Ankle Sprain To Sideline Mitchell For Rest Of Regular Season
All-Star Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell is set to miss the team’s final three regular season games due to an injured right ankle, the Jazz announced in a statement (via Twitter). The Jazz are currently the top seed in the Western Conference with a sparkling 50-19 record, 1.5 games clear of the Suns.
Mitchell initially suffered a right ankle sprain on April 16. Though there is no structural damage in the ankle, Utah has been understandably cautious in holding out one of its top performers.
The Jazz noted that the 24-year-old will stay in Salt Lake City and won’t join the team on the road as he undergoes further treatment on the afflicted ankle. The club said that Mitchell’s health status will be reassessed ahead of the start of the playoffs, which tip off on May 22.
The Jazz have gone 8-5 since Mitchell sprained his ankle. Across 53 games this year, Mitchell has averaged 26.4 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.4 RPG and 1.0 SPG. He boasts a shooting line of .438/.386/.845.
A left hamstring strain has kept Mitchell’s All-Star backcourt mate, veteran point guard Mike Conley, unavailable for Utah since April 28.
Sixers Sign Gary Clark To Two-Way Contract
6:55pm: The Sixers have officially signed Clark, the team announced in a press release.
1:34pm: The Sixers are set to sign free agent forward Gary Clark to a two-way contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Philadelphia opened up a two-way slot last week by waiving Mason Jones.
Clark, who began his career with the Rockets in 2018 after going undrafted out of Cincinnati, has since appeared in a total of 130 games for Houston, Orlando, and Denver, averaging 3.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per contest.
The 26-year-old signed a two-year, $4.1MM contract with the Magic last fall, but was traded to the Nuggets along with Aaron Gordon in March. Because his 2021/22 salary of $2.1MM was non-guaranteed and he was essentially a throw-in in that trade, Clark became expendable and was waived last month, clearing the way for Denver to sign Austin Rivers.
Barring an unexpected development, Clark won’t be part of the Sixers’ rotation in the playoffs, but he could see some action in the team’s final few regular season games, depending on when his two-way deal is finalized. He’ll also provide a little extra depth on the wing in case the team has to deal with injuries in the playoffs.
The Sixers will have a full 17-man roster once Clark’s deal is official.
LeBron James Targeting Wednesday For Return
MAY 11, 2:30pm: James has decided to rest his ankle for one more day and is now targeting Wednesday vs. Houston for his return, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).
MAY 10, 7:35pm: James is listed as out for Tuesday’s game, though Jovan Buha of The Athletic notes that he was listed as out against Sacramento before his previous return from injury (Twitter link).
MAY 10, 9:31am: Lakers star LeBron James is aiming to return from his ankle injury on Tuesday vs. the Knicks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
A source tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that James has had two “really good days of workouts at a high level” and feels great. If James is unable to get back on the floor on Tuesday, he’d target Wednesday vs. Houston for his return, per Charania and Haynes.
James, who missed 20 games due to a high ankle sprain, came back on April 30 and played in two games before that ankle injury sidelined him again. He has been out for the team’s last four contests.
Although the Lakers are fighting to avoid finishing in seventh in the West, the team is more focused on making sure LeBron and fellow star Anthony Davis are healthy for the postseason, rather going all-out to move up to sixth and avoid the play-in tournament.
Still, getting James back in the lineup before the regular season ends would help get him up to speed and build chemistry among the club’s top lineups, which would benefit the Lakers whether they finish sixth or seventh.
Currently, Portland is a game ahead of the Lakers for the No. 6 seed and also controls the tiebreaker. L.A. has four winnable games left (vs. NYK, vs. HOU, at IND, and at NOP), but even if the Lakers finish 4-0, they’d have to count on the Blazers losing at least two of their remaining games (vs. HOU, at UTA, at PHX, vs. DEN) in order to pass them in the standings.
Timberwolves Sale Negotiations Continue Beyond 30-Day Window
When a group led by former MLB star Alex Rodriguez and tech entrepreneur Marc Lore reached a tentative agreement to buy the Timberwolves from current owner Glen Taylor last month, the two sides entered into a 30-day exclusive negotiating window to finalize the terms of the deal.
That 30-day window has now closed, and Rodriguez, Lore, and Taylor have yet to complete their agreement, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes. However, the parties continue to negotiate in good faith in the hopes of hammering out a deal, Windhorst adds.
As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic observes (via Twitter), the end of the 30-day window didn’t represent a deadline to finalize the sale. It simply gave the two sides a month to focus on completing a deal without Taylor considering other potential buyers.
Now that the window has closed, Taylor could theoretically look elsewhere, but it sounds like he remains focused on the Rodriguez/Lore group. The two sides may agree to extend the exclusive negotiating window, Windhorst notes, though that hasn’t been done yet.
Taylor has entered into exclusive negotiating windows in the past with interested parties and hasn’t closed a deal in those instances. However, he never got as far down the road with any of those previous suitors as he has with Rodriguez and Lore.
As we detailed last month, the two sides have agreed on a valuation of the franchise in the $1.5 billion range, which would include the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx in addition to the Timberwolves.
The two sides have also agreed on a plan to have Rodriguez and Lore initially come aboard as minority partners before assuming majority control by the 2023/24 season. According to Windhorst, one issue that has been at the center of discussions in recent weeks has been a guarantee that Taylor will cede his majority control of the franchise by a specific date.
It still appears that the parties will eventually work out the specific terms and agree to a deal, but until the sale is official, it’s a situation worth monitoring.
Jaylen Brown Has Torn Wrist Ligament, Out For Season
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown is out for the season due to a torn ligament in his left wrist, the team announced (via Twitter).
The diagnosis was made over the weekend. He has a torn scapholunate ligament and is expected to have it surgically repaired later this week.
The injury is a devastating blow to a team that has been a disappointment this season. The Celtics entered the week with a mediocre 35-33 record despite an outstanding season from the fifth-year forward. He’s averaging a career-high 24.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 3.4 APG in the first year of a four-year extension that can be worth up to $115MM.
Brown has been sidelined since May 2. According to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, the injury is not a new one and he’s been dealing with lingering pain (Twitter link).
Boston has dropped two of its last three games with Brown on the shelf. Without him, the Celtics have relied on Evan Fournier and Aaron Nesmith to pick up his minutes.
Boston sits in the seventh spot entering the final week of action and will wind up in the play-in tournament unless it can pass Atlanta, Miami or New York.
Kyle Lowry On Knicks’ Offseason Radar
After not making a move for a point guard at the trade deadline in March, the Knicks are expected to resume their search in the offseason, armed with a handful of potential trade assets and a good deal of cap room.
While younger point guards such as Lonzo Ball and Dennis Schröder have been frequently cited as possible targets for New York, the team also has Raptors veteran Kyle Lowry on its radar for the summer, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
The Lakers, Sixers, and Heat were in the running at this year’s trade deadline for Lowry, who ultimately stayed put in Toronto. Now that the six-time All-Star is set to reach unrestricted free agency, those teams could once again pursue him, but the Lakers and Sixers will be well over the cap and would have a hard time completing a sign-and-trade, and the Knicks will have more cap space than Miami. If Leon Rose and his front office are serious about pursuing Lowry, they could emerge as a top suitor and put real pressure on the Raptors.
At age 35, Lowry is expected to seek one more lucrative multiyear deal, but he wouldn’t require a four-year commitment like Ball and Schröder probably will. The idea of signing Lowry to a shorter-term deal could appeal to the Knicks’ front office, since it would allow the team to add an impact player while maintaining cap flexibility for another big move in the next year or two.
Whether or not Lowry will be atop the Knicks’ list of targets remains to be seen. It’s also unclear whether he’d reciprocate that interest — it’s possible he’d prefer to stick with the Raptors, head home to Philadelphia, or team up with good friend Jimmy Butler in Miami.
However, it’s worth noting – as Begley writes, and as we’ve heard from other reporters throughout the season – that the league-wide perception of the Knicks among players and agents seems to be improving. The team’s success in 2020/21 has been a major factor in enhancing New York’s reputation, as has the new front office. According to Begley, agents who have griped in the past about the Knicks’ inability to promptly return calls say that Rose’s group has been far more responsive and upfront in its communication.
In his 15th NBA season, Lowry has been his usual productive self, averaging 17.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.4 rebounds in 46 games (34.8 MPG), with a .436/.396/.875 shooting line and solid perimeter defense.
Mavs Hope Porzingis Can Return On Wednesday
Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis will remain sidelined for Tuesday’s game in Memphis, but the team hopes he’ll be available to make his return at home on Wednesday vs. the Pelicans, head coach Rick Carlisle said today.
As Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News details, Carlisle said that Porzingis has done “very well over the last 10 days” as he has attempted to work his way back from right knee soreness. Porzingis, who was also recently bothered by a left ankle sprain, has played only once since April 22.
