The calf/Achilles issue that sidelined Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley for Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals hasn’t gone away — he’s listed as questionable for Game 1 of the Western finals. Conley will play on Wednesday, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), but the team will keep a close eye on that injury going forward.
“It honestly depends on if you can get through the game without having any small setback,” Conley said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “You have some movements that really kind of jar it or cause the pain to go up really quickly and kind of stays there for a little while. Some games I get through the whole game and you don’t have any setback and so you just kind of keep building upward and forward. So I’m just trying to stack as many of those days together as I can.”
Keeping Conley healthy will be crucial for the Wolves as they look to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In the series vs. Denver, the team had a +13.6 net rating in the 196 minutes he played, compared to a -6.7 mark in the 140 minutes he wasn’t on the floor.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- The early returns on their blockbuster trades for Rudy Gobert and Kyrie Irving weren’t great, but the Timberwolves and Mavericks saved those deals and raised their respective ceilings by returning to the trade market, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger points to Minnesota’s deal for Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dallas’ acquisitions of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford as follow-up moves that made those original trades look better and helped propel the two teams to the Western Conference finals.
- When the Suns were preparing to fire Frank Vogel earlier this month, some of their players – including Kevin Durant – lobbied team owner Mat Ishbia to hire Chauncey Billups away from the Trail Blazers, sources tell Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (subscription required). There’s no indication that Portland would have let Billups get away, despite his uncertain long-term future with the franchise. In any case, the Suns’ decision-makers had already “zeroed in” on Mike Budenholzer by the time they let go of Vogel, Highkin says.
- Tim Kawakami of The Athletic evaluates the plausibility of several possible trade targets who might be on the Warriors‘ offseason wish list, ranging from the extreme long shots (like Paul George and Lauri Markkanen) to the more plausible (including perhaps Jarrett Allen and Brandon Ingram).
As a warrior fan I don’t see any of those players coming to the warriors. Only Allen is worth taking a shot at but the Cavs probably can get a better deal from another team. Utah will get some big offers for Markkanen. Warriors need to get out of the high tax bracket so they can sign players for the bench. They are in the same situation as Clippers, and Suns too much money to star players so you have no bench.
Lakers should be able to acquire 3 players in July
Markkanen
Caruso
Derrick Jones
Affordable contracts
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Caruso is under contract still.
And how will they acquire those players?
They don’t have the assets to trade for Markkanen. Lakers might be able to trade for Caruso, but Chicago has always asked for a lot. I don’t know if Jones will be a free agent or not, but even if he is, he is probably looking for more money than the Lakers can afford.
At this point, why would the Mavs trade Derrick Jones for anything less than a massive overpay?
I assume their first barrier is him being a free agent account
With all the draft capital that Connelly GAVE to Utah, the only avenues open to he team for betterment were Free Agents and Trades.
That trade is looking like a win for Minnesota now that Gobert is back to DPOY, Kessler’s development stagnated, and the remaining picks owed to Utah should all come in the 20s to 30.
BTW, remember the Stepien rule. The Wolves have a 1st this year. They absolutely still can build through the draft, although I’m sure your statement was less about making an actual point and more about taking a shot at what’s turned out to be a good move by Connelly.
GSW should trade for Naz Reid.
I don’t see anything we would want badly enough from GS to justify trading the 6th man of the year. He provides extremely valuable minutes every single night.
KD wanting Billups tells you all you need to know.
Suns will be dumb to listen to any coaching moves he wants.
KD wanted Nash
KD wanted Vaughn
KD wanted to go to Suns had prior time with Monty
KD was ok with Vogel