Lakers Notes: Davis, James, Injuries, DeRozan
The Lakers aren’t technically out of playoff contention yet, but after falling two games (and a tiebreaker) behind San Antonio in the Western Conference standings on Sunday, their odds of claiming a spot in the play-in tournament are increasingly slim — in fact, the Lakers could be officially eliminated as soon as Tuesday if they lose in Phoenix and the Spurs win in Denver.
Following Sunday’s loss, Anthony Davis sounded like someone who recognized that L.A.’s season is all but over, as he reflected on “what could have been” if the team had been healthier.
“I think the biggest thing that I think about personally is what we could have been, had we stayed healthy all year,” Davis said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “What could we have been. … Guys feel like, ‘OK, what could we have been if I was healthy all year, [LeBron James] was healthy, [Kendrick] Nunn was healthy.’ You think about those things. We put this team together and it looked good on paper, but we haven’t had a chance to reach that potential with guys in and out of the lineup.”
Davis, who has only played in half of the Lakers’ 78 games so far this season, has been bothered throughout his career by injuries, but he bristled at the perception that he’s fragile, telling Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times that he hasn’t been sidelined due to “little ticky-tack injuries.”
“This is what I’ve learned about injuries,” Davis said. “Last year when I wasn’t playing, people were saying, ‘AD’s giving up on his team. It’s the playoffs. AD has to play. He’s got to play.’ And when I went out there to play, got hurt again, they said, ‘Who was his trainer? Who let him play?’
“So, what the [expletive] do you want me to do? When I play, it’s a problem. It’s a problem when I don’t play. At the end of the day, I’ve got to do what’s best for me and how my body feels. And we go from there. I’m not worried about who’s saying what or who thinks this about me because none of them have stepped on the floor and played. And the ones that did play, they should understand.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- A source familiar with James’ status told Dave McMenamin of ESPN that the star forward is “unlikely” to play on Tuesday vs. Phoenix. However, according to McMenamin, the source said there’s still a chance that could change if LeBron’s ankle improves more than expected by tomorrow night.
- Jovan Buha of The Athletic and his colleague John Hollinger both pushed back against the idea that injuries have been the primary cause of the Lakers’ disappointing season. Buha observed that even in games when Davis and James played, the team was just 11-11, while Hollinger said the team’s offseason plan needs to be better than simply running it back and hoping its two superstars stay healthy in 2022/23.
- Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up and First Take on Monday, former Lakers president Magic Johnson criticized the club for not acquiring DeMar DeRozan last offseason instead of Russell Westbrook (link via Jenna Lemoncelli of The New York Post). While that’s not an unreasonable take, given that DeRozan had interest in playing for his hometown team, Johnson’s assertion that the Lakers could’ve had DeRozan, Buddy Hield, Alex Caruso, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope instead of Westbrook is a fantasy that doesn’t pass muster. Unless DeRozan had been willing to sign for the taxpayer mid-level exception (which wasn’t viewed as a viable option at the time), L.A. would’ve become hard-capped by acquiring him and would have had no way of carrying all those contracts in addition to James’ and Davis’ maximum salaries. Acquiring both DeRozan and Hield without giving up Caldwell-Pope also likely wouldn’t have been possible due to salary-matching rules.
Nikola Jokic, Trae Young Named Players Of The Week
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Hawks guard Trae Young have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference respectively, the league announced today (via Twitter).
It’s the second time this season that Jokic and Young have been named Players of the Week in the same week — they also both earned the honor on January 24. It’s Young’s third Player of the Week win for the season and only Jokic’s second, despite the fact that the Nuggets star is one of the MVP frontrunners.
Jokic continued his push for a second consecutive MVP award this week by putting up a monster line of 34.8 PPG, 17.3 RPG, 8.5 APG, and 2.0 SPG in Denver’s four games, three of which were victories. He poured in at least 37 points in three of those contests and grabbed at least 18 rebounds three times as well.
Young led the Hawks to four straight wins during the week of March 28 – April 3, averaging a double-double (30.3 PPG, 10.8 APG) on .462/.359/.921 shooting in 32.3 MPG. As a result of the 4-0 week, Atlanta now holds the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. The team would give itself two chances to earn a playoff spot in the play-in tournament if it hangs onto its place in the standings this week.
