Clippers’ Derrick Jones Out At Least Two Weeks With Hamstring Strain
Clippers forward Derrick Jones will be sidelined for at least a couple weeks after suffering a right hamstring strain, the team announced (Twitter link via Dave McMenamin of ESPN).
Jones will be reevaluated in two weeks, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he misses additional time beyond that, given the nature of soft-tissue injuries.
According to Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points (Twitter link), Jones was ruled out for the remainder of Sunday’s game vs. Houston after experiencing soreness in the hamstring. He played 12 minutes in the loss.
Jones signed a three-year, $30MM contract with the Clippers over the offseason after playing a key role in helping Dallas make the NBA Finals last spring. He was off to a solid start in his first season in Los Angeles, averaging 10.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.3 SPG on .500/.417/.871 shooting through 25 games, all starts (25.0 MPG).
With Jones out, forwards Jordan Miller and Nicolas Batum saw an uptick in minutes vs. Houston. That figures to continue for at least the next two weeks.
In other injury news, James Harden (groin), Amir Coffey (shoulder contusion) and Mohamed Bamba (left knee) practiced today, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. All three players were sidelined on Sunday.
Head coach Tyronn Lue also provided an injury update on star forward Kawhi Leonard, per Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter links). Lue said that Leonard went through non-contact drills during Tuesday’s practice and he’ll remain out for Friday’s contest in Denver.
“He did offensive script, defensive work, just no contact. But he did pretty much everything else,” Lue said of Leonard (Twitter video link via McMenamin). “He looked good. He’s not playing this week but he’s getting better. … Just keep building up until he’s able to do contact. We’re not sure when that’s going to come.”
Charania’s Latest: Ingram, Jones, McCollum, Blazers, Kuzma, Durant
When the Pelicans and Brandon Ingram discussed an extension during the offseason, he and his representatives at Excel Sports Management were seeking $50MM per season, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link). Previous reporting indicated that Ingram was pursuing a maximum-salary extension, which would’ve been worth up to $208MM over four years, so an ask of $50MM per season would’ve been in the neighborhood of his max.
As Charania explains, based on their current commitments, the Pelicans project to be $31MM below the tax in 2025/26, so re-signing Ingram to a $45MM+ starting salary would’ve pushed that figure well beyond the tax line and into apron territory, which probably isn’t feasible for a team that has never been a taxpayer.
The Pelicans value Ingram highly and are expected to keep the door open for a potential extension now that the forward has changed agents and is represented by Klutch Sports, Charania writes, but a trade is considered the more likely outcome, given the team’s financial outlook.
When New Orleans’ front office discussed possible Ingram trades over the summer, the Timberwolves were among the teams to show interest, sources tell Charania. However, a deal would’ve needed to be centered around Karl-Anthony Towns, and it likely only would’ve been viable if the two teams had reached an agreement during the 2023/24 season, before Towns’ super-max extension went into effect.
According to Charania, with the injury-plagued Pelicans off to a dismal 5-20 start this season, rival teams have begun to express interest in players like Herbert Jones and CJ McCollum. Charania doesn’t say whether or not New Orleans will consider moving either player, but I’d imagine the front office would be very reluctant to make a trade involving Jones, who is the team’s most valuable defensive player.
Here’s more from Charania:
- Multiple teams have begun to express interest in veteran Trail Blazers trade candidates Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, and Robert Williams, sources tell Charania. Grant and Simons have gotten off to slow starts this fall and Williams has a concerning injury history, but the three players are still among Portland’s most valuable – and most logical – trade chips.
- Several contending teams are expected to pursue Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma this season, Charania reports. Kuzma has been limited to just 12 outings for health reasons and has seen his offensive output dip in the early going (15.8 PPG, .420/.276/.688 shooting) but has a strong track record as a scorer and is on a contract with a team-friendly declining structure.
- There’s optimism that injured Suns star Kevin Durant could return from his ankle sprain on either Friday in Utah or Sunday vs. Portland, Charania writes. While Phoenix obviously won’t want to rush back its leading scorer, it has been night and day for the team this season when Durant is available (11-2 record) and when he isn’t (1-9).
- In case you missed it, we passed along a few more items from Charania earlier today in separate full stories.
Raptors Waive D.J. Carton
The Raptors have waived guard D.J. Carton, the team announced today in a press release. Carton had been on a two-way contract with Toronto.
An undrafted free agent out of Marquette in 2021, Carton began his professional career by playing in the G League and didn’t get a shot with an NBA team during the regular season until this past February, when the Raptors signed him to a 10-day contract. Toronto brought him back on a two-year, two-way deal after that initial contract expired.
Across parts of two seasons with the Raptors, Carton has appeared in eight NBA games, logging just 69 total minutes. The 6’3″ guard has compiled 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals with a .267/.143/.833 shooting line during his limited NBA minutes while continuing to play a significant role in the G League when healthy.
Carton averaged 16.3 PPG, 7.0 APG, and 4.7 RPG in three outings for the Raptors 905 this fall, but has battled foot and ankle issues since joining the club, notes Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links).
According to Murphy, the Timberwolves control Carton’s G League rights, so if he opts to return to the NBAGL after clearing waivers, the Iowa Wolves would get the first shot at him.
Toronto is now one of just two NBA teams with an open two-way slot — Orlando is the other, as our tracker shows.
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 12/10/2024
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the teams most likely to be active before the trade deadline, the Pacers' search for a backup center, Jonathan Kuminga's future with the Warriors, the case for keeping the Pelicans' roster together and more!
Pacers Actively Pursuing Backup Center
The Pacers are “actively pursuing” a center to back up starter Myles Turner, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link).
At the start of the regular season, the Pacers expected offseason free agent addition James Wiseman to compete with former first-round pick Isaiah Jackson for minutes behind Turner. However, Wiseman suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in the regular season opener and Jackson sustained the same injury just nine days later.
Indiana signed journeyman center Moses Brown to a non-guaranteed deal in November and he appeared in nine games for the team before falling out of the rotation and being waived on Monday.
The Pacers now have an open spot on their 15-man roster and are operating approximately $2.2MM below the luxury tax line. That gives them the flexibility to trade for a player on a one-year, minimum-salary contract without becoming a projected taxpayer.
Charania doesn’t go into any detail on whether the Pacers have their eye on a specific player, but a number of centers who signed one-year minimum deals will become trade-eligible this Sunday. That group includes Thomas Bryant, Charles Bassey, Alex Len, and former Pacer Daniel Theis, among many others.
Indiana was awarded a $2.2MM disabled player exception for Jackson’s injury — it could be used to trade for a player on an expiring contract whose salary fits into the exception. There aren’t many centers who fit that bill – and who couldn’t simply be acquired using the minimum salary exception – but Jericho Sims is one example.
Trading for a player earning more than the minimum wouldn’t be out of the question for the Pacers, but it would likely mean sending out at least one player in order to stay below the tax line. Jackson, who is on a $4.4MM expiring contract, is one possible trade candidate who would make sense if Indiana targets a center in the $5MM range such as Nick Richards or Drew Eubanks.
Turner is averaging a career-high 31.9 minutes per game so far this season. In recent games, when he’s been off the floor, the Pacers have gone with small-ball lineups featuring multiple power forwards, including Pascal Siakam, Obi Toppin, and Jarace Walker.
Cavs’ Max Strus Nearing Season Debut
The Cavaliers have an NBA-best 21-4 record so far this season despite not yet having one of their five presumed starters available. According to Grant Afseth of RG.org, that fifth starter is on track to make his season debut later this week.
The expectation is that Cavs wing Max Strus will be available to suit up on Friday vs. Washington after recovering from the right ankle sprain that has sidelined him since before the regular season began, sources tell Afseth.
Strus initially sustained a hip contusion early in the preseason and was nearing a return from that injury when he sprained his ankle during an individual workout just days before the season opener.
Strus may not immediately reclaim his spot as Cleveland’s top small forward after starting 70 regular season games and 12 more playoff contests last season. Afseth suggests Strus will face a minutes restriction, and a previous report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com indicated the 28-year-old would likely come off the bench in his return.
“It’s like we signed a starting player to our team,”head coach Kenny Atkinson said of Strus’ impending return, per Afseth. “And now we’re going to have to figure out what that integration looks like, what the progression is… It’s a discussion with our performance team (about) what the minute build-up is going to look like.”
Strus was a solid contributor in his first year in Cleveland after signing a four-year, $62MM contract during the 2023 free agent period. He averaged 12.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game with a .351 3PT%. The Cavs are said to be eager to see what the veteran swingman looks like in Atkinson’s new up-tempo system.
Isaac Okoro (14 starts) and Dean Wade (nine starts) have been the primary replacements for Strus in the starting lineup so far this season. If and when Strus reclaims his starting spot and everyone’s healthy, they’ll be part of the second unit.
Nets Discussing Johnson, Finney-Smith, Schröder Trades; Warriors Have Interest
Nets veterans Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dennis Schröder have all generated trade interest early this season, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link), who reports that Brooklyn has begun to have exploratory discussions involving the trio.
The Warriors are among the clubs that have expressed interest in those three players, sources tell Charania, who adds that rival teams believe Golden State is willing to use De’Anthony Melton‘s $12.8MM expiring contract and draft assets in a trade. Melton suffered a season-ending ACL injury last month.
While the wording of Charania’s report suggests Golden State has expressed interest in all three of those Nets trade candidates, Johnson looks to me like a less likely target for the Warriors. He has a $22.5MM cap hit and another $4.5MM in unlikely incentives that count toward the tax aprons, which could be problematic for a Warriors team operating right up against its hard cap.
Besides being a complicated fit from a salary perspective, Johnson is the player (of those three Nets) whose skill set overlaps least with Melton’s, so if Golden State is seeking a replacement for its injured guard, he’s not an obvious fit. But he’s off to a great start this season — his 18.8 points per game, 48.8% field goal percentage, and 43.4% three-point percentage would all be career highs.
Finney-Smith ($14.9MM) and Schröder ($13MM) have salaries in the range of Melton’s and have more in common with the 26-year-old guard on the court. Finney-Smith is a solid, versatile defender capable of knocking down three-point shots (a career-best 43.2% this season), while Schröder is a talented ball-handler, scorer, and play-maker whose 38.5% three-point rate and 2.5 three-pointers per game this season are career highs.
Besides having more modest cap hits, Finney-Smith and Schröder also have shorter-term contracts than Johnson. Schröder will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025 while Finney-Smith can join him by turning down his 2025/26 player option worth $15.4MM. Johnson’s contract runs through the 2026/27 season.
The Nets project to have the most cap room of any NBA team during the 2025 offseason, so they’ll likely try to avoid taking on multiyear contracts in any deal involving Finney-Smith and/or Schröder.
Besides registering interest in role players like the Nets’ trio, the Warriors remain interested in adding a star – ideally a play-maker and scorer – who could complement Stephen Curry, Charania reiterates.
Charania made a similar point during an NBA Today appearance last week, noting that Golden State will try to determine in the two months leading up to the February 6 trade deadline whether forward Jonathan Kuminga can become that sort of impact player or whether the club will need to keep trying to acquire a star via trade. The Warriors expressed trade interest over the summer in both Paul George and Lauri Markkanen.
Heat Open To Listening To Offers For Jimmy Butler
The Heat are open to listening to trade inquiries on star forward Jimmy Butler and making a deal if they get an offer they like, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link).
Reporting in the wake of Miami’s elimination from the 2024 playoffs indicated that Butler would be seeking a maximum-salary extension during the offseason. Asked about that possibility during his end-of-season press conference, president of basketball operations Pat Riley expressed reluctance to make that sort of financial investment in a player “unless you have someone who is going to be available every night,” a reference to Butler’s injury issues in recent seasons.
Butler subsequently decided to put off extension discussions and remain with the Heat rather than pushing for a trade.
As Charania writes, the 35-year-old still has a strong affinity for Miami and has been professional throughout this season, but with the Heat having hovered around play-in territory for the last couple years and Butler potentially reaching free agency at season’s end, the front office has been “open-minded” about trade inquires.
According to Charania, Butler’s agent Bernie Lee has made it clear in league circles that Butler would be open to destinations like the Rockets, Mavericks, and Warriors. While Butler is a Texas native, his top priority in the event of a trade is believed to be joining a team capable of contending for a championship.
Teams, including the Heat, have been informed that Butler intends to turn down his $52.4MM player option for the 2025/26 season in order to become a free agent next summer, sources tell ESPN. Still, given that few teams project to have significant cap room in 2025, the club that has Butler on its roster at the end of the season would likely be the favorite to re-sign him, since that club would hold his Bird rights.
Butler has missed five games for health reasons so far this season, but has been effective in his 17 outings, averaging 19.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 32.1 minutes per game, with a .557/.360/.787 shooting line. The Heat have gone 10-7 in the games he has played and have a record of 2-3 when he’s been out.
Knicks Notes: Brunson, Sims, Barrett, Towns
Jalen Brunson‘s scoring average is down from his career high of 28.7 points per game in 2023/24 to 25.2 PPG through his first 24 games this season, but the Knicks star is otherwise playing even better than he did a year ago, when he finished fifth in MVP voting, contends James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.
Brunson’s shooting percentages are up to 49.6% from the floor and a career-best 43.2% on three-pointers. And perhaps most notably, he’s averaging a career-high 7.8 assists per game. That can be attributed in part to playing with another elite scorer and shooter like Karl-Anthony Towns and in part to Brunson’s improving ability to deal with defenses that have employed blitzes, hedges, and double-teams in an effort to slow him down.
“It’s been happening a lot more recently,” Brunson said of that defensive pressure. “I’ve always worked on stuff like that. I just like to trust my reads and my instincts.”
If Brunson continues to play like he has so far, he figures to show up on plenty of MVP ballots again in the spring, but he and head coach Tom Thibodeau are more focused on making sure the Knicks continue to generate efficient shots and win games. New York’s offensive rating is an NBA-best 121.0 and the team continues to move up the standings in the Eastern Conference, sitting at 15-9 after a win over Toronto last night.
“(Brunson)’s 10, 11 (assists) every night now,” Thibodeau said on Monday, per Edwards. “He’s creating a lot of good offense for us. Everyone shares in that responsibility. Read the game and don’t hold on to the ball too long. If you’re open, I want you to shoot. If you’re not open, I don’t want you to overdribble, either. Just read what they’re doing. When you have players who play for each other and play unselfishly, you’re going to get high-percentage shots from that.”
We have more on the Knicks:
- After playing just three minutes on Thursday and six on Saturday, Jericho Sims was a DNP-CD on Monday in Toronto for the first time this season, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. As Bondy notes, Sims has played strong defense for the Knicks this fall, but looked lost on offense in his previous two outings. As long as Precious Achiuwa is available, Sims may not be a regular part of Thibodeau’s rotation.
- Raptors forward RJ Barrett, who faced his former team on Monday nearly a year after being traded from New York to Toronto, told reporters that he wasn’t shocked when he was moved: “You can tell when you’re treated a certain way.” As Bondy observes, Barrett’s shot attempts and scoring average declined during his final year with the Knicks as he became a third option on offense behind Brunson and Julius Randle. “Lots of stuff (gave me that vibe that I was going to be traded). Lots of stuff,” Barrett said. “I think I just got a vibe, kind of figured. I wasn’t really too surprised when it happened.”
- John Calipari, who coached Towns at Kentucky, helped the former Wildcat get over the initial shock of being traded from Minnesota to New York earlier this fall, as Bondy details in a separate New York Post story. “First of all, you’re surprised when you’re an All-Star and you’re traded. And then the second thing is, you’re going to be hurt,” Calipari said. “Why did they do it? Why would they do it? And in the end, that’s why I told him, ‘Please, (the Knicks) are perfect for you. Don’t worry about all the other stuff. Move on. … No looking back. You’re not bitter. You’re on to the next thing.'”
Raptors Star Scottie Barnes Suffers Right Ankle Injury
Raptors star Scottie Barnes exited Monday’s game against the Knicks with what the team called a right ankle sprain, according to ESPN’s News Services. However, there is concern that the injury to his right ankle and foot could be more severe.
Barnes was helped off the court by teammates before hopping to the locker room, unable to put weight on his right foot. The injury occurred when he contested Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns‘s shot during the third quarter and Towns came down on Barnes’ foot near the basket (video link).
Initial X-rays were negative, according to head coach Darko Rajakovic, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. However, it’s anticipated Barnes will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. He’ll be reevaluated on Tuesday morning, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet adds (via Twitter).
Barnes has already missed 11 games this season due a right orbital fracture. He entered the game averaging 21 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists per contest.
Barnes signed a five-year max extension and the contract’s value would increase if he made an All-NBA team this season. However, another extended absence would extinguish any chance of that happening due to the 65-game rule.