Joel Embiid Suffers Shoulder Sprain
9:07pm: Embiid will undergo an MRI on Thursday, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
8:09pm: Sixers center Joel Embiid was pulled from tonight’s game in Cleveland after spraining his left shoulder, according to a story from the Associated Press. The team didn’t offer any specifics beyond the nature of the injury.
Embiid got hurt in a collision with Ante Zizic late in the first quarter. He remained in the game to shoot two free throws, but was taken out at the next stoppage. After walking to the locker room, Embiid briefly returned to the team bench in the second quarter, but left again for further evaluation.
A prolonged injury would come at a horrible time for the Sixers, who are already without Ben Simmons for at least the next two weeks because of a nerve impingement in his lower back. Philadelphia begins a four-game West Coast trip on Sunday.
Steph Curry Expected To Return For Warriors On Sunday
FEBRUARY 26: After Curry went through his second full-speed scrimmage today, head coach Steve Kerr said he’d like to see the star guard scrimmage a little more, downplaying the notion that a Sunday return is locked in (video link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic).
“If it’s Sunday, great,” Kerr said. “If it’s not, that’s fine too.”
FEBRUARY 25: Warriors star Stephen Curry will return to action on Sunday following his four-month recovery from a broken left hand, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
The March 1 contest, a home game vs. the Wizards, is the one Curry has been eyeing as a potential target date for more than a month. Now, barring an unexpected setback within the next few days, it appears he’ll meet that target date.
At 12-45, the Warriors rank dead last in the NBA, 4.5 games behind the Timberwolves, the next-worst team in the Western Conference. Although the team has no playoff hopes at this point, getting Curry back for the last month-and-a-half of the season will give the Dubs an opportunity to see how the two-time MVP meshes with some of the team’s new contributors.
Andrew Wiggins is the most notable of the Warriors’ newest additions, but Curry has also seen little to no playing time alongside youngsters like Eric Paschall, Ky Bowman, and Marquese Chriss, all of whom look like good bets to be part of next year’s squad.
Curry’s presence will add some extra intrigue to the Warriors’ matchups vs. contenders down the stretch. Following Sunday’s game against Washington, six of Golden State’s next seven contests will be against the Nuggets, Raptors, Sixers, Clippers, and Bucks.
While Curry’s return is around the corner, his fellow Splash Brother won’t be suiting up for the Warriors this season. The club publicly ruled out Klay Thompson for the season last week.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hornets’ Malik Monk Suspended Indefinitely
Hornets guard Malik Monk has been suspended by the NBA for violating the terms of the league’s anti-drug program, according to a press release issued this afternoon.
The NBA didn’t announce a specific number of games for Monk’s suspension. According to the press release, the ban will begin when the Hornets face the Knicks tonight and will continue until Monk is determined to be “in full compliance” with the anti-drug program.
We don’t know the full details surrounding Monk’s suspension, but the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that certain drug violations – including for drugs of abuse – require a player to enter a treatment or care program. If the player violates the terms of that program, he will be suspended “until such time as the Medical Director determines that he has fully complied” with the program, per the CBA.
Because Monk’s suspension is open-ended, it remains to be seen how much money it will end up costing him, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. A suspension of less than 20 games will cost Monk 1/145th of his $4,028,400 salary per game. A suspension of 20+ games would result in a loss of 1/110th of his salary per game. So if he’s suspended for the rest of the season (25 games), he’d lose $915,545.
The 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Monk hasn’t been the scorer and shooter the Hornets hoped for through his first three NBA seasons, averaging just 8.6 PPG with a .322 3PT%. However, he had played well lately, scoring 17.0 PPG on .457/.350/.851 shooting in his last 13 games (27.9 MPG).
Leon Rose To Start Role With Knicks On Sunday
Veteran CAA agent Leon Rose, who reached an agreement with the Knicks during the first week of February to become the team’s new president of basketball operations, will officially begin his new role on Sunday, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter).
Rose has been one of the NBA’s top agents for years and had a star-studded list of clients that includes Joel Embiid, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Karl-Anthony Towns. It has taken him a few weeks to tie up loose ends with those clients and to prepare to transition from his role as a player rep to a team executive.
A report last week suggested that one reason for the delay was Rose’s involvement in Dwyane Wade‘s three-day retirement celebration with the Heat last weekend. Rose helped plan the event for Wade, a longtime CAA client.
Once Rose officially takes the reins in New York, he’ll have several areas to address in both the short- and long-term. He’ll have to make a decision on the future of interim head of basketball operations Scott Perry and potentially make additional changes to the basketball operations department. He may also have some thoughts on how Knicks head coach Mike Miller should balance playing veterans and young players in the season’s final month-and-a-half.
