Kevin Love Expected To Miss Eight Weeks
FEBRUARY 2, 7:23am: The Cavaliers have issued a status update on Love, announcing that the veteran will undergo non-surgical treatment on his broken hand. He’s currently projected to be sidelined for about eight weeks, according to the team.
JANUARY 31, 11:55am: It remains uncertain whether or not Love will require surgery, but the Cavs are expected to rule him out for up to two months, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. That would put the big man to miss all of February and perhaps all of March as well.
JANUARY 30, 8:18pm: After sustaining a left hand injury Tuesday, Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks, Brian Windhorst of ESPN tweets.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin adds that an X-Ray has revealed a non-displaced fracture in the big man’s fifth metacarpal. That’s different, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic tweets, than the bone Love broke with the Timberwolves back in 2009.
Per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, Love was removed from the Cavs’ tilt against the Pistons in the first quarter and will be further evaluated on Wednesday.
Assuming the current diagnosis remains, Love will miss his second straight All-Star Game with an injury (last February he had minor knee surgery). This year, Love has posted averages of 18.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, although the entire 2017/18 Cavaliers season has been mired in drama.
This is the latest setback in a down year for the reigning Eastern Conference champions, a team that’s already said to have been actively seeking reinforcements via trade as the February 8 trade deadline approaches.
Pacific Notes: Randle, Booker, Ball
A move back into the starting lineup has helped Lakers forward Julius Randle take his game to another level, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register writes. The 23-year-old has averaged 16.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in just 26.5 minutes of action.
Randle, who started the season off the bench after two years as the team’s starting power forward, was promoted by Lakers head coach Luke Walton to be a physical presence for the squad and collect rebounds.
All in, Randle has registered seven double-doubles in the month of January alone while also taking major steps defensively. The move into the starting lineup, Oram writes, comes with more responsibility on that end of the ball considering that the Lakers tend to play man-to-man with their starters while switching everything with their reserves.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- X-Rays of Devin Booker‘s ribs came back negative, Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic writes. The 21-year-old Suns guard missed Monday’s game with a rib contusion but hopes to be back in the lineup Wednesday.
- The Trail Blazers are playing some of their best basketball of the season of late, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes, but everything can change at the drop of a hat in the competitive Western Conference. Head coach Terry Stotts cautioned against counting out the Pelicans and Thunder following the recent season-ending injuries to DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Roberson, however.
- Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball has started testing his knee laterally, Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times tweets. Ball still isn’t practicing with the team but seems to be making gradual progress. Ball has missed seven straight games.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/30/18
Here are the G League moves from around the Association:
- The Knicks have assigned rookie point guard Damyean Dotson to their G League affiliate in Westchester, the team’s public relations department tweeted.
- The Rockets assigned Zhou Qi to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their G League affiliate. The forward had been rehabbing his sore right elbow with the big league club, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
2018 Free Agent Stock Watch: Chicago Bulls
After navigating the drama of last season and coming out in a solid position, the Bulls will need to do everything they can to keep the momentum of their rebuild rolling.
The club has shown glimpses of being a competent squad at times this season, with a number of intriguing assets already on the roster. However, nobody would bat an eye if the Bulls end up bottoming out with a solid pick in the lottery.
Much of Chicago’s long-term success will come down to the eventual growth of players like Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn, but don’t think that the forthcoming free agency period won’t represent its own opportunities for progress.
Zach LaVine, SG, 23 (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $9.6MM deal in 2014
It’s hard to believe that LaVine is still so young considering how long he’s been in the league. This summer he’ll hit the market as a restricted free agent following a torn ACL that sidelined him for parts of each of the past two seasons. That’s good news and bad news for Chicago. Like the rest of us, the Bulls are intrigued by LaVine’s ceiling and an abbreviated campaign isn’t enough to base such an important long-term decision on. That said, other teams will have even less to base a substantial offer on. Given the uncertainty around his health and even his ability to be a primary offensive weapon, it’s hard to imagine the Bulls offering a max contract but they’ve got enough cap flexibility to make him their highest-paid player in 2018/19 and beyond, assuming they like what they see out of him down the stretch.
