Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Amen Thompson

Southwest Notes: Jones, DeRozan, Rose, Pippen Jr., Thompson

September 17th, 2024 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tre Jones has started 113 games for the Spurs at the point over the past two seasons. He’ll likely be relegated to the second unit this season with the free agent addition of Chris Paul. Jones isn’t upset about losing his starting job to a future Hall of Famer, as he told Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

“It was extreme excitement right away,” Jones said of the Spurs signing Paul. “To be able to learn from a generational point guard like that, it’s something I’ll never take for granted.”

Jones looks at the upcoming season as a learning experience.

“He’s a guy who thinks the game at such a high level,” he said. “He’s been on some of the best teams and been around some of the greatest to play the game. He’s gone to the Finals. He’s been in huge moments in the playoffs. Just being able to pick his brain and learn from him all year – I’m going to take full advantage of that.”

It’s a crucial season for Jones — he’s entering his walk year and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • The Spurs showed some interest in bringing free agent wing DeMar DeRozan back to San Antonio, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports. At the same time, the Spurs made it clear they would be willing to help him get to the team of his choice by helping facilitate a three-team trade. And that’s exactly what happened, as DeRozan was dealt by the Bulls in a sign-and-trade transaction to the Kings in a three-team swap. Harrison Barnes was sent to San Antonio as part of that trade.
  • The backup point guard spot is the biggest question hovering over the Grizzlies, according to Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Derrick Rose and Scotty Pippen Jr. are the top candidates for the job, but Rose has struggled with injuries in recent seasons and only appeared in 24 games last season. Pippen played well in the second half of the season but didn’t play much with the team’s biggest stars due to the team’s injury issues. If neither of them emerges, Memphis may have to lean on non-traditional options like Marcus Smart and Desmond Bane to back up Ja Morant at the point, Cole writes.
  • Amen Thompson‘s versatility makes it difficult to pinpoint what position he’s best suited to play, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle notes. When Thompson was at his most impactful last season, he defended point guards, but offensively was more of a rim-running center, according to Feigen. However, Rockets coach Ime Udoka said he plans to have Thompson back up Fred VanVleet at the point this season.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Southwest Notes: Thompson, Jackson, Wembanyama, Thompson

September 12th, 2024 at 9:34am CST by Dana Gauruder

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka says that second-year swingman Amen Thompson stands out among the players that look stronger heading into training camp, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Thompson is ready to have a much improved season after appearing in 62 games last season and averaging 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 22.4 minutes per night as a rookie.

“I feel a lot different,” Thompson said. “Just getting stronger, getting faster, getting more athletic. Just a lot of growth this summer, and I feel like that’s translated to the court.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • Grizzlies forward GG Jackson underwent foot surgery on Sept. 4 and Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal spoke with an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon to get an estimated timeline for when Jackson might get back on the court. The expert believes a three-month recovery period sounds reasonable. “Three months is a pretty safe number,” Dr. Kenneth Jung said. “He’s just got to be able to get into basketball-shape physically and mentally. Whether he’s back to full expectations of what the fans and coaches expect, that may be a different number.”
  • Big things are expected of Victor Wembanyama in his second NBA season. The Spurs big man is the co-betting favorite with the Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley to win the Most Improved Player award. Wembanyama is also the heavy favorite to take Defensive Player of the Year honors, according to Grant Afseth of DraftKings Network.
  • On his Substack page, Dallas Sports Journal, Afseth takes an in-depth look at how Klay Thompson can play off of Mavericks star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Afseth anticipates Thompson will significantly bolster the team’s offensive arsenal with his ability to stretch the floor and take quick-trigger shots, among other skills.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

And-Ones: Sophomores, PFs, Title Favorites, 2025 Cap Room

August 27th, 2024 at 6:33pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The 2023 draft class was a massive success, with rookies like Victor Wembanyama and Brandon Miller looking like stars for their respective teams. The depth and variety in last season’s rookies was noteworthy, with some like Jaime Jaquez and Brandin Podziemski impressing for playoff contenders as later and older draft picks, while others like Amen Thompson and Dereck Lively shouldered big minutes as younger players.

