Five Key Stories: 11/25/17 – 12/2/17
Hoops Rumors has you covered in the event you missed any of this past week’s headlines from around the NBA. Below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last 7 days.
The Grizzlies fired head coach David Fizdale a day after All-Star center Marc Gasol decried Fizdale’s decision to bench Gasol in the fourth quarter of the team’s home loss to the Nets. The loss extended the Grizzlies’ losing streak to eight games, and while the team downplayed Gasol’s comments as reason for the firing, rumors coming out of Memphis suggested that Gasol and Fizdale were already on poor terms before this latest incident.
While there hasn’t been any corroboration from the Spurs, point guard Tony Parker believes that perennial MVP candidate and All-Star Kawhi Leonard could return to the team from injury in as little as two to three weeks. Leonard, who continues to recover from quadriceps tendinopathy, had (see below) been working out with Parker while they were both out from injury.
Clippers‘ forward Blake Griffin suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee during Monday night’s game against the Lakers. While Griffin did not sustain any structural damage to the knee and the Clippers were apparently relieved after believing the injury could have been worse, his recovery time has still been estimated at around two months.
The Sixers are expected to be in the market for LeBron James this offseason, with several factors making the marriage a possible reality: James and rookie phenom Ben Simmons share an agent, the Sixers will be one of a small number of teams with the requisite cap space, and James’ previous endorsement of head coach Brett Brown.
The Grizzlies‘ ownership situation took an interesting turn this week, with minority owners Steve Kaplan and Daniel Straus activating a clause in the ownership agreement that will afford them the opportunity to buy out majority owner Robert Pera. The Grizzlies were last sold and purchased for $377MM back in 2012.
The Bucks are seriously interested in acquiring DeAndre Jordan from the Clippers. In return, however, the Clippers are looking to acquire at least two of the following three players from the Bucks: John Henson, Malcolm Brogdon, and/or Khris Middleton. Both Henson and Middleton currently start for Milwaukee and Brogdon plays a significant role off the bench.
Here are 10 more headlines from around the NBA last week.
- In the midst of playing doctor, Parker also found time to return to the court from his own injury. Parker returned to the line-up for the Spurs on Monday after missing the first nineteen games of the 2017/18 season with a ruptured left quadriceps tendon.
- The feud between the Bulls‘ Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis continues to simmer, but Mirotic has finally accepted Portis’ apology, presumably allowing the two to coexist moving forward.
- The Cavaliers‘ Iman Shumpert underwent surgery to repair the meniscus on his left knee. Shumpert will out of commission for approximately two months.
- The Wizards unveiled the name of their new G League affiliate – the Capital City Go-Go.
- Heat center Hassan Whiteside is expected to be out for a couple of weeks in order to rehab, and recover from, a bone bruise in his left knee.
- Magic guard Terrence Ross will miss “a significant amount of time” after being diagnosed with a sprained right MCL and a non-displaced fracture of his right tibial plateau.
- Jahlil Okafor is still pushing the Sixers to buy out his contract while president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo remains focused on finding a trade partner(s).
- Former NBA big man Lavoy Allen has found a new home in China, agreeing to terms on a contract with the CBA’s Zhejiang Golden Bulls.
- The Hawks‘ starting center Dewayne Dedmon will be sidelined for 3-6 weeks after suffering a stress reaction in his left tibia.
- Despite being in the midst of a 10-game losing streak, the Grizzlies have no plans to go into rebuilding mode this season.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 11/18/17 – 11/25/17
Every week, the writers here at Hoops Rumors strive to create interesting original content to complement our news feed. Here are those segments and features from the last 7 days:
- We answered your questions in our Weekly Mailbag, including whether the Bulls will trade Nikola Mirotic and the Knicks‘ chances at signing LeBron James in the offseason.
- We revisited several of our Hoops Rumors Glossary entries, focusing on free agent types and the G-League.
- We took a look at five significant 2018/19 Player Options and analyzed the chances of each option being exercised.
- In several different Community Shootaround posts, we asked:
- Is it time for the Clippers to move on from head coach Doc Rivers?
- Should the Clippers be looking to trade DeAndre Jordan in the wake of the team’s early season struggles?
- Do you agree with Bill Simmons’ Top-20 NBA Players for the 2017/18 season?
- Which 2017 free agent signings have represented the best deals so far in the 2017/18 season?
- What’s in store for the future of Derrick Rose?
- We asked you, the readers, to weigh in on two polls:
- Which team is the worst in the NBA this season?
- Will the Nuggets make the playoffs this season?
- We took a look at 25 players still on non-guaranteed 2017/18 contracts.
- As part of our Fantasy Hoops content, we analyzed Tyreke Evans‘ resurgence with the Grizzlies, among other fantasy analysis and notes.
- We analyzed the stock of the Grizzlies‘ 2018 free agents.
Five Key Stories: 11/18/17 – 11/25/17
Hoops Rumors has you covered in case you missed any of this past week’s NBA headlines. Below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last 7 days.
After undergoing surgery on his right knee, Clippers guard Patrick Beverly has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2017/18 season. Beverly’s surgery included a microfracture and meniscus repair, leaving his estimated recovery time at nine months. The Clippers are now free to apply for a disabled player exception worth about $2.76MM.
Upset with being hurt and unable to play, Cavaliers guard Derrick Rose has (permissibly) left the team while he evaluates his future in the NBA. Rose, who has been plagued by health problems since winning the NBA’s MVP award in 2011, signed a one-year, minimum salary contract with the Cavaliers over the summer. There is no timetable for his return to the team.
Paul Millsap will be sidelined for approximately the next three months after undergoing surgery for a torn ligament in his left wrist. Millsap, who signed a three-year, $90MM deal with the Nuggets this past offseason, injured his wrist during this past Sunday’s game against the Lakers.
The Orlando Magic will not be hosting their annual summer league in 2018, opting instead to join other franchises in the Las Vegas Summer League. New management believes that among other factors, having a large crowd will help better prepare young players for NBA life, as the Orlando league was always closed to the public.
Two-time NBA All-Star David Lee has announced his retirement from the NBA. Lee, a first-round draft pick in 2005, declined his player option for the 2017/18 season in June, and was unable to find his way back onto another NBA roster. Lee finishes his career with averages of 13.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
Here are 10 more NBA headlines from the last week.
- Suns rookie point guard Mike James is expected to sign a standard NBA contract before he reaches the 45-day NBA limit on his two-way contract.
- Blue-chip recruit Anfernee Simons is strongly considering entering the 2018 NBA draft straight out of high school.
- Missouri freshman forward Michael Porter Jr. will likely miss the remainder of the college basketball season after undergoing surgery.
- Former NBA guard Leandro Barbosa has signed a deal to continue his playing career in his home country of Brazil.
- Wizards guard John Wall will miss approximately two weeks while seeking treatment to reduce inflammation in his left knee.
- Bulls guard Zach LaVine has been cleared for contact as he continues to recover from last season’s ACL tear.
- Sidelined since October 23, Sixers guard Markelle Fultz is making progress towards returning to action. The team plans to re-evaluate him in two to three weeks.
- Bucks forward Mirza Teletovic is expected to be sidelined for the next four weeks after undergoing successful surgery on his left knee.
- Kendall Marshall, a 2012 first-round pick, has decided to retire from the G League.
- After getting kicked out of practice and leaving his Chinese team, former first-round pick Terrence Jones has been waived.
Pacific Notes: James, Gallinari, Kuzminskas
After bouncing around Europe and playing in five different countries over five seasons, Suns rookie point guard Mike James is making the most of his opportunity in the NBA, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN. James has made such an impression since signing a two-way contract back in July that general manager Ryan McDonough, who didn’t even know who James was until this summer, has stated that the team plans to sign James to a standard NBA contract before his two-way contract expires on December 6.
James, who had balked at the opportunity to play in the NBA on numerous previous occasions, finally felt that it was time. “I felt like if I wasn’t going to do it this year, I probably wasn’t never going to do it. So I’m just like, let me take one chance. It would just be for a year, and if it doesn’t work out here, I’ll be back overseas, and I’ll make more money.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari continues to nurse a strained left glute that he suffered in the first half of the team’s loss to the Heat on November 5. Essentially day-to-day since then, it has now been confirmed in a tweet from Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times that Gallinari will miss another 7-10 days.
- Back in Los Angeles after a brief stint in Houston, Clippers guard Lou Williams is eager to have his new team back at full strength as soon as possible, as detailed in an interview with Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders. Believing that the Clippers still have plenty of time to right the ship despite being in the midst of a nine-game losing streak, Williams said, “We’ve been playing extremely hard giving ourselves an opportunity to win these games and just haven’t been able to finish. (Once we) get guys back … we’ll break through.”
- The Lakers are keeping an eye on free agent Mindaugas Kuzminskas and have even met with the forward recently, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The Lakers were one of the teams we recently highlighted as having interest in Kuzminskas. The Lakers already have a full 15 players under contract, so any play for Kuzminskas would first require a roster move.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Russell, VanVleet, Hardaway
Despite being in the midst of a 15-game win streak, the Celtics aren’t satisfied, reports Marc D’Amico of Celtics.com and Chris Forsberg of ESPN. While arguably sporting the league’s best defense, head coach Brad Stevens doesn’t believe his team’s offense is where it needs to be. “We got a lot to improve on [offensively],” Stevens said.
The Celtics shot only 32.9% from the field in their win against the Warriors, and while they have leaned on a league-leading defense giving up a mere 95.4 points per 100 possessions, the C’s are currently 27th in the NBA in FG%. “We haven’t played well enough to consider this win streak to be valid, in my opinion,” Stevens said. “We’ve figured out ways to win games (but) we’ve got to be better, and we know that.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- According to A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston, one way the Celtics can create more offense is to play Marcus Morris more with the second unit. Morris scored 14 points in Saturday’s win against Atlanta.
- The Nets are trying to remain positive and maintain a “next man up” mentality after losing D’Angelo Russell to a right knee injury for the foreseeable future, writes Anthony Puccio for NetsDaily.com. The Nets also lost Jeremy Lin to a right knee injury after he suffered a ruptured patella tendon in the season opener, but head coach Kenny Atkinson is confident in the players being called on to step up. “We have a good group of wings, and guards,” said Atkinson. “I think we’ve developed sufficiently enough to withstand injuries.”
- After going undrafted following a successful four-year college career at Wichita State, second-year guard Fred VanVleet is finding his niche with the Raptors as a fighter on the defensive end of the floor, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “He’s a grinder, he’s a survivor, he’s a worker, he’s had to fight for everything he’s ever gotten in his life,” says head coach Dwane Casey. “He gets into the guys, he’s a little pitbull from that standpoint. He brings everything to the table that you need.”
- Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek believes that Tim Hardaway Jr. is suffering from something similar to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Hardaway Jr., who removed himself from last week’s loss to Toronto and sat out of yesterday’s practice, plans to play through the pain in spite of the risk. “It could help if he rests,” Hornacek said. “But Tim wants to play. He’s a tough kid. He’s a competitor. He feels that he’s got enough for us that he can go.”
Michael Malone Suspended; Jokic Fine Rescinded
The NBA has suspended Nuggets head coach Michael Malone for one game without pay for entering the court, halting play and making contact with a game official during yesterday’s loss to the Lakers, the league announced today in a press release. Malone will serve his suspension tonight when the Nuggets travel to Sacramento to face the Kings.
The NBA also announced in the same press release that the fine given to Nikola Jokic for being ejected from yesterday’s game has been rescinded. The league says that Jokic properly received a technical foul for his actions but that he should not have been ejected.
Mavs Notes: Smith, Antetokounmpo, Centers, Curry
Although they enjoyed a 32-point win over the Bucks on Saturday, the Mavericks have struggled to find their rhythm early on this season, going 3-14 through their first 17 games and finding themselves in last place in the Western Conference.
Despite the rough start, however, head coach Rick Carlisle is not going to let his star rookie Dennis Smith Jr. pick up any losing habits. According to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News, Carlisle and Smith spend a lot of time together, one-on-one, going over film, both before and after games.
“He’s an important part of our team,” Carlisle said. “It’s gotten to the point where our winning is largely dependent on him playing well, which is a great compliment to him and what he’s been able to establish.”
There’s more from Dallas:
- Saturday was a bittersweet night for the Mavericks. While they beat the Bucks handily, they were also reminded of what they missed out on after passing on Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft. As Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News highlights, it was owner Mark Cuban who ultimately made the decision not to select Antetokounmpo.
- According to Carlisle, Seth Curry is not expected to be back on the court this week, tweets Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. There is no timetable for Curry’s return.
- Despite having “a forklift full of centers,” the Mavericks are aware that the position is somewhat of a roulette wheel at the moment, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “It’s a bit of a by-committee position,” Carlisle said. “The guys got to roll with it and understand the things they do may only fit in certain stretches.”
Standard NBA Deal Expected For Mike James
Perhaps one of the more surprising stories to come out of the 2017/18 NBA season so far is the play of Suns‘ rookie point guard Mike James.
James is currently averaging 11.4 PPG and 4.0 APG, good enough for top-10 spots in both categories among all rookies. And, according to Scott Bordow of AZCentral.com, James’ play has not been lost on general manager Ryan McDonough, who plans to sign James to a standard NBA contract before he reaches the 45-day NBA limit on his two-way contract on December 6.
Before signing James, however, the Suns will need to create an open roster spot, as they already have 15 players under contract. Bordow opines that in order to do so, the Suns will likely look to move on from one of their three centers – Tyson Chandler, Alex Len, or recently acquired Greg Monroe.
Out of the three, Monroe is probably the likeliest candidate to be moved. He is on an expiring contract and the Suns have already been reported as exploring the trade market for the 27 year-old. Len is also on an expiring contract after signing a qualifying offer in the offseason, but he has the ability to veto trades, and Chandler still has two years and $26.6MM remaining on the contract he signed back in 2015.
If the Suns can’t find a trade within the next couple weeks and need to waive a player to make room for James, Derrick Jones‘ roster spot could be in jeopardy, since he’s the only Sun without a fully guaranteed 2017/18 salary.
Central Notes: Cavs, Bradley, LaVine
The Cavaliers are essentially playing without a true point guard, as both Isaiah Thomas and Derrick Rose are out with injuries and Jose Calderon has been relegated to the bench, averaging only 6.7 MPG. Lately the Cavs have been using Iman Shumpert as their starting point guard, with LeBron James handling ball-handling duties as well.
However, according to a team press release, the Cavs will now also be without Shumpert for at least the next 5-7 days. Shumpert left last night’s game against the Clippers in the first half with left knee soreness. He was examined and did not return.
As first reported by Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, the Cavs will likely recall two-way player John Holland from the Canton Charge to replace Shumpert on the Cavs’ active roster. According to Vardon, Dwyane Wade could also see his role at point guard increase after he filled in admirably during the Cavs’ come from behind victory against the Clippers last night.
There’s more from Cleveland and the rest of the Central Division:
- As detailed by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Kyle Korver has become an important centerpiece of the Cavaliers’ line-up so far this season. Perhaps most telling is James’ comparison of Korver to former teammate and 10-time NBA All-Star Ray Allen. “You’ve got two of the greatest shooters to ever play this game,” James said. “There’s a lot of similarities in their approach… they take that craft, that marksmanship very seriously.“
- In another piece for Cleveland.com, Fedor analyzes how James is beginning to accept the challenge of defending the opposing team’s best offensive player during crunch time. In the fourth quarter of the Cavs’ recent victories against the Knicks and the Clippers, James was the primary defender in the fourth quarter against both Kristaps Porzingis and Blake Griffin.
- Avery Bradley is slowing becoming one of the best two-way guards in the NBA, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Bradley is averaging career-bests in PPG (17.8) and 3P% (45.2%) this season and Stan Van Gundy has been impressed. “He came in with the respect based on what he had done, but it grows a lot more when you’re out here every day and see the way he goes to work.” The Pistons are currently tied for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 10-5.
- The Bulls’ Zach LaVine is expected to be cleared for practice on Monday, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. LaVine, who has not yet played for the Bulls this season after being traded from the Timberwolves as part of the Jimmy Butler trade, has been out with a torn ACL since February.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 11/11/17 – 11/18/17
Every week, the writers here at Hoops Rumors strive to create interesting original content to complement our news feed. Here are those segments and features from the last 7 days:
- Like we did last season, we’re keeping track of all in-season trades during the 2017/18 campaign.
- We’ve also provided salary cap outlooks for all 30 teams, division by division, based on each team’s current roster.
- While NBA waiver claims don’t happen very often, a waiver order applies when they do. Until December 1, this order is based upon teams’ 2016/17 records. For a current waiver priority list and further analysis of the waiver procedure, click here.
- We analyzed why the current CBA prohibits players signed after November 9 from being traded during the 2017/18 season.
- As part of our Fantasy Hoops content, we examined the performances so far this season of Otto Porter Jr., Tim Hardaway Jr., and Paul Millsap, three players who cashed in big this past offseason.
- In several different Community Shootaround posts, we asked:
- Who has been the most impressive 2017 NBA Draft selection so far?
- Who is the early favorite for the 2017/18 MVP Award?
- How should the Nets approach D’Angelo Russell’s injury?
- We asked you, the readers, to weigh in on two polls:
- Are the Celtics the new favorite to face the Warriors in the NBA Finals?
- Which NBA player is the least expensive star this season?