Central Notes: Calderon, Thomas, Lopez, Lottery Pick
Jose Calderon has become the Swiss army knife of players for the Cavaliers. As the team has dealt with injuries and inconsistency, Calderon has provided a spark in the lineup, on the bench, or any role he’s asked to fill, per USA TODAY Sports.
The 36-year-old has appeared in 53 games for the Cavaliers, starting 30 of them. His numbers are modest as he’s averaging 4.2 PPG 2.1 APG and 1.4 RPG in less than 16 minutes per contest. However, he’s always prepared to help the team, which is an invaluable commodity for a veteran team that underwent a midseason makeover. His teammate, LeBron James, is one of his biggest supporters.
“You got to have one or two guys like that on every team, someone who has kind of like zero ego, zero notion of entitlement,” James said. “Listen, his whole thing is like, ‘I’m going to stay ready. I’ll stay ready so if my number is called,’ and he goes out and produces and that’s big for our team because you never know when someone is going to go down.”
Check out more Central Division notes below:
- Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer revisited the offseason trade that brought an injured Isaiah Thomas to the Cavaliers and shipped Kyrie Irving to the Celtics. Pluto writes that it would have probably made sense for Thomas to undergo hip surgery last season as he will miss the next four months due to hip surgery. Thomas never got acclimated to Cleveland and was shipped to the Lakers. Pluto also looks the deal for the Celtics and several other aspects of the deal.
- Bulls center Robin Lopez was fined $25,000 for abusing game officials and failing to leave the court in a timely manner after he was ejected in the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to the Heat on Thursday, the league announced.
- Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago looks at the Bulls’ odds of falling to a top three pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and which players would make sense as targets.
Wolves Notes: Rose, Butler, Additions
Derrick Rose was a member of the Jazz for two days before the team waived him, following a three-team trade deadline deal with the Cavaliers and Kings. Rose spoke to reporters, including Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News, and labeled the experience of being acquired and waived by Utah as “weird and bittersweet.”
Rose said he never traveled to Utah, instead remaining in Cleveland until he signed with the Timberwolves. The move reunited Rose with his former coach, Tom Thibodeau. Currently nursing an injured ankle, Rose is confident he can be a positive cause for the team even if injuries and playing time are limiting him.
“It’s all about faith, bro,” Rose said. “With faith, I don’t worry about any of that. I let other people worry about that. Why should I worry about it? I know how much I put into my body and my craft, so as long as I’ve got faith I don’t worry about anything else. All of this is out of my control anyway.”
After 16 uneventful games with the Cavaliers, Rose has suited up for just five games with the Wolves, averaging 6.6 PPG and 1.6 APG in 11.6 minutes per contest.
Check out more Wolves notes below:
- Jimmy Butler was cleared for contact drills on Friday, a big step in his recovery from a torn meniscus, Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune relays. Butler suffered the injury on February 23 and underwent surgery two days later, with a prognosis for a four to six-week recovery. “He had a good workout, did the shootaround, and stayed and played afterward,” Thibodeau said. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
- After a recovery day on Saturday, Butler underwent his first five-on-five contact scrimmage today and came out of it well, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune tweets. The Wolves’ next game is Thursday against Denver and it’s possible Butler is ready to play. “He’s doing good,” Thibodeau said.
- The Wolves made a slew of veteran acquisitions before the season, including Butler, Jamal Crawford, Taj Gibson, and Jeff Teague. All of these players have been vital to the team’s success this season and will be just as important come playoff time, Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune writes.
Kings Sign Nigel Hayes To Multi-Year Deal
MARCH 31, 7:17pm: The signing is official, the Kings announced on their website.
MARCH 30, 7:45pm: The Kings have signed forward Nigel Hayes to a deal for the rest of this season and the 2018/19 campaign, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Hayes has played through an eventful 2017/18 season. The 23-year-old signed a 10-day contract with the Lakers in mid-January but only appeared in two games, accumulating 11 minutes. Los Angeles chose not to re-sign him and he ended up signing a pair of 10-day deals with the Raptors, also appearing in just two games.
All told, the University of Wisconsin product appeared in four NBA games, averaging 2.3 PPG in 17 minutes of action.
The rest of Hayes’ season was split between the G League’s Westchester Knicks and Raptors 905. He had just rejoined the Westchester club for the team’s postseason run, per ESPN’s Ian Begley. In 43 G League games (38 of which came with the Knicks), Hayes averaged 15.0 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 34 minutes per contest.
Ray Allen, 12 Others Selected To 2018 Hall Of Fame Class
Two-time NBA champion and 10-time All-Star Ray Allen was among 13 names selected by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for enshrinement as part of the 2018 Hall of Fame Class.
In his 18-year career, Allen set the record for most three-point field goals made with 2,973 and is ranked sixth on the all-time free throw percentage list with an .894 mark. Allen, 42, was drafted by the Bucks fifth overall in the 1996 NBA Draft and spent his first six-and-a-half seasons in Milwaukee. After a four-and-a-half year run with the then-Supersonics, Allen joined the Celtics, capturing his first of two NBA titles in 2008.
The University of Connecticut product joined the Heat for his final two seasons, capturing his second championship in 2013. Allen sank several clutch treys in Game 6 and Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, leading the Heat to the title.
As we relayed earlier this week, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Maurice Cheeks, and Rod Thorn were selected to the Hall of Fame. You can read detailed descriptions of their careers from our February report of 13 finalists being selected for the Hall of Fame.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith, four-time WNBA Champion Tina Thompson, long-time Maryland coach Charles “Lefty” Driesell, Dino Radja, Charlie Scott, Ora Mae Washington, and Rick Welts were also selected.
Atlantic Notes: Hardaway Jr., Hornacek, Harris, Larkin, DeRozan
Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek allowed Tim Hardaway Jr. to draw up a play against the Hornets this past Monday. Hornacek’s trust in Hardaway to man the clipboard — even for one play — was a boost to their relationship, Marc Berman of the New York Post relays.
Berman notes that Hardaway is believed to have interest in coaching after his playing days. In the interim, Hardaway appreciated having Hornacek’s trust and the effort he has put into developing the team.
“He’s doing a great job in a tough situation,’’ Hardaway said. “Coaches are in a tough situation too. It’s easy for him to fold as well. He’s continuing to develop us as ballplayers, continuing to encourage us on both ends of the floor, especially in practice, continuing to have that killer instinct and mentality to instill in the ball club. We appreciate that and we’ll keep on fighting for him.’’
Check out more Atlantic Division notes down below:
- As the Knicks tried to lure free agents to New York City, the messy breakup with Phil Jackson and the triangle offense was likely a hindrance to that goal, Hornacek told reporters, including ESPN’s Ian Begley. “I think it probably was,” Hornacek said. “I think we truly believed that we could blend it [into Hornacek’s preferred offense]. And we found out that probably wasn’t great.” Hornacek added that a healthy Kristaps Porzingis and a young core of talent will be the Knicks’ strongest recruiting pitch.
- ESPN’s Zach Lowe looked at 10 things he likes and dislikes around the league and Nets‘ sharpshooter Joe Harris is one thing he likes. Harris’ journey from being released by the Cavaliers to becoming a scoring machine in Brooklyn has him lined up to sign a “fat contract” soon, Lowe writes.
- In a wide-ranging interview with HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy, Celtics guard Shane Larkin discussed his impending free agency, past injuries, and his current stint in Boston. Larkin noted that if possible, he would love to remain in Celtics green. “Obviously going into free agency, you can’t say, “Yeah, this is what’s going to happen.” I love being in Boston and if Boston is the right place for me to be next season, I would be happy to come back and have no hesitation because I love the fans, I love the city and I love everything about it,” he said.
- DeMar DeRozan has not been scoring as much as he’s accustomed to recently but he and the team are far from concerned, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. DeRozan, instead, has focused on other aspects of the game, such as defense and playmaking. DeRozan joked that he reserves his scoring for emergency situations as he can help the Raptors in other ways.
John Wall Expected To Return Tonight
The Wizard are expected to have point guard John Wall return tonight against the Hornets after he missed the last two months due to arthroscopic left knee surgery, tweets Chris Miller of NBC Sports Washington.
Wall had been practicing with the Wizards and his return was considered imminent. Washington has won 15 of 27 games in Wall’s absence but head coach Scott Brooks recently said that having the five-time All-Star back would be a major boost.
“He gives us that edge,” Brooks explained. “When you have him on the floor, you get a lot of easy shots. John creates a lot of attention when he drives to the basket… I think [his teammates] have always appreciated it, but when you don’t have him around you definitely miss it.”
In 37 games before going under the knife, Wall averaged 19.4 PPG and 9.3 APG for the Wizards. With seven games remaining this season, Wall will likely on see action in a handful of them before the postseason. However, Wall will also try to steer the team in the right direction as the Wizards have dropped four of their past five games.
And-Ones: Upshaw, Pitino, NCAA Tournament, Players’ Health
Grand Rapids Drive player Zeke Upshaw passed away this past Monday after he collapsed during the final minute of a weekend game against the Long Island Nets. It was a tragic and unexpected event for a 26-year-old professional player who displayed no signs of health issues.
Per a report from USA Today, Upshaw suffered a “sudden cardiac death.” The medical examiner who was assigned Upshaw’s case said he discovered ” cardiac abnormalities” but an in-depth investigation into his depth will take several weeks.
