Nets Notes: Graham, Russell, Kurucs, Marks
Forgotten Nets guard Treveon Graham is close to returning after missing the last two months of action, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes.
Graham, 25, has watched 28 straight games from afar as he rehabs from a hamstring injury. He was assigned to the Long Island Nets on Saturday, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, and practiced with the team to continue working toward a return.
“He’s practiced a little bit, but that one I don’t want to put a date on it yet,” coach Kenny Atkinson said, according to Botte. “That’s obviously good news, that he’s starting to participate in practice and in some game activities. But no timetable for him. We love him and we miss him and I think he brings a defensive piece that I think really can help us. I think he’s gonna be a good player for us.”
Graham signed a free-agent contract to join the Nets this past July, coming off a season where he played 63 games with the Hornets. He scored 4.3 points per game on 43% shooting from the floor and 41% from 3-point range last year, with the VCU product currently in his third NBA season.
There’s more out of Brooklyn today:
- Billy Reinhardt of NetsDaily ponders whether there’s any room left for D’Angelo Russell after the Nets agreed to a contract extension with Spencer Dinwiddie. Russell has started in all 30 games this season, but Dinwiddie’s stellar play off the bench has earned him early praise for a larger role.
- Rodions Kurucs may have played his way into the Nets’ rotation after a strong game against the Wizards on Friday, Botte writes in a different story for the New York Post. Kurucs scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in his first career start, earning some respect in the process. “The big question is can you do this long term, as the league gets to know him better?” Atkinson said of Kurucs. “This is a small pocket of games, but my experience says I believe this will be a season-long thing where he’s getting minutes now.”
- General manager Sean Marks explained his decision to ink Dinwiddie on a multi-year extension last week, as relayed by Bryan Fonseca and Anthony Puccio of Nets Daily. “You want to reward a guy who has bought in entirely,” Marks said. “Go back three years when we first signed him. I think Spencer has showed terrific ability to improve, to develop, to be part of this culture and it’s deserving of him right now.”
Nets Sign Spencer Dinwiddie To Three-Year Extension
DECEMBER 14: The Nets have officially signed Dinwiddie to his new extension, according to a press release from the team.
DECEMBER 13: The Nets have reached a contract extension with Spencer Dinwiddie, the team announced on social media today. The deal is a three-year, $34MM agreement and contains a player option in the third season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Dinwiddie was eligible to receive a four-year extension in the range of $47MM, but opted to sign a shorter deal to reach free agency sooner, Wojnarowski adds.
Dinwiddie can decline his player option to test free agency in 2021. He’ll make approximately $10.6MM next season, $11.4MM in the 2020/2021 season and $12.3MM during the 2021/22 season, according to Wojnarowski.
That $10.6MM starting salary is equivalent to 120% of the NBA’s estimated average salary for this season, and is the maximum amount Dinwiddie could have received on an extension.
“The journey is just beginning. I’m thankful that the Brooklyn Nets believe in me enough to give me a home,” Dinwiddie wrote on social media.
Dinwiddie scored a career-high 39 points off the Nets’ bench in a win over the Sixers Wednesday, adding to his successful week with the team. He’s averaged 16.9 points, 4.9 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 29 games this season.
His new deal with the Nets will cut into their cap space for free agency next summer, greatly reducing their chances at opening two maximum-salary roster spots. Brooklyn originally signed Dinwiddie to a free-agent contract in 2016 after he spent two years in the G League. He was a finalist for the Most Improved Player award last season, and could be in consideration for Sixth Man of the Year this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Robert Sarver: Suns Won’t Move Out Of Phoenix
Suns owner Robert Sarver delivered an important message to fans on Thursday, denying that he’ll move his team out of Phoenix if Talking Stick Resort Arena doesn’t undergo a $230MM upgrade.
“The Phoenix Suns are not leaving Phoenix,” Sarver said. “I am 100% committed, and have been for the last four years, to find a solution to keep them in downtown Phoenix where they belong.”
A Suns city council member told Laurie Roberts of the Arizona Republic that Sarver threatened to take the team to Seattle or Las Vegas if the new arena deal isn’t approved, but the council member has since walked his comments back on the two cities, according to Roberts. However, Suns CEO and President Jason Rowley acknowledged the possibility of moving the team somewhere else in the Valley or out of state only as a last resort.