This spring, Rose will be tasked with hiring a permanent head coach and preparing for an important draft and free agency period. The Knicks will have a top-10 pick in the draft and could also have a major chunk of cap room available, depending on how they handle their players with team options and non-guaranteed salaries for 2020/21.
Rockets Expected To Sign Jeff Green For Rest Of Season
Jeff Green‘s 10-day contract with the Rockets doesn’t expire for a couple more days, but it sounds like the two sides will extend their relationship beyond Thursday. According to Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link), Green intends to sign with Houston for the rest of the season.
Green, who was released by the Jazz in December, was a free agent for nearly two months before agreeing to sign with the Rockets last week. He and the team initially reached a 10-day deal so he could evaluate the situation before making a rest-of-season commitment. Both Green and the Rockets are “really happy with the fit,” per Schultz.
In three games so far with Houston, Green has averaged 9.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG on .833/.714/.750 shooting. It’s a safe bet that those shooting marks will decline going forward, but the 33-year-old has looked comfortable as a de facto big man in the Rockets’ small-ball lineups.
When Green’s rest-of-season contract becomes official, Houston will have a full 15-man roster. The team had a pair of open roster spots following the All-Star break, filling them with Green and DeMarre Carroll, who was bought out by San Antonio.
The exact value of Green’s new contract will depend on when it’s made official. If he signs a minimum-salary deal on Friday, the day after his 10-day contract expires, he’d earn $695,526 the rest of the way, with a $439,475 cap hit.
Ben Simmons To Miss At Least Two Weeks
Sixers star Ben Simmons has been diagnosed with nerve impingement in his lower back and will be re-evaluated in about two weeks, sources tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Charania (via Twitter), Simmons, who consulted with multiple in-house and external specialists, will undergo daily treatment and rehab. Although Simmons will be re-evaluated in two weeks, the team isn’t expecting him to be ready to return by that point, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The two-week mark is more of an initial benchmark date than a target return date, Woj adds (via Twitter).
Simmons aggravated the injury during Saturday’s loss in Milwaukee and sat out on Monday vs. Atlanta. A two-week absence would cost Simmons at least six more games, including road showdowns with the Clippers and Lakers, and it sounds like he’ll remain on the shelf for even longer than that.
With Simmons out, the Sixers figure to lean more heavily on Alec Burks, Josh Richardson, and Shake Milton when it comes to ball-handling duties. Backup point guard Raul Neto should also move up on the depth chart, though he didn’t play at all on Monday. Philadelphia could also explore the buyout market for another ball-handler, but the club would have to waive a player to make room on its 15-man roster.
The 76ers are currently in the midst of a race for home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason. At 36-22, they hold the No. 5 seed in the East, just a half-game back of the 36-21 Heat.
Knicks Not Planning To Buy Out Veterans
The Knicks have no plans at the moment to buy out any of their veteran players on expiring or pseudo-expiring contracts, according to Steve Popper of Newsday.
New York began its post-All-Star schedule hoping to make a push for a playoff spot in the East and not intending to prioritize playing youngsters over veterans if it compromised the team’s ability to win games. That philosophy has meant that players like Reggie Bullock, Bobby Portis, and Taj Gibson are still key contributors rather than buyout candidates.
While it’s possible the Knicks will adjust their approach to late-season player development as their postseason hopes continue to fade, their position on buyouts isn’t expected to change, says Popper. The team still views many of its veteran contracts – several of which include team options or small partial guarantees for 2020/21 – as potential trade assets for the offseason, Popper adds.
Besides Bullock, Portis, and Gibson, Wayne Ellington and Maurice Harkless are among the vets who fit the mold of a typical buyout candidate, at least to some extent. However, if those players aren’t interested in buyouts, the Knicks would have little to gain from pursuing them — the team already has one of the NBA’s lowest payrolls for 2019/20 and the savings would be minimal.
Additionally, none of those players have more than $1MM in guaranteed money on their contracts for next season, so they could be easily cut loose if no trade materializes in the offseason and the Knicks decide to move on. The only real benefit to moving on from them now would be to open up an immediate roster spot or two for developmental projects.
For what it’s worth, players like Portis and Harkless have publicly suggested they’re not looking to go the buyout route.
Jeremy Lamb Out For Season With Torn ACL, Meniscus
Pacers wing Jeremy Lamb, who left Sunday’s game in Toronto with a knee injury, has been diagnosed with a torn left ACL, a torn meniscus, and a lateral femoral condylar fracture, the team announced today in a press release. Lamb will undergo surgery and will miss the rest of the 2019/20 season.
The injury occurred when Lamb went up for a dunk attempt in the second quarter. Raptors guard Terence Davis met him at the rim in an attempt to block the shot and Lamb landed awkwardly on his left leg. After the game, he referred to the play as a “freak accident” (Twitter link via Scott Agness of The Athletic).
