Heat’s Markieff Morris Close To Returning
Forward Markieff Morris has received medical clearance to return for the Heat, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press details.
Morris has missed 58 straight games with whiplash after a controversial incident between Morris and Nikola Jokic on November 8. Both players were ejected from the game, with Jokic receiving a one-game suspension.
It was reported a little over a month ago that Morris was eager to return to action, but the Heat were concerned with potential liability issues and were unwilling to clear him. Morris had a previous neck injury in 2019.
However, a source tells Reynolds that Morris has cleared a vital hurdle — he was deemed “medically able and medically fit to practice and play” by the NBA’s Fitness-to-Play Panel, which consists of three physicians.
According to Reynolds, the belief is the veteran will be available to play at some point during Miami’s current stretch of home games. The Heat face the Wolves on Saturday, the Pistons on Tuesday, and the Thunder next Friday.
Morris has been traveling and practicing with the team for several weeks, as well as doing pregame shooting sessions prior to games. Morris, 32, is averaging 7.7 points and 2.8 rebounds on .457/.364/1.000 shooting through 10 games this season (18.7 minutes).
Anfernee Simons Out At Least 1-2 Weeks
Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons has been diagnosed with mild patellar tendinopathy in his left knee after an MRI on Thursday, the team announced. He’s set to be reevaluated in one-to-two weeks.
Simons has missed Portland’s last two games while dealing with the injury. Through 57 games this season, the 22-year-old is averaging career-highs of 17.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 29.5 minutes. He sports an efficient shooting slash line of .443/.405/.888 (.583 true).
Simons was the No. 24 overall pick of the 2018 draft. He’s a candidate for the Most Improved Player award after seeing his numbers increase across the board. His emergence this season is a primary reason why the team opted to trade CJ McCollum to the Pelicans last month.
The combo guard will be a restricted free agent this summer and will receive a significant raise on the $3,938,818 he’s making this season. Simons said a few weeks ago that he plans to re-sign with the Blazers.
“I 100% want to stay in Portland,” Simons said, per Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated. “And I think everybody wants me to stay as well. I think it’s a perfect fit for me.”
After losing six straight games, the Blazers are currently 25-40, the No. 11 seed in the West. They trail New Orleans by one-and-a-half games for the final spot in the play-in tournament.
Rockets To Guarantee Salaries Of Garrison Mathews, K.J. Martin For 2022/23
The Rockets will guarantee the salaries of both Garrison Mathews and Kenyon Martin Jr. for next season, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link).
Both players had non-guaranteed contracts for 2022/23, but Houston decided to reward them for their efforts this season. Mathews is set to earn $2MM next season, while Martin will make $1,782,621, per Spotrac.
Mathews, 25, started the season on a two-way contract but was later converted to a standard deal after several strong performances in place of the injured Jalen Green.
Through 49 games (27.2 MPG) this season, including 21 starts, Mathews is averaging 11.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG on .410/.367/.810 shooting, good for a 61.4 true shooting percentage. His relatively low field goal percentage is deceiving, because 82% of his attempts have come from three-point range.
Martin, 21, was the No. 52 overall pick of the 2020 draft. He’s in his second season with the Rockets, and his stats from the two seasons are quite similar.
He’s averaging 8.9 PPG and 3.9 RPG this season (20.6 MPG, 63 games) after putting up 9.3 PPG and 5.4 RPG last season (23.7 MPG, 45 games). Martin is a hyper-athletic forward and has some amassed some impressive highlights in his short career.
As MacMahon observes (via Twitter), both players have proven to be valuable role players for the young Rockets, who view the two as pieces of their long-term plans. The rebuilding team is currently 17-49, the second-worst record in the league, as shown in our reverse standings.
Pelicans Place CJ McCollum In Protocols, Will Sign Ty Wallace To 10-Day
Tyrone Wallace plans to sign a 10-day deal with the Pelicans, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Wallace has averaged 27 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 5.9 APG in his last 11 games with the G League’s Long Island Nets.
It’s been a long road back to the NBA for Wallace, the 60th pick of the 2016 draft. He appeared in 92 games for the Clippers from 2017-19 and 14 more for the Hawks during the 2019/20 season. The shooting guard averaged 5.2 PPG in 15.5 MPG during those 106 career appearances.
