Norman Powell To Return On Wednesday
7:21pm: Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said Powell will come off the bench and play Wednesday (Twitter link via Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times). Lue indicated Powell might start the second half in order to get accustomed to playing with Paul George, as the two have no experience together.
3:04pm: Clippers wing Norman Powell plans to return to action on Wednesday night against Phoenix, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Wojnarowski, a final decision on Powell’s availability will be made following the team’s pre-game warmups. The Clippers have officially upgraded Powell from doubtful to questionable.
Powell, 28, began the season in Portland after signing a new five-year deal with the team last summer. When the Trail Blazers shifted into rebuilding mode midway through the season, he was shipped to Los Angeles along with Robert Covington in a pre-deadline deal.
In just his third game as a Clipper, on February 10, Powell fractured a bone in his left foot. The injury sidelined him for nearly two full months, but it looks like he’ll be back in time to help the club try to secure a playoff spot in next week’s play-in tournament.
In 43 total games (32.9 MPG) for the Blazers and Clippers this season, Powell averaged a career-high 18.8 points per game on .457/.407/.807 shooting. He’ll give the Clips another option on the wing who can impact the game on both ends of the court, making L.A. an increasingly dangerous play-in team.
Although Paul George is back for the Clippers and Powell is on the verge of returning too, it remains to be seen whether Kawhi Leonard, who is less than nine months removed from ACL surgery, will play at all this spring.
Southwest Notes: Alvarado, Ingram, Zion, Bates-Diop, Spurs Picks
Jose Alvarado has had an eventful rookie season for the Pelicans. He started his NBA career undrafted after four seasons at Georgia Tech, then signed a two-way deal with New Orleans.
The 23-year-old rarely played in the first few months of the season, but made a significant impact when he did, so coach Willie Green started playing him more and the front office took notice — Alvarado was promoted to a four-year, $6.5MM contract last week, with the final two seasons being non-guaranteed.
Alvarado recently spoke to William Guillory of The Athletic about a number of topics. Here are a couple highlights from the interview.
On his new contract:
“It’s amazing. When I found out the deal was happening and I’m officially signing, it was like another dream come true. It was another step for me as I’m continuing to go after my dreams. It was something you can’t really picture or put words to because it’s all you’ve ever dreamed of doing your whole life. When it did happen, all I could do was sit back and thank God. It just felt like something out of a movie.”
On his incredible steals numbers (if he qualified, he’d lead the league in steal percentage and steals per 36 minutes):
“I’ve always felt like defense is 90 percent heart. The other 10 percent you get from developing skill, having length, all that other stuff. With me, I just take every possession personal. I’m not the guy they bring up when they talk about great defensive players, but I’m gonna make sure I am soon enough. It’s more about the mindset.
“I’m not sure I’m eligible for NBA All-Defense or anything like that, but I want to be in that category. I feel like I’m in that category as one of those best defenders, even though I’m a rookie.”
It’s an interesting read and worth checking out in full if you’re an Athletic subscriber.
Here’s more from the Southwest:
- The Pelicans guaranteed themselves a spot in the play-in tournament by beating the Kings on Tuesday night, Guillory writes in a separate article. Brandon Ingram is excited for what the team can show once they get Zion Williamson back in action. “When you look at it on paper, it’s exciting. It’s like, ‘OK, we added CJ (McCollum). If you throw the big fella in there, it’s going to be serious,'” Ingram told The Athletic. “We’re just monitoring him as he continues to go through his rehab and do more work. It’s good to have him back. It looks like he’s having fun around the guys. It’s good to have him around.”
- After defeating the Nuggets on Tuesday, the Spurs are also guaranteed a spot in the play-in, and Keita Bates-Diop‘s versatility has proven to be valuable, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “I am big and long enough to play most positions and I know how to play,” Bates-Diop said. “It’s not just the size. It’s knowing the coverages, knowing one through five. I am knowledgeable about a bunch of different things, so they trust me out there at the five.”
- The Raptors have earned a playoff berth, which means the Spurs now hold three first-round picks in the 2022 draft, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The Spurs acquired the lottery-protected pick in the deal that sent Thaddeus Young to the Raptors. The Spurs own Toronto’s pick, Boston’s pick (via the Derrick White trade), and their own.
Matisse Thybulle Ineligible To Play In Canada
Sixers swingman Matisse Thybulle is listed as ineligible to play on the team’s latest injury report and will miss Thursday’s game against the Raptors, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays (via Twitter).
This is significant news because a report last week indicated that the Sixers might have unvaccinated players. On January 15, Canada implemented a rule barring unvaccinated players from entering the country.
If the Sixers face the Raptors in the playoffs, any Philly players who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 would be ineligible to cross the border to play in Toronto. Based on the injury report, the lone player impacted appears to be Thybulle.
Philadelphia is currently the No. 4 seed in the East and Toronto is the No. 5 seed, so as of right now they would meet in the first round of the playoffs, but that could change with three games remaining. The Sixers are in a three-way tie for the second-best record in the East at 49-30, while the Raptors hold a one-game lead on the Bulls.
As Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports observes (via Twitter), Thybulle would presumably miss games 3, 4, and 6 (if necessary) of a playoff series if the two teams are matched up. Thybulle will forfeit Thursday’s game check worth $31,006 due to being ineligible to play, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Thybulle is an elite defender and arguably the league’s premier perimeter stopper. He earned a second-team All-Defense nod last season in just his second season despite only playing 20 minutes a game, a testament to his outsized impact. He will surely be in the conversation for another All-Defensive team honor this season.
Through 64 games this season, including 49 starts, Thybulle is averaging 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks in 25.4 minutes per contest. He isn’t an offensive threat, but the Sixers don’t need him to be with fellow starters Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris more than capable of scoring plenty of points.
The Sixers close their regular season schedule at Toronto on Thursday, followed by home back-to-backs against Indiana and Detroit over the weekend.
Thunder Sign Melvin Frazier Jr. To Two-Way Deal
The Thunder have signed Melvin Frazier Jr. to a two-way deal and waived Olivier Sarr to make room for Frazier, the team announced in a press release.
Frazier, 25, was the 35th overall pick of the 2018 draft after three years at Tulane. He played his first couple seasons with the Magic, appearing in 29 games with a modest average of 5.9 minutes per contest.
He has spent more time in the G League than the NBA over the last four years, appearing in 41 games with the Lakeland Magic from 2018-20, then suiting up for the Oklahoma City Blue in the 2021 NBAGL bubble. This season Frazier split time between the Iowa Wolves and the Blue, appearing in 50 games (30.2 MPG) and averaging 13.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.5 SPG.
Sarr, 23, was signed to a two-way deal back in February after spending the majority of the season with the Blue. Prior to the two-way deal, he’d signed a couple of 10-day hardship contracts with the Thunder.
In 22 games (19.1 MPG) with the Thunder this season, Sarr posted solid averages of 7.0 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .574/.448/.828 shooting. The shooting splits are particularly impressive from the 7’0″ big man.
Opting to waive Sarr is pretty surprising, because he’d played the best basketball of his young NBA career over the last five games (30.3 MPG), averaging 14.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 1.4 BPG on .628/.538/.929 shooting. That stretch included a 24-point (on 9-12 shooting), six-rebound, two-block performance in just 22 minutes in the team’s shocking 117-96 win over the Suns on Sunday.
The Thunder are currently carrying 20 players on the roster, including a full 15-man standard rotation, three players on injury-related hardship deals that expire when the season ends, and a pair of two-ways.
Two Arkansas Players Among Draft’s Recent Early Entrants
Arkansas sophomore forward/center Jaylin Williams announced this week that he’ll test the NBA draft waters this spring, entering the 2022 draft pool while maintaining his college eligibility, as Curtis Wilkerson of HawgSports.com details.
A reserve for most of his freshman year, Williams entered the starting lineup for the Razorbacks in 2021/22, filling up the box score with 10.9 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, and 1.1 BPG in 37 games (31.6 MPG). While he only made 46.1% of his shots from the field, including 23.9% from the floor, Williams made the All-SEC First Team and SEC All-Defensive team. He’s currently the No. 45 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
Williams’ teammate, Arkansas senior shooting guard Au’Diese Toney, is also entering the 2022 NBA draft, he announced on Instagram. Toney’s announcement doesn’t say anything about maintaining his final year of NCAA eligibility, so it sounds like he intends to go pro after averaging 10.5 PPG and 5.2 RPG in 36 games (32.4 MPG) for Arkansas following three seasons at Pitt.
Here are a few more players who recently declared for the draft or announced they intend to:
Expected to remain in draft and forgo remaining NCAA eligibility:
- Luka Brajkovic, F, Davidson (senior) (Twitter link via Jon Chepkevich)
- Justin Minaya, G/F, Providence (senior) (Instagram link)
- Anthony Polite, G/F, Florida State (senior) (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports)
- Tariq Silver, G, Austin Peay (senior) (Twitter link)
- Malachi Smith, G, Chattanooga (junior) (Twitter link)
Testing draft waters:
- Emmanuel Akot, G/F, Boise State (senior) (Twitter link)
- Theo Akwuba, C, Louisiana (senior) (Twitter link)
- Yuri Collins, G, Saint Louis (junior) (Twitter link)
- Jaiden Delaire, F, Stanford (senior) (link via Joe Tipton of On3.com)
- Daylen Kountz, G, Northern Colorado (senior) (Twitter link)
Kentucky’s TyTy Washington To Enter 2022 NBA Draft
Kentucky freshman guard TyTy Washington Jr. will enter the 2022 NBA draft and go pro, he tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Sources tell Wojnarowski that Washington will hire agent Kevin Bradbury of REP1 Sports for his representation, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility.
Washington, who started 29 of the 31 games he played for the Wildcats as a freshman, averaged 12.5 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 3.5 RPG in 29.2 minutes per contest with a .451/.350/.750 shooting line. He was named to the SEC’s All-Freshman Team and also made the All-SEC Second Team despite sustaining an ankle injury in January that limited his production the rest of the way.
Currently the No. 14 prospect on ESPN’s big board, Washington looks like a potential lottery pick. In his scouting report on the 6’4″ guard, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony praises Washington’s shooting and passing and notes that his defense – once considered a major weakness – improved over the course of his freshman season.
However, Givony cautions that Washington’s efficiency and production dipped noticeably following his ankle sprain, so teams with late-lottery picks will have to determine how much of that drop-off can be attributed directly to the injury. The 20-year-old also had arguably his worst game of the year in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, scoring just five points on 2-of-10 shooting as the No. 2 Wildcats fell to No. 15 St. Peter’s.
Washington is the second Kentucky underclassman to declare for the 2022 draft, joining teammate Keion Brooks.
Jazz Held Players-Only Meeting On Monday
On Monday, two days after they blew yet another fourth-quarter lead en route to a loss in Golden State, the Jazz held a players-only meeting in their practice facility, center Rudy Gobert told Sam Amick and Tony Jones of The Athletic.
According to Gobert, the meeting was the first of its kind for the team this season and gave the players a chance to “sit together and just be honest with each other” after losing six of seven games. “Everyone talked” during the meeting, Gobert said.
“That’s what was great about it,” he said. “I think a lot of teams have those (meetings). It’s man to man. It’s great. We all need that, whether it’s your wife or your teammates or your friends, sometimes. It’s great to just express yourself.
“… For us, it’s about communication during the game when things go wrong. We felt like we were just getting disconnected. And other teams could see with our body language and everything. So for us, just embrace the moment and embrace the opportunity. And at the end of the day, we’re making the playoffs, and no matter who’s in front of us, we’ve got to give it our best shot.”
On Tuesday, prior to Utah’s game vs. Memphis, head coach Quin Snyder – who has been the subject of plenty of speculation himself – came to his media session armed with a stat sheet and attempted to push back against a pair of narratives that have recently plagued the Jazz — the perception that the team can’t hold a fourth-quarter lead and the idea that Donovan Mitchell rarely passes to Gobert.
As Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune details, some of the stats Synder cited weren’t entirely accurate and not all of his arguments were convincing. A couple of Snyder’s comments perhaps even raised more questions than they answered, including his statement that Gobert and Mitchell “sit at the same table when they eat sometimes.”
Still, Gobert believes Monday’s players-only meeting will help the Jazz move forward and pointed to Tuesday’s result – an overtime win against the Grizzlies – as one that might not have happened a week ago when the team was struggling to communicate and to play for one another.
“I think we both realize that it’s about helping each other out and embracing the moment,” Gobert said of his relationship with Mitchell, per The Athletic. “If we do that, we know that good things will happen. Once again, it’s never going to be perfect. But if I do things to try to lift him up, and he does those things to try to lift me up.
“Some nights, things can go wrong. It’s basketball. You don’t win every game every night. Sometimes you have some bad nights. But if the trust is there, you’re in great shape. And that’s what we pretty much told each other.”
And-Ones: Key Dates, Las Vegas, 2021 Draft, Clemons
If a team wants to waive a player who is on an expiring contract, that move will have to be made by Thursday at 5:00 pm ET, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Players on multiyear deals can be cut after that, but a player in the final year of his contract must clear waivers before Sunday.
Sunday is also the last day for NBA teams to officially sign a player or convert a player from a two-way contract to a standard deal, Marks adds. That deadline has typically varied from team to team, depending on when the club plays its final regular season game — this year, all 30 teams will play their regular season finales on April 10.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Having bought a 66-acre parcel of land in Las Vegas, the Oak View Group intends to build and run an arena that could one day attract an NBA team, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. The plan is to open the arena in 2026, and consultant Marc Badain says it will be “NBA-ready.” The league has long stated that expansion isn’t in its immediate plans, but if and when that changes, Seattle and Las Vegas are considered two of the top candidates for franchises.
- Within the same story, Vorkunov also explores the increased number of fines the NBA has handed out to players who use profanity this season, examining why those penalties have become more frequent and where the league seems to draw the line.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at the NBA’s impressive 2021 draft class and considers whether it could end up rivaling the 1996 class, which Hollinger considers the best ever.
- As Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw first reported (via Twitter), Maine Celtics guard Chris Clemons was named the NBA G League’s Player of the Month for March. He averaged 29.0 points, 5.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game in 11 appearances, including a 52-point outburst on March 17 vs Lakeland.
Luca Vildoza Signs With Bucks
APRIL 6: The Bucks have officially signed Vildoza, the team announced today in a press release. As we relayed on Tuesday, the two-year deal isn’t guaranteed for next season.
APRIL 4: Free agent guard Luca Vildoza is signing a two-year contract with the Bucks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
Vildoza has fully recovered from foot surgery and will be activated by the defending champions for the playoffs. His agent, Alex Saratsis of Octagon Sports, and Bucks GM Jon Horst are expected to finalize terms of the deal this week, Wojnarowski adds.
Vildoza underwent the surgical procedure in October.
The Knicks signed him to a four-year deal last May but the contract wasn’t guaranteed beyond last season. They waived the Argentinian guard prior to his surgery.
Vildoza had negotiated a contract buyout with Baskonia of the Spanish ACB League before agreeing to the deal with the Knicks. Vildoza, 26, played for Argentina in the Olympics before joining the Knicks in the Las Vegas Summer League. He made brief appearances in two of those games, but averaged just 6.4 minutes and didn’t score any points.
Milwaukee had an open spot on its 15-man roster. The Bucks lost wing DeAndre’ Bembry to a season-ending knee injury last month and Vildoza will give them more depth at both guard spots.
Bulls Officially Rule Out Lonzo Ball For Season
The Bulls have officially announced that point guard Lonzo Ball will miss the rest of the 2021/22 season, confirming the news in a press release. Multiple reports on Tuesday indicated this was the likely outcome.
According to the Bulls, Ball – who underwent left knee surgery on January 28 – is still experiencing pain when he engages in high-level physical activity. The plan is for him to continue receiving daily treatment and progressing through rehab as he prepares to return for the start of the 2022/23 season.
Ball has been out since January 14 after suffering a bone bruise and torn meniscus in his left knee. The team initially estimated a six-to-eight week recovery timeline, but Ball experienced a couple setbacks during that process and ultimately ran out of time to get healthy and ramped up.
Acquired in a sign-and-trade deal with New Orleans last offseason, Ball played a major role in Chicago’s impressive first half. He started 35 games at point guard, averaging 13.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.1 APG, and 1.8 SPG with a .423 3PT% and solid defense.
As K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes, the Bulls have noticeably missed Ball’s “swagger” and his ability to make an impact on both ends of the court. The club had a net rating of +3.1 and a defensive rating of 107.0 with Ball on the floor, compared to -1.6 and 114.5 without him.
If the Bulls, who have slipped to No. 6 in the East, are going to make any noise in the postseason, they’ll have to do so without Ball. Had they been fully healthy, the Bulls might’ve employed a closing lineup of Ball, Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic. According to Johnson, that group had a +12.5 net rating this season, but only played 95 minutes together.
Ball’s contract with the Bulls includes two more guaranteed years, with a player option for 2024/25, so he’ll remain a crucial part of their long-term core going forward.