Kevon Looney Expected To Make Return
The Warriors have been without Kevon Looney since opening night, but the big man is expected to return to the lineup tonight against the Hawks, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays (Twitter link). Looney injured his hamstring early in the season and upon further testing, the team announced that the big man was suffering from “nerve-related symptoms.”
Looney started to practice with the franchise’s G League affiliate a few weeks ago and there was hope that he would return to the lineup during the current Warriors’ five-game road trip. The team’s game tonight in Atlanta is the third game of that road trip, and with Draymond Green set to miss the contest (rest), Looney should see some meaningful minutes.
The former No. 30 overall pick re-signed with the Warriors this offseason on a three-year, $15MM pact. The deal came on the heels of an impressive postseason for the big man.
Front Office Approach Contributing To Andrew Wiggins’ Success
Andrew Wiggins has failed to live up to the expectations of a No. 1 pick but Gersson Rosas didn’t see that in him when he took over the Timberwolves‘ team president role. Rosas saw the 6’8″ wing as a distressed asset and someone he could help to improve.
“I’m a player development guy at heart,” Rosas told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. “I love these kind of projects.”
Rosas was with the Rockets as James Harden bloomed into the superstar that he is today. Harden’s ascension didn’t happen overnight and the executive knew patience would be key with getting the most out of Wiggins. Stability would be another factor. Minnesota had shuffled through head coaches for much of the forward’s time with the club but with Ryan Saunders came familiarity. Saunders has been with the franchise in lower coaching roles since Wiggins came into the league and two have a strong relationship.
The front office wanted Wiggins to work on his three-point shot this summer and according to Mannix, he spent more of the offseason in Minnesota this past summer than he has in any other year to accomplish that goal. He constantly reminds himself to take the three if it’s available, which is just part of the game plan of taking better shots overall.
The results? Wiggins, who turns 25 in February, is averaging career-highs in a bevy of categories with points (25.3), assists (3.3), player efficiency rating (20.1) and true shooting percentage (.550) among the stats that reflect his improvement.
“Anytime you have better play, more efficient play as you grow your usage, that’s something that’s pretty interesting,” Rosas said. “That’s him doing the work, the system helping him out and everything trending in a very, very positive way. It’s a commitment to competing, working and buying into what’s we’re doing that’s going to work for him. It’s going to work for our team.”
Bulls Notes: Hutchinson, LaVine, Markkanen
Chandler Hutchison‘s right shoulder contusion will keep him out through next week, the Bulls announced on their website. The wing suffered the injury in Tuesday’s contest against Golden State and there was fear that he suffered a dislocation or labrum tear.
Here’s more from Chicago:
- While Jim Boylen has clashed with Zach LaVine more than any other Bulls’ player, the coach knows just how much the team needs the shooting guard to stay in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, Sam Smith of NBA.com writes. LaVine has been Chicago’s best player this season and several other players have taken turns going through rough stretches.
- The Bulls shouldn’t give up on Lauri Markkanen yet, Smith contends in the same piece. While putting him on the table in a trade offer for someone like San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge or Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis may solve a short-term problem, Markkanen has too much talent and untapped upside to sell low on.
- Kris Dunn has been a pleasant surprise for the Bulls this season, Smith adds in the same piece. Dunn was the subject of trade chatter over the summer with the team adding point guard talent, but the former No. 5 overall pick has settled into a productive bench role with the team. Smith argues that Chicago should roll out more three-guard lineups with Dunn in them.
Western Notes: Murray, Iguodala, Roberson
Dejounte Murray has come off the bench for the Spurs recently and the point guard says that he’s not stressing over his role.
“I am just here to play basketball, man,” Murray said when asked how he’s handling coming off the bench (via Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News). “Try to be a great teammate. And on the basketball end, play as great as I can on both ends of the floor and just compete.”
Murray was set to enter the 2018/19 season as the starting point guard before suffering a knee injury that cost him the season. Derrick White stepped up as the starter last year and coach Gregg Popovich believes that inserting White into the starting lineup this season will help the team improve its game.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- David Cobb of the Memphis Commercial Appeal wonders if the Trail Blazers should pursue an Andre Iguodala trade with the Grizzlies. While there has been no link between Portland and the former Finals MVP, the team could use Iguodala’s defensive prowess as it looks to turn around its season.
