Central Notes: Walker, Sheppard, Swider, Buzelis, Cavs
With Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin back under contract with the Pacers on new four-year deals, there won’t be regular playing time available at power forward for 2023 lottery pick Jarace Walker anytime soon, barring an injury. That’s why, as Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required) writes, Walker finds himself battling Bennedict Mathurin and Ben Sheppard for minutes on the wing this fall.
Walker made a strong case for a rotation role last Thursday against Cleveland, when he scored 12 points and was a +18 in 18 minutes off the bench. He was elevated to the starting lineup on Monday vs. Memphis with Siakam and a few other regulars sitting, and contributed 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists in 38 minutes. However, most of those points came in the fourth quarter against reserves, and head coach Rick Carlisle indicated after the game that he wanted to see more from Walker and his fellow starters.
“The first quarter was very poor,” Carlisle said, per Dopirak. “The guys who started the game pretty much eased into the game. (Memphis) is a smash-mouth team that puts physical hits on you both offensively and defensively. They play a clean game, but it’s a physical game. We got smashed in the face in the first quarter.”
As Dopirak writes, Mathurin seems almost certain to be part of the second unit, so Walker and Sheppard may be vying for the last spot in that group. Sheppard, who had a good game on Monday, earned a rotation role last season as a rookie and seems “too trustworthy when it comes the basics to be banished to the end of the bench,” Dopirak writes. So even if Walker receives regular minutes to open the season, he’ll have to continue to prove he deserves them.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Cole Swider may have the edge on Kendall Brown for the 15th and final spot on the Pacers‘ regular season roster, according to Dopirak. Swider had a strong outing on Monday (10 points, five rebounds, three assists, +12), while Brown barely played. As Dopirak observes, Swider’s outside shooting is something Indiana doesn’t get from many other players at the end of its bench, which could help give him a leg up. Both players are on non-guaranteed contracts.
- Bulls lottery pick Matas Buzelis is impressing coaches and teammates alike this fall as he gears up for his rookie season, according to Kyle Williams and Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Head coach Billy Donovan referred to Buzelis as having “tremendous upside” and appreciated the fact that the first-round pick has expressed a willingness to do whatever it takes to get better — including possibly spending time in the G League. On Monday, the 20-year-old didn’t shy away from matching up against Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on either end of the court. “He’s not scared of anyone or any moment, and I think for a guy to come into the league like that, have that confidence, it’s huge for him,” Bulls guard Josh Giddey said. “It’s easy for rookies to be shy, not take on challenges, but credit to him. (He’s a) very talented kid, and he’s going to have a helluva career in the NBA.”
- The Cavaliers broke ground on Monday on a new state-of-the-art training facility in downtown Cleveland, according to The Associated Press. Star guard Donovan Mitchell attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the 210,000-square-foot building, which is being funded by team owner Dan Gilbert and is scheduled to open in 2027. “Since I arrived here two years ago, I’ve just heard nothing but how serious Cleveland is about their sports,” Mitchell said. “And seeing it, shows how serious and how much they care about their players and the investment about their bodies. This is going to be huge for the longevity of our careers.”
Pelicans Sign Trhae Mitchell, Waive Jalen Crutcher
The Pelicans made a minor change at the back of their 21-man preseason roster on Monday, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed free agent guard Trhae Mitchell and waived guard Jalen Crutcher. New Orleans still has a full 21-man squad following the two moves.
Mitchell, who went undrafted out of South Alabama in 2020, has spent most of his professional career playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate. He also had a stint with the Calgary Surge of the Canadian Elite Basketball League earlier this year before playing for the Pelicans’ Summer League team.
In 49 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Vipers last season, the 27-year-old averaged 6.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.9 steals in 30.2 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .502/.422/.652. Known more for his defensive prowess than his offensive production, Mitchell earned a spot on the G League’s All-Defensive team in the spring.
The Birmingham Squadron – New Orleans’ G League team – recently acquired Mitchell’s returning rights from the Vipers. That’s a strong signal that the plan is to have him play for the Squadron this season — his new deal with the Pelicans almost certainly includes Exhibit 10 language, which will make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived by New Orleans and then spends at least 60 days with Birmingham.
It’s a safe bet that’s the plan for Crutcher too. The 25-year-old, who spent training camp with the Pelicans and saw some action in last Monday’s preseason opener, spent last season with the Squadron and will likely report back to New Orleans’ G League team in order to earn his $77.5K Exhibit 10 bonus.
