Rudy Gobert, Chris Finch Fined For Criticizing Officiating
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and head coach Chris Finch were fined on Friday for the comments they made criticizing the officiating after Wednesday’s loss to Phoenix, the NBA announced in a press release (Twitter link).
Gobert’s fine was $25K, while Finch was docked $15K.
As we previously relayed, Gobert was upset in particular about the moving screens he was called for on Wednesday and throughout the season, and suggested that Minnesota doesn’t get a fair whistle because the Timberwolves aren’t a big-market team.
“I’ve been in this league for 10 years and I try to always give the benefit of the doubt, but it’s hard for me to think they’re not trying to help (the Suns) win tonight,” Gobert said on Wednesday. “It’s hard for me to think they didn’t try to help the Warriors win the other night or Sacramento Kings the other night. It’s just so obvious. As a basketball player that’s been in this league for so long, it’s disrespectful.”
Finch wasn’t as direct in his criticism of the officiating, but he did take a page out of Monty Williams‘ book by griping about the free throw disparity between the Wolves and Suns on Wednesday. Finch suggested that Williams’ recent remarks along the same lines must have had a positive effect.
“It works because tonight they went to the line 27 times and we went to the line 12 times. Sitting up here and talking about it or whatever, must have worked for them,” Finch said, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “Because this is a team that doesn’t historically draw fouls at the rate they did.”
Williams ($20K) and Fred VanVleet ($30K) are among those who have also been fined recently for their criticisms of the referees.
Northwest Notes: Thunder, Dort, Russell, Horton-Tucker
Following Wednesday’s win over Detroit, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was asked by Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman how important it is to the team to make the play-in. Daigneault’s response didn’t exactly make it sound as if Oklahoma City is going all-out to secure a top-10 spot in the Western Conference.
“I think if it is an outcome that’s downstream of our process and the way that we’re trying to do things, it would be great, because it would be a marker along the way,” Daigneault said, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter links). “Not so important that it’s gonna distract us from our way of doing things. We need to bet on that day over day over day. We’ve done that for two or three years. That’s what’s put us in a position to compete for the play-in, so for us to abandon that at this point would be hasty.”
The Thunder were projected to finish at or near the bottom of the NBA standings coming into training camp, especially given that No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren had been sidelined with a season-ending injury. As a result, player development rather than short-term success has been the primary goal in OKC this year
Daigneault’s comments suggest player development is still the top priority, but some of the Thunder’s young players – including breakout rookie Jalen Williams – have been so good that the club may still find itself in a play-in game. With five contests left in their season, the Thunder hold the No. 10 seed in the West and hold a one-game lead over the 11th-place Mavericks.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Within a profile on Luguentz Dort, who is in the first season of a five-year contract with Oklahoma City, Jason Quick of The Athletic notes that the Thunder forward drew high praise from Damian Lillard. The Trail Blazers star referred to Dort as the NBA’s best defender. “I think he has the perfect balance of strength, quickness, speed and desire to do it,” Lillard said. “And he’s young. So I just think he is the best at it.” Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also raved about his teammate, telling Quick that “every team needs a Lu Dort.”
- As his Lakers prepare for a big game in Minnesota on Friday night, point guard D’Angelo Russell had nothing but praise for his former team and his former city, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune details. Russell was traded from the Timberwolves to L.A. at last month’s deadline. “Fans here were amazing. I have nothing bad to say about Minnesota,” Russell said. “If you’re not here or you haven’t lived here or anything like that, then you’re not aware of how good of a city (Minneapolis) is and a sports town, how committed fans are to their sports, things like that. So the city has a lot to offer. They treated me with great respect.”
- Talen Horton-Tucker is still learning the ropes at point guard for the Jazz, but he has shown some “undeniable talent” in the process, including on Wednesday when he scored 41 points in 30 minutes in San Antonio, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. “There aren’t that many pure point guards left in the league,” head coach Will Hardy said of Horton-Tucker, who holds an $11MM player option for 2023/24. “Talen is dynamic. He knows how to run pick and roll. He has to know how to react when teams play him differently. He has to know to get off the ball when teams give him a lot of attention. But he’s very talented.”
