Chandler Hutchison May Be Done For Season
Second-year Bulls small forward Chandler Hutchison may have suited up for his last game this season, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson.
Hutchison is considering arthroscopic surgery to treat the injured right shoulder that has limited him to just 28 games in his second season. A sesamoid foot fracture cut his rookie season short too. He played just 44 games in 2018/19. He will have played just 72 of a possible 164 games heading into his third year with the Bulls.
“This next week is kind of the final push on testing what I can do with [the shoulder] and if I’m going to be able to get out there or do something and make a decision,” Hutchison said. “Hopefully, I can get past the rehab and really focus on the summer.”
The defensive-oriented 6’7″ wing was drafted with the No. 22 pick out of Boise State by Chicago in 2018. He sports season averages of 7.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.9 APG, and has started in 10 games this year.
Although Bulls have had some players get healthy lately, they’re still down a few. Kris Dunn and Luke Kornet will likely miss the rest of the season with knee and foot injuries, respectively.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Has Minor Knee Sprain
The leading 2019/20 MVP candidate, Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, suffered a minor left knee joint capsule sprain in Friday’s 113-103 loss to the Lakers, per a team press release (hat tip to Malika Andrews of ESPN).
Andrews relays that the Greek Freak will not be available for at least the final two contests of the Bucks’ current road trip, bouts against the bottom-feeding Suns and the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed, the Nuggets.
Antetokounmpo may miss more time than just the next two games. The Bucks’ next home game is Thursday, when they host the East’s No. 3 seeded Celtics. The Bucks will have an update on Giannis’ availability for what could be a pivotal intra-conference contest within the week.
The Bucks are the No. 1 seed in the East with an impressive 53-10 record. They are 8.5 games clear of the No. 2 seed, the 44-18 Raptors. A terrific two-way player, Antetokounmpo’s stellar individual season has been a huge part of that equation: in 57 games, he is averaging 29.6 PPG, 13.7 RPG, and 5.8 APG during just 30.9 MPG.
Pacers, Lance Stephenson Talking Possible Reunion
Two-time Pacers guard Lance Stephenson is reportedly in “strong talks” for his third tour of duty with the franchise that drafted him with the No. 40 pick in 2010, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link). Charania notes that nothing is finalized yet.
Stephenson could be a helpful addition to a Pacers team that has been depleted at the wing due to a season-ending knee injuries to Jeremy Lamb and a quadriceps injury suffered by Malcolm Brogdon, who is now week-to-week.
Indiana needs all the help it can get. The Pacers are currently the No. 5 seed in the East, but their 38-25 record puts them just 0.5 games ahead of the No. 6 seed Sixers.
Stephenson is currently signed to the Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association, which has postponed all its games amidst the developing coronavirus outbreak. Charania notes that Stephenson will need permission from FIBA and the CBA to leave the Flying Leopards and return to the Pacers.
Stephenson has been working out in the U.S. since January, splitting his time between his hometown of New York City and Indiana in the hopes making an NBA comeback, per Scott Agness of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Along with Paul George, David West, George Hill and Roy Hibbert, the pesky 6’6″ off-guard Stephenson was a core cog on some exciting Pacers teams that pushed the Heat in the playoffs during 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14. The latter two teams battled the Heat in two close Eastern Conference Finals finals contests in 2013 and 2014.
After his initial tenure with the Pacers, Stephenson inked a three-year, $27MM contract with the Hornets instead of a five-year, $44MM deal with Indiana. He then bounced around for stints with the Clippers, Grizzlies, Timberwolves and Pelicans before returning to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in 2017.
Stephenson last played for the Lakers in a disappointing 2018/19 season, in which he averaged just 16.5 MPG and put up 7.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.1 APG.
Community Shootaround: Best Available Coaches This Summer
Now that the Nets have abruptly parted ways with highly-respected head coach Kenny Atkinson, there is one more big-ticket name available for this summer’s intriguing coaching carousel. With several other teams potentially looking to make coaching changes in the offseason, we at Hoops Rumors felt it was high time to speculate wildly about summer 2020 coaching hires.