Bucks’ Khris Middleton Talks Health, 2024/25 Goals, More
Health issues have forced Khris Middleton to the sidelines for 76 of 164 possible games over the last two regular seasons, and the Bucks forward has yet to make his preseason debut after undergoing offseason surgeries on both his ankles. While he hasn’t played in 70 or more regular season games since 2018/19, Middleton is hopeful about his chances of doing so this season, as he tells Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
“Having a successful season out there is playing damn near 82 games,” Middleton said. “Understanding that there may be a couple games where you can’t go because you got kneed to the thigh or something like a bad ankle sprain, those types of things, you miss one or two games. But not playing only 60 games. Anything below 70, 75 games, no, I do not consider that a successful season for me.”
Given the time he’s missed over the past two seasons and the fact that he’s 33 years old with 12 NBA seasons under his belt, Middleton will have to prove that he’s still capable recapturing his All-Star form over a full, healthy season. He welcomes the idea of shedding the “injury-prone” label that some critics have assigned him in recent years, which he referred to as “frustrating.”
“I think when you say injury-prone, that goes to how you take care of your body,” Middleton said. “And I take a lot of pride in taking care of my body since day one that I’ve been here. So, no, I don’t think I’m injury-prone at all. I’ve just had unfortunate incidents that have happened on the basketball court, which is a wrong place, bad time type of thing.”
Here are a few more highlights from Middleton’s conversation with Nehm, which is worth checking out in full:
On why the Bucks weren’t firing on all cylinders last season after acquiring Damian Lillard:
“I think last year we ran into problems with guys who were trying to run to the same spot because that’s what they’re used to and accustomed to. And that happens. It’s natural. It’s human tendency. This year, we have to get in the habit of knowing no matter what, we have to have these five spots filled so that everything works organically around us and guys have room to operate and do what they need to do.”
On his goals for the 2024/25 season:
“To me, it’s simple. Just be the best version of myself I can be. If that means I’m scoring 10 points and we’re winning every single game, that’s a great year for me. Whatever it takes to win. To me, that’s a great season. I learned early in my career, we win, everything takes care of itself.”
On the NBA’s general managers picking the Bucks to finish fifth in the East:
“I really could give two sh–s about it. It doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t need motivation from outside sources or outside whatever. It comes from within. It comes from wanting to be the best player or the best team. So that stuff — expectations from the outside or outside noise — really doesn’t bother me. The only expectation that matters is inside our locker room.”
Rockets Waive Thon Maker, Markquis Nowell
OCTOBER 14: Maker and Nowell have been waived, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets. They’ll both likely wind up joining the Rockets’ G League club.
OCTOBER 1: The Rockets are signing big man Thon Maker and guard Markquis Nowell to Exhibit 10 contracts, according to Kelly Iko and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deals are official, the team confirmed in a press release.
The 10th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Maker appeared in 263 total regular season games for the Bucks, Pistons, and Cavaliers from 2016-21, but hasn’t been on an NBA roster since being cut by Cleveland in January 2021. The 7’0″ center played for Hapoel Jerusalem in 2021, the Fujian Sturgeons in China from 2022-24, and Al Riyadi Beirut in Lebanon this spring.
Maker, 27, averaged 4.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 13.8 minutes per game during his five NBA seasons, posting a shooting line of .435/.327/.680.
A 5’7″ point guard, Nowell spent most of last season on a two-way contract with the Raptors after going undrafted out of Kansas State in 2023. He appeared in just one NBA game for Toronto before being cut in March, but played for the Raptors 905 before and after his release, averaging 14.4 PPG, 8.7 APG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in 22 games (31.9 MPG) for the G League club. His shooting line was .411/.366/.781.
The Rockets had a pair of openings on their 21-man training camp roster, so no corresponding cuts were necessary to bring Maker and Nowell aboard.
While Houston also technically has an open spot on its projected 15-man regular season roster, Maker and Nowell seem more likely to end up playing for the Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The Vipers acquired Nowell’s returning rights in a four-team trade this week. If Maker and Nowell are waived by Houston and then spend at least 60 days with Rio Grande Valley, they’d earn Exhibit 10 bonuses worth up to $77.5K.
Kings’ De’Aaron Fox Eyeing Potential Extension In 2025
Kings guard De’Aaron Fox will bypass a possible three-year, $165MM contract extension this fall, with an eye toward signing a more lucrative deal during the 2025 offseason, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.
Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported back in June that Fox didn’t intend to sign an extension this offseason, so Charania’s reporting simply confirms that’s still the plan with an October 21 deadline looming.
Because he has two guaranteed years left on his contract, Fox can sign an extension up until next Monday, then would be ineligible to complete a new deal during the season before becoming extension-eligible again next summer. His current contract will pay him $34.85MM this season and $37.1MM in 2025/26.
While Charania’s story doesn’t explicitly say the Kings put their maximum three-year offer on the table for Fox this offseason, it certainly sounds like it would be available if he were interested in signing it.
As Charania explains, Fox has expressed both publicly and privately that his preference is to remain in Sacramento long-term and worked with high-ranking team officials on major moves this offseason, including the acquisition of DeMar DeRozan. However, he can qualify for a more lucrative deal next summer. His maximum standard contract at that time would be worth a projected $229MM over four years. The 26-year-old could also qualify for a super-max deal worth up to $345MM over five years if he earns an All-NBA spot next spring.
[RELATED: Super-Max Candidates To Watch In 2024/25]
An All-NBA berth isn’t out of the question for Fox — in fact, he’s already earned the honor once, having made the Third Team in 2023. Last season, he averaged a career-high 26.6 points per game on .465/.369/.738 shooting, chipping in 5.6 assists and a league-best 2.0 steals per contest.
Suns Waive Mamadi Diakite, Moses Wood
The Suns have waived big man Mamadi Diakite and forward Moses Wood, the team announced today (Twitter link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). The two cuts leave Phoenix with 18 players under contract.
Diakite and Wood had both been on non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts and will likely now report to the Valley Suns this fall in order to earn bonuses worth $77.5K apiece if they spend at least 60 days with Phoenix’s G League club.
Diakite will be a returning rights player, since his rights were acquired by the Valley Suns in September, while Wood – who went undrafted in June and has yet to play in the G League – will be an affiliate player.
Although they were never likely to make Phoenix’s regular season roster, Diakite and Wood did see some preseason action with the NBA squad this month. Diakite contributed seven points and five rebounds in 20 total minutes across three appearances, while Wood logged just over five minutes in two outings, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound.
And-Ones: Harrell, Parity, Projections, Season Previews
After reaching a deal in September with the Adelaide 36ers to join the team as a short-term replacement for injured forward Jarell Martin, veteran big man Montrezl Harrell is now in advanced talks with the Australian club to sign a rest-of-season contract that would allow him to stick around after Martin returns, reports Olgun Uluc of ESPN.
According to Uluc, the 36ers and Harrell’s agent have been talking for the past few weeks about a possible full-season deal, and the expectation is that the two sides will get something done. If they do, the 36ers will have to deactivate a local player in order to keep Harrell active.
The NBA’s former Sixth Man of the Year is off to a strong start in Adelaide, averaging a double-double (15.7 points, 10.3 rebounds) during his first five games in Australia’s National Basketball League. While Harrell is interested in returning to the NBA, there’s a sense that’s more likely to happen in February or March after the NBL season ends, Uluc explains.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- When the Celtics won the NBA title in the spring, they became the sixth different team in the last six years to claim a championship. That’s just the second time in league history that has happened, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, who takes a closer look at the current era of NBA parity, exploring why it happened and what it means going forward.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic previews the season for the seven teams he projects to finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, from the Wizards at No. 15 to the Hawks at No. 9. Using his BORD$ formula, Hollinger forecasts just 14 wins for Washington, seven fewer than any other team in the conference. He also has the Pistons moving up to 11th place, with the Raptors claiming the second play-in spot at No. 10.
- Zach Kram of The Ringer previews the coming season by sharing one defining statistic for all 30 teams, such as 23.4 for the Thunder (the average age of their roster) and 31.2 for the Nuggets (their three-point attempts per game last season, last in the NBA).
- Tim Bontemps of ESPN identifies 10 individuals who will help define the 2024/25 season, ranging from players like Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns to front office executives such as Calvin Booth of the Nuggets and Mike Dunleavy Jr. of the Warriors. Bontemps’ list also includes a top prospect (Cooper Flagg), an analyst (Charles Barkley), and a head coach (J.J. Redick), among others.
Bulls’ Lonzo Ball Expected To Play On Wednesday
Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball, who last played in an NBA game on January 14, 2022, is expected to return to the court and make his preseason debut on Wednesday vs. Minnesota, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).
Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that the Bulls and Ball were targeting Wednesday for his return. Chicago will also be in action on Monday vs. the Bucks, but the former No. 2 overall pick has been ruled out for that contest.
After signing a four-year contract with the Bulls during the summer of 2020, Ball was able to play in just 35 games during his first season in Chicago before going down as a result of knee problems that have necessitated three separate surgeries since 2022.
The veteran guard, who will turn 27 later this month, experienced setbacks after each of the first two procedures, but underwent a rare cartilage transplant surgery in 2023 that he believes addressed the issue in his knee.
According to Mayberry (Twitter links), while Ball dealt with some soreness recently and was held out of the club’s shootaround on Saturday, the Bulls remain optimistic that he’ll be able to suit up for each of their last two preseason games — on Wednesday vs. the Timberwolves and on Friday against Cleveland.
“He’s done really, really well,” head coach Billy Donovan said of Ball’s progress this month (Twitter link via Mayberry). “He’s been out there and he’s played. And he’s been effective playing. I think his timing’s coming back.”
Ball was a difference-maker when he was healthy, averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 34.6 minutes per game while providing strong defense and making 42.3% of his three-pointers in his first season in Chicago.
The Bulls aren’t counting on him to get back to that level and have plenty of other options in a crowded backcourt that also includes Zach LaVine, Josh Giddey, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu, among others. However, if he can stay healthy and be productive in a part-time role, it would be a very encouraging sign for the team and for Ball himself as he nears the end of his contract.
Assuming he plays out the remainder of his current deal, which will pay him approximately $21.4MM this season, Ball will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
Sixers Notes: Reserves, Embiid, George, Drummond, Maxey
With the Sixers resting several veterans Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back set, the team’s youngsters and reserves were on the wrong end of a 50-point shellacking at the hands of the defending champion Celtics. As Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, many of the players who logged big minutes on Saturday are unlikely to play major roles during the season, but they’ll likely be needed at times, so the lopsided loss to Boston was an important learning experience.
“Teaching them how hard they have to play is something you have to do,” head coach Nick Nurse said after the game. “They’re young, and we’ve got to show them what it’s like. But it gives them some good experience out there against some really good players.”
There were some positives to take away from the blowout, including 20 points from rookie Jared McCain, another solid outing from big man Guerschon Yabusele, and promising on-ball defense from two-way player Justin Edwards, Mizell notes. But Nurse acknowledged that his team frequently got caught ball-watching and didn’t match the Celtics’ speed or intensity.
“It (stinks), obviously, (that) I’m on the opposing side of it,” McCain said of the 50-point loss. “But it’s great for me to learn from.”
Here’s more on the 76ers:
- How should Sixers fans react to the news that Joel Embiid‘s preseason is over? Tony Jones of The Athletic explores that topic, suggesting that it looks like a case of the team just being cautious, but could lead to some additional growing pains for the new-look roster early in the regular season due to minimal preseason reps with the superstar center on the floor. It’s also likely a preview of the careful way in which the 76ers will handle Embiid’s playing time during the regular season, Jones adds.
- Both Embiid and newcomer Paul George are unlikely to play both ends of “many back-to-backs, if any” this season, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
- The Sixers had tried multiple times to reacquire Andre Drummond after having to give him up in the James Harden trade with Brooklyn in 2022, Bontemps reports within the same ESPN story. Embiid, aware that he’d need a high-quality backup center in order for Philadelphia to properly manage his minutes, was part of the recruiting effort when Drummond reached free agency over the summer. “Getting a phone call from the best center in the NBA saying, ‘I need you here’ … it’s hard to tell him no,” Drummond told Bontemps. “I spoke to a lot of teams this summer, and he was probably the third or fourth person to call me. I wasn’t even expecting to hear from him. … He just gave me an idea of what he was looking for and he needed me to come back to really help him out to win something bigger than him.”
- While he may not have been thrilled on draft night in 2020 to fall to 21st overall, Tyrese Maxey realizes in retrospect that it was the best thing that could have happened to him, based on the situation he ended up in and how his career has progressed since then, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “As a young kid, 19 years old, you are looking at the draft. You are like, ‘Man, I want to go as high as I possibly can,'” Maxey said. “But then when you fall to a contending team and you are able to be on a team and soak up all the knowledge that they give you, man, you are blessed.”
Duane Washington Rejoins KK Partizan
As expected, free agent guard Duane Washington has returned to KK Partizan, the Serbian team he signed with over the offseason, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. Askounis reports that Washington has completed the paperwork necessary to be re-added to Partizan’s roster.
After finishing last season with the Knicks, Washington agreed to sign with Partizan in July; the Belgrade-based club later confirmed the deal in August. However, the Knicks – who still held Washington’s Early Bird rights – required him as a sign-and-trade asset for salary-matching purposes in their trade for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Partizan Belgrade received a buyout in exchange for allowing Washington out of his contract, while the 24-year-old secured a $2.16MM guaranteed salary from the Hornets for his involvement in the Towns trade. He spent a week with Charlotte, then was waived last Wednesday, clearing the way for him to rejoin Partizan.
Washington has suited up a pair of Partizan’s domestic matchups so far this season, but wasn’t available to play in either of the team’s first two EuroLeague contests. While Partizan has a 4-0 record in ABA League play, the club has lost its first two EuroLeague games, so Washington’s return will be a welcome one. Partizan will face Bayern Munich and Maccabi Tel Aviv in EuroLeague play this week.
Washington has appeared in a total of 79 NBA contests for the Pacers and Suns (he didn’t see any game action for the Knicks), averaging 9.1 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per night while shooting .391/.371/.729.