Sarver purchased the Suns for $401MM back in 2004. The franchise has made the postseason just five times in that span, with their last appearance coming during the 2009-10 season. They have the league’s worst record at 4-24 through 28 games.
“I’m a strong proponent — as evident by the term sheet I signed last week — that we should renovate the Talking Stick Resort Arena and once again restore it to a world-class facility,” Sarver said. “In addition, it is important for the Phoenix Suns to build a first-class practice facility so the players of the Suns and Phoenix Mercury can continue to develop. I am 100% all-in on keeping this team right here where we stand, and I want to make sure that message comes across crystal clear.”
Talking Stick Resort Arena — formerly known as the US Airways Center — has been the home of the Suns since 1992. The Phoenix city council will vote on January 23 on the proposal, which could also extend the Suns’ contract to play in the arena until 2032, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/13/18
Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Jazz assigned Grayson Allen, Tony Bradley and Georges Niang to the Salt Lake City Stars, G League affiliate of the franchise, according to the team’s PR department. Allen and Niang have played a combined five games with the Stars this season, while Bradley has appeared in 12 contests. The Stars will host the Northern Arizona Suns on Thursday night.
Bulls To Pull Jabari Parker From Rotation
The Bulls will drop Jabari Parker from their rotation, no longer giving the 23-year-old regular minutes this season, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN.com.
Parker signed a two-year, $40MM deal to join the team this past summer in free agency, and his contract contains a team option for next season. The Bulls could – and almost certainly will – decline his option and send him him back to free agency in 2019.
There have been no discussions on a potential buyout between Parker and the Bulls, though that option could be increasingly possible as the deadline nears, Andrews adds. Head coach Jim Boylen originally showed confidence in Parker upon being promoted to replace Fred Hoiberg, testing the forward in different roles.
“Jabari has been great,” Boylen said, according to Andrews. “He understands. Jabari wants to make it about helping the team win. And that’s what I’ve asked him to do.”
In 28 games with the Bulls this season, Parker has averaged 15.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 31 minutes per game. He’s started in 17 of those games, seeing minutes at both the small forward and power forward positions.
Parker is expected to play in the team’s game on Thursday in place of Chandler Hutchison, who’s dealing with an illness, but likely won’t see consistent playing time moving forward.
Atlantic Notes: Korkmaz, Irving, Knicks, Leonard
Despite being unhappy with his playing time in October, Furkan Korkmaz has received more opportunities in the past few weeks with the Sixers. Korkmaz has played in 15 of the 76ers’ last 16 games, scoring 18 points in 34 minutes against the Nets on Wednesday.
Korkmaz admitted that he wasn’t ready to see significant playing time last season, but took leaps forward as an all-around basketball player during the offseason. There was an expectation entering the 2018/19 season that he would see more time on the court, as has been the case recently.
“At the time I was telling to people, even like my agent, my parents, my sister, it doesn’t matter who, I was telling them I want to play this year,” Korkmaz told Jessica Camerato, who profiled him for an in-depth Basketball Insiders story. “It was my goal. It was my second year … I knew that I wasn’t ready last year. I wasn’t ready. I knew that. I just worked hard, even when I got injured.
“But I feel like I improved a lot then, not as basketball, physically, as my body. I was saying to people, ‘I want to play,’ … I never got down mentally. I knew that my time will come, but I didn’t know when.”
Korkmaz, 21, was drafted by the Sixers with the No. 26 pick in 2016 after spending multiple seasons overseas. He’s scoring 5.8 points per game on 43% shooting from the floor, 34% from 3-point range and 86% from the charity stripe so far this season, and could earn more minutes as the season progresses if he doesn’t get traded.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Kyrie Irving has embraced his leadership role with the Celtics this season, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports writes. “He’s really taking guys under his wing — very vocal, encouraging when he needs to be. He’s really embracing that role,” teammate Al Horford said of Irving. The Celtics are winners of seven straight games and have a 17-10 record nearly two months into the season.
- Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News projects which players will have a future with the Knicks, detailing talents such as Trey Burke, Enes Kanter and Tim Hardaway Jr. The Knicks agreed to a two-year deal with Allonzo Trier and waived Ron Baker on Thursday.
- Raptors star Kawhi Leonard has been the MVP the team hoped for this season, our own Mark Suleymanov writes for The Sporting News. Leonard has guided the Raptors to a league-best 23-7 record this season, holding per-game averages of 26.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals.
