NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/23/18
Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA.
- The Lakers recalled rookie center Thomas Bryant from the South Bay Lakers, according to the G League team’s Twitter feed. Thomas has averaged 19.2 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 28 games with South Bay.
- The Magic reassigned forward Jonathan Isaac to their Lakeland affiliate, according to Orlando’s PR Twitter. Isaac, who missed almost three months with an ankle injury, is expected to see his first game action this weekend for the G League squad.
- The Spurs assigned rookie guard Derrick White to the Austin Spurs, according to a team press release. He has averaged 15.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 2.6 APG in 13 games with Austin.
- The Suns assigned Davon Reed to the Northern Arizona Suns, tweets Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports. In seven games with the G League squad, Reed has averaged 10.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG.
- The Cavaliers assigned guard Marcus Thornton to the G League’s Canton Charge, according to a team press release. Thornton has averaged 18.8 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 37 games with Canton.
- The Thunder have assigned center Dakari Johnson to the G League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue, per a team press release. Johnson has appeared in five games with the Blue, averaging 24.2 PPG and 10.4 RPG.
Southwest Notes: Leonard, Okafor, Benson, Grizzlies
The strange injury situation with the Spurs and superstar Kawhi Leonard took an unexpected turn earlier this week. Head coach Gregg Popovich said that it is unlikely that Leonard returns this season. A separate report indicated that Leonard — who has been medically cleared to resume his return — has personally made the decision to remain inactive.
Leonard, last year’s third-place finisher in MVP voting, has missed all but nine games this season. The Spurs have not missed much of a step without Leonard, wielding the third-best record in the Western Conference (35-24). Leonard’s longtime teammate and Spurs legend, Manu Ginobili, weighed in on the situation.
“Nobody is in his body,” Ginobili said, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (via Twitter). “He feels the way he feels and we don’t know. Yeah, we know he has been cleared. But, again, if he is feeling pain, isn’t sure, he is not ready to come back, then he’s not.”
Check out other Southwest Division notes:
- Emeka Okafor has fought his way back to the NBA and earned a pair of 10-day contracts with the Pelicans, Rod Walker of The New Orleans Advocate writes that Okafor, a former second overall pick, is glad to be back in the league. “It’s been an awesome ride so far,” Okafor said. ” I’m happy to be here trying to earn my way back in. Now that I’m back, it feels good and it feels natural. I’m going to keep on going until I’m told otherwise.”
- Pelicans owner Tom Benson was recently admitted to a Louisiana medical facility after experiencing flu-like symptoms, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Benson, 90, is resting comfortably and is receiving top-notch care, per the statement.
- The Grizzlies are finishing up a poor season that will not end in a postseason berth, but the team – led by veteran Marc Gasol and interim head coach J.B Bickerstaff – wants to finish the year well, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal writes.
Kawhi Leonard Choosing To Remain Inactive?
Kawhi Leonard has received medical clearance to return from a quad injury, but has made a decision to remain inactive, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Leonard met with a specialist in New York prior to the All-Star Game to get a second opinion on the right quad tendinopathy problem that has sidelined him for all but nine games this season. Sources told Wojnarowski that the decision on when Leonard will return is entirely up to him, and his comfort level with the injury will determine whether he plays again this season (Twitter link).
Earlier, we relayed the news that San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich told reporters tonight that he doesn’t expect Leonard back before the season ends. This report from Woj sheds some light on why he made those comments.
During his 10 days in New York, Leonard held workouts at the gym inside NBPA headquarters with representatives from the Spurs on hand to watch him in action.
Sources have told Wojnarowski that Leonard’s prolonged absence has caused stress within the organization, and the deteriorating relationship between the team and its star player could affect his decision when free agency arrives in 2019.
Popovich: Kawhi Leonard May Be Out For The Season
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters he will be surprised if Kawhi Leonard returns to action before the end of the season, tweets Michael C. Wright of ESPN.
