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Month: May 2024

Pacific Notes: Westbrook, LeBron, Warriors, Fox

January 29th, 2022 at 6:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers hope Russell Westbrook‘s performance Friday night in Charlotte will lead to better things for the rest of the season, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis both sidelined by injuries, Westbrook exploded for 30 points in the second half and nearly rallied the team to a road win.

Westbrook was the Lakers’ prize acquisition of the offseason, but his fit with the other two stars has been questionable so far. Although his name has been mentioned in trade rumors, Westbrook remains confident that he can make it work in L.A.

“I think ultimately when myself and A.D. and Bron is on the court, we got to be able to figure that out to where I can still keep my same speed and pace to the basket and allow me to make the game easy for them,” he said. “And it’s something that we even briefly talked about after the game, about positioning and things they saw tonight from sitting on the bench, to be able to help them out.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • James will miss his third straight game Sunday at Atlanta because of “left knee soreness/effusion,” tweets Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. The Lakers are listing Davis as questionable.
  • The Warriors had to adjust after Klay Thompson‘s return, but Thursday’s win over Minnesota showed how dangerous Golden State can be when all the pieces are working, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Thompson and Stephen Curry combined for 52 points and the Warriors shot 58.3% as a team from three-point range. “It’s a really good indicator of what our team can look like with Klay back and everybody healthy, for the most part, in terms of our shooters,” coach Steve Kerr said. “With these last couple of games, the spacing that we’ve had and the ball movement, we’ve gotten great shots.”
  • Kings guard De’Aaron Fox had to miss his fourth straight game tonight with pain in his left ankle, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320.“Don’t know how long he’ll be out,” said interim coach Alvin Gentry. “It is a sore ankle. That’s been it. He dresses, he tries it and then he’s really the only one that knows the pain threshold of where it is or anything. All it is is an ankle right now, there’s not anything else going on.”
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Northwest Notes: Nurkic, Little, Muscala, Wolves

January 29th, 2022 at 5:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic is enjoying the best season of his career and he doesn’t want to see it disrupted by a trade, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. Along with averaging 14.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, Nurkic has provided a strong interior presence for a defense that was the league’s worst last season. Fivethirtyeight.com’s RAPTOR rating has Nurkic as the eighth-best defender in the league.

Even so, Nurkic is considered to be a trade candidate because of his $12MM expiring contract. He said Joe Cronin talked to him after taking over as interim general manager and promised to keep him as part of the core in Portland.

“Nothing is 100 percent, but I feel like for the team, and who I think I am as a player, there is no way I’m leaving (in a trade),” Nurkic said. “I don’t see anything possible. Obviously, I want to be part of this organization as long as (Damian Lillard) is, and as long as we want to win. But if the team wants to go in a different direction, then I’m willing to do whatever they want to do.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • The loss of Nassir Little, who may miss the rest of the season with a labral tear in his left shoulder, was a major disappointment for the Trail Blazers, notes Casey Holdahl of NBA.com. Little had established himself as a rotation player in his third NBA season and his first under head coach Chauncey Billups. “He didn’t play very much before I was here, or at least have a consistent role, so one of the things for him was to try to earn the trust of the coaching staff, and he did that,” Billups said. “And to earn the trust of his players, he did that.”
  • Thunder forward Mike Muscala is considering right ankle surgery after the season ends, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Muscala has been dealing with pain in the ankle since suffering a stress fracture last season.
  • Timberwolves coach Chris Finch says the team has “clean-up things to do” regarding the new defensive approach he implemented this season, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Minnesota has been a top-10 defense for most of the year, but has surrendered at least 110 points in eight of its last 10 games.
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Central Notes: Young, Wigginton, Hayes, LaVine

January 29th, 2022 at 3:45pm CST by JD Shaw

Former Bulls forward Thaddeus Young discussed a variety of subjects with K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, including his time with the team and how he found out that he was being traded to San Antonio.

Young has only played in 25 games with the Spurs, a team clearly focused on building for the future. He remains grateful for his time with the Bulls, where he averaged an impressive 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game last season.

“Just the moments that I had with my teammates,” Young said when asked about what stands out from his Bulls tenure. “Those are all great guys. We all know I love Zach (LaVine) to death. And he feels the same way. Getting a chance to help groom Pat (Williams) and Coby (White) a little bit. And then the staff was great. I loved having conversations with everyone on staff and making sure the guys were good.”

San Antonio could trade Young before the February 10 deadline, or the team could reach a buyout agreement with the 33-year-old. Chicago has a need at power forward, but is ineligible to reacquire Young unless he’s traded to another team and then waived. The Bulls could also pursue a veteran like Paul Millsap, who reportedly isn’t expected to play another game with Brooklyn.

Here are some other notes from the Central Division:

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Southeast Notes: Yurtseven, Todd, Anthony, Butler, Vincent

January 29th, 2022 at 2:24pm CST by JD Shaw

With the return of Bam Adebayo (thumb) and Dewayne Dedmon (knee), Heat center Omer Yurtseven has effectively fallen out of the team’s rotation for now, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.

