Andre Iguodala To Undergo Surgery For Fractured Wrist
Warriors forward Andre Iguodala suffered a fractured left wrist on Monday against Phoenix and will undergo surgery next week, the team announced (via Twitter).
No timetable was given for Iguodala’s potential return, with the Warriors saying an update will be provided after he has surgery.
Iguodala, 39, seriously contemplated retirement before the 2022/23 season began, but was convinced to come back for one more year with the Warriors. However, he has made just eight appearances this season, averaging 2.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG and 2.4 APG in 14.1 MPG.
It’s unclear if this will mark the end of the 19-year veteran’s career; that might depend on how the Warriors finish out the season as they look to defend their title. It’s possible they might need to win at least one playoff series for Iguodala to make it back in time to play again, as wrist fractures typically take several weeks to heal.
A two-time All-Defensive team member, Iguodala has won four championships with Golden State and was the 2015 Finals MVP. In 1,231 regular season games (32.1 MPG), he holds career averages of 11.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.2 APG and 1.2 SPG on .463/.330/.709 shooting.
Ja Morant Meets With Adam Silver, Receives Suspension
2:02pm: The NBA has suspended Morant for eight games without pay, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link). However, that suspension will be retroactive to March 5, the first game he missed, so he’ll be eligible to return to action this coming Monday (March 20).
According to the NBA’s announcement, its investigation did not determine that the gun Morant brandished in the Instagram Live video belonged to him or that he brought it to the night club. The investigation also didn’t find that Morant possessed the gun while traveling with the Grizzlies or at any NBA facility.
“Ja’s conduct was irresponsible, reckless, and potentially very dangerous,” Silver said in a statement. “It also has serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him.
“He has expressed sincere contrition and remorse for this behavior. Ja has also made it clear to me that he has learned from this incident and that he understands his obligations and responsibility to the Memphis Grizzlies and the broader NBA community extend well beyond his play on the court.”
After being away from the Grizzlies for multiple weeks, Morant may not suit up on Monday immediately upon rejoining the team, but the expectation it that his return will occur not long after that, tweets Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian.
Morant’s eight missed games will cost him nearly $669K in salary, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. His base salary for this season had been approximately $12.1MM.
1:54pm: Grizzlies star Ja Morant met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver in New York on Wednesday, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
While Wojnarowski doesn’t offer any details on what was discussed during that meeting, he says Morant has left his counseling program in Florida and is moving closer to preparing for a return to the court. However, the All-Star guard will have to wait until the NBA announces the results of its investigation into his Instagram Live video from a Denver-area strip club, which is expected to happen soon, per Wojnarowski.
The NBA opened a probe into Morant after he posted a video in which he flashed a gun at a strip club. It was the latest in a series of troubling off-court incidents allegedly involving the 23-year-old, who punched a 17-year-old during a pickup game last summer, was accused of threatening a security guard at a Memphis mall, and was reportedly involved in a confrontation with members of the Pacers’ traveling party after a January game.
After the league announced it was looking into the latest incident involving Morant, the Grizzlies said that he would be away from the team for two games, then four more. He’ll miss his sixth game on Wednesday night when Memphis visits the Heat in Miami and it sounds like his status beyond that will be determined in large part by the outcome of the NBA’s investigation.
Police also investigated the strip club video and didn’t find enough evidence to bring any charges against Morant, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the league will close its own probe without disciplining the Grizzlies guard.
The NBA has a good deal of latitude to fine or suspend players for conduct detrimental to the league’s best interests. The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement also includes language specifically related to firearms, so if there’s evidence that Morant had a gun on him when traveling with the team or when at a team facility, that could result in a more punitive penalty.
Still, based on the tone of Wojnarowski’s latest report, it doesn’t sound like the league is preparing to drop the hammer on Morant.
Here’s more on the Grizzlies’ star:
- While news of Morant entering a counseling program didn’t break until this Monday, he took that step earlier in the month, shortly after announcing that he would be away from the team, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
- While he was in Florida undergoing counseling, Morant was communicating with his Memphis teammates via text and FaceTime video, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Vardon adds that Morant was accompanied to that “retreat-like setting” in Florida by a Grizzlies security officer.
