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Central Notes: Giannis, Bucks, Knox, Caruso, Phillips, Terry

November 9th, 2023 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was assessed a technical foul in the second quarter of Wednesday’s win over Detroit, was hit with a second technical and ejected from the game early in the third quarter. Antetokounmpo briefly stared down Isaiah Stewart after a dunk, prompting the ejection (Twitter video link via Stephen Watson of Bally Sports Wisconsin). Antetokounmpo and his teammates were surprised by the decision, as Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel details.

“He made like a little face and he took off running and he didn’t say a word,” Jae Crowder said. “I think that’s why he was so frustrated, like, ‘You really threw me out and I didn’t say anything?’ Like, the first tech, I think he would say he deserved it. He deserved that first tech. The second one was like, he didn’t say a word, so how do you throw him out for that? He definitely stared, but I don’t know if that’s a tech. I don’t know about that one.”

Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin didn’t criticize the officiating decision during his postgame comments, instead suggesting that he has a responsibility to make sure his star player doesn’t end up in that situation again.

“I think I just have to do a better job,” Griffin said. “Giannis doesn’t complain to the refs. He’s really respectful to the refs and I think I’m letting him down in that sense. I think I need to be a little more, just vocal, during the games when he’s getting hit and kind of stick up for him a little bit better. I’ve been dropping the ball on that.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

Seth Partnow of The Athletic considers whether or not it’s too early to be concerned about Milwaukee’s major drop-off in defensive efficiency this fall. Although the Bucks are off to a 5-2 start, they rank 25th in the NBA in defensive rating (115.8) and are the only team with a winning record that has been outscored so far this season.
The one-year, minimum-salary deal that Kevin Knox signed with the Pistons is non-guaranteed, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. If he plays out the contract, Knox would earn $2,144,320, the prorated portion of his minimum salary.
Alex Caruso isn’t one of the Bulls‘ “big three” stars, but his teammates know his value and rave about what he brings to the team — DeMar DeRozan tells Jamal Collier of ESPN he can envision Caruso winning a Defensive Player of the Year award.“He’s our Ray Lewis. He’s the Deion Sanders. He’s the Charles Woodson,” DeRozan said. “He definitely is one of those great, vocalist, communicators and competitors when it comes to that end of the ball.”
A crowded Bulls depth chart means there has been no room in the rotation early in the season for rookie forward Julian Phillips or second-year wing Dalen Terry. As Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes, the club intends to get both players some regular minutes in the G League and has mapped out the first month of the Windy City Bulls’ schedule to see how it coincides with Chicago’s schedule as it prepares a plan for those youngsters.

Pistons Sign Kevin Knox

November 8th, 2023 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

2:59pm: The Pistons have officially signed Knox, the team confirmed today in a press release (Twitter link).

11:50am: The Pistons have reached an agreement to bring back free agent forward Kevin Knox on a one-year deal, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft, Knox spent his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons in New York but has bounced around since then, spending time with Atlanta, Detroit, and Portland from 2022-23.

He signed a two-year, $6MM contract with the Pistons during the 2022 offseason and appeared in 42 games last season for the club before being traded to the Trail Blazers in the four-team deadline deal that sent James Wiseman to Detroit.

Knox averaged 6.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game across 63 total appearances for the Pistons and Blazers in 2022/23, then had his $3MM team option for ’23/24 turned down by Portland in June.

The Blazers re-signed him, but Knox’s contract was non-guaranteed and he didn’t make the regular season roster. He reported to the Rip City Remix – Portland’s G League affiliate – last week for training camp.

Rather than opening the season in the NBAGL, however, Knox is being promoted back to the NBA, where he’ll fill the 15th spot on the Pistons’ roster. As we noted a few days ago when we examined the open roster spots around the NBA, Detroit was one of the few teams with an open 15-man spot and no luxury tax concerns, so we expected that opening to be filled sooner rather than later.

Knox will provide some depth for a club whose roster has been plagued by injuries this fall. Bojan Bogdanovic (calf), Alec Burks (forearm), Joe Harris (shoulder), Jaden Ivey (illness), Isaiah Livers (ankle), and Monte Morris (quad) are all currently on the shelf, while Jalen Duren (ankle) has been in and out of the lineup.

Beyond the fact that it’s a one-year deal, the details of Knox’s agreement with the Pistons have yet to be reported. A non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract is most likely, but we’ll have to wait for confirmation on that.

