Tragedy has struck Timberwolves big man Naz Reid and his family. His sister, Toraya Reid, was shot and killed Saturday in New Jersey, Eva Herscowitz of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. A New Jersey prosecutor charged Shaquille Green, whom the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said was in a relationship with Toraya Reid, with her murder.
Reid’s former teammate, Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns, was devastated by the news.
“Heartbroken. No words can ever take away the pain for my brother,” Towns tweeted. “Holding everyone close in prayer today.”
Appearing on The Pivot Podcast (YouTube link) this week, Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray said he has “nothing but love” for the city of New Orleans but that the last year was his “worst experience in the NBA,” as Rashad Milligan of NOLA.com relays.
In addition to sustaining two major injuries – a broken hand and a torn Achilles – Murray dealt with a series of tragedies in his personal life, including the death of a cousin, his mother suffering a stroke, and an uncle overdosing. He also felt that he wasn’t getting the sort of support he needed from the Pelicans.
“The organization, it got bad, man,” he said. “As you guys can see, such and such got fired, another guy left, they brought new people in.”
Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin was let go at the end of the season, while general manager Bryson Graham left New Orleans to take a job in the Hawks’ front office.
“I’m stressed, I’m mad everyday, I’m sad, I’m angry, I don’t want to be there at that time. It’s just so much going on,” Murray said, describing his mental state during the season. “… It wasn’t just me, it was everybody’s mental. Every player. I hope this brings peace to my brothers. I hope everyone gets what they need. I hope the organization gets it together because you have the talent, but it ain’t just the talent. You need every dot to connect to have a chance to win.”
We have more from around the Southwest:
Grizzlies center Zach Edey will likely miss some regular season games at the start of 2025/26. He underwent surgery on Tuesday to address the laxity in his left ankle and re-stabilize it, according to a team press release (Twitter link).
Edey will be reevaluated in four months and is expected to make a full recovery, the release adds. The four-month gap before reevaluation means that Edey will not be ready to participate at the start of training camp and will require an extended rehab period.
Edey reinjured his left ankle during a workout last week. It was reported at the time that Edey would likely miss some regular season games and Tuesday’s press release essentially confirms that.
“After consulting with the Grizzlies and multiple specialists, we decided this is the best approach for Zach long-term as it gets him back to 100% with no limitations,” Edey’s agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told ESPN’s Sham Charania last week. “He will make a full recovery and be back better than ever.”
Edey dealt with left ankle soreness throughout his rookie season after a stellar college career at Purdue. The No. 9 pick in last year’s draft started 55 of the 66 games he played while averaging 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.5 minutes per night and posting .580/.346/.709 shooting numbers.
Edey was a first-team All-Rookie selection and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year balloting.
His injury could impact the way the Grizzlies approach the offseason. Two of the club’s other frontcourt players are headed to free agency — Santi Aldama (restricted) and Marvin Bagley III (unrestricted).
Zach Edey will undergo surgery after re-spraining his left ankle during a workout this week, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter). Medical imaging on the ankle revealed “excessive ligamentous laxity,” the team stated, and the procedure will “address the laxity and re-stabilize his ankle.”
The Grizzlies said a recovery timeline won’t be set until after the surgery is complete, but Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) reports that Edey will likely miss the beginning of next season.
“After consulting with the Grizzlies and multiple specialists, we decided this is the best approach for Zach long-term as it gets him back to 100% with no limitations,” Edey’s agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told Charania (Twitter link). “He will make a full recovery and be back better than ever.”
Edey turned in a strong rookie season after being selected with the ninth pick in last year’s draft. He started 55 of the 66 games he played while averaging 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.5 minutes per night and posting .580/.346/.709 shooting numbers.
Edey was a first-team All-Rookie selection and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year balloting.
Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal points out that Edey dealt with left ankle issues throughout the season. He first injured the ankle during Summer League action and later suffered another ankle injury that sidelined him for 12 games.
His injury could cause the Grizzlies to be in the market for frontcourt depth this summer. They own the 48th and 56th picks in the upcoming draft.
The NBA has officially revealed its All-Rookie teams for the 2024/25 season (Twitter links). The First Team is made up the top two picks in the 2024 draft, a pair of Grizzlies, and this season’s Rookie of the Year, while the Second Team is heavy on centers.
A panel of 100 media members selected the All-Rookie teams, with players earning two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team nod. The 10 players who made the cut, along with their corresponding point totals (Twitter link), are as follows:
Stephon Castle, Spurs (200 points)There are no real surprises on the First Team. Castle was the recipient of this season’s Rookie of the Year and was also the only player to be unanimously selected to the First Team, but fellow Rookie of the Year finalists Risacher and Wells weren’t far behind him. Edey and Sarr played significant roles for their respective teams and also finished in the top five in Rookie of the Year voting.
Among the members of the Second Team, Ware and Buzelis finished sixth and seventh in Rookie of the Year voting, while Missi, Clingan, and Carrington became starters for their respective teams in their first NBA seasons.
Carrington just narrowly edged out Jazz guard Isaiah Collier, who received one First Team vote and 50 Second Team votes for a total of 52 points. Carrington technically showed up on fewer overall ballots, but gained the slight edge because he was selected to the First Team by three voters (he was named to the Second Team by 47).
