Central Notes: Collison, Big Three, Horst, Blakeney
In a young man’s league, Pacers point guard Darren Collison, 30, is the definition of a veteran, but doesn’t want his ability to reflect it. In his ninth NBA season, Collison wanted to make some adjustments and improvements, which led him to a phone conversation with one of the all-time greats.
Mark Monteith of NBA.com writes that Collision set up a call with future Hall-of-Famer Steve Nash. Collison wanted to pick Nash’s brain on how to adapt to playing against younger guards, implementing new moves, and improving his diet. Collison said he has long admired Nash and wanted to learn as much as he can.
“He was one of my favorite players to watch, because he’s not athletic, he’s not big, he’s not strong,” Collison said. “But when you guard him, it’s the hardest thing to do because he just knows how to keep the defense honest in the pick-and-roll. He doesn’t go fast, he doesn’t go slow. He makes every read precisely. I’ve watched a lot of film on him, so I figured why not just call him and pick his brain?”
Collison is averaging his usually solid numbers this season with 12.7 PPG and 5.3 APG in 59 games. If he ever needs it, he now has one of the greatest point guards in league history just a phone call away.
Check out more Central Division notes below:
- With Reggie Jackson back on the court, the Pistons finally have their three best players healthy simultaneously. Midseason acquisition Blake Griffin, prolific rebounder Andre Drummond, and Jackson are a strong trio that can do a lot of damage if healthy, NBA.com’s Keith Langlois writes. “If we can get Reggie healthy and keep him healthy,” head coach Stan Van Gundy said, “with those three guys, that’s going to be a formidable group to play against for anybody.”
- After recent reports suggested that the Bucks nearly traded Jabari Parker at the deadline and have a list of potential replacements for interim head coach Joe Prunty, general manager Jon Horst rejected those stories during a radio appearance in Milwaukee. Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays Horst’s comments, in which the Bucks GM denied the reports and indicated they came from erroneous sources.
- As we relayed earlier today, Bulls two-way guard Antonio Blakeney suffered a fractured left wrist and he will miss the rest of the season.
Antonio Blakeney Out For Season With Wrist Fracture
Bulls guard Antonio Blakeney will miss the rest of the season after an MRI revealed a non-displaced scaphoid fracture in his left wrist, the team announced in a press release.
Blakeney, 21, sustained the injury in Monday’s loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. He was initially diagnosed with a left wrist sprain before Thursday’s MRI revealed the severity of the injury.
The LSU product went undrafted and eventually signed a two-way deal with the Bulls. In 19 games with the Bulls, Blakeney averaged 7.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 16.5 minutes. Blakeney was impressive with the G League’s Windy City Bulls, averaging 32.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 3.9 APG in 32 contests.
Lauri Markkanen Optimistic About Playing Friday
- Lauri Markkanen, who last played for the Bulls on March 11, is optimistic about playing in that Friday game against Milwaukee, says K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter links). Markkanen, battling a back issue, likely wouldn’t be available on Saturday in Detroit if he plays on Friday, Johnson notes.
Bulls Notes: LaVine, Payne, Dunn, Markkanen
It’s possible that Zach LaVine has played his last game of the 2017/18 season. As Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times details, the Bulls announced on Wednesday that LaVine – suffering from tendinitis in his left knee – will be re-evaluated in five to seven days. If the Bulls don’t see enough progress by that point, they may shut LaVine down, but he’s hoping to avoid that outcome, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
“There are still some games to get in a rhythm before getting into the offseason and working out,” LaVine said. “I always want to hoop.”
It has been something of a lost season for LaVine, who missed the first half while he recovered from ACL surgery, and has only played 24 games for his new team. His .383 FG% in those games is easily a career low, but the Bulls probably don’t mind not getting much from LaVine this year — they acquired him with an eye on the future, and are still fully expected to lock him up to a long-term deal as a restricted free agent this summer. His modest 2017/18 showing may even keep his price down a little for the club.
Here’s more out of Chicago:
- Cameron Payne didn’t fit well last year on a Bulls roster that featured Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, and Jimmy Butler, but he has looked like a better fit since returning from his foot injury this year, says K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Payne, who is under contract for 2018/19, says he’s still working to prove that he deserves a regular role on next year’s squad. “I have to keep showing people I belong,” Payne said. “Everybody had their opinions of me already. It’s tough to change someone’s opinion.”
- While Payne figures to play a role next year, Kris Dunn is still viewed as the Bulls’ point guard of the future, Johnson writes in a separate article for The Tribune. “Just looking at that (December) stretch where we were playing really good, as well as anybody in the Eastern Conference for that time period, Kris was as good as anybody on our roster,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “So we really think he has a bright future with us.”
- Dunn, LaVine, and Lauri Markkanen – the three players acquired from the Timberwolves in last year’s Butler trade – are viewed as the Bulls’ core building blocks, but they barely saw any action together this season, writes Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. According to Goodwill, in the limited minutes that all three players were on the court this season, they had an offensive rating of 97.5 and a defensive rating of 119.2, numbers which raise more questions than they answer.
LaVine Looking Forward To Full Offseason With Bulls
- It’s been a frustrating year for Zach LaVine, who missed much of the season as he recovered from ACL surgery and has been inconsistent for a lottery-bound Bulls team since returning. However, he’s looking forward to getting a full offseason with the Bulls, writes Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. Of course, LaVine will be eligible for restricted free agency, but he’s considered a near-lock to remain in Chicago. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune takes an early look at LaVine’s upcoming free agency.
- Re-signing LaVine figures to be one of the Bulls‘ few moves in free agency, according to Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders, who doesn’t expect the club to do much shopping on the open market this offseason.
Cameron Payne Trying To Change His Image With Fans
- Bulls guard Cameron Payne is trying to erase the negative perception that many Chicago fans have after his poor play last season, relays K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Payne was a disappointment in 11 games after being acquired from the Thunder, then was sidelined until February 22 of this season following foot surgery. “I think I’ve played well,” Payne said. “Obviously I had a couple bad shooting days. But I feel the second unit has been playing pretty good. But we’re not winning so it really doesn’t matter.”
NBA Teams With 2017/18 Cap Room Still Available
At this point in the NBA league year, most of the discussion about cap room focuses on how much teams will have in July. While 2018/19 cap space will be extremely valuable for teams looking to make a splash in free agency or on the trade market, there aren’t many reasons teams need ’17/18 cap room at this point — free agency is all but over, the trade deadline is behind us, and even the deadline for renegotiating contracts has passed.
Still, 2017/18 cap room isn’t entirely useless, even this late in the season. The current league year runs through June 30, so if a team wants to complete a trade before, during, or right after this year’s draft, having cap room available to accommodate a salary could come in handy.
Additionally, teams with cap room have fewer restrictions when it comes to signing free agents — if a club wants to take a flier on a prospect during the final few weeks of the ’17/18 regular season, it could use cap space to sign that player to a lightly-guaranteed contract that stretches across three or four seasons.
Here are the teams that still have cap space available for the 2017/18 season, along with their estimated total room:
- Dallas Mavericks: $14,240,776
- Chicago Bulls: $11,325,670
- Note: The Bulls are technically operating an over-the-cap team, but could use this cap room if they renounce their exceptions.
- Phoenix Suns: $6,749,365
- Indiana Pacers: $5,423,615
- Orlando Magic: $3,669,889
- Sacramento Kings: $3,465,472
- Brooklyn Nets: $3,128,440
- Note: The Nets are technically operating an over-the-cap team, but could use this cap room if they renounce their exceptions.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders, along with our own data, was used in the creation of this post.
Jarell Eddie Assigned
- The Bulls have assigned 10-day contract signee Jarell Eddie to their G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, per a tweet from the Bulls. Eddie, 26, is averaging 17.1 points and shooting 47.5% from long range in 21 games with Windy City.
LaVine-Dunn Clash Coming?; Lopez Returning To Lineup
- The young Bulls stars are showing respect to one another now, but conflict will come when someone has to emerge as the team leader, predicts Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn are both aware that possibility is coming, but they are focused on more immediate goals. “I don’t worry about that. I don’t get into that — who’s the best player and all that,” Dunn said. “We all have to be leaders for this team. We have to be leaders in different ways. It’s a matter of time to see how we jell out. Right now we just keep playing.”
- After sitting out seven games as the Bulls opted for a youth movement, center Robin Lopez will return to the starting lineup Friday in the wake of a warning from the NBA about resting healthy players. “It’s a little bit of a crazy situation,” Lopez told K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). “I’m always excited to get out there and play with the guys.”
NBA Issues Warning To Bulls Over Resting Healthy Players
The NBA issued a warning to the Bulls this week about resting healthy players, prompting the team to change course and plan on using veterans Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday more frequently, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
Lopez has not played for the Bulls since a February 14 home loss to the Raptors; Holiday last played in a road loss to the Nets in Brooklyn on February 26. Chicago tried to unload Lopez, a free agent at season’s end, at last month’s trade deadline, but couldn’t find a deal. The Bulls removed both veterans from the rotation to evaluate their young players for the remainder of the season.
“After the All-Star break, we had communication with the league office about Robin and Justin’s roles. After healthy dialogue, the league determined that their situations fall into the ‘player rest’ policy,” Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said in a statement, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “We respect the communication and cooperative dialogue with the league and will adhere to their recommendations going forward.”
Commissioner Adam Silver has taken a firm stance against teams purposely tanking. He fined Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $600K in late February for public comments advocating for tanking. Since then, he sent out a league-wide memo warning teams that they will face consequences if they are found to be purposely trying to lose.
“If we ever received evidence that players or coaches were attempting to lose or otherwise taking steps to cause any game to result otherwise than on its competitive merits, that conduct would be met with the swiftest and harshest response possible from the league office,” Silver said.
The Bulls were viewed as one of the worst teams in the league entering the season. Thus far, their 21-42 record, the fourth-worst record in the Eastern Conference, has corroborated those predictions.