Grizzlies’ Jaylen Wells Diagnosed With Broken Wrist After Fall
8:42 pm: Wells has a broken right wrist, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. The Grizzlies rookie is able to move his extremities and will continue to receive medical care.
8:19 pm: Grizzlies rookie forward Jaylen Wells was taken off the court on a stretcher on Tuesday after a hard fall while getting fouled on a dunk late in the first half at Charlotte, according to ESPN.
Wells was fouled from behind on Hornets guard KJ Simpson and landed face first on the court. Upon an official review, Simpson was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul, resulting in an automatic ejection.
Fred Wells, Jaylen’s father, posted on Twitter that “Jaylen is awake and alert. Wanted 2 know the score! Swollen wrist. Face, jaw and back pain. About to get X-ray and CT.”
Wells, drafted with the No. 39 pick, has been one of the league’s most accomplished rookies this season. He quickly emerged as a starter, averaging 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in just over 26.1 minutes while appearing in every game. He’s also one of the Grizzlies’ top perimeter defenders.
If Wells has to miss some time, it could seriously hamper Memphis in the postseason. The Grizzlies are currently tied with three other teams with a 46-32 record and are trying to avoid the play-in tournament. It’s been a tumultuous time as of late for the team, which recently fired head coach Taylor Jenkins.
Vince Williams Jr. figures to absorb a majority of Wells’ minutes if he’s sidelined, with John Konchar also getting a bump in playing time.
Latest On Firings Of Nuggets Coach Michael Malone, GM Calvin Booth
The sudden firings of Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth blindsided virtually everyone around the league, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (video link). Windhorst said the moves were driven by the team’s ownership.
“Extremely shocking you would move on from a coach this late in the season no matter the circumstances, especially when he’s the winningest coach in the history of the team and led you to a championship two years ago, even if there were difficulties in the locker room or within the front office,” Windhorst said. “That he would not be allowed to have the playoffs to try to deal with it is very, very surprising.”
Moving on from Booth was much less eye-opening, except for the timing of the move. In fact, it was anticipated that this would be Booth’s last season in the organization.
“This was less surprising to the league, however, because Calvin Booth’s contract is up after this season. They’ve had negotiations throughout the season and it broke down, it wasn’t going well,” Windhorst said.
There was friction between the coach and GM, mainly due to Booth wanting Malone to play his recent draft picks more often, according to Windhorst.
Here’s more on the Nuggets late-season purge:
- The remainder of the staff held onto their jobs, at least through the rest of the season, The Athletic trio of Tony Jones, Sam Amick and Zach Powell report. David Adelman was named interim head coach. The assistants are all on expiring deals, however, which signals a much different staff could be in place next season.
- Expanding on the notion Booth was upset about rotation moves, The Athletic noted that Booth wanted Malone to play Jalen Pickett over Russell Westbrook during the stretch run. Booth was also unhappy that Zeke Nnaji, who was signed to a four-year deal, hasn’t gotten much playing time and that another free agent signee, Dario Saric, fell out of favor with Malone before December.
- The team’s defensive decline played a significant part in the recent rise in organizational frustration, The Athletic adds. Denver has lost its last four games, mainly due to defensive breakdowns.
- The coaches were frustrated by, among other things, recent front office-led additions to the coaching staff, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets.
- Nikola Jokic was informed of the decision earlier today before it was announced, Matt Moore of Action Network tweets. Jokic had not requested a change in the front office or coaching staff, though his frustration with the way the team has performed this season played a role in ownership’s decision-making process.
- A panel of ESPN insiders shared their thoughts on the firings, including how the moves might affect their playoff run and Jokic’s future, particularly since he’s extension-eligible this offseason.
- In an interview posted by the team and relayed by Nuggets reporter Katy Winge (Twitter link), team governor Josh Kroenke said he didn’t make a rash decision. “Having observed that group over a period of time there were certain trends that were very worrisome to me at different points in time. But they would get masked by a few wins here and there,” he said.
- Booth had a diplomatic response to losing his job, Jones tweets. “I don’t have any regrets. I did my job to the best of my ability,” he said.
- Negotiations between Booth and ownership regarding an extension was at the “one-yard line” early this season before Booth turned down Kroenke’s offer, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post reports.
Nets Notes: Beekman, Timme, Williams, Lottery
Reece Beekman is the latest young player to get a shot a major minutes for the Nets, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
The 23-year-old rookie hadn’t appeared in seven of the previous eight games leading up to Thursday’s matchup with Minnesota, when he played 18 minutes off the bench, then received his first career start in Sunday’s loss to Toronto. The 6’1″ point guard finished with 14 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes.
“First, it’s a blessing for this to be my first year and have a start in the NBA; that doesn’t happen a lot. So I’m just blessed to be in this opportunity,” said Beekman, who is on a two-way contract with Brooklyn. “But it just took time to settle in. It’s a fast-paced game. I’m still learning in my first year. So, just learning different spots on the court, learning where to be effective and just try to make a mark on both ends of floor.”
Here’s more on the Nets:
- Rookie big man Drew Timme also got his first career start Sunday, Lewis writes in another story for The New York Post. Head coach Jordi Fernandez has been pleased thus far with Timme, who signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract at the end of March. “Yeah he’s been very good. Like again he connected with his teammates right away,” Fernandez said. “He fits in, his personality and his game. … So very happy with him. But not just the production. Sometimes the ball’s going to go in, sometimes it’s not going to go in. But his intentions, how good of a teammate he is. He comes in and works every day. So I’m very happy with Drew.”
- In a subscriber-only story, Lewis details how Ziaire Williams has become a regular contributor for Brooklyn, averaging 10.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 1.0 SPG in 61 appearances, including 43 starts (24.7 MPG). Williams will be a restricted free agent this summer if he’s tendered a qualifying offer (he’ll be unrestricted if he doesn’t get a QO).
- Sunday’s matchup with Toronto had lottery implications, and the loss means that the Nets are now 3.5 games “ahead” of the Raptors in the reverse standings with four games left on their schedule, as Lewis relays. Brooklyn will likely finish with the sixth-worst record entering the 2025 draft lottery, with a 37.2% chance of landing a top-four pick, per Tankathon.
Texas’ Tre Johnson Entering 2025 NBA Draft
Texas freshman Tre Johnson announced on ESPN’s NBA Today that he’s entering the 2025 NBA draft, Jonathan Givony writes for ESPN.com.
Johnson is projected to go No. 5 overall in the today’s mock draft from Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link).
A 6’6″ shooting guard with a 6’10” wingspan, Johnson averaged 19.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists on .427/.397/.871 shooting in 33 games (34.7 minutes) for the Longhorns in 2024/25.
Johnson, who was named SEC Rookie of the Year and claimed a spot on the All-SEC Second Team, said he watches a number of NBA players to help improve his game, per Givony.
“It will be constant work, just trying to take advantage of every day to try and get better,” the 19-year-old said of preparing for the draft. “I’m a big basketball nerd, so I’m spending a lot of time watching film, both full games and individual players on Synergy.
“I like to watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander because we have similar body types. Devin Booker, with how he scores and his footwork coming off pin-downs, and also Klay Thompson with the Warriors, seeing how he uses different actions.”
Thiero, Penda, Pettiford Among Latest Draft Early Entrants
French forward Noah Penda is declaring for the 2025 NBA draft, agent Francois Nyam tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).
Penda has spent the 2024/25 season playing in France’s top domestic league, the LNB Élite. In 24 games with Le Mans, he has averaged 10.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 25.8 minutes per contest, with a shooting slash line of .431/.292/.753.
The 20-year-old combo forward comes off the board at No. 32 overall in ESPN’s latest mock draft (Insider link), and No. 24 in the latest mock from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, making him a potential late first-round pick.
Arkansas junior Adou Thiero is also declaring for the 2025 draft (Instagram link). Theiro, who goes No. 26 overall in ESPN’s mock and No. 39 in Bleacher Report’s, didn’t say anything about keeping his remaining college eligibility, so it sounds like he’s committed to staying in the draft.
An athletic forward, Thiero had a productive season for the Razorbacks, averaging 15.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.9 APG and 1.6 SPG on .545/.256/.686 shooting in 27 games (27.5 MPG). He’s viewed as a project at this point, per ESPN’s Jeremy Woo, but has considerable upside if he can improve in certain areas (ball-handling, shooting, among others).
Here are a couple more draft early entrants:
- Auburn freshman Tahaad Pettiford will declare for the draft while maintaining his college eligibility, according to Givony (Twitter link). The 6’1″ point guard goes No. 39 overall in ESPN’s mock. He averaged 11.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 3.0 APG and 0.9 SPG on .421/.366/.804 shooting in 38 games (22.9 MPG) in ’24/25, helping the Tigers advance to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
- Junior forward Tae Davis, who spent this past season with Notre Dame, will enter the draft with the goal of securing a guaranteed contract, agent Ron Shade tells Givony (Twitter link). If Davis withdraws from the draft, he will transfer to Oklahoma, Givony adds. Davis goes undrafted in the mocks from ESPN and Bleacher Report.
Nuggets Fire Coach Michael Malone, GM Calvin Booth
12:46pm: The Nuggets confirmed in a press release that both Malone and Booth have been let go.
“This decision was not made lightly and was evaluated very carefully, and we do it only with the intention of giving our group the best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA Championship,” Josh Kroenke said as part of a larger statement.
12:30pm: The Nuggets are firing head coach Michael Malone, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Denver is also firing general manager Calvin Booth, according to Charania (Twitter link).
Malone was dismissed in a meeting earlier today, Charania reports. The 53-year-old helped Denver win its first NBA championship less than two years ago.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne hears that vice chairman Josh Kroenke informed Malone and Booth of the news this morning (Twitter link).
According to NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link), longtime assistant David Adelman will be the Nuggets’ interim head coach. Adelman has been the acting coach a few times in the past when Malone was unavailable.
The timing of the news is pretty shocking, primarily because there are only three regular season games remaining on Denver’s schedule. The Nuggets have dropped four straight games, including a dispiriting loss to Indiana on Sunday, and are in danger of falling into the play-in tournament.
Denver is currently 47-32, the No. 4 seed in the West, but sits only a half-game ahead of four other teams who have one fewer win and the same number of losses.
Malone had been the head coach of the Nuggets for nearly 10 years, having been hired in June of 2015. He is the organization’s all-time leader in wins, compiling a 471-327 record (.590 winning percentage) during the regular season and 44-36 mark in the playoffs (.550).
According to Charania (Twitter link), Malone’s ouster is tied for the latest coaching change in NBA history, matching Hubie Brown being let go by Atlanta back in 1980/81. Malone is the second longtime coach of a potential playoff team to be fired in the past two weeks, joining Taylor Jenkins, who was dismissed by Memphis.
While Malone was reportedly under contract through 2027, Booth was on an expiring deal. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, Booth and the Nuggets failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension before the 2024/25 season began (Twitter link).
A former NBA player, Booth had been with the Nuggets for eight years, having been promoted to GM in 2020. Although he was not formally given the title of president of basketball operations, he had been atop the front office hierarchy since 2022, when former president Tim Connelly was hired away by the Timberwolves.
Multiple reports last year indicated that Malone and Booth often butted heads and had differing views on the best way to build around superstar center Nikola Jokic. Instead of keeping one or the other, the Nuggets have decided to part with both before the season concludes.
Forward Michael Porter Jr. acknowledged at beginning of the season that major changes could be in store if the Nuggets failed to win a championship in 2025. Surprisingly, the team decided to make some of those changes before even seeing how the rest of ’24/25 played out.
Heat Notes: Bulls Showdown, Adebayo, Ware, Herro, Burks
The two teams are a combined 13 games under .500, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra expects a playoff atmosphere when his team faces the Bulls on Wednesday night in Chicago, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
At minimum, the game will go a long way toward deciding who has home court advantage in the East’s 9-10 matchup in the play-in tournament. Miami is currently the 10th seed at 36-43, while Chicago is ninth at 36-42 going into a game tonight in Cleveland. Both teams also have a chance to pass Orlando or Atlanta and move into the 7-8 game.
“I think it’s a lot of fun,” Spoelstra said after Monday’s win over Philadelphia. “Nobody in our locker room is cynical enough to think otherwise. … This is what the league is right now. Just embrace it and enjoy it. This is going to be a great night. It’s going to feel like a playoff game and that’s fun.”
The Heat had larger aspirations when the season began, but they were derailed by injuries and a lingering dispute with Jimmy Butler that led to him being traded to Golden State in February. With the season winding down, the players are trying to put themselves in the best possible position to survive the play-in and earn a spot in the playoffs.
“We know what’s at stake,” Tyler Herro said. “It will be much harder to win two play-in games on the road as opposed to hopefully trying to get one at home.”
There’s more from Miami:
- The Heat’s victory Monday night came without Bam Adebayo, as back spasms forced him to miss his third game of the season, Jackson adds in a separate story. Spoelstra said the issue began after Saturday’s game, and Adebayo is being considered “day to day.” Kel’el Ware moved into the starting lineup and tied a Heat single-game record for a rookie by grabbing 17 rebounds. Miami also got 20 points from Herro, who returned to action after sitting out Saturday with a thigh injury that he said was “still a little sore” when Monday’s game began. “As the game kept going, it loosened up a little bit more,” Herro added. “It feels good now. I will be ready to go against Chicago. I’m trying to play as many games as possible.”
- In another piece, Jackson talks to a pair of longtime NBA scouts about several issues involving the Heat, including their assessment of who among Miami’s younger players has the brightest NBA future.
- The Heat have asked Alec Burks to be flexible in his first season with the team as he fills in for various injured players, per Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Lately they’ve needed him to provide scoring, and he responded with a season-high 24 points on Saturday. “There aren’t a lot of guys, to be frank, that really are willing to sign up for this kind of role,” Spoelstra said. “We’re really appreciative of him, because he is that pro’s pro. He’s always ready, takes care of himself and he can produce in a lot of different kind of roles.”
Jase Richardson To Enter NBA Draft
Michigan State’s Jase Richardson tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN that he’ll declare for the NBA draft.
The 19-year-old guard averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game with the Spartans this season while shooting 41% from three-point range. He earned a spot on the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team and was named Third-Team All-Conference.
“I’m incredibly grateful to my teammates and coaches for the season we had,” Richardson said. “After evaluating everything with my family, this was the best decision for me. We had so many incredible moments as a team. Even though we didn’t go as far as I had hoped in the NCAA tournament, this is exactly how I wanted my freshman year to go. Winning the Big Ten championship and making the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019.”
The 6’3″ Richardson is viewed as a potential late lottery selection, ranking 13th in ESPN’s latest draft projections. Givony notes that his production increased after he was inserted into the starting lineup on February 8.
Givony cites Richardson’s “pace, skill level, feel for the game, perimeter shooting and high-intensity defense” as assets that he’ll bring to the NBA. He was also very accomplished at protecting the ball, committing just 30 turnovers in 912 minutes.
“Coach (Tom) Izzo taught me how to think the game through countless hours of film and conversations on and off the court,” Richardson said. “He actually coached me harder as the season moved on, pushing me more as he was putting more responsibility on my plate.”
Richardson, a second-generation player, is the son of Jason Richardson, who had a 13-year career in the NBA. Jase credits his father for putting him on the right track to succeed.
“My dad had the blueprint laid out for me for how I was going to get to my goals,” he said. “It’s really special to have someone like him next to me that has been through the process. I am always asking him for feedback and advice. We’re totally different players, so I don’t feel any pressure if people expect me to do what he did. I need to go out and show myself on my own.”
BYU’s Egor Demin To Declare For NBA Draft
BYU freshman Egor Demin has decided to enter the NBA draft, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
The 19-year-old guard is considered a borderline lottery pick, ranking 12th in ESPN’s draft projections and 15th in the latest mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report.
Demin averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 27.5 minutes per game this season and was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team.
At 6’9″, Demin played point guard for the Cougars, leading them to a 26-10 record and an appearance in the Sweet 16 for the first time in 15 years. Givony notes that he showed creativity with his passing — finishing fourth in the conference in assists — but frequently had issues with outside shooting, turnovers and defense.
Demin was born in Moscow and moved to Spain when he was 15 to play for Real Madrid. He became one of the top prospects in European basketball, prompting BYU to pay a $1MM buyout to Real Madrid for his services.
Teams Express Loyalty To EuroLeague Amid Looming NBA Europe Venture
Facing a potential threat from NBA Europe, 13 EuroLeague shareholders met Monday in Barcelona to find out who is committed to staying in the league. Sources tell Domantas Urbonas of BasketNews that most of the clubs in attendance pledged their loyalty to the EuroLeauge, although the sentiment wasn’t unanimous.
Urbonas’ sources say that Fenerbahce in Turkey and Panathinaikos in Greece, which have been mentioned as NBA Europe possibilities, were among those who made the strongest EuroLeague commitments. Rather than leaving, they expressed a desire to strengthen the current league and help it grow.
Less certain are two Spanish clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona. Real Madrid, whose 10-year license with the EuroLeague will expire after 2026, is viewed as a prime target by the organizers of NBA Europe, according to Urbonas’ sources. Barcelona declined to take a strong stance at Monday’s meeting, and sources tell Urbonas that it will likely go wherever Real Madrid does.
France’s ASVEL Basket, which is owned by former NBA star Tony Parker, and Italy’s Olimpia Milano both asked for additional time before committing to the EuroLeague’s proposed long-term licensing agreement, Urbonas adds. Parker has been open about engaging in discussions with NBA Europe.
Sources tell Urbonas that seven of the clubs represented at Monday’s meeting have already formalized a long-term commitment to the EuroLeague, with at least four more expected to follow. He notes that those intentions have been communicated to the teams’ shareholders and are unlikely to change.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been working with FIBA to establish the new league in Europe, and Urbonas states that FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis made a presentation at Monday’s gathering.
The other clubs represented at the meeting were Anadolu Efes in Turkey, Baskonia in Spain, Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, Olympiacos in Greece, FC Bayern Munich in Germany, Zalgiris in Lithuania and CSKA Moscow in Russia.