2022 November | Hoops Rumors

Billy Donovan Has Contract Extension With Bulls

November 29th, 2022 at 12:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Billy Donovan signed an extension with the Bulls before the season began, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Donovan had two years remaining on his current deal when he negotiated the extension during the offseason. Charania doesn’t provide details of the extension, but he writes that Donovan is now under contract “for several more years.”

Chicago is just 86-88 under Donovan, but the team has shown steady progress since he became head coach. The Bulls were coming off a 22-win season when he was hired in 2020. They went 31-41 in Donovan’s first season, then improved to 46-36 and reached the playoffs for the first time in five years.

Charania points out that Chicago was among the league’s best teams last season before Lonzo Ball‘s knee injury in January. Through January 1, the Bulls were fifth in the league in offense and 10th in defense and they held the best record in the East for much of that time.

The team is currently 8-10 as Ball remains sidelined after another surgical procedure on his left knee in September. Sources tell Charania that Ball and the team remain hopeful that he can return sometime in the new year.

The 57-year-old Donovan came to the NBA in 2017 after winning two NCAA championships at Florida. He compiled a 243-157 record as head coach in Oklahoma City, which was a playoff team in all five seasons he spent there.

De’Aaron Fox Discusses Agent Change, Love For Sacramento, More

November 29th, 2022 at 11:41am CST by Luke Adams

After previously being represented by Chris Gaston and the Family First Sports Firm, Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox decided to change agencies and switch to Klutch Sports earlier this month. That move fueled some speculation about Fox’s future, but he tells Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report that his decision doesn’t mean he has any desire to leave Sacramento.

“When you’re an athlete who has any notoriety and you make a major change, it’s going to circulate and people are going to speculate. But for me, I love being in Sacramento,” Fox said. “This move had nothing to do with wanting to be traded or wanting to move on. This has more to do with myself and the business of basketball, and I feel like they’re able to help me in ways that I’ve never been able to be helped before. It was really a level up.”

Fox went on to explain that he believes Klutch Sports is “one of the best (agencies) in the game” not just for basketball but for “off-the-court business ventures.”

“Whenever you say Klutch, people start to speculate and they start talking about you,” Fox said. “There’s always a contentious effort to place me in rooms my money can’t put me in. Which again, it’s added value and more of a reason to make the switch. They just view things differently than most.”

Here are a few more notable quotes from Fox’s conversations with Haynes:

On playing basketball in Sacramento and why he wants to stick with the Kings:

“I love being here in Sacramento. The fan interactions, it’s kind of like being at Kentucky. No matter how good the other sports are, it’s always going to be about basketball whenever you’re in that city. If you’re able to win here, I feel like it’s just a different feeling. And obviously being able to stay with the team that drafted you, somewhere you’re comfortable as far as life goes.

“Being in this city, in one place for a long time plays a major part in it. If I’m able to help this team go to the playoffs and hopefully win a championship at some point in my career, I feel like nothing would ever top that. Being able to say that you won a championship for the Sacramento Kings, like, that’s unheard of, right? People would say that you’re crazy. And if I was able to do that at any point, that would be the best thing ever in my career.”

On whether he views this season as a breakout year for him:

“I think defensively, I’ve been more consistent. I’ve always been one of the top finishers in the league regardless of position. But I think the main difference is when you’re winning, I think you get looked at differently. So that’s a testament to what (team owner) Vivek (Ranadive) and what (general manager) Monte (McNair) have put around me. I feel like I’ve played well my last three or four seasons. I think winning, that’s pretty much what’s changed.”

On the Kings’ outlook for the rest of the season:

“The way that we started this season, we feel like we could play with anybody. For me, it’s going out there and competing every night. One thing I’ve told everybody this year is to just be steady. You’re going to go through highs and lows of a season, you’re going to go through highs and lows of a game, and if you could just continue to just be steady, we’ll be in a position to be in the playoffs.”

Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony Set To Return For Magic

November 29th, 2022 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Magic will get some reinforcements in their backcourt when they host the Hawks on Wednesday, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel, who reports that guards Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony will be available for the game.

Fultz has yet to play at all this season due to a fractured toe that he suffered in September, right before training camps began. Anthony, meanwhile, has been dealing with a right internal oblique injury that has sidelined him since October 26. He has played just four games so far in 2022/23.

Fultz and Anthony were expected to play major roles in Orlando’s backcourt this season. In their absences, the team has leaned more heavily on Jalen Suggs at point guard, with R.J. Hampton also playing an increased role. Suggs and Hampton, along with rookie wing Caleb Houstan, are candidates to see their minutes cut back a little now that the Magic are getting healthier.

It will be a big year for Fultz, since the former No. 1 overall pick doesn’t have a fully guaranteed salary for the 2023/24 season. With just $2MM of his $17MM cap hit guaranteed for next season, he’ll be looking to stay healthy and secure a place in the Magic’s future plans. Injuries have limited Fultz to just 98 games since he arrived in Orlando in February 2019, and only 131 since he was drafted in 2017.

Anthony has a guaranteed contract for ’23/24, but it’s an important season for him too, since he’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2023 offseason.

Spurs Sign Alize Johnson, Waive Jordan Hall

November 29th, 2022 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

10:19am: The Spurs have officially signed Johnson and waived Hall, the team announced in a press release.

8:07am: The Spurs are making a change to the 15th spot on their roster, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links), who reports that the team is signing forward/center Alize Johnson and waiving guard Jordan Hall. Johnson will receive a one-year deal, agent George Langberg tells Wojnarowski.

A 2018 second-round pick, Johnson is a well-traveled NBA veteran who has appeared in regular season games for the Pacers, Nets, Bulls, Wizards, and Pelicans since entering the league out of Missouri State. He was in camp with the Spurs this fall, but was waived at the end of the preseason and ended up joining the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League affiliate.

Although Johnson’s career NBA numbers – 2.5 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 72 games (7.5 MPG) – are modest, he has excelled at the NBAGL level. In six games for Austin this fall, the 26-year-old put up 22.2 PPG, 10.7 RPG, and 3.0 APG on .598/.407/.800 shooting.

While Wojnarowski’s report doesn’t specify Johnson’s contract terms, it will likely be a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract, like the one Hall was on. That would give the Spurs to make another change to their 15th roster spot before the league-wide salary guarantee date in early January, if they so choose.

Hall, a 20-year-old rookie out of Saint Joseph’s, appeared in nine games for San Antonio, averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.3 RPG on .321/.200/.778 shooting in 9.2 MPG. Assuming he’s cut today, the Spurs will be on the hook for a $175,479 cap hit for Hall for the 28 days he spent on the roster and the two he’ll spend on waivers. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent, assuming he goes unclaimed.

With the Spurs in the midst of three consecutive off days, it’s unclear whether they expect to have forward Keita Bates-Diop (ankle), center Jakob Poeltl (quad), and forward Jeremy Sochan (quad) available when they resume play on Wednesday. If not, there could be an immediate path for playing time for Johnson.

Southeast Notes: Bogdanovic, Bol, Wizards, Richards

November 29th, 2022 at 9:33am CST by Luke Adams

Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic is expected to return to action and make his season debut within “the next few games,” general manager Landry Fields said this morning on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta (Twitter link via Mike Conti).

Bogdanovic has spent the last several months recovering after having undergone knee surgery in May. Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweeted over the weekend that the 30-year-old was getting some five-on-five work in with a combination of teammates and player development coaches, a sign that he was moving closer to a return.

The Hawks are in Orlando on Wednesday before returning to Atlanta for a brief homestand against the Nuggets on Friday and the Thunder on Monday. We’ll have to wait for further updates from the team to see if Bogdanovic is ready to play in either of those games.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Once considered a potential lottery pick, Bol Bol fell to No. 44 in the 2019 draft due to health concerns, and injuries limited him to 53 games in his first three NBA seasons. But the Magic big man is showing this season that he was worth the hype and worth the wait, writes Damian Burchardt of The Ringer. As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype details, Bol is drawing rave reviews from teammates (Paolo Banchero) and opponents (Kevin Durant) alike, having boosted his averages to 13.5 PPG and 7.9 RPG on .601/.419/.767 shooting through 21 games (27.1 MPG) this season.
The Wizards, 11-10 so far this season, have been a “quintessentially average NBA team,” according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, who says Washington has shown intriguing promise but still has its share of flaws. According to Kristaps Porzingis, it’s important that the club doesn’t let its focus wane during games. “If we want to be a top-five, top-six team (in the East), then we have to be on at all times,” he said. “We cannot let some of these games slip. But we’ll get there. We’ll get there.”
After playing just 430 total minutes in his first two NBA seasons, Hornets big man Nick Richards is already on the verge of surpassing that number in year three, having logged 413 minutes in his first 21 games. While he has shown this fall that he deserves a rotation spot, Richards doesn’t blame the Hornets for being patient with him, as he tells Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com. “Honestly I feel like the first two years were really good, were really more important years for me,” he said. “I sat back and learned from my vets that are in front of me. Just watched them and how they play on the floor, and just try to duplicate that.”

Raptors Notes: Achiuwa, Young, Hernangomez, Barnes, Trent

November 29th, 2022 at 7:31am CST by Luke Adams

Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa has been sidelined since November 9 after sustaining partial ligament tears in his right ankle and will remain on the shelf for the foreseeable future. Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters on Monday that it will be another two or three weeks before the team even has a clearer sense of a timeline for Achiuwa’s return, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

One silver lining of Achiuwa’s injury is that it has given two other Raptors bigs an opportunity to prove their mettle as regular contributors.

Veteran forward/center Thaddeus Young has averaged 10.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 1.6 SPG in eight games (26.7 MPG) since Achiuwa went down, while forward Juancho Hernangomez has averaged 6.6 PPG and 6.5 RPG in the same eight games (24.2 MPG). Neither player was a rotation mainstay during the early part of the season.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Young and Hernangomez were in the Raptors’ starting five on Monday vs. Cleveland, even with forward Pascal Siakam back in the lineup for the first time in 10 games. As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes, Gary Trent Jr. came off the bench for the first time this season and just the fourth time as a Raptor, while Scottie Barnes was a reserve for the first time in his NBA career.
Nurse didn’t say whether the new-look lineup would stick beyond Monday’s game, but explained to reporters that he wanted to maintain some continuity and not have so many players who were coming off absences (Siakam, Barnes) or struggling (Trent) in his starting five.
While both Barnes and Trent said on Monday that they were fine with the change, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca suggests that Barnes “didn’t seem thrilled about his demotion” to the bench. When he received some push-back on his interpretation, Lewenberg posted the video clip of Barnes addressing the move, tweeting that the reigning Rookie of the Year “didn’t sound like somebody who was psyched about his (temporary) move to the bench.” Lewenberg expects Barnes to be back in the starting five in short order if he shows he’s healthy and can be more consistent.

Anthony, Cousins, Thomas Uninterested In Taiwan League

November 28th, 2022 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It doesn’t appear than any other big-name veterans free agents are seriously considering signing with a Taiwanese team, Marc Stein reports in a Substack post.

Dwight Howard signed with Taoyuan Leopards earlier this month, though he’s currently sidelined with a knee injury.

However, three other former All-Stars who have reportedly drawn interest from Taiwanese teams — Carmelo Anthony, DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas — have shown no interest in playing there. The trio continue to wait for another NBA opportunity, regardless of any overseas interest, per Stein.

In terms of Cousins, it rebukes a report that he would soon sign with a team in the Taiwan league. Another report a couple of weeks back stated the Tainan TSG GhostHawks were pursuing Anthony. Stein also wrote in a previous post that Taiwanese teams were targeting Thomas.

Among those players, Anthony would appear to have the best chance of eventually signing another NBA deal. He averaged 13.3 points per game last season for the Lakers, and Stein says the opportunity to play a 20th NBA season “holds considerable meaning” for him.

Central Notes: Turner, Pacers, Middleton, Caruso

November 28th, 2022 at 10:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It’s uncertain how changing agents will impact Pacers center Myles Turner this season, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack newsletter.

