Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 2/6/2024
The transcript of Tuesday’s live chat can be accessed at this link.
Please join Luke Adams for our next live chat on Thursday.
Joel Embiid To Be Reevaluated In Four Weeks Following Knee Procedure
FEBRUARY 6: The Sixers announced today that Embiid underwent a procedure on the lateral meniscus in his left knee on Tuesday and will be reevaluated in approximately four weeks (Twitter link via Wojnarowski).
As we relayed on Monday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that an absence of one or two months is viewed as a best-case scenario for Embiid.
FEBRUARY 4: Sixers superstar and reigning Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid will undergo a corrective procedure this week to repair a left meniscus injury and is expected to miss an extended period of time, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
A timetable is expected to be established after the surgical procedure. Embiid was diagnosed this weekend with a displaced flap — a tear — of his left meniscus.
At minimum, an extended absence by Embiid will likely impact the Sixers’ seeding for the playoffs. It could derail the Sixers’ season if Embiid cannot come back and play effectively by the postseason.
His injury could also play a major role in the front office’s approach to the trade deadline, which looms on Thursday afternoon.
Embiid will be ineligible for any postseason awards under the new 65-game rule to qualify for individual honors.
Embiid was considered the frontrunner for the MVP award again in 2023/24, with superlative statistics across the board: a league-high 35.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.1 SPG and 1.8 BPG on .533/.366/.883 shooting in 34 games (34.0 MPG).
The 76ers are 30-18, but they’re 26-8 when Embiid plays and just 4-10 without him. They have lost five of their last six games, with the only exception occurring on Thursday when Tyrese Maxey erupted for 51 points against Utah.
Paul Reed has been starting in Embiid’s absence with Mohamed Bamba backing him up. Coach Nick Nurse has also used a number of smaller lineups.
Embiid suffered the injury during a Tuesday matchup between the Warriors and Sixers, when Golden State forward Jonathan Kuminga fell on his leg. The incident took place in the fourth quarter and Embiid left the court under his own power.
The seven-time All-Star missed three games early last month due to knee soreness before sitting out matchups against the Nuggets and Trail Blazers on Saturday and Monday, respectively, due to the same issue.
Embiid, 29, is under contract through at least 2026, with a player option for 2026/27.
And-Ones: Brown, 3-Point Contest, Glass Floor, Bjelica
The All-Star dunk contest has lost its star power in recent years. That could change this month. The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown is strongly considering accepting an invitation to participate, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Charania said Brown has been “mulling over the possibility for several weeks.”
We have more from around the basketball world:
- A star-laden cast is lining up for the All-Star weekend’s 3-point contest. Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Malik Beasley, Jalen Brunson and Lauri Markkanen have agreed to participate, Charania tweets. The same goes for Tyrese Maxey, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT tweets. Donovan Mitchell has also added his name to the list, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
- The entire All-Star Saturday night lineup will be played on a full video LED court that will be installed at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The skills competition, 3-point contest, slam dunk competition and shooting matchup between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will take place on the glass floor on Feb. 17. The All-Star Game on Feb. 18 will remain on a wooden court.
- Former NBA player Nemanja Bjelica was allegedly threatened to be stabbed with scissors, Eurohoops.net relays. Nikola Petkovic, a former soccer player, confronted Bjelica in a children’s playroom in Belgrade, according to multiple Serbian outlets, and threatened Bjelica and his famly. Petkovic was arrested and detained for 48 hours. Bjelica, a member of the Warriors’ 2022 championship team, hasn’t played this season.
Wolves Notes: Finch, Film Session, Towns, Gobert, Edwards
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch will coach the Western Conference All-Stars, the team announced in a press release.
Finch and his staff clinched the coaching honor with Sunday’s 111-90 victory over the Rockets. This marks the first time in Finch’s career been an All-Star head coach and the second time in Timberwolves history a head coach has been named to the All-Star Game. Flip Saunders coached the Western Conference All-Stars at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
Finch, who is in his fourth season as head coach, has guided the Wolves to a 35-15 record this season, which is tied for the best 50-game start to a season in franchise history.
We have more on the Timberwolves:
- Following a fourth quarter collapse against the Magic on Wednesday, Finch held an hour-long film session on Saturday to point out the team’s second half mistakes. Assistant coach Corliss Williamson was instrumental in getting the message across to the players. “It’s very matter of fact. We don’t pull any punches. We’re direct,” Finch told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “We have a saying in our locker room. It’s called ‘brutal truth.’ Everyone has to give it to each other when it’s necessary. We just have to make sure we’re doing it in a non-threatening way, but these messages are being received.”
- Speaking of the All-Star Game, Karl-Anthony Towns was disappointed that frontcouurt partner Rudy Gobert didn’t join him among the selections. “Big fella deserved to be in the All-Star Game and all of this is all possible because of him,” Towns told Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Being No. 1 in the West, you need to have a defensive impact. To have the best defensive player in the NBA definitely gave us better odds of making it. It’s all part of the reason we made it was because of him. So it felt weird that he’s not there with us.”
- All-Star guard Anthony Edwards was fined $40K by the league last week for ripping the officials during a postgame TV interview. His reaction? He shrugged it off, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. “I don’t care about it. S–t, it needed to be said,” he said. “Like I said, I’ll take the fine. I’m OK with it.”
Sixers Notes: Embiid, Maxey, Harris, Drummond, Deadline Approach
As Joel Embiid prepares for surgery, Sixers coach Nick Nurse said the reigning Most Valuable Player is experiencing a range of emotions, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
“I think he’s probably a little up and down to be honest with you,” Nurse said on Monday. “But I get some pretty positive vibes, which is why I say he’s up. Some encouraging things. And then there’s time when he’s probably about what you would be like.”
Embiid will soon undergo lateral meniscus surgery for a tear in his left knee. He’s expected to miss an extended amount of time but a firm timetable can’t be established until the surgical procedure is complete.
“There’s some tough moments to go though, thinking about what could be and what’s going to happen next, the road to recovery and all that kind of stuff,” Nurse said. “You know you got to take a positive spin on it. Anybody in life in an illness or sickness has got to say ‘I’m going to bounce back and I’m going be ready, right?’ I get some of that from him, too.”
We have more on the Sixers:
- Embiid will miss at least a month, no matter how well the surgery goes and how limited the damage is to his knee, Shams Charania reported on the Run It Back FanDuel show (video link). “I’m told that the hope is that Embiid misses one to two months. I’m told that’s the best case, minimum scenario,” Charania said.
- While Embiid is on the mend, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris will have to take on more responsibilities, Paul Reed and Mohamed Bamba will need to hold the fort in the middle, and wings such as Nicolas Batum will have to pitch in, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
- A reunion with Andre Drummond? Pompey believes the Sixers should target the Bulls’ backup center in trade talks. Drummond backed up Embiid during the 2021/22 season.
- Along the same theme, Pompey discusses other potential trade targets, as well as detailing the expiring contracts and draft capital Philadelphia could use to make moves before Thursday’s trade deadline.
Nuggets Notes: Murray, Deadline Approach, Jokic, Gordon
Jamal Murray may be the most accomplished active player to never make an All-Star team. The Nuggets guard was passed over against last week when the Western Conference reserves were announced.
Murray said he’ll draw added motivation from the latest snub, according to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.
“Yeah, of course, but there’s multiple players in the league that should be All-Stars (who aren’t), you know what I’m saying?” Murray said. “(De’Aaron) Fox wasn’t an All-Star. There’s somebody else. Trae (Young) wasn’t an All-Star. So … what do you want me to do now? I think you guys have seen me play at a pretty high level against those same guys who are All-Stars.”
Murray is averaging 21.0 points and 6.6 assists per game for the defending champions. He has missed 14 contests due to injury but coach Michael Malone said that shouldn’t have prevented him from being selected.
“Plenty of guys make it that have missed games,” Malone said. “And whether Jamal uses that as motivation or not, we’ll see. But I think he’s motivated in just helping this team win.”
