Marquese Chriss Out For Season With Broken Leg
DECEMBER 31: Chriss underwent a successful surgery today to address his broken right fibula, the Warriors announced in a press release (Twitter link).
DECEMBER 27: Warriors center Marquese Chriss will miss the rest of the season after breaking his right fibula, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The Warriors announced in a press release (Twitter link) that the official diagnosis for Chriss, whose injury occurred during a practice in Chicago, is a right syndesmosis ankle injury with a fibular fracture. The reserve big man will have surgery to address the injury this week.
Chriss played in the team’s first two games, averaging 6.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 13.5 minutes. He was a part-time starter last year, but rookie James Wiseman has taken over as Golden State’s starting center.
The 23-year-old will receive his full salary of $1,824,003 and will be a free agent after the end of this season.
Chriss is in his second season with the Warriors after appearing in 59 games last year. A lottery pick in 2016, he was able to revive his career with Golden State after brief stays with the Rockets and Cavaliers during the 2018/19 season.
T.J. Warren Out Indefinitely With Left Foot Stress Fracture
Starting Pacers small forward T.J. Warren has incurred a small navicular left foot stress fracture and will need surgery to address it, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. There is no timetable for his return to the hardwood, but Warren is expected to miss a decent portion of the 2020/21 season, says Wojnarowski.
New Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren could look to compensate for Warren’s loss by giving additional minutes to Justin Holiday, Doug McDermott and Kelan Martin at the wing.
This season, Warren was looking to build on a scorching run he enjoyed in the Orlando 2019/20 season restart, averaging almost 31 PPG in six regular season Orlando games. He was Indiana’s fourth-leading scorer during the young ’20/21 season, averaging 15.5 PPG (on 52.9% shooting from the floor) and 3.5 RPG across Indiana’s first four games. The Pacers were 3-1 in those contests.
Wojnarowski notes that the 6’8″ forward out of North Carolina State underwent a similar surgery on his right foot while with the Suns in 2016. Bobby Marks of ESPN adds (via Twitter) that Warren has thus far missed 119 of a possible 569 regular season games since being drafted with the No. 14 pick by Phoenix in 2014.
Warren, 27, has two years and $23.9MM remaining on his current contract with Indiana.
Torrey Craig Undergoes Nasal Surgery
After fracturing his nose in a 130-110 loss against the Knicks on Sunday, Bucks swingman Torrey Craig went under the knife this week, undergoing surgery to repair the break, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Woj adds that the Bucks anticipate Craig will be able return to contact practices in two weeks.
Having spent his first three NBA seasons with the Nuggets, the 6’7″ Craig signed a one-year, $1.6MM veteran’s minimum deal with Milwaukee during the offseason.
Craig was added to the Bucks primarily to supply defensive wing depth and pull down offensive rebounds. He is not much of a scorer, holding a career average of 5.2 PPG on .451/.320/.660 shooting in 18.5 MPG.
The 30-year-old out of the University of South Carolina Upstate is averaging 6.5 MPG for the Bucks thus far this year.
Kris Dunn To Be Re-Evaluated In Two Weeks After Ankle Procedure
DECEMBER 31: Dunn underwent his arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle on Tuesday, and will be in a walking boot for the time being, the Hawks announced today in a press release. According to the team, he’ll be re-evaluated after resting for the next two weeks.
DECEMBER 27: New Hawks reserve guard Kris Dunn will have arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle to remove loose cartilage on December 30, according to a team press release.
The Hawks announced that Dunn had been partaking in “modified” individual and team practices after a November MRI revealed right knee cartilage disruption.
He had initially been sidelined as a Bull with an MCL sprain suffered against the Nets on January 31. In 51 games last season for Chicago (including 32 starts), Dunn averaged 7.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, and 2.0 SPG.
Apparently, as his knee recovered, Dunn struggled with pain in his low back and right ankle. A subsequent MRI this month indicated that he was compensating for loose cartilage limiting his range of motion in the right ankle.
A recovery timeline for the defensive-oriented backup guard, who joined the Hawks this offseason on a two-year, $10MM deal, will be determined after the surgery.
This is not an insignificant blow for Atlanta, as the 26-year-old Dunn was projected to be a major defensive contributor to a very offensively-oriented club. The versatile 6’3″ Dunn can capably defend point guards and wings.
