Southwest Rumors: Anderson, Pelicans, Nowitzki, Spurs
Rockets power forward Ryan Anderson is expected to return to action this weekend after missing six games with a sprained right ankle, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Anderson practiced without limitations on Thursday and could return as soon as Friday against the Pistons, Feigen continues. Anderson feels it’s important to return to action before the postseason, as he relayed to Feigen. “It’s super valuable for me, in my mind, to be out there before the playoffs, to get my wind back, get back to the flow of playing with the group,” Anderson said. “Obviously, we want to have our full group ready to go at the best we can be for the playoffs. We have a few games to do that. We’ll be good. The timeline’s working out well.”
In other developments around the Southwest Division:
- Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry believes his club can be a serious playoff contender next season if it re-signs unrestricted free agent point guard Jrue Holiday, William Guillory of the New Orleans Times-Picayune writes. Gentry is brimming with optimism that the trio of Holiday, DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis can succeed after seeing the team go 8-5 over the past 13 games. “I think we’re light years ahead of where we were,” Gentry told Guillory. “We’ve got arguably two of the best 10 players in the NBA. Then you add Jrue to the mix, and hopefully that’s going to be somebody we can keep on our team, you’ve got guys that are a year older playing (together).”
- Dirk Nowitzki realizes the Mavericks are probably a few years away from being a serous contender again but he’s enjoying his mentoring role, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. The team holds a $25MM option on Nowitzki’s contract for next season and he looks forward to playing with an increasingly younger group at least one more year, MacMahon adds. “To turn this around, to be a franchise that plays for the championship, is going to probably take a few years again,” Nowitzki told MacMahon. “I’ve got to do what I can to keep this thing going and get the young guys to improve and see where we can take this next year.”
- New Mexico contacted Spurs assistant James Borrego regarding its head coaching job, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. Borrego, an Albuquerque native, was the interim coach of the Magic in 2015 before joining Gregg Popovich’s staff.
Draft Notes: Ball, Fultz, Boatwright, Freudenberg
Potential top pick Lonzo Ball has hired Harrison Gaines as his agent, league sources told Shams Charania of The Vertical. It’s a curious choice, given that Gaines has no other NBA clients. However, Gaines will join Ball Sports Group, a new company created by Ball’s outspoken father, LaVar. The UCLA freshman point guard averaged 14.3 PPG, 6.7 APG and 4.7 RPG in his one-and-done season.
In other draft news:
- Ball and Washington freshman guard Markelle Fultz are in a virtual dead-heat to be the top pick, according to ESPN Insider Chad Ford. Speaking to executives and scouts from potential lottery teams, Ford determined that the Celtics, Magic, 76ers, Knicks, Timberwolves, Hornets and Pacers are more likely to select Fultz, while the Suns, Lakers, Pistons, Kings, Mavericks, Pelicans, and Nuggets appear to be leaning toward Ball. Kansas forward Josh Jackson and Duke forward Jayson Tatum could also jump into the picture after the lottery results are revealed and the winning team makes its final evaluation, Ford adds.
- USC sophomore Bennie Boatwright will test the draft waters but not hire an agent, according to the Trojans’ twitter feed. The 6’10” Boatwright averaged 15.1 PPG and 4.5 RPG during his sophomore campaign, including 18.0 PPG in three NCAA Tournament games. He’s ranked as the No. 75 overall prospect by Ford but does not appear on the DraftExpress Top 100.
- St. John’s forward Richard Freudenberg will return to Europe to pursue professional opportunities, Zach Braziller of the New York Post tweets. Freudenberg, a German native, averaged just 1.3 PPG and 1.3 RPG in his lone college season.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/6/17
With the NBADL playoffs now underway, here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Lakers assigned guard David Nwaba to their affiliate, the D-Fenders, according to the D-League team’s Twitter feed. Nwaba, who has become a rotation player for the Lakers, contributed 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes against the Spurs on Wednesday. The D-Fenders have a playoff game against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Thursday.
- The Rockets assigned point guard Isaiah Taylor and forward Kyle Wiltjer to Rio Grande, its D-League affiliate, according to the Rockets’ Twitter feed. Taylor and Wiltjer were sent down for the Valley Vipers’ playoff game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Taylor, a rookie out of Texas, made his NBA debut on Sunday, playing 15 minutes against the Suns. Wiltjer, who attended Gonzaga, has appeared in 13 games with Houston but none of his outings lasted more than six minutes.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 3/26/17 – 4/1/17
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team compiles original content to complement our news feed. Here are some of our favorite segments and features from the past seven days:
- Luke Adams broke down the maximum salaries that players of varying experience can command under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- Hawks swingman Kent Bazemore and Jazz guard Rodney Hood are a couple of under-the-radar players who could help your fantasy team. Chris Crouse dishes out expert advice in his weekly fantasy column.
- The Celtics are not only in position to nab the No. 1 seed in the East, they could make moves this offseason to become a perennial powerhouse. Arthur Hill explains why that could occur in his Weekly Sunday Mailbag. For details on how to submit a question for our next mailbag, click here.
- We keep track of every 10-day contract signed this season. Get all the details here on how to search our database.
- In our weekly Hoops Links roundup of interesting articles from around the blogosphere, Chris Crouse passed along pieces on Draymond Green, LeBron James, P.J. Tucker, and more. For details on how to submit a blog entry for consideration in our next installment of Hoops Links, click here.
Here are the questions we asked you in our Community Shootaround discussions and polls this week:
- Do you think the Nuggets hold onto the eighth seed and make the playoffs?
- Should the Bulls bring back Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic next season or should they look for other players to fill those roles?
- We polled our readers on this hot topic: Who is the best point guard in this year’s draft?
Week In Review: 3/26/17 – 4/1/17
Plenty of prominent freshmen decided to enter the draft, the Pacers re-signed Lance Stephenson and the Suns will reportedly explore the trade market for Eric Bledsoe. Those were just a few items in another very busy week around the NBA. Here’s our recap of what you need to know for the last seven days:
News
- Jeanie Buss reached a legal agreement with her brothers that ensures she will be the Lakers’ controlling owner as long as the family owns the team.
- Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson hasn’t played the last four games and he may be shut down the remainder of the season.
- Pacers star forward Paul George ripped his teammates for lacking a sense of urgency during the stretch drive.
- Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a restricted free agent, was arrested after failing a sobriety test just hours following the team’s one-point loss to the Heat.
- Knicks center Joakim Noah began serving his 20-game suspension for using a banned substance.
- Veteran big man Reggie Evans would like to continue his NBA career.
- The Pelicans will have their own D-League team in operation by the 2018/19 season.
- Spurs assistant Becky Hammon declined an offer to coach the Florida women’s basketball team.
- Dayton hired Thunder assistant Anthony Grant as its head coach.
- The Kings are interested in hiring ex-Sixers executive Sam Hinkie to run the franchise, despite a club denial.
- The Suns will explore trades for starting point guard Eric Bledsoe this offseason.
- A handful of teams that underachieved this season could make front office changes.
- The Bulls could move Jimmy Butler before Dwyane Wade‘s player option decision is due.
- Lakers guard Nick Young is undecided whether to opt in for $5.67MM next season or become a free agent.
- The Pacers reunited with swingman Lance Stephenson on a three-year deal.
- The Pacers waived injured guard Rodney Stuckey, which opened up a spot for Stephenson.
- The Pelicans signed point guard Quinn Cook to a second 10-day contract.
- The Suns signed swingman Jarell Eddie to a second 10-day contract.
- The Mavericks signed forward Jarrod Uthoff to a multi-year contract and didn’t re-sign guard Manny Harris.
Early Entrants
- Harry Giles, Duke (freshman) (link)
- Dennis Smith Jr., North Carolina State (freshman) (link)
- Edmond Sumner, Xavier (sophomore) (link)
- Lauri Markkanen, Arizona (freshman) (link)
- TJ Leaf, UCLA (freshman) (link)
- Kostja Mushidi, Serbia (link)
- This list includes top-60 prospects, based on DraftExpress.com’s rankings. For the full list of early entrants so far, check out our breakdown.
- Kevin Durant will likely be on a minutes restriction when he returns from his knee injury. The Warriors announced he hasn’t had any setbacks.
- The Sixers have shut down center Jahlil Okafor and forward Robert Covington for the rest of the season.
- Bulls guard Dwyane Wade hopes to return in the postseason if Chicago qualifies.
