New York Notes: Randle, Quickley, Burrell, Johnson
Julius Randle‘s ankle injury came at a very bad time, but the Knicks believe they can keep winning while he mends, Nick Friedell of ESPN writes.
“I think it takes more focus being down an All-Star, but I’m very confident in our team and how we can handle things,” Jalen Brunson said.
The Knicks won their last two games heading into their showdown with Cleveland on Friday. “We have more than enough guys that are capable of helping out,” Brunson said. “That’s what a team is for and that’s what we do, we’re professionals.”
Obi Toppin started in Randle’s place on Friday, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News tweets.
We have more on the New York teams:
- Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley shot 44.8 percent on two-point attempts last season. That stat is up to 52.9 percent this season and he credits associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and personal trainer Reese Whitley, according to Mark Sanchez of the New York Post. Whitley’s workout regimen has made Quickley stronger, while Bryant has devoted extra attention to his on-court effectiveness. “Before every game, I watch a lot of film of the team I’m about to play, spots on the floor that I can pretty much be effective,” Quickley said. “Johnnie Bryant has helped me a lot, just being able to work with him every single day and being able to pick his brain.”
- Long Island Nets coach Ronnie Burrell has been named the NBA G League Coach of the Year, the NBA’s PR department tweets. After defeating the Cleveland Charge on Friday, Long Island advanced in the playoffs and will host Delaware in the G League Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday.
- Cameron Johnson is thriving with a bigger offensive role than he had with the Suns, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post writes. Since being traded in the Kevin Durant blockbuster, Johnson is averaging more minutes (30.4), shots (12.4), points (16.7), rebounds (4.7) and assists (2.1) per game than he did with the Suns. “That’s part of the beauty of the situation,” Johnson said of joining the Nets. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer.
Kings Notes: Dellavedova, Johnson, Huerter, Murray
Kings reserve guard Matthew Dellavedova has a fractured finger, James Ham of The Kings Beat relays via a team update (Twitter link).
Dellavedova suffered a right index finger fracture during the fourth quarter against Portland on Wednesday. Treatment options are being mulled and there’s no timetable for his return.
The 32-year-old has appeared in 32 games off the bench but is only averaging 6.7 minutes in those outings. He’s playing on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal.
We have more on the playoff-bound Kings:
- Stockton Kings GM Paul Johnson has been named the NBA G League Basketball Executive of the Year, according to a press release from the team. Johnson became the first executive in Stockton history to earn the award after leading basketball operations for the last two seasons. Stockton finished with the best regular season record (25-7) and matched the franchise single-season record for victories with regular season wins and Showcase Cup wins combined (37). However, the team was upset in the G League playoffs this week.
- Several teams were interested in acquiring Kevin Huerter when the offseason began last summer, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. The Kings were not one of the teams his representatives initially mentioned to him. However, Sacramento and Atlanta soon came to terms on a deal for Huerter, who was vacationing in Spain at the time. Huerter was expecting to get dealt after the Hawks acquired Dejounte Murray. “It just felt like there were too many cooks in the kitchen,” Huerter said. “Somebody was gonna go.”
- Lottery pick Keegan Murray has set the league record for most 3-pointers by a rookie, according to a league press release. Murray sank his record-breaking 188th 3-pointer of the season on Wednesday. Donovan Mitchell previously held the record, having knocked down 187 during the 2017/18 season. “Breaking any type of records at the highest level in anything you do is absolutely amazing. And to see Keegan do that (Wednesday), with the way he’s played all year and how hard he’s worked, was an amazing feat,” coach Mike Brown said.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 3/28/2023
The transcript of our Tuesday chat can be accessed here.
Join us again on Tuesday, April 4 for our next live chat.
Potential First-Round Pick Tyrese Proctor To Remain At Duke
Duke freshman point guard Tyrese Proctor, a potential first-round pick, has opted to skip this year’s draft and return to college, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Adrian Wojnarowski report.
Proctor had moved up from No. 42 to No. 30 on ESPN’s latest Best Available list for this year’s draft. He was ranked No. 36 by Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman entering the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
“This is the best decision for my career, both present and future,” Proctor said. “Coach [Jon] Scheyer and I share the same vision; we have unfinished business. We have the best staff in the country, and they will push me each and every day.”
Duke won the ACC Tournament but fell in the second round of the NCAAs to Tennessee. Proctor was the team’s third-leading scorer at 9.4 points per game. He also averaged 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds while appearing in all 36 games.
The 6’5” Australian could move into the 2024 lottery with a strong sophomore campaign. He has dynamic shot-making ability, creativity as a play-maker and strong competitiveness defensively, according to Givony.
Proctor, still just 18, was originally scheduled to graduate high school at the NBA Global Academy in Australia this year. He elected to reclassify and enroll a year early at Duke.
