Thunder Sign Deonte Burton To Multiyear Deal
3:27pm: Oklahoma City has officially signed Burton to a full NBA contract, announcing the news in a press release.
2:42pm: The Thunder have agreed to a new multi-year deal with guard Deonte Burton, converting him from a two-way contract to a standard NBA contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter).
Burton, 25, originally signed a two-way deal with the team last July. He went undrafted in 2017 after spending seasons at Marquette and Iowa State, later attending training camp with the Timberwolves before heading overseas to play in South Korea.
Burton has appeared in 23 games with the Thunder this season, averaging 3.1 points, one rebound and 8.7 minutes per contest off the bench. He’s holding shooting averages of 44 percent from the floor and 33 percent from deep.
The Thunder had been carrying 13 players on standard contracts, so promoting Burton to the 15-man roster helps the team get back to the NBA-mandated 14-player minimum.
Wolves Optimistic Karl-Anthony Towns Avoided Serious Injury
The Timberwolves are optimistic that star center Karl-Anthony Towns avoided a serious knee injury in the team’s game against Washington on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Towns underwent additional testing that included an MRI on Sunday, with all indications pointing toward him escaping significant injury, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic adds.
Towns exited Saturday’s game early with clear pain in his right knee, limping to the locker room and missing the overtime period. Wolves coach Ryan Saunders said the big man was able to walk around after the game after undergoing initial evaluations.
“He’s just had initial evaluations, but he was walking around so there’s really no info at the moment,” Saunders said postgame, according to NBA.com.
While the MRI results have yet to be released, Minnesota is listing Towns as questionable to play on Sunday against the Knicks — a sigh of relief for Timberwolves fans and the entire organization.
Towns has averaged 24.5 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks on 52 percent shooting with Minnesota in his fourth NBA season.
Trae Young Confident Free Agents Will Consider Atlanta
A combination of promising young talent and lucrative cap space could persuade top-level players to consider the Hawks this summer in free agency, as star guard Trae Young explained in an interview with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype this week.
“Oh, I definitely think this is going to be a big spot that free agents look at,” Young said. “I mean, we’re a very young team, but we’ve been playing really well lately and this is an exciting team and an exciting city. I think we’re maybe one or two pieces away from really making that jump and taking off. I definitely think this is an attractive city [and situation]. And I’m not a tampering guy or anything like that, but I think I’m a good recruiter – for sure.”
Sam Amick of The Athletic reported two weeks ago that the Hawks plan to be aggressive in pursuing free agent meetings this offseason. Atlanta sports a talented young core of Young, John Collins and Kevin Huerter, with the team expected to have roughly $41MM of cap space to work with in July.
In addition to its young core, the club is armed with a new head coach in Lloyd Pierce, an upgraded arena and revamped practice facilities. Among the free agents set to be available: Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Khris Middleton and DeMarcus Cousins.
As for Young, he’s improved rapidly since his first month in the NBA, cementing himself as one of the top young players in the league at just 20 years of age. He held per-game averages of 23.3 points, 9.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds during the month of February.
“I think the game is starting to really slow down for me,” Young told Kennedy. “Now, I’ve kind of seen a little bit of everything in terms of what teams are throwing at me and how defenses are trying to guard me. Also, I’ve seen most teams multiple times; in some cases, it’s my second or third time playing against a certain team.
“I know more about who I’m playing against too. I feel like I’m getting more used to the NBA game, the style, as well. I think I’m starting to feel more comfortable. I’m much more comfortable than I was during that first month, when I was shooting 19 percent from three. That was just… terrible.”
Vince Carter Hopes To Play One More Season
Hawks veteran Vince Carter plans to return next season as a player with hopes of extending his career to 22 NBA seasons, he said Thursday night on ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption.
Carter, who turned 42 in January, will formally evaluate the situation in the summer but made it clear he wants to return for the 2019/20 season.
“I think I could stretch it out one more [year],” Carter said. “At the end of the year, I usually assess from top to bottom to see how I’m feeling. And, obviously, opportunity — when the phone call rings and teams show interest, that’s a good thing.”
Carter, widely considered to be one of the game’s all-time great dunkers, has averaged 7.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 16.6 minutes per game, shooting 44% from the floor and a career-high 41% from 3-point range on the season. He’s appeared in 61 of Atlanta’s 66 games.
Carter was selected with the No. 5 pick in the 1998 draft and has made stops with Toronto, New Jersey, Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis, Sacramento and Atlanta across his two-decade journey. For comparison’s sake, future Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade — drafted five years after Carter with a long, storied career of his own — is set to retire at season’s end. The same could be said for veteran Channing Frye, who was drafted seven years after Carter.
For the Hawks, Carter will reach free agency on July 1. He signed a deal to join the team last summer, using his veteran leadership and experience to help their young group throughout the season.
“Me, personally, I think I could give it another year, so why not?” Carter said. “We’ll see what happens.”
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/7/19
Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:
- The Bucks recalled forward Christian Wood from the Wisconsin Herd, announcing the move on social media. Wood tallied 23 points and 13 rebounds in the team’s game against the Santa Cruz Warriors on Wednesday.
- The Rockets have recalled forwards Gary Clark and Terrence Jones from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced today. Both players practiced with the club Thursday and could be available for Friday’s game against Philadelphia.
- The Clippers have recalled guards Jerome Robinson and Sindarius Thornwell from the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, G League affiliate of the club, the team announced. Los Angeles also transferred two-way forward Johnathan Motley in a related move.
- The Spurs assigned forward Chimezie Metu and guard Lonnie Walker IV to the Austin Spurs, the team announced in a press release. Both players are set to be available when the team hosts Raptors 905 on Friday night.
Community Shootaround: Luke Walton’s Job Security
With the Lakers spiraling out of control and their hopes of making the playoffs starting to diminish, the job security of head coach Luke Walton is a topic that’s expected to be discussed in the coming weeks.
Walton, who’s in his third season as Lakers head coach, was originally hired by the team in April of 2016 to replace Byron Scott. As Marc Stein of the New York Times noted in a recent story, many figures around the league have questioned whether Walton will keep his job after such a disappointing season in Los Angeles.
“The prevailing assumption in league coaching circles remains that Walton will almost certainly be dismissed after the season, followed by the Lakers resuming their trade quest for Davis. But denying Walton an opportunity to at finish out a season wrought with drama and distraction since James’s first dribble in purple and gold would be cruel and needless,” Stein wrote in his article.
The Lakers were widely expected to be a playoff team upon bringing in LeBron James to a promising young core last July, but various injuries to James, Lonzo Ball and others are partially to blame for this derailed season. The team has halted conversations with Carmelo Anthony‘s representatives and are said to be seeking a veteran center on the open market, leaving some league observers confused with their current direction.
Los Angeles currently holds the 11th-best record in the Western Conference at 30-35, 6.5 games behind the No. 8 seed Clippers with 17 contests left in the season. They recorded their fourth straight loss at the hands of Denver on Wednesday night.
Yahoo’s Chris Haynes reported Thursday that the team agreed to a soft 28-to-32 minutes restriction with James that could result in him sitting on the second end of back-to-backs, a sign of the team knowing the postseason is effectively out of reach. Should the blame of this disappointing season fall squarely on the shoulders of coach Walton?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts!
Warriors Notes: Durant, Jones, Cousins, Bogut
Some members of the Warriors organization are concerned that Kevin Durant‘s recent behavior could be a sign that he already has one foot out the door, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
The Warriors are coming off a deflating 128-95 home loss to the Celtics on Tuesday, with several figures around the team expressing their displeasure after the game. Among them was Durant, who appeared to be ticked off from the start of his postgame presser, Haynes notes.
“It starts with a passion, and an anger and an intensity, and it wasn’t there tonight,” head coach Steve Kerr said.
Durant was quick to disagree with this when a media member informed him of Kerr’s comment, curiously about his coach’s declaration.
“I thought we move off of joy?” Durant asked, fully knowing “joy” is a phrase Kerr often uses when discussing their style of play. “Now it’s anger? OK. I disagree with that one. I think all around, top to bottom, coaches, players, we just gotta be better.”
Durant tallied 18 points on just 5-of-16 shooting on Tuesday, also recording five turnovers with a minus-20 net rating. Haynes also noted in the same story how some members of the Warriors are not concerned with Durant’s behavior, labeling it as just a common rigor of the regular season.
Durant, a consensus top-three player in the NBA, has the option to decline a $31.5MM player option and become a free agent on July 1.
There’s more out of Golden State today:
- Damian Jones is unlikely to return this season or during the playoffs despite conducting an on-court workout Thursday, Steve Kerr said, as relayed by Anthony Slater of the The Athletic (Twitter link). Jones underwent surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle in December.
- Draymond Green defended DeMarcus Cousins after the loss to Boston, explaining why fans shouldn’t blame Cousins for the team’s defensive woes in recent weeks. “I think so many people are kind of looking at the starting lineup and saying, ‘Oh, DeMarcus is in there and the defense is worse,'” Green said, according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell. “But our defense has been horses— no matter who’s in there. It’s easy to look at the numbers and think the numbers tell a story, but the fact of the matter is we haven’t been competing.”
- Kerr discussed the team’s decision to sign Andrew Bogut on a rest-of-season contract, as relayed by The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “We looked at this as an insurance policy in the frontcourt,” Kerr said. “A guy who obviously knows our system, knows our players. He’s great for our offense — his dribble hand-offs, passing ability, lob threat — and defensively he’s been one of the best in the game for a long time. He had a great season in Sydney. He’s healthy, he’s fresh. He was the best player available for us. We have to look ahead to the playoffs for different match-ups, and we felt vulnerable particularly in case of injury and against certain match-ups.” Bogut isn’t expected to make his debut with the team for at least another week.
Jrue Holiday To Be Re-Evaluated In 7-10 Days
Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday will be re-evaluated in 7-to-10 days after being diagnosed with a lower abdominal strain, the team announced. Holiday underwent an MRI on Thursday morning which revealed the injury.
Holiday, a top-tier defensive guard who’s in his sixth season with New Orleans, has averaged a career-high 21.2 points, five rebounds and 7.7 assists in 67 starts this season. Guards Frank Jackson and Ian Clark could see more playing time during his absence.
The Pelicans have games against Toronto, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Portland and Phoenix in their next 10-day stretch, with four of those five contests set to be at home. The team currently holds a 30-37 record, good for the No. 12 spot in the Western Conference.
To this point, Holiday hasn’t missed any time this season and sat just one game last season after multiple years with injury concerns. The Pelicans’ injury report for Friday against Toronto also includes Dairis Bertans (personal), Trevon Bluiett (right thumb surgery) and E’Twaun Moore (left quadriceps contusion) as out, with Jahlil Okafor (right ankle sprain) listed as questionable.
Knicks Notes: Durant, DSJ, Hernangomez, KP, Robinson
The Knicks are set to play the Clippers on Sunday, but the real battle between the two teams will be for Kevin Durant in free agency this summer, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Durant, who’s expected to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, will register interest from several teams across the league, including the Warriors, Knicks and Clippers. He’s currently holding per-game averages of 27.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists, shooting above 50 percent from the floor for the seventh consecutive season.
“They obviously have a plan that they have in place that they’re trying to do and execute,” Knicks coach David Fizdale said of the Clippers on Saturday, according to Berman. “To their credit, they’ve built a nice, tough team full of guys who understand their role.”
The Clippers have long been linked to Raptors star Kawhi Leonard, who’s also set to become a free agent in July, though a potential meeting with Durant shouldn’t be ruled out. New York has been linked to the likes of Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker.
