Ben Simmons Bothered By Back Soreness
Ben Simmons has suffered pain in his back while reconditioning to start playing again, so his debut with the Nets could be further delayed, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Additional strengthening of the area will be necessary before Simmons can resume playing.
Brooklyn is treating the condition as a “day-to-day process,” Charania adds (Twitter link). There’s no set timetable for him to start playing and there’s no way to tell if he will be ready for a return to Philadelphia on March 10.
Coach Steve Nash said Simmons’ condition isn’t extreme and is understandable for someone who has been out of action for so long, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Simmons, who was the centerpiece of the trade deadline deal that sent James Harden to Philadelphia, hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the Sixers were knocked out of the playoffs last June. Amid a protracted standoff with the team, he participated in a few practices, but has mostly been working out on his own.
He began practicing regularly with the Nets following the deal, but Nash admitted this week that there are still conditioning issues. An ESPN report on Tuesday stated that Simmons was “getting close” and planned to “really ramp it up this week” in regard to conditioning, but that apparently resulted in the back issue.
Knicks Notes: Barrett, Randle, Mitchell, Grimes, Walker
The Knicks are expected to pursue a roster shakeup this summer, but the Heat’s Jimmy Butler believes there’s already a future star to build around, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. RJ Barrett impressed Butler and his Miami teammates with a 46-point outburst Friday night.
“He had a helluva game, an all-around game at that,” Butler said. “We all know he’s capable of that. I don’t think anybody is surprised or should be surprised. He’s definitely going to be playing in this league for a long time and he’s going to be the face of the Knicks.”
Barrett is averaging a career-high 18.6 points per game in his third NBA season, but Bondy points out that he’s still a streaky shooter and has trouble beating defenders off the dribble. The question for the Knicks, Bondy adds, is what to do about Julius Randle, who needs to handle the ball often to be effective and isn’t an ideal complement to Barrett. Bondy notes that Randle and Barrett have only reached 20 points in the same game seven times all season.
There’s more from New York:
- Executive vice president William Wesley has been lobbying owner James Dolan with a plan to acquire a star and is focused on Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, a source tells Steve Popper of Newsday. There are some New York connections for Mitchell, who is a former client of team president Leon Rose and worked closely with associate head coach Johnnie Bryant when he was in Utah. Popper points out that Mitchell will make $30.4MM next season and won’t hit the open market until 2025 at the earliest, and any deal the Knicks could offer would have to include almost every asset at their disposal.
- Rookie guard Quentin Grimes, who suffered a subluxation of his right patella in Friday’s game, will be re-evaluated in two weeks, the Knicks announced (via Twitter). Grimes was at the team facility today and was “walking around pretty well,” tweets Ian Begley of SNY TV, who adds that Grimes’ response to physical therapy will determine how much time he has to miss. Surgery won’t be necessary, a source in Grimes’ camp tells Ashley Nicole Moss of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link), and he will likely be sidelined two to three weeks because of slight ligament bruising.
- The medical procedure that Derrick Rose underwent on his left ankle Friday won’t affect Kemba Walker‘s decision to sit out the rest of the season, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. Walker made the decision in the belief that he wouldn’t have a spot in the rotation once Rose returned, but a source told Berman that he’s unlikely to change his mind and coach Tom Thibodeau also dismissed the possibility.
Tim Frazier Signs 10-Day Contract With Cavaliers
FEBRUARY 27: Frazier has officially signed his 10-day contract with the Cavaliers, per a team press release.
FEBRUARY 25: The backcourt-depleted Cavaliers are signing veteran point guard Tim Frazier to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The team announced on Thursday that Caris LeVert would miss one to two weeks due to a foot sprain while All-Star Darius Garland is battling lower back soreness. Neither played in the team’s loss to Detroit Thursday night. On Friday, Rajon Rondo was diagnosed with a sprained toe that will sideline him at least two weeks.
Frazier was signed to 10-day contracts with the Magic this season under the hardship exception during the COVID crisis in late December. He wound up playing 10 games for Orlando, including three starts.
Frazier, 31, has also played for Philadelphia, Portland, New Orleans, Washington, Milwaukee, Detroit and Memphis is his journeyman career. He’s averaged 4.9 PPG and 4.0 APG in 17.7 MPG in 287 NBA games.
Cleveland had a roster spot available and won’t have to make a corresponding move.
Haywood Highsmith Signs Second 10-Day Deal With Heat
FEBRUARY 26: The Heat have officially signed Highsmith to a second 10-day contract, the team announced (Twitter link).
