Luwawu-Cabarrot Could Revive Career With Nets
- The Cavaliers were interested in former NBA coach Avery Johnson prior to hiring John Beilein last spring, Chris Crouse of Heavy.com reports. Johnson, the former head coach of the Mavericks and Nets, most recently coached the University of Alabama. Cleveland’s interest in Johnson dated back to the 2018 offseason but the Cavs are now committed to J.B. Bickerstaff, who replaced Beilein after the All-Star break.
- Swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot could be the Nets’ latest reclamation project, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris blossomed in the organization and Luwawu-Cabarrot could join that list. After signing him to a multi-year contract, they’re looking for him to be a sparkplug off the bench. “They gave me that role and I embrace it: I love it,” Luwawu-Cabarrot told Lewis. “I love. to go out there and compete and play super-hard.”
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/23/20
Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:
- The Bucks have assigned forward D.J. Wilson to the Wisconsin Herd, G League affiliate of the team, announcing the news in a press release. This is Wilson’s second NBAGL assignment on the season.
- The Grizzlies have recalled guard Dusty Hannahs, the G League announced on social media (Twitter link). Hannahs, 26, was recently signed to a second 10-day contract by the team.
- The Warriors recalled Alen Smailagic from Santa Cruz, announcing the news on social media (Twitter link). The rookie forward has appeared in 13 games with Golden State this season, averaging 4.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and ten minutes per contest.
- The Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the G League. Oni, a Yale product, was drafted with the No. 58 pick last June.
- The Nets have assigned Rodions Kurucs to their minor league affiliate in Long Island, according to the G League. Kurucs has averaged 4.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game this season, appearing in a total of 33 contests.
Atlantic Notes: Irving, Walker, Harris, Ellington
The Nets recently ruled out Kyrie Irving for the rest of the 2019/20 season, with the star point guard set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his injured shoulder in the near future. Irving, who appeared in just 20 games this season, is expected to be ready for the start of next season — provided he doesn’t have rotator cuff damage or suffer any major setbacks.
“I’m not going to get into details now, because he’s still evaluating what his options may be over the next couple of days,” general manager Sean Marks said, as relayed by Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “But in terms of he is having surgery, and he will be out for the remainder of the season.”
Irving first injured his shoulder against the Pelicans on Nov. 4. He continued playing through the pain for multiple contests, later missing 26 straight games as a result of the injury. Brooklyn failed to adjust to Irving’s arrival, mostly playing better without him this season.
“Obviously, we feel bad for [Irving],” teammate Caris LeVert said. “He wants to be out here with us. That’s first and foremost. He definitely worked extremely hard to come back. It’s just a series of unfortunate things that happened with him.”
Here are some other notes from the Atlantic Division tonight:
- Celtics guard Kemba Walker didn’t have a minutes restriction during the All-Star Game last week, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Walker missed Sunday’s contest against the Lakers due to a knee injury, which was made worse by the highly competitive style of play in the All-Star Game.
- Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris has expressed his desire to re-sign with the team this summer, with the 28-year-old set to become an unrestricted free agent. Brooklyn is expected to enter next season with the likes of Kevin Durant, Irving, LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen and others, sporting one of the league’s most talented cores on paper. “Definitely, why wouldn’t you?” Harris said when asked if he hopes to re-sign this summer, according to NetsDaily. “Obviously, those are guys who I’ve gotten close with now that I’ve been with them this past year,” Harris said. “They’re obviously incredible players. You see what they’re able to do when they are healthy and playing. I don’t think there’s anybody in the NBA who wouldn’t want to play with those guys.”
- Knicks guard Wayne Ellington remembers the late Kobe Bryant as both a friend and a mentor, Steve Popper of Newsday writes. Both Ellington and Bryant played for the Lakers during the 2014/15 season, with Bryant’s competitiveness, drive and passion holding a permanent impact on Ellington and many other players around the association.
Jarrett Allen Accepts Fourth-Quarter Benchings
Nets starting center Jarrett Allen has accepted his recent benching in fourth quarters, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Coach Kenny Atkinson has favored $40MM backup center DeAndre Jordan to close out games.
And-Ones: Pistons, Morris, Harris, Gasol
The Pistons have made some interesting moves over the past few weeks, trading away Andre Drummond and agreeing to buyouts with both Reggie Jackson and Markieff Morris. The franchise appears to be in the midst of a tear-down, and as ESPN’s Bobby Marks explains (Twitter link), this offseason will be a test to see if the team has the stomach to be patient and rebuild.
Detroit is projected to have approximately $36MM in cap space this summer and what the organization does with that flexibility will go a long way toward identifying the team’s actual plans.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Lakers appear to be the favorite to sign Morris, though as Marks tweets, other teams are eligible to claim the power forward off waivers, which would void the buyout. The new team would be on the hook for his player option next season if they claim Morris. Marks adds that teams can use a trade exception to claim the veteran and the Rockets are among the teams with a large enough TPE.
- Joe Harris hopes to re-sign with the Nets, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Harris spoke about his desire to play alongside Kevin Durant, who hasn’t suited up since signing with Brooklyn.
- Marc Gasol could miss additional time with his lingering hamstring injury, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link). The Raptors want to make sure the big man is fully healthy before putting him back out on the court.
Kyrie Irving Out For Remainder Of Season
Kyrie Irving will miss the remainder of the season, Nets general manager Sean Marks said today, as Marc Stein of the New York Times relays (Twitter link). The point guard will undergo a procedure on his shoulder.
His last game came on February 1 against the Wizards, where he injured his knee. That ailment appears to be fine, but his shoulder woes, which he attempted to play through while taking a cortisone shot, will cause his debut season in Brooklyn to end.
Irving, who signed a big-money, four-year contract with the Nets last summer, has been limited to just 20 games in his first season with the club, primarily due to those shoulder issues. He has been his usual productive self when he has been healthy, averaging 27.4 PPG, 6.4 APG, and 5.2 RPG with a shooting line of .478/.394/.922, as own Luke Adams detailed earlier today.
The point guard’s best game of the season came in a 54-point performance in which Irving said he had the “Mamba Mentality,” dedicating it to the late Kobe Bryant.
Irving will return next season alongside Kevin Durant, who reiterated that he will not play this season. Durant inked a four-year deal with Brooklyn last summer.
Kyrie Irving Likely To Undergo Procedure On Shoulder
2:39pm: Irving is considering treatment options – including surgery – and will make a decision within the next few days, according to Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The expectation in Brooklyn over the past few days is that Irving will miss the rest of the season, sources tell Charania.
2:09pm: Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, who visited a specialist this week to get another opinion on his troublesome right shoulder, will likely undergo a procedure on that shoulder and miss an “extended period of time,” league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Irving, who signed a big-money-, four-year contract with the Nets last summer, has been limited to just 20 games in his first season with the club, primarily due to shoulder issues. He has been his usual productive self when he has been healthy, averaging 27.4 PPG, 6.4 APG, and 5.2 RPG with a shooting line of .478/.394/.922.
Although Charania’s report doesn’t provide specifics on Irving’s recovery timeline, it may be time to start wondering how much more he’ll actually contribute to the Nets this season. With Kevin Durant confirming he won’t play this season, Brooklyn isn’t a legit championship contender in 2019/20, so the team won’t want to rush Irving back.
At the very least, it seems likely he’ll miss the Nets’ second game in Boston on March 3, depriving Celtics fans of the opportunity to welcome him back this season following his free agency departure.
Regardless of when Irving is able to return to action, the 25-28 Nets, who currently rank seventh in the East, are in position to clinch a playoff spot. The team has a 17-16 record in games without Irving so far this season.
Kevin Durant Reiterates He Won’t Play This Season
Since back on Media Day last September, the Nets‘ decision-makers and Kevin Durant himself have been insisting that there are no plans to have the star forward return to the court this season. Durant, who continues to recover from a torn Achilles suffered last June, reiterated that point in a conversation with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks (video link), ruling himself out for 2019/20 in the most definitive terms yet.
Asked by Rooks if there’s any chance of a return this season, Durant initially replied, “No, I don’t think so.” When Rooks pointed out that his reply left the door open, KD promptly closed it: “No! No. The best thing for me is to continue to rehab, get as strong as I can and focus on next season.”
It would have been fascinating to see the seventh- or eighth-seeded Nets get Durant back for the postseason and suddenly become a dangerous sleeper, but that scenario was never realistic. Brooklyn knew when it signed Durant to a four-year, maximum-salary contract that he almost certainly wouldn’t suit up for the club until year two.
While Durant’s absence was expected, the Nets have also been without their other star free agent signee for much of the season. Kyrie Irving has been limited to 20 games and reportedly re-aggravated his shoulder injury this week.
There have been no updates yet on Irving’s visit to a specialist, but Brian Lewis of The New York Post wonders if the ailment might ultimately bring Kyrie’s season to an early end. As Lewis notes, Irving previously opted for a cortisone shot over arthroscopic surgery. If the latest specialist recommends surgery, Irving could join Durant on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/19/20
Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Timberwolves assigned Jacob Evans, Omari Spellman and Jarred Vanderbilt to their affiliate in Iowa, the team announced in a press release. All three were acquired two weeks ago in deals at the trade deadline, with Evans and Spellman coming from the Warriors and Vanderbilt being obtained from the Nuggets.
- The Hornets assigned Dwayne Bacon to their Greensboro affiliate, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
- The Nets assigned Nicolas Claxton to Long Island, according to the G League transactions log.
Also on the transactions log:
- The Knicks assigned Ignas Brazdeikis to Westchester.
- The Jazz sent Miye Oni to Salt Lake City.
- The Sixers assigned Zhaire Smith to Delaware.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/18/20
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Clippers have assigned Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, the team announced. Kabengele was the team’s first-round draft pick back in June.
- The Rockets have assigned Chris Clemons and Isaiah Hartenstein to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Fox 26’s Mark Berman tweets. Hartenstein, who is one of two seven-footers on the team, has started two games for the NBA club this season.
- The Lakers have assigned Talen Horton-Tucker to the G League, according to the league’s transaction log. Horton-Tucker was the team’s only draft pick back in June.
- The Nets have assigned Dzanan Musa to the Long Island Nets. Musa has appeared in 35 NBA games this season.
- KZ Okpala has been sent to the G League by the Heat, per the league’s transaction log. Okpala was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft.
- The Suns have sent Jalen Lecque to the Northern Arizona Suns. The rookie has appeared in just four games for the NBA club this season.