Rockets’ Stephen Silas Uncertain If He’ll Be Retained
Stephen Silas said he’s proud of the job he’s done with the Rockets, even though there’s heavy speculation he may not retained for next season, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Silas was hired with a four-year contract but this is the last season that the contract is guaranteed. The club holds a team option for 2023/24 and could be in the market for a new voice. The rebuilding Rockets had the league’s second-worst record at 19-60 entering their game against Denver on Tuesday.
“I have not been perfect at all. But I am proud of the job that I’ve done,” Silas said. “I have a three-year contract, and this is the last home game of my three years. So whatever happens, happens after this. But I can’t be anything but proud.”
The Rockets are headed to the next stage of the rebuild, and it could be accelerated with some lottery luck if they land the top pick. It’s uncertain whether Silas will get a chance to be a part of it. He has not spoken with GM Rafael Stone or team owner Tilman Fertitta about his future.
Whichever way it shakes out, Silas is happy for the experience.
“I learned a lot about myself,” Silas said. “I learned a lot about coaching in the NBA. I’ve learned a lot about dealing with adversity. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to coach this team. I’m grateful to have the Rockets’ logo on my chest. I’m just grateful.”
New York Notes: Bridges, Knicks’ Future, Randle, Toppin
Mikal Bridges outplayed Utah’s Lauri Markkanen, the favorite for the Most Improved Player award, in the Nets’ one-point win over the Jazz on Sunday. So why shouldn’t Bridges get consideration for the award? Brian Lewis of the New York Post makes that point.
Bridges has delivered 11 30-point games for the Nets, including three in his last four, after posting just two in 365 games before the Suns traded him. He was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
We have more on the New York teams:
- The Knicks have exceeded expectations and their future is bright, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. Jalen Brunson has been better than anyone anticipated, Julius Randle had a bounce-back campaign and some of their younger players have stepped up. They also have the means to get even better in the future, considering that no top-eight team in either conference has the surplus of first-round picks they do.
- Is there a silver lining to Randle’s left ankle injury? Chris Herring of Sports Illustrated explores that topic and believes — assuming Randle can come back close to full strength once he’s reevaluated next week — it could be a blessing in disguise. In the midst of the Knicks’ current four-game winning streak, other players have filled the scoring void, including Josh Hart, Quentin Grimes, Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley. That should give Randle more trust in those players than he had in the offensively challenged group around him in the Knicks’ last playoff journey.
- Speaking of Toppin, he could be auditioning for an extension this offseason while filling in for Randle, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post notes. He has scored 33 points in his first two starts this season. “Just playing to his strengths,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Every player has strengths, every player has weaknesses. Stay away from your weaknesses, play to your strengths, understand who you are playing with.”
Western Notes: Doncic, Brunson, Bamba, Vassell, Sochan, Popovich
With the Mavericks seemingly headed for postseason elimination, Luka Doncic acknowledged that he misses former backcourt partner Jalen Brunson “a lot,” Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News reports.
“I mean, amazing guy, amazing player. For sure,” the Mavericks’ franchise player added.
Doncic describes the Mavericks’ season as “very disappointing” due to chemistry issues, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “I think you don’t see that chemistry we had before — I mean, especially last year,” Doncic said. “I think that chemistry was at the top, everybody. But chemistry builds not just not right away. It’s a long process.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The Lakers could have another frontcourt option as soon as Tuesday. They have upgraded Mohamed Bamba to doubtful for their game with Utah, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. Bamba has been sidelined since March 5 with a left ankle sprain. In a Late Night Lake Show podcast, Buha said he “would not be surprised if (Bamba is) back by the end of the week.” (video link).
- Spurs swingman Devin Vassell has been out since March 26 with a knee ailment. Jeremy Sochan has been sidelined since March 22, also due to a knee issue. It’s likely both are done for the season. Sochan has far exceeded the number of games he played last season at Baylor, while Vassell is coming off surgery performed in January, so the Spurs are playing it cautious, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets.
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said that hearing he’d been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame was an “out of body experience,” Orsborn writes. Popovich got the news Saturday in a phone call from Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo. “Sort of a phone call you never think about or expect,” Popovich said “It’s like somebody telling you the earth is flat, some weird feeling that you have, an out-of-body experience, because it’s not what you grow up thinking.”
Southeast Notes: Young, Wizards, Heat Arena, Magic
Trae Young will miss the Hawks’ showdown with the Bulls in Chicago on Tuesday due to a non-COVID illness, the team tweets. The Hawks are currently tied with Toronto for eighth place in the East at 39-39 with Chicago right behind at 38-40. Seedings for the play-in tournament are up for grabs and finishing seventh or eighth provides teams with an advantage.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards will retain their 2023 first-round pick by virtue of missing the playoffs, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington notes. The pick this year was lottery protected, stemming from a 2020 trade with the Rockets. The Knicks are now owed the Wizards’ 2024 pick, which is top-12 protected — that protection decreases to top-10 in 2025 and top-eight in 2026. If none of those convey, the Knicks would receive two second-round picks in 2026 and 2027.
