Jamaree Bouyea Signs 10-Day Deal With Wizards
MARCH 3: Bouyea’s 10-day contract with the Wizards is now official, the team announced today in a press release. It’ll run through March 12, making Bouyea eligible for Washington’s next six games.
MARCH 2: The Wizards are set to sign free agent point guard Jamaree Bouyea, currently with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBAGL, to a 10-day deal, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The 6’2″ rookie went undrafted in 2022 following a five-year NCAA career with San Francisco. This will mark his second 10-day contract of the 2022/23 season so far, after he initially agreed to a 10-day deal with the Heat last month.
In four appearances with Miami, Bouyea received limited run, logging 16.3 minutes per night. He averaged 3.8 points per game on .462/.400/500 shooting splits to go along with 1.3 RPG, 1.0 APG and 1.0 SPG. The Heat did not bring him aboard for a second 10-day agreement.
Across 18 regular season games with the Skyforce, Bouyea has averaged 18.9 PPG on .524/.313/.705 shooting splits. He’s also chipping in 6.0 APG, 5.2 RPG, 1.2 SPG and 0.9 BPG.
Bouyea will be the 15th player on Washington’s current standard roster, as currently comprised. The 30-32 Wizards occupy the No. 10 seed in the East, and have been making moves around the fringes of their roster in recent days. To wit, 7’1″ center Jay Huff was added on a two-way deal earlier today.
Hawks Notes: Young, Snyder, Lineups, Murray
The bond between maximum-salaried Hawks star point guard Trae Young and newly signed head coach Quin Snyder will be imperative to establish for the future of the club, per Jeff Schultz of The Athletic.
“My focus with Trae is on what lies ahead,” Snyder said. “It’s an opportunity for both of us to make each other better, to challenge him and for him to respond and grow. He’s had so much success at a young age, and this is a tough league and you become highly scrutinized with everything you do. The discussions we’ve had is, let’s just get better. I’m not going to be right all the time and that’s the partnership that allows people to grow together. That relationship is important to me and I think it’s important to him.”
Rumored tensions between Young and former head coach Nate McMillan clearly soured that duo’s dynamic, and seem to have played a part in McMillan’s firing late last month.
There’s more out of Atlanta:
- Snyder elaborated on his decision to take over the head coaching gig midway through the 2022/23 season, as opposed to waiting to sign on until the summer, per ESPN/The Associated Press. “It’s always a challenge, but those challenges are often most rewarding and the best opportunity,” Snyder said. “As I thought about it, I think the opportunity to come in now, although maybe challenging, is also an opportunity to hopefully go on a run… Also, and I think these things are not mutually exclusive, to begin to build a foundation, a culture.”
- Hard choices await Snyder with Atlanta, details John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger opines that he may want to start by juicing up the team’s three-point shooting and moving new addition Saddiq Bey into the starting five for power forward John Collins. Hollinger also has a few other small improvements in mind for freeing up the club’s offense, as well as team-building ideas beyond 2022/23.
- For his part, Hawks shooting guard Dejounte Murray appears to be excited to collaborate with Snyder, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “For me, it’s his attention to detail,” Murray said of the element that most stands out in Snyder’s coaching technique. “He’s already been breaking down film, since there’s been a conversation for him to come here, and just listening to everything from defensive personnel to the offense of focusing on getting more mismatches and everything we want to do just to come together and build toward being a great team.”
Stephen Curry Plans To Return Sunday
Warriors All-Star point guard Stephen Curry is planning to come back from his leg injury on Sunday against the Lakers, reports Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Haynes cautions that a setback could impede this tentative return timeline, but Sunday is the target date.
Curry, 34, has missed 10 games for Golden State thus far. He suffered a lower left leg contusion and partially tore his superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane during a 119-113 Warriors victory over the Mavericks on February 4.
The 32-30 Warriors have gone 5-4 through their nine completed contests since Curry’s injury. The 10th, a nationally televised TNT battle against the Clippers, is currently underway as of this writing.
Kendra Andrews of ESPN reports that Curry participated in team scrimmages Wednesday and Thursday while gearing up for his comeback. Per head coach Steve Kerr, however, Curry will miss an 11th straight contest, Friday night against the Pelicans.
