Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Poole, Staples Center, Suns’ Cap
Warriors lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga has a strained patella tendon in his right knee, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Kuminga will be reevaluated in a week, so it’s likely he’ll miss some early-season games. It’s a setback for a rookie forward trying to find his place on a team with postseason aspirations.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- With Klay Thompson still working his way back from the Achilles injury that sidelined him last season, Jordan Poole has seized a starting spot, Slater adds in another tweet. Coach Steve Kerr indicated that Poole has a solid hold on the shooting guard spot until Thompson returns. “For now, he’ll be in that starting spot and he’s playing so well, it’s hard to envision not keeping him there,” Kerr said.
- A Staples Center spokesperson claims that Los Angeles’ new ordinance mandating that people must be vaccinated to enter a wide range of indoor venues in the city does not apply to the arena, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. According to the spokesperson, the Staples Center is covered by a previous county health order. Whether or not the new ordinance applies to the arena, it shouldn’t have an impact on the Lakers or Clippers at this point, since both teams are expected to be fully vaccinated when the regular season begins.
- The Suns are in good shape regarding the luxury tax this season, but that could change next year, John Hollinger of The Athletic notes in his season preview. Phoenix is $8MM below the luxury-tax line and still has the majority of its mid-level exception and an open roster spot at its disposal. But if the team tries to retain Mikal Bridges, Deandre Ayton and Landry Shamet — all of whom are eligible for rookie scale extensions — it will be difficult to stay below the tax line going forward.
Rockets Waive Sekou Doumbouya
The Rockets have waived third-year forward Sekou Doumbouya, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
The move was expected, as Houston had no plans to retain Doumbouya after it acquired him from the Nets earlier this week. The Rockets obtained an unprotected 2024 second-round pick from Brooklyn in the salary dump. Doumbouya had a guaranteed $3,613,680 salary.
Detroit had high hopes for Doumbouya after picking him in the middle of the first round in 2019. However, he fell out of favor last season after Troy Weaver took over as GM, struggling to get playing time on the rebuilding team. In 2020/21, he averaged 5.1 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 56 games, including 11 starts.
Doumbouya was dealt to Brooklyn in another salary dump transaction by the Nets (DeAndre Jordan) that netted the Pistons four second-round picks and some cash.
Doumbouya, who is on track to clear waivers this weekend if he goes unclaimed, will now try to find another opportunity in the league.
Magic Sign Jeremiah Tilmon, Waive Jon Teske
The Magic have signed undrafted rookie center Jeremiah Tilmon and waived center Jon Teske, the team’s PR department tweets.
The 6’10” Tilmon played in 24 games last season as a senior at Missouri, averaging 12.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 1.42 BPG in 27.6 MPG. He appeared in one summer league game at Las Vegas for Orlando.
Teske, who went undrafted in 2020 out of Michigan, played in two preseason games. He was signed by the Magic on September 8 to a camp deal.
Tilmon won’t be on Orlando’s opening-day roster. Both players are expected to wind up on the Magic’s G League team in Lakeland, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Teske started 12 of 15 games for Lakeland at the Orlando bubble last season, recording 6.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 19.8 minutes per contest.
Denzel Mahoney Signs Camp Deal With Spurs
OCTOBER 7: The deal is now official, per RealGM’s transactions log.
OCTOBER 6: The Spurs have agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with undrafted rookie guard Denzel Mahoney, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
Mahoney spent the last two seasons at Creighton after a two-year stint with Southeast Missouri. He averaged 12.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 1.7 APG for the Bluejays last season.
Mahoney participated in the mini-combine in Minneapolis prior to the draft and was on the Hornets’ summer league team in Las Vegas. He appeared in three games there, posting modest numbers.
Given the terms of his deal, Mahoney will likely wind up with the G League’s Austin Spurs. The Exhibit 10 language in his contract would put him in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with San Antonio’s G League squad.
The Spurs are below the 20-man limit in training camp, so Mahoney can be added without immediately shedding another player.
Bulls Notes: Williams, Ball, Green, Salary Cap
The Bulls are hopeful that second-year forward Patrick Williams will return for the season opener in Detroit, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. Williams was expected to miss four-to-six weeks after severely spraining his left ankle in mid-September during an individual workout.
“We’re pretty optimistic,” coach Billy Donovan said. “What the [doctors and trainers] really want to make sure is that the sprain has healed adequately, so we’ll probably be a little bit more on the cautious side, just because I think once [Williams] starts randomly cutting, they’ve got to see how he responds. With as explosive and as powerful as he has been, one of the things they don’t want is [to] have something where he’s not quite stable, he does something and tweaks it, and now he’s having to manage that in the middle of the year.”
We have more on the Bulls:
- Chicago’s ball movement in the preseason opener was superior, with the team amassing 36 assists. DeMar DeRozan says that Lonzo Ball is setting the tone with his play-making skills, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes. “When you’ve got a point guard of that magnitude with that IQ that’s as unselfish as he is, he makes the game easier and it makes it fun. And it becomes contagious,” DeRozan said. “You saw the way we moved the ball. It’s been like that all through training camp, and we expect it to keep getting better.”
- Guard Javonte Green started in a downsized lineup in place of the injured Williams in that 36-point win over Cleveland. He made a solid case for a rotation spot, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Green posted a stat line of 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting, eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals in 17 minutes. The Bulls re-signed Green on a two-year deal early in free agency.
- The team is still in good shape cap-wise despite all the big moves it made, John Hollinger of The Athletic notes in his review of the offseason and preview of the season ahead. The Bulls are $3MM below the tax line, giving them flexibility to make some in-season moves. While Chicago has improved its roster, Hollinger still projects the club to finish 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Trevor Ariza Out At Least Eight Weeks
Lakers forward Trevor Ariza underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his right ankle on Wednesday and will be out a minimum of eight weeks, according to a team statement relayed by Lakers website reporter Mike Trudell (Twitter link).
“Trevor Ariza had an arthroscopic debridement procedure performed on his right ankle today,” the statement read. “He is expected to make a full and complete recovery. Team doctors will reevaluate Ariza in approximately eight weeks, and an update will be provided at that time.”
Ariza was one of the many veteran players signed by the Lakers during the offseason and he was expected to play a prominent role. Ariza was considered the frontrunner for the starting small forward spot.
Seeking a ring, Ariza signed with the club on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract in August. The 36-year-old finished last season with the Heat following a mid-season trade from Portland. He played in 30 games with Miami, starting in 27, and averaged 9.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.0 SPG and 0.6 BPG across 28.0 MPG.
With Ariza out until at least December, Kent Bazemore, Talen Horton-Tucker and Malik Monk project to receive more playing time at the wing.
Atlantic Notes: Durant, Irving, Quickley, Stevens, Joe
Nets All-Star forward Kevin Durant is trying to stay optimistic as the Kyrie Irving situation drags on, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. Irving can’t practice at the team’s facility and will have to miss more than half of its games unless he changes his mind and gets vaccinated. Durant believes Irving will eventually rejoin his teammates.
“I’m envisioning Kyrie being a part of our team,” Durant said. “Maybe I’m just naïve, but that is just how I feel. But I think everybody here has that confidence in themselves, in our group, that if we keep building, we can do something special.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks have a crowded backcourt but second-year guard Immanuel Quickley remains part of the team’s plans. Coach Tom Thibodeau believes he can play Quickley in a number of different guard combinations, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. “The great value with (Quickley) is that he plays with Derrick (Rose) and Alec (Burks), and so really the point (guard) is interchangeable with those guys. They move the ball and they make plays for each other real well,” Thibodeau said. “So, oftentimes, Quickley will bring it up. Derrick will bring it up. Alec could bring it up or we’ll get into dribble-handoffs. … We’re gonna fly around.”
- Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens doesn’t miss the daily grind of being the head coach, he told A. Sherrod Blakely of Full Court Press. “I haven’t had to worry about practice plan, game plan, none of that,” said Stevens. “I’ve enjoyed watching Ime (Udoka) put the team together and figure out how he wants to play, who compliments who, and all those things that go into that.”
- Sixers second-year guard Isaiah Joe is angling for playing time and he’s gotten off to a good start in the preseason, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. He had 18 points — including four 3-pointers — three rebounds and three steals against the Raptors. “We’ve got to get him on the floor more is what I keep telling our coaches,” coach Doc Rivers said, “because those 10 guys [in the rotation] are playing so much. … I told [Joe], I don’t care what unit you’re on, just keep going back and forth.”
Central Notes: Cavs’ Rotation, Pacers’ TPE, Vaulet, Cunningham
Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff is planning on a 10-man rotation but the last two spots could change from game-to-game, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer speculates.
“We’re working our way to what will be probably a 10-man rotation and then there’s different nights that are going to call for different things and we will go to those different guys,” Bickerstaff said.
By process of elimination, Denzel Valentine, Kevin Pangos, Cedi Osman, Dylan Windler, Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens and Mfiondu Kabengele are the players vying for those rotation minutes and each brings a different skill set to the table.
We have more on the Central Division:
- The Pacers picked up a $7.33MM traded player exception from the Spurs in the Doug McDermott sign-and-trade but it’s highly unlikely they’ll use it this season, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. They were just $763,905 below the luxury tax line before dumping Edmond Sumner‘s contract on Wednesday, which moved them $2.8MM under the tax line. That’s still not nearly enough incentive to use the exception, since the franchise has no desire to be a taxpayer.
- The Pacers received the rights to Juan Pablo Vaulet in the Sumner trade with Brooklyn but he won’t be playing in the NBA this season, Nat Newell of the Indianapolis Star notes. He signed a two-year contract with AEK Athens in July. The 6’6” Vaulet was originally drafted by Charlotte in 2015.
- Top pick Cade Cunningham sat out the Pistons‘ preseason opener against San Antonio on Wednesday, Rod Beard of The Detroit News tweets. Cunningham is recovering from a mild ankle sprain.
Central Notes: Markkanen, Carlisle, White, Pistons
The Cavaliers lavished Lauri Markkanen with a four-year, $67MM contract in a sign-and-trade with the Bulls and they have big plans for him offensively, as Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer details. Markkanen won’t just be firing 3-pointers — he’ll have the ball in his hands often on post and elbow isolations and his new team wants to showcase his playmaking ability.
“He is a dynamic offensive player, and we want him to show his whole skill set,” Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Pacers coach Rick Carlisle says the roster was built to enhance his desire for an improved defensive mindset, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. “Guys that we brought in on two-ways and Exhibit 10s also are tough-minded, defensive-oriented guys,” he said. “Hard play is such an important part of success in our league. I think everybody knows that, but we’ve really gone that direction with guys that we’ve brought in.”
- Coby White may have the talent to be a starting point guard in the league but it won’t happen with the Bulls, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic opines in his latest mailbag post. The commitments to Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso greatly diminish White’s chances of remaining with the franchise long-term. Mayberry takes on a number of topics, including his skepticism regarding the franchise’s desire to retain Zach LaVine for the long haul.
- Pistons coach Dwane Casey wants to push the pace but not at the expense of high turnover numbers, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. It will be a challenge, considering that young guards in Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes will frequently be running the offense. One of the solutions is to cut down on the number of times his wings attempt one-man fast breaks.
Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Rotation, Jackson, Pickett
Top pick Cade Cunningham is dealing with an ankle sprain and has missed some practice time, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press tweets. The medical staff is being very cautious with the Pistons’ prized rookie so that the injury doesn’t linger.
Cunningham has been doing some light shooting drills, Rod Beard of The Detroit News tweets. It appears unlikely that the rookie guard will play in the team’s preseason opener on Wednesday.
We have more on the Pistons:
- Head coach Dwane Casey will serve youth, mainly in the starting lineup, and rely on veterans on the second unit, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “I think we’re going to have probably two different units – one a younger unit that’s going to bring energy and the second unit will probably have more experience,” Casey said. Cunningham will likely be joined by second-year players Saddiq Bey and Killian Hayes in the starting unit, as well as possibly Isaiah Stewart. Casey is still mulling whether to go with Stewart or free agent signee Kelly Olynyk as the starting center. Cory Joseph will likely be the second-unit floor leader with Hamidou Diallo, Josh Jackson, Frank Jackson and Trey Lyles fighting for playing time.
- Frank Jackson, like Cunningham, is dealing with an ankle injury, Sankofa adds in a separate tweet. He was re-signed as a restricted free agent on a two-year, $6.2MM deal that includes a team option next summer.
- Jamorko Pickett continues to earn the admiration of the coaching staff, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets. “I’m really impressed with Jamorko Pickett, as far as his game, approach, maturity and communication,” Casey said. An undrafted forward out of Georgetown, Pickett recently had his non-guaranteed camp deal upgraded to a two-way contract.