Year: 2024

Central Notes: DeRozan, Dosunmu, Middleton, Brogdon, LeVert

November 2nd, 2021 at 8:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan has proven to be a comforting presence on this Chicago roster thanks to his expert late-game play and overall leadership, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

“I think having a guy like DeMar out there, he plays with a pace and a tempo and a poise,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said of DeRozan’s on-court contributions. ‘‘He’s a guy that has experienced a lot individually with the way his career has been and also has experienced a lot of winning, so he has been in a lot of different situations.’’

“I’ve been in a lot of games being down big on the road, seeing things happen that’s possible,’’ DeRozan said. ‘‘For me, it’s just keeping that calm, not getting rattled and sharing whatever experience I can to kind of keep us together, as well.’’

The 32-year-old DeRozan, who joined Chicago on a lucrative three-year, $81.9MM contract, is the team’s leading scorer at present, averaging 25.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 4.0 APG, with a fantastic shooting line of .493/.412/.870. The 41.2% three-point shooting percentage may not last forever: a career 28.3% shooter from deep, DeRozan has never finished an NBA season connecting on better than 33.8% of his three-point looks. Nevertheless, should he keep up this output and the Bulls keep winning thanks to the scoring of the small forward and his perimeter running mate Zach LaVine, DeRozan may be in line for his fifth All-Star appearance this season.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

2021 second-round Bulls draft selection Ayo Dosunmu, taken with the No. 38 pick out of the University of Illinois, is impressing his hometown team, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “He’s got a certain kind of makeup that I think is really special,” Chicago head coach Billy Donovan noted. “He just is fearless.” In Chicago’s latest outing Monday, the 6’5″ rookie shooting guard poured in 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting, and appears to have carved a legitimate spot in Chicago’s rotation with his energetic defense.
Bucks swingman Khris Middleton has entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, per Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Middleton also missed game action for Milwaukee over the weekend due to what appeared to be a non-COVID-19 illness, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). “We thought he had a head cold or some type of non-COVID illness,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “And then (he) didn’t feel good again the next day. And got tested and has come back positive (for COVID-19).”
Tomorrow, Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon and swingman Caris LeVert are scheduled to play together for the first time since an April 29 home loss to the Nets, writes David Woods of the Indianapolis Star. Brogdon is recovering from inflamed tissue around his hamstring while LeVert is recuperating from a stress fracture in his back. “There’s not going to be many backcourts as good as us,” Brogdon said.

Agent: Pascal Siakam Could Be Back Within Two Weeks

November 2nd, 2021 at 5:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Agent Todd Ramasar, who represents Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, told Justin Termine of NBA Today on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link) that Siakam is set to re-join his teammates on the court within two weeks.

Siakam tore his left labrum in May, and went under the knife to surgically repair the injured shoulder in June. The 27-year-old recently resumed practicing with the club, as well as with its G League affiliate, Raptors 905, as he continues to rehabilitate.

Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca tweets that Siakam’s shoulder needs to be given the green light by his surgeon in Los Angeles. Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca notes (via Twitter) that Siakam’s timeline remains aligned with the Raptors’ original projection for his return following the surgery five months ago.

The 6’9″ forward was a crucial part of Toronto’s 2019 championship-winning team, and is hoping to bounce back following an underwhelming performance for the lottery-bound Raptors in 2020/21. After leading the Raptors to the second round of the NBA playoffs and being named to his first All-Star team in 2020, Siakam appeared to regress on both sides of the ball last season. Toronto finished with a 27-45 record while playing its home games in Tampa, and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2012/13 season.

Veteran team leader Kyle Lowry was shipped to the Heat in an offseason sign-and-trade. The Raptors selected exciting forward Scottie Barnes out of Florida State with the fourth pick in the 2021 draft. In seven games, Barnes is looking like a serious Rookie of the Year contender, averaging 18.1 PPG on 55.1% shooting from the field, along with 8.9 RPG. As a 6’9″ tweener forward, Barnes could be a long-term replacement for the veteran Siakam.

For now, it will be interesting to see how head coach Nick Nurse opts to juggle his starting lineup. He had been starting Barnes and ascendant 6’7″ swingman OG Anunoby at the forward positions, with 6’5″ Gary Trent Jr. starting at shooting guard. One of this triumvirate could head to the bench upon a Siakam return.

Maxi Kleber To Miss At Least 7-10 Days With Oblique Strain

November 2nd, 2021 at 5:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks power forward Maxi Kleber is set to miss at least seven-to-10 days of action with an oblique muscle strain, per Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Caplan notes that the injury had initially been considered a back strain.

The 6’10” big man has primarily backed up starting power forward Kristaps Porzingis, who will also miss tonight’s home game against the visiting Heat. This season, the 29-year-old Kleber is averaging 7.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 1.2 BPG in just 18.8 MPG for Dallas.

There’s more availability news coming out of Dallas before tipoff tonight.

Caplan reports that Porzingis will also not play tonight against Miami, but adds that head coach Jason Kidd sounds optimistic Porzingis will be available for tomorrow’s contest against the Spurs. Porzingis has been sidelined by a back injury for the Mavericks’ past three games. Kidd said today that Porzingis was “progressing” in his recovery from the injury, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (via Twitter).

With Porzingis and Kleber both absent, tweener forward Dorian Finney-Smith looks to be the starter at power forward for Dallas. Reserve guard Jalen Brunson appears set to move into the starting lineup at shooting guard, while swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. would subsequently shift up a slot to starting small forward.

Reserve point guard Trey Burke did not comply with the league’s mandated COVID-19 testing window for the second time in the last four games, but is still set to travel with the club to San Antonio tonight, per Caplan. MacMahon tweets that Burke will now miss his second game of the young 2021/22 season due to not wanting to get vaccinated, and will not be compensated for this missed game.

Bobby Marks of ESPN adds (Twitter link) that Burke will miss out on $34,389 per each missed game as a result of not following COVID-19 protocols for unvaccinated players. Burke is earning $3.2MM this season and holds a $3.3MM player option for next season.

Latest On Ben Simmons

November 2nd, 2021 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

4:32pm: Simmons has met with team doctors to treat a back ailment, but hasn’t been willing to discuss his mental readiness with the club’s doctors, according to a full report from Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski at ESPN. He has also engaged with teammates and members of the coaching staff in one-on-one situations at the practice facility, but it’s unclear if or when he’ll rejoin full team activities.

Sources close to Simmons tell ESPN that they expect to provide updates to the Sixers once the 25-year-old is comfortable doing so.

4:03pm: There is “frustration mounting” within the Sixers over Ben Simmons‘ unwillingness to keep the team apprised of his status, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne told colleague Malika Andrews today during a TV appearance (video link).

When Simmons told the team on October 22 that he wasn’t mentally ready to play, the Sixers stopped fining him for missing practices and games and offered him any off-court resources he needed to work through the situation. However, according to Shelburne, Simmons hasn’t been accepting any of the help or resources the club has made available.

Shelburne hears that Simmons has been working with mental health professionals through the National Basketball Players Association, but “hasn’t really kept the team in the loop” on the work he’s doing or progress he’s making. Besides not sharing any updates with the 76ers, Simmons also hasn’t resumed practicing with the club, having only conducted individual workouts.

There’s “no timeline” for Simmons’ return to practices or games, according to Shelburne.

Given that Simmons wasn’t in contact with the Sixers for months during the offseason, Shelburne’s update doesn’t come as a major surprise. Simmons’ actions don’t mean his claim that he’s not mentally prepared to play wasn’t made in good faith, but there was never any real indication that he’d reversed course on his desire to not play another game as a Sixer.

Team president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has stated that he won’t be rushed into making a Simmons trade before he gets an offer he likes. And while Morey’s claim that it “could take four years” was certainly an exaggeration, it seems unlikely that any deal will happen until at least December 15, when more players around the league become trade-eligible. If Simmons maintains radio silence in the coming days and weeks, the Sixers will have to decide just how much space they’re willing to give him.

Pacific Notes: Wiseman, Ayton, Kings

November 2nd, 2021 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors center James Wiseman, who has been cleared to participate fully in practices, said on Monday that he’s getting closer to 100% and believes he’ll be able to take part in 5-on-5 scrimmages soon, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN (Twitter link). Wiseman also said he’s interested in being assigned to the G League in order to get some game reps with Santa Cruz before he returns to action for Golden State.

Wiseman’s knee injury cost him the opportunity to play in Summer League and to be a full participant in training camp, but the second-year big man believes he’s made a lot of progress since his rookie season. As Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area relays, the 20-year-old said he’s “not lost out there” anymore and has a better understanding of where he needs to be on both offense and defense.

“I feel way more comfortable because I have way more experience than last year,” Wiseman said. “Just bringing that to my second year, I don’t feel lost, I don’t feel confused out there. I feel like I know what I’m doing. This year is way better because I have the knowledge from last year to bring over to the second year and just build off that.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Suns center Deandre Ayton has met the starter criteria, assuring that his qualifying offer next summer as a restricted free agent will be worth $16.4MM. As we detailed last month, the requirements for achieving the starter criteria have been slightly adjusted this year to account for last season’s 72-game schedule, so Ayton was able to get there despite not yet totaling 82 starts across this season and 2020/21.
The Kings‘ young backcourt of De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, and Davion Mitchell was viewed as one of the team’s primary strengths entering the season, but veterans Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes have been the team’s most reliable contributors so far this season, says Alex Didion of NBC Sports Bay Area. Barnes – who has two years left on his current contract – is averaging 23.3 PPG and 10.3 RPG with a .455 3PT%, while Holmes – who signed a new four-year deal this summer – has put up 16.3 PPG and 10.5 RPG with a .714 FG%.
In case you missed it, we passed along several Lakers-related notes earlier today.

Southwest Notes: Zion, Jackson Jr., Ntilikina

November 2nd, 2021 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pelicans coach Willie Green said doctors are “encouraged” by the latest imaging on Zion Williamson‘s surgically repaired right foot, but Scott Kushner of NOLA.com believes it’s hard to see Monday’s update as good news. Another round of scans will be conducted in two to three weeks. In the meantime, Williamson is taking part in 5-on-0 workouts, but hasn’t been cleared for full scrimmages.

Kushner compares the delay to Williamson’s rookie season, when he sat out three months after a preseason knee injury that originally had a six- to eight-week projected recovery time. He will miss eight more games if he’s able to return in two weeks, Kushner adds, and 12 if it’s three weeks. It could be much longer if the next set of scans don’t show improvement.

“We need him,” center Jonas Valanciunas said. “We are waiting every day for him to come back. It’s going to be a different look with our team. But he’s a huge piece for us. We need him back. Then we’re going to see what everything looks like.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Another Pelicans season is already in danger of slipping away, and William Guillory of The Athletic is calling on the organization to place a greater emphasis on Williamson’s weight and conditioning. Guillory adds that while Williamson’s size may not have caused the two injuries, it played a role in keeping him out so long two years ago and will likely do the same this season. New Orleans has been competitive despite its 1-6 start, Guillory notes, but the club doesn’t have anyone to take over on offense in close games.
The Grizzlies need more production from Jaren Jackson Jr. to become legitimate contenders, writes Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer. Jackson, who received a four-year extension before the season began, is the only Memphis big man who can shoot from the perimeter, but he’s connecting at just a 31.3% rate through seven games. In addition, frequent foul trouble is limiting him to just 26 minutes per night.
Frank Ntilikina is making a case for more playing time with the Mavericks, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The former Knicks guard has only been on the court for 61 minutes this season, but Dallas is plus-20 in that time. “When you look at the rotation, you have to play him,” said coach Jason Kidd.

2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Philadelphia 76ers

November 2nd, 2021 at 11:50am CST by Dana Gauruder

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2021 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s offseason moves and look ahead to what the 2021/22 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Free agent signings:

Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.

Danny Green: Two years, $20MM. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
Furkan Korkmaz: Three years, $15MM. Re-signed using Bird rights.
Georges Niang: Two years, $6.77MM. Signed using mid-level exception.
Andre Drummond: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Aaron Henry: Two-way contract.
Grant Riller: Two-way contract.

Trades:

Acquired the No. 53 pick in the 2021 draft from the Pelicans in exchange for cash ($2MM).

Draft picks:

1-28: Jaden Springer
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $10,393,483).
2-50: Filip Petrusev
- Stashed overseas.
2-53: Charles Bassey
- Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

Joel Embiid: Four years, maximum salary. Includes fourth-year player option. Starts in 2023/24.
- Note: Embiid’s starting salary in 2023/24 will be 35% of the ’23/24 salary cap.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Ben Simmons asked to be traded and was a holdout for the first two weeks of training camp. He remains on the roster but has told the team he’s not mentally ready to play.
Hired Jamie Young as assistant coach; lost assistant coach Popeye Jones.
Hired Tad Brown as CEO to replace Scott O’Neil.

Salary cap situation:

Remained over the cap and above the tax line.
Carrying approximately $142.9MM in salary.
$1,664,742 of taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($4,225,258 used on Georges Niang and Charles Bassey).
Would need to shed salary to use more than taxpayer portion of mid-level exception or any part of bi-annual exception ($3,732,000), since doing either would create a $143MM hard cap.

The Sixers’ offseason:

Following some major changes prior to last season – most notably the hiring of Doc Rivers as head coach – Philadelphia wasn’t particularly active this summer. The Sixers didn’t make a noteworthy trade and their free agent moves were mainly window dressing. Under normal circumstances, they would have been under the radar, quietly preparing for another winning season and banking on their recent playoff experiences to prime them for a championship run.

Instead, the Sixers were all over the news, thanks to their disgruntled point guard in the early stages of his maximum-salary contract. Ben Simmons‘ subpar performances in last year’s playoffs, punctuated by a reluctance to shoot and woeful free-throw numbers that made it difficult to keep him in at crunch time, had a carryover effect. His offensive issues led to plenty of criticism and contributed mightily to the team’s conference semifinal loss to Atlanta. There were all kinds of detractors who wondered whether the Sixers could ever win a championship with Simmons running the show.

He could have used that as fuel to prove the critics wrong. Instead, he took the opposite approach. With four years left on his max deal, Simmons made it clear during the summer that he had no desire to suit up for the organization again. Team executives, coaches and players couldn’t make Simmons change his mind. The front office and his agent, Rich Paul, looked into potential deals but Philadelphia made it clear from the start it wanted a major haul for the three-time All-Star.

Simmons eventually ended his holdout, but the drama continued into the regular season. He has yet to play this season while top executive Daryl Morey publicly dug in his heels, saying he has four years to get a deal done.

While Simmons pushed to leave Philadelphia, the team’s other big star was happy to commit long-term with a new max extension. Despite some concerns about Joel Embiid‘s health issues, the Sixers made it clear that they’re determined to win a title with their All-Star center leading the way.

Philadelphia also brought back two key perimeter players in free agency, re-signing Danny Green and Furkan Korkmaz. Green has started on the wing since he joined the 76ers prior to last season and brings plenty of championship experience to the table. Korkmaz has been a valuable reserve the last two seasons, providing some size on the wing along with 3-point shooting.

The Sixers did go shopping for upgrades at forward and center on their second unit. They opted for former Jazz backup Georges Niang and former All-Star Andre Drummond. Niang is another player who does most of his offensive damage from beyond the 3-point line.

Drummond’s value has dropped dramatically since his first few seasons with Detroit. He had a chance to reestablish his worth when he signed with the Lakers last season after he was bought out by Cleveland following the trade deadline. Drummond was so ineffective that he wound up getting benched in Game 6 of the conference quarterfinals against Phoenix. He’s capable of putting up big numbers at times, but he’s not used to coming off the bench.

The Sixers’ season:

Rivers admitted that the Simmons drama took some of the fun and excitement out of the start of Philadelphia’s season. The franchise is in a win-now mode and that doesn’t figure to change with Embiid locked up long-term.

It’s difficult to gauge how this season will unfold until there’s more clarity regarding Simmons’ status. It’s hard to imagine him getting back in uniform and winning over Philadelphia’s demanding fans after what has transpired over the last few months. At this point, a trade would seem like the best option, but Morey will have to drop his asking price for that to happen.

The Sixers still have the league’s top big man, a rock-solid scorer and rebounder in Tobias Harris, and a promising young point man in Tyrese Maxey. They also have plenty of shooting, led by Seth Curry. But even if Embiid is healthy for the playoffs, the Sixers will need to add a quality starter via a Simmons trade to make a spirited run this season.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Lou Williams: 2021/22 May Be My Last Season

November 2nd, 2021 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report (video link) about his NBA career, Hawks guard Lou Williams said that 2021/22 is “probably my last season.” However, Williams admitted that he thought the same thing last season and continued playing.

“Potentially,” Williams said when pressed by Rooks about whether he intends to retire after the current season. “I have the clarity, I’m OK with that. But I’m also OK with continuing to play if that’s where it takes me. I’m prepared for the worst.”

It doesn’t sound like Williams has made any decisions yet, but the fact that he’s even discussing retirement is noteworthy. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year just turned 35 last Wednesday, and some of his contemporaries have talked about wanting to play into their 40s. It doesn’t sound like the 17th-year guard expects his playing career to last anywhere near that long.

Williams, who entered the NBA as a second-round pick in 2005, has averaged double-digit points per game for 14 straight seasons, but has gotten off to a slow start this fall, averaging 6.3 PPG and 0.5 APG on .381/.333/1.000 shooting in four games for Atlanta.

While there’s plenty of time to increase those numbers, Williams’ limited playing time so far (12.3 MPG, two DNP-CDs) suggests he likely won’t have a major role for the Hawks this season. He’ll be a free agent in 2022 when his one-year, $5MM deal with the club expires.

Lakers Notes: Horton-Tucker, Ellington, Carmelo, Defense

November 2nd, 2021 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Lakers guards are working toward their returns to the court, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays (via Twitter).

Head coach Frank Vogel told reporters on Monday that Talen Horton-Tucker has had the stitches removed from his surgically-repaired right thumb and will begin shooting on Tuesday. Vogel also said that Wayne Ellington, who has yet to play this season due to a hamstring injury, will practice with the South Bay Lakers in the G League before debuting for the NBA team.

Horton-Tucker and Ellington are among a handful of Lakers that have yet to play this season due to injuries — Kendrick Nunn and Trevor Ariza have also been on the shelf since the regular season began. The club has managed to stay afloat in part by getting contributions from bench players who weren’t expected to play regular roles, including undrafted rookie Austin Reaves and recently-added veteran Avery Bradley.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Carmelo Anthony, who scoffed at the idea of playing a bench role for the Thunder back in 2017, said on Sunday that he believes there’s a “misconception out there” about his willingness to play any role asked of him. “I think people don’t really understand me,” the Lakers forward said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “… I’m easily adaptable, man, to any situation.” Anthony is thriving in a reserve role so far this season, averaging 16.7 PPG on .500/.522/.786 shooting in seven games (27.0 MPG).
With strong defenders like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marc Gasol, and Alex Caruso no longer on the roster, the Lakers are asking their stars to do more “dirty work” on the defensive end, as Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group details. “I think for a lot of our guys – Bron, A.D., Melo, Russ – a lot of their careers they’ve had a lot of ‘dirty work’ guys around them,” Frank Vogel said. “And now they have to support each other in that way and really commit to guarding their own man and executing our scheme.”
Count Vogel among those that believes the NBA should consider tweaking its rules to crack down on the so-called “Euro foul,” as Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets. While the NBA has made some changes this year to how fouls are called, the league has yet to address these intentional fouls to stop fast breaks.

Celtics’ Smart Calls On Tatum, Brown To Pass More

November 2nd, 2021 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics dropped their third consecutive game on Monday, falling to 2-5 on the season, and veteran guard Marcus Smart expressed some frustration in his media session following the loss to Chicago. As Brian Robb of MassLive.com details, Smart called out teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown when discussing the club’s ineffective late-game offense.

“I would just like to play basketball,” Smart said. “Every team knows we are trying to go to Jayson and Jaylen and every team is programmed and studies to stop Jayson and Jaylen. I think everybody’s scouting report is to make those guys try to pass the ball. They don’t want to pass the ball and that’s something that they’re going to learn.”

Smart added that the team is “proud of the progress” Tatum and Brown have made. However, he suggested the two young stars need to develop further as play-makers for others, rather than just looking to create their own shots.

“It’s something that we’ve been asking for them to do and they’re learning,” Smart said. “We just got to continue to help those guys do that and to help our team.”

The Celtics made a head coaching change over the offseason, with Brad Stevens moving to the front office and hiring Ime Udoka as his replacement. A highly-regarded assistant who is getting his first head coaching opportunity, Udoka may need to make some adjustments to a Boston offense that currently ranks 19th in the NBA.

“There’s only so much I can do without the ball in my hands, I’m just standing in the corner,” Smart said, per Robb. “We’re running plays for our best players, every team knows that. They do a good job of shutting that down. We can’t allow that. When they shut that down, we can’t keep trying to go to those guys. We gotta avoid that and find another way to give them the ball in the spots where they need the ball.

“Like I said for me, I can only do so much just standing there in the corner or when I give the ball away. I do everything I can on the other end to try to combat that. I try to talk, I try to make plays, get those guys the ball where they need it, where they want it.”

As Robb details, Brown declined to speak to reporters after Monday’s game. Tatum wasn’t scheduled to meet with the media.

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