DaQuan Jeffries Waived By Rockets
Rockets swingman DaQuan Jeffries has been waived by the club, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston. Across 13 games (including three starts) with the Rockets, Jeffries averaged 4.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.2 APG in 20.1 MPG.
Prior to his stint with the Rockets, Jeffries appeared in 18 games (including two starts) for the Kings this year, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 12.9 MPG.
As an undrafted rookie out of Tulsa on a two-way contract, the 6’5″ 23-year-old played in 13 games with Sacramento during the 2019/20 season. Over 27 games (including 22 starts) for the Kings’ G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, Jeffries averaged 16.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.9 APG and 1.2 SPG across 31.0 MPG that same season.
The move opens up a spot on Houston’s 15-man roster, which the team will use to sign Khyri Thomas to a multiyear contract.
Central Notes: Hayes, Bucks, Sampson, Jrue Holiday
Pistons rookie guard Killian Hayes has appreciated the opportunity to log some time as a combo guard alongside fellow rookie ball handler Saben Lee as Detroit’s season wraps up, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
“I love it,” the 6’5″ Hayes said of his minutes alongside Lee in the Pistons’ backcourt. “That’s the second game I played at the same time with Saben and I love being able to play and be off the ball… So, with me being off of it and Saben doing his thing, creating, I just like playing the combo guard.”
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- The Bucks will be boosting their home court crowd capacity to 50% (approximately 9K fans) for the playoffs, per an official team announcement. Milwaukee is currently hosting roughly 3,300 fans (18% of the Fiserv Forum’s capacity).
- Pacers forward JaKarr Sampson cleared the NBA’s concussion protocols and was able to return to the floor tonight for the first time since April 29, tweets J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star. The reserve appeared played 4 minutes in Indiana’s 103-94 win over the Sixers.
- Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday has clinched a $255K minutes-played bonus after logging 1,823 minutes during the 2020/21 season, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The 30-year-old has been a key contributor for a stellar Bucks season. Led by All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee is presently the No. 3 seed in the East with a 43-25 record.
Ankle Sprain To Sideline Mitchell For Rest Of Regular Season
All-Star Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell is set to miss the team’s final three regular season games due to an injured right ankle, the Jazz announced in a statement (via Twitter). The Jazz are currently the top seed in the Western Conference with a sparkling 50-19 record, 1.5 games clear of the Suns.
Mitchell initially suffered a right ankle sprain on April 16. Though there is no structural damage in the ankle, Utah has been understandably cautious in holding out one of its top performers.
The Jazz noted that the 24-year-old will stay in Salt Lake City and won’t join the team on the road as he undergoes further treatment on the afflicted ankle. The club said that Mitchell’s health status will be reassessed ahead of the start of the playoffs, which tip off on May 22.
The Jazz have gone 8-5 since Mitchell sprained his ankle. Across 53 games this year, Mitchell has averaged 26.4 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.4 RPG and 1.0 SPG. He boasts a shooting line of .438/.386/.845.
A left hamstring strain has kept Mitchell’s All-Star backcourt mate, veteran point guard Mike Conley, unavailable for Utah since April 28.
Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Bullock, Sixers, Bruce Brown
Raptors forward Pascal Siakam chatted about the challenges facing the relocated club this year and the expectations that arrive with his status as a maximum-salaried player this week, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN details.
“It’s different, it’s crazy, you get so much more attention and it’s something that I’m not used to and it’s not really me or my character,” Siakam said of life as a max player.
“Adversity, obviously, is not something that you want to go through but sometimes it defines the type of person you are,” he added, referring to the team’s struggles this season following its temporary move to Tampa from Toronto during the pandemic.
The Raptors, winners of the 2019 NBA title, will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2012/13 season, well before Siakam was drafted. “I know that I’m a better player coming out of this and just going through the different struggles and stuff, and I’m excited about the future,” he said.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks are hoping to re-sign shooting guard Reggie Bullock, an unrestricted free agent, during the summer, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. New York head coach Tom Thibodeau praised Bullock as the team’s “unsung hero” this past weekend. The club will hold Bullock’s Early Bird rights during the upcoming 2021 offseason. Berman notes that sources around the league believe Bullock could fetch a deal in the vicinity of the full mid-level exception ($9-10MM). He is making $4.2MM this season.
- As the playoffs near, the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded Sixers could use their final four regular season games to figure out the back end of their rotation, opines Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey says that reserve center Dwight Howard‘s place appears secure, but that Philadelphia still seems to need to experiment with minute allocations for guards Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, George Hill, Shake Milton, and Furkan Korkmaz.