Upshaw had played internationally before spending the past two seasons with the Piston’s G League affiliate. The Pistons honored Upshaw with a posthumous call-up to honor his contributions to the organization.
Check out more news and notes out of the basketball world:
- The New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League reportedly offered former Louisville coach Rick Pitino their head coaching position, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. There has been virtually no NBA interest in his services with the lone conversation between his reps and an NBA team (the Bucks) initiated by Pitino’s side, Stein noted.
- Shaun Powell of NBA.com examines which injuries will have the biggest impact as the postseason nears. The list includes injured All-Stars the likes of Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant. Powell also looks at players out for the rest of the year (DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Roberson) and Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue.
- Kevin Pelton of ESPN looks at a diverse pool of 11 players who could impact the NBA’s future. All of Pelton’s choices are 28 years old or younger, and some are expected to be lottery picks in the 2018 NBA draft.
- Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago looks at which NBA prospects benefited from a further look during the NCAA tournament.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/30/18
Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Lakers assigned Travis Wear to their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, for their playoff matchup against the Oklahoma City Blue on Saturday, the team announced on Twitter. Wear enjoyed a strong regular season for South Bay, averaging 16.7 PPG and 8.3 RPG in 33 games.
- The Thunder assigned Dakari Johnson to the Blue this afternoon only to recall him back to the NBA squad hours later, per a pair of press releases. He is expected to be in uniform for the Thunder’s game against the Nuggets but it’s likely he’s assigned to the G League tomorrow for the Blue’s postseason matchup against South Bay.
Dennis Schroder Out For Season With Bone Bruise, Ankle Sprain
Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder has been diagnosed with a medial bone bruise and Grade 2 left ankle sprain, the team announced, as NBA.com’s David Aldridge tweets. The recovery from the injury will take approximately two to four weeks, thus ending Schroder’s 2017/18 season.
Schroder had missed three of the Hawks’ last four games due to the injury. While his field goal percentage and three-point shooting took a hit, the veteran guard averaged a career-best 19.4 PPG to go with 6.2 APG and 3.1 RPG in 67 games with Atlanta this season.
Schroder will not be the lone Atlanta player to finish the year injured as Kent Bazemore (knee), Jaylen Morris (ankle), DeAndre’ Bembry (ankle), and Antonius Cleveland (ankle) are all sidelined. Due to the high volume of injuries, the Hawks should be eligible for a roster hardship exception to sign another player for the final seven games of the season, if they so choose.
Draft Updates: McDowell-White, Milton, Eubanks, Schofield, Johnson
Australian guard William McDowell-White is declaring for the 2018 NBA Draft, Jonathan Givony of ESPN writes. McDowell-White is one of the premier talents in Europe, where he 12.5 PPG, 6.9 APG, 5.1 RPG and 2.1 SPG for Baunach in Pro A Germany.
“As a competitor, I am excited to enter the NBA draft and compete at the highest level,” McDowell-White said to ESPN. “I feel like I can contribute and help an NBA team win games. After a successful season in Europe, I have gained some great experience and developed as a player.”
The 19-year-old left his native Australia for Germany after he failed to secure academic eligibility to play for Fresno State two years ago. He is considered an above average playmaker who can effectively pass the ball and also hold his own on the defensive end with his 6’5″ frame. McDowell-White is ranked as the N0. 93 prospect in the ESPN Top 100.
Check out more notes pertaining to the 2018 NBA Draft:
- SMU guard Shake Milton will forgo his senior season and declare for the NBA Draft, he announced on his Twitter. Milton, 21, has averaged 18.0 PPG and 4.4 APG in 22 contests with SMU this season. We previously relayed that Milton was considering declaring for the draft without hiring an agent so he could potentially return for his senior campaign. A recent ESPN mock draft had Milton falling to the Mavericks at 36th overall.
- Oregon State junior forward Drew Eubanks will forgo his senior season enter the 2018 NBA Draft and hire an agent, according to the school’s website. “I would like to thank Oregon State University for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to grow and develop, both on and off the court,” he said. “My time at Oregon State has taught me many valuable life lessons. My coaches have instilled in me the belief that anything is possible, and my teammates became the brothers I never had. Go Beavs!” In 32 games, Eubanks averaged 13.2 PPG and 6.8 RPG.
- Tennessee forward Admiral Schofield will test the NBA Draft waters but will not hire an agent, per an announcement from his Twitter. Schofield, in his junior season, has averaged 13.9 PPG and 6.4 RPG in over 28 minutes per contest.
- Zach Johnson from Florida Gulf Coast will also enter the NBA Draft but will not hire an agent as to not compromise his future, he announced on Twitter. In his junior season, Johnson has averaged 16.1 PPG with 3.3 RPG and 3.0 RPG in 35 games (34 starts).