- Hawks forward Paul Millsap is expected to return soon from a knee injury.
- Clippers guard Austin Rivers is expected to miss the rest of the regular season with a hamstring strain.
- Lakers center Ivica Zubac is out for the season with a high ankle sprain.
- Pelicans center Omer Asik and guard Quincy Pondexter will miss the remainder of the season.
- The Kings shut down swingman Malachi Richardson for the rest of the season.
- Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic fractured his right leg.
And-Ones: Brown, Johnson, Porter Jr., Thunder
Swingman Anthony Brown has a stress fracture in his left ankle and will miss the remainder of the D-League season, Chris Reichert of The Step Back tweets. The No. 34 overall pick by the Lakers in the June 2015 draft was averaging 20.3 PPG in 24 games for the Erie BayHawks. Brown was the last cut by the Lakers during training camp this season, then had a brief stint with the Pelicans. He also played for the Magic on a 10-day deal in late January but wasn’t re-signed.
In other news around the league:
- La Salle’s B.J. Johnson will test the draft waters but has not hired an agent, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. The 6’7” swingman averaged 17.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG during his junior season. He’s not considered a top 100 prospect by DraftExpress or ESPN’s Chad Ford.
- Michael Porter Jr., the nation’s top recruit, has been granted a release from his letter of intent by the University of Washington, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reports. Porter Jr., a 6’10” forward, asked for a release after Lorenzo Romar was fired as Huskies coach last week. Porter Jr.’s father, Michael Porter Sr., has accepted an assistant coaching job at Missouri, according to Borzello, fueling speculation that his son will land there. As Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders notes, Porter Jr. said in a conference call he would seriously considers the Tigers even before news broke of his father’s new job. “It could be something real, real special to be able to come home and do my thing there,” Porter said of possibly playing at Missouri.
- The Thunder could make a blockbuster deal this summer to land another star to pair up with Russell Westbrook, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman speculates. The team’s salary commitments prevent it from landing a top-level free agent this summer, Horne explains. Thus, the Thunder would probably have to give up its first-round pick and a player such as Enes Kanter, who enters his walk year next season, to land another All-Star talent, Horne concludes.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/23/17
- The Cavaliers recalled center Larry Sanders from their D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, the team announced on its website. Sanders signed with Cleveland on March 13th after Andrew Bogut suffered a leg fracture. Sanders made a brief appearance in one game with the Cavs last week and also played a game with the Charge before his recall.
- The Thunder assigned forward Josh Huestis to the Oklahoma City Blue, according to a team press release. Huestis is averaging 14.0 PPG and 6.3 RPG for the Blue, who play the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Friday.
- The Bulls assigned point guard Cameron Payne to the Windy City Bulls, according to the D-League team’s Twitter feed. Payne played against the Iowa Energy on Thursday and had 14 points and eight assists in 26 minutes.
Kings Notes: Evans, Temple, Lawson, Rookies
Swingman Tyreke Evans is trying to make a good impression for potential suitors as he enters unrestricted free agency, Matt Kawahara of the Sacramento Bee reports. Evans, who is in the final year of his four-year, $44MM contract, is trying to show teams that he’s still effective despite undergoing three knee surgeries, Kawahara continues. “A lot of teams know I had tough injuries so they want to see how I’m moving, how I’m playing every night,” Evans told Kawahara. “There’s teams watching. I know the Kings are watching, too. So I’m playing for my teammates still at the end of the day, but I’m going out there and being myself.” Evans is averaging 14 PPG on 47.4% shooting since being included in the DeMarcus Cousins trade with the Pelicans, though he hasn’t played in six of the last 11 games.
In other news regarding the Kings:
- Shooting guard Garrett Temple has emerged as a locker-room leader, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. Temple has taken the younger players under his wing and maintained an active role in their development, as he told Jones. “The players that are playing have gotten a lot younger so it’s more of a teaching, mentoring role,” Temple said. “Whereas when [Cousins] was here, if I’m talking to him it’s more of a keeping him calm, talking more nuances of the game, things that we can do better as a team. But with the young guys it’s a lot of specifics about how to get open, how to defend, ways to teach them the veteran tricks we all have learned in our years in the league.”
- Point guard Ty Lawson denies that he has violated his probation, according to an Associated Press report. Probation officials allege Lawson, who was given probation in a Colorado drunken driving case, has tested positive for alcohol three times in the past six months and has failed to complete his community service duties, the report continues. A judicial hearing will be held in May before a decision is made on whether Lawson will receive a more severe punishment, the report adds.
- Rookies Skal Labissiere, Georgios Papagiannis and Buddy Hield and second-year man Willie Cauley-Stein showed growth during a recent three-game road trip, as Shahbaz Khan of the team’s website details.
Atlantic Rumors: Nets, Grant, Goodwin, Bradley
The Nets are taking a close look at European shooting guard Edwin Jackson while scouting overseas, international journalist David Pick tweets. Jackson, 27, plays for Movistar Estudiantes in the Spanish league and is averaging 22.9 PPG in 24 games while shooting 38.6% on his 3-point attempts. The 6’3” Jackson participated in the team’s free agent mini-camp in 2014, NetsDaily.com notes.
In other news around the Atlantic Division:
- Former Sixers forward Jerami Grant still regards his former team as family, Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com writes. Grant was dealt to the Thunder the first week of the season in exchange for Ersan Ilyasova and a protected draft pick. Grant expressed happiness that the Sixers have improved this season and said he had no time to say goodbye when the trade occurred, Camerato adds. “I had to pack my bags and things in two hours,” Grant told Camerato. “I had to get a physical so I could play the next day in L.A. At first it was a little shock, but once you settle down, it’s OK.”
- There’s a good chance the Nets will retain shooting guard Archie Goodwin once his first 10-day contract expires, according to a tweet from the New York Post’s Fred Kerber. Coach Kenny Atkinson told Kerber “it’s trending very positive” for Goodwin, who signed a 10-day on March 15th. Goodwin, who also played three games for the Pelicans this season, is averaging 7.0 PPG and 2.5 APG in 16 MPG through two outings for the Nets.
- Celtics shooting guard Avery Bradley is the league’s most underrated player, Chris Mannix of The Vertical opines. Bradley has developed into an elite two-way player who earned strong consideration for an All-Star spot before he was sidelined by an Achilles’ injury, Mannix continues. Bradley’s development has made his once-derided four-year, $32MM contract ,which expires after next season, one of the league’s biggest bargains, Mannix adds.
Eastern Notes: Cavs, Van Gundy, Waiters, Hornets
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue and forward LeBron James believe the team has shown a lack of toughness in recent weeks, Joe Vardon of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The Cavs have fallen to 22nd place in the defensive efficiency ratings and are in dangerous of losing the top seed in the East. Their latest loss to the Nuggets on Wednesday had both of them lamenting about the team’s lack of desire to defend. “It starts with the coaches but the players gotta look at themselves in the mirror, too,” Lue told Vardon and other members of the media. “They gotta be more physical, they gotta bring a physical presence and they’ve got to take pride in guarding their man.” James adds: “It ain’t about a group, it’s about individuals. … You can’t preach toughness, you’ve got to have it.”
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- The Pistons are in danger of sliding out of the playoff race and coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy is groping for solutions, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. Detroit has lost five of its last six, including a last-second defeat to the Eastern Conference’s worst team, the Nets. “I think it’s pretty clear from these six games that I’m not finding the answers and not doing a very good job, so it starts with me. I’m the person in charge,” Van Gundy told Langlois and the assembled media. “I selected everybody in that locker room. I’m the one who wanted them in there. I decide who plays. I put lineups out there. I decide on defensive coverages. I call plays. So it’s all on me.”
- Dion Waiters‘ left ankle sprain has shown progress, so the Heat have not scheduled an MRI, Anthony Chiang of the Palm Beach Post tweets. Waiters wanted an MRI if he hadn’t felt improvement, Chiang adds. Waiters has missed the last two games after suffering the injury on March 17th.
- The Hornets will not participate in the trend of resting players, according to David Scott of the Charlotte Observer. That would go against the philosophy of owner Michael Jordan and assistant coach Patrick Ewing, who didn’t take games off when they played, Scott adds. “It’s easy for me, because I’m working for an owner who just doesn’t believe in it,” coach Steve Clifford told Scott. “And I have an associate head coach who would kill me if I started doing it.”