FEBRUARY 25: Forward Haywood Highsmith will sign another 10-day contract with the Heat, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Highsmith signed his first standard 10-day contract on February 15. That contract was extended by one day due to the All-Star break and will expire after tonight’s game against the Knicks.
The Heat will not be able to offer Highsmith another 10-day after the next one expires.
Highsmith had an earlier 10-day stint with Miami under the hardship exception in late December and early January. Prior to Friday’s game, he had appeared in six games with Miami this season, averaging 3.7 PPG in 11.8 MPG.
Highsmith had a brief stint with the Sixers in 2018/19, appearing in five games for the club on a two-way contract. The 25-year-old also spent the 2020/21 season in Germany, but has otherwise played mostly for the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League affiliate, since going pro in ’18. He has appeared in 17 games with the Blue Coats this season, averaging 13.6 PPG on 39% shooting from three-point range.
Eastern Notes: Oladipo, Simmons, Durant, Porzingis, LaVine
Heat guard Victor Oladipo is hoping to make his season debut within the next two weeks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Oladipo has been rehabbing from quad tendon surgery and has only played four games with Miami since being acquired 11 months ago.
With Oladipo’s season debut inching closer, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel examines how the veteran guard could fit in the Heat’s rotation. Oladipo will likely play backup point guard behind Kyle Lowry. The Heat could also finish games with him, sporting a defensive-minded lineup of Lowry, Oladipo, Jimmy Butler, P.J. Tucker and Bam Adebayo.
Oladipo played 33 games last season with Indiana, Houston and Miami, averaging 19.8 points on 41% shooting. His last healthy season was the 2017/18 campaign, when he averaged a career-high 23.1 points and 2.4 steals per game. He also shot 48% from the floor and 37% from deep that season.
Here are some other notes from the East:
- Nets superstar Kevin Durant (sprained MCL) is also moving closer to a return, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes. “Every day closer,” head coach Steve Nash said. “We’ll see. I expect in the next week he’ll be back for sure. It could be quick; it could be the whole week barring any setbacks.” While Durant is returning soon, Ben Simmons‘ timetable remains unclear. “He’s not gone to high intensity yet,” Nash said. “Just ramping him up still.”
- Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington poses five questions for the Wizards now that the All-Star break has passed. Among the topics Hughes addresses is Kristaps Porzingis‘ potential role, specifically how much he’ll play. The 26-year-old has only appeared in 34 games this season due to injuries.
- Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report conducted a Q&A with Bulls star Zach LaVine, covering his season, team and ambitions. LaVine has averaged 24.5 points per game and will become a free agent this summer. “For me, it’s not even about my contract [situation]”, he said. “I’m a competitor. I want to go to the playoffs and play on the big stage. Contract, everything, that all comes. But I look at it day by day. You can’t get to April in a day. You’re gonna have to play and compete each and every day to get there, and then once the playoffs come, we got to go do our thing. You know I’m really excited. I’m really excited to be on that stage, because I haven’t been there yet.”
Northwest Notes: Giddey, SGA, Cousins, House, Wright
Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are both more comfortable with the ball in their hands, but comments made by head coach Mark Daigneault after the two guards played together on Thursday strongly suggest the Thunder ultimately view Giddey as their primary initiator, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman.
As Mussatto details, Gilgeous-Alexander will be still be the Thunder’s primary scorer, but it sounds like the team wants to get him more comfortable playing off-ball, as he did earlier in his career when Chris Paul and Dennis Schröder were on the roster.
“(Giddey’s) a really good initiator, he’s a really good creator and we’ve gotta use that part of his game to unlock the potential of the team,” Daigneault said. “It’s gonna require Shai to make some plays off the ball a little bit, where he’s driving close-outs, where he’s shooting open shots — but it’s also gonna take some load off of Shai. He’s not gonna have to work as hard.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, who advocated for the signing of DeMarcus Cousins earlier this season, is thrilled to have the veteran big man under contract for the rest of the season, says Mike Singer of The Denver Post. “His personality is really important,” Malone said of Cousins. “He is a voice. He’s a personality, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind. That can be refreshing at times because we have a locker room of great guys, but who are not always willing to police each other.”
- Having been signed for the rest of the season following a series of 10-day deals, Danuel House is looking to repay the Jazz‘s investment in him with his play on the court, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. “This is a good organization. And they believe so much in me, they’re pouring into me,” House said. “So my job is, if they’re pouring into me, to make sure that when the water hits the glass, make sure it’s purified enough for us to drink.”
- Timberwolves two-way player McKinley Wright IV, who is dealing with a left UCL injury, is moving closer toward returning to action after getting his splint taken off, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Wolfson estimates that Wright will be playing for the Iowa Wolves – Minnesota’s G League affiliate – in another week or two. The rookie guard has appeared in just three NBA games this season.
Tyreke Evans To Work Out For Bucks
Free agent guard Tyreke Evans will visit Milwaukee to work out for the Bucks in the coming days, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (video link).
Evans was recently reinstated by the NBA following a ban from the league that lasted nearly three full years. Evans, who was dismissed and disqualified from the league back in May of 2019 for violating the anti-drug program, became eligible last Friday to sign with any NBA team.
The fourth overall pick in the 2009 draft, Evans has 10 years of NBA experience under his belt, having played for the Kings, Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Pacers. He last appeared in the league in 2018/19, averaging 10.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 69 games (20.3 MPG) for Indiana. It was a down year for the veteran, who posted a career-worst .389 FG%.
The Bucks came out of the trade deadline with three open spots on their 15-man roster and have since filled two of them, adding some help on the wing by signing DeAndre’ Bembry, then shoring up their backcourt depth by inking Jevon Carter to a rest-of-season deal. The team still has one last roster opening and could be in the market for another guard after trading Donte DiVincenzo at the deadline and watching Pat Connaughton go down with a hand injury.
Still, it’s unclear how serious Milwaukee’s interest in Evans is — it’s possible the Bucks just want to assess whether the 32-year-old is still in basketball shape to determine whether he should be among the options they consider for that 15th roster spot.
We also don’t know yet if any other teams are exhibiting interest in Evans. As our tracker shows, about half the league’s clubs have a roster spot available.
Tomas Satoransky Bought Out By Spurs, Looks To Join Wizards
12:37pm: The Spurs have officially waived Satoransky, the team announced in a press release. He’ll clear waivers on Monday, at which point he’ll be free to sign with Washington.
11:19am: Veteran guard Tomas Satoransky is preparing to sign with the Wizards after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Spurs, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Satoransky is in the final year of a three-year, $30MM contract and it’s safe to say he’ll clear waivers.
Satoransky appeared in 32 games with New Orleans and one game with San Antonio this season. He was involved in two deadline deals — he was traded from the Pelicans to the Trail Blazers in the CJ McCollum blockbuster, then was shipped to the Spurs in a three-team swap.
Satoransky played his first three seasons in the league (2016-19) with Washington. With Bradley Beal out for the season and Spencer Dinwiddie having been traded to Dallas in the Kristaps Porzingis deal, Satoransky should jump right into the Wizards’ rotation.
The Spurs previously bought out another player they acquired at the trade deadline, Goran Dragic. As a result, they’ll have two open spots on their 15-man roster once they officially waive Satoransky — they’ll have two weeks to go back to the NBA-mandated minimum of 14 players.
And-Ones: Mock Draft, King, Napier, Summer League
Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren remains atop ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz’s latest mock draft, with Auburn’s Jabari Smith moving up one notch to No. 2. The G League Ignite’s Dyson Daniels has moved into the lottery while Milwaukee Panthers forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. has dropped from No. 15 to No. 25.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- The G League’s Westchester Knicks are acquiring forward Louis King, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. King had been on a two-way contract with Sacramento but was waived by the Kings on February 17th. In 16 career games with Sacramento, including 10 this year, King averaged 5.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 11.8 MPG.
- Former NBA guard Shabazz Napier has left Russia and Zenit Saint Petersburg, according to EuroHoops.net. Napier, who has been sidelined most of the season with an ankle injury, was already preparing to return to the United States prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because he did not feel he was ready to play.
- The NBA will hold its annual Summer League in Las Vegas on July 7-17, Shaw adds in another tweet.
Markelle Fultz To Return On Monday
Magic guard Markelle Fultz announced that he’ll return to action on Monday, the team’s PR department tweets.
Fultz will be making his season debut after rehabbing from an ACL injury to his left knee suffered early last season. He had been practicing off and on with the team since December and is finally return to step on the court again. He appeared in just eight games last season but suffering the tear in early January 2021.
Fultz’s three-year, $50MM contract extension kicked in at the beginning of this season.
The Magic already have some young pieces in the backcourt in Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs and R.J. Hampton, so it will be interesting to see how Fultz, the top pick in the 2017 draft, will fit in for the remainder of this season. Hampton returned to action on Friday after missing 14 games due to a knee sprain.