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Atlantic Notes: Bridges, Towns, Tatum, Thomas, Shead

October 23rd, 2024 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Neither of the Knicks‘ two major offseason acquisitions got off to the sort of start they were hoping for this season on Tuesday night in Boston.

While Mikal Bridges salvaged his night to some extent by making 7-of-8 shots for 16 points in the second half, he went scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting in the first two quarters, didn’t grab a single rebound in his 35 minutes on the court, and was a team-worst minus-33 in his Knicks debut, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Bridges also admitted he wasn’t at his best defensively against Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who poured in 37 points.

“I definitely could have done better. I think my performance at the defensive end wasn’t that (good) for me personally, as well as our team,” Bridges said. “Me personally, I think I just could have been better, especially (against) a guy getting it and having that rhythm from the three, just getting up a little bit more (on Tatum).”

Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns had a relatively quiet night in his first game as a Knick, scoring 12 points and recording seven rebounds. The Celtics also frequently targeted him in screening actions, as Botte writes in a separate New York Post story. Like Bridges, Towns didn’t express concern about New York’s offense, but said the defense needs to be better.

“I just think that we just didn’t do enough defensively to give ourselves a chance to win the game,” the four-time All-Star said. “We’ve just gotta do a better job of executing on that end. Our defensive identity is what’s gonna give us a chance to do something great. Offensively, I think we showed tonight we can score, we’ve just gotta play defense.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Ahead of Tuesday’s regular season opener, Tatum spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about what it means to have won his first title and why he believes the Celtics are well positioned to win another championship.
None of the three Nets players eligible for rookie scale extensions signed a new contract before Monday’s deadline, but that was expected, since Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams have played limited roles in their first three NBA seasons and extending Cam Thomas would’ve eaten into Brooklyn’s projected 2025 cap room. As Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays, Thomas said on Tuesday he’s not bothered by not having completed a deal, while head coach Jordi Fernandez told reporters he didn’t feel the need to discuss the guard’s contract situation with him. “Yeah, conversations have been great. I think he’s in a good place, and I didn’t see anything that I should go and talk to him about it, the way he feels,” Fernandez said. “I think he’s been great. He’s done his job, and we have a clear path and direction for what we’re trying to do.”
In an in-depth feature for Sportsnet.ca, Blake Murphy takes a closer look at what the Raptors are getting in Jamal Shead, a “high-IQ, high-motor” rookie guard who may have been overlooked this offseason as the third of four players selected by Toronto in the 2024 draft. “Jamal actually should have gone in the first round,” Kelvin Sampson, Shead’s former coach at Houston, said of the No. 45 pick. “There’s such an undervaluing of the things that he does well. … If you’re a coach, you want Jamal. All he does is win.”

Atlantic Notes: Raptors Injuries, Raptors Schedule, Mazzulla, McCain

October 22nd, 2024 at 8:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors have listed RJ Barrett, Kelly Olynyk, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Bruce Brown as out for their season opener against Cleveland on Wednesday, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets.

Barrett is making progress in his recovery from shoulder injury. He was a limited participant in practice on Tuesday but still hasn’t been cleared for contact, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter links). Olynyk is dealing with back stiffness, while Walter and Brown are recovering from shoulder and knee injuries, respectively.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Raptors have acknowledged this will be a rebuilding season but that doesn’t mean they have to be boring, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. The Raptors plan to push the pace and play an entertaining brand of basketball but their early schedule is brutal, Koreen notes. In its first 25 games, Toronto will have 22 matchups against teams that finished better .500 in 2023/24.
Joe Mazzulla had a blunt and somewhat amusing response to questions about the pressure to repeat as champions. “It’s not pressure,” said the Celtics coach, per ESPN News Services. “There’s nothing anyone in this circle can do to me that’s going to impact my identity and who I am as a person or a coach. We’re either going to win or we’re not, and 40 years from now, none of you are invited to my funeral and that’s it.”
Sixers first-rounder Jared McCain averaged 12.8 points and shot 37.9% on 3-pointers in five preseason games but he’s unlikely to find many minutes on a win-now team. McCain plans to work hard and deal with whatever’s thrown at him in his rookie campaign, he told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. McCain will be available for Philadelphia’s opener on Wednesday despite suffering bruised lungs during a preseason game last week. He’s not listed on the injury report, Pompey tweets.

