Jordan Hawkins Out 1-2 Weeks With Low Back Strain
Jordan Hawkins has suffered a low back strain that will keep him out of action for one to two weeks, the Pelicans announced (via Twitter). The second-year shooting guard will undergo a program of treatment and rehabilitation.
Hawkins, the 14th selection in the 2023 draft, appeared in 67 games as a rookie, averaging 7.8 PPG in 17.3 minutes per night while shooting 38.2% from the field and 36.6% from three-point range. His role has been expanded this season, at least in part because of a wave of injuries on New Orleans’ roster, and he has responded by increasing his scoring to 16.3 PPG in 30.3 minutes per game with .408/.365/.931 shooting splits.
Hawkins missed Monday’s game with Portland due to low back tightness and was listed as questionable ahead of Wednesday’s contest against Cleveland. He played 19 minutes, but shot just 1-of-7 from the field and was limited to seven points.
The Pelicans are already without Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy, CJ McCollum and Herbert Jones, who are all sidelined with multi-week injuries. Zion Williamson sat out Monday with soreness in his right thigh, but was able to return and play 29 minutes against the Cavaliers.
New Orleans has four games on its schedule over the next week. Hawkins would miss seven games if he’s able to return for the November 22 contest against Golden State, which is part of the in-season tournament.
Northwest Notes: Sharpe, Jazz, Edwards, Conley
There were no signs of rust for Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe as he made his season debut Thursday night in San Antonio, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Sharpe had been sidelined since early October after suffering a labral tear in his left shoulder during training camp. He entered the game late in the first quarter and contributed 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
“I was worried that he would be a little antsy,” coach Chauncey Billups said. “And kind of do some things, just because he was just getting back, that would be uncharacteristic of him. But he never did that. He looked great. I thought his shot selection was good, for the most part. Defensively, I thought he was sound.”
Fentress notes that the Blazers are counting on Sharpe to spark an offense that currently ranks 25th in the league at 107.8 points per game. He has the ability to create his own shot and is equally dangerous from beyond the arc or driving to the basket.
Sharpe admitted feeling some nervousness about his first game of the season, but added that it didn’t last long.
“Two up and downs and I was straight,” he said.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Jazz are emphasizing player development this season, but coach Will Hardy relied heavily on his veterans in Thursday’s loss at Milwaukee, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Kyle Filipowski, Isaiah Collier and Brice Sensabaugh all found themselves out of the rotation as Utah slipped to 1-7. “I have the long view in mind for all of these guys. The reality is that we can‘t play every young guy every night. That’s not how this is going to work. This is the NBA, and there is a level of earning minutes that has to happen,” Hardy said. “I think this notion of like, just getting minutes helps you get better is not true. Just playing for playing’s sake doesn’t just make them better. That’s why we have practices. That’s why we have the G League. There’s so many ways that we’re going to use all of our resources to help all these guys get better.”
- The Timberwolves took over Thursday’s game at Chicago, but not before allowing 65 first-half points to a Bulls team that was missing Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball. Anthony Edwards told reporters, including Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, that the lack of early focus on defense is becoming a problem. “We ain’t taking no pride in stopping nobody right now early in the game,” Edwards said. “That’s troubling. That’s scary. We’ve got to figure that part out. We’re terrible until we get down. When we get down, that’s when everybody wants to play defense. But if we play from the beginning, we’ll be the best team.”
- With 14 points and 11 assists Thursday, 37-year-old guard Mike Conley became the oldest player in Timberwolves history to post a double-double (Twitter video link from Dane Moore).
Bucks Notes: Trade Options, Giannis, Middleton, Trent
The Bucks have started making calls around the league to get help for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, according to Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Milwaukee defeated Utah Thursday night to improve to 2-6 and slow down its early-season tailspin, but there’s still a sense that the team needs a roster shakeup to become competitive.
