And-Ones: Rule Tweaks, Poirier, Buyouts, James
The NBA’s Competition Committee is mulling some possible rule modifications for the 2021/22 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who tweets the coach’s challenge is one rule that could be tweaked. The committee is considering giving teams an extra challenge or timeout if the first challenge is successful, Charania explains.
Sources tell Charania that the Competition Committee is also evaluating rules related to “unnatural shooting motions in connection with perimeter jump-shots and on-ball screens, and the principle of verticality.” Presumably, any changes to those rules would limit offensive players’ ability to draw fouls by jumping into defenders.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Having been traded by Philadelphia and waived by New York last month, veteran center Vincent Poirier is a free agent, and a report from Chema De Lucas (Twitter link; hat tip to Sportando) suggests Real Madrid could be the frontrunner to sign the big man for the 2021/22 season. In 32 NBA games for the Sixers and Celtics, Poirier has career averages of 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per contest.
- The NBA buyout market has been a hot topic of discussion after the Nets were able to add seven-time All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge and six-time All-Star Blake Griffin for virtually nothing. NBC Sports’ Dan Feldman proposes an idea to fix the loose buyout market, suggesting a blind-bid process that also involves the player. Under Feldman’s plan, the player would go to the highest bidder, but if the player himself places the highest “bid,” he’d give up that amount of money on his buyout and become a free agent.
- After leaving CSKA Moscow in Russia, veteran guard Mike James is returning to the U.S. in the hopes of receiving an NBA opportunity, his agency BDA Sports International confirmed (Twitter link; hat tip to Sportando). James played 36 NBA games in 2017/18, averaging 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for Phoenix and New Orleans.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Cole Anthony Set To Return For Magic
Magic point guard Cole Anthony will return to action on Wednesday after missing nearly two months, the team announced today (Twitter link). Anthony had been sidelined since February 9 due to a fractured rib.
Anthony, the son of former NBA player and current broadcaster Greg Anthony, was drafted out of University of North Carolina by the Magic with the 15th overall pick last fall.
On the season, the rookie has appeared in 25 games, averaging 11.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest. He hit a game-winning buzzer beater to beat the Timberwolves on January 20.
Khem Birch (illness) and Michael Carter-Williams (illness) will also return tonight after multiple missing multiple games, per Orlando’s announcement.
The Magic are currently 17-33 and hold the 14th seed in the Eastern Conference.
Atlantic Notes: Quickley, Bembry, Johnson, Reed
Immanuel Quickley had an impressive start to his rookie season with the Knicks. The 6’3″ guard, who was the 25th overall pick out of Kentucky, scored at least 19 points in 11 of his first 36 NBA games. However, over the last few weeks, Quickley has hit a wall and fallen into a shooting slump. The Knicks have also dropped four of their previous five games.
With Quickley struggling, Marc Berman of the New York Post wonders whether the rookie has a future as a starting NBA point guard or if he’ll end up as a bench scorer. Berman elicits opinions from multiple scouts in his look at Quickley’s future role.
“He played above his pay grade the first few months,’” said former Sixers scout Michael VandeGarde, who now runs a scouting service. “He’s coming back down to earth. It happens a lot with kids for short periods when they play so well early. Only time will tell what he really is.’”
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Veteran guard DeAndre’ Bembry signed a two-year deal with the Raptors before the season, and while the signing went under the radar, he has been vital to his new team. As Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes, Bembry is capable of guarding at least three positions on defense and has shown enough on offense to earn himself regular playing time.
- Celtics big man Tristan Thompson appears ready to make his return after a lengthy absence due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, tweets Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Thompson last played on March 14.
- While he doesn’t receive as much attention as his star teammates, Alize Johnson who’s currently on his second 10-day contract in Brooklyn, is providing the Nets with strong production. “There are some nights where it might not look like he’s showing up on the stat sheet, but he does all the little stuff all the time. And then when we need him to come up for us offensively, he typically does,” Nets guard Joe Harris said of Johnson, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.
- Rich Hofmann of The Athletic profiled Sixers rookie Paul Reed, taking a look at the NBA G League MVP known as “Bball Paul.” While Reed may not see a ton of playing time the rest of the way, he’s “now very much part of the Sixers’ team fabric,” Hofmann writes.
Southeast Notes: Haslem, Brooks, Carter-Williams, Snell
Udonis Haslem – who is in his 18th NBA season, all with the Heat – has not played a single minute this season. And while the 41-year-old would welcome the chance to see some action, he has embraced his increasingly off-court role within the organization, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“I’m always ready,” Haslem said. “And that’s my job, is to stay ready so I don’t got to get ready. And I’m always ready if Spo (head coach Erik Spoelstra) needs to put me out there and contribute to winning basketball games. But I understand that the bigger impact that I have is off the basketball court, before the clock starts.”
