Central Notes: Pacers, Strus, Z. Smith, Wiseman, Bagley, Pistons
The Pacers aren’t loaded with star power, but they have one of the NBA’s deepest rosters, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star, who suggests that all 15 players on standard contracts could make a legitimate case for rotation minutes. Due to that depth, Indiana’s training camp figures to be a very competitive one.
“Nothing is going to be given to anybody,” swingman Jordan Nwora said. “This is going to be different from past years. Guys are going to have to really earn it this year. That’s part of the reason why myself and a lot of other guys have been in the gym a lot this summer. … Outside of (Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Buddy Hield), no one here is really proven. Everyone here has to earn it.”
As Dopirak writes, the front office and coaching staff has indicated that only two starting spots are locked in so far: Haliburton will man the point, while Turner plays the five. The other three starting lineup spots are up for grabs, as are some rotation roles, and head coach Rick Carlisle is looking forward to seeing his players battle to earn minutes.
“The term that I like is competitive integrity,” Carlisle said. “If you really want to be a championship teammate, you have to do all the hard things. You gotta be a tenacious competitor defensively. You have to fight like hell competing against a guy you’re directly competing for for minutes and then you have to encourage him if he’s playing ahead of you.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Former Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, who played with Max Strus in Miami, helped Strus make the decision to sign with Cleveland as a free agent this offseason, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required) details. “Kevin was one of the first people I called, and he couldn’t have been more positive about the city and the organization. He told me it was a no-brainer,” Strus said. “He was like, ‘Max, you’re everything they need. You’ll be a great fit. The guys are great, the organization’s great.’ Kevin talked very highly of it, and he hasn’t steered me wrong once.”
- Speaking to Sam Yip of HoopsHype, former first-round pick Zhaire Smith, who is on an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cavaliers, said he’s not taking his comeback for granted after dealing with so many health issues early in his professional career.
- Addressing the backup center spot in the Pistons‘ rotation, head coach Monty Williams told reporters today that James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III are competing for that role. As Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press notes (via Twitter), it sounds like there may only be room in the rotation for one of the two big men.
- In his latest mailbag at Pistons.com, Keith Langlois addresses several Pistons-related topics, explaining why he thinks Detroit will add a 15th player on a standard contract for the regular season and why he’s skeptical that Ausar Thompson will be an opening night starter.
Oldest, Youngest Players On NBA Rosters For 2023/24
Udonis Haslem, who had been the NBA’s oldest player for the past three seasons, retired after the 2022/23 campaign, meaning the league has a new elder statesman. And this one figures to play a slightly bigger role in ’23/24 than Haslem did last season.
Lakers star LeBron James is currently the oldest player in the NBA.
James enters this season as a 38-year-old and will celebrate his 39th birthday in December. That means that, unless Andre Iguodala or another aging veteran makes a comeback, there won’t be any players in the league this season in their 40s.
The Warriors are the only team with more than one player on the list of the league’s top 10 oldest players, with offseason additions Chris Paul and Rudy Gay both making the cut.
This list is subject to change. Maybe Gay or another player whose roster spot isn’t guaranteed will be waived before opening night; maybe Iguodala will decide not to retire; or maybe a free agent like George Hill or Goran Dragic (both born in May 1985) will find a new NBA home.
But for now, here’s the list of the oldest players in the league heading into the ’23/24 season:
- LeBron James, Lakers (born 12/30/1984)
- P.J. Tucker, Sixers (born 5/5/1985)
- Chris Paul, Warriors (born 5/6/1985)
- Taj Gibson, Wizards (born 6/24/1985)
- Kyle Lowry, Heat (born 3/25/1986)
- Garrett Temple, Raptors (born 5/8/1986)
- Al Horford, Celtics (born 6/3/1986)
- Rudy Gay, Warriors (born 8/17/1986)
- Jeff Green, Rockets (born 8/28/1986)
- Wesley Matthews, Hawks (born 10/14/1986)
On the opposite end of the spectrum, all of this year’s youngest NBA players were members of the 2023 draft class.
The Nets are the only team that show up twice on this list, with both of their first-round picks set to be among the NBA’s top four youngest players this season.
