Damian Lillard Suffers Groin Injury, Out Through All-Star Weekend
FEBRUARY 13: An MRI confirmed that Damian Lillard has a groin strain. The anticipated recovery timeline will range from one to two weeks, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link).
FEBRUARY 12: Damian Lillard was set to be a major part of All-Star weekend. He was lined up to participate in the 3-point contest and put on a rap performance on Saturday before playing in the actual game on Sunday. All of that seems unlikely to happen after the point guard suffered a groin injury on Wednesday.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links) reports that it’s a grade 1-2 right groin strain for Lillard. Dame will spend All-Star weekend recovering in preparation for a second-half playoff push.
Lillard is averaging 29.5 points while dishing out 7.9 assists per game this season. He’s taking an absurd 10.0 shots from three per game, which somehow is only second in the league behind James Harden (12.8 shots per game).
There’s no word yet on who will replace Lillard in the All-Star game and three-point contest. Who do you believe should be Lillard’s replacement? Take to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/12/20
Here are today’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Thunder have recalled Isaiah Roby from the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s website. Roby has appeared in just one game since the team acquired him on January 24.
Karl-Anthony Towns Injures Wrist, Timeline For Return Unknown
Karl-Anthony Towns will missed the Timberwolves‘ contest against the Hornets on Wednesday night and it’s unclear if he will miss more time. Towns has a left wrist injury, as the team announced in a press release.
Towns had an MRI on Tuesday, which revealed the ailment. The big man will be further evaluated over the All-Star break.
“He’s a guy who takes a lot of contact,” Saunders said (via The Associated Press). “He’s a guy who attacks the rim with force. There’s been times where he’s getting knocked to the floor. So we know that there is wear in that sense but no specific action.”
The Wolves’ next game is on February 21 against the Celtics. Towns, who did not make the All-Star game this year, missed 15 games earlier this season with a knee injury.
Wizards Notes: Embiid, Beal, Hachimura
If the Sixers make Joel Embiid available this offseason, the Wizards would be among the best-positioned teams to trade for the big man, as I explain on Heavy.com. If Philadelphia is looking for the best NBA player available to them—one whose shooting would fit in next to Ben Simmons—the franchise should look no further than Bradley Beal.
Like the Simmons-Embiid pairing, the John Wall-Beal duo isn’t without its warts. Wall, who has three years and over $132M left on his contract after this season, isn’t likely to be dealt due to the size of his deal. As great as Beal has been for the franchise this year (he should have been an All-Star), netting a talent like Embiid would be a good deal for the Wizards.
Here’s more from Washington:
- Former teammate Tomas Satoransky, who inked a three-year, $30MM deal with Chicago during the offseason, has guarded Beal on various occasions this season. He said it is “not the nicest experience,” as he tells Hoops Rumors. “He is just so athletic with it and he elevates when he shoots so high, so all you can do is contest it as best as you can and hope that he is going to miss,” Satoransky said.
- Coach Scott Brooks would rather the Wizards make the playoffs than land in the lottery and have a chance at a better prospect in the draft, as he tells Chase Hughes of NBC Sports relays. “Developing is creating winning habits,” he said. “Definitely winning is important. You don’t want to just keep developing and not have anything to show for it. We all want to win and that’s the mentality that we have to have… The small details, they’re important. You don’t just start picking up the small details once you have a good team.”
- Rui Hachimura and Moritz Wagner each missed significant time this year with various injuries, but both have bounced back nicely, Hughes writes in a separate piece. Hachimura missed 23 games with a groin injury and Wagner sat out 25 games with a left ankle sprain.
Eastern Notes: Williams, Kyrie, Raptors
Marvin Williams is making his debut for the Bucks on Wednesday night and ESPN’s Eric Woodyard (Twitter link) passes along the team’s initial plan for the veteran’s first appearance.
“We’re going to play him a little bit and see how it goes,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I’m excited about having him be a part of our group and how he can help us.”
Williams agreed to a buyout with Charlotte last week and inked a deal with Milwaukee over the weekend. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Williams gives the Bucks another viable rotation option, making them an even deeper team, Alex Boeder of NBA.com writes. The former No. 2 overall pick’s shooting from outside should be particularly helpful for Milwaukee.
- Coach Nick Nurse went on ESPN’s PTI today and was asked about one player behind the Raptors‘ success. “Kyle Lowry,” the coach said. “I’ve never seen a guy play harder on the court.”
- Brian Lewis of the New York Post (Twitter link) asked Nets coach Kenny Atkinson if Kyrie Irving will return after the All-Star break and he got an interesting response. “There’s a lot of days and I don’t want to go out and say something that I’d regret later,” Atkinson said. “When we get back, those first couple practices will determine where he is.”
Warriors Sign Zach Norvell To 10-Day Deal
FEBRUARY 8: The Warriors have signed Norvell to his 10-day deal, the team announced today in a press release. The contract will cover Golden State’s next three games and will expire during the All-Star break.
FEBRUARY 6: The Warriors are not done making moves. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), the team will sign Zach Norvell to a 10-day contract.
The shooting guard suited up for the Lakers earlier this season, as he was on a two-way deal with Los Angeles. He was waived in December with only five minutes of NBA playing time to his name.
The Warriors had several open roster spots after making a handful moves at the trade deadline. They’re on track to fill three vacancies with Norvell, Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Ky Bowman, with Marquese Chriss likely to be promoted to the 15-man roster at some point.