The other Player of the Week nominees were Dillon Brooks, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, and CJ McCollum in the West, and DeMar DeRozan, Joel Embiid, Darius Garland, Kyle Lowry, and Pascal Siakam in the East (Twitter link).
MSU’s Max Christie Among Early Entrants For 2022 NBA Draft
The list of early entrants for the 2022 NBA draft continues to grow, as college players put their names into this year’s draft pool ahead of the April 24 deadline.
[RELATED: 2022 NBA Draft Dates, Deadlines To Watch]
Michigan State’s Max Christie is among the players who recently declared for the draft, announcing his intentions in a post on Instagram. The freshman shooting guard stated that he’ll test the draft waters, maintaining his remaining college eligibility for the time being as he gets feedback on his draft stock.
A full-time starter for the Spartans in 2021/22, Christie averaged 9.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .382/.317/.824 shooting in 35 games (30.8 MPG). Those numbers are modest, but the 6’6″ guard has shown the potential to develop into a stronger shooter and a solid defender, per ESPN’s Mike Schmitz. Christie ranks 41st overall on ESPN’s big board.
Here are a few more of the college players who have recently entered the draft pool:
Expected to stay in draft, forgoing remaining NCAA eligibility:
- Joirdon Karl Nicholas, F, Texas Southern (senior) (Twitter link)
- JD Notae, G, Arkansas (senior) (Instagram link)
- Nana Opoku, F, Mount St. Mary’s (senior) (Twitter link)
- Jaden Shackelford, G, Alabama (junior) (Twitter link)
- Jaylen Sims, G/F, UNC Wilmington (senior) (Instagram link)
- Cole Swider, F, Syracuse (senior) (Twitter link)
- John Walker III, F, Texas Southern (senior) (Instagram link)
Testing draft waters:
- Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, F, UT Arlington (junior) (Twitter link)
- Keion Brooks, F, Kentucky (junior) (link via school)
- Joe Bryant, G, Norfolk State (senior) (Twitter link)
- Antonio Daye, G, Coastal Carolina (senior) (link via Alan Blondin of the Myrtle Beach Sun News)
- Aaron Estrada, G, Hofstra (junior) (Instagram link)
- Jalen Hawkins, G, Norfolk State (senior) (Instagram link)
- Omari Moore, G, San Jose State (junior) (Twitter link via Jon Chepkevich)
- Luis Rodriguez, G/F, Ole Miss (junior) (Instagram link)
- Dereon Seabron, G, NC State (sophomore) (Twitter link)
- Marcus Shaver, G, Boise State (senior) (Twitter link)
- Jabari Walker, F, Colorado (sophomore) (Instagram link)
- Daivien Williamson, G, Wake Forest (senior) (Twitter link via Sean Paul of Mountain West Wire)
Nets Notes: Simmons, Brown, Dragic, Curry, Edwards
After Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on SportsCenter on Sunday that it was “not realistic” to expect Ben Simmons to be ready for the Nets‘ first play-in game next week (hat tip to NetsDaily), head coach Steve Nash confirmed as much when he spoke to reporters on Monday.
The Nets are ruling out Simmons for the rest of the regular season and the play-in tournament, Nash told reporters, including Laura Albanese of Newsday and Alex Schiffer of The Athletic (Twitter links). If he’s going to make it back this season, Simmons’ return would have to come in the playoffs.
Although Simmons was able to do a little more at practice on Monday, Nash said the team doesn’t plan on scrapping its requirement that he must take part in at least three high-intensity workouts before being cleared. The three-time All-Star isn’t at that stage yet and has only been doing light shooting work.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- After missing Saturday’s loss in Atlanta due to a non-COVID illness, Bruce Brown will be ready to play on Tuesday, tweets Schiffer.
- Goran Dragic remains in Atlanta with COVID-19, tweets Schiffer. Nash is hopeful that the veteran guard will be back in time for one of the team’s final regular season games.
