Atlantic Notes: Griffin, Dedmon, Simmons, Bridges
Adrian Griffin filled in for Nick Nurse on Sunday as the Raptors’ head coach dealt with a family issue. Griffin, who coached the club to a one-point win over Detroit, hopes this experience will help him land a head coaching job down the road, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes.
“It’s something I’d like to pursue in the future as far as being a head coach so this is good practice for me,” the Raptors assistant said said. “But I never lose sight of what’s important and that’s the players. I’ve got to make sure that they’re prepared, I’ve got to make sure that they know what’s coming and put them first. Yes, I appreciate this opportunity but I always try to keep it in perspective: We’ve got a game to win and my job is to prepare them to win.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Dewayne Dedmon has decided to join the Sixers after he clears waivers, but Philly Voice’s Kyle Neubeck is skeptical that Dedmon is the answer as Joel Embiid‘s backup, given that he’s 33 and he couldn’t establish himself as the Heat’s backup big man. Dedmon made spotty contributions on offense this season and it’s questionable whether he can effectively guard pick-and-rolls, Neubeck writes.
- Ben Simmons admits he’s not happy with his spotty fourth-quarter minutes, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. “It’s a little frustrating trying to find some rhythm and consistency; but that’s what it is at this point right now,” he said. “Guys have been in and out due to injuries, trades, so there’s been a lot of different things that play factors into it.”
- Nets fans have quickly embraced Mikal Bridges, the top player they acquired in the Kevin Durant blockbuster. The home crowd chanted “Brooklyn Bridges” as he shot free throws in his team debut on Saturday. “Hearing that chant, I kind of wanted to join in and make them yell louder. … People were already saying ‘Brooklyn Bridges’ when I got traded. I like it,” he said.
- Bridges didn’t lose his consecutive games streak on a technicality, Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press reports. He was forced to miss a game last week for the first time in his career on Thursday after he was traded by Phoenix. He was listed as “inactive — trade pending” in the official box score. The league determined that since Bridges wasn’t eligible to play, it shouldn’t count as a missed game. He has the league’s longest active streak, now at 367 after the Nets fell to the Knicks on Monday night.
LaMarcus Aldridge Working Out For Mavs
Veteran big man LaMarcus Aldridge is working out for the Mavericks on Tuesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Aldridge averaged 12.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 47 games (including 12 starts) with the Nets last season, but he’s remained unsigned since hitting the free agent market last summer.
Aldridge went in retirement the previous season due to a heart condition but was cleared to play again by the league prior to the 2021/22 campaign. Like many traditional big men, the 37-year-old Aldridge has found it difficult to find a new opportunity.
He was one of the steadiest low-post scorer and rebounders during his seasons in Portland and San Antonio. He holds career averages of 19.1 points nd 8.1 rebounds in 1,076 career games.
Dallas has 14 players on its roster. plus Chris Silva on a 10-day contract. The Mavs are also expected to sign Justin Holiday when he exits waivers, so there’s no clear path for Aldridge to gain a roster spot even if he impresses in the workout.
Magic Sign Former Pacer Goga Bitadze
7:41pm: Bitadze received a two-year deal with a team option for next season, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
6:26pm: The Magic have signed former Pacers center Goga Bitadze, according to a team press release.
Bitadze was waived when Indiana needed to create roster space in the four-team blockbuster trade that sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix. The Pacers acquired Jordan Nwora, George Hill, Serge Ibaka in the deal, though Ibaka was later waived.
Bitadze played in 21 games this season with Indiana, averaging 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.6 minutes. He was in the final season of his rookie scale contract when Indiana let him go.
The 18th overall pick of the 2019 draft, Bitadze has played in 170 career games (21 starts), averaging 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.5 minutes.
Orlando had some open roster spots after waiving Terrence Ross and recently acquired Patrick Beverley. The Magic also traded a big man, Mohamed Bamba, to the Lakers, so that may open up some playing time for Bitadze.
Central Notes: Crowder, Portis, Dragic, Westbrook, Wiseman
Newly acquired forward Jae Crowder participated in practice with the Bucks on Monday but he won’t suit up prior to the All-Star break, coach Mike Budenholzer told The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (Twitter links).
“He’s going to have a good few days with us before the All-Star break, then take a few days and come back and just evaluate him over the next five, seven, ten days…and hopefully get him integrated and playing after the break,” the Bucks coach said.
