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Anfernee Simons

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Wolves, Hyland, Jackson, Sexton

February 24th, 2023 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers continued to deal with a number of injury absences as the second half of their season got underway on Thursday night. As Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian writes, Jusuf Nurkic (calf), Justise Winslow (ankle), and Anfernee Simons (ankle) are still on the shelf for Portland.

Nurkic hasn’t returned to practice yet, though Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups said the veteran center is “getting better.” Winslow, meanwhile, has begun taking part in non-contact drills, while Simons is doing weight-bearing activities but no on-court work.

The Trail Blazers opted to give Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant the night off on Thursday following a series of weather-related travel days that saw Portland players spend several hours on the team plane on both Wednesday and Thursday. The club’s resulting starting lineup in Sacramento was an odd one that featured three trade-deadline additions (Cam Reddish, Matisse Thybulle, and Ryan Arcidiacono) along with two reserves (Drew Eubanks and Nassir Little).

While the Blazers lost in Sacramento, Billups liked what he saw from Little, whose 26 points were easily a season high (story via Fentress). Reddish also continued his solid play following the trade that sent him from New York to Portland, scoring 24 points of his own.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • The Timberwolves came close to acquiring Bones Hyland from the Nuggets at this month’s trade deadline, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North said in his podcast The Scoop (hat tip to HoopsHype). According to Wolfson, Minnesota “would have done what the Clippers did” (given up two second-round picks) or even more than that. However, Wolfson believes Denver’s ownership group was reluctant to do any favors for former Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who now runs Minnesota’s front office.
  • Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports spoke to Ish Smith, who previously played with Reggie Jackson in Oklahoma City and Detroit, about what the Nuggets‘ newest point guard can bring to the team. Jackson played 18 minutes in his Denver debut on Thursday, scoring seven points to go along with four rebounds and a pair of assists.
  • Jazz guard Collin Sexton, who strained his left hamstring in the team’s final game before the All-Star break, remains sidelined as a result of that injury. The expectation it that Sexton will be reevaluated on Monday, says Sarah Todd of The Deseret News.
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Anfernee Simons Diagnosed With Grade 2 Ankle Sprain

February 16th, 2023 at 6:05pm CST by Rory Maher

Anfernee Simons has been diagnosed with a grade 2 right ankle sprain after undergoing an MRI on Thursday, the Trail Blazers announced in a press release.

Portland confirmed the fifth-year guard will miss All-Star weekend, which was expected (he was replaced in the three-point contest by Julius Randle). However, his return timeline is hazy, with the Blazers saying it will be determined at a later date.

As Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian notes (via Twitter), grade 2 sprains can be tricky injuries. Simons’ teammate, Justise Winslow, has been out since December 21 due to his own grade 2 ankle sprain, though that seems to be an abnormally slow recovery process.

Another player who dealt with a grade 2 ankle sprain this season was LaMelo Ball, who missed about a month of action to start 2022/23. At the time, Jeff Stotts of InStreetClothes.com reported that players have missed an average of 19 days with the injury, so perhaps Simons will recover quicker than Winslow or Ball. The Blazers are off until next Thursday, so that should help.

Simons sustained the injury in Tuesday’s loss to the Wizards. He drove toward the basket late in the third quarter, pulled up, and attempted a floater over Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma. When he landed, Simons’ right foot came down on Kuzma’s right foot, causing his ankle to roll (video link). He had to be helped off the court by the training staff and was on crutches after the game.

If Simons has to miss extended time after the break, it would be a tough blow for a Blazers team that’s fighting to stay in the play-in mix in the Western Conference. Portland currently has a 28-30 record, putting the club a half-game behind the No. 10 Thunder.

The Blazers don’t have a ton of backcourt depth, so it won’t be easy to replace Simons’ production. Portland’s second-leading scorer is posting career highs in several categories this season, including points (21.4), assists (4.2), rebounds (2.7), FG% (.450) and FT% (.913) through 56 games (35.5 minutes per contest).

Rookie first-rounder Shaedon Sharpe should receive an uptick in minutes with Simons sidelined, but beyond him it’s hard to say who else could be in line for additional playing time. Nassir Little is another candidate, though he’s definitely more of a forward than a guard.

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Knicks Notes: Hartenstein, Grimes, Brunson, Randle

February 16th, 2023 at 11:43am CST by Arthur Hill

Isaiah Hartenstein has been more productive since shaking off the effects of an Achilles injury, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The Knicks’ backup center is averaging 6.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks during his past 12 games and is helping the team survive while Mitchell Robinson is sidelined with a broken thumb.

“I feel like I can do the role that I need to do here a lot better with how good my Achilles is now feeling,” Hartenstein said. “… My main thing was helping the team win. Now it’s coming back where I’m doing the little stuff to help the team win.”

Hartenstein and Jericho Sims have been handling center duties since Robinson was injured on January 18. New York has gone 8-6 without its starting center, who is expected to return after the All-Star break, according to Braziller.

“Anytime someone goes out, and you hate to see anybody be injured, it’s an opportunity for someone else to step in and grow,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I think Jericho getting into that role has really been helpful for him and for us. I said this earlier, I love the depth we have at that position. … I don’t want to overlook the contributions Isaiah’s made. Isaiah has found a really good rhythm. He’s playing really well on both sides of the ball. So we’re getting really good production out of that position.”

There’s more from New York:

  • Quentin Grimes has remained in the starting lineup since the addition of Josh Hart, but his playing time has been reduced, Braziller notes in a separate story. Instead of being upset, Grimes is determined to learn from his new teammate. “He’s definitely a guy you watch out there, see how hard he plays,” Grimes said. “Just go out there and try to match it, because he’s definitely going to make winning plays on and off the ball.”
  • Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News examines how Jalen Brunson‘s father, Knicks assistant Rick Brunson, taught him from a young age to shoot with his left hand. Jalen is naturally right-handed, so he’s comfortable attacking defenses from either direction. “There’s not a lot of lefties,” he said. “So I guess everything is the opposite for defenders. I just think it’s a little unorthodox.”
  • Julius Randle has been selected to replace Anfernee Simons in this weekend’s three-point contest, the NBA announced (via Twitter). The Trail Blazers guard suffered a sprained right ankle Tuesday night.
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Anfernee Simons To Undergo MRI On Injured Ankle

February 15th, 2023 at 12:44pm CST by Luke Adams

12:44pm: Simons’ MRI will take place on Thursday, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

10:18am: Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons exited Tuesday’s loss to Washington in the third quarter due to a sprained right ankle and didn’t return. According to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian, X-rays on Simons’ ankle were negative, but he’s expected to undergo an MRI on Wednesday to further diagnosis the injury.

“I guess we’ll kind of see the severity tomorrow,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said after Tuesday’s game. “We’ll get an MRI on it. It didn’t look awesome, though.”

The injury occurred with about 12 second left in the third quarter. Simons drove toward the basket, pulled up, and attempted a jump shot over Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma. When he landed, Simons’ right foot came down on Kuzma’s right foot, causing his ankle to roll (video link). He had to be helped off the court by the training staff and was on crutches after the game, Fentress notes.

Simons accepted an invitation to compete in the 3-point contest at All-Star weekend, but his participation is likely in jeopardy now.

If Simons has to miss extended time after the break, it would be a tough blow for a Blazers team that’s fighting to stay in the play-mix in the Western Conference. Portland currently has a 28-30 record, putting the club a half-game behind the No. 10 Jazz.

Simons is the Blazers’ second-leading scorer this season with 21.4 PPG on .450/.381/.913 shooting, and the team’s backcourt isn’t especially deep after the team moved Gary Payton II and Josh Hart at last week’s trade deadline.

Rookie Shaedon Sharpe and newly acquired veteran Ryan Arcidiacono would be among the candidates for increased roles with Simons out. Portland could also lean more heavily on wings like Cam Reddish, Matisse Thybulle, and Nassir Little.

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Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard Headline 3-Point Contest Field

February 14th, 2023 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton will participate in this weekend’s 3-point contest in addition to the All-Star Game, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The eight-man field will be filled out by four non-All-Stars, according to Charania: Lillard’s Blazers teammate Anfernee Simons, Haliburton’s Pacers teammate Buddy Hield, Heat guard Tyler Herro, and Kings wing Kevin Huerter.

Some of those names had been previously reported, but Charania is the first to reveal all eight participants.

The eight-man field includes just one player who has previously won the event. Hield was the 3-point champion back in 2020 when he was still a member of the Kings. He also has the highest 3PT% of any of this season’s participants at 42.3% — that ranks 11th in the NBA among qualified players in 2022/23, so none of the league’s top 10 shooters are participating.

Last year’s winner, Karl-Anthony Towns, remains sidelined for the Timberwolves due to a calf strain, so he won’t get the chance to defend his title.

Markkanen will be the hometown favorite, with the event scheduled to take place this coming Saturday in Salt Lake City.

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Scotto’s Latest: Nets, Bridges, Grizzlies, Blazers, Lewis, Raptors, Spurs

February 9th, 2023 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have already officially completed one blockbuster trade this week and have agreed to another, but the belief around the NBA is that they’re not done dealing yet. Five executives tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that they’re prepared for Brooklyn to break up a glut of wings before Thursday’s trade deadline.

After acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith from Dallas, the Nets are poised to add Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Jae Crowder to a group of wings that already includes Royce O’Neale and shooters like Joe Harris, Seth Curry, and Patty Mills. Crowder is known to be available, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported last night, but it’s a safe bet the Nets will be getting inquiries on several other players too.

According to Scotto, several teams – including the Grizzlies – have called the Nets to ask about Bridges. In addition to talking to Brooklyn about Bridges, Memphis has spoken to the Raptors about OG Anunoby and has expressed a willingness to give up multiple first-round picks for either player, Scotto reports. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) has heard the Nets would be able to secure up to three first-rounders for Bridges if they’re willing to flip him.

While the terms of the Durant and Irving deals suggest the Nets are comfortable stockpiling draft picks, the team will likely be on the lookout for promising young players on rookie contracts too — league sources tell Scotto that Brooklyn tried to get Josh Green and Jaden Hardy from Dallas as part of the Irving trade.

Here’s more from Scotto:

  • The Trail Blazers are among the teams with interest in Raptors forward OG Anunoby, and Blazers guards Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons both have fans in Toronto, Scotto says. However, Portland would be reluctant to part with Sharpe in particular, since the team believes the rookie has All-Star upside, per Scotto.
  • The Pelicans, another one of the teams talking to the Raptors about Anunoby, have dangled draft pick compensation as the centerpiece of potential offers for the Toronto forward. Scotto confirms that New Orleans is willing to move Naji Marshall, Jaxson Hayes, and/or Devonte’ Graham, and adds Kira Lewis to the list of Pelicans players who are available in trade discussions.
  • Scotto has the details on the draft picks the Raptors are sending the Spurs in the Jakob Poeltl trade, reporting that the 2024 first-round pick will be top-six protected through 2026, while the two second-rounders headed to San Antonio are Toronto’s 2023 and 2025 picks.
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Northwest Notes: Hyland, Gordon, Towns, Blazers

February 1st, 2023 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets guard Bones Hyland would be open to a trade that allows him to secure a larger role on a new team, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report stated during Tuesday night’s broadcast of the Pelicans/Nuggets game in Denver (Twitter video link).

While Haynes’ info is new, it lines up with what we’ve heard during the last week from other reporters. Jake Fischer said last Friday that “occasional clashes” between Hyland and Nuggets head coach Michael Malone were a factor in Denver’s willingness to gauge his trade market, while Marc Stein alluded this week to “tensions” about the second-year guard’s playing time.

Hyland averaged 19.0 minutes per game during his rookie season in 2021/22 and has played a similar role in year two, logging 19.5 MPG so far in ’22/23. He’s tied for seventh among Nuggets players in minutes per game, but is one of the team’s top five scorers with 12.1 PPG.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • In a conversation with Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon spoke about the importance of continuity in Denver, his experience playing alongside Nikola Jokic, and the odds of earning his first All-Star nod. “It would mean a lot to me,” Gordon said of the All-Star possibility. “I hope I make it.”
  • There’s still no set return timeline for injured Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns, who remains out indefinitely due to his calf injury, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said on Tuesday during a radio appearance on KFAN 100.3 (Twitter link via Dane Moore). However, the team’s “full expectation” is that Towns will return at some point this season, Connelly added.
  • After resetting their roster last season with a series of major trades, the Trail Blazers – tied for 11th in the West with a 24-26 record – seem to be back in no-man’s land, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. O’Connor considers what moves Portland can make around star point guard Damian Lillard to become a contender, arguing that center Jusuf Nurkic is a weak link and that the team should be open to the idea of moving any of Anfernee Simons, Josh Hart, and Shaedon Sharpe if the return is right.
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Northwest Notes: Wolves, Simons, Adelman, Conley

January 19th, 2023 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves are off to a disappointing 22-24 start this season, but Rudy Gobert‘s former teammates continue to preach patience and still believe the center can be successful in Minnesota, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Gobert’s fellow All-Star in Utah, Donovan Mitchell, says he let friends Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell know that building rapport with the big man on both sides of the ball wouldn’t be an overnight process.

“I told them, ‘It’s not just going to happen,'” Mitchell said. “‘You’ve gotta stay building that bond and chemistry. It’s going to take time to see it continuously build gradually.'”

Meanwhile, ex-colleagues of Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly have faith in the former Nuggets executive’s ability to right the ship in Minnesota, raving about his ability to stay positive in the face of adversity, as Krawczynski details in another story for The Athletic.

“This may sound strange, but in a long, emotional NBA season, he’s going to find a way to bring some comedy and some lightness to it, which I think is needed,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said of Connelly. “I’m sure everybody here in Minnesota is not happy with their play. Getting down and getting negative will not help that. That will only make it worse. So Tim is definitely the guy that can get this team out of that.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • Appearing on the Rip City Radio 620 show in Portland, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report said he hasn’t heard anything so far about the Trail Blazers dangling players in trade talks, though he acknowledged that could change within the next three weeks (story via Matthew Legros of Blazer’s Edge). Haynes added that the team considers guard Anfernee Simons close to untouchable.
  • Filling in this week for Michael Malone, who was placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Nuggets assistant coach David Adelman received a strong endorsement from two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscription required). Jokic believes it’s just a matter of time before Adelman is named a permanent head coach by an NBA team. “I really think that DA’s a guy who’s gonna be next head coach because he has that, I’m gonna say ‘head’ for a head coach,” Jokic said. “… He knows the answers. He reads, reacts.”
  • Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune explores the rumors linking Jazz point guard Mike Conley to the Clippers and considers what a trade package might look like. Larsen suggests that a combination like Robert Covington, John Wall, and one minimum-salary or near-minimum player might work, adding that Utah could seek a second-round pick depending on who that third player is.
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21 More NBA Players Become Trade-Eligible

January 15th, 2023 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

Today is Sunday, January 15, which means that nearly two dozen players who signed free agent contracts meeting specific criteria this past offseason are now eligible to be traded.

Most offseason signees became trade-eligible on December 15, but players who met the following criteria were ineligible to be moved for an extra month:

  1. The player re-signed with his previous team.
  2. He got a raise of at least 20%.
  3. His salary is worth more than the minimum.
  4. His team was over the cap and used Bird or Early Bird rights to sign him.

The following players met that criteria and are eligible to be traded as of Sunday:

(* Players marked with an asterisk have the ability to veto trades.)

Most of the players on NBA rosters are now eligible to be moved, though a small handful still can’t be dealt. That group includes Thunder guard Isaiah Joe, who becomes trade-eligible on Monday, Bucks swingman Pat Connaughton (trade-eligible on Wednesday), and Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (trade-eligible on Friday).

There are also several players who won’t become trade-eligible before this season’s February 9 deadline, including Lakers star LeBron James. Players on 10-day contracts are also ineligible to be dealt.

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Northwest Notes: Porter Jr., Payton II, Simons, Agbaji

December 12th, 2022 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. participated in practice on a limited basis Monday for the first time since he suffered a heel injury, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets. Porter is unlikely to play Wednesday against the Wizards but the team is hopeful he can keep progressing at practice this week, including contact and live drills. He hasn’t played since Nov. 22.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • Guard Gary Payton II is targeting his season debut in the next week or two, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. Payton signed a three-year, $26MM contract with the Trail Blazers as an unrestricted free agent in July, then had core muscle surgery during the offseason. Payton was a key rotation player on the Warriors’ championship team and the Blazers view him as a valuable reserve.
  • Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups has invested more time with Anfernee Simons than anyone else on the roster and it’s paying off, Jason Quick of The Athletic writes. Simons, who signed a four-year, $100MM extension during the summer, is averaging 24.2 points and is shooting 39.2% from 3-point range. “He’s still like PlayDoh; we are still shaping him,” Billups said. “He’s still scratching the surface, in my opinion.”
  • It’s been a rough rookie campaign for the Jazz’s Ochai Agbaji thus far, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News notes. The No. 14 overall pick has only appeared in 11 games, averaging 9.5 MPG, and has also struggled at the G League level. The Jazz are still sold on the former Kansas standout’s raw talent and athleticism.
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