Rodney Stuckey To Miss 4-6 Weeks
Rodney Stuckey is expected to miss 4-6 weeks because of a left patellar tendon strain, according to the Pacers‘ website. The shooting guard suffered the strain against the Sixers on Sunday.
The timeline means Stuckey will certainly miss the remainder of the regular season and he’ll likely miss the first round of the playoffs. Indiana enters the day owning the seventh seed in the conference, though Atlanta and Milwaukee, the two teams ahead of them in the standings (via tiebreakers) also share a 37-36 record. All three teams are only two games of the Heat, who currently own the conference’s eighth spot. The Bulls, Pistons and Hornets are sitting outside the playoffs as of now, but they are all within four games of Indiana. Depending on how the Pacers finish the season, Stuckey may not see the court again until the 2017/18 season.
The team is paying him $7MM this season and he has a player option worth $7MM for next year.
Before suffering the strain, Stuckey was battling a knee injury. He’s only been able to play 39 contests for the Pacers this season. He’s averaging 7.2 points per game while shooting 37.3% from the field and sporting a 9.5 player efficiency rating.
Fantasy Hoops: Hawks, Jazz, Matchups
Hoops Rumors is examining the fantasy basketball landscape in order to help you dominate the competition both during championship week and in daily fantasy. Check back weekly for more analysis.
Band-Aids In Atlanta
Right as the league enters a crucial stretch for playoff spots and seeding, the Hawks get ravished with injuries. Being undermanned has caused Atlanta drop seven straight games and fall out of contention for a top-4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Help may be on the way. Kent Bazemore is planning to re-join the team on Wednesday night against the Sixers. For those of you in your fantasy championships (Congrats!), I’d wait to see Bazemore’s workload before adding him. However, if sees 20-30 minutes and doesn’t suffer any setbacks, he’s becomes quite valuable.
Tim Hardaway Jr. will see his value drop upon Bazemore’s return and even more so when injured swingman Thabo Sefolosha is able to see the court. The shooting guard has seen 32.9 minutes per game in the month of March and he’s averaged 20.1 points and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 48.9% from the field since the calendar turned. He’ll still deliver quality production once everyone is healthy, just don’t expect the gaudy stat lines we’ve seen recently.
Paul Millsap will be sidelined until at least Sunday’s tilt with the Nets and it’s not certain that he’ll be back then. The power forward was enjoying an excellent season, averaging 18.1 points and 7.7 rebounds while adding 1.3 steals and a block per contest. In his absence, Ersan Ilyasova has started and he’s produced in the points and rebounds categories, averaging 11.8 and 9.0 respectively over his five starts. The 37.7% shooting is troubling, but if field goal percentage is not a concern, he makes a solid waiver-wire pickup or cheap play in daily fantasy.
One more player to keep an eye on is Taurean Prince. He played 38 minutes against the Nets on Sunday, contributing 17 points, six rebounds, three steals, and a block. He’s a nice play against the Suns tonight, but when Bazemore and Sefolosha return, he may not have much of role.
Here’s more fantasy notes and analysis from around the league:
- Gordon Hayward is nursing a left quad injury and if can’t play this week, Rodney Hood could be a nice fantasy option. Hood scored 20 points on 16 shots and added six rebounds and three assists against the Pelicans on Monday. Joe Ingles also belongs on the fantasy radar while Hayward is sidelined. Later this week, the Jazz will take on the Kings (a team that has the fifth-worst defensive rating since the All-Star break) and the Wizards, (sixth-worst defensive rating since the break).
- The Wizards are also giving the third-most points and second-most made 3-pointers while allowing the second-best field goal percentage to the opposing shooting guards over their last 10 games. Washington takes on the Lakers tonight before playing the Clippers, Jazz, and Warriors later in the week.
- The Wolves are having a hard time containing opposing shooting guards over the last 10 games, allowing them to make 51% of their shots (worst mark in the league).
- The Knicks are doing something right. Over their last 10 games, no team has allowed fewer points per contest to the shooting guard position. New York has allowed opposing twos to shoot just 35.6% from the field over that stretch, which is the stingiest mark in the league.
- The Pacers have been a particularly terrible match-up for opposing point guards lately. Over their last 10 games, they’ve given up just 16.4 points (stingiest in the league) to the position. Indiana has also allowed opposing ones to make 38.6% of their shots, which is the second-best mark in the league (behind only the Spurs).
Fantasy questions? Take to the comment section below or tweet me at @CW_Crouse.
Statistics are current through Tuesday afternoon.
Kings Interested In Hiring Sam Hinkie?
11:57pm: According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is indeed interesting in hiring Hinkie, despite claims to the contrary. Per Wojnarowski, Ranadive seeks “a front-office executive to usurp Vlade Divac’s authority and turn the franchise’s general manager into a “figurehead.”
While the Kings have discussed retaining Divac in a player-personnel role, the “overall management of basketball operations,” would be transferred to someone else. The DeMarcus Cousins trade raised “significant questions inside and outside the organization,” Wojnarowski writes. Despite this, the Kings are hesitant to pair coach Dave Joerger with a GM that didn’t hire him; a situation reminiscent of Pete D’Alessandro‘s ill-fated pairing with Michael Malone.
8:29pm: The Kings have issued a statement dismissing their reported interest in Hinkie, as Sean Cunningham of ABC10 relays (via Twitter): “The Kings are not hiring Sam Hinkie and have no plans to bring anyone in above Vlade.”
While that statement sounds definitive, it’s worth noting that this is the same organization that insisted all year long that DeMarcus Cousins wouldn’t be traded, right up until he was traded.
7:08pm: The Kings have received permission from the Sixers to speak to Sam Hinkie about a front office role, Marc Stein and Zach Lowe of ESPN.com report (Twitter links). Any team looking to speak with Hinkie needs to gain permission since the executive agreed to such terms as part of his non-compete agreement with Philadelphia.
Sacramento has been quietly looking for an executive to put ahead of Vlade Divac in the organization’s hierarchy, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski tweets that the team’s minority owners have been pressuring Vivek Ranadive to make the front office “more professional.”
Wojnarowski adds that Ranadive has spoken with Hinkie. However, Hinkie may not be interested in the gig. Hinkie has been away from the NBA since parting with the Sixers.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/27/17
Here are Monday’s D-League assignment and recalls from around the league:
- The Sixers recalled Tiago Splitter from the Delaware 87ers, according to the team’s website. Splitter was acquired by Philadelphia in the Ersan Ilyasova trade at this year’s trade deadline.
- The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo from their D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, per the team’s Twitter feed. Caboclo has played a total of 89 NBA minutes since being selected with the 20th pick in the 2014 draft.
- The Spurs have recalled Davis Bertans and Bryn Forbes from the Austin Spurs, according to the team’s website. Both players were sent down to the D-League on Sunday.
Latest On Joakim Noah’s Suspension
Joakim Noah will be re-evaluated by team doctors to determine if he’ll be able to practice this week, Ian Begley of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Noah is looking at a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy, but his suspension can not begin until he is “eligible and physically ready to play.” Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes (via Twitter) that the league would want to see Noah go through a whole practice without complications before the suspension starts.
The center underwent microscopic knee surgery last month. He was expected to miss most, if not the remainder of the 2016/17 campaign. The Knicks have nine games remaining this season, including tonight’s tilt with the Pistons. Noah won’t be cleared for tonight’s game, but he could be cleared before the team’s game against Miami on Wednesday. That would allow him to serve eight of his 20 games this season and serve the remaining dozen games at the beginning of the 2017/18 campaign.
Before undergoing surgery, Noah was having a down year by his standards. He was averaging 5.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while sporting 15.2 player efficiency rating.
Bulls Notes: Rondo, MCW, Mirotic
Rajon Rondo‘s first season with the Bulls didn’t get off to a great start. The point guard clashed with coach Fred Hoiberg and the team benched him for five games as a result.
“I tried to stay away from milking what was going on. I didn’t want anybody to feel sorry for me,” Rondo said (via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune). “It didn’t break me down. I didn’t need sympathy calls. People did call and care and send texts. But if you know me, it’s going to be hard to break me.”
Rondo has since re-joined the rotation and he’s been starting over the last eight games. The point guard said he and Hoiberg talk more now than they did earlier in the season. “He’s telling me a lot of positive things. Fred’s a great guy,” Rondo said. “We didn’t talk much when I wasn’t playing. But I was still studying him as a coach. I was watching his moves, when he called timeout, his substitution patterns. I wanted to continue to stay positive and learn a different aspect of the game versus sitting there feeling sorry for myself.”
Here’s more from Chicago:
- Rondo’s salary for the 2017/18 campaign, which is worth slightly under $13.4MM, will become guaranteed if he remains on the roster on July 1. Only $3MM of that amount is guaranteed should the Bulls decide to waive him before that date. Rondo isn’t paying attention to the financial situation, but instead, he’s focusing on getting the Bulls to the postseason, as Johnson relays in the same piece. “I can’t worry about next season,” Rondo said. “I just want to do what I can for this team this season, lead the young guys and make a push.”
- Michael Carter-Williams, who will be a free agent this offseason, wants to remain with the Bulls, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link). Woelfel adds that MCW hasn’t ruled out returning to the Bucks.
- Nikola Mirotic will be a restricted free agent this summer and it’s not out of the question that he re-signs with the Bulls, Johnson writes in a separate piece. Earlier in the month, Mirotic found himself out of the rotation, but he’s played well since earning more minutes.
Stan Van Gundy Talks KCP’s Future
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is expected to see a massive raise on his current salary, which is worth slightly under $3.68MM, once he becomes a restricted free agent this offseason. The Pistons have the right to match any offer sheet that the shooting guard signs this summer. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy acknowledged that, noting that it will be up to the team to figure out if it wants to keep KCP around at a higher price tag, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News passes along via Twitter.
“We only don’t have [KCP] next year if we decide we don’t want him next year. There’s no team out there that can decide they’re going to have KCP next year–it’s on us,” Van Gundy said. “It will be our decision this summer whether he’s in Detroit next year. Other people can want him but they need us to acquiesce if they’re going to have him.”
The Nets are expected to be “major players” during KCP’s free agency. GM Sean Marks has thrice gone after opposing teams’ restricted free agents, offering lucrative deals, only to see each offer sheet matched by players’ original team. Miami matched Tyler Johnson‘s $50MM offer sheet. Portland decided to pay Allen Crabbe $75MM and the Rockets opted to match Donatas Motiejunas‘ $37MM deal before letting the power forward become a free agent.
At times this season, Caldwell-Pope has proven to be better than any of the aforementioned players, though inconsistencies have plagued him. He’s averaging 14.0 points per game, but he’s had 24 games this season where he’s scored under 10 points and 18 where he scored at least 20. He found some touch from 3-point range this season, shooting a career high 36.8% from behind the arc.
The 24-year-old owns a pedestrian 13.5 player efficiency rating and he has a TPA (Total Points Added—a metric derived by NBAMath to determine a player’s value on the court) of 58.84, which ranks first on the Pistons, but just 60th in the league.
The Pistons have struggled lately, winning just three out of their previous 10 games, leaving some to wonder if the team is tuning out Van Gundy. Despite the stretch of bad games, Detroit enters the day just one game behind the Heat for the eighth seed in the conference, though Chicago is sandwiched between the two teams. Van Gundy said making the playoffs remains the goal, but added he’s more concerned with the way the team is playing, as Beard relays in a separate tweet.
“I just want to see a lot better energy and spirit than what we’ve had the last half-dozen games. If that happens, the result takes care of itself,” Van Gundy said.
Southwest Notes: Motiejunas, Davis, Anderson
Donatas Motiejunas passed up on a contract that could have paid him as much as $37MM over four years with the Rockets, deciding instead to sign a one-year minimum salary arrangement with the Pelicans. The power forward hasn’t played much in New Orleans, but he doesn’t regret his decision, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes.
“Life is too short to regret for something,” Motiejunas said. “We’ll move aside and look forward. I try not to look at it. At the end, everything is going to be cleared up. Everyone’s going to forget that situation. I try not to think about it.”
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Motiejunas was “fighting for his rights,” for a fair deal, according to his agent, B.J. Armstrong, as Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). At the time, Motiejunas was considering options outside the NBA. “It was a long time for me not playing basketball of course,” Motiejunas said. “There were a lot of options, I thought about playing in Europe, a lot of teams were offering me a contract.”
- Although the Pelicans‘ February acquisition of DeMarcus Cousins was a good step forward in building a competitive roster around Anthony Davis, the team still has a ways to go, and doesn’t have a ton of flexibility, writes Kevin O’ Connor of The Ringer. Anthony Davis can’t become a free agent until 2020, but if New Orleans doesn’t take steps toward contention soon, speculation about an eventual departure will grow louder.
- Ryan Anderson will miss the next two weeks with an ankle injury, Walkins passes along in a full-length piece. The power forward is expected to be back before the end of the season. “The important thing is he can play two or three games before we get into the playoffs,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “And it looks like he will be on that timetable, we won’t push it, and we’ll deal with whatever and hopefully he’ll be back sooner rather than later.”
Milo Taibi contributed to this post
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/26/17
Check out Sunday’s D-League assignment and recalls:
- The Pistons have recalled Henry Ellenson from their D-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, Rod Beard of The Detroit News tweets. Beard notes that the rookie will be available for Detroit’s matchup with the Knicks on Monday.
- The Cavaliers have assigned Larry Sanders to the Canton Charge, per Sam Amico of Amico Hoops (Twitter link). Sanders has only seen two minutes of action for Cleveland this season.
- The Spurs have assigned Davis Bertans and Bryn Forbes to the Austin Spurs, according to the team’s website. Bertans has appeared in three games for San Antonio’s D-League affiliate, while Forbes has seen action in 18 contests.
- The Mavericks have recalled Manny Harris and Jarrod Uthoff from the Texas Legends, Earl K. Sneed of Fox Sports tweets. Both players will see their respective 10-day contracts with Dallas expire at the end of the day on Tuesday.
- The Rockets have recalled Chinanu Onuaku, Isaiah Taylor and Troy Williams from their D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, per the team’s Twitter feed.
- The Grizzlies have recall Wade Baldwin and Deyonta Davis from the Iowa Energy, according to the team’s website. Baldwin has played in 33 D-League games this season, while Davis has seen action in 11 contests.
- The Pelicans recalled Cheick Diallo from Greensboro, the team announced through a press release. Diallo, who has averaged 22.3 points over his last three D-League games, will be available for tonight’s match-up with Denver.
Hoops Links: LeBron, Tucker, Lakers, Kings
On Sundays, we link to some of the very best work from around the basketball blogosphere. Do you have a link to a great basketball blog post – either your own or someone else’s – that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to us at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown:
- Same Page Team takes a look at LeBron James‘ and Kawhi Leonard‘s candidacies for the MVP award.
- South Of The 6ix believes the Raptors may be better off prioritizing P.J. Tucker over Serge Ibaka in free agency this summer.
- Go 2 JVP offers a solution to make the NBA playoffs more competitive and exciting.
- The Jump Ball makes a convincing argument for Draymond Green to win the Defensive Player Of The Year award.
- In addition to that piece, The Jump Ball also released a podcast this week, chatting with ESPN’s John Ireland about tanking, the Lakers-Clippers relationship with the City of Los Angeles, and how the Lakers should proceed with their young core.
- The Step Back examines the Kings’ roster post-DeMarcus Cousins and finds several bright spots.
- RealGM breaks down the game of Markelle Fultz and takes a look at how he would fit on the Lakers, Celtics or Suns.
- The 76er Files believe the Sixers should select De’Aaron Fox in the upcoming draft.