Magic, Pistons Interested In Markelle Fultz
The Magic and Pistons have expressed interest in trading for Sixers guard Markelle Fultz, who remains away from the team dealing with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, according to Dave Early of SB Nation’s Liberty Ballers.
Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press also relayed Detroit’s interest in trading for Fultz, speculating that a future first-round pick and salary filler likely wouldn’t get a deal done. Jose Calderon, Glenn Robinson III and Zaza Pachulia all become trade-eligible for the Pistons on Saturday.
The Magic have long been targeting a point guard and could offer Terrence Ross in a potential package. Ross will become a free agent on July 1, which would allow the 76ers to re-sign him on a separate deal or create cap space for a star talent. Orlando has a talented young core of Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba, with the team starting 11-year veteran D.J. Augustin in its first 27 games of the season.
The Suns have also monitored Fultz’ situation, although their interest has since cooled, according to the Liberty Ballers report. Phoenix prefers to find an established backcourt player in trade discussions to play alongside Devin Booker.
Fultz would welcome a fresh start on a new team, The Athletic reported last month. He’s played in 33 games across two seasons since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Sixers in 2017, holding per-game averages of 7.7 points and 3.4 assists while shooting 41% from the field.
Bulls Hold Meeting Following Blowout Loss
The Bulls held a players-only meeting on Sunday, just one day removed from a 133-77 blowout loss to the Celtics at home, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The coaching staff eventually joined the players to discuss the team’s status, with the meeting reportedly being led by Zach LaVine and Justin Holiday.
Bulls coach Jim Boylen refuted claims that players called for the meeting, despite multiple players conveying otherwise, Andrews reported in a separate tweet. The mixed messages come just one week after Boylen was promoted to head coach.
Boylen is respected across the league and is known as a longtime assistant who’s spent time on several NBA teams, including seasons under Gregg Popovich on the Spurs from 2013-15. He’s pushed his players to tough standards during long practices and expects the very best out of each of them.
“We’ve had some running . . . some running,” Zach LaVine said Friday, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s OK. [Boylen] wants to make his mark. You have to understand that. I think things will slow up as the season goes on.”
In some ways, Boylen’s approach resembles the hard-nosed, competitive nature that former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau had. It can rub some players the wrong way, but it can also lead to success with the right pieces in place.
“Because I’m direct and honest, and they’re going to know exactly where they stand in every moment, every day,” Boylen said, according to Cowley. “The great guys I worked for, that’s what they do, and that’s what I want to do. These guys know that. They know how I operate, and I’ve operated that way since I’ve been here. Direct and honest. Nobody likes to be told the truth when it’s not good for them, but at the end of the day, they know deep down inside that it’s what they needed to hear.”
Boylen’s decision to pull his starting five less than three minutes into the second half on Saturday raised some eyebrows, but he ultimately felt the team wasn’t giving an acceptable effort.
“I think your play is embarrassing,” Boylen said after the game, according to Andrews. “… I worked for [Spurs head coach] Gregg Popovich. He subbed five guys a ton of times. Nobody says a word to him about it. He felt that was best for the team. I felt that was best for the team where we were at. I wanted to give the other guys a chance to see if they could right the ship a little bit. If I don’t like the five guys out there, if I don’t like the combination, I’m going to look at a new combination. Take them all out, let them sit there and think about it.”
The Bulls have played without Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis, both of whom are nursing injuries, but Boylen expects the team to work together and give a better effort going forward. Sunday’s extensive meeting allowed those on both sides to state their grievances and clear the air.
“I thought it was very productive,” center Wendell Carter Jr. said, as relayed by Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “The big, main topic for that whole meeting was being truthfully honest and direct. I feel like everybody was very direct with one another, very honest. Everybody told each other how we really, really feel about what happened last night, how we feel about each other in terms of the team, how we feel about everybody as a whole.”
Chicago has games against the Kings, Magic and Spurs scheduled for the upcoming week. The Bulls hold a 6-21 record (second-worst in the league) through the season’s first 27 games.
Central Notes: Boylen, Smith, Bucks, Pacers
New Bulls coach Jim Boylen is trying to rebuild the struggling team on the fly, explaining his thoughts this past week on where the club stands. Boylen was promoted to head coach two weeks ago when the team suddenly fired Fred Hoiberg.
