NBA G League Announces Up Next Participants
A pool of 28 players has been selected for the NBA G League’s Up Next Game at All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, the NBAGL announced in a press release.
According to the release, the event features “four teams of seven players competing in two semifinal games. The winner of each semifinal will face off in a Championship game.
“The teams will be made up of 28 NBA G League players, including 10 selected by a fan vote. The remaining 18 players will be selected by the NBA G League and will include eight members of NBA G League Ignite and at least one member of the Indiana Mad Ants, the G League affiliate of the All-Star hosting Indiana Pacers. Each team will be coached by a head coach from the NBA G League.”
Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on two-way contracts.
Fan vote:
- Emoni Bates (Cleveland Charge)*
- Luka Garza (Iowa Wolves)*
- Ashton Hagans (Rip City Remix)
- Kevon Harris, (Osceola Magic)*
- Javan Johnson (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Skal Labissiere (Stockton Kings)
- Markquis Nowell (Raptors 905)*
- Trevelin Queen, (Osceola Magic)*
- Quinndary Weatherspoon (South Bay Lakers)
Former Kentucky guard Hagans received the most votes.
NBAGL selections:
- Dominick Barlow (Austin Spurs)*
- Darius Bazley (Delaware Blue Coats)
- JD Davison (Maine Celtics)*
- Collin Gillespie (Grand Rapids Gold)*
- Keyontae Johnson (Oklahoma City Blue)*
- Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Delaware Blue Coats)*
- Jermaine Samuels (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)*
- Cole Swider (Sioux Falls Skyforce)*
- Ethan Thompson (Mexico City Capitanes)
- Oscar Tshiebwe (Indiana Mad Ants)*
- Alondes Williams (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
G League Ignite:
- Izan Almansa
- Matas Buzelis
- Thierry Darlan
- Ron Holland
- London Johnson
- Dink Pate
- Babacar Sane
- Tyler Smith
They aren’t currently on NBA teams, but it’s worth noting that Labissiere and Bazley are ineligible for two-way deals because they each hold four years of NBA experience. Weatherspoon (three years), Hagans (one) and Williams (one) also hold at least some NBA experience.
Mavericks Notes: Luka, Kyrie, Kleber, Williams
Mavericks star Luka Doncic had a frustrating night on Wednesday against Phoenix, earning a technical foul for repeatedly complaining to the referees and then requesting that a heckling fan be ejected, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Both incidents came in the third quarter, with the Suns fan leaving voluntarily.
Wednesday marked Dallas’ third straight loss and fifth in its past seven games. Doncic’s frustration boiling over was noteworthy, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic, who says the front office is well aware that it needs to continue to surround its best player with more talent after adding multiple young role players over the summer.
Friday’s matchup with Atlanta went much differently for Doncic and the Mavs, however. The Slovenian scored a franchise-record 73 points, tied for the fourth-highest mark in NBA history, and became the first player to score 70-plus while shooting at least 75% from the field (he was 25-of-33 overall, including 8-of-13 from three and 15-of-16 from the line). He also contributed 10 rebounds and seven assists in 45 minutes during the five-point win (Twitter links via the Mavs and the NBA).
Guard Trae Young said Atlanta tried everything it could to stop Doncic, tweets Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com.
“He was hot. He was going. S–t, we were trying everything,” Young said. “We were trying to trap him. We started off with Jalen (Johnson) on him … Sometimes you just have to pick your poison.”
While Doncic said the performance was probably the best of his career, he was more focused on getting a win, per ESPN.com.
“We’ve been struggling lately,” he said. “Mindset was [to] get a win. We played great.”
Here’s more on the Mavs:
- Kyrie Irving missed his second straight game on Friday with a right thumb sprain. That marked his 18th missed game of 2023/24, which means he’ll miss out on a $1MM bonus for appearing in 65-plus games, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The bonus had been considered unlikely after Irving appeared in 60 games last year, Marks adds. The three-time All-NBA guard will also be ineligible for end-of-season awards.
- Big man Maxi Kleber‘s toe is still bothering him, which is why he sat out Friday’s game after missing 35 games with a right small toe dislocation. As Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News observes (via Twitter), Kleber’s ongoing toe problem is a “significant consideration” for the front office with the trade deadline set for February 8. The Mavericks have reportedly been looking for frontcourt help.
- Forward Grant Williams had nothing but good things to say about the Mavs in a conversation with Souichi Terada of MassLive.com. Williams was acquired from Boston in a sign-and-trade last offseason. “I’m enjoying it,” Williams said of Dallas. “It’s a great organization, great team, bunch of guys that really want to win. It’s an opportunity to compete and step into a role that I didn’t have before. And performance-wise, I definitely want to be better, definitely want to get healthier, want to get in a good frame. But outside of that, I’m just focused on the day-to-day. We have a long season.”
Injury Notes: Zion, Suggs, Harris, Jones, Suns, J. Porter
After being considered a game-time decision leading into Friday’s contest vs. Oklahoma City, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson was later ruled out with a bone contusion in his left foot, the team announced (via Twitter).
Williamson has a history of foot injuries, having missed the entire 2021/22 season with a broken fifth metatarsal on his right foot. Obviously though, this new injury is on the opposite foot, and there’s no indication that it will be a long-term issue — head coach Willie Green said imaging on Williamson’s foot “came back clean,” tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com.
The former No. 1 overall pick is averaging 21.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 4.8 APG in 36 games this season. Friday was his ninth missed game in ’23/24.
Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Starting Magic guard Jalen Suggs sustained a bruised left knee on Friday and was ruled out for the remainder of the matchup with Memphis, per the team (Twitter link). As a third-year former first-round pick, Suggs will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason.
- As Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel tweets, Suggs isn’t the only Magic backcourt member injured at the moment. Veteran guard Gary Harris still isn’t doing contact work yet as he continues to recover from a right calf strain, per head coach Jamahl Mosley. Friday was Harris’ 11th consecutive missed game.
- Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. was in “tremendous pain” after falling on his left wrist during Friday’s win over Atlanta, according to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Jones went straight to the locker room and was later ruled out with a left wrist sprain, per the Mavs (Twitter link).
- Suns center Jusuf Nurkic exited Friday’s loss to Indiana due to left thumb injury and did not return, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. After the game, Nurkic said he jammed his thumb a few times, but X-rays were negative (Twitter link via Rankin). Guard Bradley Beal also exited Friday’s game after being inadvertently hit in the nose by Myles Turner, but he was able to return to the contest, Rankin adds. Head coach Frank Vogel said Beal may have suffered a broken nose, Rankin tweets. Beal said he didn’t feel any concussion symptoms but he couldn’t breathe out of his nose, with blood continuing to be an issue, per Rankin (Twitter link).
- Raptors two-way big man Jontay Porter had to leave Friday’s game vs. the Clippers due to an eye injury he sustained earlier in the week vs. Memphis, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, who says Porter was cleared by an eye specialist on Friday and he has a follow-up appointment on Saturday (Twitter links).
Heat Notes: Rozier, Butler, Jaquez, Love
On Tuesday, the Heat traded Kyle Lowry and their 2027 first-round pick to Charlotte for veteran guard Terry Rozier, who was having a career season in an expanded role for a team losing lots of games.
On Wednesday, Rozier had a physical and made his Heat debut, a home loss to the undermanned Grizzlies, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. On Thursday, Miami was eviscerated at home by the Celtics, Chiang adds in another story. Rozier struggled in both games after a whirlwind few days.
Thursday marked Miami’s fifth straight loss — its worst stretch of basketball since March 2021, when the team lost six straight. Trading for Rozier was an acknowledgement that the Heat needed more offensive firepower, and while he and everyone around the team realize he won’t be averaging 18.3 shots per game like he did with the Hornets, head coach Erik Spoelstra still wants him to get in the paint and be assertive, according to Chiang.
“It’s clear to see the positives with Terry,” Spoelstra said Thursday. “He brings us a burst, a speed, a quickness, his ability to get into the paint. I think that’s going to continue to get better once he understands how important it is to our offense and how we want him to be him and be aggressive.”
Here’s more from Miami:
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic likes what Rozier will bring Miami on offense, with his ability to drive and take (and make) pull-up threes both valuable traits for a team that doesn’t generate many points in either of those areas. However, he has questions about Rozier’s defense compared to Lowry’s, and thinks the possibility of giving up an unprotected pick in 2028 (it’s lottery protected in 2027 and will become unprotected in ’28 if it doesn’t convey) for Rozier probably wasn’t worth it.
- Star forward Jimmy Butler spoke to the media after Thursday’s loss for the first time since the trade of close friend Lowry. He said the players’ performance has been abysmal lately and the onus is on them to compete much harder than they have been on both ends of the court, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscriber link). Butler does think Rozier’s addition can help the team, however. “I mean, I think it can be a positive thing, a new face, yes,” Butler said. “The scoring that he brings, the leadership that he brings, he’s played in the playoffs a bunch with that Boston team. And I mean he’s just a hell of a player. He’s smiling. He’s happy. And I think that’s going to become very contagious. He’s going to be the ring leader for that.”
- Rookie forward Jaime Jaquez will be available on Saturday against the Knicks after missing the past six games with a groin injury, the team announced (via Twitter). Jaquez won Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in December for his second straight monthly award.
- Veteran big man Kevin Love was out for the back-to-back this week due to an illness (Twitter link via Winderman) but he isn’t on the injury report for Saturday’s matchup with New York, which means he should be back in action. As Winderman observes, Thomas Bryant took Love’s minutes when he was out, over second-year forward/center Nikola Jovic.
NBA Announces Schedule Adjustments After Warriors Postponements
After the Warriors had two games postponed last week due to the sudden and tragic passing of assistant coach Dejan Milojevic, the NBA announced on Friday that it has rescheduled four games, including the two Golden State contests (Twitter link).
Originally scheduled for January 17, the Warriors will now play at the Jazz on February 15 at 8:00 p.m. CT. Golden State’s other game, a home contest vs. the Mavericks originally scheduled for Jan. 19, has been rescheduled to April 2 at 9:00 p.m. CT.
To accommodate for those schedule changes, the league moved two other games around. The Hawks were originally going to play at the Mavericks on April 5, but it has been moved to April 4 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Warriors and Mavericks game that had been set for April 2 has also been rescheduled to April 5 at 7:30 p.m. CT.
On Monday, when the Warriors returned to practice, head coach Steve Kerr said the team had been too devastated to play in the immediate aftermath of Milojevic suffering a heart attack at a team dinner last Tuesday.
“It’s the saddest thing I have ever been a part of in the NBA,” Kerr said. “… The last five days have been full of the shock. The emotion, the extreme outpouring of love from all over the world.”
Counseling has been offered to the players and staff, particularly to those who witnessed the event.
Milojevic, 46, was beloved in his native Serbia and throughout the NBA. The Warriors will wear a “DM” patch for the rest of the season to honor Milojevic. The team also paid tribute to Milojevic with a ceremony before Wednesday’s game, the team’s first since the incident (video link from Kendra Andrews of ESPN).
Cavaliers Notes: Mobley, Garland, Allen, Thompson, Porter
Injured Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley is making steady progress in his return from left knee surgery and participated in a contact practice on Thursday, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who says Mobley could return as soon as next week after being sidelined since December 6.
“If everything continues to progress, it will be soon,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Fedor. “He’s progressed positively. It’s what you want to see. He hasn’t had any setbacks to slow his progression. He continues to ramp up in the right direction. It’s what we expected. He looks good. He continues to build. It remains a matter of how everything responds.”
However, even if Mobley does come back next week, he’ll be on a minutes restriction to start out, Fedor notes.
“It will probably be a low-20-minute-a-night workload to start with,” Bickerstaff said. “We’ve got to ramp him back up. When you go down with a knee injury, not a lot of conditioning that you can do and those types of things. You can’t simulate the NBA. We will work on that. We will let him get his conditioning back. The minutes will increase as that gets better.”
Mobley may be back soon, but point guard Darius Garland will likely be out a while longer, Fedor adds. Garland is working his way back into shape after sustaining a broken jaw on December 14 vs. Boston.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Center Jarrett Allen set a team record with his 12th consecutive double-double in Monday’s win over Orlando, Fedor writes for Cleveland.com (subscription required). Allen later extended the streak to 13 games in Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee. Allen has stepped up in a major way since Mobley and Garland went down with injuries, averaging 18.4 PPG, 14.1 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.1 SPG and 1.4 BPG while shooting 64.0% from the field and 83.9 from the line during the streak. “He’s a hell of a person,” star guard Donovan Mitchell said of Allen, a former All-Star. “To see the work that he puts in on a daily basis, it’s great to see those efforts starting to come to fruition. To be able to do it after losing someone who is an All-Defensive player like Ev, be able to hold the fort down, set that tone for us, it’s incredible. I’m happy for him. He acknowledged it but he’s not satisfied. The biggest thing was the win. These don’t mean anything if we lose. I think that’s one of the things that’s so special about him. He means everything to us. He is the catalyst.”
- Backup center Tristan Thompson gave an emotional apology to his teammates before the news of his 25-game suspension was announced, Fedor adds in another subscriber-only story. A veteran leader with a prominent voice in the locker room, Thompson was suspended for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. Thompson’s teammates said they gained more respect for him for taking responsibility for his actions. “Tristan is huge for our team,” Max Strus said. “The things he does as leader off the court and what he does for us on the bench, the inspiration he gives us when he plays and how hard he plays, we’re going to miss that. We’re just gonna ask somebody else to step up. We have to band around our brother. We’re always going to be here for him.”
- According to rookie guard Craig Porter, who is on a two-way deal with Cleveland, the only reason he’s in the NBA is because he was able to attend the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, he told Alex Kennedy on the Running Up The Score podcast (Twitter video link). That’s how he drew the attention of NBA scouts, with Porter saying he’d be playing overseas right now if he hadn’t had the opportunity. Porter has been viewed as a strong candidate to be promoted to a standard deal later in the season, as two-way players aren’t playoff-eligible.
Raptors Notes: Poeltl, Deadline Primer, Trade Tiers, Quickley
Raptors center Jakob Poeltl was able to go through portions of Wednesday’s practice but he still hasn’t been cleared for contact work, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Head coach Darko Rajakovic said Poeltl is working on his conditioning after being out since January 7 with a left ankle sprain, and the Austrian big man is considered day-to-day.
Toronto reacquired Poeltl last February, when the team sent out its 2024 first-round pick (top-six protected) to San Antonio. Poeltl, who has averaged 10.6 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.4 BPG in 36 games this season, re-signed with the Raptors on a four-year, $78MM deal last summer.
The roster looks a lot different now than it did last year, with veterans Fred VanVleet (signed with Houston in free agency), OG Anunoby (traded to New York) and Pascal Siakam (traded to Indiana) all on new teams. Poeltl said it was difficult to see Siakam go, according to Lewenberg (Twitter link).
“It was tough because he was the guy I was closest to on this team,” Poeltl said of Siakam. “… I guess I was mentally prepared for it a little bit already because there were so many rumors… but it’s still really sad for me to basically lose my best friend on the team.”
With Toronto now focused on developing its young players rather than competing for a playoff spot, Lewenberg asked Poeltl if the team’s change of direction made him question the decision to re-sign or ponder his future with the Raptors (Twitter link).
“Not necessarily,” Poeltl said. “The only thing that was important to me is that I was on a team that could play competitive basketball. As long as it’s not a team that was really actively trying to tank, I guess, was the thing for me. Like, I want to play on a team that’s trying to win every night.
“So, for me, even though had some changes and we lost some really good players, I think we’re still on a course where we’re trying to build around this team right now and were not hunting for a No. 1 draft pick, you know what I mean? So as long as that’s the case, I think I’m going to be happy here and I’m hoping to contribute to this new Raptors team, this new project that we’re starting.”
Here’s more on the Raptors, who are currently 16-28 after dropping seven of their past eight games:
- On a related topic, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca wonders if fans should be cheering for the Raptors to lose for the remainder of 2023/24 in order to keep their first-round pick. As previously mentioned, Toronto will only keep the pick if it lands in the top six of the upcoming draft; in that scenario, the Spurs would be owed the Raptors’ 2025 first-rounder, with the same top-six protection. On the other hand, Grange notes that the 2025 draft is viewed by scouts and executives as having more top-end talent compared to 2024; the No. 7 or No. 8 pick in ’25 could be end up being quite a bit more valuable than a top-six pick this year.
- Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca recently released a trade deadline primer that covers Toronto’s cap situation, draft assets, player assets, exceptions, restrictions (newly acquired players can’t be aggregated with other salaries), and more.
- The only “untouchable” player on Toronto’s roster is Scottie Barnes, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who believes the third-year forward will sign a rookie scale max extension this summer. Koreen also thinks “it would be aggressively weird” if RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick, Jordan Nwora or Kira Lewis were traded. Veterans like Bruce Brown, Gary Trent Jr., Dennis Schröder, Chris Boucher and Poeltl fall into Koreen’s “Selling with hopes of a return” trade tier, though he doesn’t think Poeltl will actually be moved.
- Starting guard Quickley has been ruled out for Friday’s contest with the Clippers due to a thigh bruise, Murphy tweets. Quickley, acquired from New York in the Anunoby deal, is averaging 16.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 6.1 APG through 12 games (31.8 MPG) as a Raptor. The 24-year-old will be traveling on the upcoming six-game road trip, per Doug Smith of The Toronto Star (Twitter link), which suggests it may be a short-term injury.
