Devin Vassell Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Leonard, Wiseman, Vassell, Adams

November 7th, 2022 at 8:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There’s no timetable for Kawhi Leonard‘s return to action, though coach Tyronn Lue says things are moving in the right direction, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN reports.

Leonard will miss his eighth straight game when the Clippers host Cleveland on Monday. He was sidelined all of last season while rehabbing from a knee injury and has only appeared in two games this season.

“There’s really not a time frame of when he is going to be back,” Lue said. “The biggest thing is just the testing that he has to go through with the medical and the slow progression of just getting better every single day. And so we’re just taking it day by day right now, not really a timetable.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

James Wiseman has made a minimal impact off the Warriors bench, but coach Steve Kerr says the former No. 2 overall pick can handle the stress of his slow start, Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News tweets. “He knows how to overcome adversity,” Kerr said. “We have to help him because modern life is unforgiving and people don’t take into account organic growth. Everyone wants results right now. It’s not going to be that way.”
Spurs swingman Devin Vassell is hopeful that his minutes limit will soon be lifted, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News. Vassell played 25 minutes apiece in two weekend games after missing four games due to a sore knee. “I was itching to get back out there,” Vassell said. “I’ve been sitting the past couple of games, and I was sitting there watching long enough, so I wanted to be out there.”
The Grizzlies signed Steven Adams to a two-year extension because he’s the anchor of their interior defense. His toughness and strength continues to marvel his teammates, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. “He makes me feel like I shouldn’t be out here,” said forward Brandon Clarke, who often matches up against Adams in practice. “It’s like I’m trying to get the board and he’s not moving. He’s the strongest person I’ve ever played against.” Adams was out of the lineup on Monday due to ankle soreness, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets.

Spurs Notes: Wesley, Collins, Vassell, Primo

October 29th, 2022 at 8:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Spurs‘ decision to waive Joshua Primo has created an opportunity for rookie guard Blake Wesley, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Wesley made his NBA debut Friday night and posted 10 points and four assists in 15 minutes in a victory over the Bulls. He showed none of the shooting problems that plagued him in Summer League, hitting 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range.

“You got to stay ready,” said Wesley, who was taken with the 25th pick in this year’s draft. “I was just ready today.”

Wesley may be joining lottery pick Jeremy Sochan in San Antonio’s rotation, but McDonald notes that Malaki Branham, who was taken 20th overall, is still waiting to play in his first game.

There’s more on the Spurs:

With injury problems behind him, Zach Collins is off to a strong start, McDonald adds. The backup center had his best game of the season Friday, putting up 16 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. He has reached double figures in scoring in three of the past five games. “Defense, passing and honestly shooting has been good all season,” Collins said. “(Friday) I took more shots and they went in. Hopefully, I keep this rolling.”
Devin Vassell will miss his third straight game Sunday against the Timberwolves because of pain in his right knee, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Coach Gregg Popovich told reporters Friday that there’s no timetable for Vassell to return. Josh Richardson is questionable for Sunday’s game because of lower back tightness.
Noting that Primo referred to a mental health issue in his statement on Friday night, Orsborn (Twitter link) points out that the Spurs hired a performance psychologist in September 2021. The psychologist was required under the NBA’s newly adopted mental health policy, and teams are also required to enlist a licensed psychiatrist when necessary, according to Orsborn.

Southwest Notes: Wood, Tate, Pelicans, Spurs

October 25th, 2022 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks star Luka Doncic likes what he has seen from new teammate Christian Wood so far this season, as Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News writes. Wood has racked up 50 points and 20 rebounds in just 49 minutes of action in his first two games with Dallas.

“He’s a great player,” said Doncic, who has a +26.3 net rating when sharing the court with Wood. “He listens to us. He accepts his role, and he’s just doing amazing stuff out there. It’s only two games, but he’s going to be very good for us.”

Wood, who has come off the bench so far, is making a strong case to be promoted to the starting five, but the Mavericks are unlikely to make any immediate changes to their lineup, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic. Dallas’ coaching staff wants to assess its current rotation across a larger sample before drawing any conclusions, Cato explains.

“We’ll look at a 10-game stretch, maybe,” head coach Jason Kidd said. “We can’t do two games and figure that’s the way we’re going to roll. You don’t get enough data.”

Let’s round up a few more items from around the Southwest…

Barring a setback, Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate will return to action on Wednesday in Utah, sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Tate, who signed a new three-year contract with Houston in the offseason, has been on the shelf for the team’s first four games of the season due to a right ankle injury.
Brandon Ingram (concussion protocol), Zion Williamson (right posterior hip / low back contusion) and Herb Jones (right knee hyperextension) have all been ruled out for the Pelicans‘ game vs. Dallas on Tuesday, the team announced (via Twitter). All three players were initially listed as questionable, so they’ll presumably be considered day-to-day going forward.
The Spurs, widely expected to be a player in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, are off to a 3-1 start this season. Swingman Devin Vassell admitted after Monday’s win in Minnesota that the outside expectations for the team have been a motivating factor. “I try not to listen to the outside noise, but I’m not going to lie, it does get frustrating when everybody is talking about tanking, tanking, tanking,” Vassell said, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “We are professional athletes. We all want to play. We all want to win. And that’s how we are going to approach every game.”

Spurs Pick Up 2023/24 Options For Devin Vassell, Joshua Primo

October 10th, 2022 at 3:45pm CST by Rory Maher

The Spurs have exercised their 2023/24 team options on former lottery picks Devin Vassell and Joshua Primo, the team announced.

Both players figure to have bigger roles in ’22/23 after Dejounte Murray was traded to Atlanta over the summer, so it was a mere formality that their options were picked up. Vassell will earn $5,887,899 in ’23/24, his fourth season, while Primo will make $4,341,600 in his third.

Vassell, 22, was the 11th overall pick of the 2020 draft after two seasons with Florida State. After a fairly modest rookie campaign saw him average 17 minutes per contest in 62 games, the wing increased his numbers across the board last season, averaging 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals on .427/.361/.838 shooting in 71 games (32 starts, 27.3 minutes). He recently expressed excitement about the opportunity for an expanded role in ’22/23.

Primo, 19, was the 12th overall pick of last year’s draft after one season with Alabama. He averaged 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 50 games (16 starts, 19.3 minutes) as a rookie last season, but struggled with efficiency, posting a .374/.307/.746 shooting slash line. The versatile Primo, who views himself as a “positionless player,” is currently dealing with a sprained MCL in his left knee, but he should be ready for the regular season opener on October 19.

Southwest Notes: Ingram, Hearn, Vassell, King, Rockets

September 30th, 2022 at 8:43pm CST by Rory Maher

Fans and people around the league didn’t think very highly of the Pelicans when Brandon Ingram signed a five-year extension with the team back in 2020, but that perception is changing, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com (subscription required). Clark notes that Jonas Valanciunas, Zion Williamson and most recently CJ McCollum have all signed extensions with the franchise after Ingram inked his deal a couple years ago.

“It’s a good place to be,” Ingram said about New Orleans. “They see what’s going on. They see how we bond with each other. How we play on the floor. It’s kind of unheard of in the league, having 14 or 15 guys care about each other and believe in each other and actually want to know about each other. It’s pretty different here.”

The Pelicans have historically struggled in the postseason, having failed to advance past the second round in their 20-year existence. Ingram says the team has its sights set on loftier goals.

“The expectation is to win, especially for our team,” Ingram said. “We just have some added fans. We always believed in what we were doing. The expectation is still the same. I don’t know what the outside expectation is. But for us, it’s to bring a championship to New Orleans.”

Ingram had a great playoff run with New Orleans last season. Despite falling to Phoenix in the first round, the Pelicans and Ingram put up a good fight, with the star forward averaging 27.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 6.2 APG on .475/.407/.830 shooting in six games (39.3 MPG).

