Pacific Notes: C. Johnson, D. Lee, Kuminga, Vezenkov
Suns forward Cameron Johnson, who is recovering from knee surgery and has been out since November 4, has played some 1-on-1 but isn’t yet taking contract, head coach Monty Williams said on Wednesday (Twitter video link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).
While Johnson has a few more hurdles to clear before he’s ready to get back onto the court for the Suns, general manager James Jones indicated on Wednesday that the 26-year-old is entering the final stage of his rehab process, according to Kellan Olson of Arizona Sports 98.7.
“He’s in the latter stages of it but as far as a definitive timeline I don’t have anything,” Jones said during a radio appearance on Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo. “I do know at some point soon we should get him back. I just can’t tell you if that’s going to be in five days, 10 days, but every day he’s getting closer.”
The banged-up Suns have also been without Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, Cameron Payne, and Landry Shamet as of late, so getting Johnson back would provide the team with a huge lift.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Current Suns and former Warriors guard Damion Lee, Stephen Curry‘s brother-in-law, finally got his 2022 championship ring when his team played in Golden State on Tuesday. Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic takes an in-depth look at what was a memorable day for Lee, who helped upset his old team by going 14-for-14 from the free throw line and scoring a season-high 22 points.
- With Jonathan Kuminga getting close to returning from a right foot sprain that has kept him out of action since December 30, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he’ll welcome the “physicality and athleticism” the second-year forward brings to the lineup. “I thought last game against Phoenix (on Tuesday) we were not physical enough,” Kerr said, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Phoenix came in and really took it to us. They were physical, they were aggressive on the boards.”
- In an interview with BasketNews, Kings draft-and-stash prospect Sasha Vezenkov clarified that the extension he recently signed with Olympiacos in Greece doesn’t rule out the possibility of him making a move to the NBA this summer or in a future season, since the deal includes a buyout estimated to be worth $1.5MM. “Before the contract and after the contract, I’m in the same position,” Vezenkov said.
Mavs Notes: Doncic, Cuban, Wood, Green, Finney-Smith
Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who outdueled LeBron James in double overtime on Thursday night, is leading the NBA with 34.3 points per game this season and recently became the sixth-youngest player in league history to surpass the 8,000-point mark for his career.
With James on track to supplant Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer later this season, could Doncic be a candidate to eventually take that record from LeBron? When Tim MacMahon of ESPN approached him to discuss that possibility, Doncic shut down the conversation before it even started.
“If you’re saying me, there’s no way, because I’m not playing that much,” Doncic said.
As MacMahon notes, it’s the second time recently that Doncic has suggested he doesn’t necessarily envision himself spending enough time in the NBA to challenge for those sorts of career records. He said something similar when responding to a comment made by Dirk Nowitzki about the possibility of Luka matching Dirk’s record of 21 seasons with a single franchise.
“I don’t know about 20 years,” Doncic said. “That’s a long time to play basketball. I’d rather go back to my farm in Slovenia.”
Here’s more on the Mavs:
- Team owner Mark Cuban may be facing a fine from the NBA after complaining on Twitter about the whistle in Thursday night’s win over the Lakers. “Stan Van Gundy is absolutely right,” Cuban tweeted, referring to comments the analyst made on TNT’s broadcast. “Worst officiated game. Luka gets no respect. Unreal.”
- In a Q&A with Mark Medina of NBA.com, Mavericks big man Christian Wood spoke about his relationship with Doncic, the Mavs’ championship potential, how he dealt with coming off the bench to start the season, and his desire to make an All-Star team, among other topics.
- Mavericks wing Josh Green has been out since December 9 due to a sprained right elbow, but his return appears to be around the corner. On Wednesday, he went through a full practice and scrimmaged for the first time since the injury, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News and MacMahon (Twitter links).
- Green sounds closer to a return than forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who has been sidelined since December 19 with a right adductor strain. Finney-Smith is making progress and doing some on-court work, but hasn’t yet been cleared to practice, tweets Townsend.
Pacers Rumors: Power Forward, Duarte, Collins, Turner, Bitadze
The growing sense among rival teams is that the 23-19 Pacers could be a buyer, rather than a seller, at this season’s trade deadline, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
Fischer acknowledges that Indiana’s trade deadline outlook could certainly be altered if Tyrese Haliburton‘s foot injury causes him to miss an extended period. Fischer also adds a caveat to the team’s potential status as a buyer — the Pacers won’t be in the market for short-term veterans like Jae Crowder or Bojan Bogdanovic, but will have an eye out for players who could be long-term fits.