- Seth Curry, who is battling ankle pain, didn’t do much at practice on Monday and Nash admitted that there has been some discussion about holding him out of the rest of the regular season to give him more time to rest the ankle (Twitter link via Nick Friedell of ESPN). The goal would be to make sure he’s as healthy as possible for the play-in tournament and playoffs.
- Asked by Schiffer whether the Nets will give two-way player Kessler Edwards a standard contract this week in order to make him postseason-eligible, Nash didn’t rule out the possibility, but said he expects today’s roster to be the group he enters the play-in with (Twitter link).
Northwest Notes: Reed, Blazers, Grant, Mann, Jazz
Nuggets guard Davon Reed earned praise from star center Nikola Jokic and head coach Michael Malone after he scored 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting in the team’s win over the Lakers on Sunday. As Mike Singer of The Denver Post writes, Jokic lauded Reed’s defense, while Malone said the 26-year-old had an “unsung hero type-of-a-game.”
However, as Singer observes, because Reed is still on a two-way contract, he remains ineligible to participate in the playoffs for the Nuggets. The team would have to waive someone from its 15-man roster and promote Reed to a standard contract to make him available for the postseason. Asked about that possibility, Malone raved more about Reed and said it’s an issue the team will discuss.
“Every time Davon Reed has gotten a chance to play this year, he’s found a way to help this team,” Malone said, per Singer. “I mean look at his line tonight — here’s a guy that’s a two-way player, 23 minutes, 10 points, couple of assists, rebounds, steals and he had an impact on the game. He’s in the game in the fourth quarter in a must-win game. I think that, in and of itself, speaks to my level of confidence with him. … That’s something that (head of basketball operations) Tim (Connelly) and I can talk about as we move forward.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Following up on reports from February that stated the Trail Blazers attempted to acquire Jerami Grant from the Pistons at the trade deadline, Marc Stein says in his latest Substack article that Portland’s offer was believed to include Josh Hart and draft compensation. Stein confirms the Blazers are expected to revisit the possibility of acquiring Grant in the offseason, as has been previously reported.
- Tre Mann could be next to join the Thunder‘s growing list of players who have been ruled out for the season. Mann has been sidelined for the last four games due to a right hamstring strain and head coach Mark Daigneault doesn’t sound confident that the rookie guard will return this week, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “We’re working through it,” Daigneault said before Sunday’s game.
- The reeling Jazz can’t be saved by anyone but their players at this point, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who says the front office and head coach Quin Snyder have done all they can with the current group. Utah has dropped six of its last seven games and has blown double-digit fourth quarter leads in its last two losses.
2022 NBA Draft Dates, Deadlines To Watch
We’re still more than two-and-a-half months away from NBA draft day, but before we get to June 23, there are several other important dates and deadlines on the calendar. Here are some of those dates and deadlines worth keeping an eye on:
April 24 (11:59 pm ET): Deadline for early entrants to declare for the draft
College players and international early entrants have until the end of the day on April 24 to submit their names into the 2022 NBA draft pool. They can withdraw their names later if they decide they’re not quite ready to go pro, though if college players want to maintain their NCAA eligibility, they can’t hire an agent who’s not certified by the NCAA.
Once the early entrant list is set, NBA teams can begin conducting or attending workouts for those players.
May 16-17: NBA G League Elite Camp (tentative)
In 2019, the Elite Camp – having recently been revamped by the NBA – consisted of 40 veteran G League invitees participating in the first half of the event, followed by 40 top draft-eligible players (who weren’t invited to the actual combine) taking part in the second half.
After being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Elite Camp returned in 2021, but only featured 40 draft-eligible prospects, without the G League players. That format will carry over to this year.
May 18-22: NBA draft combine
This week-long event, which takes place in Chicago, allows NBA teams to get a first-hand look at many of the year’s top draft-eligible players.
The combine is often particularly important for early entrants who have yet to decide whether or not to stay in the draft. The feedback they get at the combine could go a long way toward dictating whether they keep their names in the draft or return to school for another year.
May 17: NBA draft lottery
The 2022 draft lottery will be the fourth one that uses the new format, which was introduced in 2019. With the lottery odds flattened out, the NBA’s worst team has a 14% shot at the No. 1 overall pick, as opposed to the 25% chance it had prior to ’19.
