Draymond Green Out 4-To-6 Weeks With Sprained Ankle
Draymond Green has suffered a left ankle sprain that could sideline him for up to six weeks, tweets Jason Dumas of KRON4 News. It’s not a high ankle sprain, Dumas adds, and more information is expected to be revealed Monday at the Warriors‘ media day.
The injury happened during a pickup game this week at Chase Center, a source tells Kendra Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link).
“I dodged a bullet and learned that today by the way it’s (positively) reacting,” Green told Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). “Even with an MRI you don’t see the trend of it immediately. The swelling is down.”
Green added that he expects to be sidelined for four to six weeks. That means he’ll miss all of training camp and the preseason and he’s not likely to be available when Golden State hosts the Suns to open the regular season on October 24.
It’s a tough break for a Warriors team that relies heavily on the defense and play-making that Green provides. His absence could mean a greater early-season role for Jonathan Kuminga, as well as offseason addition Dario Saric.
Injuries have become more common for the 33-year-old Green, who is preparing for his 12th NBA season. He battled through a series of physical issues while playing 73 games last season and was limited to 46 games in 2021/22 because of a back ailment.
DJ Steward Signs Training Camp Deal With Celtics
SEPTEMBER 30: Steward’s contract with Boston is now official, according to RealGM’s transaction log.
AUGUST 12: The Celtics have reached an agreement on a training camp contract with former Duke guard DJ Steward, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Sources tell Wojnarowski that Steward will be given a chance to earn a two-way contract. Boston has one spot open, with JD Davison and Jay Scrubb already holding two-way deals.
Steward signed with the Kings in 2021 and 2022 and wound up in the G League both years. In April, he joined the Vancouver Bandits in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
The 21-year-old played for the Sixers in the Las Vegas Summer League, where he averaged 16.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in five games.
Steward’s signing will give the Celtics 16 players under contract, five short of the offseason limit.
Heat Notes: Lillard, Roster, Herro, Hampton
The Heat suffered a major loss when news of the Damian Lillard trade broke on Wednesday, failing to acquire a future Hall of Famer who specifically wanted to be dealt to them, writes Greg Cote of The Miami Herald. Nearly three months after Lillard told the Trail Blazers that he only wanted to go to Miami, he wound up in Milwaukee, where he and Giannis Antetokounmpo may be the greatest obstacle to the Heat’s chances to repeat as Eastern Conference champions.
Miami missed out on Lillard because team president Pat Riley wasn’t willing to increase his offer to Portland and couldn’t find a third team to help facilitate a deal, Cote adds. Riley was counting on Lillard’s preference for Miami and a lackluster trade market to eventually work in his favor.
Cote contends that acquiring Lillard is the type of win-now move the Heat need to make because their championship window is limited with 34-year-old Jimmy Butler as their best player. Adding Lillard would have provided a shot of energy the team needs as it approaches a long season, Cote adds. Instead Miami will open camp wondering how he got away.
There’s more from Miami:
- With Lillard off the table, the Heat’s options to improve their roster are now limited, observes Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports. Age is an issue as Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love are older than Butler, Rohrbach notes, and so are financial concerns as Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson are owed about $130MM for the 2025/26 season, which represents 90% of the projected salary cap. Rohrbach adds that the summer-long pursuit of Lillard showed Herro’s limited trade value around the league.
- Butler’s Instagram post on Wednesday accusing the Bucks of tampering in the Lillard deal received an endorsement from Herro, who tweeted, “What he said.”
- RJ Hampton, who is joining the Heat on a two-way contract, is grateful to be in Miami after spending time with three teams in his first three NBA seasons. “A PRIVILEGE to be apart of this organization, let’s go,” Hampton wrote on Twitter. The Heat opened a spot for Hampton with a series of moves on Wednesday.
Raptors Notes: Lillard, Siakam, Anunoby, Barnes, Holiday
The Raptors were willing to part with a slew of draft assets to acquire Damian Lillard, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, but a Western Conference source tells him they were hoping to reach a deal with the Trail Blazers that didn’t include Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby or Scottie Barnes.
Grange hears that Toronto’s offer included up to three future first-round picks, two pick swaps and rookie forward Gradey Dick. Team officials believed they could become title contenders by adding Lillard to their existing talent, but not by having him replace one of their key components.
The fact that the Raptors were involved in discussions for Lillard shows that the front office isn’t content with the team in its current form, observes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Big decisions are coming up soon that will affect the organization’s future, and team officials will have to determine whether they’re planning to contend or rebuild.
Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. both have expiring contracts and are currently eligible for extensions. Another potential free agent next summer is Anunoby, who has a $19.9MM player option for 2024/25 that he’s expected to decline. Koreen notes that means the window is closing on a potential win-now move if the Raptors don’t do something by February’s trade deadline.
There’s more from Toronto:
- The Raptors aren’t likely to pursue Jrue Holiday, who is reportedly back on the market after being sent to Portland in the Lillard deal, Grange states in the same piece. Toronto wanted Lillard to provide more spacing for Barnes and Siakam, and Holiday isn’t on the same level as an outside shooter.
- The Raptors haven’t held any extension talks with Siakam, Grange adds. Siakam will become eligible for a super-max deal if he remains in Toronto and makes an All-NBA team in 2024.
- In a separate story, Koreen looks at questions for every player on the Raptors’ roster, including the need for a new lead guard after the loss of Fred VanVleet in free agency. He notes that Dennis Schröder normally excels at getting into the paint, but he may find that more difficult as Toronto doesn’t have enough outside shooting to provide driving lanes.
- Toronto pulled off a G League trade this week, with the Raptors 905 acquiring the rights to Denzel Valentine from the Maine Celtics in exchange for Kylor Kelley, tweets Blake Murphy of SportsNet.
Inside The Damian Lillard Trade
Damian Lillard had become more involved with the Trail Blazers over the past two weeks and was preparing to attend training camp with the team if he didn’t get the trade he requested, according to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic.
After nearly three months of waiting, that deal came together on Wednesday, sending Lillard to the Bucks in a three-way trade that also involved the Suns. Lillard hadn’t been reconciling with Portland, the authors add, but he was working out at the team facility and interacting with coaches and teammates to show that he was willing to remain patient as the Blazers’ front office tried to find a trade.
Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, informed general manager Joe Cronin early in September that Lillard was open to participating in camp if a deal didn’t happen before then, sources tell Charania and Amick, and Lillard told team officials that he would be “fully present” for the start of the season while trade talks continued.
However, the authors’ sources say Cronin didn’t want the distraction of having Lillard on the roster when camp began and preferred to get a deal out of the way before Monday’s media day. He viewed the Lillard situation as “a cloud over the organization” and wanted the team to be able to focus on the season ahead without having to worry about Lillard’s future.
Charania and Amick provide more inside information about Wednesday’s blockbuster:
- When Lillard made his trade request on July 1, he told team officials he only wanted to go to Miami and was expecting to be rewarded for his years of loyalty to the organization. Charania and Amick confirm the Blazers and Heat talked several times in July, but the negotiations never became “substantive,” according to the authors’ sources. Portland asked for Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo in its first call, and Miami eventually decided that Cronin wasn’t serious about working out a deal with them.
- Sources tell Charania and Amick that in July and August, the Heat were willing to part with three first-round picks, multiple second-rounders and pick swaps, along with Nikola Jovic in a proposal that would have sent Tyler Herro to a third team. However, the Blazers weren’t interested and the relationship between Portland and Miami started to become contentious. It’s worth noting that Miami didn’t technically have three tradable first-round picks available due to an obligation to the Thunder and the Stepien rule.
- Cronin began serious trade discussions around the league on September 18 and found interest from the Bucks, Celtics, Pelicans, Raptors, Timberwolves and Bulls. All those teams wanted to acquire Lillard, but they were concerned about Portland’s asking price and whether they would have enough talent left on their roster after a deal to compete for a title.
- Tensions reached a point where Cronin stopped responding to Goodwin in mid-September, sources tell Charania and Amick, and Goodwin began to explore other options that might appeal to Lillard. He was willing to consider the Bucks and Nets, and Goodwin communicated his interest to both those teams. The Raptors also had serious interest, but Lillard’s reluctance to play there was an obstacle until the end, the authors note.
- The authors’ sources say the Suns started discussing the framework of a Deandre Ayton–Jusuf Nurkic trade in mid-July, but the Blazers wanted to make sure they could avoid the luxury tax when Lillard was eventually dealt. Phoenix would likely have been part of any deal with the Bucks, Nets or Heat, Charania and Amick add.
Pacers Notes: Hield, Mathurin, Backup Center, Nembhard, McConnell
The Pacers are in a difficult position trying to make a Buddy Hield trade so close to the start of the season, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. No progress has been reported since news broke last Wednesday that the team was working with Hield’s representatives to find a deal after the sides were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension.
Dopirak believes Indiana is justified in asking a high price for Hield, who is one of the league’s top three-point shooters. However, teams are reluctant to shake up their rosters this far into the offseason, especially for a player who has an expiring contract.
It’s also not clear what the Pacers will be seeking in return for Hield. Dopirak notes that the team saw a need after last season to upgrade at power forward and find defensive-minded wings, but that has already been addressed during the offseason. He states that they’ll need three-point shooting help if they part with Hield and may be looking for a younger, less expensive player who can do what he does.
There’s more on the Pacers, all courtesy of Dopirak:
- Bennedict Mathurin has a chance to win a starting job, but only if he can improve his defense. Dopirak observes that the first-team All-Rookie selection struggled with that part of the game, particularly when he got an opportunity to start late in the season. The Pacers are hoping to see progress from Mathurin in camp and will need him to take on a larger role if Hield gets traded.
- Daniel Theis‘ impressive showing in the World Cup gives him a strong case to be the primary backup center heading into camp. Dopirak notes that he’ll be competing for minutes with Isaiah Jackson and Jalen Smith, who are both younger and more athletic than the 31-year-old Theis. He adds that Jackson is the team’s best lob finisher and second-best shot blocker behind Myles Turner, while Smith was Indiana’s leader last season in rebounds per 48 minutes.
- The Pacers’ improved roster could lead to several other changes, Dopirak adds. If Mathurin and free agent addition Bruce Brown are both starters, Andrew Nembhard could move from shooting guard to backup point guard, which is his more natural position. That could lead to a reduction in playing time for T.J. McConnell, who posted the best scoring average of his career last season.
Knicks Notes: Quickley, Barrett, Fournier, DiVincenzo
There’s optimism surrounding the Knicks’ extension talks with Immanuel Quickley, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. The 24-year-old guard is eligible to sign an extension until October 23, which is the day before the regular season begins. If no deal is reached, he will become a restricted free agent next summer.
Sources tell Katz that Knicks management wants to get a long-term deal done with Quickley, who was one of the team’s top scorers at 14.9 PPG last season while finishing second in the Sixth Man of the Year voting. He’s viewed as a vital part of an organization that’s on the rise after reaching the second round of the playoffs.
New York doesn’t project to have cap room next summer, Katz adds, so an extension for Quickley won’t affect the team’s free agency plans. Coach Tom Thibodeau appeared to lose faith in Quickley during the playoffs, cutting his minutes during the second-round series with Miami, but Katz doesn’t believe that will be a long-term concern.
Katz also points out that the Knicks were in a similar position last summer with RJ Barrett, who had to wait until September before receiving his four-year, $107MM extension.
There’s more from New York, all courtesy of Katz:
- Barrett will arrive in training camp in a much different position than he did a year ago. Katz notes that Barrett was concerned with avoiding injury last summer while he waited for his new contract, so he didn’t play much pickup basketball and got off to a slow start. He spent this offseason as one of Canada’s best players on its way to winning a bronze medal at the World Cup. Katz observes that Barrett showed an ability in that tournament to make the right read when confronted by multiple defenders, which might happen often given the Knicks’ lack of outside shooting.
- The Knicks and Evan Fournier appear stuck with each other even though he said in an offseason interview that it would be a “disaster” if the team didn’t move him this summer. Fournier’s $18.9MM expiring contract could still be valuable in a trade, so Katz expects him to remain on the roster even if he hardly ever plays.
- New York traded away Obi Toppin, who averaged 15.7 minutes per game last season, and brought in Donte DiVincenzo, who played 26.3 minutes per game with the Warriors, so someone will have their playing time reduced as long as everyone is healthy. Katz points out that Barrett and Quentin Grimes both saw fewer minutes after Josh Hart was acquired in February and speculates that either DiVincenzo could play less than he did with Golden State or he may take away minutes from Quickley.
Southeast Notes: Heat Centers, Kispert, Hornets
The Heat will enter training camp next week with several options to back up starting center Bam Adebayo, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Miami’s roster could change dramatically with a Damian Lillard trade, but for now the candidates to be the second-string center are Thomas Bryant, Orlando Robinson and Kevin Love, who may be the starter at power forward.
Bryant signed a two-year, veteran’s minimum contract after spending last season with the Lakers and Nuggets. Winderman notes that the 26-year-old was the only big man added to the roster this summer, so it appears the organization is committed to giving him a steady role.
Robinson, 23, signed a standard contract in July after playing on a two-way deal as a rookie. He showed promise last season and during Summer League, Winderman observes, and may be able to earn rotation minutes if he can improve his defense and avoid foul trouble.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Trading for Lillard isn’t the Heat’s only path to success, Winderman adds in a separate Sun Sentinel story. He contends that with the current roster, the team’s outlook will depend on how much improvement from Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic and Haywood Highsmith can offset the loss of Max Strus and Gabe Vincent.
- Wizards swingman Corey Kispert established himself as one of the NBA’s best three-point shooters during his second season, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Robbins consulted several NBA scouts to get their view of Kispert, who connected at 42.4% from long distance last year. “The one thing you want to look for often with young guys is: Does he have an elite skill? Does he have something that the coaches can rely on? (Does he have a skill where) they can say, ‘We’re going to put him out there and we know for sure he can do this,’” one scout said. “And Corey does, right? No one’s going to question his ability to shoot.”
- Theoden Janes of The Charlotte Observer talks to country music star Eric Church about his love for basketball and how he became part of the Hornets‘ new ownership group. He calls owning his favorite childhood team “beyond any dream I ever had when I was a young man.”
Stein’s Latest: Lillard, Raptors, Hield, Lively, Howard
There’s a growing belief around the league that the Raptors have legitimate interest in trading for Damian Lillard, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column (subscription required).
There has been skepticism over Toronto’s desire to make a deal, Stein adds, considering that the front office hasn’t been active even though trade rumors have been swirling around the team since January, particularly regarding Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. He notes that any remaining uncertainty is related to Lillard’s strong preference for Miami over every other market.
Stein compares the Lillard situation to the Raptors’ pursuit of Kawhi Leonard five years ago. Unlike Leonard, who was entering the final year of his contract, Lillard is signed for four more years and is owed nearly $220MM. Toronto also doesn’t have the foundation in place to compete for a title with one more big move, the way it did when it traded for Leonard.
Stein believes the Trail Blazers would prefer to wrap up the summer-long Lillard saga before the team’s media day next Monday. However, negotiations with the Heat are on hold as they and many other teams around the league think about preserving their assets for a potential run at Giannis Antetokounmpo or any other star who might become available.
Portland doesn’t want to part with Lillard for less than his market value, Stein adds, but the alternative is to deal with the distractions that will come with keeping him for training camp and beyond.
Stein shares more inside information from around the league:
- Several NBA executives disagree with Stein’s statement on his radio show that the Pacers can get a future first-round pick for Buddy Hield. Stein says he talked to several front office people who believe Hield’s expiring $19.3MM contract will limit his trade value because of the uncertainty about re-signing him. They see his ceiling as multiple second-rounders.
- Appearing on Stein’s show, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said rookie center Dereck Lively II will get an opportunity to win a starting job in training camp. Stein notes that Dallas pursued the Hawks’ Clint Capela and the Suns’ Deandre Ayton during the offseason, but wasn’t able to work out a deal for a veteran big man. Christian Wood left in free agency and JaVale McGee was waived, leaving Dwight Powell as the only incumbent center on the roster. Richaun Holmes was acquired in a draft night trade, and Maxi Kleber may see time as a small-ball five.
- Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Grant Williams are the Mavericks‘ only definite starters heading into camp, added Kidd, who said first-round pick Olivier-Maxence Prosper will also compete for a starting job. “I look for those rookies to play a lot this season,” Kidd told Stein. “They’re going to be a part of our fabric.”
- Dwight Howard‘s interview with the Warriors last week wasn’t the first time he has thought about joining the team. Stein recalls that Golden State wanted to sign Howard when he became a free agent in 2013, and he even worked out that summer with Stephen Curry, but he chose the Rockets instead.
Pacific Notes: Vanderbilt, Warriors, Howard, Morris
Lakers power forward Jarred Vanderbilt holds the unusual distinction of being traded away from two different teams by the same executive. When Tim Connelly ran the Nuggets, he sent Vanderbilt to Minnesota as part of a four-team trade at the 2020 deadline. He did the same thing last summer as the Timberwolves’ president of basketball operations, shipping Vanderbilt to Utah in the Rudy Gobert deal.
“(Timberwolves) got a new president/GM. Same one that came from (the Nuggets),” Vanderbilt said on the Tidal League “Run Your Race” podcast (video link from ClutchPoints). “… He traded me to Minnesota, then he got to Minnesota, traded me again to (the Jazz). I’m like ‘damn.’”
Things worked out fine for Vanderbilt, who played an important role in the Lakers’ run to the Western Conference Finals and was recently rewarded with a four-year, $48MM extension. On the same podcast, Vanderbilt addressed rumors that he has grown over the summer (hat tip to Fan Nation).
“They saying I’m 6’11” now. … I don’t know,” Vanderbilt said. “That’s what the streets saying, I’m just the messenger.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Minority investors who own a little more than 10% of the Warriors are looking to sell their shares in the team, according to Giles Turner and Randall Williams of Bloomberg. They are reportedly asking for $700MM, which would put the team’s valuation at an NBA record $7 billion. The Warriors refused to confirm the rumor, issuing a statement that reads, “Per our organization policy, we do not comment on the potential sale or non-sale of ownership among our investment group.”
- Dwight Howard posted a cryptic tweet on Saturday after the Warriors reportedly decided not to sign him or any other big man before the start of training camp. The 37-year-old center had two days of interviews with the team and worked out with some of its veteran players this week. “Only as a WARRIOR can one withstand the path of knowledge,” Howard wrote. “A WARRIOR cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge. And challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.”
- Marcus Morris‘ situation with the Clippers appears unsettled, but he won’t consider staying away from the team the way that Jae Crowder did with the Suns, sources tell Law Murray of The Athletic. Morris started all 65 games he appeared in last season, but Murray called him “unplayable” after Paul George was lost with a knee injury. Murray notes that Morris was brought in to be the third scoring option for a team without a ball-dominant point guard, but there’s no longer a need for that since the acquisition of Russell Westbrook.