Yurtseven started 10 games as Adebayo and Dedmon dealt with injuries, logging double-digit rebounds in every contest. Miami went 7-3 during that stretch. On the season, the 23-year-old has averaged 6.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game, shooting 52% from the floor.

“It’s hard, obviously, because you catch that rhythm and you have that raging fire to just keep going,” Yurtseven said. “But I trust in the coaches and the Heat culture, and I believe if they want me and need me in the game that they know that I’m ready.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division today:

  • The Wizards suspended Isaiah Todd one game for conduct detrimental to the team, the club announced in a press release. Todd, who has been on a G League assignment for most of the month, served his suspension during the Capital City Go-Go’s game against the Ignite on Friday. The 20-year-old was selected No. 31 overall in last year’s draft.
  • Magic guard Cole Anthony is committing to the 2022 NBA Slam Dunk Contest on All-Star Weekend, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Anthony has seen his role increase with Orlando this season, averaging 17.9 points on 39% shooting from the floor.
  • In a separate article for the Miami Herald, Anthony Chiang examines some takeaways from the Heat‘s Friday night victory over the Clippers. The Heat were led by Jimmy Butler, who finished with a game-high 26 points, as well as Gabe Vincent, who finished with 23 points in the absence of Kyle Lowry (personal). Lowry will also miss Saturday’s contest against Toronto, marking the seventh straight game he’s missed due to personal reasons.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander To Miss Multiple Weeks With Ankle Sprain

January 29th, 2022 at 1:11pm CST by JD Shaw

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss multiple weeks after suffering a right ankle sprain on Friday against the Pacers, the team announced today. Gilgeous-Alexander will be reevaluated after the All-Star break, which lasts from February 18-23.

In 43 games this season, the Thunder’s point guard averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per contest, shooting 42% from the floor and 28% from three-point range. Each of those averages (with the exception of rebounding) are down from last season, but the 23-year-old remains the go-to option on his team.

The Thunder are 0-5 in games that Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t played this season. One of those losses came against Memphis in a record-setting fashion — OKC was outscored by 73 points, the largest margin of defeat in NBA history. That contest was played in early December on the road.

With Gilgeous-Alexander on the shelf, expect guards Ty Jerome and Theo Maledon to receive more playing time. Oklahoma City owns the second-worst record in the West at 14-34, leading the Rockets by half a game.

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Cavs Willing To Deal This Year’s First-Rounder, Rubio’s Contract

January 29th, 2022 at 11:56am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers are willing to deal this year’s first-round pick and might also move Ricky Rubio‘s contract in order to acquire another guard or wing, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Cleveland has been the league’s biggest surprise, piling up victories despite losing Collin Sexton and Rubio to season-ending injuries. The Cavaliers have won eight of their last nine games and are 11 games above .500.

This week, the Cavaliers were granted an $8.9MM Disabled Player Exception — half of Rubio’s salary — due to the torn ACL he suffered last month. That exception would be nullified if they traded Rubio before using it. Rubio will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Cleveland owns all of its first-round picks and has eight extra second-rounders at its disposal, including a pair this season, while only owing two second-rounders to other clubs. The team also has a $4.3MM trade exception at its disposal.

But as Fedor notes, the team is approximately $3MM below the luxury tax threshold and also doesn’t want to wreck the chemistry it has built. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said those factors will come into play regarding any moves president of basketball operations Koby Altman might make.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations about that,” Bickerstaff said. “We know how fragile chemistry is and how quickly it can be bothered. This is a very important time for our team, an opportunity — if they’re there — to improve itself, but also an opportunity to not feel rushed to do something that could impact the chemistry we’ve built. Our front office has a heavy understanding of how important that is. They are aggressive to improve this team. They do a lot of homework and understand the type of people you’re going to bring in if you do decide to make a move. We do have something good brewing here with the group. Definitely don’t want to do something that negatively impacts it.”

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Community Shootaround: Kings Trades

January 29th, 2022 at 11:23am CST by Dana Gauruder

Give the Kings some credit — at least they’re consistent.

Just when it looked like the franchise was on the upswing, the team has produced another disastrous season. Despite all the lottery picks dotting the Kings’ roster, they’re destined to miss the postseason party for the 16th consecutive season.

The latest dumpster fire is raging out of control. They’ve lost five straight and 10 of their last 12 games, including a 53-point thrashing by the Celtics on Tuesday, to drop 14 games below .500.

A coaching change from Luke Walton to Alvin Gentry backfired, as the team only got worse after it let Walton go.

Not surprisingly, Sacramento has been involved in more trade rumors than any other team. The latest one floated around is that the Lakers might have some interest in Buddy Hield.

