NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/26/17
Here are the G League moves from around the league today:
- The Sixers have recalled Furkan Korkmaz from the Delaware 87ers, the team announced in a press release. They had assigned him to the affiliate just earlier in the day.
- The Nets have assigned Isaiah Whitehead to the Long Island Nets, the team announced via press release. Whitehead didn’t see NBA action while recalled with the big league club.
Nikola Mirotic Could Waive Trade Veto
There have been indications that Bulls forwards Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis may not be able to co-exist when the former returns to the court following his injury, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. There is now a sense that Mirotic is becoming more open to a trade, with one source suggesting that the situation may be heading toward a “me or him” ultimatum.
Johnson notes that Mirotic, signed to a two-year $27MM contract with trade veto rights during the first season, would now consider waiving that veto if the Bulls were to find a trade partner. Per CBA rules, however, Mirotic can not be traded whatsoever until January 15.
As we wrote last week, a punch from Portis in one of the team’s final practices before the regular season began has rendered Mirotic sidelined for four to six weeks. The 26-year-old suffered a concussion and fractured facial bones as a result of the altercation.
When healthy and utilized heavily, Mirotic can be a solid NBA asset, so his trade value could be intriguing despite the lofty price point. In fact, were it not for the tension that could potentially loom between he and Portis, it could be assumed that Mirotic would slot in alongside players like Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen as possible core pieces for future.
Alas, one can’t blame Mirotic for at least being open to an opportunity elsewhere considering the substantial consequences of the incident.
Northwest Notes: Trail Blazers, Baldwin, Dieng
The Trail Blazers have jumped out to a hot start this season thanks in large part to their formidable second unit. Jason Quick of NBC Sports Northwest writes that the club’s bench is becoming one of the league’s best.
The catalyst, Quick writes, has been Evan Turner, the 28-year-old second-year Trail Blazer who’s posted 13.3 points, 3.8 boards and 4.3 assists per game. Between Turner’s production, his ability to minimize turnovers and chip in with solid defense, he’s making an early case to be included in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation.
Other player who have looked solid off the bench for the Trail Blazers include Ed Davis and Pat Connaughton. This season, 28-year-old Davis has emerged as a voracious rebounder (18.8 per-36) and Connaughton has chipped in with 10.8 points per game, including two three-pointers made per contest at a 50% clip.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Nuggets strike Gina Mizell of the Denver Post as the ideal landing spot for disgruntled Suns guard Eric Bledsoe. While the team has expressed a willingness to let Emmanuel Mudiay and Jamal Murray play through their mistakes, it’s understandable that they may be intrigued to make a play for Bledsoe now that he’s definitely available.
- Second-year guard Wade Baldwin signed a two-way contract with the Trail Blazers this week but the team’s official website has announced that the guard has undergone surgery and is expected to miss six weeks after tearing a ligament in his right thumb.
- The Timberwolves will need to figure out just how Gorgui Dieng fits into their plans now that they’ve revamped their roster, Michael Rand of The Star Tribune writes. After playing 32.4 minutes per game last season, the 27-year-old advanced stat darling has seen just 13.8 through five games so far in 2017/18.
Central Notes: George, Pistons, Oladipo
While Pacers fans didn’t get a revenge win over Paul George‘s Thunder, they did gain some insight into the All-Star’s decision to force his way out of Indiana. Scott Horner of The Indianapolis Star curated a handful of interviews that George has given since his departure.
In one media scrum, George mentions that he felt that the team’s window to contend had closed and that a rebuild was forthcoming. That may not exactly qualify as a hot take but it narrows down the swingman’s motivations for seeking an opportunity elsewhere. That said, the Lakers – the team George was initially said to be interested in – haven’t won more than 30 games since 2012/13.
In other interviews, George seems to question the promotional strategy the Pacers’ have used regarding his pending return to Indiana in December, while also throwing shade at the team for how they traded Danny Granger to the Sixers back in 2014.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- The Cavaliers are going to need plenty more out of their shooting guards, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. So far this season, free agent acquisition Dwyane Wade has struggled to find a rhythm while J.R. Smith has gone ice cold from the field.