There may be coaching vacancies among several glamor NBA franchises, including the Knicks, Nets (Atkinson’s Nets replacement, Jacque Vaughn, will be merely an interim coach this season), Bulls, Rockets and Sixers.
Atkinson served as an assistant coach in New York and Atlanta before finally getting a crack at the lead job in Brooklyn. He coached the rebuilding Nets, without a single All-Star, to an impressive 42-40 record and a playoff berth last season. At 28-34, the team is currently the No. 7 seed in the East, despite All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant appearing in a combined 20 games this year.
Mike D’Antoni is a coaching free agent this summer, and even if Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta may be wary of bringing him back, he will not be hurting for work. A great 212-95 regular season record, a Coach of the Year Award in 2016/17, and one Western Conference Finals appearance should ensure that.
Though interim Knicks head coach Mike Miller has coached a hapless New York squad to a competent 15-26 record, his job security has been openly challenged by Knicks brand manager Steve Stoute. Miller may have done enough in a tough environment to warrant a look from another franchise.
Top assistant coaches like Becky Hammon with the Spurs, Tyronn Lue with the Clippers, Adrian Griffin with the Raptors and Nate Tibbetts with the Trail Blazers could all get a head coaching opportunity this summer.
We want to know what you think. Who are the best available coaches on the market this summer? Which teams would match best with which available or potentially-available coaches?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Hoops Rumors Originals: 3/1/20 – 3/7/20
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:
- Luke Adams explained the rules on playoff eligibility for players waived on or after March 2.
- He also updated our 2019/20 NBA Reverse Standings.
- Because teams are only allowed to carry rosters with fewer than 14 players for two weeks at a time, Adams detailed the teams who would need to make roster additions soon.
- In our Community Shootaround conversations this week, we asked:
- Who was the best second-half NBA free agency signee? (link)
- Does LeBron James or any other challenger have a legitimate chance at stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo from winning his second straight MVP award? (link)
NBA May Limit Locker Room Access
In light of the still-developing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak nationwide, the NBA may keep media out of locker rooms and limit team locker room accessibility to just players and team personnel, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
The NBA has been making other preparations to protect players and fans from the spread of the coronavirus, including potentially staging games without fans. Lakers All-Star LeBron James has openly pushed back against this notion.
Earlier in the week, it was reported that coronavirus could adversely affect the NBA’s pre-draft combines, on-site workouts and international scouting events. League measures taken could include limiting those events or cancelling them entirely.
Around the NBA, the coronavirus outbreak has already made an impact on how players interact with fans, as The Athletics’s Mike Vorkunov detailed.
Southeast Notes: Heat, Young, Beal, Hornets
New veteran Heat forwards Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder continue to settle into their new environs, as David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes. Iguodala has enjoyed the Heat’s team practice methodology.
“It’s really game-ready type practices,” Iguodala said of working out with the Heat. “I think it’s really going to show in the games once I really get acclimated with everything… It’s really a winning environment and you can see it right away.”
Crowder, too, appreciates the tenor of the Heat’s conduct. “Just the championship mindset,” Crowder relayed about what impressed him during his initial time in Miami. “You always think about the guys playing for it all and I think, being on the outside looking in, that’s what I see.”
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- All-Star Hawks point guard Trae Young has practically doubled his free-throw output from his rookie season, as Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. Young concedes that this is in due in part to growing respect from league referees now that he is no longer a rookie. But it can also be attributed to conscious adjustments in approach from Young. He is now second in the NBA in made free throws per game at 8.0, behind just James Harden‘s 10.5 made free throws per night.
- Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal has been struggling with inefficient long-rage shooting this season, per the Washington Post’s Candace Buckner. During the worst three-point shooting season of his career to date, Beal has converted fewer than 20% of his long-range tries in 10 games this season. He is connecting on just 31.6% of his three-point attempts overall.
- Although the Hornets will have $28MM available in salary cap room this summer, general manager Mitch Kupchak intends to spread that money around across a few young free agent candidates, instead of pursuing a single star, per The Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell. “I don’t anticipate us being one of those teams that is in the running for those big free agents,” Kupchak said. The team may trade for a young player or sign a role player still in his prime, like Nets shooting ace Joe Harris.