Injury Notes: Harris, Rozier, Middleton, Plumlee, Rose, Hachimura

November 7th, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons, who have been hit by a wave of injuries in the early going, got some more bad news on Tuesday. Joe Harris has an AC sprain in his shoulder and will be reevaluated in 10-to-14 days, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets.

Detroit had six other players out on Monday against Golden State due to injury or illness. Harris, acquired from Brooklyn during the offseason, has averaged a modest 3.4 points in 14 minutes this season. He’s in the final year of his four-year, $75MM contract.

We have more injury-related news:

Hornets starting guard Terry Rozier will miss at least the next two games. He underwent an MRI which confirmed a left adductor strain, the team’s PR department tweets.
Bucks forward Khris Middleton will have the night off against the Pistons on Wednesday due to right knee injury management, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.
Clippers backup center Mason Plumlee has been diagnosed with a left knee MCL sprain, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and Adrian Wojnarowski. Plumlee is undergoing further evaluation, but he’ll miss at least the next two games.
Derrick Rose has missed the last three games due to left knee soreness and he’s “week-to-week,” according to coach Taylor Jenkins, as Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal relays. He’s among eight Grizzlies players who will be sidelined when Memphis faces Miami on Wednesday, the team’s PR department tweets. John Konchar (hip strain) is listed as doubtful.
Rui Hachimura is listed as probable by the Lakers for their contest against Houston on Wednesday after missing four games while in concussion protocol, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register tweets.

Stewart Refines 3-Point Stroke

November 7th, 2023 at 7:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons two-way player Stanley Umude made the most of his opportunity to play on Monday, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. With Detroit missing seven players due to injuries and illness, Umude received extended minutes off the bench and supplied 15 points against Golden State.

Isaiah Stewart put in plenty of work during the summer with the aim of becoming a stretch four, as James Edwards III of The Athletic details. The Pistons power forward even spent extensive hours in a YMCA in Rochester, N.Y. trying to refine his shooting stroke. Trainer Scott Finch tweaked his release and Stewart has made 46.4% of his 3-point attempts this season. “I feel like I can shoot with the best,” said Stewart, who signed a four-year extension this summer.

And-Ones: Broadcast Rights, Hawk-Eye, Panic Meter, Sophomores

November 6th, 2023 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Local broadcasting rights for 15 NBA teams have been ironed out, at least for this season, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic reports. The league and Diamond Sports Group have reached an agreement that would guarantee Diamond’s regional sports networks will provide those local broadcasts.

That organization is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. Some of the contracts it had in place were signed through 2030. Now, all the individual broadcast agreements will last only through this season. Diamond runs Bally Sports Regional Networks.

The bankruptcy court must approve this agreement.

We have more from around the NBA:

Major issues regarding the Hawk-Eye optical tracking system used by the league this year were recently detailed by Ben Dowsett of The Guardian. Dowsett now tweets that the problems have persisted and even worsened. Tensions between team analytics staffs and the NBA league office were on display during a “disastrous” league-wide conference call on Monday, according to Dowsett.
Which teams rate the highest on the “Panic Meter” two weeks into the season? In the view of Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, the Bulls and Grizzlies are at the top of the list.
Some players make big strides from their rookie season to their sophomore campaign. The Trail Blazers’ Shaedon Sharpe and Pistons’ Jalen Duren have made significant jumps thus far, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who also takes a look at some sophomores who are slumping in the early going.

Pacific Notes: Harden, Westbrook, Wiseman, Kings

November 6th, 2023 at 11:55am CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers view James Harden as a “ceiling raiser” and believed they had to make another significant addition after watching the Suns, Celtics and Bucks improve their rosters this summer, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

L.A. now has a tantalizing lineup if everyone stays healthy, teaming Harden with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook, who are expected to start alongside Ivica Zubac when Harden makes his debut with the team tonight in New York. According to Youngmisuk, the Clippers are the fourth team in league history to have four players who started the season with at least five career All-NBA selections.

Even though coach Tyronn Lue plans to continue using Westbrook as his primary play-maker, the Clippers view Harden as someone who can boost their offense by creating his own shot or setting up open opportunities for Leonard and George. Harden led the league in assists with the Sixers last season and he’s averaged at least 10 per game in each of the past three years.