One-And-Done Rule Not Expected To Change In New CBA
Facing an opt-out deadline of midnight Eastern time on Friday night, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association continue to discuss a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
If the two sides do reach an agreement today, the next CBA won’t change the “one-and-done” rule for draft prospects, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links). Discussions about that rule are no longer taking part of the CBA negotiations, Woj says.
The one-and-done rule, established in 2005, prohibits NBA hopefuls from entering the draft directly out of high school. Those players must wait a year before declaring for the NBA draft. As a result, many of the top prospects have become known as “one-and-done” players, since they spend just one year at college (or elsewhere) before making themselves draft-eligible.
Players used to be able to enter the draft directly out of high school – LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett were among the stars who did so – and there was some speculation in recent years that the NBA and NBPA would once again allow that to happen as part of the new CBA.
However, ESPN has been reporting for quite some time that no changes to the one-and-done rule are imminent, despite rumors the contrary, and it appears that’s still the case.
As Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links) observes, there’s not a lot of motivation among teams, team owners, or players to change the rule. Giving NBA teams the ability to draft even younger players would make scouting more challenging and would eliminate jobs for veteran players.
According to Givony, while some people in the industry have had moral concerns about “forcing” 18-year-olds to attend college instead of beginning their professional careers, the emergence of alternate professional pathways to the NBA (ie. the G League Ignite and Overtime Elite) and NIL deals for college players have helped allay many of those concerns.
The NBA and NBPA both hope that a tentative agreement on a new CBA can be reached before tonight’s deadline, Wojnarowski notes. If there’s no deal in place by the end of the day, the league is expected to exercise its opt-out clause, which would move the expiry date of the current CBA up by one year to June 30, 2023. The two sides would still have three months to agree to a new CBA to avoid a lockout on July 1.
LaMarcus Aldridge Announces Retirement
Longtime NBA big man LaMarcus Aldridge has retired as a player, announcing the news today on Twitter.
“In the words of TB12, you only get one big, emotional retirement,” Aldridge wrote, referencing NFL star Tom Brady. “… So, on that note…I’m thankful for all the memories, family and friends I made throughout my career. It was one hell of a ride and I enjoyed every min!”
The second overall pick in the 2006 draft out of Texas, Aldridge averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in 1,076 career NBA regular season games for the Trail Blazers, Spurs, and Nets. He contributed 20.8 PPG and 8.5 RPG in another 72 postseason contests.
Aldridge, who is now 37 years old, was named to the NBA All-Star team seven times over the course of his 16-year career — four times with Portland and three with San Antonio. He also earned All-NBA Second Team honors twice and made the All-NBA Third Team three times.
This is technically the second retirement announcement Aldridge has made in the last two years. He initially said he was retiring in April 2021 after experiencing an irregular heartbeat during a game with the Nets. However, Aldridge became confident enough in his health to make a comeback in 2021/22, appearing in 47 games last season for Brooklyn.
Aldridge played his last NBA game on April 6, 2022. He reportedly worked out for Dallas last month, but didn’t catch on with the Mavericks or any other team this season.
Grizzlies’ Lofton Named G League Rookie Of The Year
First-year forward Kenneth Lofton Jr., who is on a two-way contract with the Grizzlies, has been named the G League Rookie of the Year for the 2022/23 season, according to the NBA (Twitter link).
Lofton has appeared in just 19 games and averaged only 5.5 MPG at the NBA level in his first professional season after signing with the Grizzlies as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech. However, he played a major role for the Memphis Hustle, the team’s G League affiliate.
In 17 regular season games for the Hustle, Lofton averaged a double-double (20.2 PPG, 10.5 RPG) despite logging a modest 28.6 minutes per night. He shot 53.9% from the floor and also chipped in 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. Lofton’s performance helped the Hustle secure the No. 2 seed in the NBAGL’s Western Conference with a 23-9 record.
Lofton will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer, since his two-way contract only covers the 2022/23 season.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), Warriors two-way guard Lester Quinones and Rockets two-way forward Darius Days finished second and third, respectively, in Rookie of the Year voting.
Quinones averaged 21.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 4.8 APG in 31 G League regular season games (32.0 MPG) for the Santa Cruz Warriors, while Days put up 24.4 PPG and 9.7 RPG on .486/.371/.857 shooting in 29 contests (35.6 MPG) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Wolves’ Naz Reid Breaks Wrist, Out Indefinitely
MARCH 31: The Timberwolves have issued a press release confirming that Reid suffered a left scaphoid fracture and announcing that he’ll be out indefinitely.
MARCH 30: Timberwolves big man Naz Reid has broken his left wrist, according to Shams Charania and Jon Krawcyznski of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Athletic’s duo says that Reid will be sidelined for a “significant” amount of time with the ailment.
The center injured the wrist during the second half of an eventual 107-101 loss to the Suns on Wednesday, in a fall after a dunk attempt. Reid appeared to be playing in significant pain afterwards, as Krawczynski noted even prior to the news of the break (via Twitter).
Krawczynski tweets that Reid had emerged as a significant contributor to Minnesota of late. At 39-38, the Timberwolves currently occupy the Western Conference’s eighth seed.
The 23-year-old is the Wolves’ third big man, a crucial utility player who can be played at either frontcourt spot alongside starters Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. In 68 games this season, the 6’9″ big man had been averaging 11.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, and 0.8 BPG across 18.4 MPG for the Timberwolves.
Reid went undrafted out of LSU in 2019, and eventually signed a four-year deal with Minnesota. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and after earning the vet minimum this season.
Injury Notes: George, SGA, Markkanen, Rozier, Oubre
Clippers star Paul George isn’t expected to play again during the regular season as he recovers from a right knee sprain, but he hasn’t been ruled for the postseason. Still, the Clippers recognize that they’ll likely need to win a few playoff games without George in order to have a chance to get him back in their lineup, Shams Charania of The Athletic said during an appearance this week on FanDuel TV (Twitter video link).
“The Clippers believe, I’m told, that they’re going to have to get out of at least the first round for a real window for Paul George to return,” Charania said. “So maybe second round, conference finals. You get out of the first round and you give yourself a chance to get Paul George back.”
At 41-36, the Clippers are currently the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, so they may enter the first round without home court advantage. Winning a series on the road without their top scorer would be a tall order, but it may be L.A.’s only path to getting George back on the court this spring.
Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left ankle sprain) was originally listed as out for Friday’s game against Indiana (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman), but has since been upgraded to questionable (Twitter link via Andrew Schlecht of The Athletic). Gilgeous-Alexander, whose team still has a hold on the 10th spot in the West at 38-39, has missed the last two games due to that sprained ankle.
- Another Western Conference All-Star, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, will also remain sidelined on Friday, tweets Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. It’s the fourth time in the last five games that Markkanen has been ruled out due to a left hand contusion. A loss vs. Boston tonight might put the Jazz’s play-in hopes on life support — they’re currently at No. 12 in the West, 1.5 games back of Oklahoma City.
- Hornets guard Terry Rozier will miss a fourth straight game on Friday vs. Chicago due to left foot discomfort, per Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Charlotte has just four games left after tonight, so it’s unclear whether we’ll see Rozier again this season. Kelly Oubre (right shoulder sprain), who has also been out for the last three games, has been upgraded to questionable for Friday.
Indiana’s Jalen Hood-Schifino Enters 2023 NBA Draft
Indiana freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino is declaring for the 2023 NBA draft and will forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to ESPN’s duo, Hood-Schifino didn’t initially project as an obvious one-and-done player, but a strong freshman year improved his draft stock and has made him a potential lottery pick. He ranks 13th overall on Givony’s list of this year’s top 100 prospects.
A 6’6″ guard, Hood-Schifino averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 33.1 minutes per game (32 contests) as a freshman, posting a shooting line of .417/.333/.776. The youngster took the reins at point guard for the Hoosiers when Xavier Johnson suffered a season-ending injury and helped the team claim a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.
“NBA teams were able to see that I can take over a game, create my own shot, run a team, that I have a high IQ, that I’m tough, and that I have a unique pace to my game,” Hood-Schifino told ESPN. “I’m looking forward to showing the NBA teams my body measurements matching what’s on paper, my athleticism, and my shooting ability.”
Free Agent Stock Watch: Los Angeles Lakers
For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents during the 2023 offseason. We consider whether their stock is rising or falling due to their performance and other factors. Today, we’re focusing on a handful of Lakers players.
Note: We also covered a couple other Lakers earlier this month.
Dennis Schröder, G
- 2022/23: Minimum salary
- 2023/24: UFA
- Stock: Up
Before the 2022/23 season started, Schröder said he had “unfinished business” with the Lakers after reportedly being unwilling to discuss a lucrative extension in his first stint with the team a couple of seasons ago. The rumored four-year, $80MM offer was never signed, and Schröder instead inked a one-year, $5.9MM contract with Boston in 2021 free agency.
Despite a tepid market in ’21, I was surprised it took Schröder so long to find a team last offseason. He didn’t sign until September, when he was running the show for Germany during EuroBasket, helping lead his national team to a bronze medal.
A reunion with the Lakers has worked out well for both sides, as Schröder has been one of the league’s better bargains on his minimum-salary contract.
The Lakers had an abysmal start this season in part due to injuries to Schröder and Thomas Bryant, who both underwent thumb surgeries right before the season began. The team went just 3-10 in the 13 games they missed (Bryant was traded to Denver at last month’s deadline).
Since he returned, Schröder has only missed one game and the Lakers have gone 34-28 with him in the lineup. He leads L.A. in total minutes played and the team has been better on both ends of the court when he’s playing — and significantly worse when he’s not. He only trails LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves in net rating differential among players with a large sample size.
I’ve been impressed with Schröder’s point-of-attack defense this season. He has also cut down on his turnovers and has generally just been willing to do the little things necessary to win games. He’s not a great three-point shooter (33.8%), but he remains extremely quick and is a very good ball-handler who can create shots and draw fouls. Schröder is also highly accurate on free throws, converting 87% of his looks this season – an important factor when trying to close out games.
The Lakers only have his Non-Bird rights, so they will be limited to offering the 29-year-old 120% of the veteran’s minimum, which would amount to $3.8MM. If the two sides go that route, it would almost certainly be a one-year deal or a two-year pact with a player option. That would give him Early Bird rights in 2024 and make it easier for the Lakers to give him a more lucrative longer-term contract, if they’re so inclined. They could also give him a bigger raise this summer by using one of their exceptions (either the bi-annual or the mid-level).
Rui Hachimura, F
- 2022/23: $6.26MM
- 2023/24: RFA
- Stock: Down
When the Lakers traded three second-rounders (and Kendrick Nunn) to acquire Hachimura, I don’t think they envisioned him averaging 9.2 points and playing just 22.3 minutes per night, but that’s what he’s put up through 27 games.
The former lottery pick is a talented mid-range scorer, but he’s sort of a one-trick pony in that his game isn’t very well-rounded. His three-point accuracy (33.9%) has been virtually identical to what it was with the Wizards this season (33.7%), which is disappointing.
Hachimura has looked better on defense than I’ve seen in the past, but it’s still merely passable, and he doesn’t always play with a lot of energy. His role has been reduced of late, as he received one healthy scratch and averaged 5.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG in the six contests (16.0 MPG) he did play over the past seven games.
Hachimura’s $7,744,600 qualifying offer isn’t prohibitive, and he’s only 25 years old. Are the Lakers really gung-ho about bringing him back? Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t see a huge market for him in restricted free agency based on his relative lack of development over his first four NBA seasons. One report said he might get something around the full mid-level exception, which is projected to start at $11.37MM — I would wish him luck and let him walk at that price.
Troy Brown, G/F
- 2022/23: Minimum salary
- 2023/24: UFA
- Stock: Up
There’s nothing about Brown’s game that really jumps out at you, nor do his modest numbers — he’s averaging 7.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 1.2 APG in 70 games (45 starts, 24.9 MPG).