Atlantic Notes: Allen, Langford, Knicks, Sixers
Nets starting center Jarrett Allen has accepted his recent benching in fourth quarters, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Coach Kenny Atkinson has favored $40MM backup center DeAndre Jordan to close out games.
“You get the feeling of what’s going to happen when you hit around the eight-minute mark, whether you’re going to go in or not,” Allen told Lewis. “If they’re vibing then go ahead and let them vibe, let them go out and win it. So I’m not tripping over that.”
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Rookie Celtics shooting guard Romeo Langford has closed out three Boston victories thus far in February as a defensive stopper, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. The 6’4″ wing out of Indiana, the No. 14 pick in the 2019 lottery, appreciates the faith that coach Brad Stevens has in Langford’s growing abilities on that side of the ball. “It’s good that (Stevens) already, like, trusts me,” Langord said. “So I’ve just got to go out there and deliver.”
- As the Knicks continue to rework their public perception under newly-hired brand consultant Steve Stoute, they may try to improve relations with past New York heroes, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. “As a New York fan, as a friend of Charles Oakley, as somebody a part of the Knicks organization, of course, I would love to see that subsided and bring that back,” Stoute mentioned in an appearance on ESPN’s First Take.
- The Sixers have underperformed relative to preseason expectations this year, but the dynamic between All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons may not be the root of the issue, per ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry. Goldsberry points to their club’s unending roster churn over the years and a lack of sharpshooting depth as the prime culprits. That said, at 35-22, the Sixers sit just 1.5 games behind the 36-20 Heat in competing for a top-four Eastern Conference playoff seed.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Sprains Left Knee
Stellar second-year Grizzlies power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. has sprained his left knee and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, according to Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian.
Jackson sustained the sprain after suffering a nasty fall late in the second quarter in Memphis’ 117-102 loss to the Lakers this past Friday. His loss is not insignificant for the ascendant Grizzlies, current holders of the Western Conference’s coveted No. 8 seed. Jackson ranks third on the team in minutes played per game (28), second in points per game (16.9), and fourth in average boards (4.7).
Jackson and rookie Ja Morant are the two core building block factors in a Grizzlies youth movement that has brought the team back to relevance. The Grizzlies are currently 28-28 after losing two straight contests following the extended All-Star break. That record puts them 3.5 games ahead of the 25-32 Trail Blazers (the No. 9 seed) and the 24-31 Spurs (the No. 10 seed). The Pelicans, Kings and Suns are all within 1.5 games of the Spurs’ record.
If the Grizzlies go on a sustained swoon in the standings with rookie Brandon Clarke absorbing most of Jackson’s minutes as the new starting four, one of these other playoff contenders may pounce. Memphis already had an external impediment to securing a postseason berth this year: the most competitive remaining schedule in the NBA, ranked by opponent record.
Jackson’s absence may mean more playing time for new center Gorgui Dieng and for forward Kyle Anderson.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 2/16/20 – 2/22/20
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:
- Luke Adams broke down the “starter criteria” language that determines exact rookie salaries for this week’s Hoops Rumors Glossary item.
- Adams also discussed the projected bi-annual and mid-level exception rates for the 2020/21 season.
- Malik Beasley and Jordan McRae number among the Northwest Division free agents-to-be in 2020 who have seen their stock rise this season, Dana Gauruder details in the latest installment of our Free Agent Stock Watch series.
- In our lone poll this week, we asked if you thought the NBA should stick with its new All-Star Game format or return to the old methodology.
- In our Community Shootaround conversations this week, we asked:
- Can the Grizzlies hold off the Trail Blazers, Spurs and Pelicans to secure a 2020 playoff berth? Or will one of these other teams make a playoff push of their own? (link)
- Who do you think will walk away with Coach of the Year hardware in 2020? (link)
- Can the Rockets succeed in the playoffs without a traditional center? (link)
- Can college coaches really win in the NBA? (link)
- Which of 2019’s free agent signings do you think teams will regret, even if they might not be considered full-fledged mistakes quite yet? (link)