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Rockets Notes: Brown, Porter, Silas, House

April 21st, 2021 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The incident in which Rockets guard Sterling Brown was assaulted in Miami was more serious than first reported and could get several players in trouble for violating the league’s health and safety protocols, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko and Shams Charania report. Brown was beaten up by several assailants and was hit over the head with a bottle, leaving him woozy. The assault occurred after Brown after he entered the wrong “sprinter van” while exiting a strip club.

Brown required stitching in multiple areas for his facial injuries and underwent several tests. The team initially feared he might be in critical condition.

Five or more Rockets went to the strip club early Monday, which would violate NBA protocols that prohibit players from going to bars, lounges or clubs. The league has opened up an investigation into the incident.

There’s more on the Rockets:

  • Kevin Porter Jr. stepped in to protect Brown during the incident and suffered minor injuries, Charania tweets. Porter won’t be able to play until Sunday, as he has been placed on the NBA’s health and safety protocols list.
  • The altercation is the latest off-court distraction that first-year coach Stephen Silas has dealt with this season. He says it comes with the territory, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. “I’m dealing as well as I can,” he said. “It’s not an easy situation, but that’s the job. That’s what I’m here for. My job is to lead us through these choppy waters.”
  • There’s still no timetable for Danuel House‘s return from a sprained right ankle, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. He suffered the injury on April 5. “We’re doing a good job of rehabbing and taking our time and making sure it is handled in the right way,” House said. “The medical staff hasn’t really given me a precise date. I’m just going by rehabilitation and movements day-by-day until they give me the OK.”
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Rockets Notes: Tanking, Porter Jr., Bradley, Olynyk

April 9th, 2021 at 6:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rockets head coach Stephen Silas bristles at the notion that the team should tank the rest of the way and improve its odds in a top-heavy lottery, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “We’re trying to win every single game,” he said. “I think you see this with the disappointment that our guys have, with the fight that they have, my reaction to games. I don’t even know if that needs to be squashed or not. It’s a non-issue.”

GM Rafael Stone said this week that the Rockets don’t have to worry about their lottery position because of their stockpile of draft picks. However, the team will have to swap its pick (likely with the Heat’s selection) if it falls outside of the top four.

We have more on the Rockets:

  • Kevin Porter Jr. has the offensive skills and athleticism to be a major component on offense, and he could also be a difference-maker defensively, as described in another Feigen story. Porter made a key block in a victory over Dallas on Wednesday. “He takes pride in it,” center Christian Wood said. “He’s a young, tremendous player on both sides of the floor. He can do it. He just has to keep that up and we’re going to be great.” 
  • Guard Avery Bradley has missed quite a few games in recent seasons but he still feels he has no peer when it comes to defense, Feigen writes. “I know that’s going to be one of my roles here,” said Bradley, acquired from Miami in the Victor Oladipo deadline deal. “I’m always going to embrace that. I know defensively, there’s no one in the NBA who can do what I can do.” The team holds a $5.9MM option on Bradley’s contract next season.
  • Kelly Olynyk has been a pleasant surprise since being traded from the Heat in the Oladipo swap (17.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 3.0 APG) and The Athletic’s Kelly Iko explores what Olynyk may command in free agency. Iko speculates that Houston, which now holds his Bird Rights, would re-sign him if Olynyk’s price tag doesn’t exceed $11MM annually.
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Southwest Notes: Ball, Mavericks, Porter, Dieng

April 1st, 2021 at 7:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball expressed his excitement to remain in New Orleans beyond the trade deadline and his enthusiasm for the club’s trajectory beyond this season, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN.

“I’m just comfortable here,” Ball said of the Pelicans. “I also love playing with [Zion Williamson] and [Brandon Ingram]. We have a lot of young guys. I think we can be good in the time coming.” The point guard, selected with the second pick in 2017, will be a restricted free agent this summer.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

  • Mavericks center Willie Cauley-Stein and point guard Tyrell Terry remain indefinitely away from the club, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Cauley-Stein is still in the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, while Terry has been absent due to personal reasons for the past two weeks. “We don’t have timetables,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ll let you [reporters] know when we know something. Other than that, there’s not much we can talk about.”
  • After trading away shooting guard Victor Oladipo, the 13-34 Rockets have clearly embraced their rebuild. In a happy surprise, 20-year-old new acquisition Kevin Porter Jr.‘s development has proven to be a bright spot just four games into his Houston tenure, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “He’s done everything that we need him to do,” head coach Stephen Silas said. “We have a lot of trust in him. There’s going to be ups and downs and conversations to be had just like every other player, but my door is always open and there’s a support system that can help him be successful on and off the floor.”
  • Newly-signed Spurs center Gorgui Dieng sprained his shoulder during his San Antonio debut and will miss tonight’s contest against the Hawks, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Head coach Gregg Popovich speculated that, while there was fortunately no structural damage to the shoulder, the big man will miss at least a week, per Orsborn (Twitter link). “I am just going to make a guess, which is probably not wise, but it’s pretty much going to be on pain tolerance,” Popovich said. “I think it’s going to be another good week before he is able to use that.”
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Southwest Notes: Ball, Thornwell, Rockets, Spurs

March 26th, 2021 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

As of Wednesday, Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball seemed more likely than not to be traded this week. But Thursday’s deadline came and went without a Ball deal, and the former No. 2 overall pick is now on track to reach restricted free agency with New Orleans later this year.

In the view of Will Guillory of The Athletic, the Pelicans made the right move by hanging onto Ball, who has noticeably improved since joining the team two years ago and complements New Orleans’ star forwards (Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram) well. Guillory suggests there were “legitimate” offers on the table, with the Hawks, Knicks, and and Bulls among the teams in the mix, but the Pels ultimately opted to take their chances with the point guard in restricted free agency.

Ball’s free agency will provide its own set of challenges, particularly since the Pelicans also want to retain RFA-to-be Josh Hart and may have to move off Steven Adams‘ or Eric Bledsoe‘s contract to re-sign both Ball and Hart and avoid the tax. An aggressive offer sheet for Ball from a rival suitor could also force New Orleans into a tough decision. But Guillory believes there would be a trade market for Ball down the road even if his next contract is worth a little more than the Pelicans would like.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • After signing Sindarius Thornwell to a pair of 10-day contracts, the Pelicans had been considering a rest-of-season deal for the veteran guard. If that happens though, it’ll have to be a little later this spring. As Andrew Lopez of ESPN notes (via Twitter), New Orleans moved so close to the tax line following its deadline-day trade that a rest-of-season signing at this point would push team salary over that threshold.
  • Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle explains the thinking behind the Rockets‘ decision to trade Victor Oladipo to Miami for a relatively modest return. As Feigen details, Oladipo’s days in Houston were likely numbered if the Rockets had hung onto him through the deadline, and the team wanted to open up more minutes for Kevin Porter alongside John Wall, so the front office opted to take the best offer available for Oladipo on Thursday.
  • With several veterans on expiring contracts, the Spurs were in position to shake up their roster at the trade deadline. However, as is typically the case in San Antonio during the season, the team opted to stand relatively pat instead, making just one small financially motivated move, acquiring Marquese Chriss and cash from Golden State. Noting that the Chriss trade was the Spurs’ first deadline deal since 2014, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News examines the club’s decision to once again remain quiet at the deadline.
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NBA G League Announces 2020/21 All-NBAGL Teams

March 23rd, 2021 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

After being named the G League’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year on Monday, Delaware Blue Coats forward Paul Reed – who is on a two-way contract with the Sixers – headlines the All-NBA G League First Team, as the league announced today in a press release.

Reed was joined on the All-NBAGL first team by MVP runner-up Kevin Porter Jr. of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, as well as Oklahoma City Blue big man Moses Brown, Lakeland Magic forward Mamadi Diakite, and Westchester Knicks guard Jared Harper. All of those players are currently on either standard NBA contracts or two-way deals.

That’s a common theme for this year’s All-NBAGL teams. The majority of the 15 players named to the three squads are either currently under contract with NBA teams or have past NBA experience.

The complete list of the 2020/21 All-NBA G League teams, along with the All-Rookie and All-Defensive squads, is below. Players currently on NBA contracts are noted with an asterisk (*), while those on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).

All-NBAGL First Team:

  • Paul Reed (Delaware Blue Coats) ^
  • Kevin Porter Jr. (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) *
  • Moses Brown (Oklahoma City Blue) ^
  • Mamadi Diakite (Lakeland Magic) ^
  • Jared Harper (Westchester Knicks) ^

All-NBAGL Second Team:

All-NBAGL Third Team:

NBAGL All-Rookie Team:

  • Paul Reed (Delaware Blue Coats) ^
  • Mamadi Diakite (Lakeland Magic) ^
  • Malachi Flynn (Raptors 905) *
  • Brodric Thomas (Canton Charge) ^
  • KJ Martin (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) *

NBAGL All-Defensive Team:

  • Paul Reed (Delaware Blue Coats) ^
  • Moses Brown (Oklahoma City Blue) ^
  • Mamadi Diakite (Lakeland Magic) ^
  • Tahjere McCall (Lakeland Magic)
  • Gary Payton II (Raptors 905)

Of the 18 players who earned a spot on one of the G League’s All-NBAGL, All-Rookie, or All-Defensive teams this year, only four – Brissett, Uthoff, McCall, and Payton – haven’t been on some form of standard, two-way, or 10-day NBA contract since the ’20/21 season began. All four of them have previous NBA experience.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Sixers’ Paul Reed Named G League Rookie Of The Year, MVP

March 22nd, 2021 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers two-way player Paul Reed has a pair of two major NBA G League awards for the 2020/21 season, having been named the NBAGL Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player, per a press release. He beat out Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. and Raptors 905 big man Henry Ellenson, who finished second and third, respectively, in MVP voting.

Reed, the 58th overall pick in the 2020 draft, spent the entire G League season at the NBAGL bubble in Walt Disney World, appearing in all 15 games and helping to lead the Delaware Blue Coats to a 10-5 record and a spot in the G League Finals.

In 31.5 minutes per contest, Reed filled up the box score with 22.3 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.0 SPG, and 1.8 BPG. He also posted a scorching .588/.444/.789 shooting line.

Reed hasn’t seen much action at the NBA level so far this season, logging just 64 minutes in seven games for Philadelphia. However, he’s considered a promising young prospect and is expected to have his two-way deal turned into a standard contract at some point.

Reed is the third player to be named the G League Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season, joining Tim Frazier (2015) and Devin Brown (2003).

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Southwest Notes: Tucker, DeRozan, Mavs, Wood, Porter Jr.

March 19th, 2021 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

P.J. Tucker has been traded by the Rockets to the Bucks but the veteran forward thought he’d be wearing a different uniform much sooner, Kelly Iko and Sam Amick of The Athletic report. Following a team meeting in January, Tucker expected to be included in the James Harden deal where he’s wind up in either Brooklyn or Philadelphia. Instead, Tucker – who is seeking an extension — spent two months waiting for the front office to find a new home for him.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • DeMar DeRozan has rejoined the Spurs, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. DeRozan had been away from the team for four games to attend his father’s funeral. DeRozan will be available to play against Cleveland on Friday.
  • With the Mavericks planning to rest Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis periodically, they might look to add another starting-caliber player before the trade deadline, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News speculates. Another experienced player off the bench who could provide an offensive boost would also be helpful, Caplan notes. But there are also some compelling reasons for the club to stand pat as well, which Caplan details.
  • With Christian Wood back in the lineup after a lengthy absence due to an ankle injury, he can now work on his chemistry with guard Kevin Porter Jr.., Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Porter Jr. has averaged 19.6 PPG and 8.0 APG since returning from the G League.
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Rockets Notes: Porter, Nwaba, Tucker, Silas

March 13th, 2021 at 6:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Porter Jr. has been one of the few bright spots in a miserable season for the Rockets, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Porter has been spectacular in his first two games since being recalled from the G League, averaging 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists.

Houston acquired Porter for a conditional second-round pick in January after he wore out his welcome in Cleveland due to off-court issues. He was a small forward with the Cavaliers, but the Rockets have shifted him to point guard after having him experiment with the position with Rio Grande Valley.

“He does have like a sereneness to him,” said coach Stephen Silas. “He is just composed for a young kid, doesn’t get too high, too low, That’s a steadying influence on the rest of the group, When you have the guy who has the ball in his hands most of the time, which it was (Friday) for him, to kind of play in that manner and not get rattled by a run by the opposing team or a turnover or a bad play, just kind of have the next play mentality, it’s pretty cool for a young guy to be that way. He’s played two games for us. We’re not going to overstate anything. But we think we got something there.”

There’s more from Houston:

  • David Nwaba was projected to have an extended recovery time after straining his wrist in a February 28 game, but he asked to play Friday because so many of his teammates are unavailable, Feigen states in a separate story. Surgery has been recommended, which would sideline Nwaba for six weeks. “Dave came up to me and was like, ‘I’m injured, but it’s hard for me to sit over there and watch when we’re so low on bodies and we’re so decimated and we’re in foul trouble. And even though I’m not 100 percent, maybe I can give a little bit,’” Silas said. “To hear that was definitely gratifying. That tells you a lot about him as a competitor and him as a person and him as someone you want in your group.”
  • The absence of P.J. Tucker, who isn’t playing while the Rockets try to work out a trade, has put more strain on a team already dealing with numerous injuries, Feigen notes in another piece. Houston signed guard Mason Jones to a 10-day contract so it would have enough active players for Friday’s game.
  • The Rockets will use their 24th starting lineup in 37 games Sunday, Feigen adds. The injuries and lack of continuity have played a large role in the team’s 15-game losing streak. “The sooner we can get to the point we know what our starting lineup is going to be, what our rotation is going to be off the bench, the better it will be for the group,” Silas said. “Obviously, it hasn’t been like that all season.”
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Southwest Notes: Porter, Grizzlies, McLemore, Doncic, Porzingis

March 12th, 2021 at 5:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With John Wall out due to a left knee contusion and Eric Gordon sidelined for four-to-six weeks, Kevin Porter Jr. will get more playing time than expected, starting with his Rockets debut on Friday, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Porter was recalled from the G League last weekend.

The second-year swingman, who was acquired from the Cavaliers in January, lit up the G League. He averaged 24.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 15 games. “He will have the ball in his hands, he will initiate plays, he will be off the ball a little bit,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said.

We have more on the Southwest Division:

  • The Grizzlies don’t have a glaring need heading toward the trade deadline but they could use more star power, according to Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian. Getting that star isn’t an easy proposition, though they have enough assets to pull off such a deal. They could also consider dealing two or three good players for one better one, even if that player isn’t quite an All-Star, Herrington adds.
  • Rockets guard Ben McLemore is drawing interest from teams looking to add backcourt depth, Kelly Iko of The Athletic tweets. McLemore, 28, had one of the better years of his career last season, averaging 10.1 PPG and shooting 40% from deep in 71 games. He’s averaging 6.4 PPG in 15.7 MPG this year and his shot has been off (30.9% on threes). McLemore is the final year of a very movable contract ($2.28MM).
  • Mavericks stars Luka Dončić (right ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (right knee) sat out Thursday’s game in the second end of a back-to-back. That won’t be the last time they’ll get nights off for injury recovery, coach Rick Carlisle told Eddie Sefko of the team’s website and other media members. “There will be more of these along the way,” he said.
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Rockets Recall Kevin Porter Jr. From G League

March 6th, 2021 at 5:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Porter Jr. will make his debut with the Rockets when they resume their season next week. The second-year swingman, who was acquired from the Cavaliers in January, was recalled from the G League today, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

From the time of the trade, Houston laid out a gradual progression for Porter. The 20-year-old showed hints of stardom during his rookie season, but was plagued by legal issues and other off-the-court problems. He wore out his welcome in Cleveland after throwing a tantrum in front of team officials after finding out his locker had been moved.

Porter’s stint in the G League was a huge success, as he averaged 24.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 15 games with Rio Grande Valley and was named Player of the Week last week. He helped the Vipers earn a playoff spot, but he won’t be with the team when the postseason begins.

Rockets general manager Rafael Stone told Mark Berman of KRIV in Houston that the plan for Porter has gone just as expected (Twitter link).

“When we acquired him we laid out that we wanted him to play through the break, which he’s done,” Stone said. “We had very specific goals in mind for how we wanted him to play, what we wanted him to try and achieve. We’re extraordinarily happy with him. He did all of that. Part of the plan was for him to rejoin the team post break. We’re going to be able to have one practice. Practice time in the NBA is extraordinarily limited. So he’ll be able to practice with the team and join us. He’s a very young player. He’s a very talented player and hopefully he can contribute.”

Porter hasn’t played in an NBA game since March 4, 2020. The Cavaliers weren’t invited to the NBA restart, and he was held out of the lineup early this season while resolving a legal matter. Porter averaged 10.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.2 APG in 50 games as a rookie.

The Rockets also recalled KJ Martin from the G League, Berman adds. The rookie forward appeared in seven NBA games earlier this season.

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