Warriors Notes: Kerr, Butler, Podziemski
Steve Kerr became the winningest coach in Warriors history following Saturday’s victory over New York, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com. With his 558th regular season win, Kerr broke Al Attles‘ franchise record.
As Youngmisuk notes, Attles spent six-plus decades with the Warriors as a player, executive and coach. The Hall of Famer, who passed away in August, guided the club for 14 seasons, leading the team to its first championship in 1975. His family was on hand to present Kerr with the game ball after the victory.
“It was a great moment being awarded the game ball by the Attles family,” Kerr said. “It was really beautiful to be honored by their presence, and obviously Al Attles is Mr. Warrior forever. The record, it’s kind of surreal to even think that this could happen, but it’s a reflection of our organizational strength, stability and a talent level over the last 11 years since I’ve been here.
“I’m incredibly lucky to be part of this organization and part of this city and very humbled by the honor because of Al’s greatness and what he means to the franchise.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Golden State is now 14-1 when Jimmy Butler is in the lineup. ESPN’s Brianna Williams takes a look Butler’s history of making an immediate impact with the teams he has played for.
- Butler has acted as more of a play-maker than a scorer since he joined the Warriors. His 11.0 field goal attempts per game with Golden State would be his lowest mark in 11 years, but he’s averaging 5.9 assists and only 1.4 turnovers per game, two of the best figures of his career. After Saturday’s victory, Butler suggested he’s been biding his time when it comes to scoring, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays (Twitter video link). “When it’s my time, you’ll know it’s my time,” Butler said. “Until then, I’m going to pass the ball to the open man, get my guys some jumpers, get them out in transition and we gonna keep winning.”
- Kerr said the Warriors are targeting Tuesday’s game vs. Milwaukee for Brandin Podziemski to return from the back issue that has cost him the past four games, Slater tweets. That means the second-year guard will miss his fifth straight contest on Monday against Denver.
Sixers Sign Chuma Okeke To Second 10-Day Contract
March 16: Okeke’s second 10-day contract with Philadelphia is now official, per the team.
March 15: Chuma Okeke, who played one game for the Sixers on a 10-day contract last month, will return to the team on another 10-day deal, sources tell NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). Stein adds that Okeke will be available for Sunday afternoon’s game at Dallas.
The 26-year-old combo forward inked his first 10-day contract on February 7, but was waived after just six days when the team promoted two-way player Jared Butler to the 15-man roster. Okeke saw two minutes of action in his only appearance, finishing with no points and one rebound.
Apart from his brief NBA appearance, Okeke has spent the season with the Knicks’ G League affiliate in Westchester, averaging 18.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 25 regular season games.
Okeke was mentioned as a potential addition for New York when the team became financially eligible to add a 15th player in late February. New York opted to sign P.J. Tucker to a 10-day deal instead.
The Sixers have a full roster, but they are able to make additions through 10-day deals under the hardship exception because they have several players who have missed at least three consecutive games and are expected to remain sidelined for at least two more weeks.
Free agent forward Oshae Brissett signed a 10-day hardship contract with the team on Friday. Assuming the Sixers don’t plan to release Brissett in order to sign Okeke, they’ll need to have at least five players who meet the hardship criteria in order to make a second 10-day signing. Joel Embiid, Eric Gordon, Jared McCain, Paul George, and Kyle Lowry may all fit the bill.
If Okeke’s deal becomes official on Sunday, he will be eligible to appear in six games before it expires on March 25. Players are limited to two 10-day contracts per team in a season, so the Sixers would have to give him a standard deal to keep him any longer.
Injury Notes: Washington, Ball, Thybulle, Kaminsky
Mavericks forward P.J. Washington is not listed on the injury report ahead of Sunday’s game vs. Philadelphia, so he appears on track to return after missing the past seven games with a right ankle sprain, tweets Christian Clark of The Athletic.
It’s certainly welcome news for Dallas, which has been absolutely devastated by injuries over the past several weeks. Even with Washington back, the Mavs will still be shorthanded, as Kyrie Irving (torn ACL), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (wrist surgery), Dante Exum (broken hand), Anthony Davis (left adductor strain), Dereck Lively (right ankle stress fracture) and Daniel Gafford (right knee sprain) are out.
Jaden Hardy is doubtful for Sunday’s game as he continues to deal with a right ankle sprain, while Kai Jones (left quad strain) and Caleb Martin (left hip strain) are questionable. Brandon Williams, who is on a two-way deal, is probable with left hamstring tightness, per the league’s official injury report.
Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Bulls guard Lonzo Ball missed 15 games earlier in 2024/25 due to a right wrist injury. He reinjured the wrist at the end of February, causing him to miss the past seven games, and he’ll likely miss at least five more, as he didn’t travel with the team during its West Coast trip, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I haven’t heard anything about him being shut down,” head coach Billy Donovan said Saturday. “I think what he’s doing right now is just trying to get himself back to playing. Doctors aren’t saying, ‘Hey, listen, you gotta sit out.’ It’s just when he feels that he can do things on the court that he’s comfortable with. Like he can’t shoot right now, hasn’t been able to do that . . . passing and dribbling. Until that subsides, then he’ll be out, but I think he, in my conversations with him, it’s been everything to try to get back to playing. No one has said to me from above, ‘Hey, this goes on a little longer, we’re going to have him shut down.’ I have not heard that.”
- Trail Blazers wing Matisse Thybulle underwent a procedure in October, just before the start of the regular season, to address inflammation in his right knee. It wasn’t supposed to sideline him for a significant period, but he sustained a bad right ankle sprain in late November during his ramp-up process, which set back his recovery. “I’ve talked to so many people about it now, and the overarching sentiment is that with ankle sprains this bad, sometimes it’s better to just break it than to sprain it,” Thybulle said, per Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Substack link). “Because the recovery time with all the ligaments that were torn takes so long. With a bone, it can just heal back up and it’s just as strong. It was a whole process. And then to have it happen in conjunction with a different injury … You start with the knee, and then hurt the ankle as bad as I did, and have those things be married as one giant injury to be dealt with. It made it quite the process.” Thybulle was technically active for the first time this season on Wednesday vs. New York, but he didn’t end up playing. Head coach Chauncey Billups said the two-time All-Defensive member’s role is up in the air for the final 15 games of ’24/25, according to Highkin.
- Former NBA big man Frank Kaminsky, who spent training camp with Phoenix last fall before being cut, will miss the remainder of the NBA G League season, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Kaminsky, who had been playing for the Raptors 905 until recently, is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
Williamson Would Draw ‘Significant Interest’ On Trade Market
On the latest episode of the Hoops Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Tim MacMahon and Tim Bontemps briefly discussed the impressive play and potential trade value of Pelicans forward Zion Williamson.
Since January 7, when he returned from a hamstring strain that sidelined him for two months, the former No. 1 overall pick is averaging 24.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 59.5% from the field and 64.3% from the foul line in 22 appearances.
However, Williamson has also missed 10 games over that span and has only averaged 27.8 minutes per contest. Some of that is by design to try and keep him healthy (minutes restriction, no back-to-backs), but New Orleans also hasn’t been competitive for much of the season.
The Pelicans are just 18-50 overall and 9-19 when Williamson plays. The team has a minus-1.1 net rating when he’s on the court and is a ghastly minus-10.0 when he’s not.
“I remember Bobby [Marks] and I wrote a story just as he was about to come back and kind of like, ‘What’s coming with Zion?’” MacMahon said (hat tip to RealGM). “What the trade value and market might be for him.
“Somebody told us then the goal is to ramp him up and restore his value, whether that’s for the Pelicans or another team. And he’s handling the first part, to his credit, he is absolutely handling the first part.”
A rival GM recently expressed skepticism to Windhorst about Williamson’s possible trade value and whether or not the Pelicans would consider moving him, suggesting the team might wait until next season to see if he can continue to stay on the court.
“I still don’t know how much they can actually get for him based on his injury history,” Windhorst replied.