- Andre Roberson has suffered several setbacks on his way back to the court, as Olivia Panchal of the Daily Thunder details. The Thunder forward, who ruptured his patellar tendon back in January of 2018, remains without a timetable to return.
- Miye Oni spoke with Matt John of Basketball Insiders to discuss being the only current NBA player who attended an Ivy League school. The Jazz selected Oni with the No. 58 overall pick out of Yale.
Lakers Notes: Kuzma, Ingram, Davis
Kyle Kuzma continues to search for his fit on this year’s Lakers, as Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times writes.
“It’s tough sometimes, but you just have to be positive, have an even-keeled mindset. But that’s easier said than done,” Kuzma said. “It’s something I’ve got to kind of figure out. But it isn’t anything I can’t handle.”
Kuzma has scored 10 or fewer points in half of the 14 games he’s played this season. In 70 games last season, he scored 10 or fewer just seven times as well.
Here’s more from Los Angeles:
- Brandon Ingram spoke with Mark Medina of USA Today about the environment in Los Angeles last season. “The team was a little rattled. Coming in every day, it wasn’t always good,” Ingram said. “It wasn’t always good energy.” The former No. 2 overall pick was sent to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis deal.
- The trade talks surrounding half the players on the Lakers became public last season and while it would have been better to keep the discussions out of the spotlight, Ingram says he isn’t too bothered by how everything went down. “I’ve never been in a position of GM. I don’t know how it could’ve been handled,” Ingram said (via Medina’s piece). “I know it’s hard decisions to be made. I know these decisions had to be made to make them a better team, and they’re obviously a better team this year. So I don’t know how I would’ve handled it. They had to handle it how they handled it, and it worked out great.”
- Davis, who has been reunited with DeMarcus Cousins in Los Angeles, believes the duo could have done great things in New Orleans if they would have been given more time together, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register relays. The Pelicans allowed Cousins to leave in free agency in 2018.
Kyrie Irving Hears Boston Heckling From Miles Away
Kyrie Irving didn’t make the trip to Boston on Wednesday as his team took on the Celtics. Despite his absence, the TD Garden was filled with anti-Irving chants and the streets of Boston were filled with posters calling the point guard a coward. Irving heard the heckling from miles away.
“It happens all the time and Tonight just shows how Sports/Entertainment will always be ignorant and obtrusive,” Irving wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “It’s one big SHOW that means very little in the real world,” Irving posted on social media (via Brian Lewis of the New York Post).
The Celtics will take on the Nets again on Friday (in Brooklyn this time) and Irving, who is nursing a shoulder injury, has a chance to play in that matchup. While he won’t get a chance to see many of his former fans, he will get a chance to connect with old teammates and his former coach Brad Stevens, who defended the point guard before Wednesday’s contest.
“That’s one of the things that, unfortunately, when you’re really, really good at something, the level of scrutiny is even higher,” Stevens said. “He’s one of the best players in the NBA. The level of scrutiny is unfair, but it comes with the territory of all those guys. That’s why it’s so important that we constantly remind ourselves of how good they are.”
Anthony Davis Quickly Adjusting To Los Angeles Spotlight
Playing for the Lakers comes with added attention, scrutiny and a spotlight unlike most other places in the NBA. Anthony Davis is quickly adjusting to that environment in his first year with the Lakers and he takes pride in thriving it.
“It just shows the world,” Davis said. “I think the world didn’t believe that I was able to do the same things in ‘the spotlight.’”
Davis and LeBron James take turns addressing the media during practices in Los Angeles. Having James on the team alleviates the pressure for Davis to speak with reporters at times and James, who is one of the most scrutinized athletes of all time, lending Davis plenty of advice since he came out west.