According to Fischer, power forward is the spot the Pacers would most like to upgrade. Indiana was high on Keegan Murray prior to the 2022 draft, and while the club was happy to ultimately land Bennedict Mathurin at No. 6, missing out on Murray means the power forward position remains a priority going forward.
If they want to get aggressive, the Pacers will have a couple extra 2023 first-round picks to dangle in trade talks, having acquired Cleveland’s and Boston’s first-rounders. Additionally, while Indiana viewed Chris Duarte as off limits at one point, multiple front office sources tell Fischer that the team has been more willing to discuss him in recent talks.
Here’s more on the Pacers’ plans:
- Indiana has had internal discussions about the possibility of pursuing Hawks power forward John Collins, according to Fischer, who notes that Duarte and draft capital might appeal to Atlanta. The Hawks previously pitched the idea of trading Collins to the Pelicans for Trey Murphy and a first-round pick, Fischer explains. The fact that the Pacers could absorb Collins into their cap room without sending out matching salary could also intrigue the Hawks, who are right around the luxury tax line.
- The Pacers and Myles Turner‘s representatives at CAA continue to discuss a possible renegotiation-and-extension for the veteran center, sources tell Yahoo Sports. Fischer suggests that the four-year, $133MM offer sheet Indiana gave Deandre Ayton in July would be an “obvious benchmark” for Turner’s side to use in contract negotiations.
- Trade rumors involving Turner have slowed down as of late, Fischer observes. Teams like the Hornets, Pelicans, Mavericks, and Lakers have been viewed as potential suitors in the past, but don’t appear to be targeting Turner at this point. If the 26-year-old ends up back on the trade block, the Knicks, Raptors, and Clippers could be fits, Fischer writes.
- The most likely Pacers center to be traded is Goga Bitadze, according to Fischer, who hears from sources that the club would be willing to work with Bitadze’s representatives to find him a new team. Daniel Theis is due back from injury soon and Bitadze hasn’t had much of a role even with Theis out. The fourth-year center also hasn’t been interested in accepting an assignment to the Pacers’ G League team in Fort Wayne, says Fischer.
Bulls Rumors: Williams, Caruso, White, Vucevic, DeRozan, Dosunmu
Based on his conversations with executives around the NBA, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype doesn’t believe Patrick Williams or Alex Caruso are on the trade block for the Bulls, as he told guest K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago in the latest episode of the HoopsHype podcast.
One executive who spoke to Scotto suggested the Bulls may have “devalued” Williams by holding onto him until now, but Johnson questions whether the No. 4 overall pick really had a ton of value last season or this past summer, given that a major injury limited him to 17 games in 2021/22.
Johnson and Scotto agree that Caruso would bring back a strong return if the Bulls were to make him available, with Johnson suggesting that Chicago could probably get a first-round pick and a player in exchange for the defensive-minded guard.
However, Johnson still believes the Bulls are more likely to buy than sell at the trade deadline. In that scenario, Johnson believes Coby White would be in whatever package Chicago sends out, perhaps packaged with Portland’s lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick. The Grizzlies previously had interest in White, Johnson adds, though it’s unclear if Memphis would still be a suitor at this point.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- The general consensus among executives around the league, according to Scotto, is that the Bulls are likely to keep center Nikola Vucevic beyond this season. The veteran center wouldn’t have a ton of value on the trade market and there’s a belief that Chicago won’t want to lose him for nothing in free agency after giving up so much to acquire him from Orlando.
- Johnson would be surprised if the Bulls move any of their Big Three at this season’s deadline, but suggests DeMar DeRozan would have the most trade value and that Zach LaVine would also draw interest. Johnson notes that Chicago will face an interesting decision on DeRozan this summer, since he’ll be entering a contract year and “you can bet” he’ll be seeking an extension.
- One NBA exec, speaking to Scotto, had the following to say about Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu, who can be a restricted free agent this summer: “Nobody will put a big offer sheet on him. His situation reminds me of Josh Hart. He could get that type of contract or bet on himself and take the qualifying offer.” As a restricted free agent in 2021, Hart signed a three-year, $38MM contract that wasn’t fully guaranteed; Johnson believes Dosunmu could end up with a three- or four-year deal in the range of $10-12MM per year.
Jazz Notes: Olynyk, Sexton, Mitchell, Trade Deadline
Jazz big man Kelly Olynyk will be sidelined for at least one week due to a left ankle sprain, tweets Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Olynyk will receive treatment on his injured ankle and will be reevaluated next Wednesday.
After missing four games as a result of a sprained left ankle last month, Olynyk had been back for seven contests before re-injuring the same ankle on Sunday. He sat out Utah’s win over Cleveland on Tuesday and the timeline announced by the team means he’ll also be unavailable for games on Friday (vs. Orlando), Saturday (vs. Philadelphia), and Monday (at Minnesota) before being reassessed.
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- A hamstring issue has kept reserve guard Collin Sexton on the shelf for Utah’s last five games, but he appears to be nearing a return. According to Walden (Twitter link), Sexton is set to participate fully in Thursday’s practice before the team determines his status for Friday’s game.
- Donovan Mitchell‘s 46 points weren’t enough to get the Cavaliers a win in Utah on Tuesday, but the former Jazz star still enjoyed his return to Salt Lake City, where he spent the first five years of his NBA career. Mitchell said it “was great to be back” and expressed relief to hear cheers instead of jeers from the fans in Utah, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “I was prepared for both,” said Mitchell said, who made comments in a recent interview about the racial dynamic in Utah. “I had plenty of time to think about it. But when you get that, that’s what made it feel comfortable. When you hear your name introduced, you hear the fans screaming it, you see everybody courtside, wearing your jerseys, screaming your name, that’s what allows you to feel comfortable and it is a sigh of relief.”
- The Jazz have slipped in the standings following a hot start, but their 21-23 record still puts them in a play-in spot. How the next few weeks play out will likely go a long way toward determining how their trade deadline plays out, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News, who notes that it would be harder to justify selling off assets if the club has another hot streak before February 9.
Spurs’ Tre Jones Meets Starter Criteria, Increases QO
Spurs guard Tre Jones started his 41st game of the season on Wednesday night in Memphis, meeting the “starter criteria” and increasing the value of his qualifying offer when he reaches free agency, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Jones is the second restricted-free-agent-to-be to meet the starter criteria this season, joining Hornets forward P.J. Washington. As we explained on Wednesday after Washington made his 41st start, one of the ways for a player to meet the criteria is to start at least half of his team’s games during the season before he reaches free agency.
As the 41st overall pick in the 2020 draft, Jones would have been eligible this coming offseason for a qualifying offer worth $2,228,276 (125% of his current $1,782,621 salary). However, as a result of meeting the starter criteria, the former Duke standout is now eligible for a QO equivalent to what the 21st overall pick from the 2019 draft would receive if he had signed for 100% of his rookie scale amount. That figure works out to $5,216,324.
Jones is in the midst of a breakout season as San Antonio’s starting point guard, averaging 13.5 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per night in 29.9 minutes of action. Like Washington, he’s a good candidate for a multiyear contract that will far exceed his qualifying offer amount, so even after increasing by about $3MM, that QO could ultimately function as a placeholder.
Still, Jones’ qualifying offer bump could have a bit more of an impact than Washington’s, since his QO will also be his cap hold. As a result, the increase from $2.2MM to $5.2MM will reduce the Spurs’ projected cap space by approximately $3MM.
Of course, there’s still a scenario in which Jones doesn’t even make it to restricted free agency. Because he wasn’t a first-round pick, Jones will remain extension-eligible for the rest of the season, so the Spurs could take him off the 2023 market by locking him up to a new deal before then. The 23-year-old’s maximum in-season extension would be worth about $58MM over four years.
Pacers’ Haliburton Injures Knee, Leaves Arena On Crutches
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton left Madison Square Garden on crutches on Wednesday night after injuring his left knee in the second half of Indiana’s game against the Knicks, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
With just over two-and-a-half minutes left in the third quarter, Haliburton drove to the basket for a layup attempt and lost his right shoe while falling awkwardly to the court (video link). He hurt both his left knee and left elbow on the play, per Bontemps, though it sounds like the knee is the more pressing concern.
