it can really work. We’ve seen that they can play well.”
- Asked about Washington’s up-and-down performance so far this season, Sheppard pointed out that injuries and the COVID-19 protocols have created an “incomplete picture” of the team’s potential. The Wizards’ GM referred to Rui Hachimura and Thomas Bryant as two of “our probably top six guys or seven guys” and said he’s looking forward to seeing what they bring to the current group.
- Sheppard, who has spoken in the past about the Wizards making steady improvements as they build around Beal, believes they’re still headed in the right direction. “I think that our roster has some balance,” Sheppard said, referring to the club’s mix of youngsters and veterans. “I think our contracts are balanced-out now. I think that gives you an opportunity, especially around the deadline, to look and see if there’s a way to improve your team. Certainly in the offseason, it gives us opportunities to do things. So I’m really excited with where we’re at.”
Latest On Ben Simmons
Confirming a recent ESPN report, Sam Amick of The Athletic says the Sixers have indeed explored including Tobias Harris in a potential Ben Simmons trade, broaching the idea in discussions with at least the Hawks and Kings.
As Amick tweets, adding Harris to a Simmons trade is viewed by rival executives as a major obstacle, further complicating negotiations that were challenging to begin with. It has also made those execs continue to question how serious the 76ers are about making a Simmons deal in the coming weeks, since there remains a strong belief their preference would be to wait until the offseason to see if other stars become available.
Although it’s possible Simmons’ suitors will improve their offers by the February 10 trade deadline, Amick says many of those clubs are apprehensive about betting the farm on a player with so many question marks.
According to Amick, some interested teams view Simmons’ years-long “confidence issues” on the court as a separate matter from his recent mental health struggles. Additionally, while the length of Simmons’ contract (which runs through 2025) has been viewed by many as a plus, some clubs have concerns about it, Amick writes. Simmons won’t be able to bolt in free agency anytime soon, but he’ll also be owed $113MM+ over three seasons (2022-25), with no guarantee that he can be trusted to perform like “the best version of himself” for a new team.
Here’s more on the Simmons situation:
- Agent Rich Paul met with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and GM Elton Brand today to discuss the situation, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who reports that neither side has changed its stance — Simmons is no closer to returning and the 76ers haven’t lowered their asking price.
- Within Amick’s article, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic says the Timberwolves continue to talk to the Sixers about Simmons, but with Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards off-limits, they haven’t been able to meet Morey’s high asking price. According to Amick, multiple rival executives believe that as long as the Wolves technically remain in the running for Simmons, they won’t make any separate deals that might take them out of the mix.
- The Sixers have “zero interest” in acquiring Russell Westbrook from the Lakers in a Simmons deal, sources tell Amick. That comes as no surprise — the Lakers’ interest in Simmons has been previously reported, but it never seemed realistic that L.A. could actually make it happen, given the team’s roster construction and limited assets.
- In a pair of articles for PhillyVoice.com, Kyle Neubeck considers whether the Hawks would make sense for the Sixers as a Simmons trade partner and unpacks the latest rumors about Harris. Neubeck doesn’t consider Atlanta an ideal fit unless Morey is willing to take back a package of good players instead of continuing to seek a star. He also views the Harris rumors as a sign of the 76ers doing their due diligence on every possible scenario rather than something the team is necessarily focused on.
Scotto’s Latest: Bulls, Hawks, Finney-Smith, Thunder, Rockets
The Bulls figure to explore potential roster upgrades at the trade deadline, but they’re resistant to the idea of moving Patrick Williams, Michael Scotto said on the latest episode of the HoopsHype Podcast.
If the Bulls want to make a major move at the deadline, it may have to involve Williams, 2020’s No. 4 overall pick, since the club has already traded away multiple future first-rounders. Williams’ ability to help the team this year may also be limited, since a wrist injury is expected to sideline him for most or all of the regular season.
Still, based on Scotto’s reporting, it sounds as if Chicago will likely hang onto Williams. One Bulls player who is available in the right deal is 2019 lottery pick Coby White, rival executives tell Scotto.
Here’s more from the HoopsHype Podcast:
- Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari could be had for a first-round pick or as part of a larger package, rival executives tell Scotto. I’m very skeptical any team will be willing to give up a first-rounder for Gallinari unless they can dump an unwanted long-term contract on Atlanta. Scotto adds that execs believe Hawks forward Cam Reddish is more likely than not to be on the move at the deadline.
- Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith and Thunder forward Kenrich Williams are among the role players on modest contracts who are drawing trade interest from playoff teams, says Scotto. Oklahoma City is obviously more likely than Dallas to be a seller, but rival executives believe there may be an opportunity to poach Finney-Smith since he and Jalen Brunson are free agents in 2022 and re-signing both would likely make the Mavs a taxpayer.
- Playoff-caliber teams are also monitoring Rockets veterans Eric Gordon and Daniel Theis, according to Scotto. They’ve been mentioned multiple times this season as potential trade candidates, since they probably don’t fit the timeline of a rebuilding Houston squad.
- League sources tell Scotto that Thunder rookie Aaron Wiggins is a good candidate to have his two-way contract turned into a standard deal at some point this season.
Malik Fitts Out At Least Four Weeks With Wrist Injury
Jazz forward Malik Fitts will be sidelined for the foreseeable future, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link), who says the former Saint Mary’s standout has been diagnosed with a fractured right wrist.
Fitts hasn’t been a regular part of Utah’s rotation this season, having logged just 14 minutes in six games entering last Friday’s contest in Toronto. With a depleted roster, the Jazz leaned on Fitts for a rotation role in that game vs. the Raptors and he responded with six points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes. However, he also sustained his right wrist injury.
Now that X-rays have confirmed Fitts’ wrist is fractured, he’s wearing a hard cast and will be out for at least four weeks, Walden says. The four-week mark is when the 24-year-old will be reevaluated and will have his status updated by the Jazz, so his absence could extend well beyond that date.
Fitts, who was on a two-way contract, won’t have much of a role once the Jazz get healthier, but he could have seen more minutes in the short term with several players sidelined due to injuries or positive COVID-19 tests, so the injury is an unfortunate turn of events for the second-year pro.