Pacific Notes: Booker, Beal, Durant, Reaves, Reddish
Devin Booker had 31 points and 13 assists in his return to action on Thursday but the Suns’ star guard isn’t a lock to play on Saturday. He’s officially listed as questionable for their game against Philadelphia on Saturday due to a left ankle sprain, Gerald Bourguet of the PHNX Sports tweets. Bradley Beal, who hasn’t played since the preseason, remains out due to lower back spasms.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Given all the hype, it’s understandable if Suns fans are disappointed with a 2-3 start. Kevin Durant says the team will be just fine, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. “It is still early,” Durant said. “I know we want to win every game and we know our fan base wants to win every game, but keep rallying, keep moving on to the next one. We’ve got a three-game road trip. Try to lock in and do our best to come back home with some wins.”
- It’s been a rough offensive start for Lakers guard Austin Reaves but he feels he’s contributing in other ways, according to Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. Reaves, who signed a four-year, $54MM extension this summer, is averaging 11 points on 34.5% shooting. “I haven’t played bad,” Reaves said. “I haven’t made shots, and for me, there are a million other things that you can do on the court to help your team that not the normal fan or somebody that don’t really know basketball understands.”
- Cam Reddish, a 2019 lottery pick, signed a two-year, veteran’s minimum deal to join the Lakers this offseason. Injuries to other wing players have allowed him an opportunity to play and the Lakers are expecting him to bring energy and defense, Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times writes. He played 37 minutes against the Clippers and contributed eight points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. “I told him on the bench, no matter if you’re 40 minutes, 10 minutes, 12 minutes, 20 minutes, whatever, you’ve got to have this effect on the game,” Anthony Davis said. “He came out defensively getting steals, great contests even though they’re going to make shots. Playing well offensively and attacking the basket.”
Atlantic Notes: Batum, Morris, Barnes, Celtics’ Reserves, Nets
It’s a mixed bag in terms of the availability of the players the Sixers acquired in the James Harden deal, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
Nicolas Batum remains away from the team for personal reasons and coach Nick Nurse is unsure when he’ll return, while Marcus Morris is still ramping up after being out of the Clippers’ rotation. However, Robert Covington and KJ Martin have a chance to be in the Sixers’ rotation for the team’s game against Phoenix on Saturday.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Coming off a disappointing second NBA season, Raptors forward Scottie Barnes appears to be making major strides, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Barnes has been a steady force thus far while averaging 21.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists and shooting 52.6% from the field. While at times he’s tried to do too much, Barnes has also been a factor defensively, Koreen notes.
- Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla organized a film session for his struggling bench on Tuesday and it paid off on Wednesday, as the backups lifted the team in a 155-point explosion against Indiana. The bench contributed 63 points. “I just thought we played with more of a sense of purpose, and they managed the game in that way,” Mazzulla said to The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach (subscription required). “And there’s certain things that you can do to put yourself in a better situation in those. It’s defend without fouling, it’s limiting them to one shot, it’s not giving up transition. Those are the three things that they didn’t do in the Washington game and those are the three things that they did a great job of taking away [against the Pacers].”
- Speaking of reserves, the Nets got similar performances from their bench in a victory over Miami on Wednesday. That group included Armoni Brooks and Trendon Watford, making their first appearances with the Nets, and rookie second-rounder Jalen Wilson, Dan Martin of the New York Post notes. “This is a night when you see the depth and versatility of our group,’’ coach Jacque Vaughn said. “You also saw the fight and competitiveness of our group. Our pace didn’t change with subbing in guys.”
Hawks’ Kobe Bufkin Has Thumb Fracture
Hawks rookie Kobe Bufkin has a left thumb fracture suffered during a practice with the team’s G League club, the College Park Skyhawks, on Thursday night, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets via a team press release.
Bufkin, a guard out of Michigan, was the first player taken outside the lottery this June. The 15th overall pick has made two cameo appearances with the Hawks.
Bufkin will be reevaluated in two weeks, so he won’t be available for Atlanta in the near future.