“There’s some teams that would have significant interest,” said MacMahon.
Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Pritchard, Tatum, Brown
The Celtics didn’t provide many details about the viral illness that forced Kristaps Porzingis to miss the last eight games, and it turns out that even Porzingis wasn’t sure what he was dealing with, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
After returning for Saturday’s 115-113 win at Brooklyn, Porzingis told reporters it was “extremely frustrating” to not have a definite diagnosis. He described it as an upper respiratory condition that eventually morphed into possibly bronchitis or mononucleosis.
“But I haven’t been this sick for probably ever in my life,” he said. “So I was really, for a week really just laying at home trying to recover. And after that I had lingering fatigue — and I still have it a little bit — but at least I’m not getting into shape to be able to play. But after each workout I was, boom, big crash. I was really, really fatigued. Like, not normal. So, yeah, it’s taking a little bit longer, but I’m doing everything, all my bio-hacking stuff that I know, and just trying to get back in the best shape possible.”
Porzingis added that he tried to prepare for several games, including last Saturday’s meeting with the Lakers in Boston, but he would “crash” and quickly get drained of energy. He offered an explanation on social media to fans on Monday to help them understand his condition.
He was able to play 32 minutes tonight, finishing with 24 points, and remained on the court for nearly the entire fourth quarter. He’ll find out tomorrow if there are any lingering effects from the illness, but for now he’s happy to be able to contribute again.
“As the game went on, I felt better and better,” Porzingis said. “I kind of had a little crash in the third but I pushed through it and in the fourth had a great fourth. Yeah, it was a close one, but I’m happy we got it done.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- Payton Pritchard has set an NBA record for the most three-pointers off the bench in a season, Bontemps adds. Pritchard, who hasn’t started a single game in 2024/25, sank five long-distance shots tonight, giving him 220 for the year and pushing him past Wayne Ellington.
- Jayson Tatum played Friday and tonight, even though he was listed as questionable for both ends of the back-to-back due to knee issues, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Boston has been resting its regulars in preparation for the playoffs, but Tatum admitted he’s stubborn when it comes to sitting out games. “A lot of head-butting for sure,” he said. “I’ve always said that I’m still young, but I just turned 27, I understand the balance of being fresh and stuff, ready for hopefully a long playoff run. I’ve talked about the value that I’ve put into playing in road games. I’ve been very blessed and fortunate, too. When I come in arenas, I see a lot of Tatum ‘0’ jerseys and kids with my shoes on. I understand they might be for their birthday or Christmas gift or whatever, and I try to stay ready and play as much and often as I can, and especially games on the road.”
- Back spasms forced Jaylen Brown to leave tonight’s game midway through the third quarter, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. Brown sat out Friday’s contest in Miami and was listed as questionable for today due to a right knee posterior impingement.
‘Slick’ Watts Dies At 73
Donald “Slick” Watts, who was one of Seattle’s most beloved athletes during his time with the SuperSonics, died Saturday morning at age 73, writes Tim Booth of The Seattle Times.
The 6’1″ point guard was known for his distinctive look with his shaved head and headbands, as well as his freewheeling approach to the game. After signing with the team in 1973, Watts finished third in the Rookie of the Year race. His best season was in 1975/76 when he averaged 13.0 points per game in 82 outings while leading the NBA in assists (8.1) and steals (3.2) per game.
More than anything, he was a favorite with the Seattle fanbase.
“Slick, out of all the players, Slick was Seattle. That was his thing was Seattle,” Hall of Famer Spencer Haywood told Booth.
Watts spent four full years with the Sonics before being traded to New Orleans midway through the 1977/78 season and finishing up his career with Houston in 1978/79. He appeared in 437 games during his six NBA seasons and compiled career averages of 8.9 points and 6.1 assists per night.
Watts suffered a major stroke in 2021 and needed nearly constant care, Booth adds. Many of his former teammates learned about his death while they were preparing to attend a celebration to remember another Sonics great, Gus Williams, who passed away in January.
“He always wore his green and gold proudly,” former Sonics center James Donaldson said of Watts. “He epitomized the Seattle SuperSonics.”
After playing at Xavier University of Louisiana, Watts got a tryout because his college coach, Bob Hopkins, was the cousin of NBA legend Bill Russell, who was Seattle’s coach at the time. He was able to earn a roster spot as an undrafted rookie and was eventually named to the Sonics’ 40th anniversary team.
“He was such a personality. Always upbeat,” Donaldson added. “Always happy to lend a helping hand, to give you words of encouragement, to befriend just about anybody he came across.”
We at Hoops Rumors offer our condolences to Watts’ family and friends.
Jalen Brunson Not Expected Back Until Late March Or Early April
Jalen Brunson‘s sprained right ankle is expected to keep him sidelined until late March or early April, Shams Charania of ESPN said tonight on NBA Countdown (Twitter video link).
The Knicks announced that Brunson would be reevaluated in two weeks after he suffered the injury while driving to the basket late in a March 6 game against the Lakers. However, sources tell Charania that the sprain involves “more of a three- to four-week minimum return time frame.”
“The key for the Knicks and Jalen Brunson is keeping that swelling down in that ankle, getting it lower, and then increasing the mobility in the ankle,” Charania said. “They know they need to get him right for the playoffs. That’s of the utmost importance.”
New York is managing to get by without Brunson, going 2-1 since the injury as a five-game road trip wraps up tonight at Golden State. The Knicks appear locked into the third seed in the East — five games behind Boston and five games ahead of Milwaukee and Indiana — so there’s no need to rush Brunson back until his ankle is fully healed.
Brunson made his second straight All-Star appearance this year and is a strong contender to again earn All-NBA honors, although he’ll have to play four more times to reach the 65-game requirement. He’s averaging 26.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per night with a .490/.384/.825 shooting line.
Charania also touched on a mini-controversy this week involving Mikal Bridges and Tom Thibodeau. Bridges stated that he had talked to his coach about reducing the minutes for the starters, but Thibodeau denied that such a conversation ever took place.
Charania confirms that Bridges and Thibodeau held a “closed-door meeting” before Wednesday’s game, which he described as a “productive” session in which both sides were “able to hash things out.” A source told Charania that the situation is now “history.”
Grizzlies Notes: Morant, Wells, Edey, Williams, Allen
Ja Morant turned in one of his best games of the season, but it wasn’t enough to give the Grizzlies a chance to beat Cleveland Friday night, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. Even though the star guard posted 44 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, the Cavaliers extended their win streak to 16 games with a convincing 133-124 victory.
“We didn’t come out with the right mindset,” Desmond Bane said. “We messed up some coverages early in the game and allowed them to get comfortable. When a good team like that gets comfortable, it’s going to be a long night.”
Losing to elite teams has been a frequent problem for the Grizzlies, Guillory notes, despite the fact that they’re 42-25 and entered Friday’s game second in the West. They’re just 1-5 in the six games they’ve played against Cleveland, Boston and Oklahoma City, and they’ve trailed by at least 20 points in four of the five losses.
“They’re good teams. They’re on a roll,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “We’ve just got to be better defensively in those situations. We can’t make excuses about anything, even when we’re not shooting well. We’ve got to be able to guard.”
There’s more from Memphis:
- The Grizzlies have been starting rookies Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey for much of the season, but coach Taylor Jenkins has been reducing their playing time lately, Guillory adds. Wells was limited to 17 minutes Friday night and Edey played 11 as the Cavs became the latest team to target them both on defense and offense. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Brandon Clarke provided strong minutes off the bench, but Guillory states that Jenkins is still searching for effective combinations to go alongside Morant, Bane and Jackson.
- Morant is missing Saturday’s game against Miami due to soreness in his right shoulder, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter). Vince Williams Jr. is also being held out because of pain in his right ankle.
