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Quinn Cook, Jahm’ius Ramsey, Others Sign G League Contracts

February 22nd, 2022 at 11:26am CST by Luke Adams

A series of NBA free agents have signed contracts with the G League, according to the NBAGL transactions log. Veteran guard Quinn Cook and former Kings Jahmi’us Ramsey and Robert Woodard II – both of whom were waived earlier this month – are among the players entering the G League.

Cook, who has 188 career NBA appearances under his belt, began the 2021/22 season playing overseas with Lokomotiv Kuban, but left the Russian team in December in what was deemed a mutual decision. Ramsey and Woodard were second-round picks in the 2020 draft, but never developed into regular rotation players in Sacramento, appearing in just 32 and 25 total games, respectively.

Woodard was initially claimed by the Iowa Wolves and has since been traded to the Oklahoma City Blue (the Thunder‘s NBAGL affiliate). Cook and Ramsey signed their contracts more recently and have yet to land with new teams.

Malik Fitts, Ky Bowman, Karim Mane, and Daulton Hommes are among the other players with NBA experience who have signed G League contracts within the last week. Although Hommes technically has yet to appear in an NBA regular season game, he spent the first two months of this season on a two-way deal with New Orleans, earning a year of NBA service.

Fitts’ returning rights belong to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, while Bowman has been traded to the Austin Spurs. Mane has landed with the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets‘ G League team, while Hommes rejoined the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans‘ affiliate.

Finally, former Warriors and Magic guard Mychal Mulder has also signed a G League contract, a source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Mulder, who was waived by Orlando last month, appeared in 15 games this season and has played in 82 total NBA contests since 2020.

None of these players’ rights are held by an NBA team, so they remain free to sign a standard contract or a two-way deal with any of the league’s 30 clubs.

Stein’s Latest: Rivers, Dragic, Harris, R. Lopez, Dinwiddie, Bertans

February 20th, 2022 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers have confidence in coach Doc Rivers to lead the team to a title now that James Harden has been paired up with Joel Embiid, a source tells Marc Stein (Substack link). Philadelphia hasn’t won an NBA championship in 39 years and Rivers has a recent history of playoff disappointments, but team officials believe he can oversee the new partnership.

Shortly after the trade with the Nets was completed, Stein heard rumors that the Sixers might be considering Mike D’Antoni, who coached Harden for four years in Houston. D’Antoni is currently serving as a coaching advisor to the Pelicans after spending last season with Harden as an assistant in Brooklyn.

However, Stein’s source insists that Rivers’ job is safe, saying he gained admiration from ownership and the front office with the way he guided the team through the distractions caused by Ben Simmons‘ absence.

Stein offers more inside information from around the league:

Goran Dragic met with the Nets on Friday as he considers his next team following a buyout with the Spurs. Coach Steve Nash served as a mentor when Dragic entered the NBA with the Suns and has been the team’s lead recruiter for the free agent guard. Along with Brooklyn, Stein cites the Bucks, Bulls, Warriors and Clippers as the top suitors for Dragic. He’s been “really open-minded” to the offers from each team, a source tells Stein.
Magic veterans Gary Harris and Robin Lopez haven’t pushed for buyouts so far, according to Stein’s sources, who add that Harris may want to stay in Orlando in hopes of re-signing during the offseason. There was talk that Lopez might join his brother in Milwaukee after a buyout, Stein states, but the recent additions of Greg Monroe and Serge Ibaka may have quelled the Bucks‘ interest (though Monroe’s most recent 10-day contract has expired). Golden State may need another center for the playoffs, and Stein sees Lopez as a potential “home run” for the Warriors if he becomes available.
Small guarantees for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans in the final year of their contracts motivated the Mavericks to acquire them in last week’s trade for Kristaps Porzingis. Dinwiddie has just a $10MM guarantee on his $18.9MM salary for 2023/24, while Bertans carries a $5MM guarantee on his $16MM salary for 2024/25. Dallas is hoping those limited guarantees will make both contracts easier to trade.

Bucks “Aggressive” In Pursuit Of Goran Dragic

February 18th, 2022 at 8:07pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing on NBA Today (video link), ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Bucks have been “aggressive” in their pursuit of Goran Dragic, who reached a buyout agreement with the Spurs on Tuesday.

