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Southeast Notes: Isaac, K. Thompson, Gill, Bridges

March 9th, 2024 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic got to experience a playoff-style atmosphere on Friday in New York, and even though it didn’t turn out well, Jonathan Isaac believes it was a valuable lesson for his young teammates, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando was limited to a season-low 74 points, but Isaac said the physicality of the game and the raucous Madison Square Garden crowd are things his team needs to prepare for.

“Coach’s message after the game was that this was good for us to face this as a group,” Isaac said. “We didn’t get off to our best start, our best footing and that kind of set us behind for the rest of the game. Over the course of the game, we learned what playoff basketball is like. I’ve experienced it before and not everybody has. We know how to move going forward.”

Beede points out that Isaac is a major reason why the Magic are in the thick of the playoff race after finishing 13th in the East last year. He’s part of the team’s four best defensive five-man lineups and he has been able to stay on the court, appearing in 43 games so far, which is the second-highest total of his seven-year career.

“It means I’m healthy,” Isaac said. “I look forward to continuing to play meaningful minutes in big games and keep moving forward. I’m not worried about injuries or looking back, or anything.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic expressed interest in acquiring Klay Thompson from the Warriors before last month’s trade deadline, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY. He notes that Thompson is heading toward free agency, and Orlando projects to have more than $30MM in cap room.
Anthony Gill was only on the court for 2:23 in Friday’s game, but he played an important role in helping the Wizards snap their 16-game losing streak, observes Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports. Gill has done most of his work behind the scenes during his four years in Washington, Hughes adds, and teammates are thrilled any time the 31-year-old power forward gets a chance to contribute on the court. “I just want to continue to be a light to people,” he said. “This basketball world can seem kind of small sometimes and it can seem kind of isolated. This world can pull you in many different directions. I just always want to bring people back to really what matters and that’s being a good person overall. Everyone has it in them. I just want to consistently show that every single day.”
Hornets coach Steve Clifford singled out Miles Bridges for his competitiveness tonight on the second game of a back-to-back (video link from Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer). Bridges has put together a strong bounce-back season after not playing last year and figures to be one of the most intriguing names on the free agent market.

Trayce Jackson-Davis Gets Start Alongside Chris Paul

March 9th, 2024 at 8:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors started Trayce Jackson-Davis at center tonight and moved Andrew Wiggins to the bench, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The move provides a lob threat for Chris Paul, who will be the team’s starting point guard while Stephen Curry recovers from a sprained ankle. Earlier this week, Draymond Green talked about the connection between Paul and Jackson-Davis, per Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle. “We found a couple of things in our second unit that are working,” Green said. “Trayce with CP is dynamite. Throughout CP’s career, one thing you know that works is him with a lob threat, a dynamic roller to the rim to open up the defense. … I think we’re finding something there with that lineup, for sure.”

Warriors Confirm Stephen Curry Suffered Sprained Right Ankle

March 9th, 2024 at 5:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

An MRI showed no structural damage to Stephen Curry‘s right ankle and the injury has been diagnosed as a sprain, the Warriors announced (via Twitter). He will miss games against San Antonio tonight and Monday and will be reevaluated Tuesday.

The injury occurred late in Thursday’s contest when Curry rolled the ankle while cutting to the basket. He limped to the locker room to have it checked out and didn’t return to the game.

A report on Friday indicated that Curry is expected to miss seven-to-10 days, but that could be adjusted depending on the results of Tuesday’s examination.

Curry has appeared in 59 of Golden State’s first 62 games and doesn’t appear to be in any danger of missing the 65-game limit to be considered for All-NBA honors and other postseason awards. He’s been putting up typically outstanding numbers, averaging 26.9 points per game while shooting 44.9% from the field and 40.7% from three-point range.

The Warriors are locked in a tight race to avoid the play-in tournament and need every win they can get to track down sixth-place Phoenix. Chris Paul is expected to take over the starting point guard duties until Curry can return.

Injury Notes: Curry, LeBron, Wembanyama, Brunson

March 8th, 2024 at 8:07pm CST by Rory Maher

A league source who spoke to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area said there’s an expectation Stephen Curry will likely miss seven-to-10 days (Twitter link). The Warriors‘ two-time MVP rolled his right ankle late in Thursday’s loss to Chicago and was unable to return to the game, with an MRI reportedly coming back clean.