- In a separate story for The Athletic, Vardon spoke to a handful of Grizzlies players about their conversations with Morant and noted that they seemed to be operating under the belief that the star guard would rejoin the club, possibly very soon. Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks said Morant has “made strides” and is “ready to come back.”
NBA Suspends Kings’ Trey Lyles, Fines Bucks’ Brook Lopez
Kings forward Trey Lyles has been suspended for one game without pay and Bucks center Brook Lopez has been fined $25K for their roles in an on-court altercation between the two teams in Sacramento on Monday, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
During the final seconds of the Bucks’ win over the Kings, Lyles took exception to Giannis Antetokounmpo dribbling the ball toward him while running out the clock. He tried to steal the ball away, then shoved Antetokounmpo. Lopez jumped to his teammate’s defense, resulting in a brief on-court skirmish between the two teams (Twitter video link via Bleacher Report).
Both Lyles and Lopez were ejected from the game, and the NBA said in today’s announcement that the two big men were disciplined further for escalating the situation — Lopez did so by confronting Lyles, then the Kings forward escalated matters further by “striking Lopez in the face” and “grabbing and holding Lopez around the neck area.”
As a result of his one-game ban, Lyles will miss Wednesday’s game in Chicago and will forfeit about $18K, which is 1/145th of his $2.63MM salary for the season.
Lopez’s $25K fine will come out of his $13.9MM salary for 2022/23.
Timberwolves Say Towns Expected To Return In “Coming Weeks”
The Timberwolves have been relatively quiet on Karl-Anthony Towns‘ status since he was diagnosed with a right calf strain in late November, but the team put out a press release on Wednesday formally issuing an update on the forward/center.
According to the Wolves, Towns has progressed in his rehab process and is participating in basketball activities. The expectation is that he’ll return to action in “the coming weeks,” per the club.
That phrasing is pretty vague, but with three-and-a-half weeks left in the regular season, it sounds like the Wolves remain hopeful that they’ll get Towns back before the postseason gets underway. As Chris Hine of The Star Tribune observes (via Twitter), the club didn’t have to make an announcement on Towns’ status at this point, so the fact that it did so anyway suggests there’s optimism he’ll play this spring.
At 35-34, Minnesota currently controls the No. 7 seed in the West, but there’s not much room for error — the Thunder, Mavericks, and Lakers are all just one game back at 34-35.
Towns, who sustained his calf injury on November 28, was still adjusting to playing alongside newcomer Rudy Gobert when he went down. His scoring average (20.8 PPG), rebounding rate (8.2 RPG), and three-point percentage (32.5%) were all career worsts or close to it, though he was still making 50.5% of his shots from the field and was thriving as a facilitator, with a career-best 5.3 APG.
One report around the time of his injury suggested Towns would miss about four-to-six weeks and should be back on the floor in January. However, his recovery process has extended well beyond that, and the 27-year-old expressed some frustration in January about that initial reporting, referring to his injury as “significant” and indicating that he was always going to be out for more than four-to-six weeks.
If and when Towns returns, he’ll have more adjusting to do, as the Wolves have changed point guards since his injury — Mike Conley is now the team’s floor leader, replacing D’Angelo Russell.
Meyers Leonard Signs Rest-Of-Season Deal With Bucks
MARCH 15: The Bucks have officially signed Leonard for the rest of the season, the team confirmed in a press release on Tuesday night.
It’s a minimum-salary deal, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Leonard will earn $409,916, while the Bucks will take on a cap hit of $284,911. However, the actual cost of the signing will exceed $1MM, according to Owczarski, due to the fact that team salary is well over the luxury tax line.
Leonard said on Tuesday that he’s “connected really well across the whole organization” since arriving in Milwaukee on his first 10-day deal and is grateful to the Bucks for bringing him aboard.