Crowder hasn’t played at all this year, as he sat out awaiting a trade. The Bucks acquired him in a three-team deal.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Bobby Portis was able to go through a portion of the Bucks’ practice, Nehm adds in another tweet. “We had a play group at the end of practice and he participated in that, so we’ll see how he feels (Tuesday),” Budenholzer said. “It’s another good step for Bobby.” Portis has been sidelined since Jan. 23 due to a knee injury.
- Goran Dragic doesn’t feel insulted that the Bulls may be in the buyout market for another point guard, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Dragic knows he can’t play heavy minutes at this stage of his career. “No, it doesn’t offend me, it doesn’t,’’ Dragic said. “At the end of the day you want to win. I’ve got limited minutes so it’s what can I do in those minutes? I know the plus/minus is good, and I know what I can do. Sometimes I feel more involved, sometimes no. But you know, I do think the starting unit needs a point guard, that’s for sure.”
- On that same topic, The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry weighs the pros and cons of adding Russell Westbrook, if the veteran point guard chooses to take a buyout from the Jazz. Mayberry writes that it would be a desperation move, but one the Bulls might need to make.
- Now that James Wiseman has officially been traded to the Pistons, can he blossom on a rebuilding team? The Athletic’s James Edwards III and Anthony Slater explore that topic. Slater, who covers Golden State, believes Wiseman will eventually be a productive NBA center offensively but it’s uncertain whether he’ll ever shore up the defensive flaws that kept him out of the Warriors’ rotation.
Los Angeles Notes: Hyland, Gordon, Westbrook, James
Bones Hyland believes he’s the answer at the point for the Clippers, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes. The Nuggets dealt the disgruntled young guard, who fell out of their rotation, and Hyland is thrilled with opportunity.
“For me, I feel like I never had that opportunity to showcase my playmaking ability and be able to play that point guard role a lot and show that I’m just more than just a scorer,” he said. “I’m actually a point guard, you know? And I offer that at a high level and if you put me in that position, I’m going to thrive in that position as well.”
Hyland was routed to the Clippers as part of a four-team deal. He’ll battle current starter Terance Mann for minutes.
We have more from the Los Angeles teams:
- In the same press conference, the Clippers also introduced two veterans they added before the trade deadline, guard Eric Gordon and center Mason Plumlee. Gordon believes he can take some of the scoring load off Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Youngmisuk relays in the same story. “I can space the floor for them. And I can create my own shot,” Gordon said. “And I see that they switch a lot on defense. I’ve been doing that the past seven, eight years. And I guard bigs, too. You got to have a two-way mindset playing offense and defense. And I think I’m able to bring that.”
- While Hyland fortifies the point guard spot, George reiterated that he wouldn’t mind if his former Oklahoma City teammate, Russell Westbrook, chose to take a buyout from the Jazz and join the Clippers, according to Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “I’m a big believer in him and a fan of what Russ’ work is, having had one of my best seasons in my career alongside of him,” George said. “I’ve seen what he can do, night in, night out and I think he’s still got a lot of game there.”
- LeBron James hasn’t played since breaking the league’s scoring record on Tuesday. The Lakers superstar will miss his third consecutive game on Monday due to left ankle soreness, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. He was spotted icing his feet after the team’s shootaround in Portland, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets. The Lakers have one more game — at home vs. New Orleans — before the All-Star break.
- Speaking of Westbrook, Goon takes a deep dive on the veteran guard’s two-season stint with the Lakers.
Heat Notes: Standing Pat, Lowry, Butler, Yurtseven, Westbrook
There are numerous factors why the Heat have not added a veteran player via trade or free agency for nearly eight months, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Topping the list for the Heat’s lack of activity is that all of their available trade assets, except for Caleb Martin, either regressed, stagnated, or got injured. Other factors include a lack of mid-range salaries to include in potential trades, and that fact that no All-Stars on other teams lobbied for a trade to Miami.
We have more on the Heat:
- They were unable to move Kyle Lowry‘s salary before the trade deadline and there’s concern how well the veteran point guard can move physically the rest of the season, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports. Lowry has been dealing with left knee soreness and he could be sidelined for several weeks as he continues to receive treatment. He hasn’t played since Feb. 2.
