Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 4/13/2021
Our weekly live chat, which takes place each Tuesday at noon central time (1:00pm ET), has now concluded.
If you have questions related to the playoff race, the upcoming offseason, the latest roster moves, the salary cap, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, or anything else NBA-related, be sure to join us on Tuesday, April 13 for our next live chat!
In the meantime, click here for the transcript of today’s chat.
Dennis Schröder On Knicks’ Radar For Offseason
After being linked to a number of point guards leading up to the trade deadline, the Knicks ultimately didn’t address the position. However, they’re expected to revisit the point guard market in the offseason, and Lakers veteran Dennis Schröder is one player on their radar, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
Schröder is in the final year of his current contract and has reportedly turned down a four-year extension offer worth $80MM+ from the Lakers. That’s a strong indication that he’ll be seeking at least $20MM per year in free agency.
As Begley observes, the Knicks should be able to open up in excess of $50MM in cap room this summer, though it remains to be seen how aggressive the team would be with Schröder. The team will be considering other point guard options as well, including Lonzo Ball of the Pelicans, according to both Begley and Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Unlike Ball, who will be a restricted free agent, Schröder will be unrestricted, meaning the Knicks wouldn’t have to worry about their offer being matched if they get a commitment. However, the Lakers will likely be very motivated to re-sign their starting point guard — even if Schröder walks, the Lakers will be over the cap next season, meaning they wouldn’t be able to easily add a comparable replacement.
After a career year in Oklahoma City in 2019/20 (18.9 PPG on .469/.385/.839 shooting), Schröder’s numbers this season are more in line with his career rates. He has averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 3.5 RPG with a .432/.338/.848 shooting line in 50 games (31.7 MPG) for the Lakers.
Jamal Murray Has Torn Left ACL
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who left Monday’s game with a scary non-contact knee injury (video link), has been diagnosed with a torn left ACL, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The club confirmed the diagnosis, announcing that Murray will be out indefinitely.
As we detailed earlier today, Murray suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Denver’s loss to Golden State on Monday. His knee buckled as he attempted to take off for a layup and he immediately fell to the floor in obvious pain, pounding the court with his hand. He eventually refused the wheelchair that had been brought onto the floor and hopped to the locker room without putting any weight on his left leg (video link).
Murray had been scheduled to undergo testing today to determine the severity of the injury, and while there was some hope that there would be good news, those tests have instead confirmed the Nuggets’ worst fears.
Based on the typical recovery timeline for ACL tears, the injury will end Murray’s season, putting a serious dent into Denver’s title hopes. It will almost certainly delay his 2021/22 debut as well, since the NBA is looking to get back on its usual schedule, which would mean an October start.
It’s a crushing blow for a Nuggets team that has played some of its best basketball of the season as of late. Before losing its last two games, Denver had won 17 of 20 and appeared to have hit its stride since adding Aaron Gordon at the trade deadline.
At 34-20, the Nuggets rank fourth in the Western Conference and should still earn a playoff spot, but Murray’s absence will significantly reduce the likelihood of a deep postseason run. A year ago, the standout guard was Denver’s leading scorer in the playoffs, with 26.5 PPG on a scorching .505/.453/.897 shooting line in 19 games (39.6 MPG).
Prior to Murray’s ACL tear, the Nuggets had already been in the market for more backcourt depth, with Austin Rivers, Gerald Green, and Troy Daniels among the players on their radar. That search figures to intensify in the wake of Murray’s injury, as the club may now be able to offer those players a spot higher on the depth chart.
Murray, meanwhile, is scheduled to fly back to Denver with the team in the next few hours, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post, who tweets that the 24-year-old’s surgery hasn’t yet been scheduled.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA Postpones Wolves-Nets Game From Monday To Tuesday
APRIL 13: Monday’s Timberwolves/Nets game has been rescheduled for Tuesday afternoon, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It will be played at 3:00pm central time without any fans in attendance, sources tell Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link).
APRIL 12: The NBA is postponing the Timberwolves/Nets game that had been scheduled to take place in Minnesota on Monday night, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links). The NBA has formally confirmed the postponement.
Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews of ESPN first reported (via Twitter) that there were ongoing conversations about a postponement of Monday’s game due to unrest in Minneapolis in the wake of a police shooting. A 20-year-old Black man, Daunte Wright, was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Sunday.
The MLB contest between the Red Sox and Twins that was scheduled to be played on Monday afternoon in Minnesota was also postponed.
While it won’t take place tonight, there’s still a chance that the Wolves/Nets game could be played on Tuesday, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
With just over a month left in the regular season, there won’t be a ton of opportunities to make up postponed games, and every win or loss is important for a Brooklyn team currently tied for first in the Eastern Conference. Minnesota’s final record will also be important for draft lottery reasons — the team is a half-game “ahead” of Houston for the top spot in the lottery standings.
Kyrie Irving and Karl-Anthony Towns had been ruled out for Monday due to personal reasons — it’s unclear if either one would be available by Tuesday.
Jamal Murray Undergoing MRI Following Left Knee Injury
In his first game back after missing four games with right knee soreness, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray went down in the fourth quarter against Golden State on Monday with a non-contact left knee injury (video link).
Murray, whose knee buckled as he attempted to take off for a layup, immediately fell to the floor in obvious pain, pounding the court with his hand. He eventually refused the wheelchair that had been brought onto the floor and hopped to the locker room without putting any weight on his left leg (video link).
The Nuggets didn’t have an update on Murray’s status after the game. Head coach Michael Malone indicated that the team is awaiting the results of an MRI, per Nick Friedell and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“No definitive answer right now. We will wait for the imaging and go from there,” Malone said. “Some of the (assistant) coaches said when they watched the replay it looked like he hyperextended it. He just came back (from his right knee injury), he was gone for four days. His (right) knee had been bothering him… just an awful feeling. Keep Jamal in your thoughts and prayers, and hopefully we will get some good news.”
If Murray’s injury is a serious one, it will be a devastating blow to a Nuggets team that has played some of its best basketball of the season in the last month or two. After starting the season with a modest 17-15 record, Denver won 17 of its next 20 games. The team has since dropped its last two and is now 34-20, good for fourth in the West.
Murray has been a key part of that success, averaging a career-best 21.2 PPG this season on .477/.408/.869 shooting in 48 games (35.5 MPG). Last season, he was the Nuggets’ leading scorer in the playoffs with 26.5 PPG on a scorching .505/.453/.897 shooting line in 19 games (39.6 MPG).
“Y’all know what he means to us, he’s ‘the dude’ — Nikola and Jamal,” Michael Porter Jr. said of Murray, according to Friedell and Youngmisuk. “They brought this team to new heights. You talk about their closing all the time. We need Jamal … but we are more worried about his well-being right now, how he is individually than the team. The team right now is an afterthought.”
We should learn more about Murray’s injury at some point today.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones. P. Gasol, Mozgov, Crawford, Draft, More
A pair of longtime NBA big men returned to action in Europe this week after lengthy layoffs.
The most notable of the two, Pau Gasol, played for the first time in over two years on Friday, taking the court for Barcelona in EuroLeague play. He logged 13 minutes vs. Bayern Munich, recording nine points and four rebounds (AP story via ESPN).
Meanwhile, in Russia today, Khimki Moscow center Timofey Mozgov appeared on Monday in his first game in nearly three years, per Sportando. Mozgov was last on an NBA roster during the 2018/19 season, but he didn’t appear in a single game with Orlando that year due to knee issues.
Those issues persisted after Mozgov signed with Khimki in 2019, and the NBA even permitted the Magic to remove Mozgov’s cap hit from their books last season since his injury was viewed as potentially career-ending. His return today represents the culmination of a long, impressive comeback.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Veteran guard Jamal Crawford, who turned 41 in March, is staying ready in the hopes of receiving another NBA opportunity, he told Matthew Brooks and Alec Strum of NetsDaily. “We actually have talked to a couple of teams, so we’re seeing where it goes,” Crawford said when asked about the possibility of a 10-day deal. “We’ve had conversations, which is the good thing.”
- Although there has long been an expectation that the NBA and NBPA will eventually agree to tweak the league’s one-and-done rule for the draft and let high school players enter again, there haven’t been any meaningful talks between the two sides on the subject for months, sources tell David Aldridge of The Athletic.
- Using the Hornets’ success with their trio of LaMelo Ball, Devonte’ Graham, and Terry Rozier as a jumping-off point, Louis Zatzman of FiveThirtyEight explores whether lineups that feature three point guards might become more common among NBA teams.
- During a recent appearance on Mike Krzyzewski‘s “Basketball and Beyond with Coach K’ show, NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the league’s complicated relationship with China. Kurt Helin of NBC Sports relays some of Silver’s key quotes.
Austin Rivers Receiving Interest From Nuggets
The Nuggets have some interest in free agent guard Austin Rivers, league sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Rivers is one of a handful of available guards being eyed by the Nuggets, according to Singer, who previously identified Troy Daniels and Gerald Green as a couple other veterans on the team’s radar.
Denver focused on upgrading its frontcourt at the trade deadline, acquiring Aaron Gordon from Orlando and JaVale McGee from Cleveland. However, those deals put a dent in the club’s backcourt depth, as Gary Harris and R.J. Hampton were among the outgoing pieces.
Since then, the Nuggets have signed Shaquille Harrison to a two-way contract, but they still have one opening on their 15-man roster and they intend to fill it sooner or later. A 10-day signing is a possibility, per Singer.
As Singer explains, COVID-19 protocols have complicated the process of bringing in players for workouts and auditions, which is slowing down Denver to some extent. Additionally, the Nuggets would like to find a player who could be relied upon down the stretch and in the postseason if needed, but who would be content with not seeing much – or any – playing time on a typical night. It’s unclear if Rivers fits that bill.
Rivers began the season with the Knicks, averaging 7.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a .430/.364/.714 shooting line in 21 games (21.0 MPG). The 28-year-old fell out of the team’s rotation though, and was eventually sent to Oklahoma City at the trade deadline. The Thunder subsequently waived him. While Milwaukee was rumored to be a potential landing spot for Rivers, the Bucks signed Jeff Teague instead and haven’t circled back to Rivers so far.
Kings Notes: Haliburton, Fox, Golden 1 Center
After coming off the bench in 31 of his first 33 games this season, rookie guard Tyrese Haliburton was moved into the Kings‘ starting lineup on March 17 and remained there for the team’s next 12 games. However, he has once again been a reserve for the last two, with head coach Luke Walton explaining that he likes having Haliburton lead the second unit. The 21-year-old is taking that decision in stride, as he tells Sam Amick of The Athletic.
“I’m not tripping off that,” Haliburton said. “At the end of the day, I’m a basketball player. I’m not just saying this because it’s a media answer. Like, Buddy (Hield) yelled at me yesterday because I told him this and he was like, ‘Oh, don’t give me the media answer.’ But it’s the truth. I’m a basketball player at the end of the day, so I’m coming out here to compete every night. If you put me off the bench or start me or however many minutes, I’m going to value those minutes and compete.”
Haliburton spoke to Amick about a handful of other topics, including how he ended up falling to No. 12 in last November’s draft. The rookie guard said he thought briefly that he’d be picked by the Wizards at No. 9, but they opted for Deni Avdija instead.
Addressing a rumor that he had a hand in orchestrating his draft-day slide because he was focused on playing for the Kings, Haliburton acknowledged that he liked the idea of playing in Sacramento and that he didn’t see a fit with the Hawks, who had the sixth pick. However, he dismissed the idea that he discouraged the top 11 teams from selecting him.