“We only have X number of games left in the season and he’s still not ready to go,” Popovich says in a video tweeted by Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. “If by some chance he is, it’s going to be pretty late into the season and it’s going to be a tough decision, you know, how late you bring somebody back. That’s why I’m just trying to be honest and logical. I’ll be surprised if he gets back this year.”
Leonard missed the first two months of the season with a lingering quad injury, then was shut down by the team after appearing in just nine games. He was originally expected to miss just the preseason when the injury was discovered at an intersquad scrimmage in late September, but his debut date kept getting pushed back.
Tensions over the injury and the prolonged recovery process have reportedly led to some behind-the-scenes discord between Leonard and the organization. ESPN reported last month that a rift has developed between Leonard’s camp and San Antonio’s front office.
Leonard is coming off his best NBA season, averaging 25.5 points per game and finishing third in last year’s MVP voting. The Spurs had been hoping he could return for a late-season playoff push, but now that appears unlikely. San Antonio entered the All-Star break in third place in the Western Conference, but two games ahead of the ninth-place Clippers in the loss column.
“We’ve got to move on,” Popovich added. “The team has to realize this is who we have, this is who we are, this is who’s going to play, and wishing and hoping doesn’t do anybody any good.”
Tiago Splitter Announces Retirement
Veteran NBA big man Tiago Splitter has decided to retire, he announced in an interview with SporTV (hat tip to HoopsHype).
Splitter, 33, has been slowed by injuries over the last two years, having been particularly bothered by hip issues. He underwent surgery on his right hip approximately two years ago, but says he was recently told by doctors that in order to continue playing, he’d need to undergo a procedure on his other hip as well.
“I am going to stop playing. It’s a decision I’ve made these past few months,” Splitter said (English translation via SporTV). “It’s not something I want, but the hip injury I’ve been having is more troublesome than we thought. It’s a difficult time because you stop doing something you’ve done a lifetime. I remember being on a basketball court as long as I remember my person. I talked to my family, my wife, everyone, and really, it’s time to hang up the sneakers.”
As recently as October, we heard that Splitter was holding out hope of an NBA return, though even at that point he admitted he was still being bothered by his health problems. The Brazilian center last suited up for the Sixers in 2016/17, appearing in eight games for the team.
Having spent seven years in the NBA, Splitter appeared in 355 regular season contests, averaging 7.9 PPG and 5.0 RPG. Although he played in Atlanta and Philadelphia, the bulk of Splitter’s NBA career came in San Antonio, where he appeared in 65 postseason games for the Spurs and won a championship in 2014.
While Splitter told SporTV that he’s not sure exactly what his next step will be, he has previously expressed an interest in coaching, and reportedly received an invitation from Gregg Popovich to work with the Spurs. Splitter, who hopes to remain involved in basketball, has also done some television work, appearing on TV Globo during the 2016 Olympics.
Aldridge Finally Feels Comfortable In San Antonio
- Returning to the All-Star Game after a one-year absence, LaMarcus Aldridge no longer feels out of place in San Antonio, according to Tom Orborne of The San Antonio Express-News. An offseason trade request led to a heart-to-heart talk with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and sparked a resurgence in Aldridge, who has increased his scoring average by five points per game and is topping 20 PPG for the first time since leaving Portland. “The Spurs have kind of learned who I am as a person and have let me be me,” Aldridge said. “They had Tim [Duncan], who was an introvert, kind of a private person, so now they understand me better.”
Spurs Owners File For Divorce; Raise Questions About Future
Spurs chairman and co-chief executive officer Julianna Hawn Holt has filed for divorce from former chairman and CEO Peter Holt, Tom Orsborn and Patrick Danner of The San Antonio Express-News write. The couple has been married for more than 30 years and their separation has raised questions about the Spurs’ future.
