Nets Sign Moses Brown To Second 10-Day Contract
The Nets have brought back Moses Brown, announcing today that the center has signed a second 10-day contract with the club (Twitter link). Brown’s first 10-day deal expired overnight on Sunday.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors’ 10-Day Contract Tracker]
Brown began this season on a two-way contract with the Clippers, appearing in 34 games as a backup center behind Ivica Zubac and averaging 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in just 8.5 minutes per night. He was in and out of the team’s rotation and slid further down the depth chart following L.A.’s trade-deadline acquisition of Mason Plumlee, eventually leading to his release when he reached the two-way limit of 50 active games.
Brown subsequently signed a two-way contract with the Knicks earlier this month, but was waived just four days later and made the move from one New York borough to another by signing a 10-day deal with Brooklyn.
During his first 10 days as a Net, Brown only appeared in one game, logging four minutes. Day’Ron Sharpe emerged as Jacque Vaughn‘s go-to backup center behind Nic Claxton during that time, so there was no real role available for Brown. However, it seems the team liked what it saw from the big man enough to bring him back for at least another week-and-a-half.
Brown’s second 10-day contract will run through April 6, covering Brooklyn’s next five games. If the Nets want to retain him beyond that, he’ll need to be signed for the rest of the season. However, it’s worth noting that because he was waived by New York this month, Brown isn’t playoff-eligible.
Sixers’ Embiid, Harden Out Monday In Denver
8:21pm: Harden has now been ruled out for Monday’s game as well, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The former MVP is targeting a return later this week after the Sixers return home, Woj adds.
1:10pm: Sixers star Joel Embiid is out for Monday’s matchup in Denver due to right calf soreness, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
On a positive note for Philadelphia, guard James Harden, who has missed the past three games with Achilles soreness, is on track to play tonight, per ESPN.
According to Wojnarowski and Shelburne, Embiid — who was previously listed as questionable — tried to work out this morning, but the Sixers decided to be cautious with their best player. He recently spoke about the need for a day off to recover due to his nagging injuries and heavy workload.
“I’ve been playing a lot of minutes, I’ve been playing every single game.” Embiid said. “So to add to that, dealing with the calf and whatever the foot, I think at some point you gotta look at the bigger picture, which is the playoffs, obviously.”
It’s disappointing that Embiid will be unavailable for the highly anticipated matchup with the Nuggets and back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic, as the two centers are once again MVP frontrunners. Embiid recently played in back-to-back games — road losses at Golden State and at Phoenix — on Friday and Saturday. Still, being healthy for a potential playoff push is obviously much more important, as he mentioned.
In other Sixers health news, forward Danuel House (shoulder) participated in Monday’s shootaround and told reporters he was going to suit up on Monday (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer). House had missed the past two games with the injury.
NBA Rescinds Luka Doncic’s 16th Technical Foul
The NBA has rescinded Luka Doncic‘s 16th technical foul and he will not be suspended for Monday’s game at Indiana, the league announced (via Twitter). The Mavericks‘ star guard was originally issued the technical in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss at Charlotte.
After the game, crew chief Kevin Scott said the officials made the right call in assessing a technical on Doncic because he used profane language, per Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News.
“Doncic was assessed a technical foul for his use of profanity directed at the officials in protest to a no-call that was correctly judged in postgame video review,” Scott said.
Apparently the NBA disagreed with Scott’s assessment.
Players are automatically suspended for one game without pay once they reach 16 technical fouls unless they are later rescinded, as is the case with Doncic. It would have been his first suspension, according to Caplan.
It remains to be seen whether Doncic will actually suit up for Monday’s game even though he won’t be suspended. It’s the second of a back-to-back, and he has only played in one out of five back-to-back sets this season. He also missed five games earlier this month with a left thigh strain, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he sat out, despite Dallas’ precarious spot in the standings.
The Mavs have lost seven of their past nine games — including four straight — to drop to 36-39, the No. 11 seed in the West. Losing two straight to the Hornets was particularly disappointing, as Charlotte has the fourth-worst record in the league and had multiple starters out with injuries in both games.
Doncic, who was fined $35K last week for “directing an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture” toward a referee, recently talked about his heightened level of frustration, not just with the team’s poor play, but due to personal issues as well.
Potential First-Round Pick Tyrese Proctor To Remain At Duke
Duke freshman point guard Tyrese Proctor, a potential first-round pick, has opted to skip this year’s draft and return to college, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Adrian Wojnarowski report.
Proctor had moved up from No. 42 to No. 30 on ESPN’s latest Best Available list for this year’s draft. He was ranked No. 36 by Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman entering the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
“This is the best decision for my career, both present and future,” Proctor said. “Coach [Jon] Scheyer and I share the same vision; we have unfinished business. We have the best staff in the country, and they will push me each and every day.”
Duke won the ACC Tournament but fell in the second round of the NCAAs to Tennessee. Proctor was the team’s third-leading scorer at 9.4 points per game. He also averaged 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds while appearing in all 36 games.
The 6’5” Australian could move into the 2024 lottery with a strong sophomore campaign. He has dynamic shot-making ability, creativity as a play-maker and strong competitiveness defensively, according to Givony.
Proctor, still just 18, was originally scheduled to graduate high school at the NBA Global Academy in Australia this year. He elected to reclassify and enroll a year early at Duke.
Proctor has also decided not to compete for a spot on the Australian senior national team, which will participate in the FIBA World Cup in September. He’ll instead work on his skills this summer at Duke.
LeBron James Returns For Lakers On Sunday
Lakers All-Star small forward LeBron James will make his first appearance in a month on Sunday afternoon against the Bulls, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
James had been on the shelf since suffering a right foot tendon injury against the Mavericks in late February. He has missed 27 games for the Lakers thus far this season, and had been sidelined for the past 13 straight. When he has played, he’s looked more or less like vintage LeBron, at least on offense. He’s averaging 29.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 6.9 APG and 0.9 SPG.
It had been previously reported that James would test his right foot during team warmups ahead of today’s contest to ultimately determine whether or not he would suit up for Los Angeles.
James will come off the bench today for just the second time in his 20-year NBA career, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (via Twitter). Troy Brown Jr., who has proven himself as a capable starter in his stead, will get the nod once again as LeBron gets back up to speed. One would assume it’s only a matter of time until James reclaims his starting spot.
McMenamin tweets that starting L.A. point guard D’Angelo Russell will miss his second straight game with right hip soreness.
Knicks Sign DaQuan Jeffries To Multiyear Deal
1:32pm: The Knicks have confirmed the signing of Jeffries, announcing the move in a press release (via Twitter).
11:22am: Following the expiration of his second 10-day contract, swingman DaQuan Jeffries has agreed to sign a multiyear deal with the Knicks, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Jeffries signed a pair of 10-day pacts with the Knicks this month in order to ensure that the team was carrying the NBA-mandated minimum of 14 players on standard contracts. He completed the second of those deals on March 16, so it expired overnight on Saturday.
Jeffries didn’t actually play at all for New York during his 20 days on the NBA roster, but the 25-year-old has been a standout performer for the Westchester Knicks in the G League this season.
He started 15 games for Westchester in the fall’s Showcase Cup, averaging 18.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 2.3 APG on .482/.280/.769 shooting in 33.1 minutes per night. Since the NBAGL’s regular season began, he has appeared in 21 more games, putting up 21.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 2.0 SPG with a shooting line of .492/.390/.683.
Jeffries’ new contract will presumably only run through the 2023/24 season, since the Knicks will have to sign him using either the minimum salary exception or room exception — neither exception can be used to sign a player for more than two years.
Once the signing is official, New York will once again be carrying 14 players on standard contracts, leaving one roster spot still open. Both of their two-way slots are full.
Warriors Won’t Pursue Grievance Against Trail Blazers
4:05pm: The Blazers released a statement confirming the news, tweets Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian.
“The Golden State Warriors have decided to not pursue a grievance against the Blazers over the Payton trade. We are moving on, and glad to put this behind us.”
3:34pm: The Warriors have decided not to pursue an NBA investigation against the Trail Blazers following the four-team trade at last month’s deadline, league sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
The trade was held up for multiple days after the Warriors failed Gary Payton II‘s physical due to an adductor injury, but they ultimately decided to go through with it.
Payton has yet to play for the Warriors since the trade, but he is officially listed as probable for Sunday’s game and he intends to play against Minnesota barring a last-minute setback, per Kendra Andrew of ESPN (Twitter links). The veteran guard will be on an undisclosed minutes restriction, Andrews adds.
Payton, who helped the Warriors win the championship in 2021/22, signed a three-year, $26.1MM contract with Portland last summer, but only appeared in 15 games for the Blazers after offseason adductor surgery. He started for Portland the day before the trade.
A formal league inquiry into the Portland’s alleged failure to provide sufficient medical information was expected to be opened, but according to Haynes, the Warriors have decided against that course of action. It certainly doesn’t seem like a coincidence that Haynes’ report coincides with Payton’s imminent return to the court.
“Strong Optimism” Anthony Edwards Could Return Sunday
There’s “strong optimism” that guard/forward Anthony Edwards could return to the Timberwolves‘ lineup for Sunday’s game at Golden State, sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
Edwards has missed the past three games — his first absences of the season — after spraining his right ankle last week against Chicago. He sustained the injury in the first quarter when he landed awkwardly and rolled his ankle following a cross-court jump pass.
The former No. 1 overall pick had scored eight points in eight minutes in the game, which the Wolves went on to lose without him. They have gone 2-1 in the subsequent three games to currently hold a 37-37 record, making them the No. 7 seed in the West.
While the injury certainly looked bad at the time, Edwards has been listed as questionable before being ruled out in each of the past three contests, indicating the sprain wasn’t as serious as it could have been.
A first-time All-Star in 2022/23, Edwards is Minnesota’s leading scorer, averaging career highs in points (24.7), rebounds (5.9), assists (4.4) and steals (1.6) per game. He has posted .461/.371/.767 shooting splits through 71 games (36.0 minutes).
Houston’s Jarace Walker Plans To Enter 2023 NBA Draft
After being eliminated by Miami in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, Houston forward Jarace Walker told reporters that he plans to enter the 2023 NBA Draft, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
In 36 games (27.6 MPG) with the Cougars in 2022/23, the 6’8″ freshman averaged 11.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.0 SPG and 1.3 BPG on .465/.347/.663 shooting. Walker is currently the No. 6 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list.
While Walker’s individual stats don’t jump off the page, he is considered one of the best defenders in the 2023 class, which is why he’s a potential top-five pick.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony recently praised Walker for his ability to protect the rim and stand tall against big men in the post while also switching onto perimeter players and drawing charges.
Luka Doncic Fined $35K By NBA
Mavericks star Luka Doncic has been hit with a $35K fine for “directing an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture” toward a referee during the closing seconds of the team’s loss to Golden State on Wednesday, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
Doncic was seen rubbing his fingers together in an apparent money signal aimed at the officiating crew (Twitter video link).
The incident occurred at the conclusion of a game that the Mavericks protested due to a controversial call that occurred in the third quarter. The Warriors, who essentially got a free basket on the play in question, ended up winning the game by two points.
While that third quarter call was the big story after the game, it’s unclear whether Doncic’s gesture was referencing that play or was a culmination of his frustration with the officiating all night. Seconds earlier, he missed a layup attempt and didn’t get the foul call he seemed to be seeking (Twitter video link).
It comes as no surprise that Doncic was fined for his actions, though it’s interesting that he faces a more significant penalty than the one given to Fred VanVleet, who lambasted game officials and singled out one referee in particular (Ben Taylor) during a postgame press conference. VanVleet was fined $30K for his comments.