While the Hawks aren’t depending on Bufkin this season, it’s still a setback for a player they hope will develop into a starter. Bufkin zoomed up draft boards due to his shooting ability and versatility. He averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals in his second and final season with the Wolverines.
Pacific Notes: Durant, Beal, Booker, James, Mann, Thompson, Kuminga
Many NBA fans are eager to see how Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker will mesh during the regular season. However, the wait for the Suns’ big three will continue through Tuesday. Booker (ankle) is doubtful and Beal (back) is out for Phoenix’s game against San Antonio on Tuesday, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- On the same topic, Durant told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.com that he’s not fretting over the team’s health issues now or in the long run. “I don’t look at that stuff like that,” he said. “I know people have those concerns. But I just think that is just people hoping, to be honest, that we don’t finish the season. Every team can say, ‘Shouldn’t you be worried about injuries?’ Every team can say that.”
- LeBron James popped up on the Lakers’ injury report prior to their game against Orlando, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. His issue was left ankle tendonitis. James was a game-time decision but was good to go.
- Clippers guard Terance Mann (sprained ankle) has shed his walking boot but didn’t practice on Monday, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Mann has yet to make his season debut.
- Klay Thompson (knee soreness) and Jonathan Kuminga (knee contusion) didn’t play for the Warriors against New Orleans on Monday, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.
Wizards Exercise 2024/25 Options On Kispert, Davis, Baldwin
The Wizards have exercised their 2024/25 options on Corey Kispert, Johnny Davis and Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ava Wallace of the Washington Post tweets.
The fourth-year option for Kispert is worth $5,705,887. It was expected he’d be retained, given that he has established himself as a steady scoring option. Kispert averaged 11.1 points last season and drained 42.4% of his 3-point attempts.
Davis had a disappointing rookie year but Washington wasn’t going to give up on a lottery pick that quickly. Davis, who made his season debut against Boston on Monday after recovering from a left elbow sprain, will make $5,291,160 in his third season.
Baldwin was a bit more of a question mark. He was included in the deal that brought Jordan Poole to Washington and sent Chris Paul to Golden State. Drafted with the No. 28 pick in 2022, Baldwin appeared in 31 regular season games with the Warriors last season and has seen spot duty thus far with Washington. He’ll receive a $2,448,840 salary in 2024/25.
The full list of rookie scale option decisions for ’24/25, which are due on Tuesday, can be found right here.
And-Ones: Media Rights, Duren, Dead Money, Tournament Courts
The NBA’s next media rights contracts could have long-term ramifications, Kevin Draper and Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times report.
The league is hoping to more than double the $24 billion it receives from Disney and Warner Bros. in the current nine-year rights deal. However, the ever-changing media landscape could make those expectations unrealistic. Media and technology companies are under increasing pressure to justify the huge amounts they spend on broadcast rights.
Amazon and NBC are potential new partners for the NBA, the Times reporters add.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- It would have been nearly impossible for Victor Wembanyama to live up to the early hype. Indeed, the Spurs’ new big man had some rough moments in his first NBA week and was outshined by the Pistons’ second-year center Jalen Duren, John Hollinger of The Athletic notes. In Detroit’s first three games, Duren notched a league-leading 18 dunks and blocked eight shots while averaging 18.0 points and 14.5 rebounds. Duren has also shown a knack for reading the game on the move.
- There are a number of players earning money without suiting up or from previous organizations and Sam Yip of HoopsHype looks at the most notable dead money cap holds in the league. That includes free agent Kevin Porter Jr., who is getting paid $15.86MM by the Thunder after the Rockets traded the troubled guard. Rockets wing Reggie Bullock and free agent Khem Birch, who are being paid $11MM and $6.985MM respectively by the Spurs after being waived, also rank high on the list.
- The NBA has unveiled special courts for each team to be used during the in-season tournament, via a press release. Zach Lowe of ESPN explains how the league came up with the idea to distinguish tournament games from regular season contests with unique courts.
Clippers Exercise Bones Hyland’s Fourth-Year Option
The Clippers are exercising Bones Hyland‘s 2024/25 fourth-year option, Law Murray of The Athletic tweets. The move is official, per RealGM’s transaction log.
Hyland will make $4,158,439 in ’24/25 after earning $2,306,400 this season.
The Clippers acquired Hyland from Denver for a pair of second-rounders at last year’s trade deadline. A late first-round pick in 2021, Hyland publicly pushed for a bigger role with the Nuggets and they ultimately decided to move on from him. Hyland hasn’t enjoyed an expanded role since the trade but seems more settled and happier in Los Angeles.
Hyland appeared in 111 regular season games with the Nuggets and 14 more with the Clippers last season. He’s off to a solid start on Los Angeles’ second unit this season, averaging 15.7 points and 1.7 assists in 21.7 minutes per game.
Central Notes: DeRozan, Allen, Garland, Mitchell, Okoro, Terry
DeMar DeRozan is playing on an expiring contract but the Bulls’ wing says he’s not concerned about the lack of an extension to this point.
“I honestly don’t think about it at all. I never have,” DeRozan told K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “It doesn’t worry me or stress me out. Again, I control what I can control. And in due time, let it speak for itself.”
DeRozan also doesn’t envision trying to force a trade.
“I feel like I wouldn’t be able to lay down comfortably if I went somewhere and said, ‘(Expletive) trade me. I’m tired of this.’ That’s just not me,” he said. “I’m going to compete, be the best version I can be and let it go from there.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- Jarrett Allen (ankle bone bruise) and Darius Garland (hamstring strain) will remain out of the Cavaliers’ lineup against the Knicks on Tuesday and Donovan Mitchell (hamstring) is listed as questionable, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets. However, Allen and Mitchell did practice on Monday, Steve Popper of Newsday tweets. Garland went through an individual shooting workout to test his hamstring, Fedor adds (Twitter link).
- The Cavaliers will be playing the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. Isaac Okoro admits that disappointment was tough to shake, he told Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “I know [losing to the Knicks] stuck with me for a pretty long time,” Okoro said. “It took me a minute to get over it.”
- The Bulls have assigned forward Dalen Terry to their NBA G League franchise, the Windy City Bulls, the NBA team tweets. With Tuesday’s deadline looming, the Bulls have yet to exercise their $3,5MM third-year option on Terry. The 2022 first-rounder has only played five minutes this season. “It’s great he’s with us at times. But I don’t know if we want to keep him with us if he’s not going to be in the rotation,’ “coach Billy Donovan told Johnson.
Northwest Notes: M. Porter, Gobert, McDaniels, George
Michael Porter Jr. had 20 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes against Oklahoma City on Sunday. The Nuggets forward said he’s still recovering from the ankle injury that sidelined him during the preseason.
“My ankle is just starting to feel better. I’m starting to feel more balance in my shot,” Porter told The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando. “And then I didn’t play all preseason. I didn’t really get to finish training camp, so it’s just being out there and getting the feel for it again.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, no stranger to Defensive Player of the Year trophies, says he feels stronger than ever and believes that with the athletes around him, Minnesota can have the best defense in the league, per Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “We have size. We have guys that can move their feet. We have guys that are dogs, competitors,” Gobert said. “Those three things, you put them together, why wouldn’t you want us to be the best defensive team in the league with all those weapons?”
- Jaden McDaniels will make his debut against Atlanta tonight, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. The Timberwolves forward has been dealing with a left calf injury. He signed a five-year rookie scale extension a week ago.
- Jazz rookie Keyonte George is getting acclimated to the NBA game, including back-to-backs. He admitted he was “gassed” after playing on consecutive nights, he told Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. “I’m honest with myself and yeah, I was kind of gassed,” George said. “So now that tells me I’ve gotta get more into shape…(Coach Will Hardy) wants us to play extremely hard but the goal is to not be tired. If you’re not tired, you don’t come out of the game and you can impact winning.” The 16th pick of the draft is averaging 19.3 minutes per game.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 10/30/2023
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