Northwest Notes: Hart, Wolves, KCP, Markkanen, Conley
The Trail Blazers faced some criticism last winter for not receiving more in return when they traded CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr. to New Orleans, but they certainly haven’t been disappointed by what they’ve gotten from Josh Hart, one of the key pieces in that deal.
A full-time starter this season for the 7-3 Blazers, Hart is attempting just 6.8 shots per 36 minutes in the early part of this season, by far a career low. But he’s filling up the box score by averaging 8.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, all of which are career bests, and is earning praise from his teammates, as Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian details.
“His last name is the perfect last name for him,” Damian Lillard said. “He rebounds like he is seven feet, he’s always in the passing lanes, he’s physical, playing hard, passionate, cares about winning. He doesn’t care about shots.”
While Hart admits that he wouldn’t mind a greater role on offense, he said he’s OK with taking a back seat to Lillard, Jerami Grant, and other teammates if that’s what’s best for the club.
“When you want to win, you’ve got to sacrifice,” Hart said, per Fentress. “I would love to be out there shooting 10, 12, 13 shots per game, and doing stuff like that. But at the end of the day, if you want to win, guys are going to have to sacrifice. Guys have to play different roles to help the team.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- It’s officially time to start worrying about the Timberwolves, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. The Wolves, who lost on Wednesday to a Suns squad missing Chris Paul and Cameron Johnson, have shown “no energy, no drive, and no heart” this season, Krawczynski writes, pointing out that the team has trailed by at least 18 points in six of its seven losses. “It’s just the sign of a team that’s lacking a little bit of confidence and purpose right now,” head coach Chris Finch said.
- Acquired in an offseason trade, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been an ideal fit as a three-and-D piece for the Nuggets, according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports, who says head coach Michael Malone has given Caldwell-Pope the freedom to deviate from the team’s defensive game plan when he sees fit.
- Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, who is thriving in his new home in Utah, sat down with Shams Charania of Stadium (Twitter video link) to discuss his trade from Cleveland, his goal of making an All-Star team, and why things didn’t work out with the Bulls, among other topics.
- The presence of veteran point guard Mike Conley has been one important reason why so many of the Jazz‘s newly acquired players are fitting in seamlessly this season, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “I’ve played with some good point guards, but nothing like Mike,” Markkanen said on Wednesday. “He’s a really smart player and knows not just when to pass ball, but he delivers on target.”
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Clippers, Conley, CP3, Suns
Even though they lost their first five games of the season, the Lakers were playing fairly solid defense during that slump, but their defensive numbers have dropped off substantially during their recent three-game losing streak. Head coach Darvin Ham is convinced that those struggles won’t last, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“I would say this, man. And write it, quote it, however,” Ham told reporters on Monday. “This may be happening now at the outset of what we’re trying to force to be a culture change in terms of getting us back to being highly competitive on a highly consistent basis, but it’s not going to always be like this.
“We’re going to turn the corner. I didn’t come here to lose. They didn’t bring me here to lose.”
As McMenamin writes, Ham believes that significant roster turnover from last season to this season is a factor in the Lakers’ 2-8 start, as are injury issues — three starters, LeBron James, Patrick Beverley, and Lonnie Walker, sat out Monday’s loss to Utah.
“There is a process involved where we have to go through tough times,” Ham said. “Like, I want to bottle this up. I want to embrace it. I want to have it and store it so when things are turned around and we get too comfortable and we start complaining about some problems that are not even necessarily problems — problems that winning teams go through — I want to be able to reflect on these times.”
Anthony Davis told reporters on Monday that a 2-8 start is “a hard pill to swallow,” but noted that there’s still plenty of time to turn things around.
“I think New Orleans was 1-12 or something last year, come back and go on a run,” Davis said. “We’ve got to put it together. Offense has found its rhythm. It seems like we’ve lost all our defensive intensity. And that’s what’s killing us.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Jazz point guard Mike Conley believed at one point during the offseason that he was headed to Los Angeles, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. As Jones reports, Conley received a message from someone he trusted saying that he could be traded to the Clippers, but the team ultimately signed John Wall instead to fortify the point guard spot.
- Already missing one starter, the Suns lost another in Monday’s game, as point guard Chris Paul exited in the second quarter due to right heel soreness and didn’t return. However, Paul doesn’t believe the injury will be a long-term concern, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Asked if not returning to Monday’s game was mostly about he and the team taking a cautious approach to the injury, Paul replied, “Yeah.”