Last season, Haslem only played in four regular-season games, but he helped the Heat make their sixth NBA Finals appearance since 2005. The role on the team he plays is deeper than actually going out there to set screens and rebound the basketball, according to Spoelstra, who says the big man is “moving mountains with his leadership.” However, the Heat coach said the team would have no qualms about using Haslem on the court if needed.
“I always have the ultimate confidence in UD,” Spoelstra said. “And he and I have been through so many pressure-packed moments that I feel I can throw him in at any time, even in the fourth quarter if he hadn’t played before that.”
More from the Southeast Division:
- After some uncertainty, presumably related to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Wizards head coach Scott Brooks received clearance to coach Thursday’s game against the Grizzlies, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported (Twitter link). Brooks and the Wizards got off to a slow start but are creeping up in the standings (two games back of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference).
- Magic point guard Michael Carter-Williams spoke to Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com about feeling as if his NBA career was in jeopardy during the 2018/19 season, just a few years removed from winning Rookie of the Year. “I didn’t know where my future was gonna go,” said Carter-Williams, who has rejuvenated his career in Orlando. “I kept thinking, ‘Am I gonna go the G League route? Am I gonna go overseas? Do I even want to play at all anymore?’ There was a lot of things that went through my head at the time.”
- Veteran wing Tony Snell looked like a salary throw-in when the Hawks acquired him from Detroit in the offseason, but he has played a meaningful role for the team, as Chris Kirschner of The Athletic details. The 29-year-old, a free agent at season’s end, is knocking down a scorching 56.9% of his three-point attempts, including a last-second, game-winning buzzer beater on Thursday. Atlanta has now won its first three games since Nate McMillan took over as head coach for Lloyd Pierce.
Jaylen Nowell Talks Career Night, Coaching Change, More
After playing limited minutes as a rookie, Timberwolves guard Jaylen Nowell has established himself as a regular rotation player in his second professional season. But the 21-year-old still remembers his “welcome to the NBA” moment, when he went up against Russell Westbrook during the last game of Minnesota’s 2019/20 season.
“He was one of my favorite players in the league,” Nowell told Hoops Rumors in a phone interview. “Ended up guarding him and once that happened and once that happened in my head while I’m guarding him, I’m like, ‘Wow this is crazy I’m really going against this dude that I’ve been watching on TV for years now.’ I’d say that was my welcome to the NBA moment for sure.”
While fighting to earn more playing time in his second season, Nowell has adjusted to new protocols and routines both during and between games, as the NBA navigates the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s been really crazy,” Nowell said of the 2020/21 campaign. “I actually forgot at a certain point that this is not how the regular NBA is.”
Nowell, who is averaging nearly 10 points per game this season, enjoyed a career night on Thursday in New Orleans to begin the second half. The 2019 second-round pick scored 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 shooting from three-point range, adding six assists and five rebounds — and he did it all off the bench in just 28 minutes.
“It felt great,” Nowell said. “I felt really comfortable out there. I was bringing the ball up a lot, initiating the plays, so I kind of got to get into a rhythm without even shooting it.”
The performance came in a 135-105 victory over the Pelicans, which was the Timberwolves’ first win in nearly a month.
“That was amazing,” he said. “I honestly forgot what it felt like to come back to the winning locker room. It was definitely something we needed and to have it the first game after the All-Star break, it’s amazing. Hopefully we can keep this going.”
Last weekend’s All-Star festivities provided a much-needed break not only for a Timberwolves squad that had lost 13 of its last 14 games, but also for Nowell, who traveled to Seattle to see his family.
Before the break, the Timberwolves made a drastic in-season move, firing head coach Ryan Saunders and replacing him with Raptors assistant coach Chris Finch. While that sort of shake-up would throw some second-year players for a loop, Nowell isn’t unfamiliar with adjusting to a coaching change, having experienced one during his college recruitment process. Lorenzo Romar, the coach who recruited him to the University of Washington, had been replaced by Mike Hopkins by the time he began his college career.
“I’m kind of used to it,” Nowell said. “I wasn’t playing there, but it was a coaching change nonetheless. It was the year before I came in, so I was affected by it. I’ve dealt with it before.”
When Finch was hired, he spoke about simplifying and streamlining the Timberwolves’ schemes. According to Nowell, the team isn’t running a lot of plays and has been relying on the players to make more reads.
“We’ve been getting to show off our skills,” he said. “Not just for me individually, but as a team. It’s making us complement each other’s game more.”
Even though the Wolves have the youngest roster in the NBA, they possess an exciting mix of max-contract players, vets and youth. Nowell grew up watching a lot of the guys he now calls teammates.