- Not married to any particular rotation, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy intends to use the two-day period between Detroit’s victory over the Timberwolves and their contest with the Clippers on Saturday to re-evaluate the club’s lineups. Keith Langlois of the team’s official site writes that a number of players could be utilized differently in the frontcourt.
- The Pacers have been more than satisfied with what they’ve gotten out of Victor Oladipo so far this season, Clifton Brown of The Indianapolis Star writes. “I like his pace,” head coach Nate McMillan said after the team’s loss to Paul George‘s Thunder. “He’s doing a good job of not forcing the issue. His shot selection has been better. He’s knocking down shots and in a pretty good rhythm, and we try to go to him as much as possible, because he was the one guy with the hot hand. He’s just playing with a nice pace.”
Jazz Notes: Udoh, Exum, Ingles
The Jazz have been impressed with the production they’ve seen out of backup big man Ekpe Udoh, Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News writes. The 30-year-old returned to the NBA this offseason after spending the last two campaigns abroad.
“It’s great, when I’m on the bench, I’m able to relax,” Rudy Gobert, the man ahead of Udoh in the depth chart, said. “When you have someone who plays defense like he does, you know the team is in good hands. He makes us better as a team.”
Through five games this season, Udoh has blocked an impressive 2.4 shots per. Gobert, perhaps the league’s most vaunted defensive big man, has averaged just 2.2 despite playing nearly 20 more minutes per contest.
It’s not just the gaudy per-36 statline that has the Jazz organization impressed. Head coach Quin Snyder sees Udoh’s length and competitiveness as valued intangibles as well.
There’s more news out of Utah:
- Injured guard Dante Exum underwent surgery on his shoulder Tuesday. Per Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News, the 22-year-old’s return timeline remains indefinite.
- The Jazz don’t look much different than they did last season, Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer writes in a comprehensive account of life in Utah sans Gordon Hayward. The scribe notes that Rudy Gobert had always been their most valuable player anyway.
- The league has handed forward Joe Ingles a $15K fine for the groin shot on Steven Adams over the weekend, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Southwest Notes: Harden, Noel, Parsons
The Rockets brought in Chris Paul to ease the load on James Harden to initiate the offense every play down the court but that will have to change now that the veteran guard is expected to miss up to a month with a knee injury, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes.
Suddenly the plan to ration Harden’s energy for late in the season has come crashing down. “That’s out the window,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said.
Last season Harden averaged a 29.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 11.2 assists per game but appeared to be overworked toward the end of the season. The converted two-guard saw his playmaking skillset flourish under the tutelage of D’Antoni. This season, the Rockets were hoping to pick up where they left off as an offense but while preserving their franchise star’s health.
With Paul shelved, the Rockets will need to make sure that they build big enough leads to let reserve guard Bobby Brown come in and hold down the fort temporarily.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- While Nerlens Noel could end up making his mark on the Mavs franchise, finding him a significant workload on a nightly basis may be difficult, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. In three games this season, Noel has played 20, 27 and 16 minutes.
- It didn’t take long for Grizzlies fans to start booing Chandler Parsons this season. The 28-year-old that missed much of last season with an injury is in the second year of the four-year, $97MM contract he signed last summer. Parsons told the media, including Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, that he’ll simply treat Grizz home games as away games.
- The Rockets have managed to win the first three games of their season but that doesn’t mean the offense is up to head coach Mike D’Antoni‘s standard. “Oh no, no, no,” D’Antoni told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “We got a lot of things we have to clean up. We’re not real sharp right now. I was just telling the guys the biggest thing is preseason was about 10 days shorter than [previously]. With the preseason, we played eight games. That would be a normal preseason schedule.“
Kings Notes: Hield, Bogdanovic, Labissiere
Shooting guard Buddy Hield isn’t afraid of putting up shots, even the occasional ones that leave Kings fans scratching their heads. That’s just something head coach Dave Joerger will have to work with if it means keeping the prolific deep threat in a rhythm, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes.
“I’m a shooting guard, so I’m trying to get as many shots as I can get,” Hield, who joined the Kings in the midseason trade that sent DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans last year, said. “They call me thirsty on the team. They say I’m thirsty because I’m always trying to get a shot up.”
Jones notes that Hield’s teammates don’t consider him selfish so they aren’t afraid to keep feeding him the ball if it means that he might get hot from the perimeter and change the outlook of a game.
“I’ve been reining him in, making him play the way we want to play,” said Joerger in his second year at the helm of the Kings. “[…] But then for certain guys at any moment you give them a little more latitude, and I think he’s one of those guys.”
There’s more news from Sacramento:
- After sitting out the first three games of the season, Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s status for Monday’s game against the Suns has been upgraded to probable, the team announced on its website. If he plays, it’ll be the 25-year-old draft-and-stash rookie’s NBA debut after signing the largest rookie contract in league history.
- It won’t be long before the Kings turn to Skal Labissiere as more of an offensive weapon, James Ham of NBC Sports writes. The 21-year-old sophomore has already made substantial improvements over the course of his young career.
- Despite how impressive De’Aaron Fox looks in his rookie season, it’s unlikely that the Lakers regret drafting Lonzo Ball, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes in a question-and-answer with readers. Los Angeles knew exactly what they were getting in Ball and there’s a good choice that both end up becoming All-Stars.
Atlantic Notes: Hernangomez, Okafor, Irving
Count Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis among those clamoring to see more minutes allotted for second-year center Willy Hernangomez. The 23-year-old has been called a building block by the team, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes, but has received just four minutes of action and a DNP-CD through two games this season.
Porzingis acknowledged the logjam in New York’s frontcourt but believes that Hernangomez is a talented player worthy of a spot in the Knicks’ rotation.
“He deserves it. But we have a lot of big guys on the floor and I understand everybody’s fighting for those minutes. And not everybody is going to get what they deserve,” Porzingis, who leads the club with 36.5 minutes per game, said.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- A slimmed down Jahlil Okafor made his season debut for the Sixers on Saturday and Brian Seltzer of the team’s official site writes that the big man performed admirably. A 20-pound lighter Okafor posted 10 points and nine boards in his first game of the year. “He shows why he was the third player chosen [in 2015],” head coach Brett Brown said. “[Because] he really can score.”
- The league has fined Celtics guard Kyrie Irving $25K for using inappropriate language with a fan, the league announced in an official press release Sunday.
- It’ll take a while for Raptors rookie OG Anunoby to acclimate to an NBA schedule, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes. Fortunately, a handful of teammates have weighed in with some helpful (and foreboding) advice.
Milos Teodosic Out Indefinitely
The Clippers will be without their 30-year-old rookie indefinitely, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN writes. Guard Milos Teodosic suffered a plantar fascia injury in a Saturday night contest against the Suns and did not return to action.
As we wrote earlier today, Teodosic had to be carried off the floor by his teammates in the second quarter of their blowout victory over the Suns but x-rays after the fact came back negative.
In his first taste of NBA action during L.A.’s season opener, Teodosic posted six points and six assists. He had five points and two assists in 11 minutes before falling to the foot injury.
Jameer Nelson Clears Waivers, Drawing Interest
OCTOBER 21, 1:56pm: In addition to Houston, the Nets, Hornets, and Pelicans are all interested in Nelson, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Nelson is looking for an opportunity that will allow him to play a significant role this season, Woj adds (via Twitter).
All four teams linked to Nelson are dealing with injuries at the point guard position, with Jeremy Lin, Michael Carter-Williams, and Rajon Rondo currently sidelined for Brooklyn, Charlotte, and New Orleans, respectively.
OCTOBER 20, 5:19pm: Veteran point guard Jameer Nelson has cleared waivers after being released by the Nuggets and the 35-year-old has already been contacted by a number of NBA teams, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets.
One possible landing spot for the 13-year vet is Houston. Given that the Rockets may be particularly cautious with Chris Paul‘s knee injury and potentially seek a temporary replacement, Nelson could possibly slot in until Paul fully recovers.
Haynes mentioned Houston specifically as one of the teams with whom Nelson’s representation has been in touch. The Rockets currently roster just 14 players, so they’d be able to add Nelson without any other moves.
What’s more, as Bobby Marks of ESPN writes, Houston is $2.8MM below the luxury tax, giving them just enough space to sign Nelson to a $2.3MM veteran’s minimum deal without consequence. That sort of deal would only count for a prorated portion of $1.471MM against the Rockets’ cap.