If that timeline is accurate, Curry would likely miss at least three games, and possibly a fourth next Saturday vs. the Lakers. We won’t know that for sure until we see how the 35-year-old heals over the coming days, but Curry has already been ruled out for Saturday’s contest vs. San Antonio, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

Lakers superstar LeBron James will be sidelined for Friday’s home game vs. Milwaukee, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays. The 39-year-old has been dealing with left ankle soreness for several weeks, and will miss his ninth game of the season against the Bucks after previously being listed as questionable. Prior to the game, head coach Darvin Ham said James was experiencing “severe soreness” in the ankle and is considered “day-to-day,” per Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (Twitter links). The ongoing injury will reportedly have to be managed for the remainder of the season, though there’s an expectation that James won’t need to miss extended time.
After spraining his right ankle against Houston on Tuesday, Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama missed Thursday’s loss in Sacramento and has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest in San Francisco, but head coach Gregg Popovich thinks the Rookie of the Year frontrunner will be ready to go for Monday’s home game vs. Golden State, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter links). As Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes (subscriber link), Wembanyama rode in a van back to San Antonio to be evaluated — in part due to its proximity to Houston — instead of traveling on the road trip. The Spurs are 0-7 thus far this season without their best player.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson was able to return to action on Friday vs. Orlando after missing Tuesday’s loss to Atlanta with a knee contusion, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv. The All-Star point guard sustained the injury less than a minute into Sunday’s victory over Cleveland, but it thankfully turned out to be relatively minor. Brunon, 27, has missed five games thus far in 2023/24, putting him in strong contention for a spot on his first All-NBA team.

Stephen Curry Injures Right Ankle, MRI Clean

March 8th, 2024 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

3:07pm: An MRI on Curry’s right ankle came back clean, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who says (via Twitter) that the star guard’s return timeline will depend on how the ankle responds within the next few days.

Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link) report that Curry will miss at least one game and possibly more, but there’s optimism that his absence won’t be a lengthy one.

The Warriors are expected to issue a formal update on Saturday, tweets Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

7:04am: Warriors star Stephen Curry exited the team’s Thursday loss to the Bulls late in the fourth quarter after rolling his right ankle and didn’t return to the game, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN and Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

The injury occurred as Curry was cutting to the basket and receiving a pass (Twitter video link via NBC Sports Bay Area). After attempting to walk it off, he eventually limped to the locker room.

Speaking to reporters after the game, head coach Steve Kerr didn’t have much of an update on Golden State’s leading scorer, offering only that he saw Curry with his right foot in a bucket of ice after the game. However, as Andrews and Slater observe, Curry’s teammates were talking as if they’re preparing for him to miss a little time.

“He had his ankle wrap on,” Klay Thompson said, per Slater. “Icing his ankle. I know we’re going to miss him … if he does have time off. We’ve been in this position before where he has had time off and we have to do it collectively. I know he’ll be ready to go when he does come back.”

Draymond Green said Curry’s spirits were “high” after the game but that he might undergo an MRI on the injured ankle. Green also discussed the possibility of Chris Paul entering the starting five in Curry’s place, expressing confidence that the team would be OK despite the potential lineup change.

“We know he is more than capable. He’s Chris Paul,” Green said, according to Andrews. “It’s been incredible having C here, but then you have Steph going down — no one is Steph Curry in the NBA. But knowing you are going into the game with a guy who can win you game after game after game, it definitely gives you confidence going in knowing that you are more than capable to win games.”

Curry, who has dealt with some ankle sprains in the past, had been enjoying one of his healthiest seasons in years heading into Thursday’s contest. He missed two games in November due to a minor knee issue and sat out one end of a back-to-back set in January but has appeared in 59 of the Warriors’ 62 games.

Even if Curry has to miss some time, there’s no indication at this point that the ankle injury is serious enough to jeopardize his ability to play in at least 65 games and qualify for an All-NBA spot. However, his diagnosis may affect Golden State’s push for a higher playoff seed.

The Warriors currently hold the No. 9 spot in the West at 33-29. They’re just percentage points ahead of the 34-30 Lakers and trail the eighth-place Mavericks by 1.5 games.

Warriors Notes: Thompson, Looney, TJD, Myers

March 8th, 2024 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype spoke to eight executives around the NBA to get their predictions for Klay Thompson‘s next contract. Of those eight execs, three projected Thompson would make $18-20MM annually on his next deal, while the other five have the Warriors veteran in the $20-25MM range. Half of those executives also expect Golden State to try to line up Thompson’s next contract with Stephen Curry‘s by signing him to a two-year deal, Scotto notes.

Those predictions line up with the offer the Warriors reportedly made to Thompson before the 2023/24 season began. Shams Charania of The Athletic indicated back in December that Golden State had put a two-year, $48MM extension on the table, but that Thompson passed on it. A handful of the executives who spoke to Scotto believe the 34-year-old’s value has dipped a little since then.

“I see him at around $18-20 million a year,” one exec said. “I’m not sure he’ll accept that because he sees himself much higher. If all offers are equal, I think he goes back to Golden State. I feel like his relationship with Steph and being able to play in one place is important to him.”

According to Scotto, seven of the eight execs who weighed in on Thompson’s future believe he’ll ultimately stick with the Warriors, though at least one of those seven had some ideas for potential suitors who could put some pressure on Golden State.

“I think other teams would sign him. If you’re Detroit, wouldn’t you love that level of maturity and experience? (Pistons head coach) Monty Williams wants a grown-up,” the exec said. “If you’re the Magic, don’t you want a grown-up? They need a legitimate shooting guard. Jalen Suggs is a combo guard. I think Gary Harris could be gone this summer. Let the point guard position be a combination of Anthony Black, Suggs, and Cole Anthony. Orlando likes size, which Klay has, and he’d give them shooting.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Warriors center Kevon Looney told Scotto that he and his teammates haven’t discussed Thompson’s contract situation at all with him, but Looney made it clear that he doesn’t want Klay going anywhere. “We know we want Klay to be here forever,” he said. “He’s a Warrior for life no matter what. Even if he did go somewhere, he’s still going to be a guy that has a statue and jersey in the rafters. … Hopefully, he gets to stay forever. That’s one of my goals as well. Hopefully, this core gets to ride it out.”
Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis showed in Wednesday’s win over Milwaukee that he deserves serious consideration for postseason minutes in a crowded Warriors rotation, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. The big man had 15 points (on 7-of-8 shooting), six rebounds, and four blocks – including three on Giannis Antetokounmpo shot attempts – and was a +20 in 19 minutes of action. “We’ve got to get Trayce more minutes to get him ready for the playoffs because he needs reps. He needs more time,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “You can see what he did (on Wednesday). He has an ability to finish and to block shots that gives us a different look.”
Former Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers was the subject of a tribute video and received a standing ovation from fans in Golden State after being introduced by his three daughters during Wednesday’s game vs. the Bucks (Twitter video links via NBC Sports Bay Area and Kendra Andrews of ESPN). Myers, who was making his first public appearance in the Chase Center since leaving the Warriors in 2023, was working the game as an ESPN analyst.
In case you missed it, we’re waiting for an update on the severity of Stephen Curry‘s ankle injury, which forced him to exit Thursday’s loss to Chicago early. Curry is having imaging done on his right ankle on Friday, tweets Andrews.

NBA Teams That Still Have Open Roster Spots

March 6th, 2024 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Tuesday, 17 players that had been on two-way contracts received promotions to standard deals between last month’s trade deadline and Monday’s two-way signing deadline.

However, even though those 17 players filled standard roster spots around the NBA and no team currently has an open two-way slot, there are still several openings on 15-man rosters across the league.

[RELATED: 2023/24 NBA Roster Counts]

Here’s a rundown of the teams that still have at least one standard roster spot available, along with some brief observations on how they might fill those openings:

Teams with two open roster spots

Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers

Teams are permitted to dip below 14 players on standard contracts for up to 14 days at a time. Currently, there are three teams taking advantage of that rule: the Timberwolves, Knicks, and Sixers.

There’s no real urgency for any of these clubs to sign a player in the short term — Philadelphia doesn’t have to re-add a 14th man until March 15, while New York’s and Minnesota’s deadlines are March 16 and 17, respectively.

Still, I’m not sure any of the three will wait that long to make a move. The Sixers and Knicks have a crowded injury list and could use some additional depth, while the Timberwolves have already reportedly reached an agreement on a 10-day deal with T.J. Warren — it just hasn’t been officially finalized yet.

[Note: Warren officially signed with the Wolves shortly after the publication of this story.]

Philadelphia could still use another frontcourt body with Joel Embiid on the shelf. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Taj Gibson eventually makes his way back to the Knicks, though he’s under contract with Detroit for the next 10 days. Marcus Morris was linked to Minnesota last month, though it remains unclear whether a union for the two sides remains in play.

Teams with one open roster spot

Boston Celtics
Detroit Pistons
- Note: The Pistons’ 14th man (Gibson) is on a 10-day contract.
Golden State Warriors
Phoenix Suns
Utah Jazz

There’s no timeline for any of these teams to fill their 15th open roster spot. I’d expect the Pistons and Jazz to be a little more proactive about making a move though, since they’re both well below the luxury tax line and could potentially benefit from taking a look at some young players on 10-day deals for developmental purposes down the stretch.