- The Heat’s home arena is now called Kaseya Center, the team announced in a press release. The building was called American Airlines Arena from 1999-2021 and FTX Arena from 2021-23. Kaseya is a global provider of unified IT management and security software for managed services providers and IT professionals.
- The Magic have faint playoff hopes — they need to win their remaining four games and hope Chicago goes 0-4 this week. However, Orlando is energized by the fact it has hung around the postseason picture this long, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel writes. “Regardless, we’re going to continue playing to win,” guard Jalen Suggs said. “I said it last week before our road trip; I’ll say it again: we’re not playing this game to just go out there. … We’re going out to win, night in and night out.”
Blazers Sign Justin Minaya For Rest Of Season
The Trail Blazers have called up forward Justin Minaya from the G League to finish the season with the team, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link).
The son of veteran baseball executive Omar Minaya, Justin Minaya went undrafted out of Providence in 2022 and spent most of his first professional season playing for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League. In 27 NBAGL regular season appearances (35.1 MPG), he averaged 12.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.1 steals with a shooting line of .487/.339/.472.
The NBA’s transaction log confirms that the Blazers have officially signed Minaya to a 10-day contract. There are fewer than 10 days left in the regular season, but 10-day deals can still be signed if a team is granted a hardship provision due to an excessive number of injuries.
Portland has already added two extra players to its roster on 10-day contracts via the hardship provision, but qualified to sign a third. Damian Lillard, Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and Cam Reddish have all missed the last three or more games for the team due to injuries. A team can become eligible for a hardship signing when it has just four players who fit that bill, then can qualify for an extra replacement for each additional injured player.
Minaya’s hardship 10-day deal will expire when the regular season ends. He’ll immediately become a free agent at that time and Portland won’t hold any form of Bird rights on him this summer. The Blazers are now carrying 20 players, including two-ways.
Duke’s Dereck Lively Among Draft’s Recent Early Entrants
Duke center Dereck Lively II announced on Tuesday that he’s entering his name in the 2023 NBA draft, confirming his decision in a video on Twitter. There’s no mention in Lively’s statement or a press release from the school about him preserving his remaining NCAA eligibility, so it sounds like he intends to go pro.
A 7’2″ center, Lively doesn’t have much of an offensive game, having averaged just 5.2 points in 20.6 minutes (34 games) during his first and only college season. However, his defensive upside is significant and he’s considered perhaps the best shot blocker in this year’s draft class, having averaged 2.4 BPG for the Blue Devils.
John Hollinger of The Athletic recently wrote that the floor spacing at the NBA level should give Lively more room to operate as a rim runner. He has shown some passing ability and the potential to make corner threes, according to Hollinger, so there’s reason to be hopeful that he could develop a passable offensive game to go along with his game-changing defense.
Lively is the No. 22 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
Here are more updates on early entrants declaring for the draft in recent days:
- Indiana senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis will forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter the 2023 NBA draft, he announced on Instagram. A possible first-round pick, Jackson-Davis is the No. 31 prospect on ESPN’s board after an impressive 2022/23 season in which he averaged a double-double (20.9 PPG, 10.8 RPG) to go along with 4.0 APG and 2.9 BPG in 32 contests (34.5 MPG).
- Arkansas junior guard Ricky Council IV has declared for the draft, making his announcement on Twitter. Based on his statement, it sounds like Council will forgo his remaining college eligibility. The No. 43 prospect on ESPN’s top 100, Council transferred to the Razorbacks after two years at Wichita State. His shooting percentages dipped a little in 2022/23, to 43.3% from the floor and 27.0% on threes, but he averaged 16.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.3 APG in 36 games (34.1 MPG) and has “an NBA-caliber frame and exceptional explosiveness,” per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
- The following players are also entering the draft and will maintain their NCAA eligibility unless otherwise noted:
- Boo Buie, G, Northwestern (senior) (Twitter link)
- Jalen Carey, G, Rhode Island (senior) (Instagram link)
- Note: Carey also entered the transfer portal.
- Wendell Green, G, Auburn (junior) (Twitter link)
- Note: Green is expected to forgo his remaining eligibility.
- Olivier Nkamhoua, F, Tennessee (senior) (Twitter link via Jeff Borzello of ESPN)
- Note: Nkamhoua also entered the transfer portal.
- Tylor Perry, G, North Texas (senior) (Twitter link)
- Note: Perry also entered the transfer portal.
- Antonio Reeves, G, Kentucky (senior) (Instagram link)
- Tolu Smith, F, Mississippi State (senior) (Instagram link)
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 4/4/2023
The transcript of our weekly Tuesday can be accessed here.
Join Luke Adams for our next live chat on Thursday.
Wizards’ Jay Huff Named G League Defensive Player Of The Year
Big man Jay Huff, who is on a two-way contract with the Wizards, has been named the G League’s Defensive Player of the Year, the NBA announced today (via Twitter). Thirty NBAGL head coaches and general manager voted on the award.
Huff, 25, began the G League season playing for the South Bay Lakers before joining the Capital City Go-Go when he signed his two-way deal with Washington in early March.
In 46 total games for South Bay and Capital City across both the Showcase Cup and the NBAGL regular season, Huff blocked an incredible 145 shots, which works out to a league-leading 3.2 per game.
The Go-Go had the G League’s 12th-best defensive rating before adding Huff and had the third-best mark following his arrival. Conversely, South Bay ranked No. 7 in defensive rating following Huff’s last game with the team and were just 14th the rest of the way.
Huff’s two-way contract only covers the 2022/23 season, so he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency this summer. He has only logged 15 total minutes in four appearances at the NBA level for the Wizards this season.
Veteran guard Kris Dunn, who was briefly teammates with Huff on the Go-Go, finished second in G League Defensive Player of the Year voting, while South Bay Lakers guard Shaquille Harrison was third (Twitter link). Dunn is now with the Jazz; Harrison is on a 10-day deal with the Trail Blazers.
Injury Notes: Zion, Luka, Sexton, Markkanen, Avdija, Barrett
As the Pelicans move closer toward securing a place in the postseason, forward Zion Williamson is still pushing to return to action before his team’s season ends. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Williamson – who has been sidelined since January 2 due to a right hamstring strain – has progressed to participating in some “low-intensity” 3-on-3 with coaches, but hasn’t yet been cleared for 5-on-5 scrimmages or full contact.
Sources tell Charania that New Orleans, unsurprisingly, will take a cautious approach with Williamson’s ramp-up process and won’t rush him just because the playoffs are around the corner. Based on Charania’s reporting, it sounds like the Pelicans would have a chance to get Williamson back on the court if they play a full first-round series, but shouldn’t necessarily count on having him available for any play-in games.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Despite a report stating that the slumping Mavericks are seriously considering shutting down Luka Doncic for the season, the star guard told reporters that he intends to suit up on Wednesday vs. Sacramento, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “When there’s still a chance (to make the playoffs), I’m going to play,” Doncic said. The Mavs have officially listed both Doncic ((left thigh injury recovery) and Kyrie Irving (right foot injury recovery) as probable for Wednesday (Twitter link).
- With the Jazz‘s play-in hopes still on life support, guard Collin Sexton (left hamstring strain) will be available on Tuesday for the first time since February 15, according to the team (Twitter link). However, star forward Lauri Markkanen has been ruled out for the game vs. the Lakers due to his left hand contusion.
- The Wizards‘ injury list continues to grow, with the team announcing today in a press release that forward Deni Avdija will miss at least the next two games due to left elbow bursitis. The team isn’t yet ruling out Avdija for its final two games of the season.
- Knicks forward RJ Barrett has been cleared to return in Indiana on Wednesday after missing Sunday’s game due to a non-COVID illness, tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
Heat Notes: Adebayo, Robinson, Cain, Love
Heat big man Bam Adebayo, who missed Saturday’s game due to a right hip contusion, should be back in action on Tuesday when the team visits Detroit. Adebayo has been upgraded to probable for tonight’s contest, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Additionally, since the Sioux Falls Skyforce’s season came to an end on Sunday with a playoff loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Heat’s two-way players – Orlando Robinson and Jamal Cain – are back from the G League and will be available on Tuesday vs. Detroit, per Winderman.
Robinson piled up 28 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, and three blocks in Sunday’s NBAGL Western Conference Finals loss, but Cain struggled, scoring just four points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- With Adebayo sidelined on Saturday, Kevin Love came off the bench for the first time since arriving in Miami and had his best game as a member of the Heat, scoring 18 points in 19 minutes. Now it’s up to head coach Erik Spoelstra to determine whether Love should be reinserted into the starting five or whether keeping him a reserve role makes more sense, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. For his part, Love expressed no preference. “Whatever coach wants,” he said. “I told him that even before I got here. I said, ‘Listen, I’m not tripping about starting, coming off the bench. I just love to play my minutes extremely hard and try to make an impact.'”
- The Heat have a history of signing developmental prospects to multiyear contracts late in the season and still have their mid-level exception available if they want to do so this week, says Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. However, Miami doesn’t have any openings on its 15-man roster to promote Robinson or Cain or to sign an outside free agent, and it’s unclear whether the club would be willing to cut any of its current players to accommodate such a signing.
- Nine of the 15 players on the Heat’s standard roster went undrafted, which has been a factor in the team’s tendency to play with a chip on its shoulder in recent years, Jackson notes in the same story. But guard Tyler Herro and Spoelstra feel as if this year’s group hasn’t consistently drawn on that source of motivation. “Having a monster-size chip on our shoulders has always been a big part of guys’ identities,” Spoelstra said. “That could be a chip on the shoulder or could just be savage competitiveness. At our core, that’s who we are. That’s not who we have been consistently the last 12 to 15 games. In pockets, we’ve done that.”