- Jimmy Butler played this weekend in both games of a back-to-back for the first time since late October, Chiang notes. However, Nikola Jovic (lower back stress reaction), Victor Oladipo (right ankle sprain), Duncan Robinson (finger surgery) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery), as well as Lowry, remained sidelined. Coach Erik Spoelstra said that, among the injured players, only Oladipo has a chance to play before the All-Star break.
- Yurtseven will be a free agent after the season and the team hopes he’ll provide a late-season boost, much like Oladipo did last season, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes. Yurtseven, who underwent ankle surgery in November, has been cleared for high-impact work. “I just like the progress,” Spoelstra said of Yurtseven. “Things in our center position are trending in a much better direction, for sure.”
- The Heat have internally discussed adding Russell Westbrook in he chooses to take a buyout from the Jazz, according to Jackson. Westbrook may not make a decision about whether to go the buyout route until the All-Star break.
New York Notes: Rose, Robinson, Hart, Brunson, Thomas, Simmons
Derrick Rose, who hasn’t been in the Knicks’ rotation, wasn’t involved in a deal at the trade deadline, but it doesn’t appear Rose will seek a buyout, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes.
Rose is content to being a team leader and mentoring the Knicks’ younger players. “It’s still the same thing. I’m still locked in with the team, talking to the guys, mentoring,” he said.
However, a source told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that Rose wouldn’t totally dismiss the possibility of a buyout if there was a team in need of a veteran point guard. The former MVP is signed through next season but there’s a team option on his $15,596,339 salary.
We have more on the New York teams:
- Mitchell Robinson is progressing well, but the Knicks center won’t return from his thumb injury prior to the All-Star break, Bondy tweets. Robinson, in the first year of a four-year, $60MM contract, has been out of action since Jan. 18.
- Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson were teammates at Villanova and now they’ve been reunited with Hart being traded from Portland. Brunson believes Hart will make the Knicks grittier, Braziller writes. “He’s a tough-minded guy,” Brunson said. “He doesn’t back down from a challenge and that’s how he is and that’s how he’s been. I’m not worried at all. He’s going to fit in.”
- Cam Thomas strung together three 40-point games this month but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the starting lineup, Dan Martin of the New York Post notes. Nets coach Jacque Vaughn is trying to sort through all the changes in the roster. Thomas played 18 minutes and scored 14 points against Philadelphia on Saturday. “We’ve seen him garner a lot of attention as a starter, so I don’t think that changes,” Vaughn said. “It will be great to see that against the second unit. He’s a guy we can put the ball in his hand when we need a bucket. He has confidence to come off the bench and score.”
- Ben Simmons‘ former coach, the Sixers’ Doc Rivers, believes Simmons can regain his All-Star level form with the Nets now that Kyrie Irving has been traded, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I believe he can get back to where he was with us, especially now, I think, because he will have the ball in his hands more,” Rivers said. “I thought that’s what we did that really kind of freed him up. But it’s just going to take time. Now, what has it been, a year and a half? I don’t think it’ll be overnight. But he’s working, and that’s all you can do.”
Eastern Notes: Hill, DeRozan, LaVine, Noel, White
The Pacers gave George Hill the option of being waived after acquiring him from the Bucks, so that he could hook onto a contender. Hill declined the offer and hopes he can stay with the franchise he played for from 2011-16 beyond this season, according to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. Hill will be a free agent this summer.
“I’ve thought long and hard and I think that’s the biggest reason why I chose to stay here and not try to get out and go somewhere else. I felt like I still have a lot left to offer, either on the floor or to pick the brain and being a vet,” Hill said of becoming a mentor for the Pacers’ younger players. “Definitely don’t want it to be kind of like a rental opportunity. And would love to stay here for some years and grow with these young guys.”
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- After a Bulls loss to Cleveland on Saturday, DeMar DeRozan said that he and Zach LaVine must establish a better rhythm during crunch time, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes. “We’ve just got to do a better job of understanding possessions in a game,’’ DeRozan said. “I wouldn’t put it on teams having us figured out. I’d say 85% of it is picking and choosing on understanding the possession and not feeling so rushed into trying to hit a home run every possession. … It’s about us playing the game the right way, understanding what needs to be done, how we can play off one another, how we can use each other to help everyone else on the team to be in better position to make plays for us as well. It’s on us more than anything.’’
- If Nerlens Noel chooses the buyout route with the Pistons, the Sixers would be interested in him as a backup to Joel Embiid, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has been a fan of Noel’s playing style for some time, Pompey writes, noting that the big man could serve as the sort of rim protector Philadelphia is lacking on its second unit.
- Derrick White has been a solid and steady contributor since the Celtics acquired him from San Antonio last season, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston writes. White hasn’t missed a game since the trade and has the best plus/minus rating on any player on the team except for Robert Williams, who has missed a chunk of the season. White is signed through the 2024/25 season.
Timberwolves Notes: Conley, Trade Targets, Reid, Edwards
The Timberwolves brought in veteran Mike Conley to run the point and dealt impending free agent D’Angelo Russell. Coach Chris Finch believes Conley will be a better fit to initiate their offense, Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes.
“(Russell has) grown to have a lot of fans around the league and we were able to make a move that we felt matched us up a little bit better as we grow into this roster, get a little bit healthier,” Finch said. “We get KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns) back, Ant’s (Anthony Edwards‘) ascendancy — we just kind of needed a connector. I felt we needed a guy who was a connector there. When you have a chance to get a guy like Mike, you don’t think too much about it.”
We have more from the Timberwolves:
- Minnesota was looking to make more deals, particularly for shooters, before the deadline passed on Thursday, according to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. Among the players the Wolves pursued were Denver’s Bones Hyland, Phoenix’s Jae Crowder, Detroit’s Saddiq Bey and Miami’s Max Strus. All of those players except Strus got traded elsewhere.
- In the same story, Krawczynski reports that the Timberwolves fielded many inquiries regarding center Naz Reid. More than a dozen teams asked about his availability but the Wolves didn’t come close to moving him. He’ll be an unrestricted free agency after the season.
- Conley is not only busy meshing his on-court skills with his new teammates — he’s also quickly establishing himself in the locker room, Krawczynski writes in a separate story. “Leadership. Just being that veteran in the locker room that we needed,” Edwards said. “He can shoot the ball really good. Pass the ball. Him and Rudy (Gobert) got a really good connection, so I think it should be pretty good.”
- The fact that Conley is signed through next season also added to the appeal of acquiring his services, GM Tim Connelly told Hine. “There was some appeal of the contract of Mike as well,” Connelly said. “You’re always trying to think for the here and now and think of next year and beyond. It was not done lightly, and (Russell) was not a guy we were looking to move just to move.” Conley’s $24.36MM salary for next season is partially guaranteed for $14.32MM.
Eastern Notes: Korkmaz, McDaniels, Johnson, LeVert, Reddish, Celtics
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey confirmed that Furkan Korkmaz requested a trade and said he tried find a new home for the sixth-year wing, Derek Bodner of The Daily Six tweets.
“Look, he’s a very good player,” the Sixers’ top exec said. “I think he would be in the rotation of many teams in the league, so we were hoping to help him out. He’s been a great partner with the organization.”
Morey added that Korkmaz has a “great attitude.” The Sixers did swing a deal for the Hornets’ Jalen McDaniels, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Philadelphia would like to retain him, Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice relays. “I think he’s got starter potential. We’d like to obviously have him have a great run, help us win a championship this year, and then re-sign him,” Morey said Friday.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- James Johnson was waived by the Pacers due to a roster crunch in the aftermath of the Kevin Durant multi-team blockbuster. However, Indiana plans to bring back the forward if he clears waivers, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Johnson, who appeared in 12 games this season, attended the Pacers’ game on Friday.
- Caris LeVert was relieved he wasn’t dealt by the Cavaliers, he told Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Just a feeling of relief,” he said. “Relief that nothing happened and I’m going to be here, having an opportunity to finish out the season and finish it out with this group. We have been playing great basketball. I think we’re all glad that the group stayed together and we’re excited to make this final push. Can’t wait to see how far we can go.” LeVert is headed to free agency after the season.
- Cam Reddish fell out of the Knicks’ rotation well before he was dealt to the Trail Blazers this week. New York coach Tom Thibodeau said the “change” may be good for the young forward’s career, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. “I don’t know if it didn’t work,” he said. “I just think there were some good moments, some moments that probably could’ve been better and that’s part of the league. Sometimes you need a change.”
- Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said he wasn’t close to making another deal after acquiring Mike Muscala from the Thunder, implying that they weren’t really interested in making another move, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets.