Month: November 2024

Community Shootaround: Rookie Of The Year

March 11th, 2019 at 6:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks’ Luka Doncic seemed to have the Rookie of the Year award locked up after his dazzling performances the first half of the season.

Doncic still appears to be the favorite, but a couple of players have narrowed the gap.

Doncic jumped right into Dallas’ starting lineup and has averaged an impressive 21.1 PPG , 7.4 RPG and 5.6 APG and 1.1 SPG in 62 games. The 20-year-old from Slovenia is so talented that Dennis Smith Jr. realized quickly he’d never be the primary play-maker again in the Mavs’ attack. The Mavs wound up trading the second-year guard to the Knicks as part of the blockbuster that delivered another young star, Kristaps Porzingis, to Dallas.

Doncic’s numbers have actually gone up recently, in large part because the trade left the current roster pretty barren. He averaged 24.4 PPG, 9.4 RPG and 7.4 APG in February and has posted 22.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG and 4.4 APG in five March outings.

The Hawks looked foolhardy for dealing away Doncic for point guard Trae Young and a future first-rounder on draft night last June. The deal doesn’t seem so lopsided now, as Young has come on strong in the past month-and-a-half. Over the last 22 games, Young has averaged 23.5 PPG and 9.0 APG. Young has moved up to fifth in the league in assists per game, trailing only Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry, LeBron James and Ben Simmons.

The splashy debuts of Doncic and Young has made it easy to forget that Deandre Ayton was considered a no-brainer choice as the top pick last summer. The Suns’ poor season has masked Ayton’s solid start in the league. He’s averaging 16.6 PPG and 10.3 RPG. Ayton hasn’t been a shotblocking force (0.9 per game) and like many young big men, tends to get into foul trouble. He’s increased his production during Phoenix’s improved play lately, averaging 18.3 PPG in six March games while committing a total of just five turnovers.

That leads us to our question of the day: Is Luka Doncic still the clear choice as Rookie of the Year? Has either Trae Young or Deandre Ayton pulled even with Doncic or even surpassed him?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Mavs Expected To Make Big Push For Kemba Walker

March 11th, 2019 at 5:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks are the biggest threat to the Hornets for unrestricted free agent Kemba Walker, longtime Hornets beat writer Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports.

Bonnell cites two knowledgeable sources who indicate the Mavs will make the high-scoring point guard their top free agent target. Dallas could plug Walker into its backcourt to create a formidable trio alongside rookie sensation Luka Doncic and recently-acquired big man Kristaps Porzingis. Dallas has ample cap space to offer the max a new team can give a free agent, a four-year deal worth approximately $140.6MM.

Walker is averaging a career-high 24.9 PPG and 5.8 APG in his walk year. Charlotte can offer him a five-year deal worth up to around $189.7MM, but the franchise’s inability to build a quality team around him may convince Walker to seek greener pastures. That five-year, maximum-salary figure could rise to $221MM if Walker is named to the All-NBA team, Bonnell notes.

The Knicks, Lakers and Pacers are some of the other teams expected to contend for Walker’s services, Bonnell adds.

Al Horford Wants To Play Until He’s 40

March 11th, 2019 at 5:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Celtics big man Al Horford wants to play until he’s 40, Brian Robb of the Boston Sports Journal reports.

That’s quite a lofty goal for a 12-year veteran big man who has already logged 775 regular-season and 111 postseason games in his career. Horford turns 33 in June.

“For me, as long as I’m healthy and feel good, I would like to play until I’m 40,” Horford told Robb. “Why not? As long as I’m healthy and feel good. I don’t want to be out there struggling or hurt or things like that. I really take the time to work on my body and I enjoy the game, so I wouldn’t see why I wouldn’t keep playing on it. I’m not going to put a limit on it. I’m just going to keep playing as long as I feel good.”

Horford missed 10 games this season, mainly due to a knee injury, but has been durable for much of his career. He played just 29 games during the 2012/13 season after suffering a torn pectoral but appeared in 68 or more regular-season games in each the next four years.

“I feel good. It’s something that I don’t have any complaints about,” Horford said. “I dealt with that (knee issue) in December, but I think it was probably like mid-January, that’s when I felt back like myself. Hopefully, I won’t have any issues with it.”

There are only 27 players in NBA history that have played at age 40, Robb notes, including two active ones (Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki).

Horford has one more year remaining on his contract with Boston, if he chooses to opt in to his $30.1MM salary for next season. He is averaging 13.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.4 BPG in 28.7 MPG this season.

Lakers Sign Andre Ingram To 10-Day Deal

March 11th, 2019 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

4:01pm: The Lakers have officially signed Ingram, the team announced today in a press release. His new 10-day contract will run through March 20.