A total of 23 players showed up on at least one voter’s ballot, with Jazz forward/center Kyle Filipowski, Pistons forward Ron Holland, Lakers forward Dalton Knecht, and Suns wing Ryan Dunn rounding out the top 15 vote-getters — they, along with Collier, would’ve made up a hypothetical All-Rookie Third Team if the league recognized 15 players like it does for All-NBA.
All-Rookie is one of the few awards that doesn’t require players to meet the 65-game minimum and certain minutes-played thresholds. Risacher, Edey, Ware, Buzelis, and Clingan each would have been ineligible for consideration if that rule applied to All-Rookie voting.
Tuomas Iisalo expressed interest in remaining head coach of the Grizzlies, but he understands that it won’t be his decision to make, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (subscription required). Iisalo was asked about his future after Memphis’ season ended today with a first-round sweep by Oklahoma City.
“I don’t have any thoughts on that subject,” Iisalo responded. “. . . I tried to do my best in those (games). Those decisions are for somebody else in the future. Do I want to be permanent head coach? Yes, why not.”
Iisalo was selected to run the team on an interim basis following the surprise firing of Taylor Jenkins in late March with nine games left on the schedule. He guided the Grizzlies to a 4-5 record to close out the regular season, then lost to Golden State in the play-in tournament before beating Dallas to earn the No. 8 seed.
Iisalo, 42, coached for nearly a decade in Europe before Memphis hired him last summer to run the offense when the front office restructured Jenkins’ coaching staff by replacing five assistants. General manager Zach Kleiman didn’t indicate whether Iisalo would be a candidate for the job on a permanent basis when he spoke to reporters last month.
There’s more from Memphis:
Officially announced last weekend as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2025 class, longtime NBA star Dwight Howard has decided to play one more season of professional basketball in the BIG3, as first reported by Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
The BIG3 – the 3-on-3 league created by Ice Cube – officially issued a press release on Wednesday confirming that Howard has signed on to play for the Los Angeles Riot this summer.
Howard will team up with former NBA guard Jordan Crawford and former USC standout Elijah Stewart under head coach Nick Young. While Howard played for the Wizards like Crawford and the Lakers like Young, he didn’t overlap with either player during their stints in Washington and Los Angeles.
“I’m excited to join Ice Cube and the BIG3 – especially right after being inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame,” Howard said in a statement. “Words can’t describe how grateful I am for these opportunities. I can’t wait to join the L.A. Riot and try to bring another championship to the city of LA. But, the ultimate goal I have is to help the league go global.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
Dante Exum could make a surprise early return from his left hand surgery. The Mavericks guard has been upgraded to questionable for their game against the Lakers on Wednesday, Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Exum was expected to miss the remainder of the season after fracturing his left hand in mid-March.
Anthony Davis (adductor strain) is listed as probable to play in Wednesday’s game.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
Two-way Grizzlies rookie guard Cam Spencer has seen an uptick in minutes of late. The UConn alum has thrived in his expanded rotation role with the club. The 6’3″ pro spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype about how he’s relishing the extra run.
“As a competitor, you want to get as many minutes as you can to help contribute to winning for the team,” Spencer said. “It’s the NBA, so guys are in and out of the rotation. It’s cliché, but you do have to control what you can control a lot of times. With injuries and moving pieces, sometimes you get 20 minutes a game, and sometimes you get none or five minutes where the team needs a spark, so you really have to control what you can. You continue to work hard, control your attitude, and be ready when your number is called.”
Spencer reflected on the realities of life on a two-way contract, where young players are toggled between teams’ NBA and G League affiliate rosters.
“As a two-way player, your schedule is changing by the hour at times,” Spencer said. “You will literally be on a road trip, maybe going to practice or planning to go to practice, and then you get a call, and you have to leave the city within an hour to get back to the Grizzlies from being with the Hustle (Memphis’ G League affiliate). You play in the Hustle game for 30 minutes, then come back up top, and maybe you only get a few minutes. It’s a lot of just staying ready for your opportunities when they come, and that’s a lot of the NBA, especially on the two-way contract.”
Across 20 NBA games with the Grizzlies, Spencer has averaged 3.9 PPG, 1.4 RPG and 1.3 APG in 10.0 MPG. He has a solid .421/.371/1.000 shooting line.
There’s more out of Memphis:
Ja Morant turned in one of his best games of the season, but it wasn’t enough to give the Grizzlies a chance to beat Cleveland Friday night, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. Even though the star guard posted 44 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, the Cavaliers extended their win streak to 16 games with a convincing 133-124 victory.
“We didn’t come out with the right mindset,” Desmond Bane said. “We messed up some coverages early in the game and allowed them to get comfortable. When a good team like that gets comfortable, it’s going to be a long night.”
Losing to elite teams has been a frequent problem for the Grizzlies, Guillory notes, despite the fact that they’re 42-25 and entered Friday’s game second in the West. They’re just 1-5 in the six games they’ve played against Cleveland, Boston and Oklahoma City, and they’ve trailed by at least 20 points in four of the five losses.
“They’re good teams. They’re on a roll,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “We’ve just got to be better defensively in those situations. We can’t make excuses about anything, even when we’re not shooting well. We’ve got to be able to guard.”
There’s more from Memphis: