Northwest Notes: Braun, Nuggets, R. Williams, Thunder
In an lengthy interview with Spencer Davies of RG.org, Nuggets wing Christian Braun says he has learned from a number of veterans over the course of his three NBA seasons, including Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. Braun, who is posting career highs in several statistics, will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason.
“I mean, I’ve learned a ton in my years, not just from [Jokic]. Each player I’ve played with, I think, has done a good job of helping me out,” Braun told RG. “Just watching KCP [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] and Bruce [Brown] and how they played off of [Jokic] helped me a lot, and they were always quick to reach out and tell me what they thought or what they saw.
” … You can take a little bit from each person. I think I’ve tried to take a little bit from each of the guys that have been in the league for a long time. Whether it was Ish Smith, DJ [DeAndre Jordan], they all do little things. Jeff Green. Just watching each person’s routine and try to take a little part of each of their routine that I like and make it mine and do it my way.
“But just watching [Jokic’s] approach and the way he was in the training room, the way he’s on the court, the way he approaches each game, his routine, his consistency. Each person, like I said, has good parts of their routine that I try to put into mine, but I’m still learning every day and trying to implement different things.”
Here’s more from the Northwest:
- Tony Jones of The Athletic takes a look at the Nuggets‘ “confusing” and “inconsistent” start to the season, with Denver currently holding a 12-10 record despite regular “herculean” efforts from three-time MVP Jokic, who may be having the best season of his career. According to Jones, while depth has been an issue, the biggest concern for the Nuggets has been the play of Murray, who hasn’t looked like the same player who helped Denver win its first NBA championship in 2023.
- Big man Robert Williams is nearing a return for the Trail Blazers following a six-game absence while in the league’s concussion protocol, writes Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. As Highkin notes, Williams has been sidelined by numerous injuries throughout his career, but a hard fall vs. Memphis on Nov. 25 resulted in his first concussion. “I was in a daze,” Williams said. “Nausea, headaches, stuff like that. I didn’t feel terrible. I’ve seen people with worse concussions than mine, for sure. But it slowed me down.” Williams, who was a full practice participant on Thursday, needs to pass one more computer-based test before being cleared by the medical staff — that could come on Friday vs. San Antonio. “I’m tired of dealing with all this s–t, man,” said Williams, who also missed several weeks early in the season due to a hamstring injury. “I miss the game so much. Trying to have fun with my teammates on the court, not just in practice.”
- Unlike some teams, who watch film as a whole group, the Thunder split into subgroups for their sessions, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman, who details how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams have grown comfortable using game tape to learn and grow from their mistakes. “Film, for me, opens my eyes,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s right in your face. The writing is on the wall. If I should’ve been in this spot, it’s right in front of your face that you should’ve been in that spot. If I should’ve took a shot and I was passive-aggressive, it’s right in front of my face.“
Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Raptors, McCain, Sixers
Celtics star Jayson Tatum will be sidelined for Thursday’s matchup vs. Detroit due to right patella tendinopathy, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.com. Tatum, who also missed his first game of the season last week against the Pistons, was initially listed as questionable before being ruled out.
As Terada writes, Boston is likely just being cautious with the All-NBA forward — the team doesn’t play again until Sunday, giving Tatum a full week of rest. Sam Hauser (right adductor strain) and Jaden Springer (illness) will also miss Thursday’s contest.
Here are a few more notes from the Atlantic:
- Head coach Darko Rajakovic is understandably disappointed that the Raptors have yet to see all of their young core players share the court together this season, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Scottie Barnes is expected to miss several weeks after suffering a right ankle sprain, and Immanuel Quickley remains sidelined with a left elbow injury. “It would be awesome,” Rajakovic said of seeing the core together. “We have not had our core guys and main guys in their roles pretty much all season. And what it does at the same time, it’s not allowing us to look (at) what our bench would look like when we have those guys in their roles. … I’m staying hopeful that sooner than later we have this situation to look at our full roster, what it looks like. And I think it’s going to be great for guys to get the chemistry of playing together, (growing) together and give us a lot of answers.”
- With the Sixers nearing full strength, what is Jared McCain‘s ideal role? Head coach Nick Nurse hasn’t settled on a decision, but the reigning Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month should get plenty of opportunities either way, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays. “I’m still not quite sure,” Nurse said. “But I think right now, it looks like he’s kind of an early scorer off the bench at the two. Certainly, we’ll play him some at the one. I could see that changing a little bit somewhere down the road. But [I] really liked him.”
