Damian Lillard Losing Patience In Portland, Wants Blazers To Trade For Ben Simmons
Damian Lillard is becoming frustrated with the Trail Blazers’ performance, and tensions appear to be increasing between the players and new coach Chauncey Billups, sources tell Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Portland’s front office didn’t make the significant roster changes that Lillard requested during the offseason, and the team has fallen to 11-13 after a pair of lopsided losses. Charania and Amick say that Lillard would like to see the Blazers acquire Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons to help improve a defense that ranks last in the league.
Sources tell the authors that the front office, under recently fired general manager and president of basketball operations Neil Olshey, set a framework of a deal that would have sent CJ McCollum, a first-round pick, and either Nassir Little or Anfernee Simons to Philadelphia in exchange for Simmons. The Sixers reportedly countered by asking for McCollum along with multiple draft picks and future draft swaps, which Portland turned down.
It’s not clear if that offer is still on the table or if any major deal will be made before Olshey’s permanent replacement is hired, according to Charania and Amick.
Olshey never lost confidence in the roster that he built, which is why he didn’t overhaul it after Lillard’s offseason request. He also ignored Lillard’s desire to consider Jason Kidd as head coach after firing Terry Stotts, making a controversial move with Billups instead. Lillard wanted an experienced coach instead of a first-timer like Billups and was willing to accept Mike D’Antoni as well, according to the authors.
Although Billups has vowed to improve the team’s defense from the time he was hired, Portland’s performance on that end of the court hasn’t changed. Billups has also alienated players by publicly criticizing their effort after losses, with the latest instance coming Saturday.
“Competitive fire and pride, that’s something you either have or don’t have,” Billups said after his team gave up 145 points to the Celtics. “That’s something you can’t turn off and turn on. … I’ve never seen a team that needs its bench to inspire our starters. (That’s) crazy to me. It’s supposed to be the other way around.”
Lillard’s decline in production is also contributing to his frustration. He’s dealing with an abdominal injury that will keep him out of action at least through the end of the week. His scoring average has fallen from 28.8 PPG last season to 21.5 PPG so far this year. He’s getting fewer shots in Billups’ offense and is connecting at a career-worst 39.7% from the field and 30.2% on three-pointers. He’s also being used in pick-and-rolls less frequently than under Stotts and is seeing fewer free throw attempts.
Lillard still hasn’t asked for a trade and plans to give the organization time to find a new leader before deciding on his next move, Charania and Amick add. However, his desire for a roster upgrade hasn’t changed.
There are two important dates to watch in determining Lillard’s future with Portland, the authors note. The trade deadline is February 10, roughly two months away, so if Lillard wants to leave the Blazers this season, he will have to request a deal by then. The other is July 6, when Lillard will become eligible for a super-max extension that would be worth $106.6MM over two seasons and would push his contract through the 2026/27 season. Lillard’s ultimate decisions will likely be determined by what the team does with its roster by then.
Bulls’ Javonte Green In Health And Safety Protocols
DECEMBER 4: Green has tested positive for COVID-19, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Coach Billy Donovan said Green has returned to Chicago.
DECEMBER 3: Bulls wing Javonte Green has entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (via Twitter). Johnson notes that the Bulls have been testing daily after Coby White tested positive on Wednesday.
It’s unclear at this time whether Green tested positive as well. If he did, he’d be out for at least 10 days or until he returns two negative tests a minimum of 24 hours apart.
The 28-year-old Green has been an important member of the Bulls’ eighth-ranked defense. Through 23 games (12 starts), he holds averages of 5.4 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 20.6 MPG with a .495/.385/.750 shooting line. His counting stats may be modest, but they belie his impact. Green is often tasked with guarding the top scorers on opposing teams, usually at a size disadvantage.
In a separate tweet, Johnson relays that Alex Caruso is questionable for Saturday’s game against the Nets. The Bulls’ depth would be very limited if he’s unable to play, with White and Green already sidelined.
The Bulls currently sit with a 15-8 record on the season.
Nuggets Sign Davon Reed
DECEMBER 4: Reed has officially signed a 10-day contract, the team’s PR department tweets.