Across his healthy 38 games, the reigning NBA Finals MVP has been his typically excellent self, averaging 29.4 PPG on .495/.427/.922 shooting splits. He’s also contributing 6.4 APG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.0 SPG in 34.6 MPG.
Bucks Closing In On Goran Dragic
The Bucks are considered leaders in the clubhouse to sign veteran free agent point guard Goran Dragic, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link).
Dragic, who just cleared waivers today after being released by the Bulls earlier this week, has spoken recently with several title-contending teams, according to Wojnarowski. However, Milwaukee – currently riding high on a 16-game win streak – seems to have the best odds of adding Dragic, Woj adds.
Dragic is set to visit the Bucks tomorrow, and a deal could be finalized as soon as then, Wojnarowski reveals. Milwaukee was also trying to add Dragic last year, before he latched on with the Nets for the final stretch of the season.
The 6’3″ vet, a former All-Star during his tenure with the Heat, started off strong during his first full month with Chicago this year, averaging 9.3 PPG on .448/.440/.667 shooting splits, plus 3.8 APG and 1.9 RPG, in just 19.2 MPG. Lately though, his production has declined in a major way. Across his final 10 games with the Bulls, he averaged just 2.6 PPG with a .333/.250/800 shooting line, plus 2.4 APG.
The 36-year-old was supplanted in Chicago’s rotation when the team brought in Patrick Beverley. Beverley immediately became the team’s starter, pushing down then-incumbent starter Ayo Dosunmu to a backup role and leaving Dragic as the odd man out.
This is a curious choice for Milwaukee, as it is unclear how much Dragic has left to give a team gunning to win it all this year. But the Bucks have an open spot on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding move would be necessary to add Dragic.
Mike Brown, Mike Budenholzer Named Coaches Of The Month
Kings head coach Mike Brown and Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer have been named the league’s coaches of the month for February, the NBA has announced (Twitter link).
Led by All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, Budenholzer’s Bucks are currently at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 45-17 record. Milwaukee is in the midst of a 16-game winning streak and enjoyed a spotless February, going 10-0.
Brown led Sacramento to an 8-4 record across the month. The team is currently on a four-game win streak, while top players De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis both played in this month’s All-Star Game.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and Suns head coach Monty Williams were runners-up to Brown in the Western Conference, while Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau were also nominated in the East, the league added (via Twitter).
Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL tweets that Brown is the first Sacramento coach since Rick Adelman during the 2003/04 season to earn a Coach of the Month honor. Given that his 36-25 Kings club appeared poised to make its first return to the postseason in nearly that long, he certainly seems worthy of the award.
Bulls Notes: Beverley, Dosunmu, Leadership, Caruso
New Bulls starting point guard Patrick Beverley has come close to suiting up for his hometown team even before this season, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. When Beverley was looking to make his NBA debut in 2012 following international pro stints in Greece and Russia, he participated in a mini-camp for Chicago’s summer league team at the time.
In a recent presser, the 34-year-old vet discussed his excitement at the chance to play for the Bulls.
“Obviously, an honor,” Beverley said. “The way I play, I run through a wall for any team. This is even more… It’s the city where I’m from, so I don’t know what might happen. I might pull some [expletive] out I ain’t never did before. I’m super stoked and can’t wait to get started. This is good energy, fresh energy.”
In his first game for the Bulls last night, Beverley helped the team snap a six-game losing streak with his signature tough defense, solid court awareness and dogged leadership.
There’s more out of the Windy City:
- Second-year Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu was shifted to a bench role upon Beverley’s arrival. After a Friday shootaround, he explained that he was excited to learn from his fellow native Chicagoan, rather than being worried about losing minutes to him, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “He’s a [three]-time All-Defensive team [honoree],” Dosunmu said. “That’s one category where I want to get to… So him being here and being able to give me advice of how to manipulate things on the defensive end and make guys uncomfortable, he’s doing that at 6 feet, 6’1″. If I can continue to learn and get better, then I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to be the same way.”
