Southwest Notes: Wells, Boston, Pelicans, VanVleet

Grizzlies wing Jaylen Wells has been one of the pleasant surprises of last year’s rookie class. As Spencer Davies of RG.org writes, the 21-year-old has been not just a rotation mainstay but a starter for the West’s No. 2 seed, averaging 11.4 points and 3.2 rebounds on .451/.382/.824 shooting in 25.8 minutes per game while taking on challenging defensive assignments. He also hasn’t missed a game thus far in 2024/25.

Wells is used to being underestimated, having played at Division II Sonoma State prior to transferring to Washington for the ’23/24 campaign. Despite being a second-round pick (No. 39 overall), he currently has the second-best betting odds for Rookie of the Year, only trailing Stephon Castle of the Spurs.

“I mean, I don’t really focus on it,” Wells told Davies of the ROY race. “I’m focused on getting a championship. And if it just so happens… I feel like if I’m playing winning basketball, it should fall right into my hands. So that’s kinda how my mindset is.”

According to Davies, Wells’ play has gotten the attention of several stars, including Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell, who recently faced off against Wells and Memphis.

“On the offensive end, I didn’t know he shot it as well as he did, with confidence. He’s kind of made himself a staple over there,” Mitchell said. “They really rely on him to disrupt a lot of different things. He’s definitely really talented, and he’s only gonna get better. I give him a lot of credit for continuing to be that player and not really tripping on if I score or he gets scored on, or if he makes shots, doesn’t make shots. He’s been that way. I’ve been watching it all year, first time in person.”

Here are a few more notes from the Southwest Division:

• Fourth-year guard Brandon Boston received a two-year, minimum-salary contract with a team option for ’25/26 when he was promoted by the Pelicans, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). As Scotto notes, it’s possible New Orleans could decline that option in order to give Boston a longer-term deal in the offseason.
• Boston (left ankle sprain), Bruce Brown (return to play reconditioning) and Kelly Olynyk (rest) are among seven Pelicans who will be sidelined for Thursday’s contest at Phoenix, per Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com. It will be the seventh straight missed game for Boston, who last played on February 8. Veterans Brown and Olynyk, who were acquired from Toronto in the Brandon Ingram trade, are likely being held out of the first end of a back-to-back for precautionary reasons after missing most of the season while recovering from injuries.
• Rockets guard Fred VanVleet has been sidelined since Feb. 1 due to a right ankle strain. His ankle’s range of motion is around 80% right now, according to head coach Ime Udoka, so he’ll be out again Wednesday, with the earliest he could return being Saturday vs. Sacramento (subscriber-only story via Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle). VanVleet is averaging 14.6 points, 5.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 45 games this season (35.5 MPG).