The Kings have seemingly been trying to trade Hield virtually since he signed an extension that runs through the 2023/24 season. It was also reported on Friday that they’ve pulled out of the Ben Simmons sweepstakes due to Philadelphia’s overwhelming demands.

The Kings were reportedly considering offering Tyrese Haliburton, Hield, Harrison Barnes, and two future first-round picks in exchange for Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Matisse Thybulle. Another report later indicated the Kings want to build their roster around Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox and weren’t interested in taking back Harris in a Simmons deal.

The Kings have also reportedly told Fox he wasn’t going anywhere, though that could be just posturing at this point. They’ve also been linked to other hot names on the trade market, such as Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner and Jerami Grant.

In any case, it’s hard to imagine the Kings not doing something significant in the next two weeks.

That leads us to our question of the day: What players should the Kings target prior to the trade deadline? And which players do they need to shed to turn their fortunes around?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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Pelicans Sign Wenyen Gabriel Via Hardship Exception

January 29th, 2022 at 10:25am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have signed forward Wenyen Gabriel to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception, according to a team press release.

This is fourth time Gabriel has signed a 10-day under the hardship provision this season after being waived by the Bucks during training camp. He had a pair of those contracts with the Clippers and an earlier one with the Nets. He has appeared in seven NBA games this season, averaging 2.0 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 6.7 MPG. Gabriel played 21 games for the Pelicans last season.

New Orleans rookie Trey Murphy has been in the league’s health and safely protocols since Monday and the team also listed Didi Louzada in the protocols prior to Friday’s game.

Gabriel has also worn a Trail Blazers and Kings uniform after going undrafted in 2018. He’s appeared in 58 career games, averaging 2.6 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 9.0 MPG.

Most recently, Gabriel has appeared in 14 games (12 starts) for the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s NBA G League affiliate, averaging 14.1 PPG, 8.2 RPG and  2.1 BPG in 25.9 MPG.

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Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Harden, Nets, Randle

January 29th, 2022 at 9:23am CST by Dana Gauruder

Could the Sixers deal Ben Simmons before the trade deadline and still acquire James Harden in a sign-and-trade with the Nets this offseason? Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com raises that possibility.

He speculates that dealing Simmons for the best available package now might actually make the Sixers more enticing to Harden in free agency.

Making the team better around Joel Embiid than it is right now with Simmons inactive could lead to an extended playoff run, and they’d still have some assets to offer the Nets. Brooklyn would likely accept the best sign-and-trade package it could get from Philadelphia for Harden if the veteran guard insists on joining the Sixers, Neubeck writes.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Harden will return to action on Saturday at Golden State, Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post writes. Harden missed Wednesday’s game against Denver due to left hamstring tightness but was able to practice on Friday. The Nets will reportedly not listen to trade offers for Harden.
  • The Nets have been forced to play without two or all three of their perennial All-Stars on a frequent basis lately. They have lost three straight but coach Steve Nash hopes the heavier reliance on their role players will pay off in the long run, as he told Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “The goal is to continue to move this thing forward,” Nash said. “Win or lose, are we learning more about ourselves, more about each other and refining our details? If we do, when we get bodies back we’ll be in a better place for it. We’ll have learned something about ourselves, and we’ll be able to say that this time was not wasted.”
  • Julius Randle doesn’t regret signing a four-year, $117MM extension with the Knicks despite his rough season, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. “I wouldn’t change it,” he said. “I still want to be a part of it. I still want to see this thing through. I still want to be a part of trying to bring a championship to the Knicks.” Randle has reached the 20-point mark just once in the last five games.
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DeMarcus Cousins Cut, Re-Signed By Nuggets

January 29th, 2022 at 7:43am CST by Dana Gauruder

DeMarcus Cousins was cut by the Nuggets on Friday and then re-signed to a standard 10-day contract, Katy Winge of Altitude TV tweets. The signing was confirmed on NBA.com’s transactions log.

Cousins signed a 10-day contract under the hardship exception on January 21. That contract was initially reported as a standard 10-day deal and the team’s press release did not indicate the hardship exception was used. However, if it had been a standard 10-day, the team wouldn’t have needed to re-sign him within that time frame.

Jamal Murray was still listed on Friday as being in protocols, so perhaps this is an indication he’ll soon be removed from that list. It’s also possible that Cousins wasn’t deemed eligible to play on his hardship deal while Murray was the only Nugget in the protocols, since Murray is still recovering from an injury and wouldn’t have been available anyway.

Cousins has appeared in four games as Nikola Jokic‘s backup, averaging 6.3 PPG and 6.5 RPG in 12.5 MPG.

Cousins, 31, spent a little over five weeks with the Bucks from late November to early January, averaging 9.1 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 17 games (16.9 MPG) for the defending champs. Milwaukee opted to waive the veteran center before his salary for 2021/22 could become fully guaranteed, making him a free agent.

He can sign one more standard 10-day deal with the Nuggets before they must decide whether to give him a rest-of-the-season contract or let him walk.

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