Proctor has also decided not to compete for a spot on the Australian senior national team, which will participate in the FIBA World Cup in September. He’ll instead work on his skills this summer at Duke.
Timberwolves Notes: Reid, Edwards, Towns, Playoffs
Karl-Anthony Towns‘ return to action was a welcome sight for the Timberwolves but it created a pleasant dilemma: What to do about Naz Reid?
Though Reid moves to a backup role, he’ll continue to play steady minutes as the team embraces bigger lineups, Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes.
“We got to find a way to make the two-big lineup work,” coach Chris Finch said. “It has to be who we are in these last eight games. We have the flexibility to go a lot of different directions. But when a guy’s playing this well, he deserves to be out there in some form or fashion. It’s my job to figure it out.”
Reid, an unrestricted free agent after the season, had a team-high 23 points in 21 minutes in the Wolves’ three-point win over Golden State on Sunday night.
We have more on the Timberwolves:
- Anthony Edwards admits he was worn out in his first game back after missing three games with an ankle injury, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. Edwards was held to 13 points in 35 minutes. “Tired. Out of shape,” he said. “No legs. But we got the win, man, so I’m cool.”
- Towns hit two clutch 3-pointers against the Warriors. The Wolves had three off-days before the game and that gave them more practice time to get Towns back into a rhythm, Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. “One thing is trying to work on KAT’s spacing and decision-making when he gets the ball,” Finch said prior to the team’s road trip. “We can’t have him coming in and being too much of a ball-stopper right now. We have a really good rhythm to our offense. The ball has been moving really well.”
- The Wolves pulled within a half-game of the Warriors for the sixth spot in the West. If they can finish in the top six, it would allow them to avoid the play-in tournament. They play Sacramento on Monday night. “We knew where the standings are and we knew we had to beat them at all cost,” Towns told Hine. “We played with that kind of desperation.” Finch didn’t indicate whether Towns and Edwards would play in the second game of a back-to-back.
Wizards Notes: Beal, Kuzma, Davis, Tanking
Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma didn’t play on Sunday and the Wizards’ high-scoring duo may be shut down the remainder of the season.
Beal has a mild left knee sprain, while Kuzma is nursing a sprained right ankle. Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said he “hopes” they return this season, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post tweets. However, the Wizards are now tied with the Pacers and 3.5 games behind the Bulls for the final play-in spot, so it may not make sense to play the duo again.
We have more on the Wizards:
- Without Beal and Kuzma, as well as point guard Monte Morris, the Wizards fell to the Raptors 114-104. That ensured the team would finish with a losing record for the fifth consecutive season. Kristaps Porzingis admits that without those players, the team is in a tough spot. “Those guys (Toronto) right now are a level higher. Us without our main guys, it’s different,” Porzingis told Wallace. “Difficult task.”
- The play of lottery pick Johnny Davis was a bright spot on Sunday, Wallace noted in the same story. He scored a career-best 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. “I feel like I just needed to see one go down,” Davis said. “It’s been a while since I hit a three. So once I saw that first one go, it just built up my confidence to be able to take and make open shots.”
- The best thing for the Wizards’ long-term outlook would be to have the losses pile up the rest of the way, David Aldridge of The Athletic opines. The team needs another impact player and its best hope of getting one would be to have some lottery luck.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Anunoby, Knicks Draft, Brunson
Joel Embiid is listed as questionable as the Sixers square off against the Nuggets on Monday in a battle of MVP candidates. Embiid said that if he plays, he won’t be focused on his individual matchup with Nikola Jokic, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
“These types of matchups, whether it’s against (Giannis Antetokounmpo) whether it’s against him, it’s cool and all,” Embiid said, “but at the end of the day, it’s always about Milwaukee against Philly or Denver against Philly. (Individual matchups) is not where the focus should be. The focus is on making sure everything is running right for later on (during the playoffs).”
If he does play, Embiid says he’ll need a night off soon to rest his sore calf, Pompey tweets.
“I’ve been playing a lot of minutes, I’ve been playing every single game.” Embiid said. “So to add to that, dealing with the calf and whatever the foot, I think at some point you gotta look at the bigger picture, which is the playoffs, obviously.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- OG Anunoby was a prominent trade candidate before February’s deadline but the Raptors were glad to have him on Sunday. He poured in 29 points in a pivotal victory over the Wizards, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. “I think that almost all the time he catches and shoots, it’s a good shot — even if he’s pretty covered, especially in the corner,” coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s a really high-percentage, high-contest corner three shooter. He had a couple of mid-rangers off the catch, too — which, again, I like. He was feeling it, obviously. I think when guys are feeling it, you want them to get to wherever they can get to and let it go, so I think that’s what was going on (Sunday).”
