2022 January | Hoops Rumors

Knicks, Nets Each Fined $25K By NBA

January 21st, 2022 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has hit New York’s two franchises with fines, announcing in a pair of press releases that the Knicks and Nets have each been docked $25K.

The Knicks’ penalty is a result of violating league rules relating to media interview access, according to the league. New York refused to make Julius Randle available to reporters following Thursday’s loss to the Pelicans. It was the seventh straight time that Randle hasn’t spoken to the media after a game, notes Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link), so the fine is presumably a response to a series of violations rather than a single incident.

Randle has had an up-and-down season after winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 2020/21, and Thursday definitely qualified as one of his “down” moments. The veteran forward scored just four points on 1-of-9 shooting in an 11-point home loss. The last time he spoke to reporters after a game was when he gave a thumbs-down sign during a home game and later explained that it was a signal for the fans who had criticized him to “shut the f–k up” (Twitter link via Katz).

The Nets’ fine, meanwhile, is related to an incident involving assistant coach David Vanterpool, who received a separate $10K fine of his own. During Wednesday’s game vs. Washington, Vanterpool reached out from the sidelines to deflect a pass from Wizards guard Spencer Dinwiddie intended for forward Kyle Kuzma, resulting in a turnover (Twitter link). The incident wasn’t caught in the moment by referees and Brooklyn ended up winning the game by a single point.

Head coach Steve Nash said today that Vanterpool feels badly about his actions and called it an honest mistake in the heat of the moment (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).

Checking In On Traded 2022 First-Round Picks

January 21st, 2022 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

We’re over halfway through the 2021/22 NBA regular season, which means it’s a good time to take a look at where things stand with 2022’s traded first-round picks. Many of the traded first-rounders for the ’22 draft come with protections, so there’s a chance they might not change hands this year after all.

Using our list of traded first-round picks for 2022 and our reverse standings tool, here’s our breakdown of which of those traded picks are most and least likely to change hands, and which ones remain up in the air:

Picks that will definitely change hands:

Thunder acquiring Clippers‘ pick (unprotected).

When the Clippers traded a series of first-round picks and swaps to the Thunder in the Paul George blockbuster in the 2019 offseason, they weren’t counting on losing both George and Kawhi Leonard to long-term injuries in the same season. That’s the case this year though, and it could result in Oklahoma City receiving an extra lottery pick.

The Clippers are currently in a play-in spot, so their pick could move to No. 15 or lower if they make the playoffs, but for now it’s projected to be No. 11 or No. 12 (they’re tied with the Knicks in the NBA standings).

Thunder acquiring Suns‘ pick (top-12 protected).

The Thunder will also receive a first-round pick from another Pacific team, though that selection appears likely to end up at the very end of the round — the Suns have the league’s best record so far, so their pick would be at No. 30.

Grizzlies acquiring Jazz‘s pick (top-six protected).

The pick the Grizzlies are getting from the Jazz will fall near the end of the first round too. For now, it projects to be No. 25 or No. 26, as Utah is tied in the standings with the Heat.

Grizzlies or Pelicans acquiring Lakers‘ pick (unprotected).

The Lakers will send their first-rounder to the Pelicans if it lands in the top 10 or to the Grizzlies if it’s between 11-30. It’s certainly possible things continue to go south in Los Angeles and the pick moves up into the top 10 — if the Lakers don’t make the playoffs, their pick could even jump into the top four via the lottery.

For now though, the more likely scenario is that Memphis will get the Lakers’ pick — it would be No. 15 or No. 16 (they’re tied with Minesota) if the season ended today and L.A. clinched a playoff spot in the play-in tournament.

Picks that definitely won’t change hands:

Thunder acquiring Pistons’ pick (top-16 protected).
Hawks acquiring Thunder‘s pick (top-14 protected).

There’s still a lot of basketball to be played this season, but it seems pretty safe to pencil in the Pistons and Thunder as non-playoff teams, which means they’ll keep their first-round picks in 2022. Right now, Detroit’s at No. 2 in the lottery standings, while Oklahoma City’s at No. 4.

Given how weak the bottom half of the Western Conference has been, the Thunder could theoretically sneak into a play-in spot and make the playoffs, but it’s an extreme long shot — the teams ahead of them in the standings will be more motivated to push for the postseason.

Assuming they keep their pick this year, the Pistons will owe the Thunder their top-18 protected first-round pick in 2023. If the Thunder’s own pick is protected, they’ll instead send the Hawks their 2024 and 2025 second-round selections.

Still up in the air:

Hornets acquiring Pelicans‘ pick (top-14 protected)
Bulls acquiring Trail Blazers‘ pick (top-14 protected)

At this point, it looks more likely than not that the Pelicans and Trail Blazers will keep their own lottery-protected first-round picks.

Portland, despite holding the West’s No. 10 seed for now, has a tenuous hold on a play-in spot with Damian Lillard sidelined for a while. New Orleans may have some potential for a second-half surge, especially if Zion Williamson returns, but the team is on the outside looking in for the time being. Either team would have a difficult path to a playoff spot as a lower seed in the play-in tournament.

Currently, the Pelicans’ first-rounder projects to be No. 6 or No. 7 (they’re tied with San Antonio), pending lottery results. Assuming that pick ends up in the top 14, New Orleans would instead send their 2022 and 2024 second-round selections to the Hornets.

If the Trail Blazers keep their first-round pick, currently projected to be No. 9, they’d owe the Bulls their top-14 protected first-rounder in 2023.

Hawks acquiring Hornets‘ pick (top-18 protected)

The Hornets‘ first-round selection, which was just traded from New York to Atlanta in the Cam Reddish deal, is right on the edge and could go either way. It’s top-18 protected and is currently projected to be at No. 19, meaning the Hawks would receive it if the season ended today (as long as the seventh-seeded Hornets clinched a playoff spot in the play-in tournament). That could change quickly though.

Rockets acquiring most favorable of Heat‘s or Nets‘ pick (Heat get least favorable).

Finally, the Rockets will control the two most favorable picks of the following three: their own first-rounder, the Nets first-rounder, and the Heat‘s first-rounder; Miami will get the least favorable of the three, unless the Heat’s own pick lands in the top 14 (in which case Miami would keep it and Houston would get the other two picks).

It seems safe to assume at this point that the Rockets will keep their own selection and the Heat will make the playoffs, so it’ll come down to whether Brooklyn or Miami finishes higher in the standings. Currently, the Heat are a half-game ahead of the Nets, so Houston would get Brooklyn’s pick (No. 24) and Miami would hang onto its own (No. 25 or No. 26).

Thunder Re-Sign Mamadi Diakite To 10-Day Deal

January 21st, 2022 at 9:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have officially signed forward Mamadi Diakite to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Diakite’s first 10-day deal with Oklahoma City, which expired overnight, was completed using a COVID-related hardship exception. However, with Kenrich Williams no longer in the health and safety protocols, the Thunder are ineligible for another hardship exception, so Diakite will be on a standard 10-day contract, filling the open spot on the club’s 15-man roster.

In his first 10 days with the Thunder, Diakite saw action in four games, averaging 3.5 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 11.8 minutes per contest.

The 6’9″ forward, who is celebrating his 25th birthday today, was in training camp with Oklahoma City in the fall, but fractured his hip and was waived at the end of the preseason. He spent his rookie year in 2020/21 with the Bucks after going undrafted out of Virginia, appearing in 14 regular season games and seven postseason contests for the NBA champions.

Diakite will earn $85,578 over the course of his 10 days with Oklahoma City. Unlike his last deal, this one will count against team salary for cap and tax purposes — that’s not a problem for a Thunder club that remains significantly below the league’s minimum salary floor.

Chris Silva Signs Third 10-Day Deal With Heat

January 21st, 2022 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 21: Silva has officially signed a third 10-day hardship contract with the Heat, the team announced today in a press release.

JANUARY 20: Chris Silva‘s second 10-day hardship contract with the Heat expired overnight, but the expectation is that he’ll sign a third 10-day deal, according to reports from Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter links).

Silva, 25, appeared in seven games with the Heat during his first 20 days with the team, averaging 3.4 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 9.0 minutes per contest. The 6’8″ forward was on a 10-day deal with Minnesota earlier in the season.

Since guard Tyler Herro entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Wednesday, Miami remains eligible for a hardship exception. The league permits teams to add one replacement player for each player in the protocols, with the replacement’s 10-day hardship contract not counting against team salary for cap or tax purposes.

The Heat don’t play today, so they’ll likely re-sign Silva on Friday prior to their game in Atlanta. Based on the reporting from Winderman and Chiang, it sounds like the only way the two sides won’t complete another deal is if Herro tests out of the protocols quickly, making the team ineligible for a hardship addition.

Miami does technically have an open spot on its 15-man roster and could re-sign Silva to a standard 10-day contract, but such a deal would count against the team’s cap and tax. The Heat don’t have much breathing room below the luxury tax line, so they’ve kept their 15th roster spot open for the entire season to date. They’ll likely continue to do so until they can safely promote two-way player Caleb Martin to the 15-man roster without going into tax territory.

Injury Notes: Sabonis, Ingram, Doncic, Williams

January 21st, 2022 at 9:36am CST by Luke Adams

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said on Thursday that the team doesn’t have a “definitive” timeline for Domantas Sabonis‘ return from a left ankle sprain, but told reporters the All-Star big man will likely miss “at least a few games” (Twitter link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN).

As we observed on Thursday, it’s bad luck for the Pacers that two of their top trade candidates – centers Sabonis and Myles Turner – are battling injuries with the February 10 deadline around the corner. However, Sabonis’ injury in particular seems unlikely to be a long-term concern. There’s still a good chance Indiana hangs onto Sabonis, but any trade offers the team gets shouldn’t be negatively impacted by what appears to be a minor ailment.

Here are a few more health-related updates from around the NBA:

The Pelicans held Brandon Ingram out of the fourth quarter of their Thursday win over New York due to a sprained right ankle, says Andrew Lopez of ESPN. There are currently no plans to have the forward an undergo an MRI, but the team will evaluate the injury further before determining how much time – if any – he’ll have to miss. New Orleans doesn’t play again until Monday, so Ingram’s ankle will have a few days to heal.
Mavericks star Luka Doncic landed on his back after a drive to the basket during Thursday’s game against Phoenix and admitted after the game that his neck was “pretty sore” following the hard fall, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. However, Doncic expressed optimism that he’d be “OK in a couple days” and won’t miss any time.
Thunder forward Kenrich Williams is no longer on the team’s injury report, an indication that he has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols. A regular rotation player for Oklahoma City, Williams could draw trade interest from playoff teams in the next few weeks as a lower-cost three-and-D option.

Russell Westbrook “Surprised” By Crunch-Time Benching

January 21st, 2022 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers star Russell Westbrook told ESPN that he didn’t agree with the team’s decision to bench him during the deciding minutes of Wednesday’s loss to Indiana, writes ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Asked if he was surprised by the decision, Westbrook confirmed that he hadn’t been expecting it.

“Surprised, yes. I was disappointed I didn’t go back in, but I’m more disappointed that we lost the damn game,” Westbrook said. “I want to be able to be on the floor to help my teammates and be able to help our team win in games like that — but that was a decision that was made.”

As we outlined on Thursday, head coach Frank Vogel and his staff – with the support of management – opted to bench Westbrook with 3:52 left in the game after the nine-time All-Star continued to struggle with his shot and failed to execute on defense. Vogel later told reporters he was “playing the guys that I thought were going to win the game.”

Although Westbrook wasn’t thrilled by the decision, he suggested in comments to ESPN that he’s more concerned about the team’s win-loss record than his own role, adding that the Lakers have to “figure s— out and do what’s best for our team to win in the long run” and that he’s “committed to making this work.”

The 33-year-old was also upset with the perception that he left the arena on Wednesday without speaking to the media because he was angry about his benching. According to Wojnarowski, both Westbrook and the team said on Thursday that the organization had requested he skip a postgame interview.

“Ultimately, you have to be OK when s–t doesn’t go well and I’m OK,” Westbrook said. “I’ve done everything that’s been asked of me here, and I’ll continue to do so and ride this out as long as we can toward our ultimate goal — and that’s to win a championship.

“… I’m not the ultimate decision-maker of if it’s working — or if it’s not working. I’m OK with sacrificing some of the things that I’ve been able to do in this game to win, because that’s the most important part of this game. I’ve done everything they’ve asked me to do to this point.”

Westbrook’s numbers – including a scoring average of 18.5 PPG – are down across the board through 45 games with the Lakers, and the team has a sub-.500 record (22-23) after entering the preseason as conference favorites. Still, the veteran guard remains confident that both he and the club can turn things around.

“I want to get better as the season goes on, and I’ve got to take responsibility for the things I’m doing and how I’m making those around me better,” Westbrook said. “We have a legitimate chance to be able to win it all, and to do that, I’ll have to better — and I know that I will be.”

Thon Maker Signs G League Deal

January 20th, 2022 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Thon Maker has signed an G League contract, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets.

Maker, still just 24, has been out of the NBA since the Cavaliers waived him last winter to clear roster space in the multi-team James Harden deal.

Maker signed with Hapoel Jarusalem in August. His stay in Israel was a short one, as he parted ways with that team in mid-December. Maker will now look to join a G League franchise with the aim of working his way back into the NBA.

Maker, who was selected with the No. 10 pick in the 2016 draft, spent his first two-and-a-half seasons with the Bucks before being traded to the Pistons. The seven-footer completed his rookie contract in Detroit, then signed with the Cavaliers prior to last season as a free agent.

In 263 total regular season games in the NBA, Maker averaged a modest 4.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 0.7 BPG on .435/.327/.680 shooting in 13.8 minutes per contest.

Western Notes: Porter Jr., Bane, Jazz, Rockets

January 20th, 2022 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Despite undergoing back surgery at the beginning of last month, Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. reportedly could return this season.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski expanded on that possibility (video link), saying that in conversations with team president Tim Connelly and Porter’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, they “love the way he’s coming along.”

“There’s optimism we’re going to see him again this season,” Wojnarowski said.

That would be a huge boost to the Nuggets’ chances during the postseason. Porter signed a five-year max extension in September.

We have more from the Western Conference:

Desmond Bane says he deserves serious consideration for the Most Improved Player award, as he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “A lot of times, they don’t want to give it to guys like myself or Jerami Grant,” the Grizzlies guard said on Haynes’ podcast. “But your role changes as you get better. As you improve and as you get better, you get more leeway, you get more opportunities. That’s just how the game goes. They’re not going to give an opportunity to a guy that isn’t ready for it. … So I think that I should definitely be in the conversation.” Bane also believes he could take down the 3-point shooting contest on All-Star weekend if he gets the chance. “If I get invited, I plan to do it and I plan to win it,” he said.
Amid reports that the Jazz are looking for a wing upgrade, head coach Quin Snyder hinted that the team needs to do something about its defensive slippage. Utah was defeated by Houston 116-111 on Wednesday and Snyder lamented the team’s performance on that end of the court, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News writes. “We just had multiple breakdowns over the course of the game, in different capacities, defensively,” he said. “We were helping when we shouldn’t have been helping, not recognizing personnel situations, not focused on the details of what we’re trying to do on the defensive end.”
Speaking of the Rockets, they could be very active before the trade deadline as they continue their rebuild. The Athletic’s John Hollinger and Kelly Iko explore which players are most likely to be moved and their trade value. Hollinger sees a potential avenue for moving Eric Gordon to the Lakers and outlines what they could get in return.

Central Notes: Dosunmu, White, Kalamian, Holiday, Sexton

January 20th, 2022 at 8:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rookie Ayo Dosunmu and third-year guard Coby White have expanded roles in the absence of Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine and they’ve performed well, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago notes. Ball is out six-to-eight weeks after undergoing knee surgery and LaVine didn’t join on the Bulls on their three-game road trip due to a less serious knee injury.

Dosunmu and White have started the last three games, with Dosunmu averaging 18.0 PPG, 8.0 APG and 5.7 RPG and White posting 17.0 PPG, 4.3 APG and 4.3 RPG.

DeMar DeRozan has been impressed with Dosunmu’s maturity. “He accepts his mistakes,” DeRozan said. “He holds himself accountable. And that’s big for a young guy to be able to do that.”

We have more from the Central Division:

Pistons assistant coach Rex Kalamian has agreed to become the head coach of the Armenian national team, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnaworski tweets. Both of Kalamian’s parents are Armenian-Americans. Kalamian, who recently served as acting coach when Dwane Casey missed some games for personal reasons, will continue in his duties in Detroit.
Jrue Holiday returned to action on Wednesday after missing six games due to left ankle soreness. Though he only scored nine points in 22 minutes, he gave the Bucks a boost in numerous areas, Eric Nehm of The Athletic writes. “Wish I had a little more (time on the floor), but I think just trying to get my timing back, get my legs back, get my feel for the game back,” Holiday said. “I feel like I haven’t played in a long time, so just trying to get back right.”
Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton, who underwent season-ending knee surgery two months ago, will be a restricted free agent after the season. Bryan Fonseca of Basketball News explores the pros and cons of Cleveland trading Sexton before next month’s deadline. Fonseca ultimately concludes the Cavs should retain Sexton, providing another shot-creator and catch-and-shoot option on a team with playoff aspirations beyond this season.

Nets Agree To Find New Home For Paul Millsap

January 20th, 2022 at 7:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets have reached an agreement with Paul Millsap to find a new team for the 36-year forward, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Brooklyn will look to trade the little-used big man and could waive him if those efforts fail. Millsap has only played in two of the Nets’ last 17 games. Overall, he’s seen action in 24 games off the bench this season, averaging 3.4 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 11.3 MPG.

Millsap agreed to a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract in free agency to join a championship contender after his former team, the Nuggets, didn’t pursue him. He spent four seasons in Denver, averaging 9.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .476/.343/.724 shooting in 56 games (20.8 MPG) in 2020/21.

The Warriors, Bulls, and Clippers showed interest in Millsap last summer, so perhaps one of those clubs might be willing to trade for him.

Month: November 2024