Here are the 10 youngest players currently on NBA rosters:
- G.G. Jackson, Grizzlies (born 12/17/2004) *
- Dariq Whitehead, Nets (born 8/1/2004)
- Bilal Coulibaly, Wizards (born 7/26/2004)
- Noah Clowney, Nets (born 7/14/2004)
- Cam Whitmore, Rockets (born 7/8/2004)
- Rayan Rupert, Trail Blazers (born 5/31/2004)
- Nick Smith Jr., Hornets (born 4/18/2004)
- Sidy Cissoko, Spurs (born 4/2/2004)
- Jordan Walsh, Celtics (born 3/3/2004)
- Amari Bailey, Hornets (born 2/17/2004) *
Note: Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on two-way contracts.
A handful of lottery picks – including Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, and Dereck Lively II – were born in January or February 2004 and narrowly missed earning spots on this list.
Last year’s youngest player, Pistons center Jalen Duren, is no longer a member of this group, but only missed the cut by three months. He won’t turn 20 years old until November 18.
Rockets Notes: Udoka, Defense, Green, Bostic, Holiday
After taking over a Rockets team that won 17, 19, and 22 games in the last three seasons, what is new head coach Ime Udoka focused on improving? “Everything,” he said on Tuesday, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).
“We had a … 28-minute film session,” Udoka said after the first day of training camp. “I showed them clips … and numbers from the past three years — what we want to avoid, what we want to get better at. The main thing I stressed is effort and execution.
“… The numbers were ugly, to be honest, the last few years. When you rank 25th to 28th in a lot of categories, there’s a lot to improve on and grow. I kind of hit them right between the eyes in the areas we struggled in the last few years and (where) we want to get better.”
As Feigen details, the Rockets are expected to use a wider variety of defensive schemes this season and are confident that incoming veterans like Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Jeff Green will help implement and communicate the new strategies on the floor.
“We want to be a louder group,” Udoka said. “And Fred even stressed that. We have to talk more. We have to hear each other. That’s been one of the keys. To be a great defensive, offensive group, you have to talk to each other and not try to read each other’s minds. The defense that we’re going to play, it takes a lot of communication, a lot of talk out there.”
Here’s more on the Rockets:
- Jalen Green, who is still a year away from becoming eligible for a rookie scale extension, may be seeking new representation. Two people with knowledge of the situation tell Feigen that Green is considering a handful of options – including Klutch, WME, and Lift Sports – as he mulls the idea of parting ways with CAA. He’s expected to make a decision within the next few weeks.
- Former Findlay forward Josh Bostic is joining Ime Udoka‘s staff as a player development coach, sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bostic went undrafted in 2009 and played professionally for 14 years. While he was in camp with the Pistons in 2014, he never appeared in an NBA regular season game, having spent most of his career in Europe.
- Aaron Holiday, who signed a one-year contract as a free agent this offseason, said he chose the Rockets because he wanted to play for Udoka, likes the talent on the roster, and considers Houston a “pretty cool” city, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). Now, he’s focused on learning what role he’ll play for his new team. “Everywhere I go I would have different roles,” Holiday said. “Sometimes I’m just out there to play defense or shoot shots or get the ball moving or whatever the case may be. So you just have to find your role, and obviously, coach (Udoka) will do a good job helping us. But just do the best at your role. Be a star at your role.”
- In case you missed it, we passed along a series of Rockets notes on Tuesday as well.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Harden, O. Porter, Schröder
The Nets‘ roster, as currently constructed, probably doesn’t have championship upside, but it also features plenty of veterans and isn’t meant to be a rebuilding lottery team. So what does that mean for the club’s expectations this season? The Nets may still be trying to figure that out, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
“I don’t think, as a group, we know our ceiling,” guard Spencer Dinwiddie said. “Knowing that we don’t have our (own first-round) picks, obviously we’re not going to tank. No team that’s trying to be competitive wants to be in the play-in, so I’d say by process of elimination, that’s where you want to start. As high as we can take it, we want to take it.
“… We’re young in terms of our depth, but the people that are going to play are 30, 27, 28. So we’re in a winning position, not necessarily, obviously, a championship position like we were with the superstars. So it’s somewhere in the middle,” Dinwiddie continued. “But we definitely have a lot of youth in terms of our depth, and I think it’s fun to build culture and watch guys grow.”