- The Knicks could benefit from the Mavericks’ misery, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post notes. Dallas owes New York a first-round pick, though it’s top-10 protected. Dallas is currently 11th in the Western Conference after losing its last four games. The first-rounder also has protections for 2024 and 2025, and if it does not convey within those three years, the Knicks would receive a second-round pick.
- Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson practiced on Sunday and is listed as questionable to play Monday against Houston after missing Thursday’s game against Orlando due to a sprained right wrist, according to Dan Martin of the New York Post. Coach Tom Thibodeau said Brunson “did everything in practice” on Sunday and the team will reevaluate him before the game.
And-Ones: Ollie, Postseason Awards, Briscoe, Abu Dhabi
Longtime NBA guard and former Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie is leaving his position as head coach of the Overtime Elite development team, Adam Zagoria tweets.
Ollie has been the Elite’s coach for two seasons. He issued a statement which read in part, “With OTE having a strong foundation in place, now is the right time to step away from my position. I’m looking forward to focusing on myself, my family and the next chapter in my career. I feel very confident that those standards will be sustained for years to come as they continue to build.”
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Some of the bigger postseason awards are still in doubt, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines. While Nikola Jokic was considered the strong frontrunner for the Most Valuable Player award, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid are now very much in the running for the honor. The same goes for the Rookie of the Year race. Paolo Banchero seemingly had it wrapped up but Walker Kessler and Jalen Williams have made a big impact on their teams despite playing far fewer minutes than Banchero.
- Former NBA agent Charles Briscoe, who represented Dwight Howard among his clients, is among four men charged with schemes to defraud four professional basketball players of more than $13MM, the U.S. Department of Justice announced (story via Mike Vorkunov and other members of The Athletic staff). Briscoe is no longer certified by the Players Association and has not represented clients since last year. He is also being sued in Delaware state court for allegedly making false representations to secure funding for his startup sports agency.
- The Mavericks are now scheduled to play two exhibition games in Abu Dhabi against the Timberwolves early next season, one more than initially reported, Marc Stein writes in a Substack article. It’s part of a growing NBA presence in Abu Dhabi. USA Basketball recently confirmed that it plans to train and play in Abu Dhabi, with a full complement of NBA players, prior to this summer’s FIBA World Cup in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.
Raptors, Rockets Could Have Interest In Ime Udoka
Former Celtics coach Ime Udoka could draw the attention of the Raptors and Rockets, depending on how their coaching situations shake out after the season, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com.
There have been some rumblings regarding Nick Nurse’s status in Toronto and if the two parties decide to separate, Udoka would be a candidate to replace him, a league executive told Bulpett.
The Rockets would be interested in Nurse guiding their young, rebuilding team if he becomes available and they decide to change coaches, according to Bulpett, who adds that Houston would also explore the possibility of hiring Udoka if don’t retain Stephen Silas.
Bulpett previously reported that teams had begun the vetting process regarding Udoka. He won’t return to Boston’s bench after Joe Mazzulla had the interim tag removed. Udoka was rumored to be a candidate for the Hawks’ vacancy before they hired Quin Snyder.
Udoka was suspended for reportedly having an improper relationship with a subordinate. Udoka former boss, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, is hopeful he will get a second chance to be a head coach.
“Ime was and is and always will be a great friend, and so you can imagine that I was deeply disappointed and hurt for him, for everybody involved,” Popovich said. “It’s a difficult situation for him, and my hope is that he will bounce back and find a home.”
Pacific Notes: James, Ayton, Clippers, Payton II
LeBron James had 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes during his return to action on Sunday, but the Lakers lost 118-108 to Chicago. James said if he had listened to some medical experts, he would have been shut down for the season, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha (Twitter links).
James, who missed 13 consecutive games, said he tore a tendon in his right foot — an injury that typically takes longer than just four weeks of recovery. Doctors told him he healed from the injury faster than they’ve ever seen. The Lakers superstar got recommendations from two doctors to undergo season-ending surgery, but he went to see the “LeBron James of feet,” who helped to get him back on the court.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Deandre Ayton missed the Suns’ win over Philadelphia on Saturday and has now been sidelined for four consecutive games due to a right hip contusion. However, there’s optimism he’ll return on Monday — he has been listed as probable to play against Utah, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
- The Clippers have lost three of their last five games, including a 21-point defeat administered by New Orleans. The Pelicans controlled the game from the start and Kawhi Leonard left the game in the third quarter with a facial bruise after being elbowed. The Clippers play four games in six games, beginning on Monday night, and need a strong finish to avoid the play-in tournament, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times writes. “It’s tough to dig yourself a hole and try to climb out every single night,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “We got to be better starting games.” Leonard is probable to play on Monday, Greif tweets.
- As expected, Gary Payton II was available to play for the first time since the Warriors re-acquired him from the Trail Blazers at the trade deadline, Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets. He had been sidelined by a right adductor injury.