That doesn’t even factor in Chet Holmgren, who missed what would have been his rookie season in 2022/23 with an injury. In most years, the competition between Wembanyama and other rookies would’ve been nonexistent, but Holmgren stepped forward as another star rookie who helped the Thunder secure the No. 1 seed.

In an article for ESPN+, Jeremy Woo takes a look at and ranks the NBA’s 10m most interesting sophomores. Woo’s list is subjective, so he didn’t include players like Jaquez, Podziemski and Lively since they don’t have as much to gain as others on this list in his eyes, focusing instead on players who hold more intrigue due to their upside

Unsurprisingly, Wembanyama (No. 1), Holmgren (No. 3) and Miller (No. 4) all rank highly. Woo has Houston’s Thompson twin ranking in at No. 2 though, explaining that he has the highest potential of any player on the Rockets and opining that he’s in an ideal situation for his development. Orlando’s Anthony Black also ranks highly as an impact player who has the potential to help shape the Magic’s future.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • After ranking other positions, HoopsHype released their power forward rankings ahead of the 2024/25 season. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the obvious pick at No. 1, but both Zion Williamson (No. 2) and Paolo Banchero (No. 3) rose after successful seasons. GG Jackson came in at No. 22 in the rankings following an impressive rookie season as a second-round pick. Jackson came in at No. 10 on Woo’s list of intriguing sophomores.
  • The Celtics rank as an early favorite to become repeat champions after an offseason in which they retained all their key pieces and extended some. However, health and general luck could work against them next season, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report opines. No team has repeated as champs since the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, so a Boston repeat is far from a given, even though they had a tremendous offseason. Pincus ranks the top 10 contenders in the NBA and offers arguments against each one winning next year’s title.
  • Based on current projections, only the Nets and the Wizards will have enough cap space to offer a max contract next summer, as Danny Leroux of The Athletic observes. Leroux looks over the projected 2025 cap sheets for all 30 teams across the league, identifying the Rockets, Heat and Bulls as some of the more interesting cases in 2025. The Rockets could keep the roster together or might be inclined to part with Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green while opening up as much as $69MM in space. Meanwhile, the Heat’s situation is dependent on what Jimmy Butler wants to do, while the Bulls could create space if they move off Zach LaVine or Nikola Vucevic.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Western Notes: DeRozan, Rockets, Suns, D. Jones

August 12th, 2024 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

New Kings wing DeMar DeRozan is staying sharp in California. DeRozan erupted for 54 points for the Mecca Cheaters in the Drew League championship game on Sunday, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee relays. The Drew League is a pro-am event held every year in Los Angeles. DeRozan was named the game’s MVP after his team erased a 16-point deficit in the final five minutes and pulled out a one-point victory.

A free agent last month, DeRozan was acquired from the Bulls in a blockbuster, three-team deal.  His new contract with the Kings is worth approximately $74MM over three years.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • The Rockets are doing some early bonding, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jalen Green is hosting a players-only minicamp in Los Angeles this week with Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson among the teammates expected to show up.
  • The Suns are hiring Oronde Taliaferro as their director of scouting, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Taliaferro, who is expected to focus on college scouting, was previously a scout for the Nets.
  • The Thunder‘s Dillon Jones, the No. 26 overall pick, is one of the most interesting rookies in this class, Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated opines. Oklahoma City was interested in selecting Jones, a Weber State product, in the second round last year before he opted to return to college to improve his stock. The Thunder gave up five second-round picks in a deadline-deal with the Knicks to acquire the 26th pick. Jones could play a variety of positions for a coaching staff that enjoys tinkering with rotations and lineups.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Southwest Notes: Murray, Paul, Barnes, K. Thompson, Robinson, A. Thompson

July 11th, 2024 at 9:16am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans’ success next season will likely hinge on the partnership between newly acquired Dejounte Murray and incumbent franchise player Zion Williamson. Murray wants to make Williamson an ever bigger threat, according to Brett Martel of The Associated Press.

“I told him I’m going to push him,” said Murray, who was officially dealt to the Pelicans over the weekend. “If I see something I think he can be better at, if he sees something to me, we’re going to be open to that. … I’m excited to push him to the next level because there are a bunch of levels he can reach.”

Murray’s name was prominent in the rumor mill prior to last season’s trade deadline. He made it known through his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, that the Pelicans appealed to him.

“One of the things Rich said to us was, ‘You really need to go try to get Dejounte Murray,'” said Pelicans executive VP David Griffin, per Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “We sort of laughed. We said, ‘We tried to do that at the trade deadline. We weren’t able to make something happen that made sense for both sides.’ But when he shared for us the excitement Dejounte had for our situation, it was really an eye-opening thing. It was meaningful to us.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • After getting waived by the Warriors, Chris Paul chose the Spurs despite his lack of a championship ring. Paul will likely return to a starting role with San Antonio and that was a deciding factor, according to Andrew Lopez on ESPN. “I want to play more than anything,” he said. Newly-acquired Harrison Barnes had a 10% trade bonus that he waived in order to help facilitate the deal involving the Kings, Spurs and Bulls. Barnes called it “a pretty easy decision,” adding, “It’s funny, with the new CBA, the trade kicker became more of a play than I was expecting, but I think the opportunity just to come here and to be able play for Pop (Gregg Popovich) and play with this group I think is exciting.”
  • Klay Thompson said during his introductory press conference that the Mavericks are a perfect fit for him at this stage of his career, Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com relays. “Whether you play basketball or work in the corporate world, sometimes change can spur greatness and a new change of scenery can do wonders,” Thompson said. “And I’m very grateful for my time at Golden State. But I just felt like moving on could re-energize me and do something special for the rest of my career. … When I was watching the Mavs make a run for the championship, I just saw myself fitting in really well with this team. They looked like they had fun playing with each other and they played for each other. That was very attractive for me. That’s really all I needed to see.”
  • Former Heat big man Orlando Robinson is on the Rockets’ Summer League roster, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. Robinson was waived on July 7 before his $2.1MM contract became guaranteed. He cleared waivers on Tuesday. Robinson appeared in 36 contests for Miami in 2023/24, averaging 2.8 points on a .500/.533/.760 shooting line. Robinson also chipped in 2.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists per night.
  • Rockets guard Amen Thompson, who is a member of the USA Select Team this summer, said Houston coach Ime Udoka is “reasonably hard” on his players, he told Sam Yip of HoopsHype. “He’s kind of similar to some coaches I’ve had in the past. The thing that’s different about him is he can get in the mix with us, like he’s a player,” he said. “I’ve never had a coach that played in the NBA. When he talks, I gotta listen because he’s been there. He’s reasonably hard on everybody. He doesn’t go crazy, but he’s reasonably hard.”
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

USA Basketball Announces 15-Man Select Team

June 28th, 2024 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has announced in a press release that a 15-man Select Team will train with the U.S. Olympic squad as it prepares for the upcoming Olympics. The Select Team, which is made up mostly of younger players and some who have previous Team USA experience, will work out with the men’s national team in Las Vegas from July 6-8.

The members of the Select Team are as follows:

Perhaps the most notable name on the list is Flagg, who has committed to Duke and will begin his first college basketball season in the fall. He’s viewed as a strong candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

Duren, Galloway, Murphy, Murray, and Pritchard were part of the U.S. Select Team that trained with the national team ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

It’s possible some of these players will use their Select Team experience as a springboard to represent Team USA in international competitions down the road. Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, and Tyrese Haliburton are among the players on this year’s Olympic team that were members of a Select Team earlier in their respective careers.

The select team will be coached by Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, who will be joined by assistants Jim Boylen and Matt Painter. Boylen, a former Bulls head coach and current Pacers assistant, was Team USA’s head coach during the qualifying contests. Painter has been the longtime head coach at Purdue.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Announces 2023/24 All-Rookie Teams

May 20th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA officially unveiled the two All-Rookie teams for the 2023/24 season on Monday (Twitter links). The teams are as follows:

First Team

Second Team

Unsurprisingly, Wembanyama and Holmgren were unanimous selections to the first team (Twitter link). Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Wembanyama was also the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year, with Holmgren receiving all but one second-place vote for that award.

The entire first team mirrored the Rookie of the Year balloting, with Miller, Jaquez and Podziemski coming in third through fifth. Lively received the most points for the second team, followed by Thompson, George, Wallace and Jackson.

Jackson is the only All-Rookie member who wasn’t drafted in the first round; he was selected 45th overall in 2023 and initially signed a two-way contract. He was converted to a standard contract in February.

The current youngest player in the NBA, Jackson didn’t start receiving regular minutes until mid-January. The 19-year-old put up some big numbers down the stretch though, including 31 points and 44 points in the final two games of the season.

Jackson beat out Warriors big man Trayce Jackson-Davis for the final spot on the second team by a single point. Jackson actually received fewer overall votes (38 vs. 42 for Jackson-Davis), but earned the nod by receiving five first-team votes, which were worth two points apiece (second-team votes were worth one point each).

A total of 22 rookies received at least one vote. Aside from Jackson-Davis, the other top finishers who didn’t make the cut were Pistons forward Ausar Thompson (35 points), Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (33), and Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly (14). Ausar is Amen’s identical twin brother.

All-Rookie was one of the awards that didn’t require players to meet the newly instituted 65-game minimum. Jackson, Lively, Thompson, and Wallace didn’t meet that criteria, but they were still eligible for All-Rookie honors.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Southwest Notes: Thompson, Sochan, Jones, Mavs

March 31st, 2024 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

While Jalen Green has been the breakout star of the Rockets‘ recent hot streak, the contributions of Amen Thompson during the team’s 11 straight wins shouldn’t be overlooked, Tim MacMahon of ESPN said on the latest Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link).

After spending most of his rookie season coming off the bench, Thompson has started the past nine games and is averaging 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 30.2 minutes per game during that stretch. While he has provided secondary scoring and play-making for the Rockets, it’s Thompson’s defensive ability that excites the team the most, according to MacMahon.

“The Rockets believe – and have data to back up – that he can be the best non-big defender in the NBA really soon,” MacMahon said.

The primary knock against Thompson is that he has yet to develop an outside shot — he has made just 8-of-55 three-point attempts this season, for an ugly conversion rate of 14.5%. If he can eventually add that facet to his game, his ceiling would only grow higher.

“He’s a jump shot away from being an All-Star for sure, and possibly higher than that,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps added.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan suffered a left ankle impingement during Friday’s win over New York, jeopardizing his availability for the rest of this season, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. As Orsborn notes, Sochan hasn’t missed a game this season and had expressed a desire to play in all 82, but he has been ruled out for Sunday’s contest against Golden State and figures to miss more time beyond that.
  • Pelicans forward Herbert Jones met the 65-game criteria for end-of-season award consideration on Saturday night, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. It was technically Jones’ 68th game of the season, but he played between 15 and 20 minutes in five of them, and only two of those outings could count toward his 65-game minimum. Jones is considered a strong candidate for one of the 10 All-Defensive spots and could earn Defensive Player of the Year consideration as well.
  • The Mavericks‘ backcourt duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have come a long way over the past 13-plus months, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). As Townsend observes, the two stars first played together against Sacramento last February, so this week’s back-to-back victories over the Kings, which extended Dallas’ win streak to six games, represented an encouraging full-circle moment. “I always said, this training camp, when got some practices in together, it would be way easier for us to function better,” Doncic said. “And I think it shows, especially now. I think we’re both happy and we’re both doing some good things on the floor. And we have great teammates. So I think this team is special.”
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Texas Notes: Spurs, Luka, VanVleet, Thompson

March 24th, 2024 at 3:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic appears to be growing as a leader in Dallas, opines Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. After Dallas survived a poor shooting night from its best player to beat the Spurs 113-107 this past Tuesday, Doncic expressed his gratitude to his teammates.

“One of the biggest things after the game is he thanked his teammates in the locker room for picking him up,” head coach Jason Kidd said. “When a leader says that, those are big words. You come into the locker room and you don’t shoot the ball extremely well, but you rely on being the quarterback and other guys picked him up.”

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

  • Standout Spurs rookie center Victor Wembanyama is relishing his tenure under five-time title-winning head coach Gregg Popovich, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “It’s pretty precious and one of the reasons that make this place the best place,” Wembanyama said.
  • Veteran Spurs point guard Devonte’ Graham has emerged as a locker room leader with the club this season, despite not seeing much time on the hardwood, Orsborn adds. “Obviously, we are not going to be playing much basketball in late April, but Devonte’ Graham on our team has held us together,” Popovich said. “He comes out every day whether at shootaround or practice or whatever we might be doing and is in the middle of everything, upbeat.” 
  • The league has rescinded a technical foul assessed to Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet during the team’s 127-117 victory over the Bulls on Thursday, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • Rockets rookie forward Amen Thompson has been frequently tasked with covering opposing centers defensively, with starting Houston five Alperen Sengun now out for the season, writes Feigen in another piece. Head coach Ime Udoka has been able to mitigate the 6’7″ Thompson’s lack of a jumper by exploiting his athleticism in matchups against bigger, less mobile centers. “Him in the roll, him in the pocket with his passing ability is an asset to have,” Udoka said. “We’ve mentioned guys like Ben Simmons, guys like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) who have done similar things at times in their career. He can learn to implement those things.” Across his last five contests, Thompson has averaged 16.4 PPG on 64.2% shooting from the floor, along with 9.4 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 1.2 SPG. “You’ve seen him improve just with the playing time alone, let alone the role we’re asking him to do,” Udoka continued. “A guy that’s had the ball in his hands his whole career, you put him out there with Fred and Jalen (Green) in the starting lineup now, you kind of have to divide those opportunities, the ball-handling duties. He does impact it in other ways.”
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Southwest Notes: Irving, Bane, Collins, Rockets

March 19th, 2024 at 2:08pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving hit a remarkable game-winner on Sunday against Denver (YouTube link), converting a left-handed floater/hook shot over Nikola Jokic as time expired. The game was tied prior to Irving’s heroics, with impressive back-and-forth shot-making from both teams in the final two minutes.

According to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com, Irving’s teammates lavished praise on the eight-time All-Star after the game.

“Unbelievable, man,” Luka Doncic said. “I don’t think people realize how tough of a shot that is. With the off-hand, like even to have a chance. I don’t think I have seen anything that special.”

“I’ve seen a lot of great shots, but I think that one takes the cake,” added Dereck Lively.

Irving discussed the shot and the challenges of playing during Ramadan at his post-game media session (YouTube link via ESPN).

Here’s more from the Southwest:

  • Grizzlies guard/forward Desmond Bane, who returned to action on Saturday after missing two-plus months with a Grade 3 left ankle sprain, recently sat down for an interview with Michael Wallace of Grind City Media (Twitter video link via the team). Bane said he’s still trying to regain his conditioning after a lengthy absence. He also discussed Memphis’ young players and the team’s motivation for the rest of the season.
  • Spurs backup center Zach Collins has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol, tweets Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News, who notes that the 26-year-old “took a spill” in Sunday’s overtime victory over Brooklyn. In a related move, the Spurs have recalled big man Dominick Barlow from a G League assignment ahead of Tuesday’s game vs. Dallas (Twitter link via McDonald).
  • It’s a small sample size (three games), but the Rockets have been playing well without third-year center Alperen Sengun, who is likely out for the season with ankle and knee injuries, by playing at a faster pace, spacing the floor and crashing the glass with smaller lineups, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). Rookie guard/forward Amen Thompson has been inserted into the starting lineup at power forward and he’s averaging 14.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.7 SPG while shooting 76% from the floor in the three victories (25.4 MPG). “Being small but how fast we are, defensive rebounding, we are able to push the pace, outrun every team,” Thompson said. “That’s really what’s happened. Just push it up and get a lot of fast breaks.”
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts