And-Ones: Dunn, Thompson, Expansion, Rest Problem
Kris Dunn has been competing in the G League this season in the hopes of receiving a promotion to the NBA. According to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), Dunn is receiving call-up interest and has signed with a new agent, Bernie Lee of Thread Sports Management.
Through 20 regular season games (29.7 MPG) with the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s affiliate, the former No. 5 overall pick is averaging 16.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.3 APG and 2.6 SPG on .522/.412/.755 shooting. A defensive stalwart, Dunn played 14 games for Portland last season.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Ausar Thompson of the Overtime Elite league has won the regular-season MVP award, an OTE representative tells ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (via Twitter). Thompson, who is projected to go No. 5 overall by ESPN in the upcoming draft, is averaging 15.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 5.4 APG, 2.3 SPG and 1.1 BPG, per Givony.
- Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame chairman and former NBA owner and executive Jerry Colangelo thinks the time is right for the league to add a couple more teams, writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “Personally, I do. OK, I do,” Colangelo told Yahoo Sports. “And I think you just hit on a couple of markets that make the most sense, (Seattle and Las Vegas).” Colangelo says there’s enough talent in the NBA for 30 more standard roster spots. “The stars continue to come,” Colangelo said, per Goodwill. “(Mikal) Bridges in Brooklyn, he gets 45 in his (third) game. That’s a new (star). I don’t worry about, ‘Well, how are you going to populate these new teams?’ There’s plenty of talent and more stars on the rise.” Colangelo went on to explain that he believes the game is in “great shape” due to the global interest in basketball. Commissioner Adam Silver has stated multiple times that expansion won’t be considered until the new media rights deal is negotiated following the ’24/25 season.
- The Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds queried 48 players, coaches, owners and executives to see if the NBA should change current the 82-game, 170-day schedule to address the problem of star players resting throughout the season. The results were completely mixed, with 40% saying they’d go along with what the league deems best, 35% saying they want no changes, and 25% wanting change. “I think if you want to get the best player availability, shortening the season may be in the best interest of everybody involved,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “But that’s also a lot of money being lost — TV games, money. Let’s not forget: This is a business.” Some believe expanding the 174-day schedule by a week or two and eliminating back-to-back games would help, but there’s there’s clearly no easy solution to the issue, as Reynolds notes.
Community Shootaround: Most Improved Player
Since 2000/01, 12 of the 22 Most Improved Player award winners have been 23 years old or younger. Only three — Julius Randle (26), Goran Dragic (27) and Hedo Turkoglu — were older than 25, with Turkoglu the oldest winner during that span at 28.
Of the past 22 winners, 17 had played fewer than five seasons. Needless to say, a younger, relatively inexperienced player typically wins the award.
The three frontrunners for the ’22/23 MIP award are slightly different. According to BetOnline.ag, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+140) is neck-and-neck with Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (+145), followed closely by Knicks guard Jalen Brunson at +250 (Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Nets guard Cam Thomas are each viewed as long shots at +4000).
Gilgeous-Alexander, 24, is in his fifth season. Markkanen, 25, is in his sixth. Brunson, 26, is in his fifth. That’s not to take anything away from any of the players whatsoever, I just thought it was interesting that they are slightly more experienced than many of the past winners over the past couple decades.
All three have compelling cases. On top of averaging 30.8 PPG (his previous career-high was 24.5), 4.7 RPG and 5.7 APG on terrific efficiency (.508/.343/.912 shooting line for a .624 true shooting percentage), Gilgeous-Alexander is one of only three qualifying players (Jaren Jackson Jr. and Joel Embiid are the others) averaging at least one steal (1.6) and one block per game (1.1).
He has also led Oklahoma City to a surprising 28-29 record, good for the No. 10 seed in the West at the moment. I don’t think many people would have predicted the Thunder would be in the play-in tournament this late in the ’22/23 season, especially after No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren was ruled out before the season began with a foot injury.
Markkanen is also averaging a career-high in PPG at 24.9 (previous high was 18.7) on elite efficiency — of players averaging at least 20 PPG, his .657 TS% only trails Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. He’s shooting at career-high levels from all over the court, including twos (.594), threes (.412), FG% (.512) and FT% (.877). The Finnisher is also averaging a solid 8.6 RPG for the resilient 29-31 Jazz, the No. 11 seed in the West.
Brunson has been instrumental in the Knicks’ turnaround this season, with New York currently sitting at 33-27, No. 6 in the East. Like his primary competition for the award, he’s averaging a career-high 23.9 PPG (previous high was 16.3) on top of a career-best 6.2 APG. His shooting slash line of .485/.411/.838 is excellent, and his .592 TS% is well above average for a point guard.
We want to know what you think. Who would you currently select for the Most Improved Player award? Why? Head to the comments to weigh in.