Nets Notes: Bridges, Walker, Simmons, Sharpe
Sixth-year wing Mikal Bridges put up impressive statistics when he was traded to Brooklyn last February, averaging 26.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.0 SPG on .475/.376/.894 shooting in 27 games to close the 2022/23 season.
While his numbers are solid again for the Nets in ’23/24 — he’s averaging 21.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 3.8 APG on .455/.363/.839 shooting in 43 games — Bridges doesn’t expect to make the All-Star Game, he tells Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.
“I don’t think so. Maybe next year,” Bridges said. “You have to win and play to the level.”
As Medina notes, the Nets are currently 17-26, having lost 16 of their past 20 games. Multiple reports have indicated that Brooklyn has no plans to trade Bridges ahead of the February 8 deadline, but he knows things can change quickly in the NBA.
“Just prepare, watch and wait,” Bridges said of the next couple weeks.
Here’s more from Brooklyn:
- After giving up a 22-0 run to lose to the Clippers in L.A. on Sunday, the Nets blew another fourth quarter lead in Tuesday’s home contest vs. New York, with the crowd chanting “Let’s go Knicks” late in the final period, writes Bridget Reilly of The New York Post. Bridges wasn’t pleased that the atmosphere felt like “an away game at home.” “You could hear in the crowd, felt like a friggin’ away game when they made their run,” Bridges said. “Yes, we got good looks. They got some key buckets. We just got to overcome it, you can’t fold and put our heads down if they make a little run. It’s part of the game, just got to be able to execute after and go out and win.”
- Lonnie Walker was a rotation regular to open the season, but his hot shooting start was interrupted by a hamstring injury, which caused him to miss 17 consecutive games. Since returning from the injury, Walker’s minutes have been more sporadic — he has averaged just 12.5 MPG after playing 21.3 MPG prior to the injury. Head coach Jacque Vaughn wants Walker to make better decisions on defense and contribute more on the boards in order to receive more playing time, relays Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily.com.
- The Nets recently provided injury updates on Ben Simmons and Day’Ron Sharpe, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. According to Vaughn, Simmons will be out at least this week, but he could practice with the team’s G League affiliate in Long Island soon. Simmons has been out since November 6 with a back injury. As for backup center Sharpe, who has missed the past six games with a hyperextended left knee, he says he still isn’t doing contact work. “I think I’ve got a lot more steps I’ve got to take. Right now, I’m just still on the process of strengthening my leg back,” said Sharpe, who didn’t offer a return timeline. “I don’t know yet. But I just feel good. Better. I feel like I’m going in a positive direction.”
Warriors’ Moody, Payton To Miss More Time With Injuries
Third-year Warriors wing Moses Moody has been cleared to resume “light individual on-court workouts” after missing the past 12 days with a grade 1 left calf strain, but he’ll be out for at least another week, which is when he’ll be reevaluated, Golden State announced (via Twitter).
Moody, 21, is averaging 8.7 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 18.0 MPG this season, with all of those figures representing career highs. The former 14th overall pick has appeared in 34 games in 2023/24, posting a .482/.358/.789 shooting line.
The Warriors also provided an injury update on veteran defensive ace Gary Payton II, who has been cleared for the same activities as Moody but will be sidelined for at least two more weeks. Payton sustained a grade 2 left hamstring strain on January 2 vs. Orlando.
Payton has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career, including being limited to just 22 games in ’22/23. The 31-year-old was a key member of Golden State’s championship run in ’21/22.
Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid Named Players Of The Week
Suns forward Kevin Durant and Sixers center Joel Embiid have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week, the league announced (via Twitter).
A former NBA Most Valuable Player and two-time Finals MVP, Durant averaged 31.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.7 APG and 2.3 BPG on a staggering .600/.478/1.000 shooting line last week. Phoenix went 3-0 in that span and is currently 24-18, the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.
Reigning MVP Embiid, meanwhile, won the East’s weekly award for the third time already in 2023/24 after his dominant play buoyed the Sixers to a 4-0 week. He put up 37.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG and 1.3 BPG on .545/.357/.909 shooting in 34.4 MPG across those four victories. Philadelphia is currently 28-13, the No. 3 seed in the East.
Embiid is the only three-time Player of the Week winner so far this season. Jalen Brunson and De’Aaron Fox have each earned the award twice.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Paul George, James Harden, Jerami Grant and Nikola Jokic were the other nominees in the West, while Brunson, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell, and Dejounte Murray were nominated in the East.