12:50pm: Veteran G League sharpshooter Andre Ingram is set to get another shot in the NBA, according to reports from Lauren A. Jones of The Los Angeles Sentinel and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links). Jones first reported that Ingram will be rejoining the Lakers, while Charania adds that the 33-year-old is signing a 10-day contract with the club.

The G League’s all-time leader in three-pointers, Ingram had appeared in 384 NBAGL games over 10 seasons before finally getting a call-up at the end of 2017/18. The veteran shooting guard made a memorable debut for the Lakers last spring, racking up 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting (including 4-of-5 on threes) in an April contest vs. Houston.

Although he hoped that brief audition would earn him a chance to compete for an NBA roster spot last fall, Ingram ultimately returned to the South Bay Lakers, where he has averaged 8.6 PPG on .393/.355/.830 shooting in a part-time role over 35 games this season. It has been a down year for Ingram, who still holds a .451 3PT% for his NBAGL career.

The Lakers have an open roster spot, so they won’t need to make a corresponding move to clear space for Ingram. While that spot was originally considered likely to be used on a win-now veteran, the club has fallen out of playoff contention within the last couple weeks. Given the negative energy surrounding the Lakers during their recent slide, it makes sense that the team would instead opt to fill its roster by revisiting a feel-good story like Ingram’s.

Ingram will earn $76,236 over the course of his new 10-day deal. Once it expires, the Lakers can either sign him to a second 10-day deal, give him a rest-of-season contract, or let him return to free agency.

Kyrie: “The Way I’ve Handled Things Hasn’t Been Perfect”

March 11th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Having assumed a leadership role in Boston after playing second fiddle to LeBron James for years in Cleveland, Kyrie Irving has made a handful of eyebrow-raising comments to the media this season. Over the last several months, Irving has called out his younger teammates, expressed the need for a 15-year veteran in the locker room, and walked back a preseason promise to re-sign with the Celtics.

Looking back on the season in a conversation with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Irving admitted that he hasn’t always taken the best approach in his attempts to set an example for his teammates and get the Celtics on the right track.

“The way I’ve handled things, it hasn’t been perfect,” Irving said. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes that I take full responsibility for. I apologize. I haven’t done it perfectly. I haven’t said the right things all the time. I don’t want to sit on a place like I’m on a pedestal from anybody. I’m a normal human being that makes mistakes. For me, I think because of how fixated I was on trying to prove other people wrong, I got into a lot of habits that were bad, like reading stuff and reacting emotionally. That’s just not who I am.”

It has been an up-and-down season in Boston, and many of Irving’s most noteworthy comments have come after bad Celtics losses. However, with the club seemingly at a low point after losing for the fifth time in six games last Sunday, a cross-country flight to California provided an opportunity for the team to reset and bond, as Jay King of The Athletic details.

While it’s not clear if Irving offered a similar mea culpa to his teammates on that flight, King writes that the star point guard helped improve the mood surrounding the club by playing music, card games, and dice games during the trip to the Bay Area. Head coach Brad Stevens, Irving, and several other members of the club have pointed to that trip as a positive turning point for the Celtics, who have since won road games over the Warriors, Kings, and Lakers.

“It’s a long flight across the country, everybody’s getting their headphones on or whatever,” Al Horford said, per King. “And (Irving) just started talking, and then he was like, ‘Hey, let’s play cards.’ And we just got to talking. I just think that his energy in all that, that kind of brought us together as a group. And that carried over to that practice the next day in San Francisco, which I thought was a really good one, and then that shootaround before the game was really good as well, really focused. But it all started with the plane ride.”

Of course, there’s no guarantee that the recent good vibes surrounding the Celtics will continue all season, or that they’ll translate to postseason success. But for now, at least, the energy around the club seems more positive — even if Irving made it clear that some of his complaints about how the media manufactures drama still stand.

“I just want to make sure this locker room understands who I am and what I represent,” Irving told Haynes. “I’m trying to make sure that they set a great example for young players that are coming after them as well. Like I said, I haven’t said the right things and done all the right things, and I don’t ever want to compare myself to perfection. But I can tell that I’m definitely learning from the older players, the players that are my age and the younger players on how to deal with the evolution of just media. It’s a platform now, it’s an entire industry that bothers a lot of people, entertainers, athletes.

“… This is the responsibility that I have. I’m done complaining about it. I have feelings about it, but I’m not going keep badgering the media, keep badgering other people, keep badgering this or that. It’s about moving forward and keeping my sanctuary as safe as possible. As long as I go out there and handle my business, I don’t have anything else to worry about. As long as I go out there and do my thing and make sure my teammates are playing well and their spirits are right, I’m doing my job.”

