Karl-Anthony Towns Has Fractured Wrist
Timberwolves superstar center Karl-Anthony Towns has been diagnosed with a fractured left wrist and will be sidelined for a minimum of two weeks, according to a team press release.
It’s the latest setback for Towns, who has also missed 15 games this season due to a sprained left knee and two others for a league-imposed suspension. Towns sat out the last game prior to the All-Star break due to the wrist injury.
Towns received a period of treatment and monitoring from the Wolves medical staff before the fracture was discovered. He has been assessed by multiple specialists over the last several days, the release adds.
The Timberwolves are 21 games under .500, so Towns’ absence won’t impact the team’s postseason hopes. However, it will reduce the opportunities that Towns has this season to establish chemistry with newly-acquired point guard D’Angelo Russell.
Towns, 24, is averaging career highs in points (26.5 PPG) and assists (4.4 APG) this season.
Jeff Green Signs 10-Day Deal With Rockets
FEBRUARY 18, 7:19pm: The Rockets have signed Green to a 10-day contract, the team announced in a press release.
FEBRUARY 17, 6:31pm: Green will initially sign a 10-day contract, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. That will give him a chance to see how he fits in before making a rest-of-the-season commitment, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
FEBRUARY 17, 5:56pm: Free agent forward Jeff Green has agreed to sign with the Rockets, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. Green was waived by the Jazz earlier this season.
Green, 33, has bounced around the NBA in recent years, spending time with seven franchises in the past six seasons. While he has been a regular rotation player and occasional starter for every team he has played for, he was off to a slow start in Utah, averaging career lows in PPG (7.8), RPG (2.7), MPG (18.4), FG% (.385), and a handful of other categories. The Jazz let him go in order to sign a younger player, Rayjon Tucker.
With Green joining the fold and DeMarre Carroll expected to sign with the club once he clears waivers, the Rockets will have a full roster as well as fortifying their frontcourt. By adding two forwards rather than a center, Houston is clearly embracing small ball. The club has utilized P.J. Tucker in the middle in recent games since trading traditional center Clint Capela.
Green signed a one year, $2.56MM contract with Jazz last summer. If he signs a minimum-salary, rest-of-season deal with the Rockets, it would fall below $1.4MM, eliminating set-off and allowing Green to double-dip from Utah and Houston, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). That would push his total salary for the season to $3.1MM, Marks adds.
And-Ones: Mock Draft, Maker, G League Union, Bethea Jr.
Georgia guard Anthony Edwards heads to Cleveland in the latest mock draft compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Former Memphis center James Wiseman (Golden State), Auburn swingman Isaac Okoro (Atlanta), guard LaMelo Ball (New York) and Israeli swingman Deni Avdija (Charlotte) round out the top five. USC big man Onyeka Okongwu has firmly moved into the top 10 after a couple of big performances against top competition and Givony has him going to Detroit at No. 7.
We have more from the basketball world:
- Makur Maker has been declared eligible for this year’s draft, Evan Daniels of 247Sports reports. The 6’11” Maker is a five-star recruit currently at Hillcrest Academy in Phoenix but he doesn’t plan to play any more games there, Daniels continues. The question about his eligibility stemmed from not receiving his diploma following his senior year of high school. Maker plans to play in the Iverson Classic All-Star game and the Nike Hoop Summit, Daniels adds.
- NBA players have voted to support the formation of a union for G League players, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The vote was held at the NBPA meeting on Monday. Formal approval at the G League level will have to take place before the union can be formed (Twitter links).
- Raptors 905 guard Michael Bethea Jr. is the subject of a feature story by The Athletic’s Blake Murphy on the life of a G League player.
Western Notes: Leonard, Beasley, Chriss, Tucker
The All-Star Game provided a glimpse of how dominant the Lakers would have been if Kawhi Leonard had signed with them instead of the Clippers, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times notes. The trio of Leonard, LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 27 of Team LeBron’s first 30 points.
“I didn’t really go there mentally,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “It was an All-Star game. It’s an exhibition. I had fun with that aspect of it, but I love my Lakers team.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Guard Malik Beasley has been rejuvenated by getting traded to the Timberwolves, Mike Singer of the Denver Post points out. Beasley was a victim of the Nuggets’ depth but he’s now getting steady minutes with Minnesota, which will pump up his value entering restricted free agency. “It’s good to see him have the opportunity and take advantage of it,” former teammate Jamal Murray said.
- Reclamation projects such as Marquese Chriss are the types of players the Warriors will need to improve their roster, according to Marcus Thompson of The Athletic. Chriss can eventually complement the trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green by running the floor, finishing at the rim and rebounding, Thompson continues. Chriss has been especially productive since signing a two-year, $2.5MM deal and that’s significant, since the Warriors won’t have salary-cap space to upgrade their roster by many other methods for at least two more seasons, Thompson adds.
- Former Rockets guard Chris Paul says Houston should give P.J. Tucker a contract extension, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays. Tucker, who will earn just under $8MM in the final year of his contract in 2020/21, will be extension-eligible during the offseason. He has been playing center in a very undersized lineup in recent games.
Community Shootaround: Small-Ball Rockets
The NBA doesn’t return to action until Thursday but the Rockets made some noise on Monday.
They agreed to a 10-day contract with Jeff Green, who could eventually sign for the remainder of the season. It was also revealed that another veteran forward, DeMarre Carroll, intends to sign with them once he clears waivers. Carroll reached a buyout agreement with the Spurs on Monday.
These developments are a clear signal that the Rockets are going all-in on their small-ball approach. They traded Clint Capela to the Hawks, in part to get out from his long-term deal and dodge the luxury tax. But they’ve also seen that they can win games with the likes of P.J. Tucker and Danuel House manning the power positions.
The Rockets have two of the league’s premier guards in former MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook and conventional wisdom would say they would be complemented by a quality big man or two. Mike D’Antoni has a couple of traditional big men at his disposal in Isaiah Hartenstein and Tyson Chandler but instead has decided to go with an interchangeable group of forwards. Recently-acquired three-and-D wing Robert Covington is another key piece in this approach.
Houston has championship aspirations but currently sits fifth in the Western Conference standings behind the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets and Jazz. The Clippers are the only member of that quartet that doesn’t have a dominant big man, though reserve Montrezl Harrell comes pretty close. The Lakers, of course, have superstar Anthony Davis. Nikola Jokic is the Nuggets’ top player and Rudy Gobert collects Defensive Player of the Year awards for the Jazz.
No matter which team the Rockets face, they’ll have to figure out a way to guard those players and hold their own on the boards. Or perhaps they’ll just anticipate they can run and space the floor so adeptly, they’ll neutralize them and force the opposition to go smaller.
Anyway, it should be fascinating how this plays out. This leads to our question of the day: Can the Rockets succeed in the playoffs without a traditional center?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
DeMarre Carroll Reaches Buyout, Looks To Join Rockets
Forward DeMarre Carroll has reached a buyout with the Spurs, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. He intends to sign with the Rockets once he clears waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The news is not surprising, considering that Carroll had racked up 15 straight DNP-CDs and publicly expressed frustration with his lack of playing time. However, it’s still unusual for a team to agree to buy out a player with multiple years left on his contract.
Carroll agreed to a three-year, $21MM contract with the Spurs in a sign-and-trade from Brooklyn last summer.
Carroll is owed $2.3MM for the remainder of the season, $6.65MM next season and $1.35MM in guaranteed money for 2021/22, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Even with the buyout, San Antonio will incur a cap hit through the life of the contract.
The 33-year-old did not join the Spurs when they began their eight-game rodeo trip on February 2, as the club looked into moving him by the February 6 trade deadline.
Carroll holds career averages of 9.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG, while shooting 35.9% from deep. With the Spurs, he averaged just 9.0 MPG and appeared in only 15 games. Carroll appeared in 67 games with the Nets last season and averaged 11.1 PPG and 5.2 RPG in 25.4 MPG.
Carroll’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, negotiated the buyout.
Carroll could play both forward positions in Houston’s small ball lineup. The Rockets have two open roster spots and need to add at least one player, so Carroll could fulfill that obligation.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southeast Notes: Herro, Butler, Hawks, Jones Jr.
Heat guard Tyler Herro initially feared he might be done for the regular season when he injured his foot, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. Herro, who suffered the injury on February 3, might be able to take off the protective boot sometime this week, Chiang adds. The 13th pick in last June’s draft, Herro is averaging 13.1 PPG and shooting 39.3% from deep.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Jimmy Butler‘s personality hasn’t changed but he has helped, rather than hurt, the Heat’s team chemistry, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details. Guard Goran Dragic says the franchise’s culture made Butler fit seamlessly into the locker room. “They push you here. Jimmy is the same,” he said. “If you’re not used to it, it can [be] like, ‘I don’t like him.’ But this is the perfect situation for us and Jimmy. He just wants you and the team to get better.”
- The Hawks will be looking to accelerate their rebuild during this offseason, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic writes in his latest mailbag. They will likely look to add younger veterans instead of acquiring bad contracts as they did last offseason, Kirschner continues. Davis Bertans, Joe Harris, Gordon Hayward, Evan Fournier and Maurice Harkless are potential targets, Kirschner adds.
- Re-signing Derrick Jones Jr. and Dragic will likely be at the top of the Heat’s priority list this offseason, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. Negotiations will Jones could be tricky, since Miami wants to protect its cap space for the summer of 2021, when the free agent market could be robust. At his young age, Jones will probably be looking for a long-term contract, Winderman adds.
Knicks Notes: Wesley, Calipari, Sanon, Harkless, Rose
William Wesley is not expected to join the Knicks front office in any formal capacity, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. Known around NBA circles as “Worldwide Wes,” Wesley is a business partner of player agent Leon Rose, who is expected to be named the team’s head of basketball operations. It’s believed the Knicks would offer a position to Wesley if he wanted a front-office role, but his other business ventures make a formal title unlikely, Charania adds.
We have more on the Knicks:
- Former Kentucky players Kevin Knox and Julius Randle doubt that their former college coach, John Calipari, would want to return to the NBA to coach the team, Peter Botte of the New York Post relays. “The fans love him there, he’s got the basketball program on lock there,” Knox said. “I don’t think he would leave that opportunity to keep helping kids get to the NBA. That’s something he really loves to do. I think when he said he wasn’t going to do it, I think he was sold on that. I think he really doesn’t want to leave.”
- It’s doubtful Ukrainian guard Issuf Sanon will ever play for the Knicks, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Sanon was thrown into the three-team trade that sent Marcus Morris to the Clippers. New York acquired Sanon from Washington, which made him a draft-and-stash second-round pick in 2018. It’s possible he could join the Knicks’ summer league team in Las Vegas, Berman adds.
- Forward Maurice Harkless, who was also acquired from the Clippers in the same trade, is thrilled to join the organization, Berman writes in a separate story. Harkless has an expiring $11MM contract and could be bought out but he has an affinity for the Knicks. “It’s a dream come true,’’ he said. “I was a Knicks fan growing up. I loved watching the Knicks on TV, I loved coming to the Garden for games when I could. And I actually played at the Garden in college, too, so it’s like I’ve come full circle now.’’
- Rose’s connections around the league could make him the right fit to run the Knicks, NBA executives told Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
Pistons Notes: Doumbouya, Thomas, Knight, Rose
Rookie forward Sekou Doumbouya is buried in a shooting slump, but that’s not why the Pistons are concerned about him, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press relays. The first-round pick, who grew up in France, is struggling to adjust off the court and seems unhappy on it. He’s shooting 28.1% from the field over his last 13 appearances following a 24-point outing against Boston.
“I’ve got to be the papa bear and stay on him and make sure he’s doing the right things, but nothing takes the place of having fun and the joy of playing basketball,” coach Dwane Casey said, “I know there is a culture barrier, but he’s got to continue to play hard, play with passion.”
We have more on the Pistons:
- Second-year guard Khyri Thomas, who has been sidelined since late October after undergoing right foot surgery, has returned to practice, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. Thomas, a second-round pick, appeared in 26 games during his rookie campaign but only played in two games this season before the foot issue cropped up. He has a partially guaranteed $1.66MM salary for next season.
- Point guard Brandon Knight said he’s “excited” to re-join the team that drafted him, Langlois writes. Knight was one of the players acquired in the Andre Drummond deal with Cleveland on Thursday. His second stint may only last a couple of months, as Knight has an expiring contract. But Casey said the veteran guard will get some playing time to show what he can add to the team. “It’s a great opportunity for us to get a look at him and him to look at us at the same time,” Casey said.
- Point guard Derrick Rose and shooting guard Svi Mykhailiuk could return against Orlando on Wednesday, according to Ellis. Neither has played since February 2 due to an adductor strain and a hip injury, respectively.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/11/20
Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the league:
- The Pacers assigned rookie center Goga Bitadze to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to the team’s transactions log. The first-round pick has appeared in 42 games with Indiana this season, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 8.6 MPG.
- The Timberwolves assigned power forward Omari Spellman to their Iowa affiliate, according to the G League transactions log. Spellman, a 2018 first-round pick by Atlanta, was acquired from Golden State last week.