Southeast Notes: Banchero, Ross, Kuzma, Porzingis, Heat
Magic forward Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick of last June’s draft, is looking like a strong favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, according to Kelly Iko, Eric Nehm and Josh Robbins of The Athletic. The three beat writers for The Athletic all had votes for the award last season.
Robbins points out that Banchero ranks first among rookies in points per game (19.9), fourth in rebounds (6.6) and third in assists (3.6), a sign of his all-around game. The 20-year-old has been in a major shooting slump in February, going 1-of-27 from 3-point range, but many of his rookie peers have gone through peaks and valleys as well.
The three writers would have Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin second and Utah’s Walker Kessler third on their ballots at the All-Star break.
Here’s more from the Southeast:
- Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel (subscriber link) believes the Magic and Terrence Ross did right by each other. Instead of trading him to a random team for a second-round pick, the Magic bought Ross out and waived him to let him pick his next destination (Phoenix). As Bianchi writes, when the team started rebuilding a couple years ago, Ross was one of the few veterans left on the roster, but instead of publicly complaining or being a distraction he served as a positive mentor for the younger players. Bianchi believes players and agents around the NBA will notice that Orlando treated Ross well after a seven-year stint with the team.
- Both Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis are having career years in 2022/23 and both players can enter free agency in the summer if they decline their player options (Kuzma has already publicly said he’s going to). What does that mean for the Wizards going forward? Chase Hughes explores that topic for NBC Sports Washington.
- The Heat intend to bolster their frontcourt depth by signing Kevin Love and Cody Zeller. Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald reports that Love is expected to receive part of the Heat’s mid-level exception, while Zeller will likely receive a minimum-salary deal for the rest of the season, though the details were still being finalized as of Sunday afternoon.
Hawks’ John Collins Enters Concussion Protocol
Hawks forward John Collins has entered the NBA’s concussion protocol, the team announced today.
Collins exited Wednesday’s game vs. New York after a collision and was reevaluated on Thursday, revealing the concussion. According to the Hawks, Collins will be monitored daily and his status will be updated when appropriate.
Through 50 games (31.1 MPG) in 2022/23, the six-year veteran is averaging 13.2 PPG, 7.1 RPG and 1.2 BPG. While his percentages on two-pointers (62.4%) and free throws (81.3%) are above his career marks, his three-point percentage is a career-low 24.8%. Collins dealt with a right ring finger injury last season, which may still be affecting his outside shot — his previous low mark over a full season was 34.0%.
The Hawks don’t play again until next Friday, so there’s a good chance Collins will be ready to go by then. If he does end up missing more time, trade deadline acquisition Saddiq Bey is a candidate to receive more minutes.
Atlanta is currently 29-30, the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Community Shootaround: Golden State Warriors
During the 2021/22 regular season, the Warriors went 53-29 and had the league’s 16th-best offense and second-best defense, good for the fourth-best net rating. They led the NBA in net rating during the playoffs, winning their fourth title in eight years.
Expectations were understandably high entering the season as Golden State looked to defend its championship. The Warriors lost some bench depth, but that didn’t seem insurmountable with the primary core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole still in place.
Things haven’t gone according to plan. The Warriors dropped three of their last four games entering the All-Star break and have already equaled last season’s loss total, currently sitting at .500 with a 29-29 record. Entering the break last season, they were 42-17.
Their offense has actually improved — it’s up four spots to 12th in the league. The primary culprit has been the defense, which has fallen all the way down to 20th. Golden State’s net rating in ’22/23 isn’t much better, currently sitting at plus-0.1, which ranks 19th in the NBA.
Injuries to Curry and Wiggins haven’t helped. Wiggins is healthy now, but there’s still no timeline for Curry’s return to action following a left leg injury.
The team’s lone trade ahead of the deadline — sending out former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman to bring back defensive stalwart Gary Payton II — has to be considered a disappointment on several levels. Not only did selecting Wiseman not work out, but Payton’s physical was flagged and he’s expected to miss an extended period of time with an abdominal injury.
The five-man unit of Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Green and Looney has been absolutely dominant, recording a plus-21.9 net rating with what equates to the league’s best offense and defense. It has been far and away the most effective five-man group in the league that has played 300-plus minutes.
However, the bench has been a problem the entire season, and the team’s reliance on making jump shots has hurt when trying to close out games — the Warriors are last in the league in free throw attempts (they were 26th last season, but the defense was much, much better).
If the season ended today, the No. 9 seed Warriors would need to win a couple of games in the play-in tournament to reach the postseason. Their spot is tenuous, as they only hold a one-game lead on the Jazz and Trail Blazers, the current No. 11 and No. 12 seeds.
However, the West is so close, they’re also only 2.5 games back of the No. 4 seed Clippers, so a strong finish to the season could secure them homecourt advantage in the first round — the Warriors are 22-7 at home, but only 7-22 on the road.
