- Kawhi Leonard‘s impressive scoring surge has lifted the Clippers in recent games, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register writes. Leonard has scored 30+ points in his last nine outings, averaging 34.6 points per contest over that span. “Just midseason,” Leonard said. “My teammates are being aggressive. I’m able to get open shots off of their attacks and drives. I’m just able to make shots right now.”
Marcus Morris is confident that he’ll sign a multi-year contract with the Knicks if he remains with the organization past the trade deadline, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. This comes after a report earlier this week that he and the team have “strong mutual interest” in reaching a new deal this summer. Morris likes playing in New York and enjoys being so close to his family in Philadelphia.
Morris risked some security last year when he reneged on a two-year offer with the Spurs to accept a one-year arrangement with the Knicks. He recently hired a new agent in Raymond Brothers, who has a close relationship with New York general manager Scott Perry.
While it’s not a sure thing that Perry will remain with the organization after another disappointing season, some sources believe owner James Dolan’s desire to have Masai Ujiri run the team could work in Perry’s favor. Dolan may not be able to land Ujiri while he’s still under contract with the Raptors, so Mills may be able to convince Dolan to give him another season while he waits. Thunder president Sam Presti could be another target, Bondy adds.
There’s more this morning from New York:
- A source tells Bondy the Knicks are in the market for a point guard and have interest in acquiring Dennis Schroder from the Thunder. Schroder is making $15.5MM this year and is signed for the same amount for next season.
- The Clippers are believed to be interested in Morris, and a source suggests to Steve Popper of Newsday that the Knicks might accept Maurice Harkless in return, along with a first-round pick, Landry Shamet or possibly both. Harkless has an $11MM expiring contract. Popper also states that New York may be willing to trade for Pistons center Andre Drummond as a way to unload Julius Randle, who will make $18.9MM next season. Drummond is expected to opt out of his $28MM salary, which would provide a huge amount of cap room. The Knicks have also received calls about Kevin Knox, Popper adds.
- The Knicks are surprised that Mitchell Robinson was passed over for the Rising Stars Challenge, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. The second-year center has been one of the bright spots of the team, averaging 9.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. “It’s not something that’s going to hurt my feelings,’’ Robinson said. “I’m still going to come out here and play. I’m still going to move on and continue to play ball. I’m still in the NBA, so I really don’t care.”
Here are Wednesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Timberwolves assigned Jaylen Nowell to their affiliate in Iowa, the team announced in a press release. He’s leading the G League team in scoring at 21.0 PPG through 24 games.
- The Raptors assigned Stanley Johnson to their Raptors 905 affiliate so he could play in today’s game (Twitter link).
- The Cavaliers assigned Tyler Cook to their Canton affiliate, according to the G League Transactions Page.
- The Clippers recalled Derrick Walton from Agua Caliente of Ontario (Twitter link).
The Lakers returned to practice today for the first time since Kobe Bryant‘s death on Sunday, writes Greg Beacham of The Associated Press. The mood was reserved as players tried to move beyond the tragedy and focus on basketball. Some of them, including Anthony Davis, spent time looking at Bryant’s two retired numbers hanging in the rafters before practice began.
“We want to represent what Kobe was about, more than anything,” said coach Frank Vogel, who was the only person to address the media after the workout. “We’ve always wanted to make him proud, and that’s not going to be any different now.”
The Lakers’ game against the Clippers last night was postponed to give the organization more time to deal with the tragedy. Instead, the team held an afternoon gathering where players and coaches shared stories and memories of Bryant. The meeting was “therapeutic and beneficial,” according to Vogel.
“It’s been something that has touched my family, being the father of daughters, and it’s been very emotional,” he said. “It’s something that brings us together. I’m around the people who were closest to Kobe throughout his time here, and it’s been just a deeply saddening time for all of us.”
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- The franchise-altering trade that brought Bryant to the Lakers in 1996 nearly didn’t happen, Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak tells Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Kupchak, who served as assistant GM for the Lakers at the time, said Charlotte had second thoughts about going through with the deal. “I think we always felt that we’d get the deal done,” Kupchak said. “Certainly, history would have been a lot different, at least from a Lakers point-of-view. Kobe would have been great no matter where he was.”
- Clippers stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard both spent time working out with Bryant at his Mamba Sports Academy and both credit him with helping to mold their careers, relays Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “He was my Michael Jordan growing up as a SoCal kid,” George said after today’s practice. “He was what every kid wanted to be here. I started playing basketball because of Kobe.”
- Current Clippers consultant Jerry West said when Bryant was thinking of leaving the Lakers as a free agent in 2004, he warned him not to go across town and play for former owner Donald Sterling (video link from TNT).
Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Wizards have recalled Admiral Schofield from the Capital City Go-Go, per the team’s Twitter feed. Schofield was a second-round pick in the 2019 draft.
- The Celtics are bringing Romeo Langford back from the G League. They’ve recalled him, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports (Twitter link).
- The Spurs have recalled Keldon Johnson from the Austin Spurs, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Johnson was the No. 29 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
- The Clippers have assigned Derrick Walton Jr. and Terance Mann to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, per the team. Los Angeles hasn’t practiced in several days but is expected to hold practice tomorrow.
- The Jazz have assigned Nigel Williams-Goss, Juwan Morgan, and Miye Oni to the G League, according to the league’s transaction log. All three are were just with the Salt Lake City Stars over the weekend.
LeBron James issued his first comments since the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, which were posted on the Yahoo Sports Twitter feed and by other news organizations. James spoke with Bryant – who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning – on Saturday evening after passing him on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
“Didn’t think for one bit in a million years that would be the last conversation we’d have,” James wrote. James also vowed to carry on Bryant’s legacy. “It’s my responsibility to put this (bleep) on my back and keep it going!! Please give me the strength from the heavens above and watch over me!”
We have more reaction from around the league on the loss of the Lakers legend:
- The Lakers brought in grief counselors to the team’s offices on Monday to help not only players and staff members cope with Bryant’s tragic death but also employees throughout the organization, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. Bryant had many relationships with other Laker employees during his 20-year playing career, McMenamin notes. The counselors provided comfort and guidance in both group and one-on-one sessions, McMenamin adds. The league decided on Monday afternoon to postpone the team’s scheduled game with the Clippers on Tuesday out of respect for the Lakers organization.
- The organization thanked fans and well-wishers from around the world for the overwhelming support it has received since the tragedy. It issued a statement via the team’s PR department (Twitter link) which read, “The Los Angeles Lakers would like to thank all of you for the tremendous outpouring of support and condolences. This is a very difficult time for all of us. We continue to support the Bryant family and will share more information as it is available.”
- Kings coach and ex-teammate Luke Walton said the loss has not only deeply affected him but everyone around his team, as he told Chad Graff of The Athletic and other media members. “We talked about it. Life is hard. There are moments that challenge us,” Walton said. “What I’ve found is together we can get through that easier and more efficiently than we can alone. Guys here are hurting whether you knew him or not. He was that type of guy, and he had that type of impact on the NBA world that everybody is hurting.”
- Pop music icon Michael Jackson fueled Bryant’s passion for excellence, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski recalls in a November 2010 interview he did with Bryant. “He would teach me what he did: how to make a ‘Thriller’ album, a ‘Bad’ album, all the details that went into it,” Bryant told Wojnarowski. “It was all the validation that I needed — to know that I had to focus on my craft and never waver. Because what he did — and how he did it — was psychotic. He helped me get to a level where I was able to win three titles playing with Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) because of my preparation, my study. And it’s only all grown.”
- The fact that three teenagers, including Bryant’s daughter Gianna, perished in the helicopter crash was especially heartbreaking for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel relays. “Obviously this has been a horrible 24 hours,” he said. “And, as a parent, it absolutely crushes your heart to think about this. When something like this happens it can be so wrong and so arbitrary.”
- Bryant played the game with ferocity but he wasn’t fearless, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN writes. However, Bryant’s determination allowed him to overcome his fears. “To a certain extent, every day I was vulnerable,” he told Shelburne. “You’re always dealing with fear, with something in your imagination. Something that you think can happen. But you just say, ‘I don’t know if I can do that. But I’ll give it a try.'”
Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the league:
- The Clippers recalled rookie forward Mfiondu Kabengele from their Agua Caliente affiliate, the team’s PR department tweets. Kabengele has averaged 19.2 PPG, 9.3 RPG and 1.9 BPG in 19 G League starts.
- The Nets assigned Theo Pinson and Dzanan Musa to their Long Island affiliate, according to the G League transactions log. Pinson, a second-year guard, has appeared in 27 games with Brooklyn this season, averaging 4.4 PPG in 12.3 MPG. Musa, a second-year swingman, is averaging 4.3 PPG and 12.2 MPG as 32 appearances with the NBA club.
- The Warriors recalled guard Jacob Evans III from their affiliate in Santa Cruz, according to a team press release. Evans has played two G League games this season. In 22 games with Golden State, he is averaging 4.4 PPG in 15.0 MPG.
The scheduled game between the Lakers and Clippers at the Staples Center on Tuesday has been postponed as the Los Angeles community continues to mourn the death of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, according to an NBA press release (hat tip to The Athletic’s Blake Murphy).
The decision was made out of respect for the Lakers organization, which has been devastated by the loss of Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people in a helicopter crash on Sunday. The game will be rescheduled at a later date.
While the NBA did not postpone any games on Sunday and Monday in the aftermath of the news, the decision to move the Lakers-Clippers game to a later date didn’t come as a surprise. As a source told The Athletic’s Shams Charania, “These guys are not ready to play basketball right now.”
There had been ongoing discussions between the league and the Lakers since the tragedy and it was ultimately decided that an organization that spent the day meeting with grief counselors wasn’t ready to put on an NBA game, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets.
The Lakers’ next game is a home date against the Trail Blazers on Friday.
Zach LaVine has arguably been the Bulls‘ most important player through the first half of the season. He’s a borderline All-Star candidate and any chance of Chicago making the postseason likely hinges on his success.
So does he expect to be involved in the team’s decisions leading up to the trade deadline? Not necessarily, though he would embrace that kind of power, as Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times relays.
“I mean if they come to me and let me know, I think it would be great,’’ LaVine said of the team speaking with him about potential moves. “If not I’m not taking offense to it either. It’s not something that I’m asking for.
“I know what I stand for. I’m trying to help us get there and I don’t think you can question what my intentions are.’’
Thaddeus Young and Kris Dunn could both be on the move. The Clippers have interest in each player, sources tell Cowley, though Los Angeles could simply wait until the offseason to pursue Dunn, as he will be a restricted free agent.
Some players on the Clippers are not thrilled with the team’s preferential treatment to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, sources tell Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic. This sort of handling is common in the NBA nowadays. Stars play by different rules, however, that doesn’t mean things are always smooth behind the scenes.
Look across the Staples Center to LeBron James to see another example of stars getting different treatment. James frequently sets the Lakers’ practice and shootaround schedules, coordinating with coach Frank Vogel as they try to figure out what works best for the team. Yet, LBJ’s situation is generally accepted by teammates because of his leadership style; he has an ability to inspire and connect with his teammates in a way that facilitates it.
Leonard and George have different personalities. Leonard is a lead-by-example type and with George having the same approach, there’s a bit of uncertainty about whose voice should be the loudest.
“I think it boils down to Kawhi not talking, and so who is their true leader?” one source with knowledge of the Clippers’ dynamics said. “How do you get around that?”
After a loss to the Grizzlies earlier this month, Montrezl Harrell was particularly vocal about the team’s performance, telling the media that the Clippers were “not a great team” while explaining that the club needed to “wake up and figure it out.” Harrell was asked about the vibe in the locker room and the center’s response was noteworthy.
“I don’t know, brother,” Harrell said at the time. “I don’t know. And that might be another problem right there.”
Doc Rivers addressed Harrell’s comments and Buha and Amick hear that tension had been rising in the locker room leading up to those remarks. The big man’s words also rubbed some teammates the wrong way as they felt Harrell’s post-game mood was, at times, reliant on his individual box score.
Harrell is in a contract year and could be in line for a major raise in free agency. However, sources tell The Athletic duo that the 25-year-old remains focused on the team’s goal of winning a championship over any sort of personal agenda.
“Everything he does is out of his passion for winning,” one source said. “He kind of walks to his own beat a little bit, but it’s not from a selfish perspective at all.”
Buha and Amick spoke to over a dozen sources and the entire piece is worth a read. Here are more highlights from the duo’s latest:
- Multiple Clippers players don’t feel the team practices as hard or as seriously as it should be. Leonard’s load management plays a role in that.
- The Clippers prefer to call the strategy with Leonard “injury management.” Los Angeles’ medical team still doesn’t consider Leonard a fully healthy player and maintains that Leonard should not play back-to-backs.
- Leonard has become more vocal recently. He’s coordinated player-only film sessions that many around the team believe have been a key to the Clippers’ recent surge in the standings. “It wasn’t one of those crazy players-only meetings, but they started doing it two or three games ago,” Rivers said earlier this month. “They just felt like watching the game together instead of everybody watching their iPads, watching it alone, would be better.”
- The team’s success over the next week or so (which includes games against the Heat and Lakers) could determine what Los Angeles does at the trade deadline. Many players and team employees feel the dynamics have improved and the team has begun to jell over the past few weeks.
- Buha and Amick write that Leonard most frequently speaks with George, Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, and Maurice Harkless. The pair notes that Leonard is not standoffish to others, but has grown the most comfortable with that group.
- As a reminder, both Kawhi and PG can hit the free agent market in the summer of 2021, as each player’s deal contains a player option for the following season.