Injury Notes: Jackson, Grizzlies, Sixers, Raptors, Bufkin

October 21st, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. will be sidelined for Wednesday’s regular season opener vs. Utah but head coach Taylor Jenkins said there’s a chance he could suit up later this week, as Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal relays. Jackson was diagnosed with a low-grade hamstring strain at the beginning of October.

“Hamstring’s in a good spot, he’s been progressing well,” Jenkins said. “We’re going to be cautious, have him get a little more five-on-five in the next couple of days and probably trend more towards later in the week when he’ll return.”

Jackson has two years and about $48.7MM remaining on his contract. He was eligible to sign an extension worth $103MM over three years prior to Monday night’s deadline, but he’ll revisit a potential new deal in the offseason, sources tell ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That outcome was always considered likely, as the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year could earn far more money in 2025 than he can right now — he’d be eligible for a super-max extension if he wins DPOY, MVP or make an All-NBA team in 2024/25.

Jenkins also provided injury updates on Luke Kennard (foot soreness), Vince Williams (shin stress reaction), GG Jackson (foot surgery) and Cam Spencer (ankle sprain), Cole adds. Kennard will be sidelined for the first week of the season, Williams and Spencer are “still a couple of weeks away,” and Jackson will be reevaluated in late November.

Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:

Joel Embiid (knee management) and Jared McCain (pulmonary contusion) were able to go through all of the Sixers‘ practice on Monday aside from 5-on-5 scrimmaging, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports. Free agent addition Paul George, who sustained a hyperextended left knee in preseason action, did not practice but will be reevaluated on Tuesday, per head coach Nick Nurse.
Raptors wings RJ Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter practiced on Monday, but the team didn’t do any contact work, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic (Twitter link). Head coach Darko Rajakovic called Barrett day-to-day, while Walter is considered seven-to-10 days behind his veteran teammate. Both players are dealing with sprained AC joints in their right shoulders.
Second-year guard Kobe Bufkin suffered a right shoulder injury in Saturday’s practice and is undergoing testing to determine the severity of the injury, the Hawks announced (via Twitter). It’s unclear at this time how long Bufkin will be out, but he’ll be sidelined for Wednesday’s regular season opener, per the team. Bufkin was limited to just 17 games as a rookie last season due to toe and finger injuries.

Extension Rumors: Nets, Hyland, Mitchell

October 21st, 2024 at 1:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Three Nets players — Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams — are eligible for rookie scale extensions until Monday at 5:00 pm CT. Sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link) that none of the three are expected to reach agreements, which means the trio will hit restricted free agency next summer if they receive qualifying offers.

Thomas, who turned 23 years old last week, led Brooklyn in scoring last season (22.5 PPG) and could see his role expand further after the Nets traded Mikal Bridges in the offseason. Sharpe has spent most of the past three seasons as Brooklyn’s backup center, while former lottery pick Williams was acquired in an offseason trade with Memphis (it was a salary dump for the Grizzlies).

The Nets project to be one of the few teams with significant cap room in 2025 free agency, so Lewis’ report isn’t exactly surprising, but it’s certainly noteworthy that they seem to be aiming to preserve as much financial flexibility as possible heading into the 2025/26 league year.

Here are a couple more rookie scale extension rumors heading into today’s deadline:

Fourth-year guard Bones Hyland will not be signing an extension with the Clippers, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Hyland only appeared in 37 games last season, posting career lows in most major statistics, and was reportedly unhappy with his limited role. He’ll earn $4.16MM in ’24/25 ahead of possible restricted free agency next summer.
The Raptors and point guard Davion Mitchell are not expected to reach an agreement on an extension, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The No. 9 overall pick of the 2021 draft, Mitchell was sent to Toronto from Sacramento in a salary-dump deal over the offseason. As Grange observes, holding off on a new contract makes some sense for both parties — Mitchell will get a chance to prove his value, while the Raptors will get a full season to evaluate whether the former Baylor star should be in their plans going forward. Like the other players mentioned, Mitchell will be a RFA in 2025 if he’s tendered a qualifying offer.

Central Notes: Middleton, Winslow, Cavs, Bulls, Ivey

October 21st, 2024 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks forward Khris Middleton isn’t expected to be active for the team’s regular season opener against Philadelphia on Wednesday, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN. Middleton spent the offseason recovering from surgical procedures on both ankles and the team is taking a cautious approach to his return this fall, Charania explains.

Although Middleton recently expressed a desire to play in 70-plus games in 2024/25, it doesn’t come as a major surprise that he’s not quite ready for the start of the regular season. He didn’t appear in any preseason contests and head coach Doc Rivers said on Saturday that the three-time All-Star would need to play 5-on-5 before Wednesday in order to suit up for opening night (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).

The Bucks haven’t issued any sort of official update on Middleton, but it sounds like he’ll probably be considered day-to-day going forward, with a chance to make his season debut before the end of the month. That’s just my speculation based on comments from Rivers and recent reporting though, so we’ll keep an eye out for more news on the 33-year-old’s status.

Here’s more from around the Central:

The Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks‘ G League affiliate, acquired the returning rights to Justise Winslow and Darryl Morsell from the Raptors 905 in exchange for the rights to Wenyen Gabriel, Marques Bolden, and Deonte Burton, plus the No. 15 pick in this year’s G League draft, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links). As Murphy notes, several of those players are currently competing overseas, but Milwaukee signed Winslow to an Exhibit 10 contract during the preseason — securing his rights means he’ll now be eligible for an Exhibit 10 bonus worth $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the Herd.
The Cavaliers were much better when Max Strus was on the court last season than when he wasn’t, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who considers in a subscriber-only story how the club will get by without one of its top floor-spacers for the next six weeks while Strus recovers from an ankle injury. Fedor views Dean Wade as the favorite to replace Strus in the starting five, since he’s a solid defender and a strong three-point shooter. Caris LeVert‘s ball-dominant game is a better fit in the second unit, Fedor suggests, while Isaac Okoro is another candidate to play with the starters.
Lonzo Ball, Matas Buzelis, and Julian Phillips are a few of the Bulls players whose preseason performances provided reasons for optimism entering the season, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic writes in his latest stock report. On the other hand, offseason additions Josh Giddey and Jalen Smith and newly re-signed forward Patrick Williams have had up-and-down Octobers so far, as Mayberry details.
Jaden Ivey saw his role reduced under Monty Williams last season, but the Pistons guard is once again an offensive focal point under new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, says Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscriber link). Ivey was the Pistons’ leading scorer during the preseason and earned praise from Bickerstaff for his efforts. “He works his tail off and then he’s playing with confidence,” Detroit’s coach said earlier this month. “When you work as hard as he works and puts as much time in, and then you play with that confidence and belief, the work is going to pay off.”

Raptors Notes: Quickley, Mitchell, Dick, Agbaji, Fernando

October 19th, 2024 at 7:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors are counting on Immanuel Quickley to be their starting point guard, but it’s a role he doesn’t have much experience with, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.

Quickley only made 27 starts during his three-plus seasons in New York, and injuries limited him to 38 games after he was traded to Toronto in late December. Quickley made his preseason debut on Friday night after being sidelined with a sprained thumb since the start of training camp, and he’s confident that he can handle the responsibilities that come with being in the starting lineup.

“Nobody will ever hold me to a higher standard than I hold myself,” Quickley said. “There’s always different ways you can find to get better, the best players in the world, they find ways to get better, and I want to be one of those guys.”

With Quickley unable to play, the Raptors turned to Davion Mitchell, who was acquired from Sacramento this summer. Mitchell handled the job well, according to Grange, averaging six assists and less than one turnover in the games he started while playing high-level defense.

“I think that every year you’re going to have people out,” Mitchell said. “You’re not going to have like 100% of the team every year. So, just learning now in the pre-season with some of the starters is going to help me out a lot, just building that chemistry.”

There’s more from Toronto:

Gradey Dick had one of his best performances in this week’s win over the Celtics, Grange adds. The 2023 lottery pick scored 27 points in 25 minutes and displayed an offensive game that’s far ahead of where he was last year. “He ended the season really well last year, and he was playing really great [against Boston], just moving off the ball, cutting, shooting the ball really well,” said Scottie Barnes. “And, you know, we put our trust and faith in that he was going to get better [in the offseason]. He obviously did, just getting better at shooting, making decisions more with the ball off the dribble, getting to his pull-ups and doing things like that.”
Dick benefited from spending part of the summer training with Ochai Agbaji, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN. The Kansas alumni worked out near their alma mater while two Raptors assistant coaches supervised. “It was very competitive,” Agbaji said. “We were wearing ourselves out, and that was kinda setting the tone for the whole entire summer and setting the tone for now too.”
Training camp was an all-or-nothing proposition for Bruno Fernando, notes Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Fernando wouldn’t have gotten anything if he had been cut, but his $2.4MM salary will now become fully guaranteed after he earned a roster spot for the regular season.

