New addition Kelly Oubre is expected to make his debut for the Suns on Wednesday against the Celtics. It’s unclear what role he’ll play in Phoenix but the 23-year-old appears ready for whatever the team asks of him.
“They’re on a three-game winning streak, man, and I don’t wanna come in and slow them down in any type of way,” Oubre said (via Gina Mizell of The Athletic). “I try to help everybody get better, and in the process be aggressive and find myself in the system…I bring a lot of energy.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Suns officially waived Austin Rivers earlier today and it’s unlikely any team claims Rivers off of waivers, ESPN’s Bobby Marks contends (Twitter link). The Nuggets are the only team with enough cap space to make the claim and it’s unlikely they take a flyer on Rivers at his current $12.65MM salary since doing so would take them across the luxury tax threshold.
- The Mavericks had conducted years of homework on Luka Doncic prior to the 2018 NBA Draft and it wasn’t difficult to convince owner Mark Cuban to trade up and nab the 19-year-old, as Eddie Sefko of Sports Day relays.“Mark saw all the same things we did,” GM Donnie Nelson said. “There were no coconuts necessary on this one.”
- Nick Young, who recently signed with the Nuggets on a non-guaranteed, one-year deal, is fitting in well with his new team, Mike Singer of The Denver Post details. Assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr. applauds Young’s adaptability. “He’s been as kind-hearted as they come. I think a lot of times [Young is] misunderstood, but there’s not a negative bone in his body,” Unseld said. “He is one of the most positive people that I’ve ever met. A little different, a little eclectic, but he’s very positive and it’s good particularly in the situation he’s in. Guys gravitate toward him.”
Nick Young is all right.
“No coconuts”? wtf
Lmao I’m glad I’m not the only one.
I don’t think Nick Young has ever been accused of being a bad teammate or anything. More just he has a hard time adhering to coaches because he’s a strange guy.
Right, personality wise, I’m pretty sure the story with Nick Young has always been that’s he’s just a little out there and he’s his own kind of odd. Regardless though, how weird he is, he’s always been a guy ppl get along with, and he’s always been a guy that’s able to make his teammates laugh and smile…
On the court, earlier in his career, he was kind of labeled as a solid scorer, but he was prone to not passing the ball enough, and too often looking for his own shot. Since then though, he’s grown up, and he’s now able to find his role within an offense successfully..
This summer many people here were saying that Doncic was gonna be a bust, too slow, can’t shoot, not strong enough… where are all those guys now, when Doncic is being a star on a play off team, I always said this guy was gonna be a superstar. Way harder to succeed in Euroleague than in the NCAA, is that simple.
If Ayton hadn’t been in this draft class, Doncic would have been the #1 pick.
Quote from the article: “Sometimes, his selling job fell on deaf ears. He was all over Giannis Antetokounmpo but was overruled by owner Mark Cuban.”
Can you imagine Giannis as a Mavs…