Spurs OK With Quiet Deadline; Green Changes Agents
It was a quiet trade deadline in San Antonio, which is nothing new for the Spurs, who rarely shake up their roster in February. The team’s inactivity on Thursday was just fine with veterans like Tony Parker, who said prior to this year’s deadline that they’d be happy if the team stood pat, counting on Kawhi Leonard to be the major late-season addition.
“I think it is always good to stay intact,” Parker said of the Spurs’ roster, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “We went to the conference finals last year, so the biggest thing for us is not a trade but to get Kawhi back.”
- Spurs swingman Danny Green has new representation, per Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News, who tweets that Green has left BDA Sports and signed with Roc Nation. Green could reach unrestricted free agency as early as this summer if he turns down his $10MM player option for 2018/19.
Spurs Interested In Trading For Avery Bradley
FEBRUARY 8, 8:23am: According to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link), the Pistons discussed the possibility of trading Bradley or Stanley Johnson to San Antonio for Danny Green before including him in the Blake Griffin trade, so it makes sense that the Spurs would still have interest.
One potential deal the Spurs and Clippers have discussed is Green and a first-round pick in exchange for Bradley, league sources tell Stein (Twitter link). However, San Antonio would prefer not to part with a first-rounder, Stein adds (via Twitter).
FEBRUARY 7, 10:31pm: The Spurs have become a “trade suitor” for Clippers guard Avery Bradley, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Bradley was acquired from the Pistons last week in the deal that sent Blake Griffin to Detroit. He has an $8.8MM expiring contract and reportedly isn’t in the Clippers’ long-term plans. He has been productive in two games for L.A., playing 30 minutes per night and averaging 10.0 points.
The Spurs have been shorthanded on the wing with both Kawhi Leonard and Rudy Gay sidelined by injuries. It would take Gay, Danny Green or a combination of smaller salaries to match up with Bradley’s, and the Clippers will probably want some draft assets in return.
Forbes Releases 2018 NBA Franchise Valuations
The Knicks are still reeling from Tuesday’s news that Kristaps Porzingis has suffered a torn ACL and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. While Porzingis’ injury essentially eliminates the Knicks from the playoff race in the East, team ownership can at least find some solace in the fact that the organization remains the highest-valued franchise in the NBA, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.
For the first time, all 30 NBA teams have a perceived worth of $1 billion or more, per Forbes’ annual report. In 2017, 18 teams had a valuation exceeding $1 billion, which was up from 13 teams in 2016 and just three teams in 2015.
The league-wide average of $1.65 billion per team is also a record, with franchise valuations up 22% in total over last year’s figures. NBA franchise values have tripled over the last five years, according to Badenhausen.
Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:
- New York Knicks: $3.6 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers: $3.3 billion
- Golden State Warriors: $3.1 billion
- Chicago Bulls: $2.6 billion
- Boston Celtics: $2.5 billion
- Brooklyn Nets: $2.3 billion
- Houston Rockets: $2.2 billion
- Los Angeles Clippers: $2.15 billion
- Dallas Mavericks: $1.9 billion
- Miami Heat: $1.7 billion
- San Antonio Spurs: $1.55 billion
- Toronto Raptors: $1.4 billion
- Sacramento Kings: $1.375 billion
- Washington Wizards: $1.35 billion
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.325 billion
- Portland Trail Blazers: $1.3 billion
- Phoenix Suns: $1.28 billion
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.25 billion
- Orlando Magic: $1.225 billion
- Utah Jazz: $1.2 billion
- Philadelphia 76ers: $1.18 billion
- Indiana Pacers: $1.175 billion
- Atlanta Hawks: $1.15 billion
- Denver Nuggets: $1.125 billion
- Detroit Pistons: $1.1 billion
- Milwaukee Bucks: $1.075 billion
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.06 billion
- Charlotte Hornets: $1.05 billion
- Memphis Grizzlies: $1.025 billion
- New Orleans Pelicans: $1 billion
For comparison’s sake, Forbes’ 2017 valuations can be found right here.