“At the end of the day, we’re all human, so you have great days and sometimes you have bad days. And I think he’s handled it as well as you can, as well as any human can, and he’s enjoying the process, being in a situation like you said he hasn’t been in before,” James said. “He got some of it last year … everybody was bringing his name up, every talk show, every radio show if you watch that type of stuff, his name was being mentioned. So a lot of the attention there, and rightfully so. That’s the caliber of basketball player he is. So I think he’s handled it with a lot of gracefulness, and it’s pretty cool to be around.”
Rajon Rondo, who played in both New Orleans and Los Angeles with Davis, believes the big man is well-suited to handle the spotlight.
“It’s a big shock, big difference,” Rondo said. “From a media standpoint, I’m sure there were days in New Orleans where he didn’t have to talk to media even though he’s Anthony Davis. … He’s born for this. He hasn’t had it in his career but he’s born for it.”
Heat Notes: Winslow, DeRozan, Leonard
Justise Winslow made his return to the lineup on Wednesday, playing 34 minutes in his first game back from a concussion. After the game, coach Erik Spoelstra said that the plan moving forward is not to have the Duke product play that much.
“I had no intention of playing him that much. K-Nunn got hit in the chest. He couldn’t play. Duncan got five fouls. So thank goodness we had Justise for those minutes,” Spo said (via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
The team was also without Jimmy Butler, who missed the contest because he was not feeling well. Butler is expected to be back in action on Friday, so that will also cut into Winslow’s playing time.
Here’s more from Miami.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel wonders if either DeMar DeRozan or LaMarcus Aldridge makes sense for the Heat. If the cost is Winslow and one of the team’s player-friendly contracts (Dion Waiters, James Johnson), Winderman could envision a deal.
- Meyers Leonard is providing the Heat just what they need on offense, Winderman notes in the same piece. Leonard, who was sent to Miami in the Hassan Whiteside deal, is valued by the team as a 3-point threat and a complement to the team’s top scorers.
- Chris Silva is on the rise but foul trouble is holding him back, Winderman writes in a separate article. Silva is on a two-way deal with the Heat (you can check out every team’s two-way contracts in this year’s edition of our tracker).
Hornets Notes: Drummond, Draft, Batum
The Pistons‘ asking price for Andre Drummond would have to be pretty low for the Hornets to trade for the center, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer contends. The scribe believes that Charlotte shouldn’t part with young players or serious draft capital to acquire Drummond in part, because of the risk that he would just leave next summer in free agency.
Here’s more from Charlotte:
- In the same piece, Bonnell argues that the Hornets shouldn’t worry about tanking or making strategic moves to secure a better chance at a high pick in the lottery. Charlotte has several young pieces and it’s more important to develop them — if the team wins a few more games as a result, so be it.
- Nicolas Batum has a massive contract ($25.5MM this season) and surely, it’s player-friendly but that doesn’t mean the wing doesn’t have value to the Hornets, Bonnell writes in a separate piece. Teammate Marvin Williams believes Batum is the most versatile player on the roster. “On both ends he has always brought a calm and a steadiness to our team, as long as he has been here,” Williams said. “He is so reliable at making plays other guys just can’t make.”
- Batum’s deal has two seasons left on it and it’s unlikely that the Hornets trade him before the contract expires, Bonnell adds in that same piece. The wing will make $27.1MM next season, assuming he picks up his player option.
Jabari Parker Won’t Rule Out Return To Bucks
The Bucks had high hopes for Jabari Parker when they selected him with the No. 2 overall pick back in 2014, but injuries robbed him of much of his time in Milwaukee. Parker, who recently signed with the Hawks, wishes things had worked out differently.
“It’s real special, man, how they were able to build this building,” Parker told Eric Woodyard of ESPN. “I haven’t played here but just seeing like the growth of the city, I really like the way that it’s developing.”
“It’s just so sad that I’m not able to share it with them and that they moved on, but that’s fine, that’s business. But I do have like a little homesickness from being here. I just miss being here.”
Parker’s deal is for two seasons, though the second year is a player option. The forward wouldn’t rule out a return to Milwaukee.
“Never. I would never rule out a possible return here,” Parker added. “I would never do that. It’s just so sad how it ended and I wish I could’ve stayed.”