The new system has generated some excitement during the past three draft lotteries — six of the 12 teams that have claimed top-four picks since 2019 entered the night without a top-six spot in the lottery standings.
Our reverse standings provide a glimpse at what the pre-lottery draft order could look like.
June 1 (11:59 pm ET): NCAA early entrant withdrawal deadline
College underclassmen – and seniors who are eligible to play for more one season – who want to retain their NCAA eligibility will have to withdraw their names from the draft pool by June 1. NBA rules call for a later withdrawal deadline, but the NCAA has its own set of rules that say the deadline is 10 days after the combine.
An early entrant could technically wait until after June 1 to withdraw from the draft and could still retain his NBA draft eligibility for a future year. However, he would forfeit his amateur status in that scenario, making him ineligible to return to his NCAA squad.
June 13 (5:00 pm ET): NBA early entrant withdrawal deadline
This is the NBA’s final deadline for early entrants to withdraw their names from the draft pool and retain their draft eligibility for a future year.
By this point, we generally know whether or not a college player decided to keep his name in the draft, but this is an important deadline for international players, who aren’t subject to the same restrictions as college players. We’ll likely hear about several international early entrants withdrawing from the draft during the days leading up to June 13.
June 23: NBA draft day
The most exciting few weeks of the NBA offseason unofficially get underway on draft day, which is often when some of the first major trades of the summer are completed and when we get a sense of which direction certain teams are heading.
It’s also worth noting that the hours and days after the draft ends will be hugely important for many of this year’s draft-eligible prospects — a ton of players who aren’t selected with one of the 60 picks in the draft will reach agreements shortly thereafter to play for an NBA team’s Summer League squad, to attend training camp with a club, or to sign a two-way contract.
Central Notes: Turner, Pacers, Stephenson, Holiday, Beilein
Considered a prime trade candidate earlier in the season, Pacers center Myles Turner ultimately stayed put after he injured his foot and Indiana opted to move Domantas Sabonis instead. Appearing on the HoopsHype podcast with Michael Scotto, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files said he believes Indiana should either trade or extend Turner this offseason rather than having him enter 2022/23 on an expiring contract with a retooling team.
Agness believes the Pacers are more likely to bring back Turner than to move him, but notes that the Mavericks would be one team of interest to Turner if he’s shopped, since he was born and raised in the Dallas area. Scotto spoke to four NBA executives who believe the Pacers could get at least a protected first-round pick for Turner if he’s traded this offseason.
Within the same podcast, Agness acknowledged that the Pacers could gauge the trade market for Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield, but he doesn’t view either player as a lock to be dealt. Agness also expressed skepticism that Indiana will be able to re-sign big man Jalen Smith, since he expects other teams to exceed a $4.67MM starting salary, which is the most the Pacers can offer.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Veteran wing Lance Stephenson is interested in re-signing with the Pacers this offseason, regardless of whether the team attempts to reload for another playoff push or leans further into rebuilding mode, according to Scotto. Stephenson would like to spend the rest of his career in Indiana, Scotto adds.
- Having logged 2,075 minutes this season, Jrue Holiday has earned a $306K bonus in his contract with the Bucks, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Holiday is also on track to receive a bonus based on his games played and rebounds per game, Marks adds (via Twitter).
- John Beilein‘s brief head coaching stint in Cleveland was a disaster, but he has embraced a new role out of the spotlight with the Pistons, as Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press details. Detroit’s senior advisor of player development, Beilein is a “meticulous note-taker,” Sankofa writes. “There’s some guys that, with one approach, shoot 45%,” Beilein said. “With another approach, shoot 20%. I keep this. Or left-hand dribble versus right-hand dribble, they shoot drastically different percentages. I’m keeping that stuff that they probably don’t have in the NBA databook, whether a guy shoots a hang dribble or a quick dribble. That’s not in the computer, but I can compute it.”