Even if all four of those players are officially added to the standard roster, Golden State would still have two open spots.
Warriors Sign Ky Bowman To Multiyear Deal
FEBRUARY 7: The Warriors have officially promoted Bowman to the 15-man roster and signed him to his new contract, the team announced in a press release.
FEBRUARY 6: The Warriors have agreed to a multiyear deal with Ky Bowman, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Bowman had been on a two-way deal with the team.
Players on two-way contracts are subjected to at most 45 days with the NBA club, which includes non-game days. Bowman had used up his full 45 days with the Warriors, so once the new deal is official, he’ll be able to return to the NBA.
Bowman has appeared in 37 games for the Warriors this year. The point guard, who went undrafted last June, is averaging 7.3 points with a career-high of 24, which came in a late November contest against Oklahoma City. With D’Angelo Russell out of the picture, Bowman should get plenty of opportunity, though Andrew Wiggins looms as a competitor for shots.
The Warriors’ deadline deals left them with just nine players on their standard roster, so more signings will be coming, including the possible promotion of Marquese Chriss. Golden State won’t be able to sign two-way replacements for Bowman and/or Chriss, since the deadline for two-way signings passed on January 15.
Warriors Sign Juan Toscano-Anderson
FEBRUARY 7: The Warriors have officially announced their deal with Toscano-Anderson.
FEBRUARY 6: The Warriors have had a busy 24 hours. The team dealt away a pair of veterans to the Sixers late last night and followed that up today by trading D’Angelo Russell to the Wolves. The franchise inked Ky Bowman to a multi-year deal and now, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic tweets that they are signing Juan Toscano-Anderson to a contract for the remainder of the season.
Toscano, who is from the Bay Area, has been playing with for the Santa Cruz Warriors. He’s been with Golden State’s G League affiliate since the 2018/19 season, joining the NBA team last fall for training camp and the preseason.
This season, Toscano-Anderson has averaged 12.5 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 2.6 APG in 31 games (29.0 MPG) in the G League. The 6’6″ forward played all four years of his college ball at Marquette University. He was not selected in the 2015 draft.
The Warriors, who dipped all the way to nine players after their trades earlier today, still have a handful of open roster spots.
Western Notes: Wiggins, Collison, Warriors
While Andrew Wiggins‘ contract, which has over $94MM left on it after this season, may seem like it is a negative mark on his trade value, that perception is no longer the reality around the league.
The Timberwolves knew they likely had to move Wiggins (for salary-matching purposes) and reached out to other teams about taking on the 24-year-old prior to agreeing to terms with the Warriors.
The former No. 1 pick has improved his value considerably since last season — part of that is him buying into the plan set forth by Minnesota’s player development staff. Wiggins is finding better looks and taking a more cerebral approach to the game this year after putting in substantial work during the offseason.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Timberwolves had spoken to the Mavericks about a Wiggins deal prior to trading him to the Warriors, per a source. It’s unclear how far those talks went.
- Former NBA wing Matt Barnes remains close with Darren Collison and says the point guard is “50/50” on returning to the league, as ESPN’s Rachel Nichols tweets. It was previously reported that if Collison returns, he’d prefer to go to the Lakers or Clippers.
- The Warriors trading Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III caught the locker room by surprise. “So this was a blindside,” one member of the team told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Prior to the team’s matchup on Wednesday night, the front office pulled Burks and Robinson from pre-game shootaround, signaling that the duo was going to be traded.
Community Shootaround: Winners At The Trade Deadline
Although the NBA trade deadline was expected to be a quiet one, it was anything but that, with several mega-deals coming in before Thursday’s deadline.
The Timberwolves got their point guard in D’Angelo Russell, pairing him with his friend Karl-Anthony Towns. The front office believes in the duo as its pair of franchise players and the price tag for the former No. 2 overall pick ended up being reasonable, as the Wolves handed the Warriors their 2021 first-round pick (top-3 protected), a 2021 second-rounder, and Andrew Wiggins.
The Rockets made their trade a couple of days before the deadline, landing Robert Covington. The team gave up Clint Capela and a first-rounder in the deal. Houston intends to play a version of small-ball for the remainder of the season.
The Hawks benefited from Houston’s newfound strategy, as they were able to pluck Capela off the Rockets, as part of the four-team, 12-player trade. It cost Atlanta the first-rounder the team had on hand from the Nets, as well as Evan Turner‘s expiring contract. The Hawks also brought back Dewayne Dedmon and cashed in on their open roster spots, collecting roughly $3.2M in trades with the Clippers and Blazers.
The Cavaliers made perhaps the most surprising deal of the day, acquiring Andre Drummond. They didn’t necessarily need another frontcourt player, with Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Larry Nance Jr. crowding the paint. However, the price was modest, as it only cost them a pair of expiring deals (Brandon Knight, John Henson) and a second-round pick.
The Knicks made a trade, sending Marcus Morris to the Clippers for Maurice Harkless, a 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 pick swap with L.A., and a future second-rounder. Not a bad haul for New York, considering Morris didn’t really fit with the timeline for the franchise’s young core. The Knicks essentially used their cap space this past summer to pick up draft capital. Still, it’s a win for New York in a week where the organization could probably use one.
Do you think the Knicks or any of the aforementioned teams are the biggest winners today? If not, which team had the best trade deadline?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!