NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/27/17
Here are Monday’s D-League assignment and recalls from around the league:
- The Sixers recalled Tiago Splitter from the Delaware 87ers, according to the team’s website. Splitter was acquired by Philadelphia in the Ersan Ilyasova trade at this year’s trade deadline.
- The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo from their D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, per the team’s Twitter feed. Caboclo has played a total of 89 NBA minutes since being selected with the 20th pick in the 2014 draft.
- The Spurs have recalled Davis Bertans and Bryn Forbes from the Austin Spurs, according to the team’s website. Both players were sent down to the D-League on Sunday.
Raptors Will Face Crossroads This Summer
- With several key players, including Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, on track for free agency this summer, the Raptors will have to think long and hard about their next steps. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer examines a few potential direction the club could go in the coming months.
Atlantic Notes: Long, VanVleet, Marks, Porzingis
Shawn Long has seized his opportunity with the Sixers; most recently scoring 18 points with seven rebounds in Friday’s win over the Bulls. Coach Brett Brown spoke with Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly about Long’s emergence in the absence of Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel.
“I think that Shawn Long has really grabbed his brief opportunities and been more than serviceable,” Brown said. “He’s shown reasons why he should be considered a genuine NBA player. Opportunity uncovers different qualities in people.”
While Long’s contract is partially guaranteed over the next two seasons, the 24-year-old has asserted his role in the league over the last nine games.
More from around the Atlantic…
- Fred VanVleet‘s season with the Raptors has affirmed his self-belief. VanVleet, who was disappointed to go undrafted following a successful career at Wichita State, worked his way from Toronto’s summer league squad to their regular season roster. “As a young player, any experience you get is beneficial – even if it’s learning from mistakes,” VanVleet told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. “It does give you some personal satisfaction, proving [you belong in the league] when you’ve known you’re good enough for your whole life and you know all the work that you put in and everybody counted you out. It’s good to know that I wasn’t crazy for believing in myself. It’s nice confirmation.”
- While Milos Teodosic appears unlikely to sign with the Nets– the Serbian standout cited “competitive ambitions” among his NBA requirements- Brooklyn GM Sean Marks continues to search for Euroleague point guards. NetsDaily detailed Marks’ activities during the GM’s recent trip to Barcelona (article link).
- Kristaps Porzingis‘ transition to the Knicks‘ primary scoring option has been an “ugly work in progress,” Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. As coach Jeff Hornacek has reduced Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose‘s minutes, Porzingis has faced significant expectations in running the offense. “Porzingis is a helluva player, but he’s young,’’ Clippers coach Doc Rivers said after Monday’s match-up with New York. “You just don’t walk into the league and change. He’s going to be a superstar. There’s not any doubt. But there’s not a lot of patience from what I remember when I played in New York. We’re going to have to allow him to be great.’’
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/22/17
Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Nuggets have assigned Malik Beasley to their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, according to a team press release. This will be Beasley’s sixth assignment this season.
- The Bulls have recalled Cameron Payne from the Windy City Bulls, according to a team press release. Payne played for Chicago’s D-League affiliate on Tuesday, scoring 22 points in 25 minutes.
- The Raptors have recalled Pascal Siakam from their D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Siakam is one of several 2016 first-rounders whom have been sent to the D-League this season, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors details.
- The Cavaliers have assigned Kay Felder to the Canton Charge, according to the team’s website. Felder has appeared in nine games for Cleveland’s D-League affiliate, scoring 30.4 points per game.
- The Warriors have assigned Kevon Looney to the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to the team’s website. Looney has appeared in three games for the Warriors’ D-League affiliate this season.
Serge Ibaka, Robin Lopez Get One-Game Suspensions
The NBA has suspended Raptors forward Serge Ibaka and Bulls center Robin Lopez one game apiece for their roles in Tuesday night’s on-court incident in Toronto, per a press release. Lopez will miss Chicago’s game tonight against the Pistons, while Ibaka will sit out the Raptors’ game on Thursday night in Miami.
