Lillard: Returning To Blazers Was Both Family, Basketball Decision

July 22nd, 2025 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

After spending the past two seasons with the Bucks, Damian Lillard – who signed a three-year contract over the weekend to return to the Trail Blazers – is thrilled about getting the opportunity to go “back home” and spend more time with his family in Portland, he said at a press conference on Monday.

“We got back in the car (after signing the contract),” Lillard said, per Lindsay Schnell of The Athletic. “I got to a red light, and my daughter goes, ‘Wait, we don’t have to get on the airplane to Milwaukee no more? You’re gonna be in your house? In Portland? The whole time?'”

In addition to Lillard’s three children, his mother and siblings are all in the Portland area, he noted on Monday, according to Anne M. Peterson of The Associated Press.

Still, even though those family considerations played a major role in his decision, rejoining the team with whom he spent the first 11 years of his NBA career wasn’t just about off-court factors, Lillard told reporters, including Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Substack link).

“When we all sat down and this idea started to move towards me signing back here, I’m going to look at the basketball situation,” he said. “We play basketball and you want to win basketball games. A lot of people may look at it as a family decision, and obviously anybody would have their family be a part of a decision that they make. But this was just as much a basketball decision.

“… I’ve watched the team, even at a distance, and I’ve followed and stayed in touch with what was going on. Looking at how the league is trending and how it’s changing, it’s not the same old thing no more. Young teams that guard and have depth and compete and are connected, this team has all of those things. It’s all there, from the talent to the depth to having it on both sides of the ball, it’s all there.”

Although the Blazers missed the playoffs for a fourth straight year in 2025, their 36 wins were the most they’ve compiled in a season since 2020/21, and many of those victories came in the second half — the club went 23-18 following a 13-28 start. Lillard took notice of that improvement from a distance and suggested on Monday that he views the Blazers as “one of those teams that’s coming.”

While he’ll likely spent the entire 2025/26 season recovering from an Achilles tear he suffered in April, the 35-year-old expressed optimism about eventually returning to form. In the meantime, he’s looking forward to getting a chance to mentor the club’s younger players.

“One thing that I’ve missed over the last two years playing on an older team is, I’m able to be more and give more when I have something to pour into,” Lillard said. “When I’m invested in others’ careers more. Having the opportunity to do that, especially having a young, rising point guard like Scoot (Henderson) that I’m gonna be playing with now, and Toumani (Camara) and Deni (Avdija) and Shaedon (Sharpe), who I was with his rookie year.

“Being around those guys and having so much to share and being able to pour into them and be a part of their continued progress is something that elevates me as a player and as a teammate and as a leader. I’m looking forward to that as well, even when I’m playing.”

The Trail Blazers used their full $14,104,000 mid-level exception to sign Lillard, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. His salary will dip slightly to $13,398,800 in year two, followed by a third-year player option worth $14,104,000.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Nuggets, Randle, Reid, Wolves

June 20th, 2025 at 8:02pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Trail Blazers have a lot of decisions to make this summer, writes Sean Highkin for Rose Garden Report (Substack link). The ostensibly still-rebuilding team has 10 players who will either be extension-eligible or on an expiring contract for the coming season.

The amount of talent on the roster makes predicting extensions more complicated, with Anfernee Simons being a prime example. A young veteran who’s only 26 years old, Simons has reached a more consistent level as a scorer than Scoot Henderson or extension-eligible Shaedon Sharpe, making moving him less of a priority than fans around the league might think.

Deandre Ayton is another interesting case, as his presence prevents Donovan Clingan from starting, but his on-court production may be worth more to the Blazers than what he would return in a trade.

Sharpe and Toumani Camara are perhaps Portland’s most interesting extension candidates. Sharpe has the skill set to be an offensive star, but inconsistency, injuries, and a lack of attention to detail have kept his game inconsistent thus far, which could make it hard for him and the Blazers to find a middle ground number.

Camara, fresh off being named to the All-Defensive second team, could lock in a four-year extension worth up to $90MM, but as a former second-round pick with a valuable skill set, it might be worth betting on himself in the hopes of receiving a bigger payday next summer.

We have more news from the Northwest division:

The NBA draft is five days away and free agency is hot on its heels. Given their need to make smart, cost-controlled roster moves on the margin, it’s problematic that the Nuggets still don’t have a permanent general manager, argues Sean Keeler of the Denver Post. The team currently has Ben Tenzer as its interim GM, but with the draft and free agency around the corner, there’s a need for organizational clarity — and for other teams to know who they’re dealing with if they come calling for trades. Former Nuggets president Pete Babcock spoke to Keeler on the subject. “The standard operating procedure is (to) have someone in place,” Babcock said. “If their job was to put the puzzle together and build the team, you want them to be in place before the draft, so they’d have a say as to how things are going to come down.”
It seems unlikely that the Nuggets will move any of their starters this summer, writes Spotrac’s Keith Smith in his offseason preview. The team will largely have to rely on internal development for improvement, though if they do make a move or choose not to bring back one of Russell Westbrook, DeAndre Jordan, or Vlatko Cancar, they could have their $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception to add another depth piece. Guerschon Yabusele, Tyus Jones, and Larry Nance Jr. are among the names floated by Smith.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch says he’s expecting both Julius Randle and Naz Reid back with the team next year, says The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski (via Twitter). Both forwards hold player options for 2025/26, which puts the decision at least partially out of the Wolves’ hands, but Minnesota is in win-now mode and would have few mechanisms to replace the contributions of the duo if they were to depart, so retaining them will likely be a high priority.
The Timberwolves will be looking to revamp their business operations department, as CEO Ethan Casson and COO Ryan Tanke are stepping down amidst the team’s change in ownership, reports Krawczynski (via Twitter).

NBA Announces 2024/25 All-Defensive Teams

May 22nd, 2025 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2024/25 season (Twitter links).

The teams are determined by a panel of 100 media members, with players receiving two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

There were no unanimous First Team selections this year, but Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley came close, having been named to the First Team on 99 ballots (Twitter link). He was selected to the Second Team on the 100th ballot, for a total of 199 points.

The honorees are as follows, along with their point totals:

First Team

Evan Mobley, Cavaliers (199 points)
Dyson Daniels, Hawks (191)
Luguentz Dort, Thunder (180)
Draymond Green, Warriors (179)
Amen Thompson, Rockets (171)

Second Team

Ivica Zubac, Clippers (114)
Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies (107)
Jalen Williams, Thunder (79)
Toumani Camara, Trail Blazers (74)
Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves (65)

The NBA adjusted the voting rules in 2023 to allow All-Defensive ballots to be positionless. Up until that point, each team consisted of two guards, two forwards, and a center.

Despite the lack of positional requirements, this year’s teams are reasonably well balanced — while Mobley, Green, Zubac, Jackson, and Gobert all serve as defensive anchors for their respective clubs, Mobley, Green, and Jackson spend much of their time on the court playing forward rather than center.

It’s the ninth time that Green has made an All-Defensive team and the eighth time that Gobert has earned the honor. Jackson and Mobley have each been recognized multiple times too — it’s the third time Jackson has made the cut and the second time for Mobley. However, Daniels, Dort, Thompson, Zubac, Williams, and Camara have never been named All-Defensive players before this season.

Among the other players who received votes, Knicks forward OG Anunoby came closest to cracking the top 10, having been named to the First Team on two ballots and the Second Team on 45 ballots for a total of 49 points. An additional 13 players received at least one vote, but none of them had more than 18 total points.

That group of players who missed the cut includes Heat big man Bam Adebayo, whose streak of five straight All-Defensive seasons has come to an end.

Players were required to meet the criteria of the 65-game rule in order to qualify for All-Defensive consideration. The full voting results can be viewed here (Twitter link).

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Dort has earned a $500K bonus for making the First Team this season. In addition to increasing his earnings for this season, that will bump Dort’s cap hit for 2025/26 from $17,722,222 to $18,222,222, since the bonus will now be considered likely to be earned next season.