- Suns head coach Monty Williams said on Monday that the team may take a committee approach to replacing Cameron Johnson‘s minutes at power forward, Bontemps writes. Torrey Craig has gotten the first chance to take Johnson’s spot in the starting five, but Damion Lee, Dario Saric, and Jock Landale are also candidates for an eventual promotion, according to Williams.
Jazz Notes: Sexton, Conley, NAW, Bolmaro, Strong Start
Jazz point guard Mike Conley has taken new teammate Collin Sexton under his wing and is helping him see the game in a new way, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. With 16-year veteran Conley held out of the second game of a back-to-back set, Sexton received his first start of the 2022/23 season in Saturday’s win over Memphis, recording 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and four assists in nearly 32 minutes.
“We’ll walk through, and he’ll be like, ‘Alright, what are you doing in this situation?’ And I’ll let him know, and then he’ll be like, ‘Well, in this situation, I think you should do this. Just try it,’” Sexton explained. “During the game, he’ll be like, ‘OK, you got to the basket — now let’s see if you can pitch [the ball] behind two or three times.’ And I’ll do it. And then he’s like, ‘Alright, now the next time, try to see if you can get all the way there [to the rim].’ It’s opening my mind to multiple ways of playing, and also multiple ways of seeing the game, too. I know he sees it from a different angle than I do.”
As Walden writes, the Jazz have been cautious not to overextend Sexton after he only played 11 games last season with a torn meniscus, which required surgery. He’s technically not on a minutes restriction, but that’s partly why he’s only averaging 19.0 MPG.
Sexton is eager to prove his worth after inking a four-year, $71MM deal as part of the Donovan Mitchell sign-and-trade with Cleveland, but he recognizes he’ll have more opportunities as the season goes on, per Walden.
“Just giving [it all in] the time that I’m out there and just making an impact. And I might play four-minute spurts, so in those four minutes, giving it all I can, whether it’s pressuring the ball or pushing the ball and changing the pace of the game, whether it’s on the defensive side or offensive side,” Sexton said. “Just trying to use the little time that I’m given just to make sure that they know I’m out there, you know what I mean? Because I know once the season continues to go, more minutes, more time [will come].“
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- Little-used guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker got an opportunity for extended run with Conley sidelined against the Grizzlies, and he showed that he can be a positive player when given the opportunity, writes Sarah Todd of The Desert News. Alexander-Walker played solid defense against Desmond Bane and Hardy was pleased with his effort, as Todd relays. “He came in with such a fire,” head coach Will Hardy said of Alexander-Walker. “He really got into the ball with Desmond Bane and I think he got two steals on the ball, just taking the dribble. He has really good instincts and really long arms and he did a good job of just trying to speed up their ball handlers, which I thought was great…It’s a difficult situation. He hasn’t played that much and he got thrown into a big game with Mike out, and I thought he handled himself great.”
- Second-year guard Leandro Bolmaro, who recently had his third-year option declined by Utah, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and is out for Monday’s game against Memphis, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Rudy Gay and Simone Fontecchio are still in the protocols. Rookie center Walker Kessler (non-COVID illness) has also been ruled out for the contest, according to Jones (Twitter link).
- How have the Jazz gotten off to a 5-2 start? Tony Jones tackles that topic for The Athletic, concluding that the team’s depth, offensive pressure, floor spacing, and key adjustments from head coach Will Hardy have been instrumental to the surprising seven-game stretch.
Lakers Notes: Westbrook, Possible Trade Partners, Shooting
Count Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer among the NBA analysts who believe the Lakers should be feeling some urgency to find a trade involving Russell Westbrook sooner rather than later. O’Connor opens his latest article by dubbing the former MVP a “washed-up bricklayer,” contending that the Lakers need to trade him immediately to have any chance of salvaging their season.
[RELATED: Woj: Don’t expect any Lakers trades before Thanksgiving]
While the much-discussed Pacers package of Myles Turner and Buddy Hield could certainly be one the Lakers revisit if and when they reengage in trade talks, O’Connor points to the Jazz a potential trade partner to watch.
League sources tell The Ringer that before Bojan Bogdanovic was traded to Detroit, the Lakers offered Westbrook, a future first-round pick, and second-rounders to Utah in exchange for Bogdanovic and others. O’Connor adds that sources expect the two teams to reopen their trade discussions at some point, since the Jazz still have veterans who could help the Lakers, such as Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, and/or Rudy Gay.