During the third quarter of Tuesday night’s game between the Raptors and Bulls, Lopez and Ibaka got into an altercation that escalated into a near-fistfight. Both players threw punches, though Lopez missed hitting Ibaka, and Ibaka’s blow just grazed Lopez.
Although the fight could have been worse, it’s still a bit of a surprise that both players received just one-game bans. There was speculation that Ibaka could get a two- or three-game suspension and that Lopez could get an extra game on top of taht for throwing the first punch. Instead, both players received relatively light punishments, though they’ll lose a game’s worth of pay as they serve their respective suspensions.
Raptors assistant Jamaal Magloire was also penalized as a result of the altercation, having been fined $15K for pushing Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic, the league announced.
Poeltl Earning Trust And Playing Time
- Though sparsely used for the majority of his rookie campaign, first-year big man Jakob Poeltl is earning the trust of Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. “Every time you put him in, he does something positive,” Casey said. “There’s that trust, not only with myself but with his teammates. He’s doing positive things, he plays with physicality.” Poeltl has averaged 16.8 minutes per game in his last five contests.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/18/17
Here are the D-League transactions for Saturday:
10:45pm:
- The Knicks have assigned forward Maurice Ndour to their Westchester affiliate, the team tweeted.
- The Grizzlies have recalled center Deyonta Davis from Iowa, the team announced in an email.
2:17pm:
- The Raptors have assigned forward Bruno Caboclo and center Pascal Siakam to their D-League affiliate, the team’s media department reports on Twitter. Caboclo has seen limited action in just seven games with Toronto this season while Siakam has averaged 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 52 contests at the big league level.
- The Thunder have assigned forward Josh Huestis to their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Huestis has played 27 games with the OKC Blue already this season.
- The Cavaliers recalled rookie guard Kay Felder from their D-League affiliate, the team reports on its official site. Felder has played 37 games with the franchise already this season.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/16/17
Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
9:59pm:
- The Raptors recalled small forward Bruno Caboclo and power forward Pascal Siakam from their D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, the team’s media relations department tweets. Siakam wound up playing in the Raptors’ 123-102 loss to the Thunder on Thursday, contributing seven points in six minutes. Toronto assigned the same players to their D-League affiliate for practice purposes earlier in the day.
2:48pm:
- The Cavaliers have recalled newly-signed big man Larry Sanders from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The Canton Charge are in action tonight, but it appears that Sanders will be with the Cavs for their game against Utah instead.
- The Knicks have recalled forward Maurice Ndour from the D-League, according to the team (Twitter link). Ndour has appeared in 13 games this season for the Westchester Knicks, averaging 13.8 PPG and 6.8 RPG.
- Rookie guard Demetrius Jackson has been recalled from the D-League, while Jordan Mickey has been assigned to take his place on the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics announced today (via Twitter). It’s the fourth NBADL assignment of the season for Mickey.
Raptors Remain An Engima; Wright Opening Eyes
- Since acquiring Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker, the Raptors have been without star point guard Kyle Lowry, making them the great unknown in the Eastern Conference, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. As Lewenberg outlines, Toronto may have the highest ceiling and the lowest floor of any of the East’s challengers to Cleveland.
- Meanwhile, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star suggests that Raptors backup point guards Fred VanVleet and especially Delon Wright have been opening some eyes in Lowry’s absence.
Raptors Miss Lowry's 3s; Ibaka Impacts Game Without Scoring
- Say what you will about Cory Joseph backing up the injured Kyle Lowry, but one thing the reserve hasn’t been able to replicate is Lowry’s three-point shooting. “We’re more of a spread-it team,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said Monday night, per Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “Cory’s an attack guy, but he’s going into where everybody else is. It’s not that Cory’s doing something wrong; that’s just his game. When Kyle’s in there, he can space out and be one of the (pass) receivers out there.”
- When the Raptors acquired Serge Ibaka, they added a rare force capable of impacting a basketball game without scoring a point, Ryan Wolstat of the National Post writes. Ibaka did just that on Monday night, finishing with a plus-18 rating despite not scoring a single basket.