Pacific Notes: Johnson, Brown, Kings, Green
Suns forward Cameron Johnson hoped to sign a rookie scale extension before the deadline passed on Monday, but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement. He says he’s still focused on the task at hand.
“I would’ve loved to have come to a conclusion,” Johnson said, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I love it here, but the fact of the matter is that I’m here for this year and that is what I’m focused on. I’m excited. We’ve got a good group. We’ve had a good group and we want to win a championship.”
The 26-year-old, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, suggested that the tenuous ownership situation played a factor in negotiations
“Negotiations are interesting, especially when ownership is unclear,” said Johnson, a reference to majority owner Robert Sarver announcing his intention to sell the team after backlash from an NBA investigation into his behavior within the organization.
“Extremely interesting,” Johnson continued. “Once you see that the situation is what it is, you can get over it relatively quickly and just be excited for the opportunity that’s been put in front of you.”
Johnson exited the team’s 107-105 comeback victory over Dallas early in the fourth quarter with right quad cramps, but he said he should be good to go for Friday’s contest at Portland, Rankin relays in another story for The Arizona Republic.
Here’s more from the Pacific:
- Not reaching an extension with Johnson feels like a missed opportunity for the Suns to put “some of the negativity and uncertainty of the offseason” in the rear-view mirror, according to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports, who notes that Johnson could raise his stock significantly as a full-time starter in 2022/23. As Bourguet writes, failing to secure Johnson as a long-term fixture of the team’s core after Deandre Ayton‘s messy restricted free agency over the summer makes it seem like the Suns didn’t learn how protracted contract negotiations can negatively impact players.
- Kings head coach Mike Brown says he’s focused on ending the team’s 16-year playoff drought, which is an NBA record. “We love the fans. We do. And they’re great fans, but even if the fans didn’t feel like we needed to make the playoffs, I’m not here to coach regular-season games. It’s just as simple as that,” he said (Twitter link via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee).
- Brown and center Domantas Sabonis have helped improve the Kings‘ vibes and culture, writes Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. Brown has brought consistent energy and a “serious-yet-playful” personality to the team, while Sabonis hosted several teammates at his new offseason home in Napa, California to watch last season’s Finals and play pickup games. “The vibes were great,” Sabonis told The Bee. “If you’re an average team and if your off-court (dynamic) is amazing, you’re not an average team any more, you’re definitely better. I’m a firm believer in that.” As Biderman notes, it was the first offseason as a King for Sabonis, who only appeared in 15 games with Sacramento in ’21/22 after he was acquired from Indiana in a February trade.
- Don’t expect the Warriors to consider an in-season trade for Draymond Green this season despite the uncomfortable situation he caused by punching Jordan Poole, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his Lowe Post podcast (hat tip to RealGM). “If anything, I think that may be underplaying the level of iciness and tension that they’re navigating right now,” Lowe said. “And that’s not to say ‘Are they going to trade Draymond?’ Everything I’ve heard is they are not trading Draymond. They’re just not going to happen. They’re trying to win the championship and will try to ride it out unless something drastic happens. Draymond is going to be on the team all season.”
Leonard Might Start Season Coming Off Bench For Clippers
The Clippers are contemplating starting the season with Kawhi Leonard as a reserve to manage his minutes, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Leonard, who missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL, started both of his preseason appearances for the Clippers, averaging 16.5 minutes per contest. The five-time All-Star, two-time Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Finals MVP sustained the injury in Game 4 of L.A.’s second-round playoff series against Utah in June 2021.
The 31-year-old has a somewhat notorious reputation for missing games due to “load management,” playing no more than 60 regular season games since 2017/18. However, this situation is a bit different because a torn ACL is a very serious injury and sometimes it takes awhile for players to ramp up their conditioning and get back to game speed after missing so much time.
Still, it’s unclear what the advantage would be to bringing Leonard off the bench as opposed to starting. He has started every game he’s played since November 11, 2013, so it’s been nearly nearly nine years since he was last used as a reserve.
With Leonard and fellow star Paul George back and healthy, the Clippers are looking to improve upon last season’s 42-40 campaign that saw them miss out on the playoffs after losing both games in the play-in tournament. The Clippers face the Lakers Thursday night at 9:00pm CT on TNT for their regular season opener.
Wizards Notes: Avdija, Beal, Young Players, Bench, Mediocrity
Deni Avdija earned the nod to start at small forward for the Wizards in their season opener at Indiana, notes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. As Hughes writes, the news is somewhat surprising because Avdija suffered a groin injury last month playing for Israel during EuroBasket, causing him to miss all four of the Wizards’ preseason games.
The 6’9″ Avdija provides more size to balance the small backcourt of Monte Morris and Bradley Beal and is a much better defender than Will Barton, which gave him a leg up for the starting job, per Hughes.
Unfortunately, the third-year forward suffered a sprained right ankle during the contest, but X-rays were negative and it’s considered to be “nothing serious,” a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Wizards officially listed him as questionable to return, with Anthony Gill starting in his place at halftime, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter links).
2022/23 is a big season for Avdija, as he’s eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer after the Wizards exercised their fourth-year team option on his rookie contract for ’23/24. The 21-year-old former ninth overall pick averaged 7.6 points and 5.1 rebounds over his first two NBA seasons.
Here’s more on the Wizards:
- In an exclusive, in-depth interview with Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Beal said winning is his primary focus going forward. “I’ve been an All-Star, I’ve been an All-NBA guy, I’ve scored 30-plus points in back-to-back years,” he said. “What individual goals am I really after, right? Those would be great. Those come with winning. It doesn’t make sense to score 30 a game and get snubbed to be an All-Star because you’re not winning. So if we win games, those little accolades take care of themselves. But I just want to win. I want to be able to get my team to the playoffs, win a series, get to the next series, win a series, get to the conference finals, win that series, get to the finals and hopefully win that.”
- Beal also recently shared his thoughts on the team’s young players, Hughes writes in another story for NBC Sports Washington. The star guard was particularly pleased with forward Rui Hachimura, who will be a restricted free agent in 2023 after failing to reach a rookie scale extension. “Rui’s been spectacular all preseason and all summer. I think the work that he’s put in is starting to really show pretty often,” Beal said.
- The Wizards’ second unit has real upside in ’22/23, according to Hughes. Headlined by Barton, Hachimura, Delon Wright and Daniel Gafford, the bench combined to score 43 points in the 114-107 victory over the Pacers.
- Can the Wizards break out of their cycle of mediocrity? Wallace ponders that question in a piece for The Washington Post, noting that the team has drafted between ninth and 15th since 2018, which is arguably the worst place to be in the NBA — not bad enough to land a top pick, but not good enough to be relevant.
Myles Turner Sprains Ankle In Warmups, Misses Opener
Center Myles Turner missed the Pacers‘ regular season home opener versus the Wizards on Wednesday after suffering a sprained left ankle during warmups, Indiana announced on Twitter. Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files was the first to report when and where the injury occurred (via Twitter).
A source tells Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that Turner landed on a ball boy’s foot, which led to the injury.
It’s a very unfortunate start to the 2022/23 season for Turner, who hasn’t appeared in a regular season game since January. He missed the final 39 games of the ’21/22 season with a stress reaction in his left foot, so the fact that he sprained his left ankle is a bit worrisome.
We’ll have to wait for more updates on Turner’s status to determine how much action he might miss. The two-time blocked shots leader, whose name has been floated extensively in trade rumors, is in the final year of his contract, which will pay him $18MM this season.
In 431 career regular season games, the 26-year-old holds averages of 12.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 2.3 BPG on .489/.349/.768 shooting.
Caris LeVert Lands Cavs’ Starting Small Forward Job
Cavaliers swingman Caris LeVert has won the competition for the team’s starting small forward job and is slated to remain a starter for the “foreseeable future,” sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
Third-year wing Isaac Okoro and fourth-year forward Dean Wade were LeVert’s primary competition for the role, according to Fedor, who notes that Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and oft-injured Dylan Windler were also vying for the job.
The Cavs think LeVert brings the best blend of offense and defense to complement their young core starters in Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Fedor writes that LeVert had a “transformative offseason” as far as conditioning goes, giving him a leg up on the competition.
According to Fedor, the Cavs also “strongly believe” that LeVert, who’s not known for his defense, is capable of defending the top perimeter scorer on rival teams. LeVert has mostly played shooting guard in the past, but has also played some point guard and small forward.
There was some concern that Okoro, who also had a strong offseason and reworked his shot, wouldn’t be enough of an offensive threat, and the hope is that he’ll play with more freedom as a reserve, Fedor adds. LeVert’s ability to break down defenses could make life easier for Garland and Mitchell, though his shooting is a little shaky.
Wade, who suffered a sprained right ankle during preseason, says he’s recovered from the injury and ready to play in tonight’s season opener at Toronto, Fedor tweets. Wade signed a three-year, $18.5MM extension last month to remain with the Cavs until 2026.