“James is a superstar,” George said. “Another play-maker. Another scorer, leader. Really happy to have him here. … It’s not every day you get a chance to get a guy of his ability that wants to come and play on this team. It was worth taking a swing on, and so we felt that he could help us.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

This marks the third pairing for Harden and Westbrook, who entered the league with Oklahoma City and spent the 2019/20 season together in Houston, Youngmisuk adds. They both requested trades after that season, but Clippers forward P.J. Tucker, who was also with that Rockets team, doesn’t believe the situation will carry over. “Russ and James (have known) each other for years, so they’re familiar with each other, playing with each other,” Tucker said. “I don’t know if it’s the same (experience this time), especially with Kawhi and PG. I think this team is kind of a totally different type of dynamic (for them).”
The Warriors‘ game in Detroit tonight will mark their first meeting with James Wiseman since he was traded in February, notes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Golden State selected Wiseman with the second pick in the 2020 draft, but he was never able to earn a regular role. He’s in the same situation with the Pistons, having made one brief appearance in the team’s first seven games. “I know he’s not playing much, but it’s the challenge that he’s facing,” Stephen Curry said. “In terms of forcing them to play him. That’s the challenge. Knowing him, I know he’ll have extreme confidence in himself to figure it out, even if it’s not on the timeline he wants right now.”
Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee examines what’s gone wrong with the Kings, who are struggling to score after having the highest-rated offense in league history last season.

Pistons Notes: Sasser, Ivey, Duren, Losing Streak

November 6th, 2023 at 10:05am CST by Arthur Hill

It hasn’t taken long for Marcus Sasser to earn the trust of Pistons coach Monty Williams, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. After being eased into the lineup during the first week of the season, Sasser has seen an expanded role in the past three games and has responded by averaging 16.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 62.5% from the field. He also hasn’t turned the ball over in five games, which is rare for a rookie guard.

“I feel like the work I put in is just paying off,” Sasser said. “The travel and amount of games is new to me, so that is something I have to adjust to, knowing how to take care of my body. On the court, it’s not really surprising.”

Sasser’s hot start will eventually lead to difficult decisions for Williams about how to allocate playing time in a crowded backcourt, Edwards adds. Sasser is getting an expanded opportunity because of injuries to Alec Burks and Monte Morris, but it will be difficult to find minutes for all of them along with Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes and Jaden Ivey. For the moment, Sasser is taking advantage of his opportunity and may be on the verge of landing a starting role.

“He works his tail off,” Williams said after Sunday’s game. “He understands when to shoot, when to drive and he defends. There were times tonight when he was outmatched with a bigger guy, and he just kept fighting. He is the kind of player that we thought he was, and he’s just going to get better.”

There’s more from Detroit:

Williams offered an explanation for Ivey’s reduced role after being a full-time starter as a rookie, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. Williams has placed an emphasis on defense and rebounding that Ivey hasn’t lived up to as much as the team’s other guards, but he said that frequently happens with young players. “He’s not the only guy that’s seen his minutes and all that reduced because of mistakes on the floor,” Williams said. “It’s happened with (Jalen Duren), it’s happened with Cade, it’s happened with everybody, because I think the standard that we have around here should be excellence. And you can’t have excellence if guys feel like they’re being gifted minutes. So it’s not just JI. Overall, we need guys to play to a certain level and hold them accountable to that every night.”
Duren’s inability to stay on the court has played a role in Detroit’s four-game losing streak, observes Mike Curtis of The Detroit News. Duren sat out Wednesday’s game against Portland with an ankle injury, was ejected late Thursday in a loss to New Orleans, then got tossed again Sunday against Phoenix after committing two flagrant fouls.
The current slump is presenting the first major challenge for the Pistons after a 2-1 start, states John Niyo of The Detroit News. The loss to the Suns, who were missing Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, marked the second straight against an undermanned opponent. “They were tougher than us,” Williams said. “They played harder than we did in stretches, pretty much most of the game. And the spacing certainly helps, but we just we had too many situations where we missed assignments. You don’t know an assignment on Kevin Durant, that’s a problem.”

Jaden Ivey's Playing Time Down Under Monty Williams

November 4th, 2023 at 10:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jaden Ivey needs to get better at the “non-negotiables” to increase his playing time, James L. Edwards III of the Athletic states in a mailbag column. Ivey is averaging 20.7 minutes per night in his first six games under new Pistons coach Monty Williams, which is about 10 minutes per game less than he saw as a rookie. Edwards explains that Williams is reluctant to play anyone who turns the ball over frequently, fouls opponents outside the paint, and messes up defensive assignments.

