Bulls Rumors

2024 Free Agent Stock Watch: Central Division

March 16th, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Rory Maher

For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents during the 2024 offseason. We consider whether their stock is rising or falling due to their performance and other factors. Today, we’re focusing on a handful of players from the Central Division.

Patrick Williams, F, Bulls

2023/24: $9,835,881
2024/25: RFA
Stock: Neutral

The Bulls are in a tricky spot with Williams, whose season ended early when it was announced in February that he would undergo foot surgery that would sideline him for the remainder of ’23/24. He’ll be a restricted free agent if Chicago gives him a $12.97MM qualifying offer, which should be a lock.

Still just 22 years old, Williams is a former No. 4 overall pick who has shown glimpses of tantalizing two-way upside over his first four seasons. The problem is, those glimpses have been fleeting and have never been sustained for a prolonged period of time.

In fairness to Williams, injuries have certainly played a role in his up-and-down play — while he played 71 games as a rookie and all 82 games in 2022/23, he was limited to just 17 games in ’21/22 due to a wrist injury and only made 43 appearances this season due to foot and ankle issues.

I’m sure the Bulls would have loved for Williams to have a breakout season in ’23/24 and cement his place as a cornerstone to build around going forward. But his averages — 10.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.9 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .443/.399/.788 shooting in 43 games (27.3 MPG) — were basically in line with his career numbers. Not better or worse, just neutral.

Williams has a high ceiling on both ends of the court due to his size, length, athleticism and skills. His production hasn’t matched his talent level to this point though, and there are a wide range of outcomes for what his next contract could look like, depending on how much external interest he draws as a RFA.

Isaac Okoro, G/F, Cavaliers

2023/24: $8,920,795
2024/25: RFA
Stock: Up

Okoro was selected with the No. 5 overall pick in 2020 — right after Williams. And as with Williams, Okoro showed glimpses of being a productive rotation regular for Cleveland during his first three seasons.

So why is Okoro’s stock up and Williams’ stuck in neutral? The answer is subjective of course, but part of it has to do with expectations.

After playing a career-low 21.7 minutes per game last season, Okoro is up to 27.2 MPG in ’23/24, and he has played well both as a starter and as a reserve. Overall, he’s averaging 9.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.9 SPG on .498/.399/.686 shooting in 57 games, including 34 starts.

The 23-year-old has improved in the area most critical to his development: three-point shooting. His 39.9% mark from deep is a career high, and he’s Cleveland’s best perimeter defender.

Like Williams, Okoro will be a restricted free agent in the offseason if he’s tendered a qualifying offer. Given the Cavs’ salary cap situation, I don’t expect him to receive much more than the mid-level exception, which is projected to be worth about $13.8MM annually on a four-year deal.

Okoro’s future with Cleveland was looking a little shaky last summer after the team acquired Max Strus and re-signed Caris LeVert. But he has become more decisive and effective on offense on top of being an already-strong defender, and I’d be very surprised if the Cavs didn’t keep him around in the offseason.

Jae Crowder, F, Bucks

2023/24: $3,196,448 (minimum salary; $2,019,706 cap hit)
2024/25: UFA
Stock: Down

Now in his 12th NBA season, Crowder has far exceeded the careers of most second-round picks (he was selected No. 34 overall back in 2012). But he also appears to be at the tail end of his career.

The 33-year-old’s lengthy holdout with Phoenix last season was one of the more bizarre decisions for a player who was about to become a free agent. He was eventually moved to Milwaukee — his preferred destination — but at a significant cost: he made $10.2MM in ’22/23, and re-signed with the Bucks on a one-year, minimum-salary contract last summer.

Crowder hasn’t shown anything this year to prove he’s worth more than the veteran’s minimum going forward, averaging 6.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG on .421/.353/.692 shooting. He has only appeared 36 games (23.8 MPG), having missed 31 games early in the season after suffering a left adductor and abdominal tear, which required surgery.

Perhaps things will change if Crowder has a strong playoff performance, but to my eyes, he’s at least a half-step slower on defense than he used to be, and that was always his calling card. At his age, it’s rare for that trend to reverse.