As Lewis writes, claiming a top-six spot is a reasonable goal for the Nets, but the team will need to take a step forward in order to achieve that goal. Brooklyn went just 13-15 after the trade deadline — that pace wouldn’t have been good enough to qualify for the play-in tournament.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- After arriving in Colorado on Tuesday evening, Sixers guard James Harden is participating in practice with the team on Wednesday, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (story via Tim Bontemps of ESPN). Harden, who continues to seek a trade, skipped media day in Camden on Monday and the first day of training camp at Colorado State University on Tuesday.
- Veteran forward Otto Porter Jr., who was sidelined for most of last season due to a toe injury, was a full participant in the Raptors‘ first practice this week, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. According to Lewenberg, the hope is that Porter, who underwent surgery in January and continued to rehab the injury during the summer, will be available to open the season.
- While it’s unrealistic to expect him to match Fred VanVleet‘s production and replace his leadership, the Raptors are bullish on what Dennis Schröder can do this season after signing a two-year, $25MM+ deal with the team. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca and Lewenberg of TSN.ca note that Schröder’s big summer – including a World Cup gold medal – is a reason for optimism and take a look at the early impression he has made in Toronto.
NBA Roster, Contract Deadlines To Watch In October
After a couple quiet months around the NBA, October is full of important deadlines for roster and contract decisions. Here’s our round-up of the dates to keep an eye on this month:
Regular season roster decisions
The 2023/24 regular season tips off on Tuesday, October 24, which means teams must set their rosters for the season by 4:00 pm Central time on Monday, October 23. To be in accordance with regular season roster limits, a team must be carrying no more than 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.
While teams have until Oct. 23 to set their their regular season rosters, many clubs will make their final cuts on or before Saturday, October 21. That’s the final day that a team can waive a player on a non-guaranteed contract and avoid paying any of his salary.
Because a player gets paid for the time he spends on waivers, a player who is cut on Monday, Oct. 23 wouldn’t clear waivers until Wednesday, Oct. 25, the second day of the regular season. That means that even if his contract is non-guaranteed, he’d earn two days’ worth of his salary.
Teams who intend to waive players with partially or fully guaranteed salaries are in better position to wait until the Monday before the regular season begins. For instance, if the Hornets decide to cut Frank Ntilikina, who has a $200K partial guarantee, it wouldn’t matter if they do so on October 21 or 23 — he’d receive his $200K either way.
However, if the Hornets want to waive Edmond Sumner, whose salary is entirely non-guaranteed, they’d likely do so on the Saturday. Waiting until the Monday would mean paying him $26,973 (2/174ths of his $2,346,614 salary).
Two-way contract conversions
A player on an Exhibit 10 contract can have his deal converted into a two-way contract, but only up until Monday, October 23, the day before the regular season begins.
If a player on an Exhibit 10 contract remains on his team’s roster through that Monday without being converted to a two-way, his Exhibit 10 deal would become a standard non-guaranteed contract.
Since most players on Exhibit 10 contracts will be waived on or before October 21, it’s worth keeping tabs on which of them hang onto their roster spots through that Saturday — those players will be good bets to have their deals converted into two-ways or perhaps even to claim a 15-man roster spot.
Contract extensions
The deadline for a player to sign a rookie scale extension is Monday, October 23 at 5:00 pm Central time.
As of today, six of the 27 players who were eligible for a rookie scale extension entering the offseason have signed one, leaving 21 players who still may be seeking new deals that would keep them off the 2024 free agent market.
Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, Mavericks wing Josh Green, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, and Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu are a few of the notable rookie scale extension candidates to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
As for veteran extension candidates, a player who is extension-eligible and who is in the final year of his current contract can sign an extension at any time before or after the regular season begins, all the way up until June 30, 2024.
However, a player who is eligible for a veteran extension but who is not in a contract year will only be eligible to sign a new deal up until Monday, October 23.
For instance, Warriors swingman Klay Thompson will remain eligible to sign a veteran extension even after the regular season begins, since he’s in the last year of his current contract. But Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has two guaranteed years left, plus a 2025/26 player option, can only sign an extension up until Oct. 23. After that, he’ll become ineligible to sign a new deal until next summer.