- Chicago head coach Billy Donovan had high praise for Beverley’s leadership and defensive effort following the Bulls’ 131-87 shellacking of the Nets on Friday, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “He’s very inspiring and uplifting, and very positive, but the one thing I respect about him is he comes into everything with great energy,” Donovan said. “And then his voice has been really positive in terms of trying to uplift guys, give guys confidence and belief, that type of stuff. There’s no question you can feel his presence.” In a separate piece, Cowley wonders if Beverley has already become the team’s de facto leader after just one game.
- Beverley instantly shores up the perimeter defense of a team that desperately needs it. The Bulls’ best defender, Alex Caruso, believes playing alongside another solid wing defender will help boost the team similar to the way it did last year, when he and injured point guard Lonzo Ball were locking down opposing offenses, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “He has a really high defensive IQ,” Caruso raved. “I think having me and him out there together being able to orchestrate where guys need to go, calling out plays, impact the ball can help. Lonzo and I had great synergy last year as far as being to play off each other and wreaking havoc for the other guys.”
Northwest Notes: Timberwolves, SGA, Jokic, Gordon, Butler
Following a disappointing 121-113 Friday night defeat to the lottery-bound Hornets, the Timberwolves came under fire from their own head coach and starting center, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
“It’s just a sense of urgency,” head coach Chris Finch said of what the Timberwolves are missing. “It’s just not there. We just talked about it – you can’t wait. It’s a 20-game season. We have nothing to wait for. You’ve got to go. We only have seven home games left and we’ve got a tough schedule. I think it’s just that urgency. We’ve got to have more urgency from the get-go. We’re not playing desperate enough.”
Minnesota big man Rudy Gobert had a solid individual night, scoring 17 points, pulling down 10 boards and swatting three shots, but was frustrated with his club’s effort.
“We have to decide who we want to be,” said Gobert. “We had a tough loss going into the break, and you would think we would come back with some urgency, but we started the game just like we finished the previous one.”
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- All-Star Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss his second straight game, the team’s home contest against the Kings Sunday, due to an abdominal strain and a sore right ankle, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The ankle isn’t considered a major issue. “I think if that was the only thing he was dealing with, he would probably try to go,” head coach Mark Daigneault said. “But the hip flexor thing (abdominal strain) is what we’re being careful with.”
- The burgeoning bond between the Nuggets‘ starting frontcourt of MVP candidate Nikola Jokic and power forward Aaron Gordon is paying dividends on the hardwood, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “The load that he can carry … he is a really strong guy,” Jokic said of Gordon. “He’s making sure he’s taking that advantage really seriously. It’s always an option for us … I know where to find him, how to throw him the ball. And he knows how to box his guys out to give me the space to throw him the ball.”
- With no G League affiliate team of their own, the Trail Blazers announced (Twitter link) that they have transferred rookie center John Butler to the Kings’ Stockton NBAGL affiliate. The 7’1″ big man has played sparingly thus far while on his two-way contract with Portland, appearing in mop-up minutes in just nine games.
Pelicans Notes: Richardson, Daniels, Zion, Nance
Having inserted new addition Josh Richardson into his starting five ahead of incumbent second-year swingman Trey Murphy, Pelicans head coach Willie Green spoke on Saturday about that decision, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link).
Richardson, who arrived to the Pelicans via the Spurs in a trade deadline deal, has started the club’s last two games ahead of Murphy, on Thursday and Saturday.
“Just want to give us a different look,” Green said of the change. “Looking at that lineup over the past few weeks, we wanted to make an adjustment. Trey will still play 25 plus minutes. Just putting a bit more know-how on the floor with Josh. And Herb (Jones). Being able to guard multiple guys. Trey getting some minutes against teams’ second units. We want to see if that helps us.”
There’s more out of The Big Easy:
- The Pelicans have gone 7-17 since All-Star forward Zion Williamson injured his right hamstring. As a result, the team has plummeted in the Western Conference standings while Williamson remains out indefinitely. Andrew Lopez of ESPN identifies three key questions for New Orleans heading into the 2022/23 season’s closing stretch. When he was available, Williamson was his typically spectacular self, averaging 26 PPG on .608/.368/.714 shooting splits. He also chipped in 7.0 PRG and 4.6 APG in his 29 healthy contests.