Jalen Smith, F/C, Pacers

2023/24: $5,043,773
2024/25: $5,417,386 player option
Stock: Up

Smith, who turns 24 years old today (happy birthday), is actually the third former lottery pick from 2020 on this list, as he was selected No. 10 overall in the same draft as Williams and Okoro. However, he has had a much different NBA path than his fellow draftees.

Smith didn’t play much for the team that selected him, Phoenix, and the Suns declined their third-year team option on his rookie scale contract in 2021. He was traded to Indiana in February 2022, eventually re-signing with the Pacers on a three-year, $15.1MM deal with a player option for the final season.

In 2022/23, which was Smith’s first full season with the Pacers, it seemed like the team was a little unsure about how best to utilize him. He opened the season as the starting power forward, but it was an awkward fit on both ends of the court, and he was eventually moved to the bench, mostly playing backup center. Overall, he averaged 9.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 0.9 BPG in 68 games (18.8 MPG).

Smith’s counting stats in ’23/24 — 10.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 0.6 BPG in 47 games (17.7 MPG) — are very similar to last season’s. There’s one huge difference though: he has been one of the most efficient offensive players in the NBA.

After posting a below-league-average 56.5 true shooting percentage in ’22/23, Smith is at 70.7 TS% in ’23/24, more than 12% above league average. He’s shooting 71.8% on twos and 44.2% on threes.

Given his elite offensive efficiency, decent defense, and age, it’s hard to imagine he’ll pick up his $5.42MM player option. The big man market is pretty thin in 2024, and Smith is in line for a raise — the two-year, $16MM deal Moritz Wagner signed with Orlando last summer should be his floor.

The Pacers will have cap room and Smith’s Early Bird rights if they want to bring him back. But they also have to pay Pascal Siakam, and third-year center Isaiah Jackson will be entering the final year of his rookie scale deal. Money could be a sticking point in negotiations.

And-Ones: Scoring, NBA Cup, 2024 Draft, Two-Ways, Howard

March 15th, 2024 at 7:15pm CST by Rory Maher

In a memo obtained by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA told teams the league office “did not deliver a directive to reduce scoring” during a competition committee call earlier this week, but the post-All-Star break trend “will continue to be monitored.” As Wojnarowski writes, teams are scoring about four fewer points per game on average since resuming play at the end of February.

“Slower pace, style of play, competitive intensity, officiating focus have been contributing factors identified so far,” the NBA said.

According to Woj, the league also stated one focus area for the meeting was centered on offensive players “hunting for fouls and veering off paths into defenders.” That has also been a point of emphasis for officials — and a “contributing factor” in the reduced scoring output of late.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The NBA also informed teams that it was considering a couple of changes to tiebreakers for next season’s NBA Cup, which was called the In-Season Tournament during its debut in 2023/24, Marc Stein reports (via Twitter). Changes under consideration would impact tiebreakers for point differential and head-to-head results, per Stein.
Unlike in 2023, when there was a consensus No. 1 overall pick for well over a year, there’s a huge variance in where players are projected to be drafted in 2024, as Michael Scotto relays in the latest aggregate mock draft for HoopsHype. Scotto spoke to several NBA executives to get a feel for some of this year’s top prospects, including Alexandre Sarr, who is ranked No. 1 in aggregate but as low as No. 7. “I think Sarr has everything to his game,” one executive said. “He needs to go somewhere that’s patient with him. He can be a really good two-way player you can build around in two years. I believe in his shooting and shot blocking.”
Frank Urbina of HoopsHype ranks the most successful players who have previously been signed to two-way contracts. Austin Reaves (Lakers), Duncan Robinson (Heat), Alex Caruso (Bulls), Naz Reid (Timberwolves) and Luguentz Dort (Thunder) make up the top five of the 15-player list.
Former NBA player and assistant coach Juwan Howard has been fired as head coach of Michigan, the school announced in a press release. Howard compiled a 82-67 record in five seasons at his alma mater, making the NCAA Tournament twice (in 2021 and ’22), but the Wolverines went just 8-24 this season and were eliminated in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

Central Notes: Pistons, Giannis, Lopez, Craig, Phillips

March 15th, 2024 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons entered this season hoping to push for a spot in the postseason. They currently have the NBA’s second-worst record (12-53), so they’ll fall well short of that preseason goal. Still, they’ve won as many times (six) in their past 16 games as they did in their first 49 contests, and have shown real signs of growth as of late, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com and Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.