We have more of the Nuggets:
- Denver’s front office is monitoring the market for frontcourt depth and bench scoring but the Nuggets aren’t expected to make any major moves and could stand pat, according to Durando. Malone says the front office isn’t desperate to make a deal. “Calvin (Booth) and his staff, I’m sure, are fielding phone calls. But I can’t imagine we’re actively calling many teams right now,” Malone said. “Are we satisfied? No. I think you always have to be responsible enough to look within and say, ‘Hey, can we do anything that makes us better?’ That’s always a question you have to ask. But knowing Calvin and the brief conversations we’ve had, there is nothing where Calvin’s on the phone, burning up the phone lines to 29 other teams.”
- After getting a night off last Wednesday, Nikola Jokic has been his usual dominant self since then. He racked up 27 points, 22 rebounds, 12 assists and two blocks against the Trail Blazers on Friday, then followed that up with a 29-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist performance against Portland on Sunday. Denver won both games by double-digits. “I like that we are playing with the same effort,” Jokic told Durando.
- Aaron Gordon is often on the receiving end of Jokic’s creative and deft passes. Gordon has a simple explanation why they work so well together, as Durando relays. “That’s the best passer in the business,” he said. “I’ve got the best hands in the business.”
New York Notes: Simmons, Nets’ Defense, Knicks’ Injuries, Randle
Ben Simmons will sit out the Nets’ game against the Warriors on Monday due to injury maintenance for his lower back, according to Andrew Crane of the New York Post. Simmons is expected to return on Tuesday when the Nets host the Mavericks in the second game of a back-to-back. Simmons has appeared in two games since missing 38 consecutive contests due to a nerve impingement in his lower back.
We have more on the New York teams:
- Entering Monday’s game, the Nets had shown defensive improvement in recent weeks. They had the league’s eighth-best defensive rating (114.0) since Jan. 5. However, they were still only 5-8 during that stretch. “We’ve got guys who can play defense,” Simmons told Crane. “I think it’s a collective thing, and we can’t get lost in the offensive piece of it. I think when we play defense and we get stops, the offense is easy.”
- Injuries to Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Quentin Grimes are starting to take a toll on the Knicks, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. It showed in the Saturday night loss to the Lakers, when they were outscored 33-19 in the fourth quarter and their nine-game winning streak was snapped. “We’re missing [Anunoby]. We’re missing his ability defensively, able to knock down shots,” wing Josh Hart said. “We’re missing [Randle], an All-Star for a very good reason, 25 [points] and nine [rebounds] every night. Quentin’s ability to space the floor. I don’t think we’re missing just one guy. We’re missing three big guys, and obviously, Mitch has been out for months. But you know, when you’re missing four key players, three of which are starters, it’s always tough.”
- Randle has started rehabbing from his dislocated right shoulder with the purpose of playing this season, Bondy reports in a separate story. He’ll be reevaluated in two or three weeks, but the early signs are positive. “You know his makeup. That’s what you love about the guy,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It’ll be full bore. He’ll give it everything he has. … We’re gonna make sure he’s healthy before he gets out there. But we’re encouraged.”
And-Ones: Snell, Cureton, Allen, Trade Market
Tony Snell was unable to find an NBA team to sign him heading into the weekend, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reports.
Snell had a February 2 deadline to sign a contract for the remainder of the season. That would have allowed him to accrue a 10th year of service for the Players Association’s retiree benefits program, which would cover healthcare for his whole family. He has two young sons who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Multiple teams would have signed Snell to a 10-day contract if that was all that was required to satisfy Snell’s 10th season, Fischer adds. However, the criteria for accruing a year of service is stricter for the retiree benefits plan — a player needs to play at least 50% of the season’s games or sign a rest-of-season contract by Feb. 2.
Snell, who is currently playing the NBA G League’s Maine Celtics, did not play in an NBA game last season.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA player and Pistons community ambassador Earl Cureton died unexpectedly on Sunday morning at the age of 66, the Pistons’ PR department tweets. A 12-year NBA veteran, Cureton was part of two championship teams — the Sixers in 1982/83 and the Rockets in 1993/94. Cureton also played three seasons with the Pistons and spent time with the Bulls, Clippers, Hornets and Raptors.
- Jerome Allen will be the head coach for the USA AmeriCup qualifying team for its February games against Cuba, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. He replaces Dave Joerger, who returned to the NBA as a Bucks assistant under Doc Rivers. The USA team is looking to qualify for the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup. Allen had been an assistant with the Pistons the past two seasons.
- There’s increased speculation that this year’s trade deadline will be relatively quiet, according to Mark Medina in a Sportsnaut.com story. Medina notes that many of the big names on the trade market before and during the season have already been moved. It’s unlikely any star players will be traded and a majority of teams don’t have a lot of incentive to make a bold move before the offseason.
Southwest Notes: Williamson, Wembanyama, Adams, Irving, Doncic
Zion Williamson scored the game-winning layup against the Spurs on Friday night. Afterward, the Pelicans forward lavished praise on Victor Wembanyama, who finished the game with 16 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.
“Vic is a very special player,” Williamson said of the Spurs rookie, per ESPN’s Andrew Lopez. “We were just talking about it in the locker room. He’s a dude that can get two or three Defensive Player of the Years and also, I don’t want to put a limit on it, but he can get Defensive Player of the Year and MVPs. We haven’t seen nothing like that. We’ve seen things close, but not like that. He’s an amazing player. Especially with [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] over there, he’ll continue to develop.”
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Wembanyama played 27 minutes against Cleveland on Saturday the second night of a back-to-back and appeared visibly fatigued at times coming off the floor, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News noted. The Spurs big man admits the NBA grind is starting to wear on him. “I’m glad my body’s healthy, even though it’s hard,” Wembanyama said. “It’s not giving me any red flags. Of course, I like everything, the conditioning to be perfect, but you got to pick your battle.” He has also battled allergies in recent days. “My immune system is also impacted,” Wembanyama said.
- The Rockets’ acquisition of Steven Adams shows they are determined to make deals for their long-range impact, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. Adams is out for the remainder of this season but will give Houston a quality backup center behind Alperen Şengün. It’s highly unlikely the Rockets will pursue a star-level player before the trade deadline, especially since they included Victor Oladipo’s contract in the Adams deal. They are also cautious about acquiring players who would take minutes away from rookies Cam Whitmore and Amen Thompson.
- Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving is listed as questionable for Monday’s game against Philadelphia, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. Irving has missed the last six games with a sprained right thumb. Luka Doncic is also questionable after aggravating his sore right ankle.
Stein’s Latest: Lowry, Hayward, Washington, Green, Bucks, Wright, Drummond
The Hornets are engaged with multiple teams, looking to move Kyle Lowry‘s $29.7MM expiring contract before Thursday’s trade deadline, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article.
Lowry was acquired from Miami last month as part of the Terry Rozier deal. The Magic are among the teams that have expressed exploratory trade interest in Lowry, Stein states.
If they’re unable to deal him, the Hornets could look to buy out Lowry. The Sixers and Lakers, as well as the Magic, would have interest in him if he winds up on the buyout market, Stein notes, adding that ncertainty regarding Joel Embiid‘s knee issue would not automatically rule out Philadelphia’s pursuit of Lowry if he’s bought out.
Here’s more tidbits from Stein:
- The Hornets could also deal Gordon Hayward’s expiring $31.5MM contract this week but if he remains on the roster beyond the trade deadline, it’s unlikely a buyout will be pursued. Charlotte hasn’t ruled out re-signing the veteran forward this summer, and if he’s bought him out, Hayward would have to forfeit his Bird rights.
- The Hornets have their sights set on Josh Green if the Mavericks seriously pursue forward P.J. Washington in trade discussions, Stein reports. However, there’s some buzz that the Clippers are also eyeing Washington despite their limited trade assets. The Mavericks are prioritizing power forwards over small forwards as they look to shore up size and defensive issues. They’ve also been linked to the Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma.
- The Bucks have limited resources after all the moves they’ve made in recent years — including the Damian Lillard blockbuster — but they are still very active in the trade market. Milwaukee doesn’t have any first-rounders to deal, while Bobby Portis ($11.7MM this season) and Pat Connaughton ($9.4MM) are the only players making significant money besides the team’s stars who might attract interest in a potential move. However, Stein senses Milwaukee will do something before the deadline.
- The Nuggets are searching for backcourt depth and the Wizards’ Delon Wright is one possibility, according to Stein.
- The Bulls could look to trade Andre Drummond and his modest $3.36MM contract for draft capital, per Stein.