Lakers, Mavericks Discussed Randle-Noel Swap
The Lakers and Mavericks had “initial” trade talks involving Julius Randle and Nerlens Noel, according to Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN’s Full Court Press special.
Discussions broke off after Noel suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb that required surgery. The team didn’t offer a timetable for recovery after the December 6 operation, but Noel said doctors told him four to six weeks. That would have him back around mid-January, which is well in advance of the February 8 trade deadline. It remains to be seen if the Lakers will still be interested.
Both teams have obvious motives to make a deal. The Lakers are trying to clear cap room in hopes of offering two max contracts in next summer’s free agency, and Randle will have a $12.5MM cap hold. L.A. chose not to extend Randle’s rookie contract in October, and a report last month said it’s “unlikely” he will remain with the team beyond this season. Noel would bring an expiring contract, which is what the Lakers are looking for. Randle, a Dallas native, might have interest in signing long-term with the Mavericks when he becomes a restricted free agent in July.
Noel has been a disappointment in Dallas since being acquired from the Sixers at last year’s trade deadline. He was averaging 4.0 points and 4.1 rebounds through 18 games and had fallen out of the rotation before his surgery. Because he signed a $4.2MM qualifying offer to return to the Mavs this season, Noel has the option to refuse any trade.
Nikola Vucevic Breaks Bone In Hand, Out 6 To 8 Weeks
Magic center Nikola Vucevic fractured the first metacarpal on his left hand in tonight’s game, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The injury occurred midway through the first quarter of the contest at Washington, and Vucevic was taken to the locker room for X-rays that revealed the fracture.
Vucevic is expected to have surgery on the hand and miss six to eight weeks, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Vucevic has started all 33 of Orlando’s games heading into tonight and was averaging 17.8 points and 9.6 rebounds. He joins Aaron Gordon, Terrence Ross and Evan Fournier as members of the Magic’s opening-night lineup who are out with injuries, Robbins notes (Twitter link).
Vucevic’s absence should result in more playing time for backup center Bismack Biyombo, who is seeing just 15 minutes per game this season, down from from 22 a year ago. Averaging 4.0 points and 4.4 rebounds, Biyombo still has two years and $34MM left on the contract his signed in the summer of 2016.
Heat Notes: Waiters, J. Johnson, Ellington, Walton
Miami’s injury situation worsened Friday night when shooting guard Dion Waiters was forced to leave the game with a left ankle problem. Coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters today that x-rays and an MRI were both negative and it has been diagnosed as a sprain, tweets Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald.
This injury isn’t related to the left ankle issue that caused Waiters to miss the final 13 games last season, Spoelstra adds (Twitter link). Waiters opted not to have surgery over the summer because he was concerned it would impact his value in free agency, notes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
There’s more tonight out of Miami:
- The Heat have some encouraging news on the injury front, as Navarro tweets that James Johnson will return tonight after missing a week with right ankle bursitis. Center Hassan Whiteside has expanded his conditioning and court work after missing 12 games with a bone bruise in his knee (Twitter link). Point guard Goran Dragic will also play tonight after missing three games with a strained elbow ligament, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel (Twitter link).
- Wayne Ellington had one of his best nights in a Heat uniform Friday, showing the importance of the offseason maneuverings that were necessary for the team to pick up his option, Jackson writes in the same story. Miami couldn’t have afforded Ellington’s $6.3MM option and Kelly Olynyk‘s four-year, $50MM deal without unloading Josh McRoberts‘ salary of a little more than $6MM. McRoberts was shipped to Dallas along with cash and a 2023 second-rounder in exchange for A.J. Hammons, who has yet to play this season. “I’ve learned never to question [GM] Andy Elisburg,” Spoelstra said. “He can make a lot of things happen out of nowhere. When we executed his contract, he was the first guy I texted. I enjoy watching Wayne.”
- Rookie guard Derrick Walton made an impression on the coaching staff with his performance Friday, Jackson adds. Limited to 45 days in the NBA by his two-way contract, Walton had seven points, five assists and no turnovers in nearly 24 minutes of action. “He’s a heady player, gutsy player,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a gamer. He doesn’t get sick at sea in these kinds of moments. He gets you organized and makes the right plays. … You want your teammates and coaching staff to notice you when you get that opportunity and we did.”