During their past 16 games, the Pistons rank 20th in the NBA in net rating (-3.0) and 16th in defensive rating (113.0). Their pieces also seem to fit together in a way that they didn’t before their trade deadline overhaul, Langlois observes.

“We’re coming together as a team,” center Jalen Duren said, per Sankofa. “We’re all feeling good playing, I feel like everyone is catching their rhythm. You see (Marcus Sasser) coming in and doing his thing, Big Wise (James Wiseman) coming in and doing his thing. … Everyone’s contributing in their own way. That’s helping us.

“… We talk about running through the tape as a team and finishing the year strong, so that’s kinda been my mindset these last whatever games it’s been since All-Star break. Just running through the tape.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

In a conversation with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo offered some interesting thoughts on the integration of Damian Lillard, the team’s multiple recent coaching changes, and the MVP race, among other topics. Antetokounmpo admitted this might be “the hardest season” of his career due to the adjustments to the personnel and coaching changes, as well as the procedure he underwent on his knee last summer.
Bucks center Brook Lopez tells Mark Medina of Sportskeeda that he believes the ups and downs of the season have made the team more resilient, adding that Doc Rivers‘ impact on the club has been “incredibly noticeable” since he replaced Adrian Griffin. “He’s given us a great energy and a great confidence,” Lopez said. “Things have been simplified. We have a lot of people on the same page right now.”
Torrey Craig made his ninth start of the season on Thursday, replacing injured Bulls guard Coby White. As K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago details, Craig made a strong impression, knocking down four three-pointers and serving as the primary defender on Kawhi Leonard.
The Bulls announced today in a press release that rookie forward Julian Phillips has been diagnosed with a right foot sprain. The team didn’t offer any sort of recovery timeline for Phillips, simply stating that he’s wearing a walking boot and that his status will be updated as appropriate.

Bulls Notes: Bitim, White, Phillips

March 14th, 2024 at 9:59pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Bulls rookie Onuralp Bitim has been a pleasant surprise, emerging in the rotation after having his contract converted from a two-way to a standard deal. He stood out with 10 points and six rebounds against Cleveland on Feb. 28 and scored 17 against Dallas on Monday. In a conversation with Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, Bitim said he tries to emulate the game of Manu Ginobili.

“He’s a very rare talent, definitely,” Bitim said of Ginobili. “But I love his basketball IQ on offense, on defense, how he passed the ball, shot the ball, drove the ball. But, yeah, like you said, he’s definitely a rare talent.”

Bitim is primarily known as a shooter, but he’s trying to stick in the league by showcasing other aspects of his game.

“I was a very good scoring player in Europe and also a good pick-and-roll player,” Bitim said. “I know how to read defenses because that’s what they have been teaching us since a young age. That’s why I think a lot of European players in the NBA know how to read defenses and how to read the games because they’re teaching us at a young age. But right now, I’m trying to just help my team. Whatever they need. If I need to defend, I need to defend. If I need to shoot, I need to shoot. If I need to take a rebound, I need to do that.”

Mayberry goes over a handful of other topics with Bitim, including his transition from Europe to the NBA and his early playing days.