Despite increasing speculation that Antetokounmpo might be made available, a potential deal involving the 29-year-old superstar is currently unrealistic for both him and the team, sources tell Windhorst. He confirms that several teams have contacted the Bucks in recent months to let them know that they’re willing to make an offer if Giannis ever becomes available. However, Windhorst adds that those are “incoming calls, not outgoing,” and that’s unlikely to change soon.
Milwaukee faces difficulty in making any deal because it’s operating under second apron restrictions, which prevent the team from aggregating salaries or taking back more salary than it sends out in a trade. Bontemps points out that the hard caps imposed at both the first and second aprons are making in-season trades more challenging around the league.
“The second apron coming in now really hamstrings them,” a rival general manager told Windhorst. “They’re doing due diligence trying to find options, but of course they know it.”
The Bucks would have a long road toward rebuilding if they ever part with Antetokounmpo because they’ve given up most of their draft assets for the rest of the decade, Windhorst notes. Milwaukee doesn’t control its next six first-round picks, so there’s added incentive to find a way to make the Antetokounmpo-Lillard pairing work.
There’s more from Milwaukee:
- The Bucks are counting on a boost from the return of Khris Middleton, who participated in a three-on-three scrimmage Thursday for the first time since having offseason surgery on both ankles, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. The team is hoping he can advance to five-on-five soon, clearing the way for him to return to action. Collier points out that Antetokounmpo, Lillard and Middleton had a plus-17.5 net efficiency rating last season, which ranked second among NBA trios with at least 600 minutes together. However, they were all in the lineup for just five games after the All-Star break. “I haven’t coached him much at all,” said Doc Rivers, who took over the team in late January. “I had him in the playoffs, but other than that, not a lot of games. But I know he can play. I know how good he is, but right now that’s not the focus for me. I’m more focused on what we have and who’s playing right now.”
- The Bucks were able to add three veterans on minimum-salary contracts over the summer, but they’ve mostly been disappointing so far, Collier adds. Taurean Prince has provided an outside shooting threat, connecting at 55% from beyond the arc, but Gary Trent Jr. is shooting a career-worst 23% from three-point range and Delon Wright has 15 total points in seven games.
- Rivers expressed confidence in Trent after replacing him with Andre Jackson Jr. in the starting lineup for Thursday’s game, per Jim Owczarski of The Journal-Sentinel. “I think eventually Gary will work his way back,” Rivers said. “Just trying to give him room to breathe and get out of his little thing. Because I know he will.”
Spurs Notes: Popovich, Sochan, Vassell, Collins
Gregg Popovich missed his fourth straight game for health reasons on Thursday, but Victor Wembanyama is optimistic that he’ll be able to return soon, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. The Spurs announced shortly before Saturday’s game that their 75-year-old coach was “under the weather.” Little information has been released publicly about his condition, and Wembanyama said players haven’t been told much either.
“We don’t hear a lot from Pop,” he told reporters after Thursday’s victory over Portland. “They keep us informed as much as we’re allowed to know. So, I’m not worried about him. I know he’s going to come back soon.”
Orsborn points out that Popovich has missed games before due to health reasons in his 29 years with the team, but never more than two in a row. Interim coach Mitch Johnson, who has guided the team to a 2-2 record since taking over, wasn’t able to provide any new information Thursday on Popovich’s condition.
“I would say he’s doing good, and we have been talking,” Johnson said. “I have had my hands full with this in trying to stay above water. So, have not talked details and I am not sure. … No details.”
There’s more from San Antonio:
- No timetable has been set for Jeremy Sochan to return after he underwent surgery Wednesday for a left thumb fracture, Orsborn states in the same piece. He was off to a career-best start to the season before getting injured Monday, averaging 15.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals through seven games. “We will be conservative and safe with it, but we will have a better idea, I would say, in a few weeks,” Johnson said. Rookie guard Stephon Castle has replaced Sochan in the starting lineup.
- Johnson told reporters, including Orsborn, that he’s looking forward to the scoring boost Devin Vassell will provide with his expected return, which will likely happen Saturday. Vassell, who is recovering from offseason foot surgery, averaged a career-high 19.5 PPG last season. “There is probably a level of scoring, a level of shot-making, shooting, that the other team would have him pretty early on their scouting report,” Johnson said. “So, any time you get a guy like that, it helps everybody.”
- Backup center Zach Collins appears more comfortable with his three-point shot this season, Orsborn adds. He was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc while scoring a season-high 14 points on Thursday, and he’s connecting at 43.8% from long distance after hitting just 32% in 2023/24. “We just need space right now,” Collins said. “Everyone needs to shoot more, not just me. We feel like our offense runs a little more fluid when we are all spaced out. More threes are probably going to come my way, so I need to be ready to shoot it.”
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat: 11/5/2024
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the Knicks' salary cap maneuverings, early-season favorites in the Eastern Conference, a surprising start in Brooklyn, Zion Williamson's latest injury issues, concerns about Giannis Antetokounmpo leaving Milwaukee and more!
Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Murray, Jazz, Sexton, SGA
Concerns about the Nuggets‘ depth appear to be justified so far, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Although Christian Braun has played well in his promotion into the starting five, the team has been left with a lot of questions off its bench.
Part of the problem is unfamiliarity, Durando adds. Julian Strawther has been added to the rotation, while Michael Porter Jr. is adapting to a new staggered role that has him seeing more time with the second unit. Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric were offseason additions in free agency, and Peyton Watson missed the entire preseason with a hamstring injury.
“Too early to be trying to figure out if and what doesn’t work,” Westbrook said. “You don’t know what’s gonna work. You’ve gotta give a healthy dose of kind of seeing what’s what, and then you go from there.”
Rebuilding the bench was an offseason priority after the Nuggets seemed to run out of gas in the playoffs as coach Michael Malone had to lean heavily on his starters. That pattern is already repeating itself, as Durando points out that the starting unit logged 104 minutes together in the first four games.
“We’ve gotta figure something out with that bench unit,” Malone said after an overtime win in Brooklyn this week. “And it’s a fine line of, ‘Hey, we’ve gotta give it time, but how much time can you give it before you start looking at different options?’ And that’s kind of what we’re still evaluating. … Plenty of basketball to be played. I always make sure I challenge myself and ask myself, ‘Am I helping Russell Westbrook and Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson and Dario Saric?’ So it’s not just on those players. It’s on myself to try to figure that out.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is likely to be sidelined a few more days after entering concussion protocol following Friday’s game, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Post. “I think he did some cardio tonight,” Malone said Saturday. “We’ll see how he reacts to that, but I think the usual timeline is maybe five to seven days, but, once again, he took a really nasty hit, so we’ll be smart about that. … As much as we want Jamal back, his well-being is a lot more important.”
- Poor shooting is behind a historically bad start for the Jazz, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah is the NBA’s only winless team at 0-6 and has dropped its last five games by a combined 110 points, making it the worst stretch in franchise history. They rank last in the league in three-point shooting and are 29th in two-point percentage.
- Jazz guard Collin Sexton suffered a fracture to his left ring finger on Thursday, but he plans to keep playing by taping it to another finger, Larsen adds. “From all accounts, Collin doesn’t feel pain,” coach Will Hardy said.
- During Saturday’s visit to Los Angeles, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has developed into an MVP candidate in Oklahoma City, reflected on the 2019 trade that sent him from the Clippers to the Thunder, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “I had a great year here when I was here,” he said. “Their front office made a trade that they thought was best for their team. Same with the Thunder. Then the last five years I’ve tried to focus on my development and the team’s development. I’ve tried to be the best basketball player I can be for the Oklahoma City Thunder. And I’d say it worked out in my favor.”
Jaylen Nowell Signs With Pelicans
NOVEMBER 3: The signing is official, the Pelicans announced in a press release.
NOVEMBER 2: The Pelicans will sign free agent guard Jaylen Nowell, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). It’s a non-guaranteed contract, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link).
New Orleans has been hit hard by early-season injuries, so Nowell will provide some much-needed depth. The team announced Friday that Herbert Jones will miss two-to-four weeks with a right shoulder strain and low-grade tear in his rotator cuff, while CJ McCollum will be sidelined two-to-three weeks with a right adductor strain.
That’s in addition to the loss of Dejounte Murray, who’s expected to miss three-to-five more weeks with a broken hand he suffered on opening night, and Trey Murphy, who’s out with a hamstring strain.
Nowell, 25, was in training camp with the Wizards on an Exhibit 10 contract, but was waived last month. He was listed on the camp roster for Washington’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.
Nowell played nine games for Memphis last season on a pair of 10-day contracts he signed in late November and early December. He spent most of the year with the Stockton Kings in the G League before returning to the NBA on a pair of two-way deals with Detroit in April.
Nowell was drafted by the Timberwolves with the 43rd pick in 2019 and played his first four NBA seasons in Minnesota. He holds career averages of 8.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 197 games.
The Pelicans have a roster spot open, so they won’t need a corresponding move before finalizing the contract with Nowell. The team has been using a 14-man roster because it’s operating above the luxury tax line and about $4.4MM below its hard cap.
Celtics Notes: Brown, Tatum, Queta, Lee
A hip flexor issue that forced Celtics guard Jaylen Brown to miss Saturday’s game has been bothering him for several weeks, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Brown sat out the second game of a back-to-back in Charlotte after playing 37 minutes on Friday night. An MRI two weeks ago revealed that it’s a strain and showed fluid in the affected area, and Brown plans to have more imaging done because his condition has worsened.
“I got an MRI in training camp and it’s been back and forth since then,” he said. “[Friday] I think I extended it a little more, and it’s already been giving me some trouble. I’m going to have to get another MRI and go from there.”
Brown is still playing at an All-Star level, averaging 25.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists through the first six games of the season. Saturday’s contest is the first one he has missed, and coach Joe Mazzulla told Washburn that Brown is considered day-to-day. He hopes to return for Monday’s game in his hometown of Atlanta, but he’s not sure how his body will respond.
“I haven’t felt like my legs have been underneath me, dealing with this hip flexor,” Brown said. “It’s more [affecting] my explosion and my burst. And then, mentally, trying to figure that out as well. Thinking about it kind of throws everything off a little bit, but I’ll be fine.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- An NBA source tells Washburn that Jayson Tatum talked with former teammate Grant Williams after Williams was ejected Friday for a hard foul on Tatum. Williams was reportedly apologetic and they patched up any differences, although they didn’t greet each other before or after Saturday’s contest. Tatum refused to discuss the incident while meeting with reporters Saturday (Twitter video link from Kayla Burton of NBC Sports Boston).
- Mazzulla turned to center Neemias Queta to finish Saturday’s game rather than Luke Kornet or Xavier Tillman, observes Brian Robb of MassLive. Kornet got the start, but Queta logged 15 minutes off the bench compared to three for Tillman and appears to have passed him in the rotation.
- Charles Lee only spent one season as an assistant in Boston, but he believes it helped him get hired as head coach of the Hornets, Washburn adds in a separate story. Lee said he learned a lot from being part of a title-winning team. “It’s cool to go to a championship-caliber organization with so much history,” he said. “How they structured their everyday schedule and what it means to be a Celtic. It was really cool and interesting for me and my family to experience. As a coach I was able to see how it works to have that much talent on your team, to have the target on your back all year as one of the best teams in the NBA. This team had gone through some hardships and we’re trying to get over that hump. To go through that journey with them last year and see that all that had to go into it was cool for me and my growth.”
NBA Searching For New All-Star Game Format
The NBA is considering another format change for this season’s All-Star Game, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. At a news conference prior to Saturday’s game in Mexico City, commissioner Adam Silver told reporters that Warriors star Stephen Curry has been involved in discussions about the Feb. 16 showcase in San Francisco.
“We’ve had direct conversations with Steph Curry — it’s a home game for him,” Silver said. “I know he’s very prideful and wants to make sure that the players put their best foot forward, so we’re looking at other formats. I think there’s no doubt that the players were disappointed as well in last year’s All-Star Game. We all want to do a better job providing competition and entertainment for our fans.”
Last season’s contest in Indianapolis was universally panned for its lack of defense and abundance of long three-point shots. The East defeated the West 211-186 in a listless affair despite a plea from league executive Joe Dumars to take the game seriously and put forth a better effort.
Creating a watchable All-Star Game has been an issue for the NBA for several years. In an effort to spark interest, the league switched its traditional East vs. West format in 2018 to have the top two vote-getters draft the players for each team. The “Elam Ending” was adopted in 2020 to give the game a different feel and ensure more exciting finishes.
However, none of the changes really resonated with the public, and the league returned to the East-West matchup last season with regular NBA rules.
“I think we all did what we thought we could, thinking we would particularly — in Indiana, sort of the heartland of basketball, somehow we would give it the college try, and we’d see a more competitive game,” Silver said. “I think, even if we could turn the clock back and get a bit more of a competitive game, even if it was more of a standard NBA game, I think fans would want more.”
The best-received part of last season’s All-Star Weekend was a Saturday night shooting contest between Curry and WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu. Although it hasn’t been formally announced, Silver said the plan is for them to have a rematch in San Francisco.
“If we can get more participation, not just for the physical activity but for all the values it represents,” that’s what the NBA wants, Silver said. “And I think showcasing those kinds of activities where you see men and women both competing in basketball at All-Star events should increasingly become a big part of it. And incidentally when you look at the interest in terms of viewership last year, one of the highlights was that Sabrina-Steph shootout, so we do want to do more of that.”
Silver also touched on the issue of expansion, saying the league continues to study the matter but nothing should be considered imminent, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Seattle and Las Vegas are widely viewed as the front-runners for new teams, but Silver said Mexico City is among the locations under consideration.
“Nothing’s been set, and we haven’t even determined whether to expand yet,” he added. “My sense is that if we expanded, we’d do an even number, because then we might have to do some adjustments in the conferences. But I think it makes sense to have two conferences of 16 teams if we were to do it. There have been times in the past in the NBA when we had an odd number, so it’s possible. But I think we most likely, if we were to expand, would look to expand to two cities.”
NBA Reopening Jaxson Hayes Investigation
The NBA will reopen its investigation into a domestic violence incident involving Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Los Angeles police responded to a domestic disturbance call on July 28, 2021, involving Hayes and Sofia Jamora, who was his girlfriend at the time. TMZ posted security camera footage of the incident on Saturday, prompting league officials to take another look at the case.
“As a result of the media report and video posted this morning, we are reopening our investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.
As McMenamin relays, the video appears to show Hayes pulling Jamora out of a doorway while she says, “Stop. Let go of me.” Hayes responds, “What the f— is wrong with you?”
Their argument continues in the driveway, where Jamora shouts, “I’m not going to let you hit me anymore. What the f— do I look like, a punching bag?” Hayes is later shown walking away from her and then turning to spit toward her.
Hayes was arrested, and in June 2022 he was sentenced to three years of probation, 450 hours of community service and a year of weekly domestic violence classes. He was also ordered to pay restitution.
Police body camera video showed Hayes fighting with officers, who twice used an electric stun gun after ordering him to leave the home so they could talk to the alleged victim. He told police that Jamora had been “throwing some stuff” at him during their argument. Hayes was treated at a hospital following the arrest, and an officer that Hayes threw against a wall was treated for an elbow injury.
The NBA didn’t take any action against Hayes following its initial investigation.
“There has already been an extensive investigation that we cooperated with the league on, and as that investigation reopens, we will continue to do so,” a spokesperson for Hayes told McMenamin.
McMenamin adds that attorneys representing Jamora filed a lawsuit this week alleging that Robert T. Tamate, the officer that Hayes fought with, “previously met with Hayes’s attorneys and was compensated monetarily by Hayes for unknown reasons.”
A spokesperson for Jamora told McMenamin that she will cooperate with the NBA investigation, and a representative of the Lakers said, “We are cooperating with the league.”