Minor Moves: Thunder, Raptors, Celtics, Lakers, Bucks

October 19th, 2024 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have waived forward Malevy Leons, the team announced today. Leons went undrafted in June out of Bradley and signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Oklahoma City in September. His next stop will likely be with the OKC Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. If he spends at least 60 days with the Blue, Leons will earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth $77.5K.

Meanwhile, the Thunder’s roster is now regular season compliant. They’re carrying 13 players on standard guaranteed salaries, a pair on non-guaranteed deals, and three on two-way pacts.

Here are a few more minor transactions completed on Saturday around the NBA:

The Raptors signed and subsequently waived forward Kevin Obanor, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter links). After going undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2023, Obanor spent his rookie season with the Raptors 905. Today’s sign-and-waive transaction suggests he’ll be returning to the 905 this fall — Toronto already held his returning rights, but today’s moves will allow the 25-year-old to cash in on an Exhibit 10 bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the 905.
The Celtics signed Jordan Schakel to an Exhibit 10 deal on Friday, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac, and waived him on Saturday, according to NBA.com’s official transaction log. As with Obanor, the moves were simply designed to get Schakel a bonus for returning to the Maine Celtics, the team he played for last season. Boston also signed and waived Schakel in September, so it’s unclear why the club did so again a month later.
The Lakers have cut former Belmont standout Grayson Murphy after signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract this week, the team announced on Saturday (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic). The 25-year-old point guard spent the past two seasons competing in Germany, but appears ticketed for the South Bay Lakers to open the 2024/25 season.
The Bucks waived center Jalen Lewis after having signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract on Friday, per NBA.com’s transaction log. Lewis, who spent multiple years in the Overtime Elite program, will likely begin the season with the Wiscon Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate.

Raptors Cut Branden Carlson, Two Others; Convert Jamison Battle To Two-Way

October 19th, 2024 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have placed three players on waivers, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), who says that center Branden Carlson and guards Jared Rhoden and Jahmi’us Ramsey are the roster casualties in Toronto.

Carlson was on a two-way contract, while Rhoden and Ramsey were in camp on non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts.

Forward Jamison Battle, the team’s other Exhibit 10 recipient, has had his contract converted into a two-way deal, replacing Carlson, Murphy adds.

Battle, who went undrafted out of Ohio State in June, impressed the Raptors at the Las Vegas Summer League, where he averaged 7.4 points per game on .565/.600/1.000 shooting in five outings (14.0 MPG). He also had a strong preseason, putting up 6.4 PPG in just 9.8 MPG in five appearances off the bench, with a .545 FG% (and a .571 3PT%).

Battle will help provide depth early in the season on the wing, where RJ Barrett and Bruce Brown are among the projected rotation players dealing with injuries.

As Murphy tweets, Rhoden will likely report to the Raptors 905, since they control his rights, and the team should have the ability to designate Carlson as an affiliate player even though he was on a two-way deal. Ramsey’s returning rights are still controlled by the Oklahoma City Blue, so the 905 would have to acquire them in order to get him on their roster.

Toronto is now carrying 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus Bruno Fernando on a non-guaranteed deal, and three players on two-way pacts. Assuming Fernando makes the opening night roster, his full minimum salary will become guaranteed.

Atlantic Notes: McCain, Yabusele, Raptors Injuries, Shead, Walker

October 17th, 2024 at 10:46pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Promising Sixers rookie guard Jared McCain took a hard fall late in the fourth quarter of Philadelphia’s Wednesday preseason game against the Nets. He was down for a while, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link), but he was able to get up under his own power.

Head coach Nick Nurse said McCain went to the hospital to be evaluated and the Sixers announced he’d be checked for a concussion, according to Bontemps.

McCain was reevaluated on Thursday afternoon and was diagnosed with a pulmonary contusion, but has not displayed symptoms consistent with a concussion (Twitter link via NBA insider Chris B. Haynes). McCain is out for Friday’s preseason finale against the Magic and will continue to be evaluated daily.