- Pelicans rookie point guard Dyson Daniels returned to the floor tonight for New Orleans after missing 12 games with a right ankle sprain, reports Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans Podcast (Twitter link). The 6’8″ guard was selected with the eighth pick in the 2022 draft by New Orleans. He has averaged 4.5 PPG on .445/.333/.621 shooting splits, 3.5 RPG, 2.5 APG and 0.9 SPG across his 39 games for the Pelicans thus far.
- Veteran Pelicans reserve forward Larry Nance Jr. departed the team’s road game tonight against the Knicks with what New Orleans is calling a left ankle sprain, Clark tweets. Nance was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the contest.
Heat Notes: Love, Zeller, Home Stretch, Spoelstra
New Heat power forward Kevin Love unpacked the thinking behind his decision to sign with Miami, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscriber link). Love inked a rest-of-season deal worth $3.1MM with the Heat after reaching a contract buyout agreement with the Cavaliers. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“I felt it was a great opportunity for me to come here and just further what the Heat has had in place for so long and help them with size and shooting and rebounding and everything that are strengths in my game,” Love explained over a Zoom chat with several Miami reporters. “A lot of things factored into it. But for me, I think it was that role of being able to be myself and play to my strengths on a team that could really use it.”
As Chiang notes, the 6’8″ big man will help add some size and shooting in the frontcourt for a Heat team desperate for both. Chiang writes that there is a possibility Miami eventually starts Love over 6’5″ Caleb Martin.
There’s more out of South Beach:
- The Heat’s other new post-trade deadline addition, center Cody Zeller, also spoke on Wednesday about joining the team, Chiang writes in another piece. Zeller, who signed a prorated veteran’s minimum contract to play for the club this season, is not quite sure how he will fit into the team’s roster just yet, as he told reporters in his own Zoom call. “I’ll do whatever role they want me to,” Zeller said. “I feel like I’m healthy. I can help a team if I’m called on. I’ll fit in wherever they need me.” While still with the Trail Blazers, Zeller suffered a patellar avulsion fracture in his right knee in January 2022 that required surgery. “I talked a lot with coach [Erik] Spoelstra and Pat Riley when I came to work out here about how I’ve hated playing the Heat throughout my whole career because you always know it’s going to be a tough game, you always know it’s going to be hard-playing guys, it’s going to be a physical game… So it’s kind of fun for me to be on the other side of it to be able to add to that and to kind of be able to be on the other side of it.”
- In another Herald article (subscriber link), Chiang writes that the 32-27 Heat have a lot of lineup elements, including incorporating Love and Zeller, to sort out over the home stretch of the 2022/23 season as the seventh seed in the East prepares for a playoff run.
- Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra will need to tinker with his team’s rotation and even its starting lineup as the club gears up for the postseason, opines Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Though Winderman anticipates that Martin will retain his role as the team’s starting power forward over Love for the immediate future, he does think the team will take a look at whether to start Gabe Vincent over Kyle Lowry, how much run Victor Oladipo will receive as a high-upside reserve, and who will ultimately be the team’s primary backup center.
Trevor Keels Signs 10-Day Contract With Knicks
Shooting guard Trevor Keels has signed a 10-day contract with the Knicks, the team announced via a press statement (Twitter link). This represents a promotion for the rookie guard, who had been on a two-way deal.
After being drafted with the No. 42 pick out of Duke by the Knicks last summer, Keels joined New York on a two-way contract, appearing in just one game for the club to date.
Keels has been playing much more frequently with Knicks’ Westchester NBAGL affiliate. For Westchester, the 6’5″ swingman has been averaging 14.9 PPG, 3.6 APG and 2.9 RPG across 17 contests during the regular 2022/23 G League season.
As we outlined earlier in the week, Thursday was the final day New York could carry just 13 players on its standard roster, which in part seems to explain the decision to sign Keels to this 10-day deal now. New York’s plan for the 19-year-old beyond this short-term contract remains to be seen.