Cleveland acquired LeVert from Indiana in February ahead of the trade deadline, giving up a lottery-protected first-rounder (it didn’t convey in 2022 and is still lottery-protected this season) and swapping an early second-round pick (used on Andrew Nembhard) for a late one (the Cavs selected Luke Travers, who’s being stashed in Australia). The Cavs also gave up Utah’s 2027 second-rounder in the deal.
2022/23 is a big season for both LeVert and Okoro. LeVert is in the final year of his contract and will be extension-eligible until the end of the league year, while Okoro is eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer.
Timberwolves Waive Eric Paschall
The Timberwolves have waived forward Eric Paschall, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team confirmed the news in a press release.
Pachall was on a two-way deal with the Wolves, so they now have a two-way opening after releasing him. Minnesota also recently converted center Luka Garza to a two-way deal from an Exhibit 10 contract, waiving guard A.J. Lawson to make room for him.
According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Wolves were “very excited” to land Paschall on a two-way deal, but it sounds like he may have been cut due to “lingering Achilles issues.” He only appeared in one preseason game for the Wolves for 13 minutes, scoring one point.
The No. 41 pick in the 2019 draft, Paschall began his NBA career with the Warriors and had an impressive rookie season in Golden State in 2019/20, averaging 14.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 60 games (27.6 MPG). His role declined in his second season and he was traded in the 2021 offseason to Utah, where his minutes dipped further.
In 58 appearances last season for the Jazz, the 25-year-old averaged 5.8 PPG and 1.8 RPG on .485/.370/.767 shooting in 12.7 MPG. He was eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, but didn’t receive a qualifying offer from Utah and became unrestricted.
It took about a month for Paschall to find a new team in free agency, and he said he contemplated retirement before ultimately accepting the two-way deal with Minnesota.
“It was just a lot, you know what I’m saying?” Paschall said. “I feel like mentally I wasn’t in the greatest place. Just tired. I was like, ‘I might just stop playing basketball.’ … You see the other players getting picked up, you’re not getting a call. You’re calling your agent every day. So I was at a point where I was like I might walk away.”
It’s unclear what the future holds for the three-year veteran, but he’ll clear waivers on Friday if he goes unclaimed.
Dennis Schröder Expected To Miss 3-4 Weeks After Thumb Surgery
7:40pm: The Lakers confirmed in a press release that Schröder underwent surgery on Monday to repair the ulnar collaterial ligament on his right thumb and will be reevaluated in three weeks.
3:45pm: Lakers guard Dennis Schröder underwent surgery to repair a ligament in his right thumb on Monday and is expected to miss three-to-four weeks, head coach Darvin Ham told reporters, including ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).
It’s an unfortunate start to the 2022/23 season for Schröder, who re-joined the Lakers on a one-year, minimum-salary deal as a free agent last month after a strong performance at EuroBasket, helping lead the German team to a bronze medal. However, he missed most of training camp and preseason and was only able to practice with the Lakers for the first time last Monday due to a visa issue.
The 29-year-old said he has “unfinished business” with the Lakers after reportedly being unwilling to discuss a lucrative extension in his first stint with the team a couple of seasons ago. The rumored four-year, $80MM extension was never signed, and Schröder instead signed a one-year, $5.9MM with Boston last summer.
Schröder hopes his second stint with the Lakers is longer than his first (one season).
“Of course, it would be great to sign a big deal and a longer-term deal, and that’s my goal still,” he said. “But the end of the day, we are here now and I’m going to do everything I can right now to just help my teammates win ballgames.”
With Schröder sidelined, players like Kendrick Nunn, Patrick Beverley and Austin Reaves could see more playing time in his stead.
Rockets Waive Derrick Favors
OCTOBER 17: The Rockets have waived Favors, the team confirmed today. Houston’s roster is now set for the regular season.
OCTOBER 14: The Rockets plan to waive veteran big man Derrick Favors, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
As Charania notes, Houston still needed to make one more cut with 16 players on guaranteed standard contracts. Favors will be the odd man out.
According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Rockets are “huge fans” of Boban Marjanovic, another veteran center who may have been competing with Favors for the last roster spot. Iko says the team holds Marjanovic “in high regard as a locker room presence” and he’s “universally loved by his teammates,” in addition to having situational use as a backup.
The Rockets will be on the hook for all of Favors’ $10,183,800 salary in 2022/23 assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, which is almost certain to happen. If he’s officially waived today, the 31-year-old will become a free agent on Sunday.