Assuming Curry is healthy and they get in, no one will want to play the Warriors in the playoffs. They have been the most successful team in the league over the past decade and their core has a wealth of experience. But trying to get there has been a bumpy road.
We want to know what you think. Will the Warriors make a late-season push and secure a playoff spot outright? Or will they be stuck in the play-in mix for their final 24 games?
Head to the comments and share your thoughts on the Warriors’ outlook for the rest of the regular season.
Clippers Notes: Kawhi, Westbrook, PG, Powell
After entering the season with championship expectations, the Clippers have to be disappointed with their 33-28 record to this point. They are just 21st in the league in offensive rating and 10th in defensive rating, good for a middling plus-0.3 net rating, which ranks 16th in the NBA.
While those numbers look troubling, it somewhat obscures the fact that Kawhi Leonard has returned to his dominant two-way form over the past several weeks. As Michael Pina of The Ringer details, the Clippers are 23-11 with Leonard in the lineup and boast the league’s the league’s best offensive rating and fourth-best defensive rating when he’s on the court.
Leonard, who missed all of 2021/22 with a torn ACL, is averaging 27.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.9 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .515/.465/.922 shooting over his past 17 games (36.5 MPG). Teammates and coaches have noticed the difference, Pina writes.
“He’s back to his normal self. I think the minutes is back to where he’s comfortable on the floor,” Paul George said. “No restrictions on him. So I think, you know, his flow, his timing, I think his touch, I think everything kind of just came back to normal for him, and he’s looking like the Kawhi when we first got here, pre-injury. He looks back to that level, and some.”
The two-time Finals MVP’s health will ultimately determine the Clippers’ ceiling, and he has missed 27 games for various reasons and still isn’t playing back-to-backs. Still, if he’s in the lineup, the Clippers are a fearsome opponent, Pina notes.
Here’s more on the Clippers:
- George and Marcus Morris have publicly campaigned for the team to add Russell Westbrook via the buyout market, and George said Leonard likes the idea as well. Westbrook plans to meet with the Clippers’ two star forwards soon to discuss the possibility of teaming up, according to Law Murray of The Athletic.
- While George advocated for adding Westbrook, he also likes the team’s trade deadline moves (they acquired Eric Gordon, Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland) and thinks the Clippers have all the necessary pieces in place, Murray adds. “We got everything we need,” George said. “We got play-making, we got scorers. We got defensive stoppers. We just had to bring that all together, and find an identity as a group that carry us throughout games. Because again, it’s going to be a long — we plan on having a long postseason. So we got to have an identity that carries us through that long stretch.”
- Reserve guard Norman Powell missed Thursday’s game against Phoenix due to right knee soreness, but Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times says (via Twitter) his “prevailing sense” is that there’s minimal concern about the injury and he was likely just held out to give him extra rest heading into the All-Star break. Powell is the team’s third-leading scorer, averaging 17.0 PPG on .486/.417/.805 shooting through 50 games (25.8 MPG).
Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Williams, Hyland, Nuggets Bench
Tony Jones of The Athletic believes it’s “very, very unlikely” that Russell Westbrook will ever play a game for the Jazz, noting that the veteran guard wouldn’t receive much playing time as the team prioritizes its younger players (Twitter links).
According to Jones, the two most likely scenarios for Westbrook are securing a buyout if he finds a situation he likes, or remaining on Utah’s roster but away from the team.
While that’s hardly surprising news, it’s still noteworthy that Westbrook might finish the season not actively playing. On the other hand, if he joins another team and things go awry, that could hurt his value ahead of free agency.
The 2016/17 MVP has made over $300MM in his career, so it’s not like he needs more money, but it’s a lot easier for a team to move on from a player who isn’t making much money than one who is. It’s a tricky balance to strike for a decorated player who was often criticized (sometimes unfairly) on his last team.
Here’s more from the Northwest:
- Thunder swingman Jalen Williams has flown under the radar a bit in ’22/23, but he’s having an outstanding rookie season, averaging 12.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.2 SPG on .508/.324/.759 shooting. He recently spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype about a number of topics, sharing an amusing story about how he first met head coach Mark Daigneault.
- Bones Hyland was traded to the Clippers last week after a rocky end to his Nuggets tenure. The second-year guard explained that he had “great communication” with Denver’s front office, but not so much with the coaching staff. “Yeah, I feel like it could’ve been done better on both ends,” Hyland said, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscriber link). “Just more communication. I’ve got so much love for Denver, but I just feel like the communication was just so low. I had a lot of mixed emotions, and we didn’t come together and just make it better.”
- Nuggets head coach Michael Malone suggested he’s going to run a five-man bench lineup of Reggie Jackson, Bruce Brown, Christian Braun, Vlatko Cancar and Thomas Bryant once Jackson is activated after the All-Star break, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. A notable omission from that group is veteran forward Jeff Green, who has consistently been in the rotation when healthy and scored a season-high 24 points in Wednesday’s victory over Dallas. Malone has tweaked the bench rotation multiple times this season, however, so it wouldn’t be surprising if that five-man group changes over time.