As O’Connor notes, the Hornets were viewed back in the spring as a possible trade partner for the Lakers and Westbrook, but that was when Charlotte was preparing to make a lucrative offer to Miles Bridges and was motivated to move off some multiyear salary. With Bridges’ NBA future up in the air due to domestic violence allegations, dumping long-term salary may no longer be a priority for the Hornets.
Here’s more on the Lakers and Westbrook:
- The Lakers’ offense lost its rhythm late in Sunday’s loss to Portland when Westbrook checked back into the game, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who both argue that the team needs to seriously consider taking the point guard out of its closing lineup going forward.
- Westbrook was pulled for the final few possessions on Sunday, shortly after he took an ill-advised jumper early in the shot clock with the Lakers up by a point and just under 30 seconds left in the game. After the game, head coach Darvin Ham said he isn’t worried about how Westbrook will respond to being benched for the game’s final 12 seconds. “We don’t have time for feelings or people being in their feelings. Like, we’re trying to turn this thing around,” Ham said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “For one person to be in their feelings about when and where and how they should be in the game, I don’t have any time for that.”
- Anthony Davis was “visibly frustrated” after Sunday’s loss, according to McMenamin. “There’s no way we’re supposed to lose this game,” Davis said. “That’s where my frustration comes from.”
- The Lakers’ three-point shooting remained an issue on Sunday, as Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes in his takeaways from the game. The club’s 6-of-33 (18.2%) mark from beyond the arc on Sunday was its worst single-game rate yet. Through three games, the Lakers’ 21.2% three-point percentage is easily the worst in the NBA — Chicago is second-worst at 29.3%.
Jazz Notes: Olynyk, Conley, Veterans, Fontecchio
New Jazz center Kelly Olynyk admitted that the trade sending him from Detroit to Utah caught him off guard, telling reporters this week that it felt as if it “came out of nowhere,” according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. However, Olynyk expressed excitement about his new NBA home and suggested the deal reminded him of the last time Danny Ainge traded for him, on draft night in 2013.
“It’s crazy because when I got drafted by Boston, we were almost in the exact same situation with Danny that they’re in here right now,” Olynyk said. “You have some older guys with experience, you have some young guys, you got a bunch of draft picks coming in for the next few years, and you’re just trying to get better every single day, whatever that is.
“And in Boston, we had a young first-year coach in Brad (Stevens), and now we have a first-time, young head coach in Will (Hardy). And I think it’s going to be great for us — everybody’s going to be pulling the rope in the same direction. And that’s how you move things.”
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- Mike Conley and the other veterans who are still on the Jazz roster are preparing as if they’re going to be in Utah to open the season, but Conley pointed to the Donovan Mitchell trade in particular as a sign that no one is safe. “When Rudy (Gobert) got traded and Royce (O’Neale), you thought maybe that would be it,” Conley said, per Sarah Todd The Deseret News. “And then once Don got traded, the floodgates kind of opened up and now all of us are up in the air and didn’t really know what was going on.”
- The Jazz will face a tricky balancing act this season as they attempt to find regular minutes for both their young players and their veterans, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. As Jones observes, developing the young core is the top priority in Utah, but the team also wants its veterans to boost their trade value and to show the youngsters the ropes.
- Simone Fontecchio, who will be playing in the NBA for the first time after a decade in Europe, said during a media session this week that it felt like a “dream come true” to sign his first NBA contract with the Jazz. “It has been a long journey,” Fontecchio said, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net. “Now I am 26, almost 27. Sometimes, this dream felt a little bit far, but right now I am so happy and excited to be here.” Fontecchio added that he believes he can bring shooting, defense, and athleticism to the Jazz.
Jazz Notes: Sexton, Kessler, Azubuike, Conley, Clarkson, Zeller, Lee
New Jazz guard Collin Sexton has been fully cleared following last year’s knee injury that sidelined him for all but 11 games, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). Newly acquired rookie big man Walker Kessler has also received clearance from his toe injury, Walden adds.
While Sexton and Kessler should be good to go for training camp, former Jazz first-rounder Udoka Azubuike isn’t quite there yet. According to Walden, Azubuike continues to progress from the ankle surgery that ended his 2021/22 season early, but has yet to be cleared for 5-on-5 work.
Here are a few more updates on the Jazz:
- Following an offseason fire sale in Utah, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson look like obvious candidates to be traded at some point in the coming weeks or months. But general manager Justin Zanik said today that there has been “nothing but total buy-in from those guys,” so it doesn’t sound as if either Conley or Clarkson is pushing to be dealt (Twitter link via Walden).
- Conley told reporters today that he’s “10 toes in” with the Jazz, even as he acknowledged the possibility of a trade. He’s conflicted about the idea of being moved, since he could end up with a contending team but would likely have to finish the season away from his family (Twitter links via Walden and Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune).
- After undergoing eight surgeries in nine years, Cody Zeller wants to show in Utah that he’s finally healthy, telling reporters today that he believes he can bring value to a young roster as an experienced veteran (Twitter link via Walden). The Jazz have a roster logjam to clear in the next few weeks, but Zeller should have a shot at a 15-man roster spot due to the team’s lack of veteran frontcourt depth.
- Tony Jones of The Athletic sounds unconvinced that Saben Lee is part of the Jazz’s plans going forward, tweeting that he believes the newly acquired guard will need to have “a hell of a camp” in order to stick.
Jazz Notes: Trade Candidates, Ainge, Rebuild
Having traded away Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and Royce O’Neale so far this offseason, the Jazz may still have more moves to make before the season begins, but they’re not feeling any urgency to continue selling off their veteran players, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said this week during an appearance on NBA Today (YouTube link).
“It feels like they have a lot more business to do. The question is when do they do that business,” Shelburne said. “They still have Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley. The sense around the league is that the Jazz at least feel they have deals for all of those veteran players – if and when they want them – where they would return a first-round pick for each of these kind of players. But my sense in talking to people close to these conversations is the Jazz are not in any hurry to make these decisions now.”
The general sense is that the Jazz are hoping to put themselves in position to claim a top pick in the 2023 draft, where they could potentially land a cornerstone player. However, Shelburne suggested that Utah isn’t necessarily in full tanking mode quite yet.
“I was actually assured by somebody close to the situation the other day that if this group gets out there and plays well, if they start off well, they’ll let them play,” she said. “There’s a reset going on and they have players and veterans that have value to teams that are trying to contend this year. But if this group that they have right now – with the new coach Will Hardy and the young players they got that they’re very high on – if they start out well, they’re going to let them play a while. They’re not in any hurry.”
Here’s more out of Utah:
- Within the same NBA Today segment, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst speculated that Jazz CEO Danny Ainge‘s comments earlier this week about the Jazz players not believing in one another were probably toned down by about 50-75% compared to how he really felt — in other words, Ainge really wasn’t high on the team’s current roster and outlook entering this summer, which is why he felt compelled to blow things up.
- Given the sizable hauls the Jazz received in the Mitchell deal and (especially) the Gobert blockbuster, team executives around the NBA are wary of what the trade market will look like going forward, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “I’m just dreading all (the) ridiculous stuff people are going to be asking me for now before we can get down to real business,” one exec said.
- Despite the newfound collection of future draft assets the Jazz hold, not everyone is convinced Utah’s rebuild will be as successful as the one Ainge oversaw in Boston. “He really hit on some of those picks he got, but, remember, they also got (Al) Horford and (Gordon) Hayward to come there as free agents,” a source told Bulpett. “I know Hayward didn’t work out like they wanted; that injury was tough. But those guys were top free agents. I think Danny’s going to find it harder to attract big-time free agents in Utah.”
- Sarah Todd of The Deseret News takes a look at the factors that contributed to Utah’s decision to rebuild, arguing that while the Jazz have enjoyed plenty of regular season success in recent years, it feels as if it’s been a while since they had a legitimate shot at a title.
Jazz Notes: Bogdanovic, Clarkson, Beasley, Sexton, Conley
The Jazz believe Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson and Malik Beasley are each worth first-round picks in a potential trade, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his podcast, The Lowe Post (hat tip to HoopsHype). Utah acquired Beasley as part of this offseason’s Rudy Gobert trade, while Bogdanovic and Clarkson have spent multiple seasons with the team.
While all three players have value, it’s unclear if Utah will be able to net first-round picks for each. It also remains to be seen whether the Jazz will make another trade before the season starts, but since the team has moved Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, other veterans may eventually be dealt. Utah also has Mike Conley and Rudy Gay under contract.
Here are some other notes from Utah today:
- Speaking of a potential Jazz fire sale, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report examines which players may be traded next. As mentioned, Utah has a group of veterans that could be acquired for a slightly cheaper price now that the team is rebuilding, though it’s unknown who may be dealt and when.
- Sarah Todd of the Deseret News explores why fans should be excited about Collin Sexton. The 23-year-old agreed to a four-year, $71MM deal as part of a sign-and-trade with the Jazz, who added him to a young nucleus of players and draft picks.
- In a separate article for the Deseret News, Sarah Todd takes a look at whether the team could move forward with Conley remaining on the roster. Conley will turn 35 years old next month and appeared in 72 games last season, averaging 13.7 points and 5.3 assists per outing.
Jazz Notes: Mitchell Trade, Knicks Talks, Conley, Bass
Within their Thursday press release officially confirming the trade that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland, the Jazz‘s top decision-makers explained why they felt it was necessary to move the club’s leading scorer, a three-time All-Star who just turned 26.
“It was clear that in order to optimize our opportunity to create a team that could truly contend and establish sustained success, we needed to transition our roster,” Jazz CEO Danny Ainge said in a statement. “In trading Rudy (Gobert) and now Donovan, it was a rare opportunity to maximize our ability to get quality talent and picks to best position us moving forward. We have a plan in place to help us assemble the championship team our fans deserve. It will take time to craft our roster. We all understand the work ahead and are committed to our vision.”
General manager Justin Zanik, meanwhile, referred to Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and Ochai Agbaji as three “exciting young players,” suggesting the front office views the trio as part of the Jazz’s long-term plan.
“We believe that they fit the Jazz culture and hard-nosed, competitive brand of basketball we’ve built here in Utah,” Zanik said. “They give us versatility and athleticism on both ends of the floor as we grow toward the future. We look forward to our fans getting to know them.”
Here’s more out of Utah:
- Previous reports suggested there was some level of “animus” between the Jazz and Knicks, due in part to Knicks executives sitting courtside at Utah’s first playoff game vs. Dallas in the spring, as well as to New York’s decision to extend RJ Barrett while the two teams were negotiating his possible inclusion in a Mitchell trade. However, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his Lowe Post podcast that any hard feelings between the Jazz and the Knicks weren’t the reason why Utah made a deal with Cleveland instead of New York.
- “Emotions can play into this,” Lowe said, per RealGM. “I’ve been assured by the Utah side that ‘No, look, we’re mature people. Yes, we were upset with particularly the Mavs’ game incident, but we’re not going to make decisions based on those kind of things that now happened four months ago or whatever. We’ve made the best deal possible.'”
- In a column for The Salt Lake Tribune, Robert Gehrke focuses on the off-court impact of the Mitchell trade, arguing that Utah has lost a “conscience of our community.”
- Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com considers what Mike Conley can still bring to a contending team and explores which clubs might be realistic trade suitors for the veteran point guard. Meanwhile, Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune weighs where Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Jordan Clarkson could land if they’re traded.
- The Salt Lake City Stars – Utah’s G League affiliate – acquired the returning rights to Paris Bass and Elijah Cain in a trade with the South Bay Lakers, per a press release. Bass is reportedly signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Jazz, so the team clearly intends to have him play for the Stars — it remains to be seen whether Cain is also in SLC’s plans for 2022/23.
Lakers Interested In Jazz Vets, Hope To Preserve 2023 Cap Room
The Lakers have “some interest” in Jazz veterans Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson, but are still trying to maintain their cap room for 2023, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports (Twitter links). The Lakers currently project to have about $30MM in cap room next summer.
As Zillgitt observes, Conley’s $24.36MM salary for 2023/24 is partially guaranteed at $14.32MM, while Clarkson has a player option worth $14.26MM, which may affect how much interest L.A. has in the two guards.
Bogdanovic is on a $19.55MM expiring contract, and several teams are reportedly pursuing the 33-year-old forward, a talented scorer and shooter who has converted at least 38.7% of his three-point tries in each of the last five seasons.
In order to match salaries, Russell Westbrook‘s $47.1MM expiring deal would have to be sent to Utah, because the Lakers don’t have any tradable mid-sized contracts. If they don’t want to take on money beyond next season, a package of Bogdanovic, Malik Beasley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker theoretically works for salary-matching purposes, and all are on expiring or pseudo-expiring deals (there’s a ’23/24 team option for Beasley at $16.52MM).
However, it’s unclear if the Lakers would be interested in that scenario, considering the Jazz might ask for both of the Lakers’ available first-round picks (2027 and 2029). Utah is in the middle of a roster teardown, with a particular emphasis on accumulating unprotected first-rounders.
In other Lakers-related news, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reassesses the team’s depth chart and rotation after acquiring Patrick Beverley from Utah in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson. Sources tell Buha that Thomas Bryant and Austin Reaves have been “standout performers” in offseason workouts, and Buha currently has both players slotted in the starting lineup at center and shooting guard, respectively.