Pacific Notes: KD, Suns, D-Lo, Westbrook, Clippers
Superstar forward Kevin Durant had a successful debut with the Suns on Wednesday, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. The 34-year-old had been out of action since January 8 after sustaining a right MCL sprain, but he contributed 23 points (on 10-of-15 shooting), six rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 27 minutes during Phoenix’s 105-91 victory in Charlotte.
“I feel like I fit in pretty well. Everybody out there was trying to make me as comfortable as possible,” Durant said. “I just got to keep grinding, man, and this jersey on me will look normal as games go on.”
Durant had never been traded in the middle of a season prior to being sent to Phoenix from Brooklyn last month, and he admitted he was nervous about his first game in Suns uniform.
“New environment, new situation, new teammates, I mean I always feel I got to prove myself to my teammates and my coaches every single day no matter what I’ve done in the league,” Durant said, per Windhorst. “So I feel like there’s pressure to be who I am every day.”
Here’s more from the Pacific:
- Suns head coach Monty Williams said after the game that Durant will be on a precautionary minutes restriction for “at least the next week,” as Shane Young of Forbes Sports relays (via Twitter). Williams was noncommittal about Durant’s status for Friday’s game in Chicago, Young adds.
- Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell continues to be hampered by a sprained right ankle. He told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he will miss Friday’s game versus Minnesota, his fourth consecutive absence (Twitter link). When asked if he could potentially play Sunday against Golden State, Russell wasn’t sure. “We’ll see once we get through Friday,” he said.
- Wolves guard Austin Rivers believes Russell Westbrook is a “natural fit” with the Clippers, according to Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints.com. “He starts, that’s exactly what he wanted to be in that situation,” Rivers said before Tuesday’s matchup with the Clippers. “The pressure’s not on him to close games. They got two closers, so he gets to go play and just kinda be him and not have to worry about all the pressure. I think it’s a great fit, honestly.” Rivers, who played with Westbrook in Houston a few years ago, explained that the Clippers’ shooting should give Westbrook more room to drive and make plays. Westbrook has put up strong individual numbers with the Clippers, averaging 16.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 9.3 APG (4.3 TO) and 2.3 SPG on .529/.444/1.000 shooting, but the team is 0-3 with him in the lineup thus far, Azarly notes.
Jae Crowder: “I’d Do It All Over Again”
Jae Crowder has no regrets about his holdout in Phoenix or the months of missed games as he waited for a trade to be completed, telling Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, “I’d do it all over again.”
The Bucks had been considered among the favorites to land Crowder, but they weren’t able to work out a deal directly with the Suns. After Phoenix agreed to ship Crowder to Brooklyn in the Kevin Durant trade, Milwaukee offered draft assets to the Nets and everything was folded into a four-team deal.
The Bucks were thrilled to finally obtain Crowder, and they see him filling the defensive specialist role that P.J. Tucker did during their championship run in 2021. He has fit in seamlessly so far, averaging 19.3 minutes off the bench as Milwaukee has gone 4-0 since he has arrived.
“I think this team has what it takes to win a championship,” Crowder said. “That’s my main goal right now. I think once you win a championship, the rest of that stuff will take care of itself. My main goal, honestly, is not thinking about free agency or the summer. It’s all about winning the championship. I think that’s our locker room goal, and when I came into it, I knew that was the goal of the team.”
Crowder’s relationship with the Suns was reportedly damaged beyond repair when head coach Monty Williams informed him last offseason that he would no longer be a starter. Crowder refused to report to training camp, opting for individual workouts twice each day while he waited for a trade to materialize.
Sources tell Scotto that even when Cameron Johnson tore his meniscus in November, Crowder never considered returning to the Suns and the team didn’t discuss asking him to come back.
“Nah, there wasn’t a chance I was going to play there,” Crowder said. “Both sides knew that the road had come to an end. That came to an end way before Cam got hurt. I wasn’t going back on it, and they weren’t going back on it.”
Phoenix received offers for Crowder from several teams, Scotto adds. The Hawks, Rockets and Suns had exploratory discussions that would have sent Crowder to Atlanta along with Landry Shamet, while Eric Gordon and Kenyon Martin Jr. would have gone to Phoenix and John Collins would have wound up in Houston, but Scotto’s sources say that deal was never close to being completed.
Scotto adds that the Hawks also attempted to acquire Crowder and Shamet in a three-way trade that would have included the Jazz, but a disagreement over the draft picks Utah would have received prevented the teams from making progress. Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley would have gone to the Suns in that version of the deal.
LeBron James Reportedly Won’t Require Surgery
LeBron James won’t need surgery on his injured right foot, sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
The Lakers haven’t released many details about James’ condition since he suffered the injury during Sunday’s game in Dallas. He is reportedly seeking multiple medical opinions on how to proceed and will be reevaluated in two weeks.
By avoiding surgery, the 38-year-old star still has a chance to return for part of the regular season and the postseason if L.A. is able to qualify. He has been limited to 47 games this season, but continues to play at a very high level, averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 rebounds in 36.1 minutes per night.
James was wearing a walking boot and moving “gingerly” during the Lakers’ game at Memphis on Tuesday night, according to a TMZ Sports report. James posted an Instagram image of his injured foot on Monday.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 3/2/2023
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 10:00 am Central time (11:00 am Eastern).
Click here to read the transcript, and join us on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 pm CT for our next live chat, hosted by Dana Gauruder.
Wizards Sign Jay Huff To Two-Way Contract
MARCH 2: The signing is official, the Wizards announced in a press release.
MARCH 1: G League center Jay Huff will fill one of the open slots on the Wizards‘ 17-man roster, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the big man has agreed to sign a two-way contract with Washington.
Huff signed his first NBA contract – an Exhibit 10 deal – with Washington shortly after going undrafted out of Virginia in 2021. After being waived by the Wizards that fall, he inked a two-way deal with the Lakers. He was only on that contract for about three months before being cut again, but he has spent the majority of his first two professional seasons playing for L.A.’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.
In 18 Showcase Cup games this fall, Huff averaged 16.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks in 29.3 minutes per night — I highlighted him in November as a G League prospect making a bid for an NBA call-up. He has continued to produce for South Bay since then, posting 14.3 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 3.6 BPG in 19 NBAGL regular season contests (26.2 MPG).
The Wizards have an open two-way slot after recently promoting Jordan Goodwin to their standard roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary to make room for Huff. Having waived Vernon Carey Jr. today, Washington still has one more roster spot available.
Because he’s signing so late in the season, Huff is eligible to be active for a prorated portion of the usual 50-game limit for two-way players. Assuming he signs today, he could be active for up to 12 Wizards games.
Bucks Notes: Antetokounmpo, Leonard, Mamukelashvili, Middleton
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo feels that most players who reach the upper level of the NBA eventually get taken for granted, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. The two-time MVP and perennial candidate for the award made the comments after a recent series of injuries, saying that even people close to him expect him to go out and produce every night because he’s always been so durable.
“I don’t think I’m the first, I don’t think I’m the last. I feel like people take for granted (Kevin Durant), people take for granted LeBron James, people take for granted (Stephen Curry),” Antetokounmpo said. “You see all this greatness every day and they take it for granted until they’re not there no more. And you’re like, ‘Oh, man. I miss those guys. I miss the show that they put on.'”
Antetokounmpo dealt with a wrist injury that limited him to a short appearance in the All-Star Game, then bumped knees with an opponent in his first game back and sat out Sunday with a quad injury. He was able play in both games of a back-to-back this week, logging 28 minutes on Tuesday and again on Wednesday as the Bucks ran their winning streak to 16 games.
There’s more from Milwaukee:
- The team will have a decision to make on Meyers Leonard, whose 10-day contract is about to expire. Leonard has appeared in four games in his first NBA action in nearly two years and has made an impression on coach Mike Budenholzer, tweets Bucks beat reporter Gabe Stoltz. “Just to bring his size and physicality,” Budenholzer said. “I think it’s an area that maybe the roster doesn’t have and he fills that need and still has the ability to make threes and spread the court. He just has basketball characteristics that fit us. The human’s been great. He’s fit in quickly with the locker room. I’m very, very happy with his 10 days.” Milwaukee can sign Leonard to one more 10-day contract before determining whether to keep him for the rest of the season.
- Even though the Bucks waived Sandro Mamukelashvili on Wednesday, Budenholzer believes the former second-round pick will have a future in the NBA, Stoltz adds (via Twitter).
- Khris Middleton was briefly off the injury report for Wednesday’s game before being listed as out. Budenholzer explained that the original designation was a mistake and Middleton isn’t ready for back-to-back games yet, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
Leandro Bolmaro Signs With Spanish Team
Former NBA first-round pick Leandro Bolmaro has returned to Spain, signing with Lenovo Tenerife (also known as CB Canarias), according to a press release from the team.
Bolmaro, 22, was the 23rd overall pick in the 2020 draft and signed his NBA rookie contract with the Timerwolves a year later, in 2021. However, he played very sparingly as a rookie in Minnesota, then was dealt to Utah in last summer’s blockbuster Rudy Gobert trade.
Bolmaro was unable to crack the Jazz’s rotation this season and was eventually bought out last month by the team, a move that was made to allow him to head back overseas and get more playing time.
In total, the Argentine guard averaged 1.1 PPG and 1.0 RPG and posted a shooting line of .270/.227/.846 in 49 NBA appearances (6.3 MPG) across two NBA seasons. He was more productive at the G League level, including averaging 12.1 PPG, 6.6 APG, and 6.1 RPG on .478/.382/.556 shooting in seven regular season games (33.1 MPG) for the Salt Lake City Stars this year.
Bolmaro previously played in Spain from 2018-21, when he was a member of FC Barcelona — he won a Spanish League (Liga ACB) title with the club in ’21.
His new team, Lenovo Tenerife, is currently chasing Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Baskonia in the standings, with a 14-5 record in Liga ACB play. Lenovo Tenerife is also the defending champion of FIBA’s Basketball Champions League.
Atlantic Notes: Harris, G. Williams, Sixers, Barton, VanVleet
Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris entered this season having started almost every game he had played since 2018/19 and having averaged 30 or more minutes per night in four consecutive seasons. However, he finds himself coming off the bench in Brooklyn and is logging just 23.0 minutes per night on the season — that number has dipped to 13.6 MPG since the trade deadline.
Harris, who missed most of last season due to ankle issues, isn’t pushing back against his role reduction, as Andrew Crane of The New York Post writes. In fact, the 31-year-old is exhibiting an admirable level of self-awareness about his own limitations, suggesting he’s evolving into more of a “second-unit sort of player” and admitting that he’s not recovering as quickly from minor injuries as he did when he was younger.
“I just am not the same player that I was two, three years ago. It’s not to say that I’m less of a player,” Harris said, adding that he believes he can still be a contributor on a good team. “But I just have to kind of evolve and figure it out.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Celtics forward Grant Williams received his first DNP-CD of the season on Wednesday in a four-point win over Cleveland. Asked after the game why Williams didn’t play at all, head coach Joe Mazzulla simply replied, “Matchups” (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic). Williams is in a contract year and will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
- Sixers head coach Doc Rivers confirmed on Wednesday that Philadelphia had interest in Kevin Love before the veteran forward signed with the Heat. “We tried to get him too. I know it was us and Miami, probably one other team,” Rivers said (Twitter link via Rich Hofmann of The Athletic). “He’s just a solid player. More importantly, if it hadn’t worked here, if he hadn’t played well, you still want him in the locker room.”
- Raptors assistant coach Earl Watson, who played with Will Barton in Portland in 2013/14, was a factor in Barton’s decision to sign with Toronto, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. “Me and Earl have a very strong relationship,” Barton said on Wednesday. “So, I trust him a lot.”
- Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet made just 1-of-11 shots in his return to the lineup on Tuesday. However, he didn’t turn the ball over and helped jump-start the team’s outside shooting with his knack for making the right pass, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who argues that VanVleet’s impact even on an off night shows why Toronto needs to prioritize re-signing him this offseason.
Clippers Waive Keaton Wallace, Sign Xavier Moon To Two-Way Deal
11:05pm: Moon’s two-way deal is official, per the Clippers (Twitter link).
8:32pm: The Clippers have officially waived two-way guard Keaton Wallace (Twitter link via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk) and are expected to replace him with point guard Xavier Moon, Moon’s agent, Stacey Leawood, tells Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
Wallace just inked his two-way deal last Tuesday. He went undrafted in 2021 and has spent his first two pro seasons playing with the Clippers’ G League affiliate, averaging 14.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.6 SPG on .488/.447/.714 shooting in 21 regular season games (32.1 MPG) with Ontario. He has yet to play an NBA game.
Moon has spent much of his professional career overseas. He signed three 10-day hardship deals with the Clippers last season and later a two-way deal, averaging 5.8 PPG and 2.4 APG on .490/.357/.600 shooting in 10 games (13.7 MPG).
The Clippers chose not to give him a two-way qualifying offer, but he signed an Exhibit 10 deal for training camp and was waived before ’22/23 began. The 28-year-old has excelled for the Ontario Clippers this season, averaging 21.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.6 SPG and 1.4 BPG on .522/.422/.829 shooting in 20 regular season games (31.5 MPG).
L.A. has a full 15-man roster and both two-way slots will be filled once Moon’s signing is official.
The Clippers have now signed both Wallace and Nate Darling to two-way contracts and waived them shortly thereafter. The team appears to be rewarding some of its G League standouts by essentially giving them a bonus on their NBAGL salaries in the form of a prorated two-way salary, which doesn’t count against the cap. It’s unclear whether the plan is the same for Moon or whether he’ll hang onto his two-way spot for the rest of the season.
Bucks Waive Sandro Mamukelashvili
10:49pm: Mamukelashvili has officially been waived, the Bucks announced in a press release.
4:06pm: The Bucks will waive big man Sandro Mamukelashvili, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Milwaukee worked with Mamukelashvili’s agents to try and help with his options in the future. We’ll have to wait and see whether the young forward/center has another opportunity lined up if he clears waivers.
After spending four college seasons at Seton Hall, Mamukelashvili was selected 54th overall in the 2021 draft. He has spent the past two seasons on a two-way contract with the Bucks, but his playing time was very limited at the NBA level — he averaged 3.2 PPG and 2.1 RPG on .439/.345/.750 shooting in 65 games (9.6 MPG) from 2021-23.
The Bucks have one of league’s best frontcourts, so it’s understandable why the 23-year-old’s minutes were limited. Still, he put up strong numbers in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd this season, averaging 23.3 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.0 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .486/.471/.667 shooting in four regular season games (36.5 MPG).
Once Mamukelashvili is officially waived, the Bucks will have one two-way slot open. They also have a couple of standard roster spots available; Meyers Leonard is temporarily occupying one, but his 10-day deal expires in a couple days.