Dragic has been spending the week speaking to interested teams, and Wojnarowski calls the Bucks the “foremost” team on Dragic’s list. The defending champions find themselves with a hole in the backcourt after trading Donte DiVincenzo to the Kings and losing Pat Connaughton for approximately four weeks after surgery to repair his broken right ring finger.

Milwaukee’s brass, including GM Jon Horst and head coach Mike Budenholzer, has been pitching Dragic on the opportunity to play meaningful minutes and a “pretty significant role,” says Wojnarowski.

However, he notes that the Bulls, Clippers, Nets, and Lakers remain interested in the former All-Star guard. Woj thinks Dragic is getting closer to making a decision on his next team.

Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein tweets that the Warriors are also in the mix for Dragic, but notably did not include the Lakers on his list of teams vying for Dragic’s services.

Poll: Which Team Will Win Western Conference?

February 18th, 2022 at 7:48am CST by Luke Adams

On Thursday, we asked you which Eastern Conference team will make the NBA Finals this season. At the moment, no team in that poll has more than 24% of the vote, and five clubs have at least an 11% vote share.

While the East has been the conference of parity this season, the Western Conference has been something quite different. Two teams, the Suns (48-10) and Warriors (42-17), have controlled the top of the standings for essentially the entire season — no other club has cracked the top two since November 10.

Teams that have a ton of regular season success but haven’t yet proven themselves in the playoffs are often regarded with skepticism, not considered true contenders until they make a deep postseason run. But Golden State’s current core, led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green – has a long history of playoff success. And while Phoenix certainly can’t match the Warriors’ recent track record, the Suns showed last spring that they were no fluke, making it all the way to the NBA Finals and coming within two wins of a title.

In other words, these two teams are legit, and look like the odds-on favorites to meet in the Western Conference Finals. But that’s obviously not a foregone conclusion yet, with a handful of intriguing clubs filling out the playoff picture.

The Grizzlies, for one, are putting pressure on Golden State for the No. 2 seed in the conference — their 41-19 record puts them just a game-and-a-half back of the Dubs. Memphis is one of those teams we alluded to above, whose lack of recent playoff success means they’ll have plenty of skeptics to win over. But Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson, and company have shown they’re not willing to back down from anybody and have made the Grizzlies one of the NBA’s most exciting teams.

The Jazz (36-22) have championships aspirations and look great when they’re firing on all cylinders, but they’ve been up and down this season and have been exposed at times by smaller lineups. The Mavericks (35-24) are hoping that this year’s supporting cast is a better fit for Luka Doncic, but they’ll still only go as far as their All-NBA guard takes them.

The Nuggets (33-25) are one of the Western Conference’s most interesting contenders. Nikola Jokic has kept them firmly in the playoff mix with another MVP-caliber performance, and he could get some help before the end of the season — if Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back) return for the playoffs and look anything like their 2020/21 selves, Denver will be an extremely tough out.

Like Denver, the Clippers (30-31) and Lakers (27-31) could be dangerous if they’re at full strength, but Kawhi Leonard seems like a long shot to make it back this spring for the Clips, and the Lakers haven’t been able to put it all together even when their stars are healthy.

The Timberwolves (31-28) currently hold the top play-in spot ahead of the two Los Angeles teams and are looking to clinch a playoff spot for just the second time since 2004. It’s too early to rule anything out, but a deep postseason run seems unlikely for a Minnesota team that would’ve been happy entering the season just to earn a playoff berth.

If the nine teams we’ve already mentioned finish in the top 10, that leaves one play-in spot for a group that includes the revamped Pelicans (23-36) and Kings (22-38), the surprisingly-surging Trail Blazers (25-34), and Gregg Popovich‘s young Spurs (23-36). Again, never say never, but it’s a pretty safe bet that none of these teams will be representing the West in the Finals this June.

What do you think? Which Western Conference team do you expect to make it to the NBA Finals? How many legitimate contenders do you think there are in the West?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Missing Leonard And George Has Made Lue A Better Coach

February 17th, 2022 at 2:31pm CST by Rory Maher

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue says that missing stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for much of the season has made him a better coach, per Mirjam Swanson of the Southern California News Group. “It has definitely made me a better coach this year, just trying to scratch and claw and win a game every single night,” Lue said. “Usually, you are in the playoffs and you try to win one game (at a time). It’s like that every single night.” The resilient Clippers are currently 29-31, eighth in the West.

Raptors Notes: Claxton, Young, VanVleet, Offense

February 16th, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Reports last week indicated that the Nets were exploring possible Nic Claxton trades right up until Thursday’s trade deadline, and the young center later said he thought he might be on the move. We don’t know all the teams Brooklyn might have talked to about Claxton, but ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his Lowe Post podcast that he believes the Raptors were one of the Nets’ potential trade partners.

“I think one thing that happened at the trade deadline that I heard was that (the Nets) were very close to a deal with Toronto that would have sent Claxton to Toronto for a first round pick and some protections on it,” Lowe said, per RealGM. “I think their intention was to sort of refit the roster by maybe flipping that pick for another wing, another shooter – (Clippers forward) Robert Covington‘s name was mentioned – and sort of balance it out. That trade fell apart and Toronto went in another direction.”

The Raptors ultimately sent their lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick and Goran Dragic‘s expiring contract to San Antonio in exchange for Thaddeus Young and Detroit’s ’22 second-round selection, while Claxton remained with the Nets.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Head coach Nick Nurse is impressed by how quickly the newly-acquired Young has been learning the intricacies of the Raptors’ offensive and defensive systems despite not going through any live practices yet, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “He looked like he’s going to be able to help us out there, like just his movement with the ball, shot creation, pass creation, those kinds of things,” Nurse said of Young, who made his Raptors debut on Monday.
Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet underwent an MRI on his sore right knee and it came back clean, tweets Smith. VanVleet is listed as questionable for the team’s last game before the All-Star break on Wednesday — if he doesn’t play tonight, it’s unclear whether he’ll still suit up for Sunday’s All-Star Game.
Although Young should be a solid role player for the Raptors, he’s unlikely to address the team’s biggest issue, its half-court offense, says Eric Koreen of The Athletic. As Koreen writes, Toronto didn’t make a move at the deadline to upgrade that area and will likely feel the effects of that decision the rest of the way.

Western Notes: Cousins, George, Kuminga, Kings

February 16th, 2022 at 12:40pm CST by Luke Adams

DeMarcus Cousins‘ current 10-day contract with the Nuggets will expire this weekend, but head coach Michael Malone doesn’t sound like someone who expects to part ways the veteran center in a few days, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post relays.

“You can see all the guys on our bench, even on the court and on the bench, how much they’re rooting for DeMarcus, which is really neat for me, just from a personal level, from a family atmosphere type of a thing,” Malone said on Monday. “Like here’s DeMarcus, four-time All-Star, out of the league. Shouldn’t be the case, and he’s here with us, he’s found a home.

“I love him, and I think you can see all the teammates, when he has a play like that, whether it’s blocking a shot, rolling and dunking, hitting a three, you can feel the energy.”

Cousins has signed three 10-day pacts with Denver so far and the last two have been standard (non-hardship) deals, which means the team will have to decide whether to sign him for the rest of the season when his current contract expires. There has been no confirmation yet that the Nuggets plan to take that route, but it certainly seems like it’s trending that way.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

If a February 24 MRI on Paul George‘s injured elbow comes back clean, the expectation is that the Clippers forward will begin a ramp-up period of approximately two weeks and could return to the court – barring setbacks – during the second week of March, Chris Haynes reported on Tuesday’s TNT broadcast (video link via Tomas Azarly of ClutchPoints).
Warriors rookie Jonathan Kuminga has been named a replacement for Pacers guard Chris Duarte in this Friday’s Rising Stars game, the league announced today in a press release. Kuminga will replace Duarte, who is dealing with a left toe injury, on Team Payton for the event.
Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee believes there are a handful of parallels between the Kings‘ pre-deadline acquisition of Domantas Sabonis and their trade for Chris Webber nearly 24 years ago.

Pacific Notes: Powell, Lakers, Shamet, Wiseman

February 15th, 2022 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The current treatment plan for Clippers swingman Norman Powell, who broke a bone in his left foot last Thursday, is non-surgical, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group. Asked about a potential return timeline for Powell, head coach Tyronn Lue couldn’t offer any specifics, but expressed hope that the 28-year-old will be back before the end of the season.

“Hopefully,” Lue said. “I’m not really sure, but hopefully that’s the case.”

As Swanson writes, Powell – acquired in a trade with Portland earlier in the month – had only been a Clipper for three games before he went down with his foot injury. However, he had already established himself as an important part of the rotation, playing nearly 34 minutes in his last game on Thursday, so he’ll be missed. Additionally, the Clippers sacrificed some depth on the wing in their pre-deadline deals.

“It does leave a void, because now you lose Justise Winslow, Eric Bledsoe, who you traded him for, along with Keon Johnson,” Lue said. “… Since (Powell) was here, he gave us great downhill attacks, direct line, quick decisions, getting to the free-throw line and he scored the ball really easy. So we’re definitely gonna miss that.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

During an appearance on The Hoop Collective podcast with Brian Windhorst, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne confirmed the Lakers would have had to incentivize the Rockets to swap John Wall for Russell Westbrook at the trade deadline, but suggested the cost wouldn’t necessarily have been a first-round pick, as had been previously reported. “The way I heard it was it could have been done for a first-round pick, but it was even suggested they could have done it for a pick swap,” Shelburne said, per RealGM. “… Let’s put it this way, they would have had to incentivize Houston to do the trade with some kind of draft compensation. I think it was even less than what people have assumed.”
Suns guard Landry Shamet, who has been sidelined since January 30 due to a right ankle injury, is being careful not to rush the recovery process and won’t return until sometime after the All-Star break, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I’ve come back from ankle injuries a little too early in the past,” Shamet said on Monday. “With the aspirations this team has and what I have for myself, for us, I want to make sure I’m in the best place possible to be able to sustain for a long time.”
Warriors center James Wiseman was cleared to begin participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Wiseman is working his way back from a pair of procedures on his right knee.

Spurs Buy Out Goran Dragic

February 15th, 2022 at 9:53am CST by Luke Adams

9:53am: The Spurs have officially waived Dragic (Twitter link via Paul Garcia of Project Spurs). As noted below, he’ll clear waivers and become a free agent on Thursday.

8:30am: The Spurs and point guard Goran Dragic have reached a buyout agreement, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Assuming Dragic is officially released today and clears waivers – which is a near-certainty due to his $19.4MM cap hit – he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday. At that point, he’d be free to sign with any team except the Raptors — NBA rules prohibit a team from re-signing a player it traded earlier in the league year if that player is cut by his new team.

Charania doesn’t identify any specific suitors for Dragic, but says “a slew” of teams are expected to pursue the playoff-tested veteran.

Previously, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski named the Bucks, Lakers, Warriors, Clippers, Bulls, and Nets as clubs expected to show interest in Dragic. Wojnarowski later said that Milwaukee, in particular, is expected to aggressively pursue the 35-year-old.

The Mavericks were viewed at one point as a potential frontrunner for Dragic, but acquired Spencer Dinwiddie at the trade deadline and are no longer believed to be in the market for a point guard. General manager Nico Harrison said last week that he thinks Dallas’ roster is “set.”

The Heat, meanwhile, are no longer ineligible to reacquire Dragic, since he was traded for a second time after Miami moved him in August. The guard has been working out in Miami for much of the season and the Heat have two open roster spots, so a reunion seems plausible, even though the club wasn’t mentioned by Wojnarowski over the weekend as a likely suitor.

Dragic averaged 13.4 PPG, 4.4 APG, and 3.4 RPG on .432/.373/.828 shooting in 50 games (26.7 MPG) for the Heat in 2020/21. However, he appeared in just five games for the Raptors this season after being sent to Toronto as part of the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade.

Dragic hasn’t played since November, having taken a personal leave of absence from the Raptors up until he was traded to San Antonio at last week’s deadline.

Norman Powell Fractures Bone In Foot

February 13th, 2022 at 4:54pm CST by JD Shaw

Clippers guard Norman Powell has suffered a fractured medial sesamoid bone in his left foot, the team announced. The treatment is non-surgical at this time and no timetable was issued for his return.

Powell, 28, missed the team’s game against Dallas on Saturday due to the injury. He last played against the Mavericks on Thursday, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes of action.

As Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes tweets, sesamoid fractures aren’t a common injury for NBA players, but since 2005/06, the average time lost for a player with that diagnosis is about 19 games. If Powell’s return timeline is in that neighborhood, he could be back before the end of the regular season — Los Angeles currently has 24 games left.

Powell was acquired by the Clippers in a trade before last Thursday’s deadline. Los Angeles gave up Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and a 2025 second-round pick in the deal, also getting back Robert Covington.

With Powell out, Terance Mann, Amir Coffey and Luke Kennard will likely see more action. Head coach Tyronn Lue started Mann in place of Powell on Saturday.

Powell joins star players Paul George (elbow) and Kawhi Leonard (ACL) as players who are sidelined, but the Clippers still rank eighth in the West at 28-30.