Los Angeles is set to have $57MM in cap space, but the team could create additional room by trading the likes of Danilo Gallinari or Lou Williams before July. New York created a second maximum-salary roster spot by executing the Kristaps Porzingis trade with Dallas last month.
There’s more out of New York today:
- Fizdale had a deep conversation with Dennis Smith Jr. about the importance of eating healthy and getting good sleep, Marc Berman writes in a separate story for The Post. Smith went shopping with Knicks dietitian Erika Whitman last week, but denied that his eating habits are a serious issue. “I don’t eat bad,’’ Smith said. “I’m not a bad eater. I eat good. I feel great. The arena is great. I played the whole fourth [Thursday against Cleveland] with no fatigue. I felt great. [Fizdale] wants me to get with those people, with Erika and the rest of the dieticians, and that’s what I’ll do.”
- Former Knicks center Willy Hernangomez, a close friend of Kristaps Porzingis, weighed in on why he believes Porzingis requested a trade out of New York. “Yeah. Sometimes you can understand the plans change a little bit. I think KP wasn’t happy that they weren’t treating him the best way, the way he really deserves,” Hernangomez told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “I just think when you don’t think you’re a part of the organization or the future, you keep going. This is basketball. I think KP felt that way too. I think now he’s in a great place in Dallas to keep developing.”
- Mitchell Robinson spoke with Steve Serby of the New York Post for a Q&A session, discussing how good he can become, his thoughts on Fizdale, how he can improve as a player and more. “When I’m not on the court, I’m chill and like just relaxed,” Robinson said. “But when I’m on the court, I bring energy, and bring good defense. I’m gonna do anything in any way to help my teammates get this win.”
Pat Riley Discusses Heat’s Future, Playoffs, Free Agency
Heat president Pat Riley discussed the franchise, its future, free agency and the playoffs during a team charity event at American Airlines Arena on Sunday, as relayed by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Riley expressed confidence that the Heat will make the postseason this year, also noting the amount of cap space the team is set to have during the summer of 2020. Miami, according to Jackson, wants to augment its roster via trade or free agency around that time.
The Heat have mostly disappointed through 62 games with a 28-34 record, currently trailing the No. 8 seed Magic by one game.
Here are some of the noteworthy comments from Riley:
On whether the Heat can make the playoffs:
“I have high expectations. I have always had them. [Erik Spoelstra] has them. I believe our players not only believe in the expectations but we’re right now in a wonderful stretch drive. It’s competitive.
“Our last 10 games with the exception of Denver, Detroit, right down to the wire. This whole thing is going to go down to the wire and we’re going to make the playoffs and that’s what it’s about. High expectations… sometimes you don’t get to where you want and you do what you have to do to make the playoffs and that’s where we are.”
On clearing cap space for free agency in 2020:
“If you want to do the math any way you want to do the math and say we can’t do it, then you don’t have big dreams like I do or how we’ve operated here. Clearing space is easy. You just watch the New York Knicks do it and what was their price in doing it. You watch the Clippers do it and what was their price in doing it.
“You can do it if you want to do it, but you have to get a good feeling that the reason why you’re going to do it is you’re going to get two [high-end players]. You have flexibility and that’s what the possibility of having room does for you. If you get an indication something good can happen that year, you go for it. If you don’t , you just keep plugging away. We have the two picks [first-rounders in 2019 and 2020]. We have a lot of assets. We have cash, we have exceptions. We will improve the team. It will be much better than it is now.”
On whether Dion Waiters and James Johnson have met the team’s conditioning requirements:
“You don’t get to see the numbers every week I do. They’re making their numbers. Based on their injuries and the fact they’ve missed a lot of time, it’s very hard to stay in world class condition. They’re working at it every day. If they were not making their numbers, I don’t think they would be on the court. Because of their injury past, they don’t get a pass on anything but they’re making their numbers. They just got to go harder on it.
“It isn’t about conditioning with those guys, it’s about performance. With them and performance with everybody else. What is the result? The result over the past two years has been this, which is we’re competing for a playoff spot.”