The Celtics, Warriors, and Suns are all well above the tax threshold and aren’t in desperate need for depth pieces at the moment, so they’ll probably be patient when it comes to adding a 15th man.

Neemias Queta (Celtics) and Saben Lee (Suns) are candidates to be promoted from two-way contracts near the end of the season. The Warriors already elevated their most obvious candidate for a promotion (Lester Quinones), so it’s unclear what they may have in mind for their final roster move. Given how deep they are, it’s unlikely anyone the Dubs add would play at all in the postseason.

Teams whose 15th man is on a 10-day contract

Cleveland Cavaliers
New Orleans Pelicans
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards

The Cavaliers will open up a roster spot on Thursday when Sharife Cooper‘s 10-day contract expires. The Wizards (R.J. Hampton) and Pelicans (Izaiah Brockington) will follow suit next Wednesday, with the Raptors (Jahmi’us Ramsey) opening up their 15th roster spot next Thursday.

Each of those four players would be eligible for a second 10-day deal with his respective team. However, all four clubs seem to be rotating players in and out of that slot, so it’s possible that the Cavs, Pelicans, Raptors, and Wizards all finish the season with a different 15th man.

Toronto and Washington won’t make the playoffs and will likely eventually settle on a prospect who can be signed to a team-friendly multiyear contract. The Cavs and Pelicans could ultimately go the same route, though they’ll want to fully scour the buyout market in case there’s a veteran who could help in the postseason.

Green Wary Of Finishing Career On Low Note

March 5th, 2024 at 10:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors forward Draymond Green wants to finish his career on a positive note, which is why he’s continuing to go through therapy even after his league-imposed suspension ended, he told Howard Beck of The Ringer. “I’m far closer to the end than I am the beginning,” Green said. “Do you want the end to look like complete s–t? Or do you want the end to look closer to how it looked in the beginning? Do you want to leave gracefully? Or do you want to leave like a f–ing a–hole? Do you want your legacy to be a guy who couldn’t contain himself, a guy who couldn’t finish the job? Or do you want your legacy to be a guy who did it his way, yes, but did it the right way? I think that’s what it boils down to.”

Andrew Wiggins Reports Back To Warriors

March 5th, 2024 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward Andrew Wiggins has rejoined the Warriors after missing the past four games due to family matter, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN, who tweeted a video of Wiggins at practice.

Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic first reported that Wiggins was flying into the Bay Area and reporting to the team on Tuesday after tending to a personal family matter.

Golden State is back in action on Wednesday at home vs. the Bucks, and Wiggins is expected to be active for that game, head coach Steve Kerr said today (Twitter link via Andrews). He’ll likely be reinserted into the starting lineup, though he may be on a minutes restriction.

Moses Moody played well as a starting forward in Wiggins’ absence, but he’s in danger of falling out of the club’s crowded rotation again with the former No. 1 overall pick set to return. Moody averaged 12.0 points and 4.0 rebounds on .500/.400/.500 shooting in his four starts, three of which were Warriors wins. The one loss was an ugly one — the Dubs were blown out by 52 points on Sunday in Boston.

Wiggins missed the final 25 games of the 2022/23 season due to personal reasons, returning just before the postseason began.

Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra Named Coaches Of The Month

March 4th, 2024 at 10:32pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra were named the NBA’s Coaches of the Month for the month of February, the league announced (Twitter link).

Kerr led the Warriors to an 11-3 record in February, with victories over the Suns and Lakers highlighting the month. February saw Klay Thompson take on a reserve role and flourish, as well as young players helping guide Golden State back into the playoff picture. Golden State is 32-28 and ninth in the West, 2.5 games behind the Kings for No. 6 in the conference and avoiding the play-in.

The Heat went 8-3 in February behind Spoelstra’s leadership, and they’ve lost just once since the All-Star break. Even with players in and out of the lineup, the Heat have gotten impressive contributions from about everyone in the rotation. Their month featured big wins over the Bucks, Magic and Sixers. Miami defeated the Bucks by 26 points without Jimmy Butler in the lineup on Feb. 13.

The other nominees for Coach of the Month in the West were Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault, Minnesota’s Chris Finch, L.A.’s Darvin Ham, Dallas’s Jason Kidd and Denver’s Michael Malone (Twitter link). Meanwhile, in the East, Cleveland’s J.B. Bickerstaff, Boston’s Joe Mazzulla and Orlando’s Jamahl Mosley were nominated.