Eastern Notes: Heat, Crowder, Embiid, Magic, Bulls
The Heat have frequently been cited as a potential trade suitor for Suns forward Jae Crowder, but a source who has spoken to Miami’s front office believes the Heat may only be interested in Crowder if he’s bought out, reports Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
Jackson adds that the Heat would likely still have interest in trading for Crowder if the Suns are willing to accept a “bad contract,” which is presumably a reference to Duncan Robinson‘s deal — it still has three years and $57MM+ left after this season. However, the Suns won’t want to take on Robinson and are a good bet to eventually find a deal they like for Crowder without having to resort to a buyout. In other words, if Jackson’s source is right, it sounds like Miami is a long shot to land the veteran forward.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- The Sixers will be without star center Joel Embiid on Wednesday vs. Indiana due to left foot soreness, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid landed on Jaxson Hayes‘ foot during the fourth quarter of Monday’s game vs. New Orleans, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link), who says the big man will be considered day-to-day moving forward.
- Magic center Wendell Carter and swingman Gary Harris have played limited roles since returning from injuries on December 23 — neither player has seen more than 25 minutes of action in any of their three games back. However, Carter and Harris will have their minutes restrictions lifted on Wednesday, per head coach Jamahl Mosley. Orlando still has four players serving suspensions and will have just nine players available vs. Oklahoma City, tweets Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel.
- Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago evaluates 11 hypothetical – and perhaps far-fetched – deadline trades for the Bulls submitted by fans.
Obi Toppin Cleared To Return For Knicks
Knicks forward Obi Toppin will be available for Wednesday’s home game against the Spurs, the team announced today (via Twitter).
Toppin has missed the Knicks’ last 13 contests due to a non-displaced fracture in his right fibula head. He sustained the injury on December 7 vs. Atlanta.
A former eighth overall pick, Toppin was a regular part of New York’s rotation prior to his injury, appearing in all 25 of the team’s games and averaging 17.1 minutes per night. He contributed 7.7 PPG and 3.8 RPG on .421/.351/.824 shooting in his part-time role. However, it doesn’t sound as if Toppin will be immediately reinserted into the Knicks’ rotation.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters on Wednesday that the 24-year-old will assume a “situational” role, which is typically what he says about players who only see garbage-time minutes, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Although Toppin has been cleared to return, he’ll need more practice time to get fully back up to speed, adds Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Knicks point guard Derrick Rose, who missed Monday’s game due to a left knee contusion, will also be available on Wednesday, per the team, and will also play a “situational” role, per Thibodeau (Twitter link via Begley).
Health Updates: LeBron, Walker, Prince, Bucks, SGA
LeBron James has been helping to keep the Lakers in the play-in race, averaging 36.6 points per game on 58.5% shooting during the club’s 3-2 road trip that wrapped up on Monday.
However, James won’t be available when the Lakers return home and host the Heat on Wednesday. He has been ruled out for the game due to a non-COVID illness, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Lakers guard Lonnie Walker will also miss his third consecutive contest, McMenamin adds. Previously listed as out due to a tailbone contusion, Walker is now on the injury report with left knee soreness.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince intends to make his return to action on Wednesday night vs. Portland, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Prince, who was dealing with a right shoulder subluxation, last played on November 23 — he has missed Minnesota’s last 20 games.
- After playing on Tuesday night vs. Washington, Jrue Holiday (non-COVID illness) and Joe Ingles (left knee injury management) have been ruled out for the second half of the Bucks‘ back-to-back set on Wednesday in Toronto, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Khris Middleton (right knee soreness) and George Hill (non-COVID illness) will also remain sidelined.
- Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed Tuesday’s game due to a non-COVID illness, but he’s not on Wednesday’s injury report, so it appears he’ll be available tonight in Orlando, tweets Rylan Stiles of Locked on Thunder.
Hornets Deny Being Engaged In Talks With Miles Bridges
A report published two days before Christmas last month indicated that the Hornets and forward Miles Bridges were discussing a possible contract and were “gathering traction” in their negotiations. However, the Hornets deny that they’re in talks with the restricted free agent, according to Paige Masten of The Charlotte Observer.
“We have not been engaged in contract negotiations with Miles Bridges,” the Hornets told Masten in a statement.
Bridges was on track to be one of the top free agents in the class of 2022, but was arrested and charged with felony domestic abuse just days before his rookie contract expired, casting doubt on his NBA future. He was accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend in front of their two children.
Bridges ultimately worked out a plea deal with prosecutors in Los Angeles County, agreeing to plead no contest to one charge of felony domestic violence while two child abuse counts were dismissed. The 24-year-old avoided jail time by accepting three years of probation. He was ordered to attend a year’s worth of domestic violence counseling sessions and parenting classes in addition to completing 100 hours of community service.
Given the details of Bridges’ case, the Hornets are sure to face criticism if they bring back the forward, who may face a lengthy suspension from the NBA before he’s allowed to play. With that in mind, it’s hard to know with any certainty how genuine their statement is.