“My focus is that we’re not where we need to be to compete, and so obviously we want to win but I want us to be at a level where we get the full force of what we do,” Boylen said, according to Mark Strotman of NBC Sports. “I don’t think our conditioning allows us to do that.
“We’re on the first floor, We’re on ‘A.’ I’d like us to get to ‘D’ and ‘E.’ Maybe in two weeks we’ll see. We can’t get to ‘D’ and ‘E’ if we’re not in shape.”
These comments from Boylen came before his team lost 133-77 against the Celtics on Saturday, giving Boston its largest margin of victory in franchise history. Boylen ripped his team’s effort after the game, clearly trying to motivate his young squad and change their mindsets. The team held a lengthy meeting on Sunday to discuss their play.
Boylen, a veteran assistant with several NBA teams, has the opportunity to prove to management that he deserves to coach past this season. The Bulls are currently 6-21 and have lost eight of their last 10 games.
Here are some other notes from the Central Division:
- Pistons guard Ish Smith is said to be drawing interest on the trade market, according to Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Smith is expected to miss roughly three to six weeks with a right adductor muscle tear. Before getting injured, Smith was averaging 9.2 points and three assists per contest.
- Steve Aschburner of NBA.com stresses the importance of retaining Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton in free agency for the Bucks, with both talents playing key roles on the team around Giannis Antetokounmpo this season. “It is our mission statement,” Bucks GM Jon Horst said, explaining the importance of building around Antetokounmpo. “What Giannis means to our team, our franchise, our city, our state kind of goes beyond words. We have to make the most of the opportunity to find and build things that fit with him.” Milwaukee is 16-8 on the season and holds the No. 2 spot out East, sporting an impressive 12-3 record at home.
- The Pacers have found strength in numbers this season, using a collective approach to overcome the loss of All-Star Victor Oladipo, writes Mark Montieth of NBA.com. Oladipo has missed the team’s last 10 games to injury, but the Pacers are 6-4 this season without him. Last season, Indiana held a 0-7 record in games Oladipo missed.
Knicks Notes: Walker, Knox, Ntilikina, Trier
Bronx native and current Hornets guard Kemba Walker is set to play at Madison Square Garden when his team takes on the Knicks Sunday, one of three games between the clubs this season.
His homecoming return to New York will commence just seven months before the 28-year-old reaches free agency.
“I’ve been hearing it for years now — the Knicks,” Walker said this past August, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “Every time I come home, it’s, ‘When are you coming home to the Knicks?’ MSG is a special place, man. The Knicks are a special team. Of course, I’ve been a Knicks fan growing up, always rooted for the home team. But I really can’t see myself in a Knicks jersey — only because I’ve been in one jersey. I really don’t know.”
The Knicks will have the cap space to sign Walker on a maximum-salary contract if the two sides express interest in each other next summer, but Hornets owner Michael Jordan is said to seriously value Walker’s services.
Walker, a former University of Connecticut standout, has averaged a career-high 25.8 points, 6.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game this season. The Knicks currently have Frank Ntilikina as the only point guard under contract next season.
“What kid doesn’t want to play in MSG?” Walker said Friday, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play there many, many times during my basketball career. Every chance I get to play there, I try to embrace it. I just love playing there.”
“I will always have an attachment to and a love of that city,” Walker said. “That city made me who I am today.”
There’s more out of New York today:
- Kentucky head coach John Calipari believes the critics of Kevin Knox need to be patient, Berman writes in a separate story. “He’s got to figure this stuff,” Calipari said. “I told the Knicks and everybody recruiting — they’re 19, 18, 20, not 25 years old. But what you have is a 6-9, 6-10 player who’s multi-dimensional, who can score and is just going to get better and better when he matures and physically fills out.”
- David Fizdale‘s harsh message to Frank Ntilikina was delivered, and now it’s time for Ntilikina to see more playing time, Kevin Kernan of the New York Post writes. Ntilikina played 15 minutes against the Nets on Saturday, but was benched the previous three games. Fizdale has made it clear to Ntilikina that he must earn his playing time with the team.
- Dan Feldman of NBC Sports writes an in-depth story on Allonzo Trier‘s journey to the NBA, dating back to when the 22-year-old was in grade school. Trier has averaged 11.3 points in 27 games with the Knicks this season, providing solid play on both ends of the floor.