Injury Updates: Dort, Harris, Beverley, Magic, Rondo, Hayward
After initially being ruled out for Game 2 vs. Houston, Thunder wing Luguentz Dort was updated to questionable and is now being considered available, head coach Billy Donovan confirmed today (Twitter link via Royce Young of ESPN). One of Oklahoma City’s top defenders, Dort will look to help slow James Harden.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Nuggets guard Gary Harris will remain sidelined for Game 3 against Utah, but head coach Michael Malone believes Harris is moving in the right direction, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. While he acknowledged that it’d be great to have Harris back during Denver’s first-round series if possible, Malone added that the team doesn’t want to put pressure on him by setting a specific timetable.
- Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said he doesn’t have a sense of the severity of Patrick Beverley‘s calf injury, which caused him to miss Game 2 vs. Dallas on Wednesday. “Obviously it is something that has lingered,” Rivers said, per Youngmisuk. “But I have no sense whether he plays next game or if this is one of those things that takes a week or so. I just don’t know.” Beverley will likely be a game-time decision on Friday, according to Rivers (Twitter link via Youngmisuk).
- Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Michael Carter-Williams (foot) will be on the shelf again for the Magic in Game 2 vs. Milwaukee today, according to the team (Twitter link). Neither player has been active since early August.
- Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo, who hasn’t played this summer due to a fractured thumb, is listed as questionable for Game 2 vs. Portland on Thursday night, tweets Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times.
- The Celtics are “aggressively treating” Gordon Hayward‘s ankle sprain, head coach Brad Stevens said on Wednesday (Twitter link). The club should have a better idea within the next few days of what the next steps for Hayward’s rehab will be. The veteran forward is expected to miss about four weeks.
Poll: Lakers’ Postseason Outlook
A dominant regular season leading up to the stoppage of the NBA’s season in March all but locked up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the Lakers entering the summer restart. However, the team hasn’t quite looked like itself since play resumed. LeBron James‘ squad went 3-5 during the seeding games and dropped Game 1 of its first-round series to the No. 8 Trail Blazers.
The Lakers’ shooting doomed them in Game 1. Despite out-rebounding the Blazers, winning the turnover battle, and moving the ball better, the Lakers just couldn’t put the ball in the basket, finishing with an abysmal shooting line of .351/.156/.645.
L.A. still only lost by seven points, and the team’s shooting won’t be that bad every game. But beyond James and Anthony Davis, many of the Lakers’ secondary scorers are streaky, including Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who went a combined 4-of-21 from the floor on Tuesday. Additionally, Avery Bradley‘s absence means the club is without its top perimeter defender — that’s not insignificant in a series against Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
In a discussion about the Lakers’ situation today, ESPN’s writers expressed mixed opinions on whether it’s too early to start worrying about the team. As Kevin Pelton points out, L.A. is still getting the same quality shots it got during the regular season, and it seems likely those shots will start dropping at some point. However, Nick Friedell and Andre Snellings view the Lakers’ roster as top-heavy and have questions about the supporting cast.
Neither Friedell nor Royce Young necessarily expects the Lakers to fall in the first round to the eighth-seeded Blazers. However, both ESPN writers expressed skepticism that L.A. should still be considered a prime championship frontrunner.
It’s worth noting that even before the Lakers’ Game 1 loss to Portland, sports books had generally started listing the Clippers as title favorites over the Lakers, with some moving the Bucks ahead as well, per David Purdum of ESPN.
What do you think? Has your opinion of the Lakers changed at all since the restart began? Do you expect them to start firing on all cylinders again any day now? How confident do you feel right now in forecasting a Finals appearance – or win – for the Lakers?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
How are you feeling about the Lakers?
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They're still one of the NBA's top two or three title favorites 41% (226)
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They're at risk of being eliminated by the Blazers 36% (200)
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They'll get by the Blazers, but will be hard-pressed to reach the Finals 23% (124)
Total votes: 550
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Victor Oladipo Available For Pacers In Game 2
Pacers guard Victor Oladipo has been cleared to play in Game 2 against Miami this afternoon, the club announced today (via Twitter).
Oladipo suffered an injury during the first quarter of Indiana’s Game 1 loss when he was poked in the eye by Heat forward Jae Crowder. Although he briefly stayed in the game, Oladipo soon came out and didn’t return.
Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said after Tuesday’s game that Oladipo’s eye began swelling soon after he took the inadvertent hit from Crowder, and that McMillan never considered putting him back on the court. However, the team also said after the game that tests showed “no immediate concerns,” as Nick Friedell of ESPN details.
With Domantas Sabonis already sidelined due to a foot injury, the Pacers would have faced a significant uphill battle if Oladipo had been forced to miss time as well. They’ll be looking to even up their series with the Heat today.
Bulls Notes: Draft, Karnisovas, Offseason, Oturu
Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas, speaking to Sam Smith of Bulls.com, confirmed that he’ll be the one making the final call on the team’s lottery pick this fall. He also suggested that – like most teams in the lottery – he’ll be prioritizing adding talent rather than focusing on fit.
“It’s a talent-driven league. Talent wins championships,” Karnisovas said. “So we’re going to be focused on adding talent. It’s going to be up to the coaches to maximize it. Just to get high-upside guys on our team. Looking at our roster I love what I see. The players we have now, a young core with vets like Thad (Young) and Otto (Porter). I think we can build on that. This group definitely can do better than what they’ve showed the last couple of years.”
Karnisovas, who previously served as the general manager in Denver, pointed to the Nuggets selecting both Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic in the 2014 draft despite already having multiple bigs on their roster as an example of why drafting for talent over need is usually the right call.
“The roster balance, you can sort that out,” he told Smith. “You go after talent in that position.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Responding to a question from Smith about the Bulls’ greatest need, Karnisovas noted that he and new GM Marc Eversley view “developing on our players” as a prime concern. “Some of the players took a step back last year, which we are trying to address,” Karnisovas said. “When Marc and I came in, we came in with the No. 1 priority of player care and player development.”
- Karnisovas also indicated to Smith that the Bulls will have the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions available this offseason, confirming that he expects the team to operate over the cap, but under the tax. That’s not a surprise, based on Chicago’s commitments for 2020/21.
- Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic spoke to a number of scouts to get their opinions on some of the head coaching candidates who have been linked to the Bulls since Jim Boylen‘s ouster.
- Minnesota center Daniel Oturu interviewed on Wednesday with the Bulls and expects to meet with several more teams in the coming weeks, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Oturu is the No. 36 prospect on ESPN’s big board, so there’s a chance he could still be available when Chicago picks at No. 44.
Mike Miller Won’t Be Assistant On Knicks’ Staff
Both before and after the hiring of Tom Thibodeau, former Knicks head coach Mike Miller was said to have strong support to remain with the franchise as an assistant coach. However, Miller won’t be part of Thibodeau’s staff after all, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link).
As Bondy notes, Miller is still under contract and impressed members of the organization with the work he did as David Fizdale‘s interim replacement on the sidelines for the Knicks last season. After New York got off to a 4-18 start under Fizdale, Miller led the club to a 17-27 (.386) record the rest of the way, earning himself an interview for the permanent head coaching position.
However, Thibodeau won the competition for the top job, and based on Bondy’s report, it sounds like Miller won’t return to the sidelines in New York in any capacity.
Miller is pursuing another coaching opportunity, Newday’s Steve Popper tweets. Otherwise, he could return to New York in another capacity, perhaps in pro personnel or scouting.
The Knicks are gradually putting together Thibodeau’s staff, having hired Kenny Payne away from Kentucky and reportedly reaching an agreement to make Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant their associate head coach. There’s an expectation that former Knicks coach Mike Woodson will also be hired as an assistant, though as we saw with Miller, we shouldn’t assume that’s a done deal until it’s official.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Pierce, Jones, Wizards
Addressing the Hornets‘ upcoming offseason in a recent conversation with Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak reiterated many of the points he has made before about his team’s priorities. According to Kupchak, the Hornets won’t be a major player in free agency this fall and won’t be drafting for positional need with their lottery pick.
“We have some nice pieces that we like, but to compete in this league at a high level, our talent level isn’t where we need it to be,” Kupchak told Bonnell, referring to the Hornets’ need to draft for talent over fit. “I don’t feel we have the luxury of being able to, at this point, pick-and-choose the position (of greatest need).”
While Kupchak acknowledged that the Hornets should have a chunk of cap room available this offseason, he stressed that he doesn’t feel as if free agency “is the answer for us at this time,” hinting that the club could instead use its cap space on the trade market.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype about a number of subjects, including his hope that Atlanta will improve its depth this offseason by adding veterans who can help the club on and off the court. “We have to add some veterans, rotational, professional depth, and experience to complement our young guys,” Pierce said. “We have nine guys, I believe under contract right now, so we have roster spots to fill.”
- Just four days after sustaining a scary-looking neck injury, Heat wing Derrick Jones was cleared to return to action today, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel writes. Jones has been part of Miami’s rotation during this afternoon’s game against Indiana.
- Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the group that owns the Wizards, is indefinitely furloughing 232 full-time employees due to the coronavirus pandemic, reports Scott Allen of The Washington Post. The furloughs affect over a third of approximately 600 full-time employees that work for the company in departments such as sales, marketing, game day operations, and community relations, Allen adds.
- The Wizards are parting ways with four performance and medical staffers, including head athletic trainer Jeff Bangs, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Latest On Kings’ GM Search
The Kings appear likely to hire an executive search firm to help them find a new permanent general manager following Vlade Divac‘s departure, league sources tell Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. However, according to Anderson, several names have already been connected to the position as possible targets for Saramento.
Anderson identifies Spurs VP of basketball operations Brent Barry, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster, Knicks GM Scott Perry, Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren, Heat assistant GM Adam Simon, and Clippers assistant GM Trent Redden as executives who may be on the Kings’ preliminary list of candidates.