Salary guarantee dates
The league-wide salary guarantee date to watch is January 7, 2024. A player on a non-guaranteed contract who isn’t waived by that date and doesn’t clear waivers before January 10 will have his 2023/24 salary become fully guaranteed.
However, certain players have contracts that call for them to receive partial or full guarantees on earlier dates. Our list of early salary guarantee dates shows which players fall into that boat up until the start of the regular season, starting with Raptors guard Jeff Dowtin on Saturday, October 21.
Rookie scale team option decisions
A team that wants to exercise its 2024/25 third- or fourth-year option on a player on a rookie contract must do so on or before Tuesday, October 31.
As our tracker shows, the Heat and Magic have already made their option decisions, while the Celtics, Mavericks, and Lakers don’t have any to make. But the NBA’s other 25 teams will have to pick up or turn down those rookie scale team options for ’24/25 in the coming weeks.
A team that retains a player without exercising his 2024/25 option would put the player on track for unrestricted free agency next offseason. At that point, his team wouldn’t be able to offer him a salary higher than what his option would have been worth, though rival suitors could offer more than that.
Sixers Notes: Harden, Colorado, Harrell, Harris
Although James Harden may be in attendance this week for training camp, it’s unclear what the Sixers can expect from him, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who said in an NBA Today YouTube segment that the star guard may simply intend to put more pressure on the club in the hopes of forcing a change of scenery.
“James Harden wants a trade. He wants to make the 76ers uncomfortable, so uncomfortable, ultimately, that they don’t think that they’re going to get the best out of him, and that they’ll make a trade,” Wojnarowski said. “The Sixers, on the other hand, they want to wait this out and hope they get the best James Harden, the best version of him sooner than later.”
As Wojnarowski explains, the Sixers don’t believe there’s a deal for Harden out there that will maintain or improve their chances of contending for a championship, so hanging onto the former MVP and attempting to reconcile may be the path with the highest upside.
“The difference between the Harden situation and the Ben Simmons situation a couple years ago (is) there were a lot of possible deals out there for Ben Simmons,” Wojnarowski said. “So you would measure them, you would look at them, what they could get. Teams in both conferences had interest in Ben Simmons. This is different. There’s not widespread interest in James Harden.”
Wojnarowski refers to the Clippers as the “most motivated” team to land Harden, given that they want to contend for a title this season and could use a play-making guard, but reiterates that they don’t want to bid against themselves. As for other potential suitors, Woj notes that the Knicks talked to the Sixers earlier in the process, but says New York isn’t particularly enthusiastic to pursue what might be a one-year rental of Harden.
Here’s more on the Sixers:
- Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer confirms that Harden arrived in Colorado on Tuesday night, as expected. However, the 34-year-old remains angry at Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and has “zero intentions of rejoining this group in earnest” even after reporting to camp, sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic.
- Within the same Athletic story, Amick explores the team’s motivation for holding its training camp in Colorado, noting that practicing in altitude was one factor head coach Nick Nurse considered. Getting out from under the spotlight in Philadelphia was another. “Taking the team away, and the old (idea of), ‘Let’s get out and get away and bond and spend some time together,’ that’s still a real thing,” Nurse said. “It’s still a real thing. And as you mentioned, and if I’m being honest with you, yes, I thought that getting away from the media a little bit, and from all of this, could help us so we can focus on basketball.”
- Injured big man Montrezl Harrell, who is recovering from surgery on the torn ACL in his right knee, isn’t with the Sixers in training camp and is expected to remain away from the team while going through the rehab process, tweets Pompey.
- Veteran forward Tobias Harris spoke to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports about Harden’s situation, his early impressions of Nurse, and how several Sixers players on expiring contracts (including himself) will focus on team goals this season.
- With the Harden saga still unresolved and the 76ers’ rivals in Boston and Milwaukee loading up ahead of the 2023/24 season, Pompey suggests in an article for The Philadelphia Inquirer that it’s fair to wonder if the club’s title window has closed.
Magic Exercise 2024/25 Options On Wagner, Suggs, Banchero
The Magic have exercised a series of rookie scale team options, guaranteeing the 2024/25 salaries for forward Franz Wagner, guard Jalen Suggs and forward Paolo Banchero, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.
All three players already had guaranteed salaries for the upcoming season (2023/24). Now they’re locked for in at least one more season beyond that.
Wagner’s and Suggs’ fourth-year options for 2024/25 are worth $7,007,092 and $9,188,385, respectively. Both players will now be eligible for rookie scale extensions next offseason. As for Banchero, he’ll earn $12,160,800 in ’24/25 now that his third-year option has been picked up. Orlando will have to exercise his fourth-year option for ’25/26 next fall.
Wagner averaged 18.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 32.6 minutes per night across 80 appearances in his second NBA season. The 22-year-old forward, who posted a strong shooting line of .485/.361/.842 in 2022/23, helped lead Germany to a World Cup gold medal this summer.
Suggs, the fifth overall pick in 2021, has had a couple up-and-down seasons since going pro, shooting just .387/.271/.752 with averages of 10.8 PPG, 3.6 APG, and 3.3 RPG in 101 total NBA games (25.3 MPG). However, Orlando remains confident enough in his growth to commit to him beyond the coming season.
As for Banchero, the rising star is coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign in which he averaged a team-high 20.0 PPG to go along with 6.9 RPG and 3.7 APG on .427/.298/.738 shooting in 72 games (33.8 MPG). He’ll be looking to improve his shooting efficiency in year two and has spoken about wanting to become an All-Star.
The full list of rookie scale team option decisions, which are due October 31, can be found right here.
Southeast Notes: Heat, Hampton, Banchero, Ewing, Hornets
The Heat only have 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts in training camp, but they haven’t been inclined to add another veteran to their roster because they want to get a good look at their non-guaranteed camp invitees, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
As Jackson outlines, the Heat have a strong track record of finding diamonds in the rough and believe they’ll increase their odds of identifying another potential contributor if they’re focused on giving those young players an opportunity this fall, without another vet “cluttering the equation.”
While the Heat want to give their young players every chance to stand out in camp and the preseason, they also haven’t ruled out the idea of signing a free agent if none of their camp invitees emerges and claims a regular season roster spot. As Jackson observes, the list of unsigned players includes accomplished veterans like Blake Griffin, T.J. Warren, and Terrence Ross, as well as several former members of the Heat, including Kendrick Nunn, Goran Dragic, and Justise Winslow.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- R.J. Hampton was determined to join the Heat this offseason and began working out at Miami’s Kaseya Center alongside Heat players without any guarantee that he would be invited to training camp, according to Jackson. “It was Miami or nothing for me,” Hampton said on Monday. “I’ve been down here, off and on, since the beginning of August. It was almost like [the Heat saying], ‘Come here, do what you do, work hard. We’ll make decisions and talk to your agency and see what happens.'”
- After earning Rookie of the Year honors during his first NBA season, Magic forward Paolo Banchero has his sights set higher in year two, as he tells Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Asked by Beede what a successful season would look like, Banchero replied, “A successful season for Paolo Banchero looks like making the playoffs, being an All-Star and winning the in-season tournament.”
- Patrick Ewing, an assistant coach in Charlotte from 2013-17, has rejoined the Hornets as a coaching consultant, per Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). The former star center was out of the NBA for the last several seasons as he coached at Georgetown, but the Hoyas parted ways with him earlier this year.
- The 2023/24 season is a make-or-break one for the Hornets, according to Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer, who points out that the new ownership team of Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin didn’t make major changes when they took over the franchise earlier this year, but will likely show less patience if the club spends another year in the lottery.
Northwest Notes: Murray, Nuggets, Brogdon, Blazers, Wolves
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is eligible for a contract extension, but it doesn’t sound as if he plans to sign a new deal before the regular season begins.
As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes in a subscriber-only story, Murray told reporters on Monday that “we haven’t had that conversation yet.” General manager Calvin Booth said that the organization is in frequent contact with Murray’s agent Jeff Schwartz, and the impression he has gotten is that they’d “rather play it out.”
Murray is one of a handful of players who would become eligible for a far more lucrative super-max extension if he has an All-NBA season in 2023/24. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone believes the guard is capable of that sort of year.