“He’ll get looked at (Thursday) closely,” head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters after the game. “He’s walking out of Madison Square Garden on crutches, so I would guess his availability on Friday (vs. Atlanta) will be in question, and probably Saturday (vs. Memphis), too.
“But who knows. One of the great things about Tyrese is he has been banged up the last year and a half that he’s been with us and he always wants to play. He always wants to play, and it’s something that’s really helped our culture as a team. So we’ll hope for the best. We’re surely not going to put him in harm’s way.”
The Pacers, viewed during the preseason as one of the East’s worst teams, have significantly exceeded outside expectations so far in 2022/23. Their 23-19 record puts them in a tie with New York for the No. 6 seed in the conference, and Haliburton has been a huge part of that success.
Through 40 games, the third-year point guard has made a strong case for an All-Star spot, averaging 20.2 points, a league-leading 10.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 33.4 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .480/.399/.880.
Haliburton’s injury came on the same night that the Pacers were without starting center Myles Turner, who was a late scratch due to back spasms, per Bontemps.
“We finished our team meeting, and Myles had a spasm, a reaction in his back. It tightened up pretty significantly. Trainers worked on him for a while, and then he was ruled out,” Carlisle said.
Making it clear that Turner’s unexpected absence was the result of his back ailment and not a trade, Carlisle reiterated a point he made earlier in the season, telling reporters that he has “no interest” in trading the big man. As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star notes (via Twitter), the decision on Turner’s future will ultimately be up to Indiana’s front office, but Carlisle is ensuring that his position is known.
Suns Sign Saben Lee To 10-Day Contract
4:35pm: Lee’s deal is now official, the Suns announced (via Twitter).
10:35am: The Suns have reached a contract agreement with guard Saben Lee and will sign him to a 10-day deal, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The 38th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Lee spent his first two NBA seasons with the Pistons, first on a two-way pact and then on a standard contract. He appeared in 85 total games for the team, averaging 5.6 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .434/.265/.731.
Lee was traded from Detroit to Utah in September’s Bojan Bogdanovic deal and was subsequently released by the Jazz. After clearing waivers, he signed a training camp contract with the Suns, but his initial stint in Phoenix was short-lived — he was cut by the team during the preseason.
Since the start of the regular season, Lee has had two separate stints in the G League with the Raptors 905, sandwiching a one-month stay in Philadelphia on a two-way contract with the Sixers. In 15 total appearances in the NBAGL’s Showcase Cup with the Raptors’ and 76ers’ affiliates, he averaged 23.3 PPG on an impressive .531 FG% while also contributing 6.5 APG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.5 SPG.
Lee will help fortify a Phoenix backcourt that has been bitten by the injury bug in recent weeks. Devin Booker remains sidelined due to a left groin strain, Cameron Payne is out with a right foot sprain, and Chris Paul and Landry Shamet both missed Tuesday’s game due to hip problems (it was Paul’s second consecutive missed game).
No corresponding move will be necessary for the Suns, who have an open spot on their 15-man roster. As a result of his two years of NBA experience, Lee will earn approximately $106K on his 10-day deal with Phoenix, as our chart shows.
Pacific Notes: Clippers, Powell, Kawhi, Warriors, Metu
Last week, with the Clippers in the midst of a six-game losing streak that dropped their overall record to 21-21, veteran swingman Norman Powell spoke to his teammates to reiterate his confidence in the group and to remind them what they’re capable of, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Powell, along with Kawhi Leonard, was a member of the Raptors team that won a championship in 2019 and believes this year’s Clippers have a similar ceiling.
“I talked to the team. I told them: ‘This team is deeper than the Raptors team I was on. It’s all about identity and who we are and how we’re going to play,'” Powell said. “I feel like every team goes through it. If you look back at championship teams and top teams, there’s always a point in the season where you get here. And we’ve been here a couple times for whatever reason it is, and it’s just gutting up and taking it and coming out of it.”
The 2018/19 Raptors were far more consistent than this year’s Clippers have been, but Powell pointed to a stretch in January 2019 when Toronto lost three of four games (the third at home to Milwaukee on national TV) as a turning point for that club. There’s hope that the Clippers’ recent slide can galvanize this team in the same way and compel them to play with more urgency in the second half.
“The identity of who we are every single night that we’re on the floor is the biggest thing that we have to figure out, and that doesn’t matter who’s suiting up that night,” Powell said. “It’s just, we’re going to be a hard-nosed, tough-playing defense. We’re going to be an offense that moves the ball, attacks you, puts pressure on the rim and generates open shots. And that’s not — PG (Paul George) doesn’t have to play for that, Kawhi doesn’t have to play for that. That’s just an identity and style of basketball we have to start really locking into now.”
The Clippers snapped their losing streak and got back over .500 with a victory over Dallas on Tuesday.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- After leading the Clippers past Luka Doncic and the Mavs on Tuesday by scoring a season-high 33 points in 36 minutes, Kawhi Leonard acknowledged that he’s relieved to no longer be on the minutes limit that he faced earlier in the season. “If you’re basing it on minute restriction, it is frustrating,” Leonard said, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Because I’m not going in there jacking shots, so I’m trying to play team basketball. It was frustrating (with the restriction). We were losing games. From a minute restriction, I’m not the only one either that was on it. Guys have been in and out the lineup all year, getting injured.”
- The Warriors had their full starting lineup available on Tuesday for the first time since December 3, but lost at home to the shorthanded Suns in a game that showed Stephen Curry and the rest of the rotation still have dust to shake off, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Curry, who scored 16 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, said he “felt like myself again” by the end of the game. “I’m hoping that fourth quarter was the team that I have come to know and love and recognize,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “But we have to show in the first quarter, not in the fourth quarter.”
- Chimezie Metu rejoined the Kings‘ rotation as the backup center on Monday for the first time since early December and had his best game of the season, with 11 points and nine rebounds in 14 minutes. The performance went a long way toward rebuilding head coach Mike Brown‘s trust in Metu, according to Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. Brown said he thought the big man “relaxed just a little bit” before losing his spot in the rotation last month.
Lakers Notes: LeBron, Future Draft Picks, Christie
Although there has been some recent speculation about the possibility of Lakers star LeBron James eventually asking out of Los Angeles, ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Dave McMenamin said on the latest episode of The Lowe Post that they haven’t heard anything to suggest that will happen.
“I keep hearing he wants to stay with the Lakers. He wants to finish his career with the Lakers,” Lowe said, per RealGM. “His comments (about wanting to win) should be interpreted as his patience is not infinite and if this is just a continued morass of losing, maybe that changes. But if you force me to bet, I’d still bet on him finishing his career with the Lakers. And I’d feel pretty confident in that.”
As we’ve written multiple times, James can’t be traded this season. While it’s not out of the question that he could request a trade in the summer, the expectation is that even if the Lakers don’t use their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks as trade ammunition during the current season, they’ll still be willing to do so during the offseason, when they’ll have more cap flexibility and more options. If that’s the case, it’s not hard to imagine LeBron being comfortable with his situation in Los Angeles heading into 2023/24.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- In an opinion column for USA Today, Jeff Zillgitt questions why the Lakers aren’t more willing to use their resources (including those two future first-round picks) to upgrade in the short term. As Zillgitt observes, James is still playing at an All-NBA level at age 38 and no obvious frontrunner has emerged in the Western Conference — there’s no guarantee that both of those things will be true again next season.
- Besides the fact that he’s unlikely to still be with the Lakers by the time they make both picks, James probably doesn’t care much about the team’s 2027 and 2029 first-rounders for another reason, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Insider link). As Windhorst lays out, James’ teams have only drafted a first-rounder and teamed him with LeBron in five of his 20 seasons, and none of those one-time prospects (including J.J. Hickson, Norris Cole, and Shannon Brown) came close to becoming an All-Star.
- He wasn’t a first-round pick, but Lakers rookie Max Christie is looking like another diamond in the rough for the franchise, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. As Buha details, Christie – who says he’s exceeding his own expectations so far in his rookie year – is relishing the opportunity to learn from former MVPs like James and Russell Westbrook. “He’s figuring it out, man,” Westbrook said. “He’s young. He’s going to be in this league for a long time. I’m happy to be here to help him start his career and make things easier for him. Hopefully, he’ll continue learning, continue listening, and he’s going to do so many great things in the league.”