Ish Smith Channels His Inner Steve Nash For The Wizards
MVP chants broke out during the Wizards‘ upset victory over the Celtics, drowning out the thousands of Boston fans that, at times, made the Capital One Arena feel like the TD Garden. Ish Smith, who had 59 points off the bench over his past two games, had again taken control of the contest.
“If it were a two-game season, I would have to agree with the crowd: MVP,” coach Scott Brooks said to the media in attendance, including Hoops Rumors. “And he’s bringing back the mid-range. He plays. Man, that guy, he’s hard to stay in front of. He changes direction, his pace, speed, it’s hard—it’s hard to stay in front of him.”
Smith, who signed a two-year, $12MM contract with the Wizards this past offseason, attributes many parts of his game to NBA legend Steve Nash.
“You know what’s funny, I was watching some tape of [Nash] last night,” the point guard said after the team’s win over the Celtics. “I’m always trying to get better. The game of basketball, I love to play the game and Steve did such a great job, as you know, and we know watching him. Probing, keeping his dribble, he was unbelievable in the mid-range game. I sometimes thought he didn’t shoot enough. I used to watch tons of him.
“The late, great Skip Prosser, my coach, he passed away. He used to sit me down my freshman year and show me tons of Tony Parker and Steve Nash clips. When you watch me play, you see a lot of that. Coaches used to tell me [to keep my dribble]. I’m glad I’m continuing that on and I’m still trying to learn from him, just watching his tapes. I watched the playoffs when he played against Dallas and he had 39 and he just kept making shots and they went to the conference finals. I’m constantly learning and getting better.”
Smith’s has elevated his game at a time when his team needed him the most, as Washington has been decimated by injuries this season. No one expected John Wall to come back, but the list of players sidelined is getting ridiculous. C.J. Miles has been out since November. Thomas Bryant hasn’t played in over a month. Davis Bertans, Moritz Wagner, and Rui Hachimura all remain out with three very different injuries.
NBA Ironman Bradley Beal has missed the past three games and five out of the past six, including the Wizards’ pair of upset victories over the Nuggets and Celtics. Garrison Mathews, who was turning into a key contributor for the team, went down during the first half of the Boston game. The team had to utilize a pair of hardship exceptions in recent weeks on Gary Payton II and Johnathan Williams, starting both in a handful of contests before being forced to trim down the roster again. Charles Barkley could play ‘Who he play for’ Wizards edition and go 0-for-6.
Despite the various ailments, Brooks has opted to stack the bench unit, led by Smith, and the strategy has paid dividends. The Wizards scored 92 points off the bench against the Nuggets, causing coach Mike Malone to give a brash rant, telling reporters that he was “embarrassed” for his squad.
“The reality is this is the NBA, man, I don’t care who plays,” Malone said. “They’re professional players, all their players are playing for something. They don’t get an opportunity to play a lot now they have an opportunity. They are grabbing it. So, you know, kudos to them. That’s what you want to see.”
After the Wizards’ win on Saturday, the locker room had a champagne-like celebration (it was all water). After the win over the Celtics, it was all praise to Smith, who has led this ever-changing group, mentoring the younger players and playing the role of both scorer and facilitator on the floor.
“There’s certain stuff he does where I’m like, ‘I can’t do that.’ Just the pace he plays at and how calm he stays, how collected he is and his composure,” Troy Brown Jr. said of Smith. “He’s definitely a great player and somebody definitely to look up to that’s been in the league for a long time.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA G League Assignment/Recalls: 1/7/20
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Raptors have recalled Matt Thomas, Stanley Johnson, and Malcolm Miller from their G League affiliate, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Raptors 905’s next game is on Friday.
- The Pacers have assigned Goga Bitadze and Alize Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mads Ants, per the team’s Twitter feed. Bitadze was the team’s first-round pick in the 2019 draft.
- The Clippers have assigned Mfiondu Kabengele, Terance Mann and Jerome Robinson to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario. Kabengele was the No. 27 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
- The Hornets have sent Caleb Martin and Jalen McDaniels to the Greensboro Swarm, according to the team’s website. This marks Martin’s seventh trip to the G League and McDaniels’ sixth.
Warriors, Marquese Chriss Have Mutual Interest In Reunion
The Warriors waived goodbye to Marquese Chriss prior to his contract becoming guaranteed, though the team has not shut the door on a reunion. Monte Poole of NBC Sports hears that Golden State is high on Chriss’ future and was seeking a way to retain him. However, the Dubs were unable to clear a roster spot before waiving him today.