- On Wednesday, the Sixers and Philadelphia’s city council continued to spar about the community benefits agreement portion of the proposal for a new arena, report Sean Collins Walsh and Anna Orso of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Some council members wanted the team to increase its public offer of funding from $50MM to the range of $75-100MM. However, despite some opposition, on Thursday the council gave initial approval of the proposed plan, which includes $60MM in funding from the 76ers for the community benefits agreement, according to The Inquirer. A team spokesperson said the Sixers were reviewing last-minute changes to the deal.
Central Notes: Williams, Pacers, Bucks Tourney Run, Lillard
Bulls forward Patrick Williams practiced in full on Thursday and is on track to play approximately 20-to-24 minutes on Friday, head coach Billy Donovan told K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network and other media members (Twitter link). Williams has been sidelined since Nov. 18 due to a foot injury.
The Bulls held guard Josh Giddey (back tightness) out of practice, but there’s optimism he’ll play on Friday against Charlotte.
We have more on the Central Division:
- The Pacers practiced on Tuesday and Thursday due to a gap in their schedule. After losing five of their last six, the team was happy to get some time to try to fix its issues, according to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “We certainly would have loved to have been a part of the quarterfinals like we did last year at the in-season tournament,” veteran backup point guard T.J. McConnell said. “But we’ve gotta look at it a different way. It’s a different season. Guys are working their way back so it can be very beneficial to work on getting them back and stuff that we need to improve on.”
- Following a very slow start, the Bucks are above .500 and headed to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals after defeating Orlando. Coach Doc Rivers said that the NBA Cup has provided some extra incentive. “You set a goal and you try to reach it, right?” Rivers said, per ESPN’s Jamal Collier. “Our goal is not just to get to Vegas, we want to win this thing.”
- Damian Lillard has adjusted his game to fit the Bucks’ style and personnel. He’s driving into the paint more, though it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll take the shot. It often turn into a “hockey assist” or a direct assist to a teammate, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. “It’s like completely changing your game and for someone that’s been the best at what he does his whole career, who’s going down as one of the greatest of all time, that’s such a wild ask,” center Brook Lopez said. “But for him to still be as good as he is and our team to be successful and winning right now, it’s a testament to the player he is. It shows he is one of the greatest of all time.”
Knicks Notes: Cup Loss, Brunson, Inconsistency, Bridges, Nnaji
The Knicks were eliminated from NBA Cup contention with their 108-100 home loss to the Hawks on Wednesday. They shot 26% on 3-point attempts and 60% on free throw tries. They also gave up 22 offensive rebounds, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post notes.
“Finishing possessions defensively [was a problem],” Jalen Brunson said. “They had a lot of offensive rebounds. Just unacceptable.”
Brunson was held to 14 points.
“Just wasn’t our night,” Brunson said. “Just wasn’t my night offensively. They got out in transition and Trae (Young) hit a couple key threes and once it went to a double-digit lead for them and they played well with a lead.”
We have more on the Knicks:
- The loss to Atlanta is more proof that the Knicks are nowhere close to being in the conversation as a potential NBA champion, James Edwards III of The Athletic opines. They have been unable to string together consistent quality performances, instead looking like world-beaters one game, then falling to mediocre or bad teams the next game. The blockbuster moves they made were supposed to make them a great team, but so far they’ve just been a good one, Edwards adds.
- On a positive note, Mikal Bridges seems to be settling in. Bridges, who has averaged 21.8 points over his last six games, had been benched for the better part of two fourth quarters during a four-game stretch in late November, Peter Botte of the New York Post points out.
- The Knicks acquired the rights to big man James Nnaji in the Karl-Anthony Towns deal after Charlotte drafted him in 2023. Nnaji is playing for Basquet Girona and averaging 7.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per night, according to Toni Canyameras of MundoDeportivo.com. “The front office is following his progress. I’ll dig deeper into him in the summer, but I’m obviously excited to have his rights,” coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 12/12/2024
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 2 pm Central time (3 pm Eastern).
Northwest Notes: Henderson, SGA, Dort, Wallace, Murray
Trail Blazers second-year guard Scoot Henderson believes his team is ready to blossom, as he told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
“I think we’ll pan out to be one of the top teams in the league pretty soon with the young core that we have and the dogs on our team,” he said. “You’ve got Donovan Clingan, who’s shown little glimpses of what he can do, and Shaedon (Sharpe). I try to get those guys the ball, and I try to do my thing. My main thing is getting guys the ball, letting them rock out, and letting the world see their talent.