Injury Notes: Allen, Mobley, McDaniels, Powell, Fox, Sabonis
Discussions about Jarrett Allen‘s potential return for the Cavaliers have gravitated toward “if” rather than “when,” according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The team has said Allen is making progress in his recovery from a broken finger and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of him returning before the regular season ends on Sunday, but his finger was still in a splint this weekend, says Vardon.
Even if Allen is able to play soon, it’s “highly unlikely” that he’ll be 100% effective, says Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). In Fedor’s view, Evan Mobley – who has missed four games with a sprained ankle and wasn’t walking with a limp after Sunday’s game – is a better bet to be fully effective, or at least close to it, when he returns.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, who has been out since March 14 due to a high left ankle sprain, “looks really good” in his scrimmages, head coach Chris Finch said on Sunday (link via Chris Hine of The Star Tribune). The Wolves will formally reevaluate McDaniels on Monday. Finch expects him to be on a minutes limit when he returns, per Hine.
- Clippers forwards Paul George and Marcus Morris hinted after Sunday’s game that Norman Powell could be close to returning from his left foot injury, according to Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group, who notes that the injured swingman took part in an on-court pregame workout. “It’ll be great for Norm if he could get back out there in the next game or two, just to get a good feel back,” Morris said.
- With the Kings officially eliminated from playoff contention, head coach Alvin Gentry acknowledged that shutting down De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis will likely be “something we’ll talk about” (Twitter link via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee). Fox has missed Sacramento’s last eight games due to a hand injury, while Sabonis has been out for six games due to a knee issue.
Hornets’ Gordon Hayward Set To Return On Saturday
With the Hornets in the midst of a battle for play-in positioning, veteran forward Gordon Hayward is poised to make his return from an ankle injury that has sidelined him for nearly two months, writes Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
According to Boone, Hayward has been listed as probable for Saturday’s game in Philadelphia vs. the 76ers and will be available for the Hornets.
Hayward, who last played on February 7, has missed Charlotte’s last 22 games after spraining ligaments in his left ankle. Prior to the injury, he has been his usual productive self, averaging 16.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 3.6 APG on .460/.390/.846 shooting in 48 appearances (32.2 MPG).
The Hornets have held their own without Hayward and have been particularly hot as of late, winning eight of their last 10 games to pull in a three-way tie with Brooklyn and Atlanta for the East’s No. 8 seed. Claiming that spot in the standings would put Charlotte in a stronger position to a earn a playoff spot in the play-in tournament, but it won’t be easy — both the Nets and Hawks have more favorable schedules over the next 10 days, per Tankathon.
After playing in Philadelphia on Saturday, the Hornets will head to Miami to face the Heat on Tuesday. Their regular season schedule will conclude with a a visit to Chicago on April 8, sandwiched by a pair of favorable home matchups vs. Orlando (April 7) and Washington (April 10).
Injury Notes: Randle, Bucks, Pistons, Jazz, Simmons
Knicks forward Julius Randle, still dealing with a quad injury, has been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Cleveland, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, who tweets that the team is considering Randle day-to-day. For the time being, there are no plans to shut down Randle for the rest of the season, Katz adds. He missed three games with the same injury last week.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- The Bucks will be without several key players on Friday vs. the Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back set. According to the team (via Twitter), Giannis Antetokounmpo (right knee soreness), Jrue Holiday (left ankle sprain), Khris Middleton (left wrist soreness), and Brook Lopez (return to competition reconditioning) are among the players who will be inactive.
- Cory Joseph (left lumbar spine strain), Marvin Bagley III (left hip strain), and Kelly Olynyk (rest) won’t play for the Pistons on Friday against Oklahoma City, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic. The two teams are neck-and-neck in the lottery standings, so neither front office will be particularly motivated to win the game.
- The Jazz got some reinforcements on Thursday when Bojan Bogdanovic returned from a nine-game absence and Danuel House played after missing eight consecutive games, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Both forwards had positive plus-minus ratings in a win over the Lakers that snapped Utah’s five-game losing streak.
- Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (video link) provided another minor update on Ben Simmons, reporting that the Nets guard has resumed “light” on-court workouts and still hopes to return in time for the playoffs. Charania’s colleague at The Athletic, Joe Vardon, reported earlier today that Simmons is unlikely to be ready for the start of the playoffs.