NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/5/18
Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Warriors recalled rookie forward Jordan Bell from their Santa Cruz affiliate, according to a team press release. Bell posted 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and a block in Santa Cruz’s victory over the Memphis Hustle Sunday. The second-round pick has appeared in 41 games, averaging 4.9 PPG and 3.8 RPG. Bell has appeared in Golden State’s last three games after recovering from an ankle sprain.
- The Thunder assigned center Dakari Johnson to the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. The NBA team recalled him later in the day, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman tweets. The 2015 second-round pick has appeared in seven games with the Blue, averaging 15.2 PPG and 10.1 RPG. The 7-footer has also played 26 games with the Thunder this season, averaging 2.0 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 5.8 MPG.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/3/18
Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
10:10pm: The Warriors have assigned rookie Jordan Bell to their affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced in an email. Bell returned to the Golden State lineup this week after missing 14 games with inflammation in his left ankle.
2:22pm:
- One day after assignment, the Spurs have recalled guards Brandon Paul and Derrick White from their G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, the team announced today in a press release. Paul has averaged 2.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in 53 games with San Antonio so far this season, while White is averaging 2.5 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in 16 contests.
- The Jazz have assigned rookie Tony Bradley back to the Salt Lake City Stars, per an official press release from the team. Bradley has appeared in 23 games for the Stars this season, averaging 15.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 29.6 minutes per game.
- The Timberwolves have reassigned rookie big man Justin Patton to the Iowa Wolves, the team announced today. Patton has appeared in 28 games for Iowa this season, averaging 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 21.1 minutes per game.
- The Suns have recalled Davon Reed from the Northern Arizona Suns, tweets Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Reed, 22, has averaged 8.0 minutes, 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds per game in seven contests for Phoenix so far this season.
Kevin Durant Confirms He’s Not Going Anywhere In Free Agency
Asked if his 2018 free agency is the foregone conclusion that 2017’s foray onto the open market was, Kevin Durant has confirmed that he’s not going anywhere this summer. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, Durant said today that he’s 100% sure he’ll be back with the Warriors for next season.
Durant, in his second season with the Warriors, has already signed two contracts with the team and may sign a third this summer, since it has made sense for him to go year to year. Durant’s current deal includes a $26.25MM player option for 2018/19, but he could make more money by opting out and signing a new contract. While the reigning Finals MVP knows he’ll remain a Warrior, he isn’t sure what sort of deal he’ll sign – in terms of years and money – if he opts out.
“Who knows? Who knows how I’ll feel? Who knows what’ll happen, what we’ll need at that time?” said Durant, who took a discount last summer that helped the Warriors re-sign Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala. “But like I said, money is not my concern, I’m concerned with my joy and happiness. I made so much money — to be honest, I could live what I’ve made off forever.”
Despite the fact that he has gone year to year with the Warriors, Durant said today that it feels like he has been on a long-term deal with the team. Golden State will have Durant’s Early Bird rights this coming offseason, giving the franchise a little more flexibility to lock up the former No. 2 pick to a longer-term contract. It’s not clear whether or not that will happen, but the star forward suggested that sort of deal is probably in his future, per Slater.
“Financially, obviously, what I wanted to do last year, it made sense. Well, the last two years, it made sense to do the one-year deal,” Durant said. “I’m sure here soon I’ll want to sign a long-term deal just to feel stable. But I’m enjoying every moment of it, so I’m not trying to look too far down the line.”
Pacific Notes: Green, Zubac, Ulis, Knight
The NBA has rescinded a technical foul that was assessed to Warriors forward Draymond Green this past Saturday, per ESPN. The rescinded foul would have been Green’s 15th, one shy of an immediate one-game suspension and $5,000 fine.
With one less technical on his record, Green is now two shy of the automatic suspension and fine. Green has been the NBA’s most prolific technical foul recipient; he has registered double-digits in that category the past four seasons, including 15 technicals last season.
“I was very happy,” Green told reporters, including Mark Medina of the Mercury News. “A little breathing room. Just a little bit, though.”
Check out other Pacific Division news below:
- Ivica Zubac has not been assigned a larger role with the Lakers this season, which was expected as he entered his sophomore season. However, now that he is slowly creeping back into Lakers’ rotation, he feels much better on the court, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. “This is what I’ve been doing for my whole life,” Zubac said. “When you’re not playing you’re not feeling good because this is what I’m doing my whole life. Now, when I’m finally in the rotation, everything else feels much better.”
- After a strong season with the Suns in 2016/17, injuries have hampered Tyler Ulis this season. Despite his optimism, he seems to be falling out of the team’s rotation, Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports writes. “That’s something I can’t control so I don’t think about stuff like that,” Ulis said. “I’ve been doing this all my life. There’s not many people my size in the NBA so obviously I have the game to make it here and I have the game to stick.”
- Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports answers several questions surrounding the Suns’ draft plans and oft-injured guard Brandon Knight. A source tells Bordow that getting a healthy Knight back from reconstructive knee surgery would be comparable to adding a first-round pick. Knight has been a solid player for Phoenix, averaging nearly 20.0 PPG in his last healthy season, so getting him back to 100% could affect the team’s draft plans.
- As the Kings head for another losing season, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee looks at five of the team’s young players, including De’Aaron Fox, examining how they can benefit for the rest of the season.
Pachulia Escapes Punishment For Westbrook Incident
- Warriors center Zaza Pachulia was not disciplined by the league for falling onto Thunder All-Star Russell Westbrook on Saturday, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post tweets. Westbrook called Pachulia a dirty player after the incident.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/25/18
Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA.
- The Magic recalled forward Jonathan Isaac from their Lakeland affiliate, according to Orlando’s PR Twitter. Isaac, who missed almost three months with an ankle injury, saw his first game action this weekend for the G League squad and is now rejoining the NBA team.
- The Suns assigned Davon Reed to the Northern Arizona Suns, tweets Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports. In seven games with the G League squad, Reed has averaged 11.6 PPG and 5.0 RPG.
- The Warriors assigned Damian Jones to their G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, the team announced in a press release. Jones has appeared in 36 games with Santa Cruz, averaging 15.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.1 APG and 2.17 BPG.
- The Thunder have recalled center Dakari Johnson for their G League squad, the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. Jones has posted 15.2 PPG, 10.1 RPG, and 2.9 APG in seven games.
Warriors, Wolves, Thunder Eyeing Joakim Noah?
Several playoff-bound teams are keeping an eye on Joakim Noah‘s situation in New York and would consider signing him if he reaches free agency, sources tell Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. According to Isola, the Warriors, Timberwolves, and Thunder are among the teams monitoring the Knicks center.
As Isola notes, the Wolves represent an obvious fit for Noah since the team already features several familiar faces for the veteran center, including Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, and head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau. Golden State and Oklahoma City also believe that Noah’s experience and defensive ability would help shore up their respective benches, Isola adds.
If the Knicks do decide to release Noah, he’d want it to happen by March 1 so that he’d be eligible to play in the postseason for a new team. However, the two sides appear to be engaged in a stalemate, so there’s certainly no guarantee he’ll be available in the coming days.
As Ian Begley of ESPN details (via Twitter), both Noah and the Knicks would likely welcome a fresh start, but the team is reluctant to eat his entire contract by waiving him, and Noah has thus far been unwilling to give back much – if any – of the money left on his lucrative deal. Counting his remaining prorated salary this season, the big man is still owed approximately $42.5MM through 2019/20.
If they do get a chance to sign Noah, the Warriors would have to waive a player, since they currently have a full 15-man squad. The Timberwolves and Thunder each have an open roster spot.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/21/18
Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA.
9:32pm:
- The Warriors have recalled guard Quinn Cook and center Damian Jones from their affiliate in Santa Cruz, tweets Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area.
- The Cavaliers have assigned center Ante Zizic to their Canton affiliate, the team announced on its website.
- The Jazz assigned center Tony Bradley to their affiliate in Salt Lake City, according to the team website.
4:05pm:
- The Rockets have assigned Zhou Qi and Chinanu Onuaku to their Rio Grande Valley affiliate, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
- The Celtics have sent Guerschon Yabusele to their affiliate in Maine, the team announced on Twitter.
- The Raptors have assigned Alfonzo McKinnie and Malachi Richardson to the G League, according to a tweet from Raptors905.
NBA Planning Preseason Game In Seattle
The NBA will return to Seattle next preseason with a familiar face for Pacific Northwest fans, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee.
Kevin Durant, who spent his rookie season with the SuperSonics before the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, will lead the Warriors against the Kings on October 6 at Key Arena, Voisin writes. It will be the first NBA game at the facility since the Sonics left after the 2007/08 season.
The Kings also have a connection with Seattle, as it appeared the team might move there when it was put up for sale five years ago. A deal to sell the team to a Seattle-based ownership group was reached in January of 2013, but it fell through when Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson was able to assemble a group to keep the Kings from leaving.
Two months ago, Seattle’s City Council approved a proposed $650MM renovation of Key Arena in hopes of attracting an NBA or NHL franchise by the end of the decade. The refurbished arena will hold 18,350 spectators for NBA games and 17,150 for NHL games.
Eastern Rumors: Afflalo, Thompson, Johnson, Wizards
Arron Afflalo could be a target for the Raptors if he reaches a buyout agreement with the Magic, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Afflalo played for the Nuggets when Raptors president Masai Ujiri was there, while current Magic president Jeff Weltman is Toronto’s former GM, Lewenberg notes. The career 38.6% 3-point shooter would give the Raptors some insurance at the wing, Lewenberg adds. Afflalo has appeared in 43 games with the Magic, averaging 3.2 PPG in 12.9 MPG. He signed with Orlando last summer on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal.
In other developments around the Eastern Conference:
- The Knicks are an unlikely destination for Klay Thompson during free agency in 2019, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News relays though an Adrian Wojnarowski podcast. The Warriors shooting guard wants to continue to play in a warm weather city, he told Wojnarowski. “It’d be weird leaving the Bay Area. I believe I’m going to be there for a very long time.,” he said. “I can say that truthfully. But a lot can happen the next two years. It’s going to be hard to leave California when it’s sunny like this.”
- The Heat are expected to seek offers for combo guard Tyler Johnson as early as this summer but his contract provisions will make that difficult, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald explains. Johnson will make $19.2MM in each of the final two years of the backloaded deal, plus Miami would have to pay a $3.2MM trade kicker, Jackson continues. Any team trading for Johnson this offseason would have to take on the additional $1.6MM cap hit in each of the next two seasons. Miami matched the Nets’ offer sheet for Johnson during the summer of 2016.
- The Wizards need to do a better job of communicating with each other to avoid locker room controversies, Chase Hughes of NBCSports.com writes. The team does not have any unresolvable issues, according to Hughes, but problems like the tension between John Wall and his teammates need to be addressed privately rather than through the media or social media channels, Hughes adds.