DECEMBER 2: The Nuggets plan to sign forward Davon Reed via the hardship exception, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The exception allows a team to add a 16th player to its standard “15-man” roster without waiving anyone.
Reed has been playing for the team’s new G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold. Reed has NBA experience as a 2017 second-round pick. He appeared in 21 games for Phoenix during the 2017/18 season and 1o more for Indiana the following season. In seven games with the Gold, Reed has averaged 12.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 3.8 APG.
The Nuggets have been decimated in recent days by injuries and COVID-19 issues. Michael Porter Jr. underwent back surgery on Wednesday and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Jamal Murray and PJ Dozier are also sidelined with long-term injuries. Austin Rivers, Bones Hyland and Bol Bol are currently out of action after being placed under the league’s health and safety protocols.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted (Twitter link), the Nuggets were able to apply for the hardship exception immediately since they had at least one player test positive for COVID-19 and three other players who have already missed three games with an injury and are deemed out for at least another two weeks.
Typically, NBA teams aren’t permitted to sign players to 10-day contracts until January 5, but the league tweaked its rules last season to allow them before then as long as they’re completed using the hardship exception. As such, Reed figures to get a 10-day deal.
Four Hornets Players, Including LaMelo Ball, Placed Under Protocols
Hornets starting guards LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier have entered the league’s health and safety protocols and are expected to miss several games, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Frontcourt players Jalen McDaniels and Mason Plumlee have also been placed under protocols, the team’s PR department tweets.
Those players will be sidelined for at least 10 days unless they record two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. Charlotte is scheduled to play five games over the next 10 days — Sunday at Atlanta; two home games vs. Philadelphia Monday and Wednesday; another home game vs. Sacramento on Friday; and a road test against Dallas next Monday.
The team sent players and staff members home from the practice facility as a precautionary measure, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. If all have tested positive, the Hornets could sign another player under the hardship exception, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
Charlotte is in the midst of a three-game losing streak but still has a winning record at 13-11. Ball had 36 points and nine assists against Milwaukee on Wednesday and is averaging 20.0 PPG, 8.3 APG and 7.7 RPG in his second NBA campaign. Rozier is the team’s third-leading scorer at 17.7 PPG, 3.6 APG and 3.5 RPG.
Until the duo returns, the Hornets will have to improvise in the backcourt with Ish Smith and Kelly Oubre likely to move into the starting lineup and Cody Martin and James Bouknight backing them up.
Plumlee has been sidelined with a calf injury since November 24 but was expected to return on Sunday. He’s averaging 6.8 PPG and 7.3 RPG as a starter. McDaniels is averaging 5.5 PPG and 3.3 RPG off the bench.
Bucks Sign Wesley Matthews, Waive Georgios Kalaitzakis
6:14pm: The Bucks have officially signed Matthews and requested waivers on Kalaitzakis, the team announced. Matthews’ contract is non-guaranteed, a source tells Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link).
4:07pm: The Bucks are signing veteran wing Wesley Matthews and waiving rookie forward Georgios Kalaitzakis in order to create a roster spot, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
It’s another win-now move for the defending champions, who signed center DeMarcus Cousins on Tuesday. The Bucks will be on the hook for the guaranteed portion of Kalaitzakis’ salary — he has a partial guarantee of $462,629. However, he’s already earned a good chunk of that amount by this point in the season, which makes it a very understandable move from both a basketball and financial perspective.
Matthews, 35, is entering his 13th season in the NBA. This will be a reunion for both player and team, as he spent the 2019/20 season with the Bucks, starting all 67 games he appeared in with averages of 7.4 PPG and 2.5 RPG on .396/.364/.765 shooting (24.4 MPG). He played for the Lakers last season, appearing in 58 contests (19.5 MPG) while averaging 4.8 PPG and 1.6 RPG on .353/.335/.854 shooting.
Matthews was a top-tier 3-and-D player in the early part of his career prior to tearing his Achilles tendon in 2015. He’s never put up the same type of efficient offensive numbers since suffering the injury, but he’s still regarded as a good defensive player and is a highly respected veteran. In 849 career games (739 starts), he holds career averages of 12.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.0 SPG on .421/.379/.824 shooting.
Kalaitzakis, the 60th pick in the 2021 draft, was signed to a partially guaranteed, three-year deal ahead of his rookie season. The Greece native appeared in nine games for the Bucks for a total of 48 minutes, putting up modest stats of 1.8 PPG and 0.9 RPG in 5.3 MPG. Evidently Milwaukee did not see enough from the 22-year-0ld to justify keeping him on a standard contract.
It’s very unlikely that he gets signed by a team with an open roster spot, as that list is comprised of either contending teams or teams right against the luxury tax, or both. Perhaps a two-way spot could be possible, but all 60 of those spots are taken right now, so that would require a team to waive a current two-way player. Kalaitzakis’ most realistic path back to the NBA is probably through the G League, but returning to Europe could be a viable possibility, too.
Pelicans Sign Gary Clark To Non-Guaranteed Deal
December 3: The Pelicans have officially signed Clark, the team announced in a press release.
December 2: The Pelicans are signing forward Gary Clark to a non-guaranteed contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
New Orleans has a full 15-man roster, but will be able to move Didi Louzada to the suspended list now that he has served more than five games of his 25-game ban for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, as Christian Clark of NOLA.com confirms (via Twitter). When Louzada’s suspension ends, the Pelicans will have to get back down to 15 players by trading or waiving Clark or another player.
Clark, 27, has appeared in a total of 132 NBA regular season games since making his debut in 2018. Last season, he averaged 3.1 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 39 games (16.8 MPG) for the Magic, Nuggets, and Sixers. He’s known more for his defense, having put up very modest offensive numbers (3.2 PPG on .346/.311/.889 shooting) in his NBA career.
Clark had been playing for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League this season, where he was averaging 14.4 PPG and 6.9 RPG with 1.5 SPG through eight games (31.3 MPG). While it’s a small sample, he has been letting it fly from beyond the three-point line in the NBA G League and has made 37.3% of 7.4 attempts per game so far.
Clark’s minimum-salary contract will pay him just over $9,900 per day.
Trail Blazers Fire Neil Olshey
The Trail Blazers have fired general manager and president of basketball operations Neil Olshey, the team announced (via Twitter).
Olshey has been under a month-long investigation relating to his actions in the workplace, prompted by accusations of misconduct from at least one team employee. Workers have allegedly been subjected to “intimidation and profanity-laced tirades, among other bullying tactics” from Olshey.
The team addressed the investigation in a release announcing the move, stating that Olshey was terminated “due to violations of the Portland Trail Blazers’ Code of Conduct.”
“Out of respect for those who candidly participated in that privileged investigation, we will not release or discuss it,” the release states. “We are confident that these changes will help build a more positive and respectful working environment.”
Director of player personnel Joe Cronin will take over as interim general manager while the team searches for a permanent replacement, the release adds.
Two candidates who will likely receive consideration for the permanent job are Grizzlies VP of basketball affairs Tayshaun Prince and Spurs VP of basketball operations Brent Barry, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Former Celtics executive Danny Ainge may also be in the mix, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
A source tells Jason Quick of The Athletic that Olshey learned of his firing this morning (Twitter link). Olshey got no indication of the move during discussions Thursday night with vice chair Bert Kolde or team owner Jody Allen, Quick adds.
Olshey, 56, had served as Portland’s general manager since 2012, but there have been rumors for some time that his job was in jeopardy. In addition to the workplace investigation, Olshey has been under fire for the team’s string of first-round playoff exits and received criticism for not being more responsive about the hiring of Chauncey Billups as head coach in light of sexual assault allegations against Billups from 1997.
Several pressing issues will face Olshey’s replacement, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Damian Lillard has repeatedly expressed a desire to play for a contender, and the Blazers are currently in ninth place in the West at 11-12. The organization will also have to decide whether to hold on to Robert Covington and Jusuf Nurkic, who both have expiring contracts.
Thaddeus Young: Situation With Spurs “Is Not Ideal For Me”
Thaddeus Young has been a steady contributor throughout his 15 years in the NBA, so he’s having difficulty adjusting to a limited role with the Spurs, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball News.