Dunn’s absence continued will continue to open up additional rotation minutes for reserve wings Cam Reddish and Tony Snell, and should yield more time for 34-year-old veteran point guard Rajon Rondo when he is able to suit up for the Hawks.
Four Bulls Players Out Due To COVID-19 Protocols
The Bulls will be without Lauri Markkanen, Ryan Arcidiacono, Tomas Satoransky, and Chandler Hutchison on Thursday evening vs. the Wizards due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, head coach Billy Donovan said today (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago).
Those health and safety protocols are related to COVID-19, but neither teams nor the league have been providing many details on specific players’ absences. It’s possible one or more of the affected Bulls players had a positive or inconclusive coronavirus test result. They may also be tied up in the NBA’s contact tracing program.
Donovan told reporters – including Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic (Twitter link) – that he’s unsure how long Markkanen, Arcidiacono, Satoransky, and Hutchison will be unavailable. He’s also not even certain whether or not those four players will be permitted to travel out of D.C. with the rest of the team after tonight’s game (Twitter link via Johnson).
While the Bulls wait for clarity on a potential timeline for their missing players, they’ll have to figure out a new-look lineup and rotation tonight vs. Washington and presumably on Friday vs. Milwaukee as well. Markkanen had started at power forward in each of Chicago’s first four games, while the other three players logged between 28 and 68 total minutes in those contests.
Latest On James Harden
In his latest look at the James Harden situation, Brian Windhorst of ESPN lists the Sixers, Nets, Heat, Celtics, and Raptors among the teams that have at least placed “courtesy calls” to the Rockets about the former MVP.
And while the Bucks reportedly don’t have interest in pursuing Harden, they did have an internal conversation about the possibility and ran it by Giannis Antetokounmpo before coming to that decision, Windhorst notes.
The Harden trade talk that dominated NBA headlines during the preseason has died down to some extent now that the season is underway and the 31-year-old is suiting up for the Rockets, but Windhorst believes it’s just a matter of time before a team convinces itself that Harden is the missing piece for a championship and pulls the trigger on a deal, like Toronto did for Kawhi Leonard in 2018.
Here’s more on Harden:
- Although the Nuggets have been linked to Harden directly, they’re also interested in potentially getting involved in a multi-team trade involving the star guard even if they don’t end up with him, according to Windhorst.
- Sam Amick of The Athletic wonders if the loss of scoring depth caused by Spencer Dinwiddie‘s ACL injury may motivate the Nets to push harder to acquire Harden. Of course, as we discussed earlier this week, Dinwiddie’s injury also diminishes the value of a player who likely would be part of any package the Nets offer.
- Within that same Athletic article, Amick examines where things stand for the other teams linked to Harden, writing that the Sixers remain content to continue evaluating their current roster under Doc Rivers before making any major changes, while the Bucks don’t view Harden as a fit for their culture. Amick also evaluates the Heat, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, and Raptors, but doesn’t suggest that there’s traction on any front.
No New Positive COVID-19 Tests Among Players Since Dec. 24
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association shared some encouraging news today, announcing in a press release that there have been no new positive COVID-19 tests among the league’s 495 players during the most recent testing period.
Before today, the most recent update from the league and the players union was provided on December 24. At that time, there had been two new positive tests in the last eight days.
Today’s update is the latest sign that the health and safety protocols put into place by the league have been relatively effective. When the NBA and NBPA announced the results of its first (pre-camp) round of coronavirus testing on December 2, there were 48 positives.
So far, just one game – the December 23 contest between the Rockets and Thunder – has had to be postponed due to the coronavirus. And even in that case, only two Houston players had actually tested positive — most of the Rockets who were unavailable for that contest were tied up in the league’s contact-tracing protocols.
Zach Collins Out Indefinitely Following Second Ankle Surgery
Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins underwent revision surgery today to repair a left medial malleolus stress fracture, the team announced today in a press release. A specific timeline for his return hasn’t been set, with the team indicating he’ll be out indefinitely.
It’s the second procedure Collins has undergone on his left ankle, which he injured during the NBA’s summer restart. He first had surgery on that ankle on September 1.
It’s a tough setback for Collins, who had hoped to return to action at some point in January. Since entering Portland’s starting lineup on a full-time basis at the start of the ’19/20 season, the 23-year-old has only been able to play in 11 games, having missed most of last year due to shoulder surgery.
In 154 career regular season games (17.5 MPG), Collins has averaged 5.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG on .444/.324/.722 shooting.
Collins was eligible for a rookie scale extension prior to the start of this season, but he and the Trail Blazers opted to table contract negotiations until the summer of 2021. The thinking was that Collins would get a chance to prove his value after a lost 2019/20 campaign. Now it’s no longer clear exactly if or when he’ll get that opportunity.
Pacers’ Donnie Walsh Stepping Down From Consultant Role
Veteran NBA executive Donnie Walsh is stepping down from his position as a Pacers consultant, league sources tell Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Walsh confirmed the news to Matthew VanTryon of The Indianapolis Star.
“I’m getting older and don’t have the energy,” said Walsh, who is 79. “It’s a young man’s sport. This job has always occupied a great deal of my time. The Pacers were always in my head. This gives me an opportunity to pay attention to my children, my grandchildren and my wife (Judy) of 58 years.”
According to Agness, team employees were informed of the news on Wednesday during a company conference call.
Walsh, who first joined the Pacers in 1984, has been a crucial part of the franchise over the last few decades. He became the club’s general manager in 1986 before being promoted to president of basketball operations in 1988.
Walsh held that role for 20 years, overseeing a period in which Indiana made the playoffs in 16 of 17 seasons. Although the Pacers never won a championship during that time, they appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals six times and represented the East in the NBA Finals once.
Following a four-year stint with the Knicks from 2008-12, Walsh returned to the Pacers as the team’s interim president of basketball operations when Larry Bird took a one-year sabbatical. Since 2013, Walsh has been a consultant, working with current president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, GM Chad Buchanan, and the rest of the Indiana front office.
“The best period of my life was running the franchise,” Walsh told The Indianapolis Star today. “I accomplished every dream I had. We established a winning tradition and I got the opportunity to work with really good people. The Simon family has been great ownership. I liked everybody that we had in the franchise. We worked well together and strove to make it one of the better franchises in the league.
“As I’ve come back as a consultant, I believe we’ve gotten better. I’m happy with my part in it, but I’m also happy that the franchise has continued to improve.”
18 G League Clubs Likely Headed To Disney World Bubble
The NBA could be returning to Disney World in Orlando, Florida for a “bubble” campus experience in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. This time, Disney World looks set to be home for 18 G League clubs as the NBA’s minor league begins its 2020/21 season, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Though Atlanta had previously been the frontrunner as a destination for the 2020/21 G League season, Orlando emerged in recent weeks as a viable candidate. Disney World of course served as a successful locale for the 2019/20 NBA season restart. The ’19/20 NBA “bubble” season included eight seeding games for 22 NBA clubs, a play-in game between the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies, plus a full slate of playoff games without any player, personnel member, coach or family member of team personnel recording a positive coronavirus test result after quarantining.
As previously reported, are expected to land in their home markets for physical examinations by January 19. A week later, January 26, clubs will all convene in Orlando. The 12-to-15-game 2020/21 G League season is set to commence on February 8. Playoffs are currently expected to run from March 5-9.
The news report includes all 18 teams anticipated to participate in the Disney World campus:
- Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
- Austin Spurs (Spurs)
- Canton Charge (Cavaliers)
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers)
- Erie BayHawks (Pelicans)
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers)
- G League Ignite (Select Team)
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets)
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves)
- Lakeland Magic (Magic)
- Long Island Nets (Nets)
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
- Raptors 905 (Raptors)
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets)
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz)
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors)
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks)
The report notes that the Wizards will be using the Erie BayHawks as their affiliate, as previously reported. Washington’s own club, the Capital City Go-Go, will not be involved in the 2020/21 G League bubble season.
As we previously relayed, several teams were asked to volunteer to opt out of the bubble this season, as the G League will not be able to accommodate all 29 clubs into this Orlando campus environment.
Player and personnel health and safety expenses will be accounted for by each individual club partaking in the enterprise, and sources tell The Athletic reports that these will cost between $400K-$500K.
The 2020/21 NBA G League draft will take place on January 11, per Charania.