- The injury-plagued Nets are dealing with another banged-up rotation player, after guard Bruce Brown fractured his nose during a team practice, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. The (now quite literally) tough-nosed Brown will play through the injury in a mask against the Bulls tonight, and the club will then equip him with another mask back in Brooklyn.
Southeast Notes: Hunter, Magic, Hawks, Heat
Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter, limited to just 21 games this season due to a pesky right knee injury, has seen the knee responding well after returning to the court for Atlanta Monday, tweets Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.
Kirschner tweets that Hunter will miss Wednesday’s contest against the Wizards for scheduled maintenance on the knee, but will be available on the second night of the Hawks’ latest back-to-back, Thursday against the Magic.
Hunter had a nonsurgical procedure last month to treat remaining soreness in the knee. The 23-year-old forward out of Virginia, selected with the fourth pick in the 2019 NBA draft, has averaged career highs of 15.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.5 BPG in his second NBA season with the Hawks.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Though the Magic have been eliminated from playoff contention and appear to be prioritizing high lottery picks in a packed draft, there are still plenty of intriguing chemistry elements the club can evaluate among its current young players down the stretch, writes Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel.
- Chris Kirschner and John Hollinger of The Athletic assess the offseason of the seemingly playoff-bound Hawks, including decisions facing the club on restricted free agent big man John Collins and disappointing 2019 lottery selection Cam Reddish. Kirschner and Hollinger wonder if Reddish should be flipped now should an improvement at the bench small forward position become available via trade, or if Atlanta should wait to see if he improves while still on his rookie deal. Collins has evolved into a valuable two-way contributor, and the speculation revolves more around the price point at which he will be re-signed rather than whether or not he’ll be brought back.
- The Heat have seen a performative uptick lately, despite several backcourt absences. Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald takes a look at how the in-season additions of veterans Trevor Ariza and Dewayne Dedmon, both 2021 unrestricted free agents, have benefited Miami. Ariza, 35, has started in 24 of the 27 games he has appeared in with the Heat, during which the team went 15-12. In a smaller but still crucial role as the team’s reserve big man willing to do the dirty work on defense, Dedmon has averaged 13.5 MPG across his 13 appearances with Miami — the club has gone 9-4 in those games.
Rockets Sign Khyri Thomas Via Hardship Exception
MAY 7: The Rockets have officially signed Thomas, the team announced today in a press release. Since Houston was granted a hardship exception as a result of all their injuries, no corresponding roster move was required.
Houston announced the deal as a 10-day contract — there are only 10 days left in the regular season, so it’ll cover the team’s remaining games.
MAY 5: Free agent shooting guard Khyri Thomas is set to ink a new deal with the Rockets, according to Kelly Iko and Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic (Twitter link). Terms of the agreement have yet to be disclosed, but Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle suggests it could be a 10-day contract.
Selected with the No. 38 pick in the 2018 draft, Thomas spent his first two NBA seasons with the Pistons. The 6’3″ wing logged time across 34 games during his two seasons with Detroit, averaging 7.5 MPG.
Thomas and swingman Tony Snell were sent by the Pistons to the Hawks in exchange for Dewayne Dedmon during the 2020 offseason, and Thomas was quickly released by Atlanta. The 24-year-old Creighton alum was mostly recently signed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Spurs, but San Antonio waived him before he could play a regular season game with the club.
Given that they are already eliminated from playoff contention with a 16-49 record, it makes sense for the tanking Rockets to take a flyer on a young player with some upside during the waning days of the 2020/21 regular season. Houston has seven games remaining in its schedule.
The Rockets will need to waive someone in order to make room for Thomas unless they’re granted a hardship exception that allows them to add an extra player. That’s a possibility, given all the injuries the team is dealing with.
Injury Notes: Ingram, Vucevic, LeBron, Magic
An MRI has revealed that Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram suffered a left low-ankle sprain during the team’s 108-103 victory over the Warriors on Tuesday, the team has announced via Twitter. Ingram is set to miss Friday night’s contest against the Sixers and is considered day-to-day with the injury beyond that.
Losing Ingram, the club’s second-leading scorer behind All-Star forward Zion Williamson, could be a major blow for New Orleans as the team strives to qualify for the play-in tournament in a crowded Western Conference field. With a 30-36 record, the Pelicans currently sit just two games behind the Spurs for a shot at the play-in tournament in the West this season.
There’s more injury news from around the league:
- Bulls All-Star center Nikola Vučević (adductor) was able to fully participate in a team practice today, tweets K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Head coach Billy Donovan commented that the sharp-shooting big man, who has missed the club’s last two games, “looked fine.”
- Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James will miss at least the next two games and potentially more as he grapples with fresh, sharp pain in his sprained ankle, Dave McMenamin told Rachel Nichols and Richard Jefferson on ESPN’s The Jump (Twitter video link). A source informed McMenamin that James is “focusing on the big picture” right now. “Does ‘big picture’ mean two more games missed? I’m not so sure,” McMenamin said. “He is clearly prioritizing using every bit of time he can to… get back for the playoffs.”
- Magic head coach Steve Clifford has indicated that five injured players could miss the rest of the 2020/21 NBA season, tweets Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. Point guard Michael Carter-Williams and power forward Chuma Okeke are both sidelined with ankle sprains. Wing James Ennis is unavailable with a sore calf. Injury-prone forward Otto Porter Jr., who has played in just 28 games this season for the Magic and Bulls, is struggling with foot pain. Swingman Terrence Ross has been felled by back spasms. “I don’t even know what the time frame [is],” Clifford conceded. “If you look at the schedule now, it’s seven games, I think it’d be 12 days, and I’m not sure even if any of those guys are that close, to be honest with you.”
California Notes: Bagley, Toscano-Anderson, Warriors, Lakers
The future remains murky for oft-injured Kings power forward Marvin Bagley III, a talented scorer who still needs to develop on defense, writes Jason Jones of The Athletic.
On Sunday, during his second game back after his latest injury, a left hand bone fracture that kept him sidelined for 22 contests, Bagley showed flashes of the potential that made him so highly coveted out of Duke, racking up 23 points and nine rebounds. The Kings selected Bagley with the No. 2 draft pick in 2018 ahead of future All-Stars Luka Doncic and Trae Young.
“Obviously nobody plans to get a hand caught in a jersey and break your hand, but you can’t control things like that,” Bagley said of his latest injury for the Kings. “What I could control was how I prepared to come back and things that I was doing to make sure I was ready when I did come back.”
Sacramento previously picked up Bagley’s $11.3MM player option for 2021/22. As Jones writes, while Bagley was rumored to be a potential trade candidate in March, the Kings couldn’t find a deal that would net them enough of a return to be worth pursuing.
There’s more out of California:
- Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has liked what he’s seen out of forward Juan Toscano-Anderson, writes Alex Espinoza of NBC Sports Bay Area. Currently inked to a two-way deal with Golden State, has fought his way into the Warriors’ rotation through his moxie and hustle, averaging 5.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.4 APG across 19.5 MPG. “We’ll see how it plays out,” Kerr said to reporters about a potential long-term deal with Toscano-Anderson after this season. “Juan is clearly a very effective NBA player. We’d like to have him here for a long time.”
- Though the Warriors have been waylaid by injuries that have impacted their roster depth, they currently have two roster spots empty in a calculated cost-saving decision. Anthony Slater of The Athletic wonders if the club’s choice warrants further scrutiny, considering that it still fighting for a play-in tournament spot during a standout year from All-Star point guard Stephen Curry.
- Lakers guard Alex Caruso has had to take on more play-making duties for Los Angeles with key ball-handlers LeBron James and Dennis Schroder both sidelined, as Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes.
Charlie Brown Jr. Inks Second 10-Day Deal With OKC
The Thunder have signed guard Charlie Brown Jr. to his second 10-day deal following the expiration of his first one on Tuesday night, the team announced in a press release.
Since first joining Oklahoma City late last month, Brown has logged time in three games, including one start, and is averaging 5.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 1.0 SPG across 15.9 MPG.
Brown went undrafted out of Saint Joseph’s in 2019, and signed with the Hawks as a two-way player for 2019/20. This season, he appeared in 13 games with the Timberwolves’ G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, within the NBAGL’s “bubble” campus in Orlando. Brown averaged 12.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.9 APG and 1.69 SPG across 30.0 MPG for Iowa.
Brown’s new deal will run through May 14. The Thunder will have to decide after that whether to sign him to a rest-of-season contract that covers the club’s final game on May 16.
League Fines Kyrie, Nets $35K Apiece
The NBA (Twitter link) has announced that it is fining both All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and his team, the Nets, for violating league rules surrounding postgame interview availability, due to Irving’s continuing resistance against partaking in media conversations after games.
Irving and Brooklyn have each been dinged to the tune of a $35K fine.
The 43-23 Nets have clinched a playoff berth and will finish the season as one of the top seeds in the East. Irving and fellow All-Stars Kevin Durant and James Harden have only appeared together for seven games thus far this season, due to a combination of injuries, COVID-19 protocols, and several personal absences on the part of Irving.
If healthy and engaged, the star-studded (and surprisingly deep) Nets appear to be one of the favorites to win the 2021 NBA title. But it remains to be seen whether or not they’ll get healthy at the right time.