Roster Moves Required Soon For Raptors, Heat, Rockets

March 11th, 2019 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Thunder signed Deonte Burton on Sunday, the move ensured that the team got back to the NBA-mandated roster minimum of 14 players (not including two-way contracts). Teams are permitted to dip below 14 for up to two weeks at a time, and Oklahoma City had been at 13 since February 24, so a roster move was required on Sunday.

Since the Thunder project to have the NBA’s most expensive tax bill in 2019, it makes sense that they’d take the entire allowable two weeks before signing a 14th player — by not paying a 14th man for those two weeks, the team will save approximately $500K on that year-end tax bill.

Currently, there are three teams in a similar boat to the Thunder. The Raptors, Heat, and Rockets are all carrying just 13 players on their 15-man rosters, and will have to make roster moves within the next week to get back up to 14 players. All three teams are trying to either stay out of tax territory or limit the amount of their projected tax penalties, so they – like OKC – may take the full two weeks to add a 14th man.

Toronto and Miami have been at 13 players since March 2, when 10-day contracts expired for Jodie Meeks and Emanuel Terry, respectively. They’ll have until this Saturday to get back to 14 players. Meeks and Terry remain on the free agent market, making them candidates to rejoin the Raptors and Heat, but both teams could end up going in different directions.

As for the Rockets, their roster count briefly dipped to 12 players on March 4, when Terrence Jones‘ and Chris Chiozza‘s 10-day deals expired. Jones was quickly re-signed, but Houston has been carrying just 13 players since then. The club will have another week to get to 14. With Jones’ second 10-day contract set to end on Wednesday night, a pair of roster moves will be necessary for the Rockets.

Bulls Proceeding Cautiously With Zach LaVine’s Knee Injury

March 11th, 2019 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Zach LaVine, who missed the Bulls‘ loss in Detroit on Sunday due to a right knee patellar tendon strain, is considered doubtful for Chicago’s Tuesday contest vs. the Lakers, head coach Jim Boylen told reporters today (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune).

LaVine is still being listed as day-to-day, but Boylen indicated today that the Bulls will proceed very cautiously with the injury (Twitter link via Johnson). While there haven’t been any conversations yet about shutting down the team’s top scorer for the rest of the season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if that topic is broached soon, per The Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link).

LaVine, who turned 24 on Sunday, has been playing some of the best basketball of his career in recent weeks. In his last 14 games, he has averaged 26.9 PPG, 5.4 APG, and 5.2 RPG, with a shooting line of .509/.442/.739. The Bulls, who are 19-49 on the season, held their own during that stretch with a 7-7 record.

However, Boylen acknowledged today that the franchise has to be aware that it’s not really playing for anything at this point of the season, and the Bulls don’t want to risk any player’s future “for one win” (Twitter link via The Chicago Sun-Times). Typically, this is the time of the year when teams jockeying for lottery seeding rather than playoff seeding are very conservative with injuries to key players.

“There’s no reason to go out there and try to risk anything right now,” LaVine said (Twitter link via Johnson). “It’s not smart.”

Ryan Arcidiacono, who took LaVine’s spot in the starting lineup on Sunday, is among the players who could see increased roles as long as LaVine remains sidelined. Shaquille Harrison, Wayne Selden, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot are among the other candidates for extra minutes.

Isaiah Briscoe Undergoing Surgery To Repair Torn Meniscus

March 11th, 2019 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Magic backup point guard Isaiah Briscoe will undergo arthroscopic surgery this Wednesday to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee, the team announced today (via Twitter). According to the club, there’s no set timeline for Briscoe’s recovery — his return to basketball activities will hinge on how he responds to rehab after the surgery.

While it’s good news that the Magic aren’t ruling out Briscoe for the rest of the season, his chances of playing again in 2018/19 may not be great, especially if Orlando doesn’t clinch a playoff spot. The regular season ends in less than a month, and players who have undergone similar procedures in recent years typically miss more time than that.

This past fall, for example, Russell Westbrook had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus on September 12 and returned to game action on October 21. Last season, Jimmy Butler underwent a similar procedure on his torn meniscus on February 25 and played his next game on April 6, returning just in time to help Minnesota clinch a playoff spot.

Every player’s injuries and recoveries are a little different, but it seems safe to assume that the Magic will be preparing for life without Briscoe for at least the next few weeks. In his absence, Jerian Grant will be first in line to assume backup point guard duties behind D.J. Augustin.