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

November 4th, 2023 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Each of the NBA’s 30 teams is permitted to carry 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals, which works out to a maximum of 540 players across 30 rosters. The Grizzlies have been granted an extra roster spot after moving Ja Morant to the suspended list, so let’s call it 541.

Of those 541 potential roster spots, 527 are currently occupied, leaving just 14 open roster spots around the NBA. Four of those open roster spots belong to two teams, while 10 other clubs have one opening apiece.

[RELATED: 2023/24 NBA Roster Counts]

Here’s the full breakdown:

Two open standard roster spots

Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers

As we’ve previously discussed, teams can only carry two open spots on their standard rosters for up to 14 days at a time, so the Warriors and Clippers will each have to add a 14th man soon.

That deadline is coming up very soon for the Warriors, who have had two open roster spots since the start of the season on October 24. The Clippers, who just dipped to 13 players following their two trades on Thursday, will have a little more time to decide on their next roster move.

I wouldn’t expect either team to be in any rush to add a 15th man, since both clubs are well above the luxury tax line.

One open standard roster spot

Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Portland Trail Blazers

Many of these teams are carrying an open roster spot for luxury tax reasons. The Celtics, Lakers, Heat, and Pelicans are all over the tax line, while the Bulls, Cavaliers, and Timberwolves don’t have much breathing room below it. Most of those teams will add 15th men eventually, but they’ll be in no rush to do so yet.

The Pistons are well below the tax, however, while the Trail Blazers have more than enough flexibility to sign a 15th man without getting too close to tax territory. Both teams should be on the lookout for players who would make good candidates to fill those openings.

One open two-way roster spot

Phoenix Suns

It’s no coincidence that Phoenix, the only NBA team without a G League affiliate of its own, is also the only club carrying just a pair of two-way players instead of three.

With no NBAGL team where they can send players for developmental purposes, the Suns will be less motivated to carry a full complement of two-way players, since it’s unlikely they’ll need three of them to regularly contribute at the NBA level unless their standard roster is beset by injuries.

Central Notes: LaVine, Williams, Wiseman, Hayes, Pistons

November 2nd, 2023 at 3:40pm CST by Rory Maher

There has been speculation that the Sixers might have interest in Zach LaVine, but a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times that the Bulls have “no intention” of trading the two-time All-Star in the near future, and even if they change their mind, Chicago’s front office probably wouldn’t be interested in what Philadelphia has to offer.

LaVine, who is in the second year of a five-year, maximum-salary contract, recently said he’s not bothered to see his name pop up in rumors again. The Bulls are off to a 2-3 start and will face Brooklyn on Friday for their first in-season tournament game.

Here’s more from the Central:

Patrick Williams was eligible for a rookie scale extension before the season began, but that deadline has passed and now he could be a restricted free agent next summer if the Bulls tender him a qualifying offer. The former No. 4 overall pick has had a very slow start to 2023/24, averaging just 4.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG on .267/.125/1.000 shooting through five games (22.4 MPG). Still, the 22-year-old tells Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic that his contract situation isn’t on his mind. “Nah. None at all,” he said. “Knowing it’s a long season. Knowing what I can do. I’ve always had confidence in myself, what I can do, what I bring to the game. Knowing it’s going to be stretches like this and times like this. It’s all about how you bounce back from it. It’s not a matter of what you go through but how you go through it. I kind of look at it as an opportunity to show what I’m really made of. Everybody can be happy when everything’s going well for them. But when it’s not, when it’s shaky, when you can’t make a shot, when you lose a couple of games in a row, then what are you really made of?“
Pistons center James Wiseman, another player who could be a restricted free agent in 2024, made his season debut in Wednesday’s loss to Portland, notes Mike Curtis of The Detroit News (subscriber link). The 2020 No. 2 overall pick finished with four points and two rebounds in six minutes off the bench, committing four fouls in his limited run, including three in a two-minute span in the first quarter.
Killian Hayes has once again struggled to score efficiently early in ’23/24, attempting 8.8 shots per game but only averaging 6.4 points (on .273/.235/.571 shooting), and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic believes it may be time for the Pistons to remove him from the starting lineup. As Edwards writes, Hayes got a starting guard spot after a strong preseason showing, but Detroit’s loss to Portland is the latest evidence that the team needs more offensive spacing. Alec Burks (once he returns from injury) and Jaden Ivey are logical choices to start, but Edwards wonders if rookie Marcus Sasser might be the best option for what head coach Monty Williams is seeking (shooting and defense).