“He’s a good, young talent,” coach Steve Kerr said after practice Tuesday. “He’s developed. He’s got a fantastic attitude. He’s somebody we were all really hoping we could keep.
“But the rules stipulate that we had to shed money. And this was the end result. Everybody is disappointed — players, coaches, front office. But this is how it worked.”
The franchise needed to open a spot on the roster for Damion Lee, who has just two days of eligibility remaining for the NBA club, as he’s on a two-way contract. Lee and the Warriors are reportedly close to finalizing a multiyear pact.
Golden State could trade away one of its veterans, such as Alec Burks or Willie Cauley-Stein, before the February 6 deadline and open up a roster spot. Poole adds that Chriss, who appeared in 37 games for the club this season, would like to return in the future.
Zion Williamson Likely To Face Minute Restrictions
Zion Williamson is dunking again. He’s also participating in 5-on-5 drills, which is a major step toward making his debut with the Pelicans, Andrew Lopez of ESPN.com relays.
There remains no exact timetable for the No. 1 pick to make his debut. Coach Alvin Gentry said the team is hoping that it’ll be “soon.” Lopez adds that once Williamson returns, back-to-backs might be out of the question, at least initially, and the big man will likely be under some sort of minute restrictions.
“It’s not worth the gamble of just trying to make this thing something that it’s not right now,” Gentry said. “We want to make sure that everything is in place and we’ll take our time. Obviously he’s not going to come out and be a 30-minute-a-game guy. It’s going to be a slow process to get him to the minutes that everybody wants to see him.”
Williamson will have to participate in more practices before he’s allowed to take the court. New Orleans’ upcoming schedule includes Chicago at home on Wednesday before going to New York (Friday) and Boston (Saturday) over the weekend.
Kyle Kuzma Distances Himself From Anti-LeBron Comments
In the words of Omar Little: “If you come at the king, you best not miss.” Likely omitted from the famous The Wire quote is if someone associated with you comes at the king, you best distance yourself from said person, which is what Kyle Kuzma is currently doing.
Earlier this week, Kuzma’s personal trainer posted an Instagram story criticizing LeBron James. Some may have assumed that Kuzma shared those sentiments, but that is not the case, as Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times relays.
“I just told him that I can’t control what another man says,” Kuzma said. “Obviously I don’t feel that way. Everybody knows that me and LeBron have a great relationship, and left it at that. Can’t control another man’s mouth and what they say, so we left it at that.”
Kuzma’s trainer raved about Kawhi Leonard‘s skillset in comparison to LeBron’s after the Clippers took down the Lakers on Christmas day. Kuzma had then tweeted “call a spade a spade,” and if you thought that now-deleted tweet was related to his trainer’s comment, then the 24-year-old power forward would like to clarify.
“No correlation,” Kuzma said. “I didn’t even see what he said at first. Obviously you guys see, I tweet things all the time. So definitely not about that.”
James, who is nursing a groin injury, isn’t overly concerned about the comments, as lions don’t concern themselves with the opinion of sheep.
“I really don’t care for someone’s trainer or whatever the case may be,” James said. “Everyone can have their own opinion. And any time someone wants to get some notoriety they can throw my name in and people are going to pick it up. That’s why you’re asking me about it because my name was in it.
“I’ve never met the guy, I don’t know the guy, I could care less about the guy. Whatever the case may be. I wish him the best.”
Hoops Rumors Originals: 12/22/19 – 12/28/19
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:
- Looking for a page that tracks all the trades from this season? We’ve got you covered.
- Voting for the starters in the 2020 All-Star game has begun and we broke down who should be the top candidates in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference.
- Bismack Biyombo and Davis Bertans are among the free agents-to-be who have seen their stock rise this season, Dana Gauruder details in the latest installment of our Free Agent Stock Watch series.
- Marcus Morris could certainly be on the move before the trade deadline, as Luke Adams explained in the Atlantic Division’s version of our NBA Trade Candidate Watch.
- Adams broke down which players are eligible for a veteran extension during the 2019/20 campaign. Adams also explained the nuances of the veteran contract extension as part of our Hoops Rumors Glossary.
- In our Community Shootarounds, we asked:
- What your ideal Christmas day NBA schedule would be?
- Should the NBA reward teams that are playing well by giving them a game on Christmas?
Utah’s Brass Discusses Jordan Clarkson Trade
The Jazz made the first trade of the NBA season, sending Dante Exum and a pair of second-rounders to the Cavs for Jordan Clarkson. VP of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey said the Jazz needed to make the move to add depth to the team, as Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune relays.
“We could feel that the starters were being stretched. … As the team started to form, we started to see some of the challenges that we had scoring with the second unit,” Lindsey said. “It certainly became a priority.”