Favors was acquired by the Rockets in an eight-player trade with the Thunder at the end of last month, and all four players Houston acquired will have been waived before the season starts (the Rockets essentially took on extra expiring money this season to land a future second-round pick and received some cash to help offset the salary differences).
The third overall pick of the 2010 draft, Favors has appeared in 790 regular season games (503 starts, 24.3 MPG) with averages of 10.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG and 1.2 BPG while shooting 53.4% from the floor and 66.3% from the foul line. His mobility and production have declined in recent seasons, averaging career-lows of 5.3 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 38 games (18 starts, 16.7 MPG) with the Thunder in ’21/22, but it would be surprising if he doesn’t land with a new team soon after becoming a free agent.
Injury Notes: Zion, Grizzlies, Raptors, Beasley, Bagley
Pelicans star Zion Williamson, who left a preseason game early last week with left ankle soreness and subsequently missed the finale, was a full participant in practice on Monday, per head coach Willie Green (Twitter link via ESPN’s Andrew Lopez). Green sounded non-committal about Williamson’s status for Wednesday’s regular season opener, but Williamson put speculation to rest by stating, “I’m playing Wednesday,” as Lopez tweets.
The 22-year-old former No. 1 overall pick looks to be in great shape for 2022/23 after missing all of last season with a broken foot, so hopefully the ankle issue is as minor as it seems.
Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said the team is hoping to get some 5-on-5 work in for Jaren Jackson Jr. “in the next couple of weeks,” tweets Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Jackson underwent foot surgery at the end of June and will miss the start of the regular season. Jenkins also said second-year wing Ziaire Williams missed practice on Monday with a non-COVID illness in addition to knee soreness, and his status for the season opener is up in the air (Twitter link via Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com).
- Raptors big man Chris Boucher, who’s dealing with a hamstring injury, was able to practice today and the team is hopeful he’ll be ready for the opener on Wednesday, per head coach Nick Nurse (Twitter link courtesy of Sportsnet’s Michael Grange). Eric Koreen of The Athletic relays (via Twitter) that free agent addition Otto Porter (hamstring) did not participate in practice and Koreen expects him “to be out for a little bit.”
- According to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link), Jazz shooting guard Malik Beasley recently said his sprained left ankle feels “completely healed” he and expects to play in Wednesday’s season opener. Beasley was acquired from Minnesota this offseason in the Rudy Gobert deal.
- Marvin Bagley III admits “it was a little scary” when he suffered a sprained MCL and bone bruise in his right knee during preseason last week, writes Mike Curtis of The Detroit News (subscription required). “When I did it, all types of stuff was running through my mind,” Bagley said. “It was something I couldn’t have really prevented. It happened so fast. That feeling, I never felt it before. Getting up and not being able to put pressure on it, it was a little scary for me. God had his hands on me; had His arms around me, so that’s all I can ask for.” The big man added that he’s not going to rush the rehabilitation process and will only suit up for the Pistons when he’s ready, but he’s feeling progressively better every day.
Hornets’ James Bouknight Arrested For DWI
Hornets guard James Bouknight, the No. 11 overall pick of last year’s draft, was arrested and charged early Sunday morning for driving while impaired, per Kallie Cox of The Charlotte Observer. The Hornets acknowledged Bouknight’s arrest (via Twitter), but didn’t have much to say on the matter.
“We are aware of the incident involving James Bouknight and are in the process of gathering additional information,” the team said in a statement. “We will have no further comment at this time.”
This is not the first vehicular incident Bouknight has been involved in, Cox writes. Last November, he was cited for speeding and reckless driving (107 mph in a 65 mph zone), and is slated to appear in court later this month.
Bouknight was also cited in February for reckless driving, and last Wednesday, he was once again ticketed for speeding and reckless driving (92 mph in a 50 mph zone). According to Cox, there was another case involving Bouknight, but the charges were dropped.
The 22-year-old was also arrested for fleeing a car accident three years ago while at UConn and reportedly smelled of alcohol at the time, per a report from The Associated Press (via ESPN).
As Cox notes, Bouknight is the latest Hornets player to be arrested in 2022, but unfortunately not the first.
Former Hornet Montrezl Harrell was arrested for a felony marijuana trafficking charge in May, but that was later reduced to a misdemeanor possession charge which will be removed from his record if he remains in good legal standing for the next 10 months. Harrell signed with the Sixers as a free agent less than a week after his charge was reduced.
In addition to Bouknight and Harrell, restricted free agent Miles Bridges is facing three felony domestic violence charges for an incident in Los Angeles at the end of June. He’s scheduled to appear in court today for a preliminary hearing, which has been postponed several times.