Lakers Believe They Can Trade Jordan Clarkson
The Lakers are confident they can unload Jordan Clarkson at some point to help with their pursuit of free agents next summer, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said during an appearance on the network’s Full Court Press special.
L.A. reportedly wants to be able to offer a pair of max contracts in July, with LeBron James and Paul George considered to be prime targets. To make that possible the team has to trim salaries, including Clarkson, who has two seasons left on the four-year, $50MM contract he signed in the summer of 2016. He will make $12.5MM next season and $13.4375MM in 2019/20.
“They believe they can trade Jordan Clarkson and get his money off,” Wojnarowski said. “They prefer not to do it at the trade deadline. Clarkson has helped them win games this year, and because they don’t have their pick, they want to win as many games as they can. So I think there’s some confidence there that they can find a deal for Clarkson after the season, to get his money off. But there’s got to be a sequencing here. And it gets back to, are they going to chase one max-salary slot, or two?”
A former starter, the fourth-year guard has adjusted to a reserve role over the past two seasons and has remained productive. He is averaging 13.8 points through 30 games and shooting a career-best 46% from the field.
To open two full-max slots, the Lakers will also have to get rid of Luol Deng, who has only appeared in one game this season and is owed $36.81MM over the next two years, along with Julius Randle, who will have a cap hold of roughly $12.5MM. L.A. may decide to stretch Deng’s contract after this season, which would make it count $7.362MM against the cap for each of the next five years.
Bucks Waive Gary Payton II, Sign Sean Kilpatrick
DECEMBER 18, 10:54am: The Bucks have made it official, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived Payton and signed Kilpatrick to a two-way deal.
DECEMBER 16, 11:32pm: The player the Bucks are targeting is Sean Kilpatrick, who was waived by the Nets last week, Haynes tweets. Brooklyn released the fourth-year shooting guard to open a roster spot for the Jahlil Okafor trade. Kilpatrick was a part-time starter last season, averaging 13.1 points over 70 games, but his playing time was cut drastically this season and his scoring average dipped to 4.9 points in 16 contests.
10:58pm: The Bucks are planning to waive guard Gary Payton II, tweets Chris Haynes of ESPN. Haynes adds that getting rid of Payton is “not a popular move” among teammates (Twitter link).
Payton inked a two-way contract with Milwaukee in October, which limits him to 45 days in the NBA. He will reach that total Monday and would have to be signed to an NBA contract to continue playing for the team. The Bucks have a full 15-man roster with 14 guaranteed contracts.
Haynes’ report is confirmed by Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, who tweets that the Bucks want to use Payton’s two-way slot to sign another player and believe they need to act fast to make sure they get him. That player’s NBA time will be pro-rated, which will amount to about 30 days.
Payton has appeared in 11 games this season and has made six starts. He is averaging 2.4 points in about nine minutes per night.
Payton first joined the Bucks in April of last season. He was cut in October, but agreed to the two-day deal after clearing waivers.
Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace On Fizdale, Gasol, Future
The Grizzlies have fallen on hard times with 17 losses in their last 19 games, but GM Chris Wallace insists there is still hope for this season and it’s not time to rebuild, he tells Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
At 9-21, Memphis is 14th in the Western Conference standings, but only 5 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. Wallace is confident things will turn around when Mike Conley and Brandan Wright return from injuries, saying, “The season isn’t lost.”
Wallace explains the decision to fire coach David Fizdale and touches on several other topics in the wide-ranging interview. Here are a few passages:
On parting with Fizdale the day after star center Marc Gasol complained about not playing in the fourth quarter of a loss:
“In our judgment, it was time to make that move. We’re here every day… We understood going in that we weren’t going to reel off 10 straight wins with that schedule. We want to win games but I want to see improvement. I want to see the team continue to move forward.”
On animosity between Gasol and Fizdale and whether their issues could have been resolved:
“I’m not going to go back into any past history about their relationship. We know there was tension. But I’m not going to delve into our approach. I’m not going to go into their relationship other than we’ve acknowledged there was some tension.
On the job done by interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who has a 2-9 record since taking over the team:
“Obviously, we’d like some more wins. Everybody is frustrated that the wins haven’t come this whole year. But we’re happy with J.B. and his staff’s performance. They’ve organized the team well. Our defense has gotten better. They’ve kept the spirit of the team up. We’ve fought. We’ve been in about every game. They’ve made some positive changes and impact on the situation.”
On potential roster moves that might help salvage the season:
“I’m not going to comment on anything if it was in the hopper. It’s impossible to predict, moving forward, what opportunities will be out there. Any deal we’ve ever done I couldn’t have told you in advance that we’re doing this particular deal. It just doesn’t work that way. All 30 teams have different views of themselves, different agendas. Some are trying to position themselves for the future, some are who I like to call here-and-now teams. The course of teams changes during the season. It would be inaccurate for me to say that we’re definitely doing something or we’re not doing something. We just don’t know what the future is going to hold for us.”
On fans and media members who are calling on him to step down as GM:
“I obviously have a different opinion. I understand why fans are frustrated now. Hell, I’m more frustrated than they are. But I don’t think my time has come and gone. I’ve presided over the best run in the history of this franchise. That window was still very much open at the beginning of the year. I don’t see what’s changed. We’ve got a roster that when we’re healthy and everything is clicking we’re athletic, more versatile and more talented on the perimeter than we’ve been in years. I don’t see how you say that our time has passed as a team or my time has passed as a lead basketball executive.”
Sixers’ Furkan Korkmaz Has Broken Foot
Sixers rookie Furkan Korkmaz suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot during a G League game Friday, according to the team’s official medical report (tweeted by Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philadelphia).
“Further testing and evaluation is underway,” the report states. “He is out indefinitely and an update will be provided when appropriate.”
The 20-year-old shooting guard out of Turkey signed a contract with Philadelphia this summer after being drafted 26th overall in 2016. He has appeared in just six games with the Sixers, averaging 1.5 points in 5.3 minutes per night. He has played nine games for the organization’s affiliate in Delaware, averaging 15.4 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Warriors Notes: Curry, Green, Durant, Cook
Stephen Curry‘s sprained right ankle might keep him sidelined into 2018, according to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Plans were for Curry to be re-evaluated tomorrow, but he still isn’t able to play. He is likely to sit out at least another week and miss the Christmas Day clash with the Cavaliers. His absence could extend even longer, as the Warriors want to make sure he is 100% before activating him. The team has won eight straight games, so there’s no rush to bring Curry back.
“This is the first time I’ve been home for like a week straight,” Curry said. “It’s a different challenge because things are a little slower, but I’m still frustrated with the healing process and all that stuff, having to figure out that. That’s a grind mentally more so than physically to get up every day and be like, ‘I’ve got to go through some pain to get my foot worked on. I’ve got to ride the bike to stay in shape.’ All that stuff is a different mental challenge.”
There’s more news from the Bay Area:
- Draymond Green‘s right shoulder injury is becoming an unexpected problem, relays Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News. The star forward sat out the past two games and will have his condition re-evaluated today. “At first it didn’t seem like it would be more than a few days,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s a little bit concerning that he hasn’t made bigger strides, but I still don’t think its a major level of concern.”
- One of the first people to reach out to Kevin Durant after he announced his decision to join the Warriors last year was former Laker Kobe Bryant, Medina reveals in a separate story. Bryant told Durant to shut out the public reaction and trust his own judgment. “Having Kobe there to support me through that situation, it felt like him telling me, ‘All right, your skills are good enough to be among some of the best,’” Durant said. “‘You just have to keep working to stay there.’”
- Quinn Cook, who joined the Warriors on a two-way contract after being waived by the Hawks in October, relates that experience in a podcast with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. He had a two-way offer from Golden State before deciding to go to Atlanta for training camp on a partially guaranteed contract. “To be part of the standard franchise in basketball right now is very humbling for me and a big opportunity,” Cook said.
Southeast Notes: J. Johnson, Hezonja, G League, Batum
James Johnson may be the latest addition to the Heat’s long list of injured players, writes Ira Winderman of The-Sun Sentinel. Johnson will have an MRI today to determine the extent of a lower-leg issue that forced him to leave Saturday’s game. He is in the midst of another productive season, averaging 10.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 28 games, and an extended absence would be a significant blow to a team already reeling from injuries.
