Southwest Notes: Poole, Hawkins, Flagg, Durant

Jordan Poole has been benched for the last four games for the Pelicans in favor of a starting lineup of Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey, Zion Williamson, and Dereck Queen. This move sent rookie point guard Jeremiah Fears to the bench and Poole out of the rotation altogether, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com.

“Obviously, Poole will stay ready and he’ll be ready to go,” head coach James Borrego said when asked about the veteran guard’s diminished playing time. “(He was) back at it today in practice and so we expect him to stay ready. You never know when your number is going to get called. Everybody who has stepped in for us this year has made an impact. I expect him to do the same.”

Poole has been rumored to be a trade candidate for New Orleans, given his up-and-down play and role with the team since being brought over in a trade with the Wizards in the offseason.

He’s averaging the fewest minutes (25.4), points (14.5), and assists (3.1) since 2020/21, his second season in the league. He has started only six games, the fewest of any season of his career.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

• Jordan Hawkins is probably the Pelicans player most likely to be traded at this year’s deadline, Walker writes. Hawkins, like Poole, has been excised from the rotation of late, having not seen the floor in the last six games. After a promising sophomore campaign in which he averaged 10.8 points in 23.6 minutes per game, the third-year guard has struggled to find a rhythm this season, averaging just 4.3 points on .320/.301/.778 shooting splits. Billed as a shooting specialist coming out of UConn, Hawkins has hit just 34.2% of his career threes, but he’s still just 23 years old and could be viewed as someone needing a change of scenery.
• The Mavericks believe that Cooper Flagg doesn’t get a fair whistle on his drive, and the numbers might back that up, writes Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News. Curtis notes that Flagg drives to the rim 11.9 times per game, an equivalent rate as the Wolves’ Anthony Edwards, but gets only 1.8 free throw attempts on those drives, compared to Edwards’ 3.3. “You just gotta play through it,” Flagg said. “It’s not the first time in my life that I probably haven’t gotten calls and it probably won’t be the last.” Coach Jason Kidd had a slightly more less serene take on the matter after Saturday’s loss to the Rockets, lambasting the referees over what he perceived as a missed call on Amen Thompson, as did former owner Mark Cuban. “He’s going to continue to keep going until he hears the whistle,” Kidd said. “There were a lot of fouls missed with this young man. Maybe they just don’t know his game yet, but that’s who he is. He’s going to continue. He’s not going to get discouraged.” The no-call was ultimately upheld by the league in the NBA’s last two-minute report (Twitter video link).
• Kevin Durant will miss the Rockets‘ game on Monday in Indiana with a left ankle sprain, Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files notes (via Twitter). Durant played 38 minutes in the win over the Mavericks, going 6-17 from the field for 13 points. Will Guillory of the Athletic writes that this will be Durant’s first game missed due to injury this season (Twitter link).