What Brown provides is prototypical size on the wing at 6’6″ and 215 pounds and a strong understanding of the game. He can do a little bit of everything, but doesn’t stand out in any one particular area. The 23-year-old is shooting a career-high 37.3% from deep, tries hard on defense, and is an unselfish passer.
Despite giving forth solid effort, Brown isn’t the greatest athlete by NBA standards, and is only around league average on defense. He hasn’t been much of a scoring threat, but the Lakers only really ask him to shoot when he’s open.
As with Schröder, Brown is another player the Lakers added on a minimum deal last summer, so unless they use one of their exceptions, they can only offer him 120% of the minimum using his Non-Bird rights – that would be about $2.77MM.
Could he get more than that from another team? I think something in the $3-6MM range could be in play, but I’m not sure. Either way, he has provided positive value considering his compensation this season, and I would imagine there’s motivation from both sides to bring him back – he’s getting regular minutes, which wasn’t the case the past couple seasons.
Malik Beasley, G/F
- 2022/23: $15.49MM
- 2023/24: $16.52MM team option
- Stock: Down
Beasley is a long-range shooting specialist and the Lakers rank just 26th in the league in three-point percentage, which is why they traded for him. The problem is, he’s only shooting 35.6% from deep in 2022/23 (34.7% in 20 games with the Lakers), which is his worst conversion rate since he became a rotation regular in ‘18/19.
The 26-year-old is extremely streaky, and perhaps more than any other player on the team’s roster, he was negatively impacted by James’ absence due to a foot injury. LeBron has always been great at finding open shooters and Beasley has by far the best track record on the team as a high-volume outside shooter, despite his down season and inconsistency.
Free agents D’Angelo Russell and Reaves will likely higher on the team’s priority list this offseason than Beasley, and they won’t be cheap. However, it’s convenient to have mid-size contracts like Beasley’s on the roster, and his specialty is certainly more valuable than Hachimura’s.
How Beasley fares for the rest of the season will likely determine whether the Lakers exercise their team option on his deal, because it’s a hefty price tag considering he doesn’t provide a whole lot else beyond shooting and floor spacing. One report indicated the Lakers were likely to pick the option. They could potentially bring him back at a lower annual cost if they decline it, though there’s always a risk another team could swoop in with a better offer in that scenario.
Atlantic Notes: Brown, Harden, Nurse, Barrett
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown earned more than $2MM in bonus money on Thursday when he played in his 65th game of the season, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
As Marks explains, Brown’s contract with the Celtics includes a bonus of $518K for simply appearing in 65 regular season games. That was considered a likely incentive since he appeared in more than 65 contests last season. Brown’s deal also includes a $1.55MM bonus for making the All-Star team and playing in 65 games, Marks adds. That incentive was considered unlikely, since he wasn’t an All-Star a year ago.
Brown can earn an additional $1.1MM in incentives this spring based on certain individual honors and how far the Celtics advance in the postseason, Marks adds (via Twitter). Reporting from the time that Brown signed his contract suggests he’d have to earn an All-NBA spot and have the Celtics win at least one series to earn that bonus money.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Sixers star James Harden, who returned to action on Wednesday after missing four games due to Achilles soreness, admitted that the injury has been an issue for a while, per Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com. “I don’t know where it came from. It’s been bothering me for some months, I would say,” Harden said. “I just wanted to continue to play on it, and there was one point to where the last game I played, (it was) just really unbearable so I couldn’t even go out there.”
- There has been no shortage of speculation from scouts, front office executives, assistant coaches, and other people around the NBA about the coaching situation in Toronto, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Smith cautions that there haven’t been “loud whispers” around the Raptors themselves, and any decisions involving head coach Nick Nurse wouldn’t be made until after the season. It’s very possible Nurse will be back for the final year of his current contract, according to Smith, who notes that roster construction and injuries may be more to blame for Toronto’s underwhelming season than Nurse’s performance.
- RJ Barrett is prepared to play more minutes at power forward during Julius Randle‘s injury absence if the Knicks ask him to, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News relays. “I’ve done it before. I’m comfortable with it,” said Barrett, who has played mostly at the three this season. “With the way the NBA is now, it makes it kind of easier.”