It’s notable that the Hornets didn’t rush to dispute Adrian Wojnarowski’s report about their alleged talks with Bridges when it was published in December. It’s also worth noting that the Hornets said they “have not been engaged” in discussions with Bridges, rather than simply stating they “have not engaged” in negotiations with him — there may be some semantics at play there, with the team indicating that the talks haven’t been ongoing.
According to Masten, the Hornets declined to comment when asked if they’ve ruled out the possibility of bringing back Bridges.
Based on Woj’s report last month and the fact that the Hornets haven’t made a clear effort to distance themselves from Bridges, I suspect he’ll be back under contract with Charlotte at some point. Still, the team’s statement to Masten suggests it might yet be a while before it happens.
Pistons Hire Brian Adams As Assistant Coach
JANUARY 4: The Pistons have announced the addition of Adams to their staff in a press release, the team’s PR department tweets.
DECEMBER 31: The Pistons are adding another assistant coach to their ranks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports that Brian Adams is joining Monty Williams‘ staff.
After working as a video coordinator for several years in Boston under Doc Rivers, Adams served as an assistant coach with multiple NCAA programs, including Harvard. He eventually joined the Clippers’ staff as a coaching associate under Rivers in 2014 and was named the head coach of Los Angeles’ G League affiliate in 2018.
Adams left the Clippers organization along with Rivers in 2020 and became an assistant on the Sixers’ staff from 2020-23 before departing Philadelphia following Rivers’ dismissal this past offseason.
Adams subsequently accepted a job as the head coach of Taipei in Taiwan’s T1 League for the 2023/24 season, but according to Wojnarowski, he’s returning stateside and joining the Pistons on their upcoming Western Conference road trip, which begins on Monday and runs through January 7.
As Woj notes, the Pistons have been missing a member of Williams’ bench for nearly the entire season, with assistant Dan Burke away from the club for personal reasons. Williams said just over a month ago that the veteran coach was still part of his staff, but the hiring of Adams is a sign that Detroit may not expect Burke back anytime soon.
And-Ones: Campazzo, Vildoza, Two-Ways, Rookies
Serbian team Crvena Zvezda has been sanctioned by the EuroLeague for overdue payments to players and will be prohibited from registering new players until February 28, per BasketNews.com.
That means that former Nuggets and Mavericks point guard Facundo Campazzo, who reached a contract agreement with the team after being waived by Dallas, may not be able to suit up in EuroLeague games until March.
Crvena Zvezda issued a statement calling the sanctions “extremely severe” and announcing that they intend to fight them (link via BasketNews).
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Argentinian guard Luca Vildoza, currently a member of Crvena Zvezda, spent time with the Knicks and Bucks from 2021-22, but injuries and timing prevented him from ever getting a real chance to earn a rotation spot. While Vildoza has some good memories from his time in the NBA, including practicing with Giannis Antetokounmpo, he’s disappointed that things didn’t work out for him stateside. “It’s painful that I didn’t have the right chance,” Vildoza said (link via Eurohoops). “But I’m here now, and I try not to think about it.”
- NBA teams seem more inclined this season to use their two-way contract slots to churn through back-of-the-roster players, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link), who notes that the Heat have signed five different players to seven total two-way deals since July. That trend may continue even when the 10-day contract signing period opens on Thursday, since two-way players don’t count against the cap or tax, Marks writes.
- In the latest update to his rookie rankings for 2022/23, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has moved Thunder guard Jalen Williams and Hawks forward AJ Griffin into third and fourth place, respectively. Both players are providing relatively steady and efficient production as starting wings, Vecenie says, adding that Griffin’s floor spacing, in particular, has been crucial in Atlanta.
Moritz Wagner To Begin Serving Suspension On Wednesday
Magic forward Moritz Wagner will begin serving his two-game suspension for his role in last week’s on-court altercation with the Pistons on Wednesday night when Orlando hosts the Thunder, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
The original plan was for Wagner to start serving his suspension on December 30, when the Magic faced Washington. However, he was unable to play in that game due to an illness, and league rules state that suspensions don’t begin until the player is physically able to play.
As a result, Wagner will miss both Wednesday’s game vs. Oklahoma City and Thursday’s contest vs. Memphis.
Eight other Magic players received one-game suspensions for leaving the bench during that incident in Detroit. Five of those players served their one-game bans last Friday, but three others will join Wagner on the inactive list tonight vs. OKC — his brother Franz Wagner and two-way players Admiral Schofield and Kevon Harris are serving their suspensions on Wednesday.
Atlantic Notes: Watanabe, Irving, Raptors, Sixers
Yuta Watanabe is leading the NBA with a .521 3PT%, but he hasn’t been earning playing time for the Nets solely because of his three-point shooting, according to head coach Jacque Vaughn.
“He’s doing a little bit (of) everything,” Vaughn said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “… He’s getting his hands on balls, whether that’s being in the paint and plugging the paint, coming back and tipping balls. Being around the basketball and being in a good position, great drive to the rim, which was aggressive. So he’s grown as a basketball player.”
Watanabe has averaged a career-high 19.2 minutes per game this season for the Nets while playing on a minimum-salary contract that technically remains non-guaranteed. It’s a safe bet to assume the 28-year-old forward will remain with the club through January 7, which is the deadline for teams to waive players on non-guaranteed contracts and avoid paying their full-season salaries.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- At one point this fall, Kyrie Irving‘s NBA future beyond this season seemed up in the air, but the star guard has been reaffirming his case for a maximum-salary contract with his play in recent weeks, Mark W. Sanchez for The New York Post writes. It also no longer seems outlandish that Irving could remain in Brooklyn beyond this season, though it remains to be seen whether the Nets or any other team will be open to making a long-term offer.
- Given the talent on the Raptors‘ roster, potential buyers around the NBA are keeping a close eye on Toronto and may be reluctant to move forward on other deals until they see if the Raptors will be sellers, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “Toronto are the first domino,” a league source who has been monitoring the Raptors told Grange. “What they do will affect teams all across the league: Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Atlanta – not that it’s about deals with any particular team, just that people are going to be waiting to see what the Raptors do before they make their moves. Toronto could set the market.”
- Injuries have prevented the Sixers from taking an extended look at three-guard lineups this season, but they got a chance to do so on Monday night, with P.J. Tucker logging just 18 minutes. Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice explores the pros and cons of those guard-heavy five-man units — especially the ones featuring James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, and De’Anthony Melton.
Raptors Notes: January, Achiuwa, Porter, VanVleet
This January will be one of the Raptors‘ most important regular season months in the last decade, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who writes that Toronto’s year could begin one of two ways — either the team starts playing better and begins to fulfill its promise, or its struggles continue and Masai Ujiri will have to seriously consider whether to break up the Raptors’ core.
The crucial month got off to a disappointing start on Monday as the Raptors lost 122-114 to the Pacers in Indiana, falling to 16-21 on the season. It’s the type of game Toronto will need to start winning more often than not, but Indiana looked like the deeper and better team on Monday, says Koreen.
The Raptors’ schedule leading up to the trade deadline is favorable, as Koreen writes, with 14 of 19 games against teams currently in either play-in or lottery position. They’ll also play their next six games at home, so if they’re going to make a move up the standings, it will probably need to start soon.
Here’s more out of Toronto:
- Big man Precious Achiuwa, who had been out since November 9 due to a right ankle injury, returned to the court on Monday and recorded three points and three blocked shots in 12 minutes. He admitted after the game that his conditioning could use some work, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. “I was so out of breath it was crazy,” Achiuwa said of his first four-minute stint. “I was so tired I couldn’t even drink water. It felt like I was going to pass out.” He added that he began to feel better during his later minutes.
- Asked today if Otto Porter Jr. is making progress in recovery from his foot injury, head coach Nick Nurse didn’t offer much reason for enthusiasm, tweets Lewenberg. “He’s not, he’s not,” Nurse said. As Lewenberg notes (via Twitter), the hope was that Porter, who saw a specialist for his dislocated toe in mid-December, would be able to avoid surgery and return in January, but his outlook is cloudier now.
- Prior to Monday’s loss to Indiana, Fred VanVleet said he welcomes a tough-love approach from Nurse and is prepared to dish out some of that tough love to his teammates too if need be. “What would you rather have? Somebody rubbing your shoulders and telling you everything’s going to be OK? No,” VanVleet said, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “We’ve got a standard around here that we try to play to, and it’s not even results-based. It’s based on performances, and the last couple performances where we just don’t show up to play, that’s unacceptable.”
Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid Earn Player Of The Month Honors
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Sixers center Joel Embiid have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for December, the league announced today (via Twitter).
Both Doncic and Embiid are perennial All-NBA players when healthy, but December was an extraordinary month even by their lofty standards.
The Mavericks, who the month of December as a .500 team (10-10), went 11-4 in the games Doncic played (11-6 overall). The three-time All-Star averaged 35.1 points, 9.3 assists, and 8.5 rebounds in 36.3 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .519/.424/.752. Doncic had three 50-point games during the month, including a 60-point, 21-rebound, 10-assist performance against the Knicks last Tuesday.
Embiid’s Sixers also moved up the standings in December, winning nine of their 13 games. Embiid was a major factor in that run, averaging 35.4 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 4.2 APG, and 1.8 BPG on .545/.417/.858 shooting in 36.1 MPG. He scored at least 44 points on three separate occasions, including pouring in 53 on Dec. 11 in a win over Charlotte.
Jayson Tatum, who won the East’s Player of the Month award for October/November, was among the conference’s long list of nominees for December. Jaylen Brown, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Donovan Mitchell, Pascal Siakam, and Franz Wagner also received consideration, according to the NBA (Twitter link).
In the West, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Lauri Markkanen, Ja Morant, Domantas Sabonis, and Zion Williamson were nominated for the award (Twitter link).