Missing McCain for any time is a blow for the Sixers, but avoiding a concussion is good news for the young guard. He’s been a preseason revelation for the team, averaging 12.8 points and shooting 37.9% on 5.8 three-point attempts per game.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers forward Guerschon Yabusele made headlines in the Olympics after playing well for the French national team, then parlayed that performance into a contract with Philadelphia, his first since the 2018/19 season. Andscape’s Marc J. Spears details Yabusele’s return to the league in a recent feature. “My advice is just work hard, never give up and make your dream come true. If you want it, you’re going to have to go get it,” Yabusele said.
Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley went through a full practice on Thursday for the first time since the start of training camp, Josh Lewenerg of TSN reports (Twitter link). Quickly is questionable for the team’s Friday preseason finale against Brooklyn. According to Sportsnet.ca’s Michael Grange (Twitter link), the guard is still sporting a brace on his thumb. Meanwhile, RJ Barrett is still recovering from shoulder surgery and will not travel for the preseason finale. The hope for Barrett is that he’s ready for the start of the regular season, but there are no guarantees. Ja’Kobe Walter is dealing with the same shoulder injury as Barrett but he’s about 10 days ahead in the recovery process, according to Lewenberg (Twitter links). Walter has yet to be cleared for contact.
With Quickley soon to return and Davion Mitchell and Jamal Shead both playing well in the preseason, it’s possible the Raptors could roll with three point guards in their regular season rotation. However, according to Lewenberg (Twitter link), Darko Rajakovic‘s comments suggest Shead may start the season as the third-stringer, not part of the regular rotation. “I think it’s amazing that we have three point guards, and in practice you could see that everybody is pushing each other,” the Raptors’ head coach said. “Davion is making Quickley better. Jamal is making Davion better. They’re really, really competing and every team wishes for that. When you have more players competing for the same spot, it makes everybody better.”
With the Celtics cutting all their non-guaranteed camp invitees except for Lonnie Walker, it puts the seventh-year guard in the spotlight ahead of final cuts. Souichi Terada of MassLive believes Boston will ultimately waive Walker, since keeping him for the season would cost upward of $10MM in additional tax penalties due to the team’s position against the second apron. The Celtics have also opted to keep that 15th roster spot open to start the season in recent years.
Earlier this offseason, former Knicks manager of coaching analytics Nick Restifo left for the Hawks to be their director of basketball research. According to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Knicks hired CB Garrett, previously with the Bucks, to replace him.

Atlantic Notes: George, Nets, Walsh, Raptors

October 15th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Discussing Paul George‘s hyperextended knee on Tuesday, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse told reporters that “everything checks out OK” so far. Nurse added the team will do imaging later in the day and confirmed that George won’t be active for Wednesday’s preseason contest vs. Brooklyn, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports.

After completing an MRI on George’s injured knee, the 76ers announced that he has been diagnosed with a bone bruise, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports, who tweets that the imaging showed no structural damage. The team intends to reevaluate the star forward in approximately one week.

It’s good news for the Sixers and for George, who avoided a more serious injury. However, it remains to be seen whether or not Philadelphia’s top offseason addition will be ready to go when the club’s regular season tips off in eight days vs. the Bucks.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Veteran Nets players have said this month’s training camp is the toughest they’ve ever experienced, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. While first-time head coach Jordi Fernandez has focused on conditioning work and demanded high intensity in team scrimmages, he credits the players for fostering that environment. “The ones that are making it competitive, hard, physical and challenging are the players,” Fernandez said on Monday. “Obviously, my demands are to work extremely hard, to be a good teammate, to build relationships, to compete, to get one percent better, so on and so forth. … But the guys are buying into it, and they’re fighting for their opportunities, their spots, their roles.”
Second-year forward Jordan Walsh continued a strong preseason on Sunday with 16 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes of action in the Celtics‘ win over Toronto. Head coach Joe Mazzulla said he’s “really proud of (the) growth” he’s seen from Walsh this fall and spoke about the specific areas where the 20-year-old has made strides. “Just having an understanding of what his job is,” Mazzulla said, per Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “Defend at a high level, defend multiple positions, rebound, and then make reads on the offensive end.”
The Raptors lost games over to the weekend to Washington and to a Boston team resting its stars, but there were a few bright spots, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Big man Chris Boucher is having a strong preseason, as is third-year wing Ochai Agbaji, who figures to start on opening night due to RJ Barrett‘s shoulder injury. Newcomer Davion Mitchell, starting in place of Immanuel Quickley, has also made a case for a regular season role, Koreen notes — while defense is his calling card, Mitchell has done a very good job taking care of the ball on offense this preseason, with 14 assists and no turnovers in three games.
In case you missed it, we rounded up several Knicks-related notes earlier this afternoon.