“I used to watch guys like Ricky Rubio, Ed Davis, KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns), D’Angelo Russell,” he said. “I used to watch all these guys before I was even in the league. To call them my teammates, that’s already an accomplishment in itself. That’s been great, and being able to actually be around them and talk to them and see how they work and see how they approach the game that’s been great for me. I’ve just been watching and learning and trying to absorb everything and anything from them.”
Nowell has learned up close from Russell by watching the way he plays during games and by talking to him one-on-one.
“He’s an All-Star, so whatever he’s doing, it’s right,” Nowell said of Russell. “Every single game I’ve been watching how he picks spots; when he decides to shoot; when he decides to move the ball. I’ve been talking to him one-on-one about the point guard, how to facilitate, how to get guys in spots to put them in the best position for them to score not just myself.”
Nowell, who wants to continue to facilitate the ball at a high level by getting his teammates involved, believes the Timberwolves are making fewer mistakes than they did at the beginning of the year and envisions a strong finish to the team’s season. At 8-29, there’s nowhere for Minnesota to go but up.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Griffin, Knicks, Celtics, Raptors
Blake Griffin came into the NBA as the high-flying athletic forward from Oklahoma who became a fan-favorite for his never-before-seen dunks. On the Clippers, he had over 1,000 dunks spanning from 2010-18, but this season he has zero dunks, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Griffin was an All-Star in 2019, averaging 24.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG. Since then, he has dealt with injuries that have slowed his athleticism even more.
“He’s had a history of knee issues, where he used to be a player who lived above the rim. He’s adapted and become a guy that handles the ball very well. He passes very well, he’s making threes. He’s adapted and changed his game,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said, per Lewis.
Griffin has not shot the ball well this season (36.5% FG, 31.5% 3P), but playing with Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden, he is likely to get many more open shot attempts than he got in Detroit.
“We’ve got Joe in the corner and Ky in the corner. … We’ll have a ton of different options,” Nash said. “But Blake has developed his jump shot, so short rolling, he can knock that shot down.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Rival teams around the NBA do not expect the Knicks to make a big splash at the trade deadline on March 25th, reports SNY’s Ian Begley. The Knicks, who currently sit as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, are more likely to make a smaller move to bolster their roster, with J.J. Redick believed to be among their potential targets. “I know they’re looking at all the possibilities,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said of the front office. “If something makes sense for us, we’ll do it. If not, I love the team that we have. I love the guys that we have on the team. We’ll just keep working with what we have and (team president) Leon (Rose) and Wes (senior executive William Wesley), they’re combing the league. (GM) Scott Perry, that’s their job.”
- Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston takes a look at some trades that would make sense for the Celtics at the trade deadline. He looks at players such as Bulls forward Thaddeus Young, Cavs forward Larry Nance Jr. and Magic guard Terrence Ross.
- Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri has a long history of winning trades, including the 2011 deal between the Nuggets and Knicks that sent Carmelo Anthony to New York and the one-year rental of Kawhi Leonard that landed the Raptors a championship. With the Raptors holding the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference, Dave Feschuck of the Toronto Star looks at what the future holds for the roster and for face of the franchise guard Kyle Lowry. “If I can look at a crystal ball, I will tell you,” Lowry said. “(But) I don’t know what the crystal ball says.”
And-Ones: Bates, Trades, COVID-19, Udoh
Emoni Bates is the number one player in the country, according to ESPN’s basketball rankings for the class of 2022. While most kids would join a blue blood program (he’s committed to Michigan State) in their one season before the NBA, times have changed. According to Brendan Quinn of The Athletic, many sources think that Bates will forgo his college eligibility to play in the G League, just as top 2020 recruit Jalen Green did.
“Of all the sources interviewed for this story, those existing in and out of the Bates’ camp, no one seems to believe Emoni will play at Michigan State,” Quinn wrote. “Instead, Bates most likely will wait for a professional contract, probably the most lucrative the G League can muster, and turn professional before heading to the NBA.”
However, according to Emoni’s father, Elgin Bates, no decision has been made just yet, as Adam Zagoria of Forbes writes.
“If the G League is something he wants to do, if he decides that’s what he wants to do, that’s perfectly fine,” the elder Bates said, via Zagoria. “He can do the G League. If Michigan State is what he wants to do, that’s perfectly fine. If he wants to entertain going overseas, that’s perfectly fine. If he just wants to sit out and train for a year, it’s whatever he wants to do. It’s his decision.”
Here are a few more tip-ins from around the basketball world:
- A handful of ESPN experts (Insider link) shared the trades they’d like to see happen ahead of the NBA’s March 25th trading deadline. The potential swaps ESPN’s insiders proposed included a three-team trade that would send Kyle Lowry home to Philadelphia, Aaron Gordon going to the Timberwolves, and the Clippers acquiring George Hill.