“I texted (general manager) Jon (Horst). I’m hoping to talk to (team governor) Marc (Lasry) at some point at length, or a little bit more intimately I guess, to say thank you,” Leonard said, per Owczarski. “They changed my life. They really did. This is going to be hard for me not to get emotional right now. It’s honestly hard to describe what this feeling feels like.”
MARCH 14: The Bucks are signing center Meyers Leonard for the remainder of the season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Milwaukee had to make a decision whether to offer Leonard a standard contract or let him go, since his second 10-day contract has expired. In five appearances thus far, Leonard is averaging 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 6.8 minutes per game.
Prior to joining the Bucks, Leonard hadn’t played since the 2020/21 season.
A combination of personal controversy and ankle and shoulder surgery recoveries kept him sidelined in the intervening seasons. Leonard was flipped from the Heat to the Thunder after using an antisemitic slur during a video game live stream. Oklahoma City subsequently released him.
The seven-foot Leonard, 31, provides big man depth for a club with Brook Lopez starting in the middle and Bobby Portis backing him up on most nights.
Kris Dunn Signs Multiyear Deal With Jazz
5:43pm: Dunn has signed a multiyear deal, according to a press release from the Jazz.
1:54pm: The Jazz and guard Kris Dunn have agreed to a new contract that will cover the remainder of the season, according to Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The news doesn’t come as a surprise, since Dunn had emerged as an important rotation player in Utah during a pair of 10-day contracts with the team. His second 10-day deal expired on Monday night and players aren’t permitted to sign a third 10-day pact with a single team, so the Jazz had to sign him to a standard contract in order to retain him.
The former fifth overall pick, who joined the Capital City Go-Go in the G League this season in an effort to make it back to the NBA, first signed with the Jazz on February 22, then inked his second 10-day contract on March 4.
During his time in Utah so far, Dunn has averaged 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals in nine appearances (22.2 MPG). A career 42.0% shooter from the floor and 29.9% on three-pointers entering this season, he has scored more efficiently with the Jazz, making 53.1% of his field goal attempts, including 36.8% of his threes.
The Jazz had three openings on their standard 15-man roster, so Dunn will become the team’s 13th man once he officially signs his new deal. The club will soon be required to add at least one more player besides Dunn in order to adhere to the NBA’s minimum roster requirements.
Assuming Dunn just signs a rest-of-season contract that doesn’t extend beyond this season, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent again this summer.
Scoot Henderson To Be Shut Down For Rest Of Season
The G League Ignite are shutting down star prospect Scoot Henderson for the remainder of the NBAGL season, a league official tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). The Ignite have five games left in the regular season, which concludes on March 25.
As Givony explains, the Ignite – who have an 11-16 record and rank 10th in the G League’s Western Conference – aren’t expected to reach the top six and make the playoffs. Additionally, the league feels Henderson has shown enough this season to prove his bona fides as one of the top picks in this year’s draft.
Henderson averaged 21.2 PPG, 5.8 APG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.7 SPG on .485/.471/.706 shooting in six games (28.5 MPG) during the G League’s Showcase Cup in the fall. Since the NBAGL’s regular season began, he has put up 16.5 PPG, 6.8 APG, and 5.3 RPG in 19 appearances (30.7 MPG), though his shooting numbers (.429/.275/.764) dipped quite a bit.
For much of the 2022/23 season, Henderson has been viewed as a long shot to go No. 1 in the 2023 draft – due to Victor Wembanyama‘s presence at the top of this year’s class – but a virtual lock to be the second player off the board. However, his grip on that No. 2 may have loosened in recent weeks due to his up-and-down performance during the G League’s regular season.
John Hollinger of The Athletic noted on Monday that Henderson’s inconsistent play has “started to raise some eyebrows” at the same time that possible No. 3 pick Brandon Miller has been thriving on the court in Alabama. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter video link) conveyed a similar sentiment in a recent TV appearance, suggesting that teams believe Miller is “firmly in the mix” at No. 2.
Cavaliers Sign Sam Merrill To Multiyear Contract
11:55am: Merrill’s multiyear contract is now official, the Cavs confirmed in a press release.
10:14am: The Cavaliers will bring back swingman Sam Merrill following the expiration of his 10-day contract, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). According to Fedor, the Cavs and Merrill have agreed to a new multiyear deal.
Merrill, 26, signed a 10-day pact with Cleveland earlier in the month and only appeared in one game with the team before that contract expired on Sunday night. He scored two points in four minutes in garbage time vs. Detroit on March 4.
While Merrill didn’t appear in any of his last four games with the Cavaliers, the club must have liked what it saw from the former No. 60 overall pick, who has also spent time in Milwaukee, Memphis, and Sacramento since entering the NBA in 2020.
The Cavs’ organization has gotten a chance to take a look at Merrill in the G League for much of the 2022/23 campaign, as he was playing with the Cleveland Charge before he received a promotion to the NBA level. He averaged 17.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.3 SPG on an excellent .469/.437/.852 shooting line in 18 NBAGL regular season games (33.8 MPG) for the Charge.
While the full details of Merrill’s contract aren’t yet known, it will almost certainly only be fully guaranteed for the rest of the 2022/23 season, with next year’s salary mostly or entirely non-guaranteed. A two-year deal is the likeliest outcome, but the Cavs could technically offer three or four years using a remaining portion of their mid-level exception.
Officially signing Merrill will give Cleveland a full 17-man roster, with 15 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals.
Ja Morant Enters Counseling Program, Still Out Indefinitely
Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant has entered a counseling program in Florida and there remains no timetable for his return to the court, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon report (Twitter link).
Morant has already missed five games. He took a leave of absence following an incident in which he flashed a gun on an Instagram Live video while at a Denver-area strip club. Police in Glendale, Colorado said last week that Morant wouldn’t be charged with a crime for his actions at the club.
However, Morant has allegedly been involved in a number of troubling off-court incidents, convincing him to seek help.
Prior to Memphis’ game on Monday against Dallas, coach Taylor Jenkins was asked about Morant’s potential return date. He did not provide any specifics, MacMahon tweets.
“There are a lot of internal dialogues going on and obviously there’s still things going on at the league level that we’re in communication with,” Jenkins said. “Ja’s fully engaged in this process and ready for whatever comes next after these two games.”
Curry, Green, Kerr Hope Warriors Retain Bob Myers
Warriors president of basketball operations and general manager Bob Myers is in the final year of his contract, and his future with the team is reportedly uncertain.
Franchise star Stephen Curry, former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green, and longtime head coach Steve Kerr all support Myers and hope the Warriors will extend his contract before it expires, reports Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“We were all young at one point when we were trying to figure it out,” Curry said of Myers. “One of his special abilities is to connect with you where you are. Be truthful and honest and authentic about how difficult the NBA is in the sense of decisions that are made and the business side of it. But also, he has a personal touch that you trust.”
Myers has been Golden State’s GM since 2012/13, winning four championships, including last season. Green has a $27,586,224 player option for next season, and if he exercises it, Myers will be one reason why, according to Poole.
“Bob is huge for us,” Green told NBC Sports Bay Area. “Some GMs put a team together and then they go into their office and watch to see if it works. You don’t see many GMs working daily, having conversations with guys, keeping a pulse of the team, and then having those tough conversations. General managers don’t do that in this league. Bob does. He’s incredible.”
A few months ago, Warriors owner Joe Lacob stated that the team made two contract extension offers to Myers, but obviously nothing has come to fruition as of yet. Like Curry and Green, Kerr praised Myers’ ability to build rapport with individuals at all levels, both inside and outside of the organization.
“I always talk about connectors on the floor,” Kerr told Poole. “Bob is our connector, organizationally, off the floor. His relationships with all the key figures are so important. His ability to connect with Steph and Draymond and Klay (Thompson) and, in the same moment, go upstairs and talk to Joe, talk to others in the front office, talk to media . . . he just has an amazing way with people.
“He keeps us connected in a business where it’s really easy to fray because of the pressures and the different factors involved.”
Myers has declined to discuss his contractual situation, saying he’s focused on the Warriors and the current season as they attempt to defend their title. Poole’s story features more quotes from Curry and Kerr and is worth checking out in full.