The Mavericks have just four games left on their regular season schedule, and Porzingis said today that he has made it a priority to get back in the lineup before the postseason begins, as Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News tweets. Carlisle agreed that’s the plan.
“Definitely better for him to get back and get some games under his belt before the playoffs start,” Carlisle said, per Townsend. “No question about that — for conditioning, for chemistry, for rhythm, for things having to do with the system. With him now playing some four defensively, that when he’s guarding the four-men, coverage responsibilities are different, so it’s important to get those kinds of reps in in game situations as well as practice situations.”
Having played in 40 of Dallas’ 68 games so far this season, Porzingis is averaging 20.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game with a career-best .473 FG%.
Rockets Sign Cameron Oliver Via Hardship Exception
MAY 10: The Rockets have officially signed Oliver via a hardship exception, the team announced today in a press release. While Houston classifies it as a 10-day contract, there are only seven days left in the regular season, so it won’t technically cover 10 full days.
MAY 9: Center Cameron Oliver has agreed to a 10-day contract with the Rockets that will cover the remainder of the regular season, according to Olgun Uluc of ESPN.
Oliver, 24, recently completed his second season with the Cairns Taipans in Australia’s National Basketball League, averaging 17.3 points, 10 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He is still under contract with the Taipans for the 2021/22 season, so his NBA stay figures to be brief.
Oliver is one of the top centers in Australia, according to Uluc, with elite athleticism and a shooting range stretching beyond the three-point line. He will join former Sydney Kings player Jae’Sean Tate and coach Will Weaver in Houston.
Oliver has a history with the Rockets, points out Ben DuBose of USA Today’s Rockets Wire. After going undrafted out of Nevada in 2017, Oliver signed with Houston and participated in training camp that year. He played two seasons in the G League before going to Australia.
The Rockets have a full roster, DuBose adds, but could add Oliver without another move if they get a second hardship exception from the league. With a roster severely depleted by injuries, Houston recently used its first hardship exception to add Khyri Thomas.
Bradley Beal To Be Reevaluated On Friday
The Wizards have issued a new update on Bradley Beal‘s status, announcing in a press release that the team’s leading scorer will miss the next two games before being reevaluated on Friday. Beal, who had already been ruled out for Monday’s game, is dealing with a left hamstring strain.
It’s bad timing for Beal and the Wizards, who are battling for play-in positioning and will be without their All-Star guard for games on Monday and Wednesday in Atlanta against the fifth-seeded Hawks. It remains to be seen whether Beal will be available on Friday (vs. Cleveland) or on Sunday (vs. Charlotte).
At 32-36, the Wizards are currently in ninth place in the East and are a long shot to fall out of the play-in picture entirely, since they have a three-game cushion on the 11th-place Bulls. Still, a strong finish could push Washington into eighth place, since the team is just a game behind the eighth-place Hornets.
The No. 8 team only needs to win one of two play-in games to earn a playoff spot, while the ninth-place team will need to win back-to-back play-in games to make it to the postseason. With Beal out and with the Hornets holding the tiebreaker, the Wizards’ path to the No. 8 seed will be challenging.
Beal, 27, is enjoying the best year of his NBA career, averaging 31.4 points per game (second in the NBA) on .489/.351/.889 shooting in 59 games (35.8 MPG).
Max Abmas Enters 2021 NBA Draft
Oral Roberts sophomore Max Abmas has entered the 2021 NBA Draft while maintaining college eligibility, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Abmas, a 6’1″ point guard, is a potential first-round pick.
“My plan is to enter the draft and get as much feedback as I can,” he said. “I’m hoping to work my way into the first round or get some type of guaranteed contract to help me decide whether to stay in.”
Abmas played a key role in Oral Roberts’ success during the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The 20-year-old averaged 24.6 points, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 28 games last season, shooting 48% from the floor, 43% from deep and 89% from the charity stripe. He currently ranks 30th on ESPN’s big board.
“For me going to Oral Roberts — I’ve seen players like Steph Curry [Davidson] and Damian Lillard [Weber State] who went to mid-majors and showed you can make it from those schools as well,” Abmas said. “I decided to control what I can control and let the rest play out. It came a whole lot faster than I expected.”
Abmas will retain the option to return to school — a decision that’ll largely be based on the feedback he receives from NBA teams. Abmas is one of over 100 college freshmen, sophomores and juniors who have entered the July 29 draft so far.