Turner, who is headed to free agency, still has fans within the Pacers’ organization, according to Stein. His name has been in the trade rumor mill for quite awhile, though his initial hope was to play out this season and then head to free agency, Stein adds.

It remains to be seen whether the Pacers will hold onto Turner through the trade deadline if they’re unable to sign him to an extension. He’s averaging 18.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game this season.

We have more from the Central Division:

Even with Turner in the lineup, the Pacers are vulnerable to getting pushed around up front, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star notes. That point was reinforced by the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac, who powered his way to 31 points and 29 rebounds on Sunday. “He had a great presence around the basket. We didn’t do a good job on him,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “I don’t know what else there is to say.”
Bucks forward Khris Middleton was once again assigned to the G League’s Wisconsin Herd on Monday to get some practice time and then recalled, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. When asked if Middleton might return to action on Wednesday, coach Mike Budenholzer remained vague. “We’ll just see how today goes,” he said. “We’re not going to put anything ahead of itself and just hopefully he has another great session today, see how he feels and just the old cliché take it day by day.” Middleton underwent offseason wrist surgery and has yet to make his season debut.
The Bulls are keeping a close watch on Alex Caruso‘s minutes, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Caruso has been dealing with a right ankle sprain and hasn’t practiced in recent days. “Just trying to be conscientious of his minutes and those long stretches for him because he does play hard,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. “From my perspective, there are going to be some nights where he’s going to get over 30 minutes. For the most part, we’re just trying to manage how hard he does play and compete in relationship to the number of minutes he’s getting.’’

Karl-Anthony Towns Diagnosed With Calf Strain, Will Undergo MRI

November 28th, 2022 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves star forward Karl-Anthony Towns will be further evaluated on Tuesday after an initial diagnosis of a right calf strain, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets.

Towns suffered a non-contact injury during the third quarter of Minnesota’s contest against Washington on Monday night. He grabbed at the back of his leg as tried to head down the court. Towns needed assistance to be helped back to the locker room.

“Obviously super-concerned about that. Big blow for us,” coach Chris Finch said (Twitter link via David Aldridge of The Athletic).

Towns will get an MRI but there’s some early optimism that he may have avoided a substantial injury, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

It has been a disappointing season so far for the Timberwolves, whose record dropped to 10-11 with a loss to the Wizards. They were expected to be serious contenders in the Western Conference after the blockbuster trade with Utah that brought center Rudy Gobert to Minnesota.

An extended absence for Towns would make it much more difficult for a turnaround. He’s averaging 21.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

The Timberwolves frontcourt is already dealing with the absence of Taurean Prince, who expected to be out a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury. Jaden McDaniels missed Monday’s game due to an illness.

Suns Notes: Ayton, Paul, Payne, Landale

November 28th, 2022 at 7:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Deandre Ayton was named the Western Conference Player of the Week. The Suns have seen stretches of dominance from Ayton during his career but he hasn’t been able to sustain it.

The former No. 1 overall pick believes that putting up big numbers should be the “norm” at this stage of his career. Phoenix is certainly paying for that kind of production after matching Indiana’s four-year, $133MM offer sheet this summer.

“I want to be a great player, and you’ve got to be willing to put up numbers and win games night in, night out,” he told Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com. “So I think I’m to that point where this should be a norm. This is how I’m supposed to play.”

We have more on the Suns:

Chris Paul missed his 10th straight game on Monday due to right heel soreness, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. The Suns have gone 6-3 entering the game with Sacramento since Paul has been sidelined. Cameron Payne is averaging 17.7 points and 6.8 assists since he became a starter in place of Paul.
Backup big man Jock Landale has played sparingly but he provided a spark in a one-point win over Utah on Sunday, Rankin notes. Landale had four points, an offensive rebound and an assist in a five-minute cameo. “I think that’s the benefit of being on this team is we have three guys pretty much at every position that can hold it down,” Landale said. “They call on me to come in and help out and I just went in there and played hard and that’s the stuff I can control is going in and playing hard and helping the team out.”
In case you missed it, general manager James Jones was promoted to president of basketball operations. Get the details here.

Month: May 2024