NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/14/17
Here are Friday’s assignments/recalls from around the league…
- The Raptors assigned Bruno Caboclo and Pascal Siakam to Raptors 905, the team announced via Twitter (link). Caboclo and Siakam should pick up steady minutes for Raptors 905, as they take on the Maine Red Claws in the D-League Eastern Conference finals.
- The Rockets recalled Chinanu Onuaku, Isaiah Taylor, and Kyle Wiltjer from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced via Twitter (link). All three players received 35+ minutes in Rio Grande’s Game 1 loss to the Blue on Thursday.
- The Thunder recalled Josh Huestis from Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. Huestis scored 11 points over 29 minutes with the Blue in the D-League playoffs last night.
Details Surrounding Larry Sanders’ Release
When the Cavs released Larry Sanders on April 11, the transaction plainly appeared to be a basketball decision. In his return to the league, Sanders had been unable to crack Tyronn Lue‘s rotation; instead receiving minutes with the Canton Charge. Additionally, Sanders’ replacement- Edy Tavares– had an excellent year in the D-League, averaging 10.6 points with 7.7 rebounds over 48 games with Raptors 905.
An article by Jason Lloyd of The Athletic shed further light on the move, however; implying Sanders’ lack of punctuality may have played a role in his release.
“Sanders is gone again after he struggled keeping up with responsibilities on and off the court,” Lloyd writes. “He missed the team bus from the hotel to the airport Tuesday in Miami, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told The Athletic, the final blow to his time here after Sanders had previously struggled with punctuality.”
While he didn’t miss out on playing time due to lateness, Sanders’ demeanor appeared to indicate he was “far from being NBA ready.”
Dave McMenamin of ESPN spoke with GM David Griffin about the decision to cut Sanders. Griffin denied any incident being the culprit behind Sanders’ release, instead citing his lack of on-court progress.
“He [Sanders] didn’t have any kind of a setback relative to any of the demons he had or any of those things. He’s an NBA player. He’s kind of flaky. So sometimes you’re late. You’re this. You’re that. None of those things were incidents,” Griffin said.
“I have to take you in totality as a player, and if I know you’re not going to play, then what I’m going to get is everything else. And if I didn’t even feel confident that he’d be a benefit to the group in practice, then it was hard to me to tell coaches, like, ‘This is a guy you got to keep.’ So they had the conversation on the plane [back from Miami]; what else can we do? And we talked about it and we landed, and we talked to all the rest of our staff and made a decision.”
Raptors Tried To Land Giannis In 2013 NBA Draft
- With the Raptors preparing to face the Bucks in the first round of the NBA playoffs, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes about how Toronto president Masai Ujiri “desperately” tried to trade into the 2013 NBA draft to nab Giannis Antetokounmpo. Of course, those efforts came up short, as Milwaukee selected Antetokounmpo with the No. 15 pick.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/12/17
Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Wizards have recalled Sheldon Mac from the Rio Grand Valley Vipers, according to Chase Hughes of Comcast Sportsnet. Washington does not have its own D-League affiliate, so Mac played for Houston’s via the flex assignment rule.
- The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo and Pascal Siakam from the Raptors 905, according to their Twitter feed. Both players have seen action in Toronto’s game against the Cavs tonight.
Raptors Still A Work-In-Progress
- The Raptors are still working to incorporate all their new players, Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun details. The scribe notes that Kyle Lowry, who recently returned to the lineup following a wrist injury, hasn’t yet found a comfort level with new addition Serge Ibaka.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/10/17
Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
2:14pm:
- The Rockets have sent rookie forward Kyle Wiltjer back to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). As noted below, Wiltjer was recalled to Houston earlier today, but it appears it was just for practice purposes. By rejoining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Wiltjer will get a chance to play in the team’s playoff game tonight against the L.A. D-Fenders.
- According to RealGM’s transactions log, the Celtics have assigned Jordan Mickey to the Maine Red Claws, the Lakers have assigned David Nwaba to the L.A. D-Fenders, and the Pelicans have sent Axel Toupane to the Raptors 905. Mickey and Nwaba will be in action tonight, while Toupane’s team is awaiting the winner of the Maine/Fort Wayne series.
1:25pm:
- The Cavaliers have recalled rookie guard Kay Felder from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The Canton Charge’s season came to an end over the weekend, so Felder would’ve likely been back with the Cavs either way, but it’s worth noting that he could see some action for Cleveland tonight, with Kyrie Irving and LeBron James among the regulars expected to rest.
- The Rockets have recalled forward Kyle Wiltjer from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, according to the team (Twitter link). Houston has the No. 3 seed in the West locked up, so Wiltjer could get some playing time this week if regulars rest. However, if he remains with the Rockets through tonight, the rookie sharpshooter would miss the Vipers’ deciding first-round game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the D-League playoffs.
Raps Don't Plan To Rest, Do Plan To Shoot 3s
- The Raptors have no intention of resting their players in the final week of the regular season, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star says. Point guard Kyle Lowry says that the team can’t relax prior to the postseason.
- Expect the return of Kyle Lowry to guide the Raptors to more three-point attempts, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. At least that’s what head coach Dwane Casey foresees. “We were great for a while, and then for a long period of time we were turning down three-point shots,” he said. “For the rhythm of the offence, for their confidence, for their ability to make those shots, you’ve got to take them.“
Community Shootaround: Shooting At The Buzzer In Decided Game
Count Courtney Lee among the latest NBA players to complain about opponents putting up shots in the final seconds of a decided game. On Friday night the Grizzlies laid waste to Lee’s Knicks, culminating in rookie Wade Baldwin IV standing at half-court with the ball and a 10-point lead as the game clock neared expiration.
Just before time ran out, however, Baldwin hoisted a deep three and nailed it. The basket pushed the Grizzlies above the triple-digit mark earning Memphis fans in attendance free chicken.
Lee, unhappy to lose by 10 but considerably angrier losing by 13, went after the rookie but was thwarted by a handful of Grizzlies veterans.
“For him to do that, what are you doing it for, bro?,” Lee told Marc Berman of the New York Post. “Think about the people who’s doing it. They got bad luck in this league. … I don’t know what made him want to do it.”
Lee’s reaction is a common one among NBA players but should it be?
Just last week Lance Stephenson incited his own commotion by adding a layup in the final seconds of a win over the Raptors. Then, Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan called the moot field goal “disrespectful to the game“. This, naturally, was followed up by Stephenson exposing an instance of DeRozan’s teammate Norman Powell doing similar to the Sixers earlier this season.
Ultimately, the NBA and fan community that drives it need to decide what is permissible in the waning seconds of a ball game and what’s just sour grapes. In response to the Stephenson/Raptors theatrics, Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweeted “I’m so tired of these unwritten rules in basketball. If you don’t want a player to shoot at the end of the game then play some D.”
On one hand, it’s easy to empathize with players like Lee or DeRozan who see the unnecessary field-goal attempts as salt in the wounds of a fresh defeat. On the other, its a thin line expecting everybody to subscribe to the same unwritten rules of a game.
Should players adopt Marks’ stance and play defense if preserving a spread is so important to them? Or should players on the winning end know not to shoot when the game is out of reach?
Factors to consider are that some veterans will go so far as to let the shot clock expire before hoisting a shot at the buzzer resulting in their being assigned a turnover. Another is the fan factor, such as that which was in effect for Baldwin IV. Reaching certain point milestones, usually 100 points, can sometimes trigger benefits for fans in attendance. Does this impact the appropriateness of a last second basket?
You tell us in the comments below!
New Additions Giving Team Toughness
- The Raptors believes Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker have helped to alter the identity of the team, Dan Feldman of NBC Sports relays. “They gave us physical toughness,” coach Dwane Casey said, “that we haven’t had.”
Kyle Lowry Returns To Court For Raptors
Kyle Lowry will suit up for the Raptors in their game against the Pistons tonight and he’ll do so without any minutes restriction, according to Michael Grange of Rogers Sportsnet (Twitter link). Lowry hasn’t played since the All-Star break because of a wrist injury.
The point guard did some light shooting earlier this week and at the time he said his goal was to be ready by playoff time. He told reporters that he still had pain in his wrist, but added that he wouldn’t need medical clearance to play.
“No no no. It’s me, Kyle Lowry, who’s going to clear me. That’s who’s going to clear me,” Lowry said.
Lowry was playing exceptional basketball prior to being sidelined, as I detailed in an early season edition of Fantasy Hoops. The 3-time All-Star was averaging 22.8 points, 6.9 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 41.7% from behind the arc on nearly eight attempts per contest. He was also sporting a career-high 23.0 player efficiency rating and had true shooting percentage of 62.4%, which is also the best in his career.