KD: Suns “Embarrassed Ourselves” In Latest Loss
The 2024/25 season is starting to slip away from the Suns. After leading by two at halftime against Minnesota on Sunday, Phoenix was routed in the second half, ultimately losing by 18 points.
“We didn’t play up to our standards at all,” All-Star forward Kevin Durant said (story via David Brandt of The Associated Press). “We embarrassed the fans and we embarrassed ourselves the way we played. I want us to be better.”
As Brandt writes, the Phoenix is just 3-11 in its past 14 games and is now 28-33 on the season, four games behind Dallas for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. The Suns are closer in the standings to the teams directly beneath them — Portland (27-34) and San Antonio (25-34) — than they are to the Mavs (32-29).
“We’ve got to go on a run, but it’s got to start,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “There’s no doubt that the standings, the circumstances that we’re in, there’s an awareness and we’ve got to do something to change it.”
The Suns made the playoffs outright last season, avoiding the play-in by finishing with a 49-33 record, good for the No. 6 seed in the West. However, they were swept by the Wolves in the first round, leading to the dismissal of former head coach Frank Vogel. Sunday marked Phoenix’s seventh straight loss to Minnesota, notes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
Phoenix failed to match Minnesota’s “physicality” in the second half, according to Devin Booker, with giveaways also being a major issue — the Suns tied a season high with 22 turnovers, leading to 40 points for the Wolves. Durant, Booker and Bradley Beal combined for 14 of the team’s 22 turnovers.
“That’s why we lost,” Durant said, per Brandt. “Forty points off turnovers, tough to overcome that. They didn’t overpower us on the glass, we just gave them the ball.”
NBA insider Chris Haynes recently reported that Budenholzer told Booker to “tone it down vocally” during games, which surprised the star guard. Booker subsequently suggested that the team could use more vocal leadership.
However, prior to Sunday’s game, Booker downplayed any rift with his coach, Rankin relays in another story.
“We’ve had multiple conversations. I can’t seem to find one that sticks out more than the others,” Booker said. “It’s a player/coach relationship. When things start going bad, everybody tries to point fingers to find out what’s wrong. People are going to come up with stuff. The relationship is great. We’re on the same page, we’re trying to win and that’s that.”
Meyers Leonard Announces Retirement
Former NBA big man Meyers Leonard has officially retired as a basketball player, announcing the news on Instagram (hat tip to Chris Haynes).
After playing a modest role as a freshman at Illinois, Leonard had a breakout sophomore season back in 2011/12 with the Illini and was selected 11th overall in the 2012 draft.
Leonard, who turned 33 years old last week, spent his first seven seasons with the Trail Blazers prior to being traded to the Heat as part of the Jimmy Butler blockbuster in 2019.
Leonard’s time in Miami was not without controversy, as he was fined $50K by the NBA and suspended from all team activities for a week for making an anti-Semitic comment during a Twitch livestream. Shortly after the incident, he was traded to — and subsequently released by — Oklahoma City.
After missing the entire ’21/22 campaign due to an injury, Leonard was able to find a new team in February 2023, signing a pair of 10-day deals and then a rest-of-season contract with the Bucks. He has been a free agent since the 2023 offseason, when his tenure with Milwaukee ended.
Overall, Leonard played parts of 10 NBA seasons, averaging 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game across 456 regular season appearances, including 95 starts. He mostly played center, but he also saw some time at power forward in his first few seasons. Leonard was known for his ability to space the floor, as he held a career mark of 39.0% from three-point range.
Kings’ Sabonis Out At Least One Week With Hamstring Strain
Star center Domantas Sabonis has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain after undergoing an MRI and will miss at least one week, the Kings announced late on Sunday night.
Sabonis suffered the injury on Saturday in a win over Houston. Just over one minute into the game, the big man grabbed his left hamstring while running up the court. Head coach Doug Christie immediately called timeout, and Sabonis headed to the locker room to get the injury examined, with the Kings subsequently announcing that he wouldn’t return.
It’s obviously not good news for the Kings, who are battling for a playoff spot, that they’ll be without their most valuable player for at least the next week, but the diagnosis could have been worse — a Grade 1 strain is considered the mildest form and may not result in an extended absence for Sabonis.
Sabonis has averaged 19.5 points, a league-leading 14.1 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game in 56 contests this season. He has a shooting line of .596/.432/.747 and the Kings have had a +4.0 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -3.7 mark when he sits.
With Sabonis unavailable for most of Saturday’s game, backup center Jonas Valanciunas logged nearly 30 minutes after averaging just 14.3 MPG in his first eight appearances as a King.
Valanciunas finished the game with 15 points, 14 rebounds, four steals, and three blocks, playing a key role in helping Sacramento to secure the win. He’ll presumably continue to see increased minutes while his fellow Lithuanian recovers. Sacramento is scheduled to play in Dallas on Monday, in Denver on Wednesday, at home vs. San Antonio on Friday, and in L.A. against the Clippers on Sunday.
The Kings are currently 31-28, which puts them ninth in the Western Conference standings, but it’s a very tight race. They’re percentage points ahead of the 32-29 Mavericks at No. 10 and are just a half-game behind the Clippers (32-28), Warriors (32-28), and Timberwolves (33-29), who holds the sixth, seventh, and eighth seeds, respectively.
Wizards Mulled Reacquiring Bradley Beal Last Month
The Wizards contemplated reacquiring Bradley Beal prior to the trade deadline, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post.
In their failed quest to acquire Jimmy Butler from the Heat, the Suns desperately tried to find a third team that would take Beal’s maximum-salary contract, since Miami was unwilling to do so. With Phoenix operating over the second apron, the only way it could pull off that trade and retain Kevin Durant and Devin Booker was to trade Beal. Butler, of course, wound up getting dealt to the Warriors.
Washington sent Beal to the Suns in the summer of 2023. The previous year, Washington signed Beal to five-year extension with a no-trade clause, which he waived in that deal.
However, Beal balked at waiving the clause before this year’s deadline, so even if the Wizards, Suns, and Heat had figured out a trade construction that sent him to Washington and Butler to Phoenix while appeasing all three teams, Beal may not have signed off.
It’s unknown exactly what type of enticements the Wizards were seeking to take on Beal’s contract. They felt one potential incentive for Beal to return to Washington was that he could have become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. He racked up 15,391 points with the Wizards, 160 points behind Elvin Hayes.
Previous reporting from ESPN stated that the Wizards and Hawks were the only two teams to consider the idea of acquiring Beal at the trade deadline.
Beal, who has two years left on his contract, averaged 23.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in seven February games but the Suns went 1-6 in those contests. He returned to action on Sunday after missing two games with tightness in his left calf.
Pistons Notes: Duren, Thompson, Cunningham, Turnaround
Jalen Duren, who can sign a rookie scale extension this offseason, has become a steady force inside for the Pistons. Duren is averaging a double-double this season thanks to a strong February in which he posted 13.6 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. In his first March game on Saturday, Duren powered for 18 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high six blocks against the Nets.
“Consistency. We are seeing the talent we believe has always been there. But now he’s found a way and it’s the most difficult thing to do in this league,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “The separator in this league is, do you have 10 good games a year, do you have 30 good games a year, can you do it all the way to 82 games or whatever it may be? He’s put a run together where he’s been dominant on both ends of the floor.”
We have more on the Pistons:
- Detroit has continued to thrive despite the loss of starting guard Jaden Ivey in early January. Ausar Thompson has stepped into the lineup and given the club a different dimension. In 28 starts, the second-year wing is averaging 10.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.2 steals in 23.3 minutes per game. Thompson’s defensive prowess is a product of preparation. “He does a great job of watching film and studying guys, understanding our system, how he can be most impactful,” Bickerstaff said. “But with a guy like him, you just kind of unleash him. You don’t give him too many rules. We’re so confident in what he’s able to do naturally. We just tell him to go eliminate guys, and so far, he’s done a great job of being able to do that.”
- In a lengthy feature, The Ringer’s Mirin Fader examines how Cade Cunningham has bounced back from the worst season in franchise history to engineering the league’s biggest surprise. His leadership qualities have shined through, according to his teammates. “There’s been games at halftime where he’s come in and said, ‘I got to be better’ when you don’t even think he does need to be better,” Malik Beasley said.
- The Detroit Free Press’ Omari Sankofa examines five reasons for the team’s stunning turnaround, including the hirings of general manager Trajan Langdon and Bickerstaff, the firing of Monty Williams, their success in free agency, and key momentum-building victories.
Rockets Convert Williams’ Two-Way To Standard Deal, Waive Zeller
9:00 pm: The moves are official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
7:48 pm: Jeenathan Williams is having his two-way contract converted by the Rockets into a standard four-year, $8.2MM deal, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.
Also known as Nate Williams, the swingman is in his third season. Williams has appeared in 35 NBA games in his career, including five games with Portland. Williams, who went undrafted out of Buffalo, was re-signed to a two-way contract in July.
This season, he’s seen action in eight games, averaging 3.6 points in 5.5 minutes per contest. In 17 appearances with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA G League, Williams has averaged 20.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals in 30.7 minutes per game.
It remains to be seen how much of Williams’ new deal is guaranteed.
Houston is opening up a spot on the 15-man roster by waiving Cody Zeller, who had a non-guaranteed contract after this season, Charania adds in another tweet.
Zeller, 32, hasn’t played at all this season. In a salary-dump deal just before the February 6 deadline, the Hawks traded him and a 2028 second-round pick to Houston to move below the luxury tax threshold.
He had not been around the team since the deal, via an arrangement between him and the team’s front office.
Zeller was signed to a multiyear contract by the Pelicans last offseason specifically to be used as a salary-matching piece in the Dejounte Murray trade. While he was technically a member of the Hawks for several months, he didn’t participate in training camp with Atlanta and agreed to remain away from the team.
Cavaliers Sign Nae’Qwan Tomlin To Two-Way Deal
March 2: Tomlin has been officially signed, according to the NBA transactions log. The Cavaliers waived Thor to create a two-way opening, as we detailed in a separate story.
March 1: Nae’Qwan Tomlin will sign a two-way contract with the Cavaliers, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The deal will cover two seasons, Scotto adds (Twitter link).
Last week, Cleveland gave the 24-year-old power forward a 10-day contract. He has appeared in three games during that deal, which will expire tonight, averaging 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 4.7 minutes per contest.
The 6’10” rookie signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cavs in September after going undrafted out of Memphis. He spent most of the season with the G League’s Cleveland Charge, posting 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 blocks per night in 35 total Tip-Off Tournament and regular season games,
The Cavaliers will have an opening on their main roster once Tomlin’s 10-day contract expires, but all three of their two-way slots are currently filled. Either Emoni Bates, Luke Travers or JT Thor will have to be waived or promoted to the 15-man roster before Tomlin’s new deal can be finalized.
Whatever the Cavs decide to do, it will have to happen by March 4, which is the deadline to sign players to two-way contracts.
Lester Quinones Signs Two-Way Deal With Pelicans
8:42pm: The signing is official, according to the NBA transactions log.
8:39am: The Pelicans will sign Lester Quinones to a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of ESPN. The deal was confirmed by Quinones’ agent, Scott Nichols of Rize Management.
The 24-year-old shooting guard began the season with Philadelphia on a two-way contract that he signed in September. He appeared in just four games, averaging 2.3 points in 4.3 minutes per night, before being waived on December 3.
Since then, Quinones has been playing for New Orleans’ G League affiliate in Birmingham, where he has posted 22.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 22 regular season games. He was selected to participate in the G League’s Up Next event at All-Star Weekend.
Quinones began his NBA career with the Warriors in 2023 after going undrafted following three collegiate seasons at Memphis. He had his two-way contract with Golden State converted to a standard deal last February.
The Pelicans opened up a two-way slot by waiving guard Jalen Crutcher on Saturday. Jamal Cain and Keion Brooks are the team’s other two-way players.
Johnny Davis Joins G League Westchester Knicks
Former lottery pick Johnny Davis has signed an NBA G League contract and was claimed off waivers by the Westchester Knicks, the team announced in a press release.
Davis will attempt to rebuild his career in the G League after a disappointing two-and-a-half seasons with Washington. The No. 10 overall pick in 2022, he made 112 total appearances with the Wizards, averaging 3.5 points per game.
The 23-year-old was dealt just prior to the trade deadline to Memphis as part of a three-team transaction. He didn’t play a game with Memphis and the Grizzlies waived him on Feb. 21.
Davis appeared in 28 games as a rookie and 50 more last season, including six starts. In his third season, the 6’5″ guard was a marginal rotation player. He played in 34 games, posting 2.4 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.4 steals over 7.1 minutes per night.
He moved up the draft boards during his sophomore season at Wisconsin, earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors while averaging 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.2 steals over 34.2 minutes per game.
Celtics Waive Anton Watson
The Celtics have waived two-way player Anton Watson, the team’s PR department tweets.
Watson, a rookie forward selected with the No. 54 pick in last year’s draft, signed his two-way contract in August. He has yet to make his NBA regular season debut.
Watson has appeared in a total of 37 games (34 starts) for the NBA G League’s Maine Celtics, including his Tip-Off Tournament and regular season appearances. He’s averaging 12.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 29.9 minutes per game.
Watson, 24, played five seasons at Gonzaga and averaged career highs of 14.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season.
This opens the door for the Celtics to add another two-way player prior to the March 4 signing deadline. Drew Peterson and JD Davison hold the other two-way slots. Boston also has an open spot on its standard 15-man roster.