Adam Silver Says In-Season Tournament Is Getting Closer
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who has been a long-time proponent of an in-season tournament, believes the idea is moving closer to reality, writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. He said the tournament won’t be implemented right away, but last year’s shortened season showed that fans are willing to accept fewer than 82 games.
“I think we were moving closer to it,” Silver said. “But I feel we’ve had productive conversations with the Players Association, whose approval, of course, would be required to change the format. And my sense is there’s a fair amount of interest.”
Silver didn’t offer many details about the proposed tournament, but Goodwill states that the league is looking for ways to energize players during the long grind of a regular season. Silver has shown a willingness to break with tradition, Goodwill notes, such as adopting the Elam Ending for the All-Star Game.
Silver envisions a plan that is based on tournaments from European soccer and college basketball. He doesn’t want to create an event that will take away from the uniqueness of an NBA championship, but something that will be a separate goal that players can shoot for. There has been talk of offering a $1MM prize per player for the tournament champions, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
Silver wants to keep the NBA calendar relatively stable, starting in mid-October and ending with the Finals in mid- to late June. The tournament would be worked in somewhere, but not exactly at mid-season.
“There’s tournaments [in other sports] along the way where players, I’m sure feel an extra boost of competitiveness around winning a particular trophy,” Silver said. “And that’s what we’re looking at. It’s complicated.”
Central Notes: Brogdon, Bembry, Pistons, Olynyk
The Pacers will enter the All-Star break without any clarity about starting guard Malcolm Brogdon, who is dealing with a right Achilles injury, writes James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Brogdon hasn’t returned since being shut down January 22 for a 10-day rehab program, and he has appeared in just two games since December 21. He had been listed as questionable in the team’s recent injury reports, but was downgraded to out for tonight’s game with the Wizards.
“Obviously it’ll be after the break before he plays,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s continuing to make good progress. The hope is that after the break he can be ready. But nothing’s for sure, so we’ll just hope for the best.”
Brogdon has missed 15 straight games and 32 of the first 60 games of the season. He has been productive when he has played, averaging 18.5 points, 5.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds per night, but his absence has been in a factor in Indiana falling out of the playoff race.
“Right now, this where we are, but with an additional seven or eight days for the break, and I know he’s gonna be continuing to do work through the break, the hope is that coming out of it he could possibly be ready to go,” Carlisle said. “But I’m not saying that that’s gonna happen. We’re just hoping that it could go that way.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
Bulls Notes: LaVine, Caruso, DeRozan, Dosunmu
Zach LaVine was encouraged by his visit to a knee specialist, tweets K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Bulls coach Billy Donovan told reporters that LaVine’s appointment went “very well” and some “swelling was taken out of his knee.” The doctor gave him a lubricant to put on his sore left knee and cleared him for activity within 48 hours.
LaVine will be able to attend All-Star Weekend, Johnson adds, although no determination has been made on whether he will play in the game or participate in the three-point contest. The team’s medical staff will meet with LaVine to determine whether he will be on a minutes limit when he returns after the break.
“The doctors feel totally fine about him resuming playing,” Donovan said (Twitter link).
There’s more from Chicago:
- Donovan also offered an update on injured guard Alex Caruso, who is expected to begin dribbling and shooting in seven to 10 days, Johnson adds (via Twitter). Caruso had wrist surgery on January 24 and was projected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks.
- In an interview with Tyler R. Tines of GQ Magazine, DeMar DeRozan talks about being overwhelmed with sadness when he was traded in 2018 after nine years in Toronto. The deal was ultimately beneficial for DeRozan, who learned to refine his game during three years with Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. Former USC teammate Nikola Vucevic approached him during a game last season and urged him to come to the Bulls in free agency, and DeRozan said it was an easy decision after his summer meeting with general manager Marc Eversley. “He knew everything about me basketball-wise,” DeRozan said. “He understood how I could fit in and they wanted to allow me to be myself.”
- Ayo Dosunmu‘s college coach isn’t surprised to see him make an impact in the NBA so quickly, per Steve Greenberg of The Chicago Sun-Times. Dosunmu wasn’t selected until the 38th pick in last year’s draft, but he has become part of the Bulls’ rotation and earned a spot in the Rising Stars Challenge. “It’s hard to describe Ayo,” said Illinois coach Brad Underwood, “because I just say ‘winner’ and there’s nothing that gets in the way of that. But I also felt like he would be better suited to the NBA game because the paint opens up, his speed becomes more of a factor, his passing in space becomes easier. And I think he’s really, really effective because he’s got two, maybe three superstar-type guys around him, and that elevates his game. And he guards. And he’s tougher than hell.”
Texas Notes: Porzingis, Popovich, Dragic, Nix
The Mavericks decided to trade Kristaps Porzingis to the Wizards last week because they determined he couldn’t be an effective second star with Luka Doncic, Tim Cato of The Athletic states in a discussion of the deal. Porzingis was in his third season in Dallas, and all three had been disrupted by injuries, leading to concerns about whether he would ever be reliable to stay on the court. The Mavs are 13-9 in the games he has missed this season, so the front office felt it was safe to move on from his contract.
Cato is skeptical about Dallas’ return in the deal, although he says Spencer Dinwiddie will be a welcome addition for a team that has trouble driving to the basket and the Mavericks believe Davis Bertans is a better defender than his reputation would suggest. They plan to use him in larger lineups where his lack of rebounding will be less important.
There’s more NBA news from Texas:
- The Spurs are focused on making the play-in tournament and reaching the playoffs, even though their 22-36 record indicates that they might be better off maximizing their first-round draft pick, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News. Dejounte Murray and Devin Vassell both talked last weekend about the importance of getting to the postseason, and coach Gregg Popovich repeated that message on Monday. “If you put yourself in the situation, more as a coach than any other position in the organization, besides players, you can’t go to your team and ask them to lose,” Popovich said. “You can’t do that. It’s an impossibility for all of the logical reasons you can think of on your own. So, you go play your best, you keep teaching, you keep doing what you do. And if you lose and wind up with a high draft pick, well, you accept it and you are glad you got a high draft pick. But it can’t be because you didn’t push them or teach them or demand from them.”
- Goran Dragic gave up $819,835 in his buyout agreement with the Spurs, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. The amount is equal to a 54-day minimum-salary contract for Dragic, so he’ll make up roughly all that money once he signs with a new team.
- The Rockets used part of their mid-level exception to sign rookie guard Daishen Nix to a four-year contract, according to Smith (Twitter link). Nix will make $612K for the rest of this season and $1,563,518 in 2022/23. The final two years of the deal are non-guaranteed at $1,836,096 and $1,988,598, and the last season is also a team option.
Raptors Notes: Claxton, Young, VanVleet, Offense
Reports last week indicated that the Nets were exploring possible Nic Claxton trades right up until Thursday’s trade deadline, and the young center later said he thought he might be on the move. We don’t know all the teams Brooklyn might have talked to about Claxton, but ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his Lowe Post podcast that he believes the Raptors were one of the Nets’ potential trade partners.
“I think one thing that happened at the trade deadline that I heard was that (the Nets) were very close to a deal with Toronto that would have sent Claxton to Toronto for a first round pick and some protections on it,” Lowe said, per RealGM. “I think their intention was to sort of refit the roster by maybe flipping that pick for another wing, another shooter – (Clippers forward) Robert Covington‘s name was mentioned – and sort of balance it out. That trade fell apart and Toronto went in another direction.”
The Raptors ultimately sent their lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick and Goran Dragic‘s expiring contract to San Antonio in exchange for Thaddeus Young and Detroit’s ’22 second-round selection, while Claxton remained with the Nets.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Head coach Nick Nurse is impressed by how quickly the newly-acquired Young has been learning the intricacies of the Raptors’ offensive and defensive systems despite not going through any live practices yet, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “He looked like he’s going to be able to help us out there, like just his movement with the ball, shot creation, pass creation, those kinds of things,” Nurse said of Young, who made his Raptors debut on Monday.
- Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet underwent an MRI on his sore right knee and it came back clean, tweets Smith. VanVleet is listed as questionable for the team’s last game before the All-Star break on Wednesday — if he doesn’t play tonight, it’s unclear whether he’ll still suit up for Sunday’s All-Star Game.
- Although Young should be a solid role player for the Raptors, he’s unlikely to address the team’s biggest issue, its half-court offense, says Eric Koreen of The Athletic. As Koreen writes, Toronto didn’t make a move at the deadline to upgrade that area and will likely feel the effects of that decision the rest of the way.
Jazz Sign Xavier Sneed To Two-Way Contract
3:37pm: Sneed’s two-way deal is now official, the Jazz announced in a press release.
1:47pm: The Jazz are signing small forward Xavier Sneed to a two-way contract, agent Gary Durrant tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Utah has had an open two-way contract slot since waiving Malik Fitts last month, so no corresponding roster move will be necessary to complete the signing. Once the move is official, the Jazz won’t have any available two-way slots, but will still have one opening left on their 15-man roster.
Sneed, a 6’5″ wing who went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2020, played in 13 games for the Greensboro Swarm last season and returned to the Hornets’ G League affiliate for a second go-round this year. In 31 career G League games, he has averaged 10.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in 25.6 minutes per contest.
The 24-year-old has improved his scoring efficiency significantly in his second NBAGL season. After making 36.0% of his field goal tries – including 27.9% of his threes – in 2020/21, he has knocked down 50.0% of his shots and 39.8% of his threes in ’21/22.
Sneed had a brief NBA cameo with the Grizzlies earlier this season, logging eight total minutes in two games during a hardship 10-day contract.
Dennis Smith Jr. Out At Least 3-4 Weeks With Elbow Injury
Trail Blazers guard Dennis Smith Jr. is expected to be sidelined until at least mid-March due to a right elbow injury, the team announced today in a press release.
According to the Blazers, Smith has been diagnosed with a high-grade partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his elbow. He’ll be reevaluated in three or four weeks, the club added.
Smith, 24, signed a non-guaranteed contract with Portland in the 2021 offseason and won a roster spot in training camp. He has since appeared in 37 games for the team, averaging 5.6 PPG, 3.6 APG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.2 SPG in 17.2 minutes per contest. The former lottery pick became a more regular part of the rotation in the new year due to Damian Lillard‘s absence.
Portland doesn’t have a ton of depth at the point guard spot with Lillard, Smith, and Eric Bledsoe all sidelined, but has been relying on Anfernee Simons and Justise Winslow for play-making.
If the Blazers feel compelled to add another backcourt option, they could open up a spot on their roster by waiving an expendable player such as injured forward Joe Ingles.
Scotto’s Latest: Harris, Thompson, Lakers, Brunson, Nurkic
Prior to last week’s trade deadline, a source close to Gary Harris said he didn’t think the Magic wing would be bought out in the coming weeks, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Harris in the final year of his contract and probably isn’t part of the long-term plans in Orlando, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the team decided to part ways with him to open up minutes for its younger players. However, one recent report stated that the Magic have appreciated the 27-year-old’s influence on their young guards.
Additionally, as Scotto observes, Harris has been one of the Magic’s most-used players this season and hasn’t seen his role reduced at all lately, logging nearly 37 minutes against his old team in Denver on Monday. Ahead of his upcoming free agency, it may be in Harris’ best interests to remain in Orlando, where he’s an important part of the rotation, Scotto says, rather than taking his chances in a situation where he’d be further down in the pecking order.
Here’s more from Scotto’s latest HoopsHype Podcast with Yossi Gozlan:
- The Lakers are a team worth keeping an eye on if Tristan Thompson is bought out by the Pacers, according to Scotto, who notes that the veteran center “certainly has a lot of relationships there.” Like Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Thompson is a Klutch Sports client.
- According to Scotto, NBA executives he has spoken to are trying to determine whether the Knicks will make a serious run at Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson in free agency this summer or whether New York’s rumored interest is being used as a leverage play to boost Brunson’s market.
- Scotto adds that rival execs always thought the Mavericks would end up choosing between Brunson or Dorian Finney-Smith due to the luxury tax implications of giving both players big long-term deals. However, Mavs owner Mark Cuban has expressed confidence about keeping both players, and has already extended Finney-Smith.
- Scotto confirms there’s mutual interest between Jusuf Nurkic and the Trail Blazers in continuing their relationship beyond this season, as has been previously reported. Nurkic would be eligible to sign a contract extension anytime before June 30, though he wouldn’t be able to receive a starting salary higher than $14.4MM unless he reaches free agency.
DeAndre’ Bembry Signs With Bucks
FEBRUARY 16: The Bucks have officially signed Bembry, the team announced today in a press release. Bembry will earn just shy of $602K on his rest-of-season contract, while Milwaukee takes on a cap hit of about $518K. Since the Bucks are over the luxury tax line, their projected tax bill will also increase as a result of the move.
FEBRUARY 15: The Bucks are close to completing a deal with free agent swingman DeAndre’ Bembry, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Bembry, who was waived by the Nets last Thursday to open a roster spot in the James Harden deal, will sign with Milwaukee for the rest of the season, according to Wojnarowski.
The deal will give Milwaukee some extra depth on the wing following last week’s trades of Donte DiVincenzo and Rodney Hood, as well as Pat Connaughton‘s subsequent hand injury.
Bembry, 27, was in his first season with Brooklyn after agreeing to a partially guaranteed contract heading into training camp. He eventually earned a fully guaranteed deal and appeared in 48 games with the Nets, starting 20. He averaged 5.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per night.
Once the signing becomes official, the Bucks will be up to 13 players on their roster, plus a pair of two-way deals. They will need to add at least one more player to reach the league minimum and have been rumored as a possible location for Goran Dragic, who reached a buyout with the Spurs earlier today.
Western Notes: Cousins, George, Kuminga, Kings
DeMarcus Cousins‘ current 10-day contract with the Nuggets will expire this weekend, but head coach Michael Malone doesn’t sound like someone who expects to part ways the veteran center in a few days, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post relays.
“You can see all the guys on our bench, even on the court and on the bench, how much they’re rooting for DeMarcus, which is really neat for me, just from a personal level, from a family atmosphere type of a thing,” Malone said on Monday. “Like here’s DeMarcus, four-time All-Star, out of the league. Shouldn’t be the case, and he’s here with us, he’s found a home.
“I love him, and I think you can see all the teammates, when he has a play like that, whether it’s blocking a shot, rolling and dunking, hitting a three, you can feel the energy.”
Cousins has signed three 10-day pacts with Denver so far and the last two have been standard (non-hardship) deals, which means the team will have to decide whether to sign him for the rest of the season when his current contract expires. There has been no confirmation yet that the Nuggets plan to take that route, but it certainly seems like it’s trending that way.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- If a February 24 MRI on Paul George‘s injured elbow comes back clean, the expectation is that the Clippers forward will begin a ramp-up period of approximately two weeks and could return to the court – barring setbacks – during the second week of March, Chris Haynes reported on Tuesday’s TNT broadcast (video link via Tomas Azarly of ClutchPoints).
- Warriors rookie Jonathan Kuminga has been named a replacement for Pacers guard Chris Duarte in this Friday’s Rising Stars game, the league announced today in a press release. Kuminga will replace Duarte, who is dealing with a left toe injury, on Team Payton for the event.
- Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee believes there are a handful of parallels between the Kings‘ pre-deadline acquisition of Domantas Sabonis and their trade for Chris Webber nearly 24 years ago.