“There’s all these stupid rumors going around that I told everybody not to pick me because I wanted to go to Sac at 12. Like, come on now, are you crazy? I would never,” Haliburton said. “These teams just didn’t pick me, you know? It is what it is.”
Here’s more on the Kings:
- De’Aaron Fox has been hit by the NBA with a $20K fine for his public criticism of the officiating, the league announced in a press release. Fox’s comments came after Sacramento’s 128-112 loss to Utah on Saturday, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee details.
- The Kings will welcome fans back to the Golden 1 Center for the first time this season beginning on April 20, per a team release. Approximately 1,600 frontline workers will attend that first game — subsequent games will be open to more fans, with the capacity gradually increasing.
- Sacramento is one of many teams around the NBA with a player currently on a 10-day contract. Damian Jones will be eligible to sign a second 10-day deal with the Kings when his current contract expires on Friday night. If one side or the other wants to end the relationship, Sacramento will open up a spot on its 15-man roster.
Aaron Henry Among Prospects Entering 2021 NBA Draft
Michigan State junior swingman Aaron Henry is entering the 2021 NBA draft, as the school confirmed today (via Twitter). While Henry could test the waters while retaining his college eligibility, he stated in his announcement that he intends to hire an agent, and it sounds like he’s prepared to go pro.
A 6’6″ guard/forward, Henry had his best college season in 2020/21, averaging 15.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 3.6 APG in 28 games (32.5 MPG) for the Spartans. His three-point shooting dipped to 29.6%, but he showed the ability to make those shots with more regularity in his first two college seasons, knocking down 35.7% of his attempts.
Henry is currently the No. 32 prospect on ESPN’s big board for the 2021 draft, making him a good candidate to have his name called on draft night in July.
Houston junior guard Quentin Grimes (No. 64) and Kansas junior guard Ochai Agbaji (No. 66) are among the other early entrants who have recently announced their intentions to declare for the 2021 draft, as detailed in press releases from Houston and Kansas. Grimes intends to go pro, while Agbaji will just be testing the waters for now.
Here are a few more updates on early entrants joining the draft pool:
- Jalen Wilson, F, Kansas (freshman): Like his teammate Agbaji, Wilson will retain his NCAA eligibility while he goes through the pre-draft process, the Jayhawks announced in a press release.
- Mac McClung, G, Texas Tech (junior): After transferring from Georgetown to Texas Tech in 2020, McClung has once again entered the transfer portal, he announced on Sunday (via Twitter). As he did a year ago, McClung will go through the draft process.
- Scotty Pippen Jr., G, Vanderbilt (sophomore): Pippen, the son of former NBA star Scottie Pippen, announced on Twitter that he’s testing the draft waters.
- Duane Washington, G, Ohio State (junior): Washington announced on Twitter that he’s entering the draft, and the wording of his statement suggests he expects to keep his name in rather than returning to school.
Vincent Poirier Officially Joins Real Madrid
Free agent center Vincent Poirier has officially reached a multiyear contract agreement with Real Madrid, the Spanish club announced today in a press release. According to the team, Poirier signed a contract that runs through the 2023/24 season.
Poirier, a seven-foot French center, played in Europe up until 2019, at which point he left Baskonia to sign with the Celtics. The big man didn’t have much of a role in his first and only season in Boston though, averaging 1.9 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 22 games (5.9 MPG).
Poirier was traded to the Thunder in November, then flipped to the Sixers in December. The 27-year-old made appearances in 10 games for Philadelphia, but was moved again at the trade deadline to New York. The Knicks subsequently waived him.
Although Poirier’s NBA stint was short-lived and relatively unsuccessful, it didn’t take him long to find a new home in Europe, which is unsurprising — he played well in his initial stint in the EuroLeague, leading the league in rebounding in 2019 en route to All-EuroLeague Second Team honors.