Sean Cunningham of ABC10, who singled out many of those same execs as ones to watch, mentioned veteran agent Bill Duffy as another possibility (Twitter link). However, Duffy indicated today that he currently has no plans to follow in the footsteps of Bob Myers, Leon Rose, and other agents who have made the move to a team’s front office.
“There’s no truth to me joining an NBA organization,” Duffy told Jason Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I’m fully committed to my clients and their success.”
Joe Dumars, who is the Kings’ interim head of basketball operations, will be involved in the search for a new GM, though team owner Vivek Ranadive and COO Matina Kolokotronis are “viewed as the ultimate decision makers,” Anderson writes.
Anderson also notes that it will be interesting to see what sort of role Dumars ultimately retains in the front office, since Divac’s departure stemmed from Ranadive’s desire to have the former Pistons GM take on a larger role and to have the final say on the roster. Sources tell Anderson that some qualified candidates may be reluctant to fill Sacramento’s GM opening if it doesn’t come with full control over the roster.
Raptors’ Brissett Leaves NBA Campus To Undergo Knee Procedure
Rookie forward Oshae Brissett has become the second Raptors player to leave the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus for health reasons. The team announced today in a press release that Brissett is returning to Toronto to undergo a medical procedure to clean out loose bodies in his right knee.
Earlier this month, veteran Raptors wing Patrick McCaw left Orlando in order to seek treatment for a reoccurrence of a benign mass on the back of his left knee. Like McCaw, Brissett has been ruled out indefinitely, with no indication of if or when he’ll return to the Disney campus. Toronto is ineligible to sign a free agent to replace either player.
One of Toronto’s two-way players, Brissett appeared in 19 NBA games during his first professional season in 2019/20. Playing primarily garbage-time minutes, he averaged 1.9 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 7.1 MPG. The 22-year-old saw more frequent action for the Raptors 905, recording 14.9 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 30 G League contests (27.8 MPG).
Brissett will be eligible for restricted free agency this offseason, so it’s possible he has played his final game as a Raptor.
Central Notes: Bulls, Boylen, Wood, Pistons, Turner
Speaking to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago following his recent dismissal, former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen expressed no hard feelings toward his old team, telling Johnson that he “loved every minute of working for the Bulls” and that he understands why new head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas would want to bring in his own coach.
Boylen also expressed no regrets about his stint in Chicago, noting that Bulls ownership and former head of basketball ops John Paxson asked him to “bring more discipline” to the team. Boylen praised his players for competing hard, citing injuries and a young roster as a couple of the reasons why the club didn’t win more games.
“I don’t worry about people who haven’t coached critiquing me,” Boylen said. “I don’t try to be a doctor.”
Despite Boylen’s comments, reviews of his time with the Bulls weren’t exactly positive. According to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, who took a deep dive into the last two seasons in Chicago, Boylen’s tenure was described by multiple people within the organization as “toxic,” with one calling it “a circus” and another referring to it as a “nightmare.”
In Mayberry’s view, Boylen tried to maintain total control of the team with a tough, abrasive style, but “couldn’t get out of his own way.” Boylen’s greatest success during his time as the Bulls’ head coach, according to Mayberry, was “simply getting the job.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago explores which candidates for the Bulls‘ head coaching job are favored by oddsmakers, pointing out that one prominent sportsbook lists Ime Udoka, Adrian Griffin, Kenny Atkinson, and Tyronn Lue as the frontrunners.
- The Pistons have more options with Christian Wood this fall than simply re-signing him or letting him walk, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic, who digs into how the team could use a sign-and-trade deal to its advantage if Wood wants to join a team without cap room.
- The rebuilding Pistons should keep a close eye on players coming off two-way contracts, writes Duncan Smith of Forbes. As Forbes explains, under-the-radar free agents like Chris Chiozza are realistic targets for Detroit and could help the club make the most of its cap space.
- Pacers big man Myles Turner recently spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype about life on the Disney World campus, Indiana’s playoff outlook, Victor Oladipo‘s 2021 free agency, and several other topics.
Knicks To Hire Johnnie Bryant As Associate Head Coach
The Knicks are hiring veteran Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant as their new associate head coach under head coach Tom Thibodeau, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bryant is the second assistant confirmed to be part of Thibodeau’s staff, joining Kenny Payne.
[RELATED: Knicks hire Kenny Payne as assistant coach]
Having initially joined the Jazz in 2012 as a player development coach, Bryant was promoted to his assistant role in 2014 when Quin Snyder was named the team’s head coach. He has been a key part of Snyder’s staff since then, with Jazz beat writers Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune and Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links) both noting that Bryant is highly regarded for his player development skills. Jones adds that Bryant has a “very close” relationship with rising Utah star Donovan Mitchell.
In New York, Bryant will be Thibodeau’s lead assistant on a staff that also features Payne and is expected to include a pair of former Knicks coaches, Mike Miller and Mike Woodson. Neither Miller nor Woodson has been officially named an assistant yet, but multiple reports in recent weeks have indicated they’re good bets to be part of Thibodeau’s staff.
Bryant’s player development abilities will be put to the test as he joins a team that features numerous recent top-10 picks, including RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina, and Dennis Smith Jr.