Nikola Mirotic, PF, 27 (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $25MM deal in 2017
It’s hard to imagine that Mirotic will still be in a Bulls uniform come next summer considering that earlier today it seemed all but certain he would be traded to the Pelicans. Nonetheless, Mirotic’s contract situation will be similar wherever he lands up — his $12.5MM team option for 2018/19 is a bargain. Mirotic has shown that he’s capable of having a major impact on his ball club and any team that brings him on ahead of the February 8 trade deadline would be wise to lock him in at the discount. The open-ended contract buffs his value as a trade chip for Chicago but at the end of the day he’s a stretch four with no major red flags. That’s worth $12.5MM.
David Nwaba, SG, 25 (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $1.4MM deal in 2017
The Bulls are rebuilding their roster from the ground up, so players like Nwaba hold appeal even if they don’t necessarily scream team cornerstone. Nwaba is a respected perimeter defender that gels well with other, more offensively inclined weapons on the roster. There may be a few teams interested in poaching him for the intangibles that he brings to the court, just as Jonathon Simmons had suitors last summer, but a dearth of league-wide cap space may keep things in check. My guess is that the Bulls would be happy to cut Nwaba a check similar to Simmons’ (~$6MM per) so long as it’s on a short-term deal.
Quincy Pondexter, SF, 30 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $14MM deal in 2014
It’s impressive enough that Pondexter is back on the court after his years-long battle with injuries and illness. This year, his first with the Bulls after coming over in a salary clearing trade from the Pelicans, is the last of a four-year contract extension that’s basically felt like 12. It’s hard to envision Pondexter back in Chicago once the deal expires, but he could stick around the league if he can prove to other teams that he’s healthy enough to play the role of veteran gunner. He’s certainly earned the opportunity, at least.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Andre Drummond To Replace John Wall In All-Star Game
The NBA has announced that Andre Drummond will replace John Wall in next month’s All-Star Game, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. The big man has enjoyed a career year with the Pistons, averaging 14.7 points and 15.1 rebounds per game.
Drummond, one of the most notable omissions from the initial wave of All-Stars, will suit up for his second such contest, his last appearance coming in the midst of Detroit’s 2015/16 push to the postseason.
Per Zillgitt, Silver made the decision to include Drummond because he received more voting points from coaches than any other player left off the initial roster in the Eastern Conference.
When the initial rosters were revealed, Drummond seemed particularly offended by his having been left out. At the time, he took out his frustration in the form of a 30-point, 23-rebound, 6-block, 3-steal night against the Jazz.
Wall’s absence from the game is unsurprising after this morning’s announcement that he’ll miss six weeks tending to a troublesome knee.
Central Notes: Pacers, Bucks, Hill
The Pacers find themselves firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff conversation after a busy offseason but don’t expect the organization to start mortgaging its long-term future for short-term success.
The Fox Sports Indiana crew interviewed Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan on Saturday night about the team’s mindset as the February 8 trade deadline approaches.
“We’ve had such a great chemistry, you’re reluctant to disrupt that,” Buchanan said. “You also want to do what’s right for the [Pacers] long term. We’re in no hurry to change up anything with this team.”
Of course Buchanan is well aware of where the Pacers stack up against the rest of the league. For that reason, the club is looking only for something sustainable that they can build around for the next three, four (five, six, seven) years.
Buchanan did note that one aspect the Pacers are always looking to shore up is shooting. “The way the league is going right now, shooting is a premium,” he said. “The more shooting you can put around a playmaker like Victor. Those guys need space.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- A unique characteristic of the Bucks franchise is that their three-pronged ownership group all make big franchise decisions together. David Aldridge of TNT recently wrote about that aspect of the organization, noting that there was a consensus about firing Jason Kidd.
- The Cavaliers supposedly wanted the option of buying out Kings guard George Hill after this season, which is one reason the two teams couldn’t complete a trade, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports (via Dan Feldman of NBC Sports). Currently Hill’s $19MM for 2018/19 is fully guaranteed. Only $1MM of Hill’s $18MM in 2019/20 is guaranteed, however.
- The Bulls didn’t expect Kris Dunn back in the lineup when they played Portland on Wednesday but they did expect him to travel with the team. That is no longer the case, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes.
Knicks Notes: Porzingis, Bradley, Jack
The Knicks have fallen out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture thanks to a recent slide but star forward Kristaps Porzingis would still prefer the team to make a push to sneak back in, Ian Begley of ESPN writes.
Porzingis, averaging 23.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in his third season, says that he’s eager to gain playoff experience but concedes that the team’s decision is out of his control.
“I don’t think it’s healthy for any player to have [tanking] in their minds,” Porzingis said. “Whatever happens, you give your all on the court and if it doesn’t work out and you can’t win games then something else good might happen and you have that. But as a player your mindset has to be going out and giving 110 percent and live with the results.”
There’s more out of the Big Apple today:
- It appears as though the Knicks contacted the Pistons about Avery Bradley prior to his being sent to the Clippers, Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes.
- There’s a case to be made for the Knicks offering Jarrett Jack to a contender at the deadline but the veteran point guard would rather remain with New York, a team he thinks can possibly claw back into the postseason picture, Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes.
- The Knicks are looking for a way to clear their books of Joakim Noah‘s contract, especially after a heated exchange between the player and head coach Jeff Hornacek. Ian Begley and Bobby Marks of ESPN recently wrote about the options that New York actually has available to them.
Joel Embiid’s Back-To-Back Debut Postponed
JANUARY 29: Embiid won’t play on Monday night after all, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who tweets that the Sixers are playing it safe due to the “heavy loading” in Sunday’s game. The current plan is for Embiid to play both halves of the team’s back-to-back on Friday and Saturday against the Heat and Pacers.
JANUARY 28: For the first time in his two active seasons, Joel Embiid has been cleared to play a back-to-back for the Sixers, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
Embiid himself said that it depends on how he feels after the club’s Sunday night loss to the Thunder but technically he’s available and adds that he’s felt particularly good of late. On the floor, the 23-year-old has looked better than good, averaging 23.6 points and 10.9 rebounds in just 31.4 minutes per game of action.
Up to this point in the 2017/18 campaign, the Sixers have played in five back-to-backs and Embiid has missed at least one contest in all of them. While there’s no indication that this will necessarily be a regular occurrence, we wrote earlier in the month that Embiid had hoped to reach such an arrangement by the end of January.
The Sixers sit very much in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, eighth, in fact, just 1.5 games behind the fifth-seeded Wizards. On the season, Philly is 24-22 but their record is a slightly more impressive 21-15 when you excluding games that he’s been held out for.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/28/18
Here are the G League moves from around the Association today:
10:45pm:
- The Hawks have recalled Tyler Cavanaugh and Isaiah Taylor from their G League affiliate in Erie, Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
- The Warriors assigned Damian Jones to their affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced in a press release. Jones is averaging 15.5 points per contest in 31 games with the G League squad.
4:59pm:
- The Jazz have recalled center Tony Bradley from their affiliate, the team announced on Twitter. Bradley has averaged 15.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in his 16 games with the Salt Lake City Stars.
- The Knicks recalled Damyean Dotson from Westchester, the team’s public relation’s department tweeted. Dotson has averaged 2.8 points in 21 games with the big league club so far this season.
Lakers Will Not Re-Sign Nigel Hayes
The Lakers will not re-sign forward Nigel Hayes after his 10-day contract expired tonight, Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times tweets. The 23-year-old rookie saw action in two games during his stint with the club, seeing a grand total of 11 minutes.
Hayes, an undrafted combo forward out of Wisconsin, will hit the open market while Los Angeles frees up a roster spot with which they can test drive other free agents.
With a glut of forwards already on board in L.A., Hayes’ chances of breaking into the Lakers’ rotation were slim from the start.
Hayes previously went through training camp with the Knicks.