The news coincides with New Orleans’ announcement on Thursday that CJ McCollum has been placed in the league’s health and safety protocols and will miss at least Friday’s game against Charlotte (Twitter link). Brandon Ingram is out at least seven-to-10 days due to a hamstring strain.
Alize Johnson‘s 10-day contract is set to expire on Friday. However, Wallace could be added under the hardship exception due to McCollum’s status, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Cam Reddish Out For Season With Separated Shoulder
4:25pm: The Knicks have confirmed Reddish will miss the rest of the season due to a right shoulder AC joint injury, the team’s PR department tweets.
3:57pm: Knicks swingman Cam Reddish is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a right shoulder separation, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Reddish is expected to be sidelined around six weeks, Woj adds, so he should be recovered in time for a full offseason.
Reddish, 22, was the 10th overall pick of the 2019 draft after a single season at Duke. He spent his first two-plus seasons with Atlanta prior to being traded to New York in January. The timing is very unfortunate for Reddish, as he’s only recently been able to crack coach Tom Thibodeau‘s rotation.
In 15 games (14.3 MPG) with the Knicks, Reddish put up modest totals of 6.1 PPG and 1.4 RPG on .415/.258/.906 shooting. For the season, he averaged 10.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG and 1.0 SPG on a .404/.359/.902 shooting line in 49 games (20.7 MPG).
As a third-year former first-round pick, Reddish is eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer. There were reports ahead of the trade deadline that the Knicks might be open to trading Reddish even though they’d just acquired him for a protected first-round pick, but ultimately they decided to keep him.
Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reported earlier today that he thinks an extension for Reddish is unlikely, but he does think the forward will stick with the Knicks for next season.
Cavaliers Sign Moses Brown To 10-Day Deal
MARCH 10: Cleveland has officially signed Brown, the team announced in a press release.
MARCH 9: The Cavaliers are signing Moses Brown to a 10-day deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The young center played for the Mavericks this season but was waived as part of the two-for-one trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Washington in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.
Brown, 22, had his $1,701,593 salary guaranteed for 2021/22 ahead of the January 10 deadline despite playing a very limited role for Dallas. He appeared in 26 games for the Mavs, averaging a modest 6.5 MPG. He was productive last season for the Thunder, averaging 8.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG and 1.1 BPG in 43 games (21.4 MPG).
Brown has shown he’s a strong rebounder, but possesses very limited ball skills and is often slow to rotate defensively. He’s definitely a raw, unfinished product at this stage of his career, but he’s flashed some upside and could develop with time.
It’s basically a no-risk flier on an intriguing 7’2″ prospect for the Cavs, who will be without All-Star center Jarrett Allen for an indefinite period after he suffered a fractured finger on Sunday. I’m skeptical that Brown will actually crack Cleveland’s rotation once the signing becomes official, given that the team is trying to make the playoffs for the first time in four seasons
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff has relied on Dean Wade, Kevin Love, Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens when the team has dealt with frontcourt injuries this season, with occasional spot minutes to veteran Ed Davis. However, the Cavs have an open roster spot and if Brown impresses during his 10 days, they could sign him for the remainder of the season as injury insurance if Allen is out for an extended period.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets that the Brown will meet the team in Miami and the plan is for him to be available for Friday’s contest against the Heat.
Brandon Ingram Suffers Hamstring Strain, Will Be Reevaluated In 7-10 Days
Pelicans star Brandon Ingram underwent an MRI on his right leg Wednesday, revealing a mild hamstring strain. He’ll be reevaluated in seven-to-10 days, the team announced.
New Orleans is just 2-13 without Ingram this season, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, so any extended absence could have a major impact on the team’s record.
Ingram, 24, was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2016 draft. In 50 games this season, he’s averaging 22.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 5.5 APG on .462/.335/.816 shooting. Although his three-point percentage is down compared to the last couple seasons, the 5.5 assists per game are a career-high and he’s shown improvement on defense.
A one-time All-Star, Ingram has helped keep the Pelicans afloat during the season-long absence of Zion Williamson. Coach Willie Green said Williamson won’t be on the bench for Wednesday’s contest vs. Orlando, but he’ll be with the team starting Thursday (Twitter link via Andrew Lopez of ESPN).
The Pelicans are the No. 10 seed in the West with a 27-38 record, but they’re 25-25 with Ingram. They trail the No. 9 seed Lakers by one-and-a-half games and hold a one-and-a-half game lead on the No. 11 seed Trail Blazers. New Orleans currently trails Orlando 56-41 at halftime on Wednesday.
Devin Booker Clears Protocols, Will Return On Wednesday
Suns guard Devin Booker has exited the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols and will be available on Wednesday for the team’s showdown vs. the Heat, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Booker isn’t listed on Phoenix’s injury report.
The Suns initially placed Booker in the health and safety protocols last Wednesday. One report said he entered the protocols due to an inconclusive COVID-19 test, creating some optimism that he could be cleared quickly. But the fact that he spent nearly a full week in the protocols suggests subsequent tests were probably positive.
The Suns have held their own with Booker and Chris Paul out of the lineup, winning three of the four games Booker missed, though those victories all came against non-playoff teams (Orlando, New York, and Portland). They’ll face a tougher test tonight in Miami as the top seeds in the Western and Eastern Conferences square off.
Booker’s return will likely result in role reductions for Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet, and Aaron Holiday, with either Payne or Shamet moving from the starting five to the second unit.
There are now once again zero NBA players in the COVID-19 protocols.
Domantas Sabonis Receives One-Game Suspension
Kings center Domantas Sabonis has been suspended without pay by the NBA for one game, the league announced today in a press release. Sabonis will serve his suspension on Wednesday when the Kings host the Nuggets in Sacramento.
According to the NBA, Sabonis’ suspension stems from an incident that occurred during the fourth quarter of Sacramento’s loss to the Knicks on Monday.
After being hit with a technical foul for his reaction to a foul call, Sabonis “reacted demonstratively again in the vicinity of the game official, and approached and bumped the official in a hostile manner,” per the league. He was assessed a second technical and ejected from the game.
The NBA posted a video of the incident on its website.
The suspension will cost Sabonis $127,586, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). That amount is 1/145th of the 25-year-old’s $18.5MM base salary for 2021/22.
With center Richaun Holmes also unavailable on Wednesday for personal reasons, the Kings will be without their top two centers when they take on Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. Chimezie Metu and Damian Jones will likely take on increased roles. Alex Len could also see action, though he hasn’t been part of Sacramento’s regular rotation for nearly two months.
Jeff Teague Rejoins Hawks In Scouting Role
Veteran NBA guard Jeff Teague, who appeared in 543 games with the Hawks as a player, has rejoined the franchise is a new role, according to KL Chouinard of Hawks.com, who says Teague is now a scout for the team.
“I’ve been all around the world watching basketball,” Teague said. “so I’ve got a pretty good eye for who I think can play at a certain level.”
Teague, 33, signed with the Bucks late in the 2020/21 season and was on the roster for the club’s championship run, appearing in 21 regular season games and another 16 playoff contests. However, he became a free agent in the offseason and hasn’t signed a new contract since then. As Teague explains, he was dealing with an injury at the end of last season that may have required surgery and decided he didn’t want to go under the knife to try to play in ’21/22.
Although Teague tells Chouinard that he hasn’t officially retired as a player, his new role with the Hawks suggests he’s preparing to move onto the next phase of his career. The point guard says he first broached the idea of joining the Hawks’ basketball operations department during his second stint in Atlanta during the 2019/20 season.
“When I was there for my second tenure with the Hawks, I told (head of basketball operations) Travis (Schlenk) that I wanted to look into working in the front office,” Teague said. “(I asked if) once I got done playing if he would be open to trying to help me out. And he told me when I first got there that first day that when I was done playing, if he was still there that he would look out for me. So I just reached out and he kept his word.”
Teague’s role with the Hawks involves scouting NCAA prospects in advance of the draft, according to Chouinard. That allows him to stay relatively close to home while working his new job.
“I go everywhere. I go to Kentucky. I go to Louisville. All over the Midwest really,” Teague said. “Being based out of Indianapolis, there are a lot of colleges in the surrounding areas in a two-hour window that you can get to to see a lot of college games from different conferences. It’s a good location for scouting.”
If Teague doesn’t return to the NBA, he’ll finish with 826 total regular season appearances and another 87 postseason games on his résumé. He averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 assists per game with a .444/.360/.844 shooting line across 12 seasons for the Hawks, Pacers, Timberwolves, Celtics, and Bucks, earning an All-Star berth with Atlanta in 2015.