“I’m trying to be a leader on and off the floor and get to know the guys a little bit more. I think we’re a core that plays hard and is going to shock a lot of teams throughout the season.”
Portland has a lot of ground to make up, as the Trail Blazers are 8-16 after losing six of their last seven games.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander readily accepts his role as a team leader, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “I embrace it for sure,” he said. “It comes with a burden. It comes with the crown. It comes with all the things you dream about as a kid being a superstar in the NBA. I definitely dreamed about being this as a player and these things come with it. And I knew that. So, I definitely embrace it.”
- The combination of Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace held Mavericks superstars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to a total of 33 points in the Thunder‘s NBA Cup quarterfinal win on Tuesday. It was the lowest combined scoring total for the backcourt duo in any game that both Doncic and Irving appeared in since they became teammates. “Hell of a job by Lu and Cason,” Gilgeous-Alexander told Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “It’s more impressive to hold them that low than it is for me to get 39 points. I think to hold those two that low really gave us a chance to win the game. We felt like we had control of the game because of that. Keeping those two in check like that is very rare.”
- Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is dealing with some hamstring irritation and it’s uncertain whether he’ll play against the Clippers on Friday. “He was able to go through portions of practice (Wednesday), which was great to have him out there,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. “He got some good work in yesterday in terms of treatment and player development. And then we’ll see how he feels from his work today. I’d say for Friday night, he’s still going to be listed as questionable.”
Latest On Jimmy Butler
After being called out by agent Bernie Lee, who accused him of publishing “made-up bulls–t” about his client Jimmy Butler, Shams Charania responded to Lee and doubled down on his reporting during a Thursday appearance on ESPN’s First Take (YouTube link).
“I one thousand percent stand by my reporting,” Charania said. “It’s fully vetted, and as a professional, that’s what I do. That’s what I get paid to do, that’s what I’m going to do: report truthfully and accurately. That’s what this is, period.”
Charania reported on Tuesday that Lee had made it clear in league circles that Butler would be open to destinations like the Rockets, Mavericks, and Warriors if the Heat decided to trade him. On Wednesday, Charania added the Suns to that list.
Reports from other outlets have since indicated that Dallas and Phoenix are extremely unlikely landing spots for Butler for cap/CBA and personnel reasons, and the Rockets have repeatedly expressed that they don’t intend to make an in-season trade that breaks up their current core. But Charania reiterated during his ESPN appearance on Thursday morning that those are the teams Butler’s camp has circled as favorable ones in the event of a deal.
“I one thousand percent stand by it,” Charania said. “It is one thousand percent facts.”
Charania stressed on Thursday that Butler hasn’t requested a trade, so while the Heat are open to listening to offers, that doesn’t necessarily mean the 35-year-old forward will be on the move during the season. In fact, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during that same First Take segment that he thinks Butler would rather stay in Miami than be traded to any of those clubs mentioned by Charania.
“From what I understand, I think Jimmy Butler’s preference would be to sign an extension in Miami,” Windhorst said. “He had hoped to do that actually last summer, but (Heat president) Pat Riley came out at the end of last season and said that’s not what the Heat were doing, and they still haven’t made any progress on that. I think that’s what he would like to do. I think he would like to stay there.
“But as you talk to people around the league… most executives think if there’s any (big-name) player that could possibly get moved it would be Jimmy Butler,” Windhorst continued. “Because trade season opens basically on Sunday, I think that’s why you’re seeing interest pick up. The teams are going to start talking to each other and the players who want to get into comfortable situations with their contracts are going to start trying to leverage their position. So this is just the beginning of what I think will be a lot of what you hear about Jimmy Butler in the coming days and weeks.”
Here are a few more Butler-related items:
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports breaks down the likelihood of a Butler trade to one of the four teams reported by Charania, concluding that the Warriors make the most sense of the possible trade partners in that group. However, O’Connor notes that the Heat could easily hang onto Butler through the trade deadline or expand their scope to other would-be suitors. Of all the hypothetical landing spots O’Connor explores, he views the Nuggets as the most logical fit, though there has been no indication Denver is interested.
- Keith Smith of Spotrac explores possible Butler trade scenarios from a salary cap and CBA perspective, explaining why it would be difficult – but not impossible – for the Heat to make a deal with most teams.
- In case you missed it, we wrote earlier today about the possibility of mutual interest between Butler and the Nets. However, Brooklyn figures to only be a potential suitor in free agency next summer, not on the trade market during the season.
Spurs Notes: Paul, M. Johnson, Wembanyama
Spurs point guard Chris Paul is on a one-year contract, but he doesn’t necessarily plan on calling it a career when that deal expires. Speaking to Hall of Famer and former Spurs point guard Tony Parker an interview posted by the team (YouTube link), Paul suggested he still has “maybe a year or two” left in the tank.
“I’m still trying to feel it out,” Paul said. “I think the hardest part is—like, I love this, like practice today, I love hooping, I love all of that. The hardest part is when I get home and I’ve gotta watch my kids’ games on my iPad or whatnot, so that’s the tug of war right now.”
As Paul explained to Parker, his wife and kids are still living in Los Angeles, so he doesn’t want to spend too many more years away from them. Asked by Parker why he decided to join a rebuilding team like San Antonio, CP3 explained that if he was going to continue his career, playing time was a more important consideration for him than the opportunity to contend for a championship.
“Last year was probably one of the toughest years for me,” Paul said of a season with the Warriors in which he averaged a career-low 26.4 minutes per game. “More than anything, I just love to hoop. I wanna play. … If I’m gonna sacrifice my family and be away from them, then I at least need to be playing. Nobody’s guaranteed to win. There’s only one team that’s going to win. I think for me, I looked (at San Antonio) and I was like, ‘Man, I can go play. I can go hoop.'”
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- While Paul has been adamant over the years that he has no desire to become an NBA coach after he retires, he softened that stance a little during his conversation with Parker. “I always said I wasn’t going to coach,” Paul said,“but I don’t know, I’m open to a whole bunch of things now.” In this year’s NBA general manager poll conducted by John Schuhmann, Paul received the most votes when GMs were asked which active player would make the best head coach.
- In an in-depth feature for The San Antonio Express-News, Jeff McDonald takes a look at how Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson has become more than just Gregg Popovich‘s stand-in, establishing himself as a strong candidate to become a permanent head coach in San Antonio or elsewhere in the coming years.
- The Spurs, who will face the Trail Blazers in Portland on Friday, are currently in the midst of four consecutive days off. The rare in-season break has been a boon for Victor Wembanyama, who said on Wednesday that it has been “really beneficial” to rest the sore lower back that forced him to miss two games last week, as Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News relays. This is the first time Wembanyama has experienced back pain, he told reporters. “It’s not like a big deal, but sometimes it stops me from doing certain things,” the reigning Rookie of the Year said.
- While there’s no indication the Spurs will be in any rush to make an in-season trade, three players who signed new contracts over the offseason will become eligible to be dealt as of this Sunday: Paul, Charles Bassey, and Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Nets Notes: Butler, Schröder, Potential Trades, K. Johnson
Jimmy Butler has shown interest in joining the Nets in the past and would still be interested in potentially ending up in Brooklyn, a source tells Brian Lewis of The New York Post. However, the Nets aren’t considered a potential trade suitor for the Heat star and would only make sense as a landing spot in free agency.
[RELATED: Heat Open To Listening To Offers For Jimmy Butler]
That outcome isn’t out of the question. The Nets project to have more cap room than any other NBA team in 2025, and multiple reports have indicated that Butler’s plan is to turn down his $52MM+ player option for 2025/26 in order to become a free agent after the current season.
Still, Lewis cautions that any Nets interest would have to be “at the right price and on the right terms” — at age 35, Butler can’t realistically expect a long-term, maximum-salary contract as a free agent in 2025, but it remains to be seen how eager he’ll be to take a pay cut and/or a short-term contract. He may prefer one to the other.
With no contending teams projected to have maximum-salary cap space next summer, it’s possible Butler would use the retooling Nets as leverage in order to extract the best possible deal from the Heat or whichever team he’s playing for at the end of this season. But it’s worth noting that Brooklyn has been more competitive than expected so far this season and doesn’t necessarily want to spend several years in the lottery while rebuilding.
“Their reset will be around signing a max free agent and draft picks,” one league source told Lewis. “They for sure won’t tank multiple years. It’s going to be a one-year reset.”
Here’s more on the Nets:
- While it’s generally difficult for NBA teams to net a first-round pick in exchange for a role player who has an expiring contract, that’s expected to be the Nets’ asking price on veteran point guard Dennis Schröder, Lewis reports in another story for The New York Post. Marc Stein reported something similar on Tuesday. The 31-year-old, who will earn about $13MM this season before reaching unrestricted free agency in 2025, is averaging career highs in several statistical categories, including assists per game (6.5) and three-point percentage (38.5%).
- The Nets may benefit from selling off their productive veteran players sooner rather than later in order to ensure they land a high lottery pick in the 2025 draft, but that doesn’t mean they’ll simply accept the best offer available for players like Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith. Brooklyn will be seeking real value for its top trade chips, according to Lewis. “They’re not giving anyone away,” one source told The New York Post.
- After averaging 12.6 minutes per game in his first 15 outings, Nets guard Keon Johnson has logged 26.3 MPG in seven games (three starts) since Cam Thomas went down with a hamstring injury. As Lewis writes for The Post, Johnson recognizes his playing time could fall off again once Brooklyn’s leading scorer returns. “Nothing is guaranteed, and it’s not guaranteed for him or anybody else,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “So the group’s been doing great. There’s going to be guys at times going in and out of the rotation. I hope if you’re out of the rotation, you work really hard to get back in. If you’re in the second group, you work hard to be in the first group. That’s important because that just helps the entire group to be better.”
Warriors’ Kerr Rips Refs For ‘Unconscionable’ Call After NBA Cup Loss
After the Warriors fell to the Rockets in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday by a score of 91-90, a furious Steve Kerr blasted the officiating crew for a late-game call that led to Houston’s winning free throws, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“I’m pissed off,” the Warriors’ head coach said. “I wanted to go to Las Vegas. We wanted to win this Cup, and we aren’t going because of a loose ball foul, 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life, and that was ridiculous.”
With Golden State up 90-89 and about 10 seconds left on the clock, Stephen Curry missed a three-point attempt and both teams scrambled to corral the rebound (Twitter video link via Bleacher Report). Warriors guard Gary Payton II initially fell on the ball and attempted to pass it to Jonathan Kuminga as two Houston defenders descended on him. Rockets guard Jalen Green gained control and attempted to call a timeout while Kuminga tried to pry the ball away from him.
A whistle blew at that point, but rather than calling a jump ball or a Rockets timeout, referee crew chief Bill Kennedy ruled that Kuminga had committed a foul, awarding Green two free throws with just four seconds left on the clock. Green made both to give the Rockets the lead and Brandin Podziemski had a buzzer-beater attempt blocked by Jabari Smith Jr. to clinch Houston’s win and its spot in the NBA Cup semifinals.
“The defender makes contact with the neck and shoulder area, warranting a personal foul to be called,” Kennedy told a pool reporter after the game in explaining the call on Kuminga.
Kerr, who referred to the foul call as one an “elementary school referee” would have made, argued that the game’s officials had allowed plenty of physical play to that point and that the foul called on Kuminga was hardly the only contact that occurred during the fight for the rebound off Curry’s miss.
“I’ve never seen a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation, 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line,” Kerr said. “I’ve never seen that. I think I saw it in college one time 30 years ago. Never seen it in the NBA. That is, I mean, unconscionable.
“I don’t even understand what just happened. Loose ball, diving on the floor, 80 feet from the basket, and you’re going to give a guy two free throws to decide the game when people are scrambling for the ball. Just give them a timeout and let the players decide the game. That’s how you officiate. Especially because the game was a complete wrestling match. They didn’t call anything.
“So you’ve established you’re just not going to call anything throughout the game. It’s a physical game. And call a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation with guys diving on the floor? With the game on the line? This is a billion-dollar industry. You got people’s jobs on the line.”
Curry, who was also upset after no foul was called on one of his shot attempts earlier in the fourth quarter (video link), expressed dissatisfaction after the game with both rulings. He admitted that the Warriors, who didn’t score in the final three minutes of the game and were still up by six points with 90 seconds to play, had to take responsibility the loss, but made it clear those officiating decisions didn’t help.
“We can talk about the refs all day, it’s not why we lost,” Curry said. “But there are swings in the game, obviously the last two free throws and that play, it’s a five-point swing.”
Kerr was also critical of the officiating crew after a loss to the Nuggets last Tuesday, screaming at the referees as the game ended and griping about a late-game call during his post-game media session. He wasn’t disciplined by the NBA for those remarks, but seems very likely to face a fine this time around.