The executive added that he thought depth may be an issue when the team lost several veterans, including Derrick Favors and Jae Crowder, this offseason. Utah’s bench was a major strength last season, but the franchise went into this year with an improved starting unit at the expense of depth.
Exum’s injury history and Mike Conley’s current hamstring woes also played a role in the deal.
“That timing dictated where we’re at. The one piece of the evaluation that we feel like is incomplete is, obviously, getting Mike integrated in, with now two hamstring injuries,” Lindsey said. “You know, we feel like there was a little bit of a gap in knowing who we really are and our arc for improvement. But we still felt like the bench scoring was so challenged that we needed to address it. … When Mike got hurt, we had to kind of speed up the evaluation and become a little bit urgent.”
While Conley’s injuries created a short-term need for an additional playmaker, GM Justin Zanik emphasized that the team was going to need to be deeper regardless.
“It still doesn’t change the fact that the bench needed to up the production, and we needed to see if there were other avenues to address that,” Zanik said.
Southeast Notes: Beal, Bryant, Washington, Martin
The Wizards may play it safe with regards to Bradley Beal‘s injury, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports writes. Beal left Thursday’s contest against the Pistons with lower right leg soreness and while it doesn’t sound like it will be a debilitating injury, it makes sense for the 9-21 Wizards to be as cautious as possible with their franchise star.
Beal is questionable for Saturday’s contest vs. the Knicks. Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Thomas Bryant said he doesn’t have an exact return date, but he is “very, very close” to returning, The Athletic’s Fred Katz tweets. Bryant practiced with the Wizards today and will practice with the Capital City Go-Go on Saturday.
- Isaiah Thomas said he apologized to a lot of people in the Wizards organization for the incident with fans in Philadelphia, including owner Ted Leonsis, Hughes tweets. Thomas served a two-game suspension for the incident.
- It sounds like PJ Washington will make his way back into the lineup for the Hornets, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. The rookie has missed the past few weeks with a broken finger.
- In a separate piece, Bonnell details how Cody Martin has been exceeding expectations for the Hornets. Charlotte selected the small forward with the No. 36 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
- Coach Steve Clifford said Al-Farouq Aminu had a “setback” this week in his recovery from a knee injury, John Denton of NBA.com tweets. The Magic signed Aminu to a three-year deal this offseason.
Rockets Sign William Howard To Two-Way Deal
3:46pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
1:07pm: The Rockets will sign William Howard to a two-way deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). The 6’8″ wing had been playing with the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League.
Houston has an open two-way spot after giving Chris Clemons a new deal. Clemons utilized all 45 of his eligible days in the NBA and the team was forced to either offer him a big-league deal or watch him spend the rest of the season in the G League.
Howard, who is originally from France, spent part of training camp with the Jazz before the team waived him and added him to its G League affiliate. In 15 games for the Salt Lake City Stars, Howard has seen 30.4 minutes of action while making 44.3% of his three-pointers.
Charania’s Latest: Holiday, Zion, Nuggets, Knicks
Earlier today, we passed along Shams Charania’s report of Dewayne Dedmon wanting out of Sacramento. The big man hasn’t played in eight of the last 10 games for the Kings and both sides believe that the situation is unsalvagable.
Charania also passed along other tidbits from around the league in his latest piece on The Athletic. Here are the highlights:
- One of Jrue Holiday‘s priorities is being in a winning situation, a source tells Charania, and that’s not something the Pelicans are currently providing him. Rival teams believe that Holiday is the type of piece who would help lift a team to a new level. The Nuggets and Heat are believed to be possible destinations should David Griffin trade the point guard, Charania notes.
- Zion Williamson is expected to begin contract drills and practices within the next week or two and the Pelicans want the No. 1 overall pick to continue to get leaner prior to his return. The franchise has focused on refining his eating habits as well. Charania adds the Pelicans “fully anticipate” Williamson playing this season.
- The Nuggets are open to dealing Juan Hernangomez and Malik Beasley, though both players have high asking prices. Some rival executives expect the team to move both Hernangomez and Beasley, as each restricted free agent is expected to garner a lucrative deal in free agency.
- The Heat have not closed the door on Dion Waiters playing for the team again. Pat Riley recently met with Waiters and James Johnson, making it clear to each that Miami would like to reintegrate both players into team activities.
- Rival teams believe Dennis Smith Jr. would prefer a trade from the Knicks and several clubs have inquired about the point guard.
- We’ve seen several G-League call ups this season and James Palmer Jr., who is playing for the Agua Caliente Clippers, could be next, Charania writes.