- According to a study published in JAMA Cardiology, fewer than 1% of pro athletes infected by COVID-19 also developed inflammatory heart disease. “Only time will tell if, five years from now, we’ll have an epidemic of failed hearts,” said Dr. Robert Bonow, a cardiologist at Northwestern University and editor of JAMA Cardiology who was not affiliated with the study, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “But I think that is unlikely.”
- Ekpe Udoh, who spent seven seasons in the NBA for the Warriors, Bucks, Clippers and Jazz, has landed a deal to play in China for the Beijing Royal Fighers, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Central Notes: D. Smith, LeVert, Wade, Bulls
Pistons guard Dennis Smith Jr., acquired in a trade with the Knicks on February 7, has shown flashes since that deal of the potential that made him a lottery pick in 2017. Smith has averaged 8.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.3 SPG for Detroit, and had his best game on Wednesday, putting up a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in a win over the Raptors.
Smith and teammate Mason Plumlee were the first Pistons players to put triple-doubles in the same game in 57 years (link via Pistons.com). Before joining his new team, Smith had only played in three games for the Knicks this season and had requested to play in the G League.
Here’s more out of the Central Division:
- Pacers guard Caris LeVert has progressed to doing practice drills, and 1-on-1 training, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. LeVert underwent surgery to remove a previously unknown kidney cancer in January after being traded to the Pacers in the four-team trade that sent James Harden to Brooklyn.
- Cavaliers second-year forward Dean Wade, who recently had his 2020/21 salary guaranteed, has started in the last five games after no prior starts in his first 35 NBA games. Most recently, he had 17 points and six rebounds against the Pacers on Wednesday. “I never doubted myself,” Wade said, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Obviously, through the whole journey, every once in a while, you’re going to think, ‘Can I do it?’… “I’ve always believed in myself.”
- Tension between a head coach and a GM has been a recurring theme for Jerry Reinsdorf‘s franchises over the years, but there doesn’t seem to be any drama between new Bulls president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and head coach Billy Donovan, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I think he’s doing a great job,” Karnisovas said of Donovan. “I’ve watched all the media availabilities by him… And I think the one question that’s always coming up is, ‘When do they meet? When do they talk?’ We talk every day. We talk before every practice, we spend time during practices, talk after practices, before games, after games, so the communication is always there. I expected that, and more so, there’s no misunderstandings from my side or his side.”
Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert Fined By NBA
Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has been fined $25K for his public criticism of officials and his conduct upon leaving the court after being ejected on Wednesday, the NBA announced today in a press release.
As we previously detailed, Mitchell blasted the officiating after Wednesday’s loss to the Sixers, which saw him ejected in overtime when he picked up a pair of technical fouls. He knocked over Utah’s water cooler on his way off the floor (video link).
“We won this game in my personal opinion… It’s getting f—ing ridiculous,” Mitchell said post-game.
In addition to Mitchell, teammate Rudy Gobert was hit with a $20K fine of his own, per the NBA. Gobert, like Mitchell, is being disciplined for his public criticism of the officiating, which he said was “disrespectful” to the Jazz.
Pacific Notes: Haliburton, Parker, Bowman, Smith
Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton has gotten off to a fast off the bench during his rookie season, averaging 13.2 PPG and 5.4 APG. However, the young guard isn’t concerned about not being in the starting lineup (he’s started just two games this season), according to The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson.
Instead of worrying about his place in the lineup, he switched the subject of discussion to the new fad NBA Top Shot.
“Naw, I’ve been on NBA Top Shot all day,” Haliburton said, via Anderson. “… I’ve been trying to explain to my teammates why they should get into it. There are two things that a lot of us love and that’s money and basketball, so put them together and good things can happen.”
Here’s more around the Pacific Division:
- Kings forward Jabari Parker was placed in the health and safety protocols prior to Thursday’s game against the Knicks, relays Jason Anderson of The Bee (Twitter link). It’s unclear when 2014’s second overall pick – who has only appeared in two games this season – may be cleared. He joins teammate Hassan Whiteside in the protocols.
- The Clippers‘ G League affiliate (the Agua Caliente Clippers) has waived guard Ky Bowman after he suffered a season-ending injury (Twitter link via JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors). Last season, Bowman averaged 7.2 PPG in 45 games for the Warriors.
- The Suns have recalled rookie forward Jalen Smith from the G League (Twitter link via Gina Mizell of Suns.com). Smith was the 10th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft but has appeared in just eight NBA games. Since the Northern Arizona Suns aren’t in action this season, the rookie had been playing for the Agua Caliente Clippers, averaging 8.3 PPG and 4.7 RPG in six games (16.3 MPG).