“My challenge for Jamal is to show that you can do what you did in 20 playoff games,” Malone said, per Durando. “Because what Jamal did in the playoffs was ridiculous. … Now the challenge is, OK, you did it 20 games. You showed the world what you’re capable of. I want Jamal Murray to be an All-Star. I want Jamal Murray to be an All-NBA player. And to do that, what’s he have to do? He’s got to do it in October. He’s got to do it in November. He can’t do the slow start. The guys that are on top of their game, they bring it every single night.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- The Nuggets are optimistic about their chances of winning a second consecutive title in 2024, as stars Murray and Nikola Jokic said at media day on Monday. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN has the story and the quotes.
- Sources who spoke to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic believe the Trail Blazers are open to moving veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon but are happy to hang onto him into the season if no good opportunities arise. With that in mind, Vecenie explores what the market for Brogdon might look like.
- Jason Quick of The Athletic shares some of his takeaways from the Trail Blazers‘ media day, including the fact that the club is bullish about its new frontcourt duo of Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams. “We — by far — have the most athletic two fives as a combo in the league,” head coach Chauncey Billups said. “And teams will understand that when they play against us, on both sides of the floor. … We are going to put a lot of pressure on the paint on the offensive end, and defensively, we will protect the rim. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
- The Timberwolves had the NBA’s 10th-best defensive rating last season and ranked 23rd in offensive rating. This fall, they’re leaning into that defense-first identity rather than focusing more on offense, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “It has to be (defense first). It absolutely has to be,” head coach Chris Finch said. “I say that just because we have the personnel to do that and be that, on and off the ball and at the rim.”
Grizzlies Notes: Morant, Adams, Smart, Rose
Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant won’t be eligible to play until December as he serves his 25-game suspension, but the plan is for him to remain around the team on a full-time basis during that period, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
As Cole writes, team officials consulted with the NBA and confirmed that Morant will be permitted to practice with the Grizzlies and to travel on road trips. He simply can’t be in the arena for games.
“I think it’s great to have, I think it’s great for the group that he can be with us,” Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman told reporters. “The NBA has basically said that as long as Ja continues to stay on track, he is going to be cleared to participate in all team activities.”
Although Morant will be able to take part in practices and scrimmages, he’ll likely be part of the second or third unit during those sessions so that head coach Taylor Jenkins can get a look at the lineups he’ll have available for the first 25 games of the season.
“He and I talked about as we go into camp, it’s a unique situation where even though he’s allowed to practice, I’ve got to start diving into not just what our opening night roster is going to be, but seeing those different combinations,” Jenkins said, per Cole.
Here’s more on the Grizzlies:
- Veteran center Steven Adams, who hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since January due to a right knee injury, has been cleared for live play, but the team will be “conservative” in ramping him up, Kleiman said on Monday (Twitter link via Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian). Adams told reporters that there were some complications during his recovery process, adding that it would be “irresponsible” for him to say he could play a full game right now. However, he believes he’s “in a pretty good spot” (Twitter links via Cole).
- While the veteran leadership that Marcus Smart and Derrick Rose will provide was one reason why the Grizzlies targeted them this offseason, both veterans made it clear on Monday that they’re not in Memphis to “babysit” Morant or any other Grizzlies youngsters, according to Cole and Jonah Dylan of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I’m not here to follow you around, I’m not here to cheerlead, I’m here to push you,” Rose said of how he’ll approach his relationship with Morant. “In the league, there are very few opportunities where players get a chance to play with somebody that has a similar style of play. I’m very fortunate to be in a situation where a lot of people look at his game and they kind of compare our games together. But he’s on a whole other level.”
- Acquired from Boston in a three-team trade in June, Smart is already connecting with his new teammates in Memphis, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “It’s been great,” Smart said on Monday. “As they told you already, I’ve been talking defense in there with those guys, but you realize right away that this is a group of guys that are hungry. They want to win and are trying to get better. They’re asking me questions; we’re laughing and joking, but we’re excited.”
- Iko notes in the same story that Jenkins is open to trying different strategies on offense with Morant out for the first 25 games of the season and will experiment with different lineups in the preseason.