The diagnosis is a devastating blow for the Pacers and for Lamb, who had been playing a key role for the team in his first season in Indiana. In 46 games (42 starts), the 27-year-old averaged 12.5 PPG and 4.3 RPG with a .451/.335/.836 shooting line in 28.1 minutes per contest.
The Pacers do have Victor Oladipo back in their lineup now, and Oladipo figures to play many of the minutes that belonged to Lamb during the first half of the season. Justin Holiday, Aaron Holiday, T.J. McConnell, and even Edmond Sumner are among the other players who could be relied upon more heavily with Lamb no longer an option.
Given the serious nature of Lamb’s injury, he’s unlikely to be ready for the start of the 2020/21 season. Although the Pacers haven’t offered a recovery timeline beyond ruling him out for this season, they’ll likely play it safe with the veteran swingman, who is under contract with the team through 2021/22. I’d be surprised if we see him back in Indiana’s lineup before 2021.
The Pacers aren’t eligible to apply for a disabled player exception to replace Lamb this season, since the deadline to apply for a DPE was January 15.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Lakers, Cousins Have Mutual Interest In Offseason Deal
DeMarcus Cousins is currently on waivers after being released by the Lakers on Sunday to make room for Markieff Morris. However, sources tell Joe Vardon of The Athletic that both sides have expressed interest in pursuing a new deal in the offseason.
Even after being cut by the Lakers, Cousins is expected to continue rehabbing his torn ACL at the club’s practice facility. Not being on the roster means the big man can no longer travel with the team or sit on the bench during games, but the two sides are clearly still on good terms.
There was a belief that Cousins’ close relationship with multiple Lakers players – including former Pelicans teammate Anthony Davis – and the possibility of recovering from his ACL tear by the playoffs might keep his roster spot safe. However, despite some optimism about Cousins’ rehab timetable, the idea that he’d be able to contribute in the postseason this spring always seemed overly aggressive, as I noted last week when head coach Frank Vogel left the door open for the 29-year-old’s return.
In recent years, players like Zach LaVine, Jabari Parker, and Kristaps Porzingis, who have suffered torn ACLs, have taken at least 11-12 months to make it back, and it has generally taken them much longer than that to look like their old selves. Cousins tore his left ACL last August, after previously recovering from a torn Achilles and torn quad in the same leg.
By the time opening night arrives in 2020/21, Cousins will have had upwards of 14 months to recover from the injury, so that seems like a safer, more realistic target date. As such, waiving him instead of a healthy bench player was the logical move for the Lakers.
Because they’ve waived him, the Lakers will no longer have Cousins’ Non-Bird rights this offseason, but after so many major injuries – and with so many teams lacking cap flexibility – he’s unlikely to command significant offers on the open market. L.A. could potentially bring him back using the minimum salary exception or part of the mid-level exception.
It’s worth noting that if Cousins were to sign a new one-year contract with the Lakers in July and play out that deal, the club would hold his Early Bird rights in the summer of 2021. That would give L.A. the flexibility to offer him a significant raise if he has a strong bounce-back season.
Lakers Sign Markieff Morris
FEBRUARY 23, 6:45pm: The Lakers have officially signed Morris, the team announced in a press release. As expected, Cousins has been waived to open up a roster spot.
FEBRUARY 23, 3:55pm: The Lakers will sign Morris using their $1.75MM disabled player exception once he clears waivers at 4 p.m. CST this afternoon, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
FEBRUARY 21, 5:04pm: Power forward Markieff Morris plans to sign with the Lakers once he clears waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Morris reached a buyout agreement with the Pistons on Friday afternoon and was placed on waivers. It’s possible another team could swoop in and claim Morris, who was making $3.2MM this season. However, Morris had a $3.36MM player option on the second year of his contract with Detroit. He let the Pistons off the hook with the buyout but that option would be restored if he were claimed.
A team would have to have a traded player exception big enough to accommodate Morris’ $3.2MM cap hit in order to claim him. Most contenders that fit the bill have tax or hard-cap concerns, making a claim unlikely.
The Lakers will have to make a roster move to add Morris. They’ll reportedly release injured center DeMarcus Cousins rather than a little-used rotation player like Troy Daniels, Quinn Cook, or Jared Dudley, despite head coach Frank Vogel recently suggesting that Cousins could get healthy for the playoffs.
Morris’ addition to the Lakers provides even more intrigue between the Los Angeles teams. He could wind up guarding his brother, Marcus Morris, if the Lakers and Clippers meet in the playoffs. Marcus Morris was traded to the Clippers in a deadline deal.
Markieff Morris, 30, has appeared in 44 games for the Pistons this season, averaging 11.0 PPG and 3.9 RPG with a .450/.397/.772 shooting line in 22.5 minutes per contest.