Conversely, after missing out on All-Defensive spots this season, Derrick White and Jaden McDaniels will see their cap hits for next season reduced by $250K and $431K, respectively, Marks adds (Twitter link). Those bonuses, which had been considered likely after the duo earned All-Defensive nods in 2024, won’t be earned this season, which means the Celtics and Timberwolves will each receive a tax variance credit and both bonuses will be considered unlikely for 2025/26.

Cavs’ Mobley, Blazers’ Camara Named Defensive Players Of The Month

March 4th, 2025 at 2:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley has been named February’s Defensive Player of the Month for the Eastern Conference, while Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara has earned the honor in the Western Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

Mobley joins teammate Donovan Mitchell, who was named Player of the Month in the East, as award winners for February after the Cavs won 10 of 11 games over the course of the month. Cleveland had the best defensive rating (108.0) of any Eastern team in February, with Mobley anchoring that unit.

According to the league, Mobley was second among East players in blocks per game (2.3) in February and ranked third in the conference in contested shots per game (11.5).

The ascendant fourth-year forward/center, who was also named the East’s Defensive Player of the Month for December, is considered one of the frontrunners for this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

As for Camara, the second-year forward has been establishing himself as one of the NBA’s best wing defenders this season. According to the NBA, he ranked fourth in the conference in steals per game (2.0) in February and was the only player in the conference to compile at least 50 defensive rebounds, 20 steals, and 10 blocks for the month.

Portland entered February with a 19-29 record, but won eight of 12 games over the course of the month and had the fourth-best defensive rating in the NBA (109.2) during that time.

Nets center Nic Claxton, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Pacers center Myles Turner, and Pistons teammates Isaiah Stewart and Ausar Thompson were also nominated for the award in the Eastern Conference, while Thunder wing Luguentz Dort, Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., Rockets swingman Amen Thompson, and Clippers teammates Kris Dunn and Ivica Zubac were nominated in the West, per the league (Twitter link).

Blazers Notes: Henderson, Sharpe, Camara, Play-In

February 20th, 2025 at 8:10am CST by Luke Adams

Scoot Henderson‘s NBA career got off to a shaky start in 2023/24. As fellow top-three picks Victor Wembanyama and Brandon Miller shone, the Trail Blazers guard shot only 38.5% from the field as a rookie, making 32.5% of his three-pointers and turning the ball over 3.4 times in just 28.5 minutes per game.

That inconsistent play carried over to the start of his second season, but Henderson has been playing the best basketball of his young professional career since Christmas. The 21-year-old has averaged 13.8 points and 5.7 assists per game with a .475/.405/.798 shooting line in his past 25 outings, and Portland had a winning record in those games.

Speaking to Jason Quick of The Athletic, head coach Chauncey Billups referred to last season as a “humbling year” for Henderson, but said the team remained confident in the young guard’s ability to find his footing.

“He didn’t realize how hard it is to be good in the NBA and to do it every night,” Billups said. “He’d have a good game, but then, dang, here comes De’Aaron Fox tomorrow. Here comes Steph Curry on Thursday, then on to Trae Young. That’s one of the big surprises for a young guy.

“… I mean, everybody … I think (bust) came across their mind at some point. Not me. Not our staff. Because we live with him. We see the inside. We see what’s inside of him.”

For his part, Henderson says he never doubted his ability to eventually succeed in the NBA, but he admits he was frustrated it wasn’t happening right away.

“I’m blessed with the talent, and I did all the work, but I didn’t have anything to show for it,” Henderson said, per Quick. “That’s where I was disappointed.”

Here’s more on the Blazers:

In an in-depth feature story, Robert Ohman of Willamette Week explores the path taken to the NBA by Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe – the first player of note to emerge from the “hockey town” of London, Ontario – and explores the likelihood of the 21-year-old evolving into a star.
Over at The Oregonian, Aaron Fentress has published a similar two-part feature on Toumani Camara‘s NBA journey, from his early life in Belgium to the trade that sent him from Phoenix to Portland before his NBA debut to his emergence as a defensive ace for the Blazers. Camara was a 52nd overall pick and was viewed as a relative afterthought in a three-team blockbuster that also included Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, and Deandre Ayton, but the young forward has turned heads with his play on defense. “His ascension has been amazing in a short amount of time,” Billups said.
A three-game losing streak prior to the All-Star break has left the Trail Blazers five games back of the Warriors for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference, but the club hasn’t given up on the idea of qualifying for the play-in tournament, as Fentress writes for The Oregonian. Starting forward Deni Avdija said that a stretch of 10 wins in 11 games in January and February gave the Blazers confidence that they’re capable of making a second-half run. “We have a chance to make the play-in, and we’re all in it,” Avdija said. “We’re preparing. We’re doing the best we can, and can’t wait to go back on the court.”

Northwest Notes: Daigneault, Edwards, Camara, Henderson

February 16th, 2025 at 8:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mark Daigneault made a meteoric rise from an assistant on Billy Donovan‘s staff at the University of Florida to being a head coach at the All-Star Game. The Athletic’s Anthony Slater takes a deep dive into the Thunder coach’s career, noting that his former boss is proud of his accomplishments.

“It’s crazy how life works,” Donovan said. “I remember when he was sitting there, and we were having camp (at Florida), and he’s waiting to meet me. He’s 24, 25 years old, just wants a job, and he’s willing to work for free. And if you just said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be an NBA head coach and coaching the All-Star game.’ Nobody would’ve believed that, right?

“So, I just think it speaks to him and the people in Oklahoma City and the players and his staff. I’m just really happy for him because he’s a great guy.”

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Anthony Edwards has improved his three-point shot this season and now he’s using that threat to make him even more effective driving to the basket, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes. After averaging 2.4 free-throw attempts per game in December, Edwards took an average of 8.1 free throws in January and 11 per game in February. The Timberwolves star averaged just 20.5 points per game in December, but pushed that figure to 30.3 in January. In six February games, he’s averaging 34.3 PPG.
Toumani Camara was included in a three-team blockbuster in 2023, moving from Phoenix to Portland ahead of his rookie season. He never got a chance to play for the Suns but he feels he would have thrived there, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. Camara is averaging 10.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and has emerged as a defensive ace in his second season with the Trail Blazers. “I feel like the month I spent in Phoenix, a lot of people appreciated my game and stuff like that,” Camara said. “I was pretty confident in the space and environment I was in. I feel like the month I spent in Phoenix, a lot of people appreciated my game and stuff like that. I was pretty confident in the space and environment I was in.”
Camara and Scoot Henderson have become the best of friends, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic, and the Trail Blazers teammates have lofty goals. “Me and Tou, we have told each other: ‘We are going to do this. We are going to be great together … and we are going to do it here, in Portland,’” Henderson said. “We haven’t told anyone, but we have those conversations.” Henderson, the No. 3 pick of the 2023 draft, has mainly come off the bench this season. He’s averaging 12.4 points and 5.3 assists in 26.5 minutes per game.

NBA Names Four Replacements For Rising Stars Event

January 31st, 2025 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Three second-year players and one rookie have been named replacements for the Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in San Francisco, according to the NBA. The league issued a press release announcing the following changes:

Magic guard Anthony Black is replacing Mavericks center Dereck Lively.
Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara is replacing Hornets forward Brandon Miller.
Pistons swingman Ausar Thompson is replacing Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama.
Suns wing Ryan Dunn is replacing Sixers guard Jared McCain.

We noted when the Rising Stars participants were officially revealed on Tuesday that a few replacements would be necessary. Lively is sidelined for an extended period due to a stress fracture in his ankle, while Miller and McCain underwent season-ending procedures on their right wrist and left knee, respectively.

Wembanyama is healthy, but was selected as an All-Star reserve for the Western Conference. Players who are named All-Stars don’t take part in the Rising Stars event.

Black, Camara, Thompson, and Dunn will be included in the 21-player pool of NBA rookies and sophomores who will be drafted into three teams of seven players apiece on February 4. Those three teams, along with a fourth club made up of seven G League standouts, will compete a mini-tournament on Friday, February 14 as part of All-Star weekend’s opening night.

The squad that wins the Rising Stars event will advance to All-Star Sunday and take on one of three teams made up of NBA All-Stars in the semifinals of the new-look All-Star Game.

Northwest Notes: Braun, Gordon, SGA, Jazz, Avdija, Camara

January 30th, 2025 at 8:08am CST by Luke Adams

After bringing forward Aaron Gordon off the bench in his first eight games back from a calf strain, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone reinserted Gordon into the starting lineup on Wednesday vs. New York.

Rather than replacing Russell Westbrook, who was a reserve for the first couple months of the season, Gordon supplanted third-year guard Christian Braun, who had started each of his first 45 games of 2024/25 and just set a personal career high with 28 points on Monday.

“Never an easy decision. Christian Braun has been great for us this year. Not good. He’s been great,” Malone said after the game, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “And he’s done everything that’s been asked of him.

“But I just like keeping Russell out there. I think the Russ-and-Nikola (Jokic) dynamic is the best two-man combination in the NBA right now, and I didn’t want to disrupt their rhythm. Knowing that CB, whether he comes off the bench and plays 29 minutes like he did tonight, or he starts, he’s going to give us the same thing every night. We need that. … I applaud CB’s understanding of what we’re trying to do.”

Braun had 13 points of 4-of-8 shooting in his first game as a reserve. He was a team-worst minus-18, though that could be at least partially attributed to the fact that the Nuggets’ rotation were thrown for a loop early in the game when Jokic picked up two quick fouls and was replaced by Braun. The 23-year-old told reporters, including Durando, that he’s willing to do “whatever I’m called to do” by the team and earned praise from Malone for how he handled the move.

“Was he celebrating? Was he shaking his pom-poms? No, of course,” Malone said. “He’s a competitor. He wants to be out there. He wants to start. But what you love about Christian Braun is he’s going to do whatever you ask him to do, and whatever is best for the team.”

Malone added that the lineup change isn’t necessarily permanent.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

After not reaching the 50-point mark in any of his first 427 NBA regular season games, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has done it twice in his past four outings. One week after he scored 54 points in a win over Utah, the star guard poured in 52 against Golden State on Wednesday, but it wasn’t enough to get the Thunder a victory, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes. “It sucks. Me personally, I play to win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Winning comes first and foremost, and if I don’t win, I am not satisfied. So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn’t in the best interest of the team.”
The Jazz‘s decision to elevate Isaiah Collier to the starting lineup and move Keyonte George to the bench was less about rewarding Collier for his play so far this season and more about sending a “wake-up call” to George, writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. George has continued to play a significant role as part of Utah’s second unit, averaging 32.0 minutes per game in his first three appearances as a reserve.
Forwards Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara have been the Trail Blazers‘ two best players for much of the season and have established themselves as long-term building blocks, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Substack link), who says the duo’s strong play has been one of the brightest spots in another lottery-bound season in Portland.
While Camara has improved his scoring numbers this season (10.0 points per game with a .349 3PT%), his defense is his calling card. Jason Quick of The Athletic takes a closer look at Camara’s impact on that side of the ball, speaking to several of his opponents about what they see in the young Trail Blazers forward. “He’s a dog, for real!” Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan said of Camara. “I just love the way he picks up full court. He doesn’t give a f–k who he is guarding. He just wants to play defense, and you don’t really see that often here in the NBA anymore.”

Northwest Notes: Wolves, DiVincenzo, Henderson, Camara, Murray

January 16th, 2025 at 11:06pm CST by Earnest Marshall

The Timberwolves are out of excuses after losing to the shorthanded Warriors on Wednesday, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. Nearly everything went wrong for Minnesota, including a slow start to open the game that saw the Wolves fall behind 13-0.

“They came out how we should’ve come out,” said Donte DiVincenzo, who scored 28 points to go along with nine assists and six rebounds. “There’s no excuses. I think we just have to be better to start the game. We got it together. We fought and clawed our way back, but we start the game differently, this is a different story.”

Gui Santos made his first career start for Golden State and was effective, while Rudy Gobert was out-rebounded by Trayce Jackson-Davis. The Wolves rank 22nd in defensive rebounding after finishing ninth last year, which Krawczynski writes is a direct result of Gobert’s regression.

Anthony Edwards was critical of the lineup – himself included – that surrendered that early 13-0 deficit, Krawczynski writes in the same story.

“The starting five, we are terrible,” Edwards said. “Every game we come out low energy and the second group comes in and gives us energy. I would say the starting group has gotta come out with more energy like we want to play the game of basketball, like we love the game.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Things won’t get any easier for the Timberwolves as they embark on a difficult stretch that includes tilts against the Knicks, Cavaliers and Grizzlies. DiVincenzo is out with a toe sprain, according to team PR (Twitter link). It’s not clear exactly how much DiVincenzo will miss, but toe sprain absences are often measured in weeks and not days.
The Trail Blazers saw a glimpse of a brighter future in a Tuesday loss to the Nets, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report writes. Second-year players Scoot Henderson and Toumani Camara both recorded career games, with Henderson scoring a career-high 39 points while making eight three-pointers and Camara finishing the night with 24 points.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone expressed confidence last month that Jamal Murray would begin to silence his critics with his play and, after a season-high 45 points from the Kentucky product on Tuesday, Malone defended his guard again. “I think the microscope on Jamal is a little intense,” Malone said, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “Everybody’s just got to kind let the kid breathe a little bit. He’s not perfect. And if you look, I think his overall stats as of recently, he’s been very good for us.“

Northwest Notes: Gordon, Camara, Blazers, Filipowski

December 7th, 2024 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Battling some right calf soreness last month, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon attempted to play anyway and made the injury worse, suffering a calf strain that sidelined him for 10 games. According to Gordon, the initial soreness was the sort of pain he played through “all the time” earlier in his career, but the 11th-year veteran acknowledges he’s “getting older now” and may have to rethink that approach.

“I was trying to play through something I probably shouldn’t have played through,” Gordon told Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “The whole side of my leg was bruised. I tried to play through it. My calf just took the brunt of it.”

As Durando details, Gordon has become one of the Nuggets’ most valuable players, serving not only as a crucial part of the starting lineup but as the team’s best option to back up Nikola Jokic at center. As a result, head coach Michael Malone will have to be careful not to overuse Gordon, who exceeded his minutes limit in his second game back from his calf injury on Tuesday (he played 33 minutes), then logged 34 more minutes on Thursday.

Following that heavy usage vs. Golden State and Cleveland, Gordon is back on the Nuggets’ injury report, listed as questionable to suit up on Saturday in Washington due to that same calf strain.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

After Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara exited Friday’s game vs. Utah early due to a right foot ailment, head coach Chauncey Billups said after the game that Camara will undergo imaging on that injured foot, per Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter links). Camara has started all 23 of Portland’s games so far this season, averaging 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while playing solid defense.
To add insult to injury, the Trail Blazers were blown out by the lowly Jazz by a score of 141-99 in Portland on Friday, prompting Billups to tell reporters after the game, “Our spirit just wasn’t right,” according to Highkin (Substack link). As Highkin writes, starting center Deandre Ayton was benched for nearly the entire second half because Billups “didn’t like his spirit” and fans in Portland booed the home team off the court at the end of the night. “It’s tough to be booed, but sometimes you feel like you deserve it,” Blazers forward Jerami Grant said. “Losing by 40 to a team that now has five wins… We’ve got to get our s–t together.”
The Jazz assigned rookie forward/center Kyle Filipowski to the G League on Thursday, but his stint with the Salt Lake City Stars will be brief, head coach Will Hardy told reporters, including Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). While fellow rookie Cody Williams has been with the Stars since November 25, Filipowski will be back with the Jazz for Sunday’s game after registering a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) in his NBAGL debut on Friday.