The 33-year-old power forward was acquired by San Antonio in August in the deal that sent DeMar DeRozan to Chicago. He’s serving as a veteran presence on a very young team, but he’s not getting the minutes that he has been accustomed to. Kennedy notes that over the past two weeks, Young has played eight minutes or fewer four times.
“Right now, this situation is not ideal for me,” Young said during an appearance on Kennedy’s podcast. “I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve had to settle for four and six minutes a game.”
Young has remained productive into his 30s and is coming off one of his best seasons last year with the Bulls. He received the NBA’s 2021 Hustle Award, recognizing the player who makes the most energy and effort plays, while averaging 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. Those numbers have fallen significantly this season as Young is playing just 15.6 minutes per night after averaging 24.3 last year.
Young was a part-time starter during his two seasons in Chicago, but he’s filling a back-of-the-rotation role in San Antonio, where the emphasis is on developing young talent.
“It’s super tough. It’s very tough and frustrating at times,” said Young, who is the only player on the roster older than 30. “But at the end of the day, I understand where this franchise is going and I understand what’s happening — the young guys have to play. Whatever happens, happens. It’s just a matter of trusting in my faith and trusting in my craft and trusting in the time that I put into the game each and every day. I’m a 15-year veteran and I’m still one of the last to leave the gym and I’m still showing up early, putting in a lot of time and a lot of work.
“If I’m not playing in games, then I have to figure out some way to stay in shape, so I’ve been doing my after-the-game conditioning as well as showing up early for three-on-three sessions. I’m not supposed to be playing those three-on-three sessions because I’m a vet, but in order to stay in shape, I have to do something. So I’m playing in three-on-three sessions with the younger guys and some of the coaches and just trying to keep my feel for the game and timing.”
With a $14.19MM expiring contract, there should be plenty of demand for Young before the February 10 trade deadline. The market figures to start opening up after December 15 when most free agents who signed over the summer become eligible to be traded. Until he’s moved, Young plans to do whatever he’s asked to and will avoid becoming a distraction.
“The one thing I’ve prided myself on is just continuing to be professional and making sure that if I’m part of a team, I’m part of that team,” he said. “I’m not one foot in and one foot out. If I’m putting on that jersey and they’re paying me and they’re putting their trust in me, I’m going to make sure that I’m there for them. I think that’s one of the biggest things.”
LeBron James Clears Protocols, Eligible To Play
LeBron James has been cleared to exit the league’s health and safety protocols after producing two consecutive negative PCR tests conducted more than 24 hours apart, NBA Communications tweets.
James was placed in the protocols on Tuesday after a series of tests produced conflicting results, including an initial positive test on Monday. Additional tests showed that he’s not positive for the COVID-19 virus.
James will be able to play in the Lakers’ game against the Clippers on Friday.
The NBA statement gave further details on James’ tests: The sample that produced the initial positive test was re-run twice and returned one negative and one positive result on two different PCR instruments. As a result, James underwent additional testing on Tuesday, with one test returning a negative result and a second test producing a clinically inconclusive result.
According to Dave McNemin of ESPN (Twitter link), James has had eight tests since Saturday, all of which have come back negative. His test in Sacramento was a false positive.
Pacers’ McConnell Expected To Be Out “A While”
3:25pm: McConnell will get a second opinion on his injury before he and the Pacers decide on a course of action, according to Agness.
12:34pm: Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, who is dealing with a right wrist injury, will be “out for a while,” head coach Rick Carlisle said today, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).
For now, there’s no real recovery timeline or even a formal diagnosis for McConnell. The team is still evaluating the extent of the injury and will likely issue a more detailed update within the next day or two, says Agness.
McConnell has only made six starts for the Pacers this season, but he has been an important part of the team’s rotation. Entering action on Wednesday, the 29-year-old had appeared in all 23 of Indiana’s games and was averaging over 25 minutes per contest, with 8.7 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 1.1 SPG on 50.3% shooting. He left Wednesday’s contest vs. Atlanta after playing just three minutes.
McConnell’s absence should open the door for Brad Wanamaker to take on a bigger role. Wanamaker has been in and out of the rotation this season, but played 16 minutes on Wednesday as the Pacers’ backup point guard.