- Tonight marks the jersey retirement ceremony for Grizzlies legend Tony Allen, who played in Memphis from 2010-17. Known as “The Grindfather,” Allen embodied the “Grit ‘n’ Grind” spirit of the teams from that era. Longtime teammate Mike Conley couldn’t attend because of his duties with the Timberwolves, but he sent a video message, tweets Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. “We embraced it. It became our identity,” Conley said. “I’m not the loudest person or most physical person in the world, but I felt like I was when I was out there with Tony and Marc (Gasol) and Zach (Randolph). Together we were like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna beat you up.’ That’s just who we felt like we were, and it kind of started with that phrase and the personnel behind it because we didn’t just say it, we actually believed it and acted on that. And nobody could tell us different.”
Pistons Notes: Thompson, Stewart, Ivey, Bickerstaff
The Pistons‘ defense had an off night in Thursday’s loss to Washington, so it was odd that Ausar Thompson didn’t get more playing time, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. While Detroit was giving up 129 points to the worst team in the East, Thompson was limited to 19 minutes and saw just two seconds of action in the fourth quarter.
Patterson notes that Thompson was effective when he was on the court, finishing with 10 points, four rebounds, an assist and a block. He swatted away a three-point attempt by the Wizards’ 7’0″ rookie Alex Sarr.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff only took three questions after the loss and didn’t explain Thompson’s reduced playing time, Patterson adds. However, he did address it before Saturday’s game, telling reporters, “It was my decision down the stretch … nothing that he did. He’ll definitely get an opportunity to play more tonight.” (Twitter link from Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press)
There’s more from Detroit:
- Following the embarrassing loss, several players talked about the need to stay focused every night, per Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News. They understand that each game is important as they try to move into fourth place and secure home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. “Pretty much everybody (spoke up). We knew we didn’t do our job tonight. We knew we didn’t handle business, so everybody was disappointed,” Isaiah Stewart said. “I would just say it’s a lesson for us. We want to hang our hat on playing Detroit basketball every night and being consistent with that. We just didn’t do that tonight, and hopefully, we learn from that.”
- In a separate story, Jaden Ivey talks to Davis about the collision in a New Year’s Day game that resulted in his broken fibula. Orlando’s Cole Anthony made contact with Ivey’s left leg while diving for the ball, effectively ending Ivey’s season. The Pistons announced on Thursday that the next update on Ivey’s condition will be four weeks away. “I’ve watched the clip; it’s just a basketball play,” Ivey said. “You are diving on the floor and playing hard for your team; I get it. I am not too over the situation of how I got hurt. But I am just taking things day by day.”
- Pistons players are crediting Bickerstaff’s increased expectations for helping them quickly develop into a successful team, Patterson adds in another story for The Athletic. Bickerstaff was brought in to turn things around after a 14-win season. “Obviously, we’ve had a lot of changes, from front office to different personnel and lineups,” Jalen Duren said. “But I think overall, I want to give credit to J.B. and what he’s brought to the team in terms of a seriousness and an approach to the game, if that makes sense. He kind of keeps us on track and lets us know how, since day one, we’re not just out here to do this. We’re trying to make some noise, we’re trying to become a better team and he’s carried that all season. He’s the guy who’s set the tone for the culture.”
Kristaps Porzingis Returns From Viral Illness
Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis will return for Saturday’s game against Brooklyn after battling an illness for several weeks. Boston is listing Porzingis as available on its injury report (Twitter link).
This will be the first game action for Porzingis since February 26. He missed the past eight contests with a viral illness and provided details of his recovery process earlier this week.
Porzingis has only appeared in 32 games this season, so he’ll fall well short of the 65-game requirement to qualify for postseason awards. He was unavailable for the first few weeks while recovering from offseason surgery and didn’t make his season debut until November 25.
The Celtics have been careful with Porzingis’ health — keeping him out of back-to-back games — in an effort to make sure he’s injury-free heading into the playoffs. He has remained effective in his limited playing time, averaging 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in 28.9 minutes per night while shooting 47.4% from the field and 40.4% from three-point range.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are both dealing with knee issues, have also been upgraded to available. Al Horford and Derrick White will be inactive, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive, as the Celtics are playing for the second straight night after defeating Miami on Friday.