Fred VanVleet Switches Agents Ahead Of Possible Free Agency
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet is widely expected to turn down his $22.8MM player option for 2023/24 in order to become a free agent this summer. After parting ways with his longtime agent last month, VanVleet will now be represented by Klutch Sports Group, the agency formally confirmed (Twitter link).
Reports first surfaced in late January indicating that VanVleet would likely land with Klutch Sports.
A first-time All-Star last season, VanVleet has seen his three-point percentage decline to 34.4% in ’22/23 (he’s at 37.5% for his career). However, the rest of his averages are in line with what he’s posted the past few years, as he’s recording 19.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.6 APG and 1.6 SPG through 50 games (36.9 MPG).
VanVleet, who turns 29 next week, was involved in plenty trade rumors leading up to the deadline, but the Raptors decided to hold onto him. He has been particularly impressive over the past 15 games (37.8 MPG), averaging 24.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 7.5 APG, 1.7 SPG and 0.9 BPG on .433/.383/.914 shooting. Toronto controls his Bird rights, giving the team the ability to offer him more years and more money than a rival club, assuming he enters free agency.
A five-year, maximum-salary contract for VanVleet is projected to be worth $233.16MM. It’s highly unlikely that he’ll receive that much money, but Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported last month that VanVleet might be seeking a deal in the range of $30-35MM per year, and that seems attainable.
The Raptors will have several difficult decisions entering the offseason. Fellow guard Gary Trent Jr. is also expected to decline his player option and become an unrestricted free agent, while center Jakob Poeltl will be unrestricted too. The roster could get quite expensive going forward if all three players are retained and no other moves are made.
Clippers Sign Nate Darling To Two-Way Deal
The Clippers have signed Nate Darling to a two-way contract, the team announced.
A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Darling went undrafted out of Delaware in 2020 and spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with Charlotte, appearing in seven games for the Hornets.
The 6’6″ shooting guard has spent the past couple seasons with the Clippers’ G League affiliate in Ontario, California.
He had a strong showing during the fall Showcase Cup, averaging 20.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 2.5 APG on .469/.440/.828 shooting in 19 games (31.1 MPG). That has carried over to the 2022/23 regular season with Ontario, as he’s averaging 21.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.0 SPG on .464/.389/.868 shooting in 20 games (31.7 MPG).
The Clippers waived Moses Brown earlier today, which was reportedly a mutual decision after he had reached his two-way games played limit. Darling will fill that two-way opening and can be active for up to 15 regular season games. He won’t be playoff-eligible.
Los Angeles still has one standard roster spot open, but both two-way slots are now filled.
Popovich, Nowitzki, Wade Among Hall Of Fame Finalists
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 12 finalists for 2023 on Friday evening, and what a star-studded list it is.
Here are the 12 finalists:
- Gregg Popovich – Winningest coach in NBA history, five-time NBA champion
- Dirk Nowitzki – 14-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA, 2006/07 MVP, 2011 NBA champion and Finals MVP
- Dwyane Wade – 13-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA, three-time NBA champion, 2006 Finals MVP
- Tony Parker – Six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, four-time NBA champion, 2007 Finals MVP
- Pau Gasol – Six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, two-time NBA champion, 2002 Rookie of the Year
- Becky Hammon – Six-time WNBA All-Star, two-time first-team All-WNBA
- Jennifer Azzi – 1990 Naismith Player of the Year, 1990 national champion with Stanford; 1996 Olympic gold medal
- Gene Bess – All-time winningest college coach (1,300) across all levels in 50 years at Three Rivers Community College in Missouri (men’s)
- Gene Keady – Seven-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, six-time National Coach of the Year with Purdue (men’s)
- David Hixon – 826 wins, two-time Division III national champion and Coach of the Year with Amherst College (men’s)
- Gary Blair – 852 wins, 2011 national champion with Texas A&M (women’s)
- Marian Washington – 560 wins, 11 NCAA appearances with Kansas (women’s)
According to the Hall of Fame, the entire class of 2023 will be announced in Houston, on April 1 at the NCAA Men’s Final Four at 11:00 AM ET. Potential enshrinees from the Direct Elect Committees may also be recognized at the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
The class of 2023 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., on August 11-12.
In addition to the aforementioned nominees, the Hall of Fame also announced that legendary high school scout Tom Konchalski was honored as the 2023 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Konchalski unfortunately passed away a couple of years ago. You can read more about him here.
Marc J. Spears and Holly Rowe of ESPN were named the 2023 Curt Gowdy Media Award winners for print and electronic, respectively, while CBS Sports won the award for the transformative category.