Grant, who held that primary backup role earlier in the season before Briscoe surpassed him on the depth chart, has averaged 4.2 PPG and 2.8 APG in 53 games (16.6 MPG) in 2018/19, with a shooting line of .414/.357/.684. The Magic have a -8.1 net rating with Grant on the court this season, compared to a +1.5 rating when he sits.

The Magic currently rank ninth in the Eastern Conference, a game behind Miami for the No. 8 seed.

Tobias Harris Talks Sixers, Trade, Future

March 11th, 2019 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers are in a much better position to sign Tobias Harris to a long-term contract than they would have been if he had remained in Los Angeles this season, since they now hold his Bird rights. But even before he was sent to Philadelphia in a pre-deadline deal last month, Harris had the 76ers on his list of potential free agent landing spots, he told Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Speaking to Charania, Harris touched on a handful of other topics, including his ability to play alongside and communicate with Sixers stars Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, and Ben Simmons, the trade that sent him from L.A. to Philadelphia, and his future beyond 2018/19.

Here are a few of Harris’ notable comments from the discussion:

On the process of meshing with three other star players in Philadelphia:

“I’m motivated by the challenge. With my game, I can play with anybody. I can be productive with whoever is around me and let my game shine the way it should. I play for the love of the game. I was excited by the challenge of coming into a group where we had work to do.”

On whether he was surprised by the Clippers’ decision to trade him:

“I was a little surprised, but it’s the business. They were going in another direction, obviously, so I wish them the best in that direction. At the end of the day, I can only control where I’m at. I want to grow with everybody here. I came here with an open mind about this group, and just excel in any role. I know the kind of player I am, what I bring to any team.

“Of course a part of me is like, ‘Damn, I did my thing, and still…’ But that just goes to show the game and the business aspect of it. I feel people around the league see my game and know my game. They have respect for my game. The 76ers viewed me that way.”

On whether he’s focused on remaining in Philadelphia beyond this season:

“It would be selfish of me to not come into this situation with an open mind to make this work for the long-term. That’s where my mindset is at. I’m a loyal guy to where I am, and if I feel that loyalty back, that is how I operate. For me, it’s just making it work here and figuring out how it will go. So far, it’s been really good. Gotta show that loyalty.”

Lakers Notes: Bullock, Walton, LeBron, Wagner

March 11th, 2019 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers haven’t exactly played their best basketball since adding Reggie Bullock to their rotation at the trade deadline. The team is just 2-9 in games that Bullock has appeared in so far, and the veteran sharpshooter hasn’t been at his best during that stretch either — his .333 3PT% is well below his career rate (.394). Nonetheless, Bullock has conveyed a desire to remain in Los Angeles going forward, as Ron Gutterman of LakersNation.com relays.

“I would love to be back here with the Lakers,” said Bullock, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. “I was a fan of this organization pretty much my whole life, and the connection me and ‘Bron (LeBron James) are building, it’s continuing to build trust. We’ll see how it plays out in the summer.”

Although Bullock has only played 11 games as a Laker, the club will have his Bird rights as a result of his previous contract with the Pistons. To retain those Bird rights, the Lakers would have to keep Bullock’s $4.75MM cap hold on their books this summer until they work out a new deal.

If the Lakers need to renounce Bullock to create cap room for a marquee free agent, that wouldn’t necessary rule out a return, but the club would be limited to re-signing him using any leftover cap space, the room exception, or the minimum salary exception.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Head coach Luke Walton is considered likely to lose his job at season’s end, despite once being viewed as the sort of coach who could stick in L.A. for the next 10 or 15 years. Matt John of Basketball Insiders argues that Walton doesn’t deserve the blame for the Lakers’ disappointing season, while Bill Oram of The Athletic presents a case for how Walton has been undermined and betrayed by team management.
In order to move forward, the Lakers first need to take a long look in the mirror, ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz writes in a deep dive on the franchise. Arnovitz criticizes owner Jeanie Buss for her recent claim that the media is the biggest challenge facing the Lakers, suggesting that the statement makes the team appear incapable of self-reflection. The Lakers are “so infatuated with the glory of their brand that they forget about the essence of their product,” Arnovitz contends.
After a surprisingly unsuccessful first season in Los Angeles, it’s impossible for LeBron James to predict what will come next, says Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. However, his friends and former teammates expect him to bounce back from a disappointing 2018/19 season. “Just having that break, being able to reassess and come back really, really highly motivated, I think it’s going to be big for him,” Kevin Love said. “If you get ‘Bron highly motivated, anything can happen.” Dwyane Wade, meanwhile, offered the following assessment: “This is definitely going to make him hungrier for what he’s trying to accomplish next year.”
Lakers rookie Moritz Wagner, who racked up a career-high 22 points on Saturday, is hoping to take advantage of an increased role down the stretch, as Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register details.

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