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Knicks Notes: Thibodeau, Drummond, Robinson, Ntilikina

March 20th, 2021 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has a reputation for preferring veterans over young players and other future assets, but he indicated the organization might not take that approach this year, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. The Knicks have exceeded expectations so far, holding a 21-21 record that has them tied for sixth place in the East. Although there’s temptation to add talent to end a long playoff drought, Thibodeau suggested the team is willing to take a long-term approach.

“It’s important for us to go step-by-step and not skip over things,’’ he said. “The whole goal this year is to build a foundation and the right type of habits. Wherever that leads us, it leads us. Our players have responded. In this league, you’re always looking for player development first, then look at the draft and free agency, then trades. You never stop working in all four areas. Every day it’s how can we make the team better. That’s where our focus lies with coaches, front office and players. We’re all tied together. We’re going to do what’s best for the Knicks.’’

Berman notes that two of the most prominent names the Knicks have been tied to — Rockets guard Victor Oladipo and Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball — will be free agents this summer and may be obtainable without breaking up the young core.

There’s more from New York:

Andre Drummond could be worth watching if he reaches a buyout with the Cavaliers, Berman adds in the same story, but there’s “mutual disinterest” between the Knicks and Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who plays the same position as Julius Randle.
Center Mitchell Robinson could be back Sunday after missing 15 games with a broken hand, but he may not rejoin the starting lineup right away, Berman states in a separate story. Nerlens Noel has been effective in his place, and Robinson may return on a minutes restriction. “I want to see how that goes,” Thibodeau said. “There’s great versatility there. Eventually, he’ll get back to starting. Whether that happens right away or down the road … I’m comfortable with both guys in that role. And I’m really comfortable with Taj (Gibson) as well. That gives us great depth at that position.”
Frank Ntilikina, who’s on the final year of his rookie contract and will have a $15.6MM cap hold if he receives a qualifying offer, seems to be the most likely Knicks player to be traded, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. Alec Burks, Reggie Bullock and Elfrid Payton all have expiring contracts, but an Eastern Conference scout told Popper their trade value is limited to a second-round pick apiece.

Central Notes: Dellavedova, Markkanen, Tucker, Kurucs

March 20th, 2021 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Matthew Dellavedova hasn’t played yet this season, but the Cavaliers are hoping he can be ready during the team’s upcoming road trip, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The 30-year-old guard went through a 45-minute shooting workout before Friday’s game and was scheduled to join the team for practice today.

Dellavedova, who hasn’t played a regular season game in more than a year, suffered a concussion in the preseason opener that sidelined him for two months. That was followed by an emergency appendectomy in February, which further delayed his return.

“Obviously we know how long he’s been out and what he had to deal with with the concussion and then as he started to work his way back the appendectomy happens you’re off two to three weeks,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He’s making progress and I would expect him back sooner rather than later.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Lauri Markkanen‘s long-term future with the Bulls may appear uncertain, but he believes he could get an explanation any time from executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports. A source tells Johnson that a rumored deal involving Markkanen and Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball stems mostly from the fact that both are headed for restricted free agency. “ I have a good relationship with AK and same thing with (coach Billy Donovan),” Markkanen said. “If that wasn’t the case, they would tell me. I’m happy. Obviously, we’ve gotta win more games and there’s things we can get better at. And that’s what we’re trying to focus on right now.’’
This week’s trade for P.J. Tucker will give Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer more flexibility with the lineups he uses to close out games, notes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Milwaukee may use small-ball lineups in crunch time with Tucker on the court instead of Brook Lopez, unless the team is facing a legitimate center like the Sixers’ Joel Embiid.
With D.J. Augustin gone, Donte DiVincenzo will take over as the backup point guard, but the Bucks will continue to look for help, Nehm adds. A report this week listed Milwaukee as a possible destination if Isaiah Thomas returns to the NBA.
New Bucks forward Rodions Kurucs, who was also acquired in the Tucker deal, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Nehm tweets.

Multiple Playoff Teams Interested In JaVale McGee

March 19th, 2021 at 12:40pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Zach Lowe of ESPN, a number of strong playoff teams are interested in Cavaliers center JaVale McGee. However, those clubs are gauging the likelihood of a possible buyout for McGee before committing to giving up an asset for him.

Haynes’ Latest: Davis, Nurkic, Thompson, Raptors, McGee

March 15th, 2021 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers announced on Friday that Anthony Davis would miss at least the next two weeks as he continues to recover from his right calf strain and tendinosis. However, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Davis is unlikely to return immediately after the end of that two-week timeline.

Sources tell Haynes that the Lakers’ star forward/center is expected to be out for the next three weeks, and potentially longer than that. Even if Los Angeles slips a little more in the standings without Davis in its lineup, the team wants to be cautious in its handling of one of its two superstars, Haynes writes.

Including the game in which Davis went down, the Lakers have lost seven of their last 11, but they’re still comfortably holding a playoff spot in the West — they’re the No. 3 seed, at 25-13.

Here’s more from Haynes:

Injured Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (wrist) plans on making his return in about two weeks, sources tell Yahoo Sports. CJ McCollum (foot) said over the weekend that he’s aiming to return this week, so Portland could get two key starters back in its lineup before the end of the month.
According to Haynes, Celtics center Tristan Thompson is a candidate to be moved prior to next Thursday’s trade deadline, with the Raptors among his possible landing spots. The Toronto native has long been linked to his hometown team, and while nothing has ever come of those rumors, a union would make more sense now that the Raptors are in the market for an upgrade at center.
Cavaliers center JaVale McGee – who has drawn interest from contenders, including the Nets – isn’t entertaining a buyout, so if he changes teams, it will be via trade, says Haynes. While Brooklyn may prefer his teammate Andre Drummond, McGee’s modest $4.2MM salary will make him easier to move in a deal.
We passed along a few more items from Haynes earlier today, including notes on DeMar DeRozan, John Wall, and Hassan Whiteside.

Latest On Andre Drummond

March 15th, 2021 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With the March 25 trade deadline just 10 days away, we’ll soon find out whether the Cavaliers are right to believe they can find a worthwhile trade for Andre Drummond. Sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic that Cleveland continues to seek a modest asset, such as a second-round pick, for Drummond, while rival teams are skeptical that such an offer will be available.

For the time being, the Cavaliers remain opposed to the idea of buying out Drummond, but if that ultimately becomes their most viable option, the Lakers and Nets would be the center’s top suitors once he clears waivers, writes Charania.

One other scenario to watch would involve the Knicks. According to Charania, New York has explored the possibility of pursuing Drummond and has mulled offering him a multiyear deal if agrees to a buyout with Cleveland. The Knicks still have about $15MM in cap room this season, meaning the club could offer more years and more money than rival suitors for Drummond on the buyout market.

If Drummond is bought out and signs with a team like the Lakers or Nets, he’d enter free agency this offseason coming off a minimum-salary contract (or something close to it) and would only have Non-Bird rights, limiting his options on the open market. As such, he could be intrigued by the idea of getting a jump-start on free agency by signing an in-season multiyear deal with the Knicks.

Charania’s report is light on additional details, so it remains to be seen just how strong an offer the Knicks would be willing to make in that scenario — they’d probably have to go into the mid-level range or higher for Drummond to seriously consider it. It’s also unclear whether New York is focused only on buyout scenarios or if the club will make an effort to trade for the Cavs big man.

Checking In On NBA’s 10-Day Contracts

March 15th, 2021 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

As our 10-day contract tracker shows, there are currently five players around the NBA who have active 10-day deals. Those players are as follows:

Henry Ellenson, Raptors (runs through March 19)
Sindarius Thornwell, Pelicans (runs through March 19)
Damian Jones, Lakers (runs through March 20)
Mason Jones, Rockets (runs through March 21)
Quinn Cook, Cavaliers (runs through March 21)

Thornwell and Damian Jones are on their second 10-day contracts with their respective teams. Players can’t sign three 10-day deals with the same club, so Thornwell and Jones will either have to be re-signed to rest-of-season deals or will become free agents.

Since their contracts expire just a few days before the March 25 trade deadline, Thornwell and Jones likely won’t be re-signed immediately, as the Pelicans and Lakers look to maximize their roster flexibility for potential trades.

Ellenson, Mason Jones, and Cook are each eligible to sign one more 10-day contract with their respective teams after their current deals expire, but again, if teams prioritize roster flexibility around the trade deadline, those players may have to wait until after March 25 to get a second offer — Jones is the one exception here, since the Rockets are very shorthanded due to injuries and may not want to lose him for even a few days.

While there are just five players on active 10-day pacts for now, the Nets are a team to keep an eye on this week. They’ve had fewer than 14 players on standard contracts since March 8, when Andre Roberson‘s and Iman Shumpert‘s 10-day deals expired. Teams are only permitted to dip below that minimum roster requirement for two weeks at a time, so Brooklyn will have to add a 14th man within the next week — a 10-day signing is the most likely solution to address that issue, though the team could also make a trade or target a player for a rest-of-season contract.

The Pelicans and Lakers will also each only have 13 players under contract once their current 10-day players are no longer on the roster, so if they don’t re-sign those players right away and don’t add at least one player in a trade-deadline deal, they’ll each have to fill at least one roster spot shortly after the trade deadline, via a 10-day or rest-of-season signing.

Several other teams around the league also have an open 15th roster spot and could be candidates to sign players to 10-day contracts soon, as our roster counts page shows.

Healthy Cavaliers Have Roster Decisions To Make

March 14th, 2021 at 3:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The 14-23 Cavaliers have not had been able to field a fully healthy roster for most of the season, but with Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. back in the lineup, the team has some rotation decisions to make, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. “I don’t know the last time we had a full, available roster,” Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Been frustrating for us as coaches because it’s been different positions as we’ve moved through it.” Before they returned Friday, Love had been unavailable for 33 games, while Nance had missed the preceding 12.

Cavaliers Notes: Love, Nance, Cook, Garland

March 13th, 2021 at 4:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love only played 10 minutes Friday night, but the veteran Cavaliers forward told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com it was a huge relief just to be back on the court. Love missed more than two months with a calf injury that resulted from being kicked in the back of the leg during a preseason game. He’s on a minutes restriction, with coach J.B. Bickerstaff and team doctors deciding to limit him to five minutes in each half for his first game.

“I don’t want to speak hyperbole or take it over the top, but this is probably the most mentally taxing — not the most physically taxing injury — but the most mentally taxing for me for sure,” Love said. “It was really a struggle ‘cause it’s who I am. I’m a basketball player first and foremost and I’ve loved this game for so long. Just playing basketball, that’s what I love to do. It’s so much a part of me. When you have it taken away from you and you feel like there’s not much you can do after working so damn hard, that can be really disheartening and a tough hurdle to overcome.”

Love reaggravated the injury in a December 27 game and didn’t receive clearance to resume basketball-related activities until early February. He was able to practice with the team on February 18, but pain following that session delayed his return even further. The Cavaliers opted to rest him through the All-Star break to give him more time to recover.

“Now I’m just hoping these next couple weeks I’ll get the wind underneath me, I’ll get to start feeling like myself again and I won’t be as sore,” Love said. “A lot of that calf pain has subsided, so I’m hoping a lot more of my lift will come back in the meantime.”

There’s more on the Cavs:

Cleveland also welcomed back Larry Nance Jr., who missed 12 games after having surgery on his left hand, writes Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. Nance was among the league leaders in steals and deflections before the injury. “I know Larry has been wanting to play for some weeks now,” said Collin Sexton. “… And he said he was a little bit winded out there running down the court the first five times, but it’s definitely good to have him out there.”
Reports that Quinn Cook was signing a 10-day contract surfaced Wednesday night, but the Cavaliers delayed the move until Friday so they could get maximum value out of the deal, Fedor states in a separate piece. Cook, who scored 13 points in 17 minutes in his debut, will be with Cleveland for six games during that 10-day stretch.
Darius Garland, who suffered a groin strain in the final game of the first half, wasn’t ready to return Friday as Cleveland kicked off the second half of its season, Fedor notes in another story.

Cavaliers Sign Quinn Cook To 10-Day Deal

March 12th, 2021 at 1:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 12: The Cavaliers have officially signed Cook to his 10-day contract, the club announced today in a press release.

MARCH 10: Free agent guard Quinn Cook will sign a 10-day contract with the Cavaliers, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

[RELATED: 10-Day Contract Tracker]

Cook, 27, spent the past season and a half with the Lakers before being waived last month. He got into 16 games this season, averaging 2.1 points in 3.9 minutes per night.

The Cavs will be the fifth team in five seasons for the former Duke star, who began his NBA career in Cleveland’s training camp in 2015, but wasn’t able to win a roster spot. He had brief stays with the Mavericks and Pelicans before winning a rotation role with the Warriors for two seasons.

The Cavaliers have an open roster spot, so no move will be necessary before signing Cook.

Lakers Eyeing Drummond As Potential Buyout Target

March 8th, 2021 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers are in the market for frontcourt help and have some interest in a reunion with free agent center DeMarcus Cousins, league sources Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. However, according to O’Connor, Los Angeles’ preference would be to sign Andre Drummond if he receives a buyout from the Cavaliers.

Marc Stein of The New York Times adds (via Twitter) that the Lakers are optimistic they’ll receive “strong consideration” from Drummond if he reaches the free agent market.

In order for the Lakers to get a shot at the 27-year-old, they’ll need the Cavaliers to accept that there are no Drummond trades out there worth making. Cleveland has thus far been unwilling to concede that point — Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported last week that the Cavs’ front office still believes it will be able to move him, even though others around the league are skeptical.

Drummond’s $28.75MM cap hit is the biggest impediment to a trade, since it will be a challenge for most teams to match that salary without giving up a more valuable rotation player. When Drummond was traded from Detroit to Cleveland a year ago, the Cavs gave up a pair of non-rotation players on expiring contracts, plus a distant second-round pick.

The Nets have been viewed as the most logical fit for Drummond if he receives a buyout, but if Blake Griffin plays well in Brooklyn, the team might not feel the same urgency to further address its frontcourt, which could open the door for the Lakers or another team to sign Drummond. Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell are L.A.’s centers, while Anthony Davis will also be in the mix later in the year once he gets healthy.

If the Lakers can’t land Drummond, Cousins could be an appealing option, assuming he hasn’t already signed with another team. Cousins joined the Lakers for the 2019/20 season but ended up not playing at all for the team after tearing his ACL — he still spent much of the season on the roster and was said to be a good locker-room presence.

Kings center Hassan Whiteside has been cited as another potential target for the Lakers, via either trade or – if he’s bought out – free agency.