Here’s more from the Southwest:

Guard Reggie Hearn has decided to retire after nine professional seasons, having agreed to join the Spurs as a scout, sources tell our JD Shaw (Twitter link). As Shaw notes, Hearn spent the majority of his career in the G League, holding career averages of 11.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG on .431/.392/.799 shooting in 317 games (218 starts, 27.7 MPG). Hearn also made a brief appearance with the Pistons in 2018, playing three games while on a two-way contract.
After increasing his averages across the board in year two, former lottery pick Devin Vassell is hoping to have a breakout third season with the Spurs in 2022/23, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. “I don’t think I can put into words how excited I am,” Vassell said. “I think it’s going to be a big year, not only for me but for this organization to grow and build. I can’t wait to get this thing going.”
The Rockets‘ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, have acquired the returning player rights to Louis King from the Westchester Knicks, Shaw tweets. Rio Grande sent Westchester its first-round pick and a second-rounder (via the Maine Celtics) in the NBAGL draft to complete the deal. King holds three years of NBA experience with the Pistons and Kings on two-way contracts. He was waived by Sacramento in February.
In the recently completed eight-player trade that saw Derrick Favors head to Houston, the Rockets received a staggering $6,363,000 in cash from Oklahoma City, per Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). That’s the maximum amount of cash a team can send in a trade in 2022/23. The Thunder, meanwhile, generated two traded player exceptions worth $10.18MM (Favors) and $4.22MM (Ty Jerome), Pincus adds.

COVID-19 Updates: Whiteside, Adams, Barton, Hornets, Spurs, More

January 12th, 2022 at 7:27pm CST by Rory Maher

Jazz center Hassan Whiteside has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter). Utah’s frontcourt depth is extremely depleted; in addition to Whiteside, Rudy Gobert, Rudy Gay, and Udoka Azubuike are all in the protocols, while 10-day hardship signee Norvel Pelle is out Wednesday against Cleveland with a non-COVID illness, Walden tweets. Whiteside is now the sixth Jazz player currently in the protocols.

Here are more COVID-related updates from around the NBA:

Grizzlies center Steven Adams is listed as questionable with a non-COVID illness for Thursday’s contest against Minnesota, Memphis’ PR department tweets, so he has cleared the protocols.
The Nuggets received two pieces of good news, as Will Barton has exited the COVID-19 protocols and Markus Howard, who was supposed to be sidelined at least six weeks with a sprained knee, is listed as questionable for Thursday’s contest against Portland, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). Howard has missed the past four weeks.
The news out of Charlotte is a mixed bag, as Vernon Carey Jr. has cleared the protocols, but rookie big man Kai Jones has entered for the Hornets, per the team’s PR department (Twitter links).
Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell have cleared the protocols for the Spurs and are available Wednesday night against Houston, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News tweets.
Bucks guard Grayson Allen said he was fortunate to have an asymptomatic case of COVID-19 and will be available Thursday against the Warriors, according to Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link). Allen also mentioned that the time away helped him recover from the flu.
Rockets guard Armoni Brooks has cleared the health and safety protocols and is available Wednesday against the Spurs, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Spurs Sign Anthony Lamb After Four Players Enter Protocols

January 6th, 2022 at 4:27pm CST by Rory Maher

4:27pm: The Lamb signing is official, according to a team press release.

1:32pm: The Spurs plan to sign Anthony Lamb to a 10-day contract via a hardship exception after Keldon Johnson, Derrick White, Thaddeus Young and Devin Vassell entered the league’s health and safety protocols, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News was the first to break the four players entering the COVID-19 protocols (via Twitter). The good news is that Lonnie Walker has cleared the protocols and could return to action Friday against the Sixers, a league source told Orsborn (Twitter link).

Lamb, 23, played in the G League bubble with the Canton Charge and Rio Grande Valley Vipers in 2020/21 after going undrafted out of Vermont in 2020. His solid showing for Houston’s G League affiliate (the Vipers) earned him a two-way deal with the Rockets last March. He averaged 5.5 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 24 games (17.3 MPG) for Houston, then accepted his two-way qualifying offer this offseason. However, he was waived on October 18 so that the Rockets could claim Garrison Mathews.

Lamb has spent this season playing with the Vipers, putting up 15.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 2.8 APG on .460/.415/.821 shooting in 13 games (10 starts). The Spurs now have five players in the protocols (the fifth being Doug McDermott), and Lamb will be their third 10-day hardship deal, along with Tyler Johnson and Jaylen Morris.

Spurs Notes: Players’ Meeting, Landale, COVID Concerns, Walker

November 22nd, 2021 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs held a players-only meeting in the locker room after last Thursday’s 25-point loss to the Timberwolves, forward Thaddeus Young informed Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “We took that butt whooping and we went back into the locker room and we talked for 20, 30 minutes, the whole team,” Young said. “Everyone voiced their issues and their points.”

Second-year lottery pick Devin Vassell was among those who spoke most eloquently.

“He basically said, ‘Come on. Let’s try to figure this thing out. Let’s talk about it. Let’s put everything out there on the table,'” Young said.

Young viewed that as a positive sign for the team building around young players.

“That’s what you want from young guys. I could do it, but at the end of the day, you want these younger guys to start stepping up,” Young said (Twitter links here).

San Antonio had the weekend off and will face Phoenix on Monday.

We have more on the Spurs:

Big man Jock Landale has entered the reconditioning phase after being cleared from the league’s health and safety protocols, Orsborn tweets. Landale entered protocols approximately two weeks ago and hasn’t played since November 1.
Though the team is fully vaccinated and some have received booster shots, players are wary of contracting the virus and are taking more precautions on the road, forward Doug McDermott told Orsborn. “That (being vaccinated) still doesn’t mean anything because you still see positive tests. I think a good example was in the NFL,” McDermott said. “You are seeing a lot of positive cases there and I think the same will be true of us (in the NBA) around Thanksgiving.”
Guard Lonnie Walker IV holds no hard feelings toward Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince, Orsborn writes. Prince was ejected after being issued a Flagrant 2 foul for striking Walker in the chest and face during the second half as Walker drove to the basket. “It was fine,” Walker said. “I’ve gotten hit a lot worse than that. I don’t think it was on purpose. I’m real cool with Prince.”

Southwest Notes: Porter Jr., Ingram, Vassell, Martin Jr.

November 7th, 2021 at 9:04pm CST by JD Shaw

The Rockets are showing patience and a commitment to third-year player Kevin Porter Jr., Rahat Huq of the Houston Chronicle writes. Although it was an expected move, Houston recently exercised Porter’s fourth-year option for the 2022/23 season, further cementing the team’s commitment to the guard.

The Rockets, whose young nucleus consists of Porter, Jalen Green, and Alperen Sengun, among others, has opened the season with just a 1-8 record. For his part, Porter has averaged 12.4 points and five assists through nine contests, shooting only 37% from the floor.

Porter’s best performance last season was a 50-point, 11-assist outing against the NBA champion Bucks, which showed his potential as a scorer. The 21-year-old has dealt with some off-the-court issues in the past, however, including a 2020 weapons charge and a well-documented locker-room outburst with the Cavaliers.

There’s more from the Southwest Division tonight:

The Pelicans are listing star forward Brandon Ingram (right hip contusion) as questionable for Monday’s contest against Dallas, the team relayed. Ingram has missed four straight games due to the injury. New Orleans is also listing Herb Jones (ankle soreness) as questionable.
Spurs guard Devin Vassell is on a “good track” to start the season, head coach Gregg Popovich said, as relayed by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Vassell is averaging 11.9 points on 46% shooting and is showing an increased level of confidence to start the season. San Antonio drafted him with the No. 11 pick in 2020.
Rockets second-year player Kenyon Martin Jr. is continuing to earn playing time with the team, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Martin, 20, is part of the club’s young core. He was traded to Houston on the night of the 2020 draft after being selected No. 52 overall by Sacramento.

Spurs Exercise Options On Johnson, Vassell

October 18th, 2021 at 4:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs exercised their fourth-year option on forward Keldon Johnson, as well as their third-year option on swingman Devin Vassell, for the 2022/23 season, according to a team press release.

Johnson will make approximately $3.87MM next season, while Vassell will take in nearly $4.44MM.

Neither move came as a surprise.

Johnson has emerged as one of the team’s top players. He appeared in 69 games last season and averaging 12.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 1.8 APG in 28.5 MPG. Johnson, the 29th pick of the 2019 draft, was a member of this summer’s Team USA squad that captured the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Vassell, a lottery pick last year, averaged 5.5 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 17.0 MPG over 62 games during his rookie campaign. He projects to be one of San Antonio’s mainstays on its second unit this season.