Miami is without center Hassan Whiteside, who has missed two weeks with a bone bruise on his left knee and won’t join the team for a two-game road trip, along with Justise Winslow [strained knee], Okaro White [foot surgery] and Rodney McGruder [leg surgery]. The injuries have created more playing time for rookie Bam Adebayo and free agent additions Kelly Olynyk and Jordan Mickey.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with J.J. He’s talked to me a lot,” Mickey said. “He’s always said, ‘Eventually your number will get called.’ I’m not happy in this particular position [with Johnson out], but I’ll be ready, Coach needs me and I’m already ready.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Injuries are also creating an opportunity for Magic small forward Mario Hezonja, notes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. With Jonathan Isaac, Aaron Gordon and Arron Afflalo all sidelined, Hezonja has started the past three games with uneven results, Robbins notes. The fifth player taken in the 2015 draft, Hezonja may be looking at his last chance to prove himself before unrestricted free agency next summer. Orlando declined to pick up his fourth-year option in October. “You’ve just got to find your own rhythm but still be in the system,” Hezonja said. “If I go out [and try to excel] individually, I’m going to look good, but we’re going to lose. We’re not going to win a lot of games like that. Everybody has to step up like that, has to have that mindset.”
- The Magic are enjoying the benefits of having a G League affiliate close to home, relays John Denton of NBA.com. The organization moved its affiliate from Erie, Pa., to Lakeland, Fla., over the summer, which is paying off with the recent rash of injuries. Jamel Artis and Adreian Payne were able to attend practice with the Magic Tuesday morning, even though they had a G League game that night, then were available for Wednesday’s NBA contest.
- Nicolas Batum offered a reminder of why the Hornets gave him a five-year, $120MM contract with with a season-high 23-point performance Saturday, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. For most of this season, Batum has been deferring to other players on offense after returning from a torn ligament in his left elbow that he suffered in the preseason. “I was trying to adjust myself to the other guys way too much,” he said, “when sometimes I have to let them adjust to me.”
Knicks Notes: Anthony, Kanter, Hardaway
Returning to New York Saturday for the first time since being traded to Oklahoma City in September brought back a lot of memories for Carmelo Anthony, relays Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Anthony addressed the six-and-a-half years he spent with the Knicks, along with several other topics, in a post-game press conference.
“I like what I see, I like the potential that they have,” Anthony said of the Knicks. “I like what they having going on over here. For me, just to see those guys having fun again knowing that it wasn’t fun. The fun was lost over the past couple seasons, so to see those guys having fun again, bringing that energy, bringing that love back to the game, back to the Garden, is something that I’m happy for those guys when it comes to that.”
Anthony brushed aside a question about his feud with former team president Phil Jackson that eventually drove both men out of New York. Anthony was a frequent target of Jackson for not adapting his game to fit into the triangle offense, but he declined to speculate how the night may have been different if Jackson were still with the team.
“I don’t know what would’ve happened, to be honest with you,” Anthony said. “I try not to think about the past. I put that chapter behind me.”
There’s more this morning from New York:
- Anthony got a mixed reaction from the crowd in his first game back at Madison Square Garden, with overwhelming cheers during introductions but consistent boos when he touched the ball during the game. The team helped smooth things over with a pre-game video that highlighted Anthony’s best moments with the organization. “The video montage caught me by surprise,” Anthony said. “… I’d like to thank [GM] Scott Perry, [team president] Steve Mills, and the organization for doing that and making that gesture. That was big time and, for me, that goes a long way for myself, and it’s much appreciated.” (Twitter link from Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders).
- The spotlight was on Anthony, but Knicks center Enes Kanter also faced his former team, notes Brian Heyman of Newsday. Kanter, who spent the past two-and-half seasons in Oklahoma City, was part of the return New York received in the Anthony trade. “Whenever I play my old team, it always feels special,” Kanter said. “I get a little emotional, especially jacked up. I’ve battled with them. We went to the Western Conference finals together. So it feels really special.”
- Injured guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is helping the coaching staff while recovering from a stress reaction in his left leg, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Out for the past two weeks, Hardaway is slated to be re-evaluated this week by the Knicks’ medical staff. “It’s tough — like I had something taken away from me,’’ Hardaway said.