We have more from the Bulls:

Coby White went through a tumultuous start to his career after being selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2019 draft, averaging 12.6 points per game through the first four years of his career, including a career-low 9.7 points last season. In need of a breakout season, White has delivered, increasing his scoring average to 19.5 PPG in his fifth year and becoming a frontrunner for Most Improved Player. SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell explores how White attacked this past summer, detailing his close work with trainer Johnny Stephene.
An MRI on White revealed a left hip strain, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) and the injury wasn’t as serious as it initially looked. According to Wojnarowski, White missed Thursday’s game, but could return to the lineup as soon as Saturday. NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson details how White, the NBA’s leader in minutes at 2,242, avoided a major injury and is day-to-day. “He was in some pretty significant pain right when it occurred and then he was in pain afterward,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “When you see a guy go down with that kind of force on top of him, you worry about this thing could be a lot worse. In some ways, we escaped a bullet there so to speak that it wasn’t something more significant or severe.“
Rookie forward Julian Phillips missed Chicago’s Thursday game against the Clippers due to right foot soreness, according to Johnson (Twitter link). Phillips is averaging 4.1 points in his last eight games, including an 11-point outing against Dallas.

Injury Notes: Mitchell, White, Luka, Green, Curry

March 13th, 2024 at 10:18pm CST by Rory Maher

After previously being listed as questionable, Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday following a seven-game absence, as first reported by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link).

Mitchell has been dealing with a left knee bone bruise that required a PRP injection to promote healing. He would have been in strong contention for an All-NBA team, but he missed his 18th game of the 2023/24 season on Monday, and is no longer eligible for postseason awards.

Led by a strong performance from Darius Garland and excellent team three point shooting (20-45, 44.4%), the Cavs were victorious in Mitchell’s return, defeating New Orleans by 21 points.

Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:

Bulls guard Coby White, one of the frontrunners for the Most Improved Player award, was injured after having his shot blocked by Pascal Siakam with about 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Chicago’s overtime victory over Indiana (Twitter video link). After the game, head coach Billy Donovan called it a hip injury and said White would undergo additional testing, but the fifth-year guard appeared to be in good spirits in the locker room, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago relays (Twitter links).
Mavericks star Luka Doncic exited Wednesday’s victory over Golden State late in the fourth quarter and was later ruled out with left hamstring soreness, the team announced (via Twitter). It’s unclear if the MVP candidate will miss additional time with the injury.
Warriors forward/center Draymond Green was ruled out for Wednesday’s loss due to lower back soreness, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. On a brighter note, two-time MVP Stephen Curry practiced with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors on Wednesday and will join Golden State in Los Angeles for Friday’s practice before determining whether he’ll face the Lakers on Saturday, head coach Steve Kerr told Slater and other media members (Twitter link).

DeMar DeRozan, Luka Doncic Named Players Of The Week

March 11th, 2024 at 2:35pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls wing DeMar DeRozan and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week, the league announced on Monday (via Twitter).

DeRozan, the Eastern Conference’s winner, averaged 29.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists on .551/.412/.923 shooting across four games last week (39.4 MPG). Chicago went 3-1 in those contests.

A six-time All-Star, DeRozan is one of the most noteworthy players who can hit free agency this summer. He’s earning $28.6MM in the final year of his contract and is eligible for a veteran extension until June 30.

Doncic earned his third Player of the Week award for the West in 2023/24. He’s also the reigning Player of the Month for the Western Conference. He helped guide Dallas to a 2-1 record last week, averaging 37.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 1.3 steals on .513/.385/.900 shooting (39.7 MPG).

Doncic has recorded a 30-point triple-double in each of the past six games. He’s having an incredible season, posting career-best averages in multiple categories, including leading the NBA in points per game at 34.7.

According to the NBA, Jarrett Allen, Dejounte Murray, Pascal Siakam and DeRozan’s teammate Coby White were the other nominees in the East, while Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trey Murphy, Zion Williamson and Anfernee Simons were nominated in the West (Twitter link).

Central Notes: Mathurin, Gibson, Pistons Guards, Bulls

March 10th, 2024 at 4:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Losing Pacers reserve shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin for the year will have an intriguing ripple effect on the team’s bench as it prepares for the postseason, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

As Dopirak notes, Indiana is now without two of its top-scoring reserves from the start of the season, between Mathurin and Buddy Hield, who was dealt to the Sixers at the trade deadline. Forward Doug McDermott, the Pacers’ own sharpshooting acquisition added at the deadline, continues to rehabilitate his right calf strain, though he’ll be a big part of the bench when he does play. Rookies Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker seem likely to get significantly more responsibility as the season winds down.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Workaholic new Pistons veteran power forward Taj Gibson, 38, is over a decade older than most of his new teammates. Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press writes that the 10-53 club appreciates Gibson’s daily grind, even in his 15th NBA season, and hopes that he can inspire the Pistons’ young, talented lottery pick core. Gibson is on a 10-day deal, so there’s no guarantee he’ll remain with in Detroit for the rest of the season.
The Pistons’ decision to, at last, stagger young guards Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey so that one of them remained on the floor at all times seemed to work wonders on Thursday in a 118-112 win over the Nets, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Head coach Monty Williams opted to employ a lineup of Cunningham alongside his second unit in the third quarter that really helped the club hold serve against Brooklyn.
Young Bulls guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu have each taken big leaps in their development this season, with White in particular enjoying a breakout year. A lot of their growth has happened with star shooting guard Zach LaVine, the team’s priciest player, sidelined due to injury. Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic thinks the improvement of the young guards could be negatively impacted by a LaVine comeback next year, and wonders if the Chicago front office will look to offload the two-time All-Star.

Disabled Player Exceptions For 2023/24 Expire On Monday

March 10th, 2024 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

A series of disabled player exceptions granted to teams earlier in the 2023/24 season will expire on Monday if they go unused.

The deadline to use a disabled player exception is typically March 10, but when that deadline falls on a weekend, it gets pushed to the next business day, which means teams have until March 11 this season to take advantage of their DPEs.

We go into more detail on who qualifies for disabled player exceptions and how exactly they work in our glossary entry on the subject. But essentially, if a team has a player suffer a season-ending injury prior to January 15, the exception gives that team the opportunity to add an injury replacement by either signing a player to a one-year contract, trading for a player in the final year of his contract, or placing a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract.

Here are the teams whose DPEs will expire if they aren’t used on Sunday or Monday:

Chicago Bulls: $10,232,559 (Lonzo Ball) (story)
Portland Trail Blazers: $5,785,715 (Robert Williams) (story)
San Antonio Spurs: $1,300,000 (Charles Bassey) (story)
Note: The Denver Nuggets also applied for a DPE worth $1,117,180 for Vlatko Cancar‘s ACL tear; it’s unclear whether or not that request was granted.

The trade deadline has passed and no players are currently on waivers, so there’s essentially just one way left for those teams with disabled player exceptions to use them: signing a free agent. However, that appears unlikely, given that the Bulls, Trail Blazers, and Spurs (as well as the Nuggets) have full rosters and haven’t shown any signs that they intend to make changes within the next 36 hours or so.

In other words, those exceptions will – in all likelihood – expire without being used.

The Grizzlies are the only team to use a disabled player exception so far this season. In a trade with Houston last month, Memphis took Victor Oladipo‘s $9.45MM expiring contract into the $12,405,000 disabled player exception that was granted as a result of Ja Morant‘s season-ending shoulder injury.

The Grizzlies traded Steven Adams to the Rockets in that deal, forfeiting a second disabled player exception (worth $6.3MM) that they received as a result of Adams’ season-ending knee injury — a DPE can’t be used after the team trades away its injured player. However, using the Morant exception to absorb Oladipo’s salary rather than matching it using Adams’ outgoing salary allowed the club to generate a new traded player exception worth Adams’ cap charge ($12.6MM).

Zach LaVine Talks About Recovery From Foot Surgery

March 9th, 2024 at 6:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Zach LaVine hoped to avoid having surgery on his injured right foot, but an outside opinion made him realize it was necessary, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. While attending this afternoon’s game in Los Angeles, the Bulls guard made his first public comments since the February 8 operation that ended his season. LaVine said he was trying to play for months with what amounted to a floating bone in his foot.

“I was pretty much trying to figure out every way not to,” he said of having the foot operated on. “You never want to have surgery. But I got to a conclusion, especially with what the doctor was telling me, that the pain level and this thing isn’t going to heal on its own. It’s a bone that was floating around. It’s known as a non-union Jones fracture, which I was dealing with for a while. And once the doctor—I’m glad I was able to find him—told me you need to get this done sooner than later, it was good to know.”

Johnson reports that LaVine is still wearing a walking boot, but he confirmed coach Billy Donovan‘s statement that the recovery process is ahead of schedule. LaVine said the soft tissue around the tendon needs time to heal, and he hopes to be able to get rid of the boot in about three weeks. The team’s original timeline puts him out of action for four-to-six months.

“I’m just feeling a lot better. I was able to take the cast off. I’ve been walking around in the boot. That’s the main thing I have to stay in. I don’t have a lot of pain,” LaVine said. “They said everything looks good. So hopefully the next update is as good as the last one.”

LaVine managed to play 25 games this season — averaging 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 34.9 minutes per night — but he went through two extended injury absences before opting for surgery. LaVine was also the subject of trade rumors for most of the season, as the Bulls got off to a slow start and were determined to shake up their roster, starting with their highest-paid player.

LaVine’s pricey contract and concerns about his durability limited interest around the league. The Lakers were mentioned most prominently as a potential destination, but their offer wasn’t close to what the Bulls were seeking. Chicago had talks with Detroit about LaVine up to the trade deadline, and a source tells Johnson that the Bulls’ front office plans to try again this summer.

“There’s a lot of things that don’t bug me,” LaVine said of the trade speculation. “My name has been circulating around more than once from the beginning of my career to now. If I let people’s opinions bug me or influence me, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today. So I go out there and keep doing me. Haven’t really talked to anybody, but we’ll continue to push forward. My main objective is to help the guys play and be myself out there. When I’m on the court, I know I make an impact most of the time offensively, but defensively as well.”

Chicago still may find it challenging to get offers for a player coming off foot surgery with three years and about $138MM left on his contract. LaVine said it won’t be difficult to return to the Bulls if a trade doesn’t happen.

“It’s not hard to fit back in, especially with the way I play the game and want to go out there and help,” he said. “You never want to be hurt, but it’s not hard to see yourself back out there.”

Injury Notes: Lonzo, LaVine, Scoot, Ayton, Middleton, Maxey

March 9th, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan shared some good news on Lonzo Ball on Saturday, telling reporters – including K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago – that the veteran point guard has begun more advanced rehab activities, including sprinting, cutting, and jumping. It’s a positive development, given that Donovan said last month that Ball hadn’t yet been cleared to sprint.

“Some of the workouts have been really, really positive and he has progressed,” Donovan said today. “He has responded well. Some of the things that medical guys have shown me is he looks good moving. I’m just really happy for him personally for his progress. He has worked hard to put himself in this position. And hopefully, he can continue to progress.”

Ball, who last suited up for an NBA game in January 2022, has undergone three surgeries on his left knee since then, including a cartilage transplant approximately a year ago. The next step in his recovery would be getting cleared for contact, but there’s no set timeline for him advancing to that stage, according to Donovan.

The Bulls’ head coach also provided an update on Zach LaVine, who underwent surgery on a “non-union Jones fracture” in his right foot last month. As Johnson relays, LaVine is ahead of schedule in his rehab process and is aiming to be back to full strength in three months rather than the four-to-six months initially projected. Either way, we shouldn’t expect to see the guard back in action until the fall.

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

A pair of injured Trail Blazers appear on track to return to action on Saturday, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter links). Scoot Henderson, out since the All-Star break due to a left adductor strain, and Deandre Ayton, who has missed the past five games due to a sprained right hand, have both been listed as probable to play vs. Toronto.
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said on Friday night that Khris Middleton (left ankle sprain) could play on Sunday for the first time since February 6, tweets Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. As Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes, Middleton has been sidelined long enough that he’ll fall short of playing in 62 games, which means he’ll miss out on earning a $1.5MM bonus in his contract.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse described Tyrese Maxey‘s concussion symptoms earlier this week as “very mild,” per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, and told reporters on Friday that he was optimistic about the guard’s chances to play on Sunday in New York (Twitter link via Mizell). However, Philadelphia has officially listed Maxey as out for that game. Unless that designation changes by Sunday night, it will be the fourth consecutive game he has missed.

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