- After getting off to a very strong start, Clippers‘ rookie guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has struggled in recent weeks as he has hit the “rookie wall.” However, as Andrew Greif points out for The Los Angeles Times, Doc Rivers continues to be impressed with the young guard’s work ethic and understands that he will need more time to get over the hump this season.
Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Hornets assigned Dwayne Bacon to the Greensboro Swarm, announcing the news in a press release today. Bacon has averaged 5.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 18 games with Charlotte this season.
- The Grizzlies assigned Jevon Carter and Ivan Rabb to the Memphis Hustle, G League affiliate of the team, according to a tweet from the club’s PR department. Rabb played in the Hustle’s loss against Stockton on Thursday, adding 19 points and seven rebounds.
- The Clippers recalled then later assigned guard Jerome Robinson to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, the team announced on Thursday. Robinson was drafted by the Clippers with the No. 13 pick in 2018.
The Raptors and Spurs are set to face one another on Thursday night for the first time since consummating their blockbuster offseason trade nearly six months ago. Predictably, discussion this week has centered on Kawhi Leonard‘s return to San Antonio and DeMar DeRozan‘s first game against the team with whom he thought he’d spend the rest of his career.
In his latest deep dive for ESPN.com, however, Tim Bontemps focuses less on last summer’s trade and more on the Raptors’ plan to keep Leonard beyond this season. Within his piece, Bontemps shares a series of interesting details on Nick Nurse‘s first meeting with Kawhi, the Raptors’ strategy for managing their superstar’s health, and the franchise’s belief that it has built the sort of culture in Toronto that will help convince Leonard to re-sign.
“When we came aboard six years ago, we wanted to bring this organization to a level where you can make this pitch,” Toronto GM Bobby Webster said. “So you have strength in excellence around the organization — the basketball side, the coaching staff, the medical and support staff, obviously ownership — to where when we have a superstar player, an MVP-candidate-type player, now we can go to him and say, ‘We are really confident in who we are, we’re really proud of what we’ve built, and these are all the reasons why we think you should stay.'”
According to Bontemps, the “popular opinion among league executives” for now is that Leonard’s decision could come down to the Raptors vs. the Clippers. While the Raps are doing their best to sell Kawhi on the city and the franchise, the Clippers can offer two things Toronto can’t — an opportunity to return home to Los Angeles and year-round warm weather. It remains to be seen how important those factors will be and what other factors Leonard will seriously weigh, and he’s not offering any hints.
“I’m not thinking about that,” Leonard told Bontemps when asked about his upcoming free agency. “I’m focused on right now, what this is bringing for me and focused on the opportunity that I have here and what we can do this season. Later down the road, that’s when I’ll make my decision.”
Here’s more on the Raptors and Spurs, with a focus on the two stars involved in July’s blockbuster:
- Speaking to reporters, including Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich downplayed the importance of Thursday’s reunion, calling it a “waste of our time” to rehash the details of Leonard’s exit from San Antonio. “You move on in life,” he said. “We’re not going to redo what’s happened in the past in any way, shape or form. It’s of no consequence at this point, and it does no good to go backward and talk about this, that or the other.”
- For what it’s worth, within his story on Leonard (detailed above), Bontemps reports that Popovich, who said in November that Leonard “wasn’t a leader,” has regretted making those comments — and the way that they were perceived.
- Jabari Young of The Athletic takes a look at Thursday’s reunion from both sides, citing one source close to Leonard who says the All-Star forward doesn’t hold any hard feeling toward the Spurs. Meanwhile, a source close to DeRozan offered the following assessment of DeMar’s impressions of the Spurs’ organization: “He has never experienced the amount of professionalism from a day-to-day basis from a coach, GM, or organization that he has in his short term in San Antonio.”
- DeRozan spoke a little more this week about unexpectedly being traded by the Raptors, telling reporters – including Eric Koreen of The Athletic – that he had wanted to remain with the team and “break every single record” in Toronto. “Sometimes you don’t get in life the opportunity to marry the woman you felt was the woman of your dreams,” DeRozan said. “So, it just happens that way.”
Anthony Davis will turn down a “supermax” extension from the Pelicans, setting up a frenzied competition between the Lakers and Celtics to pull off a trade, predicts Marc Stein of the New York Times in his latest newsletter. It’s one of several prognostications the veteran basketball writer offers up in a New Year’s Day column, but it’s the most explosive and one that will dominate NBA headlines throughout the summer if it comes true.
Davis could short-circuit the story by accepting the offer from New Orleans, which would pay him close to $240MM. But Stein expects Davis to value a shot at winning over money and look to join a loaded lineup in either Los Angeles or Boston. Stein also predicts the Lakers will be aggressive in trying to talk the Pelicans into a deal before the February 7 deadline while there’s not another strong suitor in sight. The Celtics can’t trade for Davis until Kyrie Irving opts out of his current deal because of an NBA rule prohibiting a team from acquiring two players currently on designated rookie extensions through trade.
Stein offers a few more significant personnel-related predictions:
- Despite Kawhi Leonard‘s success in Toronto, Stein expects him to sign with the Clippers in July. He adds that the Raptors will likely need to win a title to keep their new star from heading home to Southern California in free agency and predicts Toronto will start rebuilding if Leonard leaves, including a trade of Kyle Lowry.
- Kevin Durant may spend one more season with the Warriors before looking to move on in free agency. Stein admits there’s a lot of chatter about Durant joining the Knicks, but he believes the allure of playing in the new Chase Center will keep him him around for another year.
- A “wise insider” tells Stein that DeMarcus Cousins will consider returning to the Warriors for another season, although they can only offer a modest raise on his $5.3MM salary. Stein expects other prominent free agents, such as Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson, to stay where they are.
- Carmelo Anthony, currently in limbo on the Rockets‘ roster while looking for his next NBA opportunity, may have played his last game. It has been nearly two months since Anthony was last on the court and it doesn’t appear anyone is willing to take a chance on him, even at a minimum salary.
- Kevin Love trade talks will heat up soon, and Stein believes the Nuggets should get involved as they try to hold onto the top spot in the West. Love is projected to return from toe surgery this month and will become eligible to be dealt on January 24, a little more than two weeks before the deadline.
Along with James, point guard Rajon Rondo will be sidelined as he rehabs from a sprained finger earlier in the week. The Lakers open the first half of a back-to-back set on Thursday in Sacramento, then host the Clippers in an L.A. showdown on Friday.
- The Clippers plan to give an extensive look to two-way player Johnathan Motley, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register writes. The team called Motley up from the G League on Wednesday and plans to activate him in the near future, according to Swanson. “I like Mot,” coach Doc Rivers said, “What we don’t know is if defensively he can play the five spot, but I do like him at that spot. I don’t like him as a four that much. Really like him at the five.”
Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Clippers have assigned rookie guard Jerome Robinson to their Agua Caliente affiliate, according to a tweet from the team. Robinson has played just eight games at the NBA level and is averaging 2.9 PPG in five minutes per night.
- The Bucks shipped Christian Wood back to the Wisconsin Herd two days after recalling him, the team tweeted. Wood has been among the G League’s best players this season, averaging 28.5 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 11 games.
- In an interview with Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register, Clippers coach Doc Rivers looks back on the day three years ago that a contingent from the team visited free agent center DeAndre Jordan to change his mind about signing with the Mavericks. “It was a weird day, but I think it was far weirder on the outside of the room than on the inside of the room,” Rivers said. “I mean, basically D.J. basically told us he was staying within five seconds.”
A Turkish team is ready to welcome Clippers guard Milos Teodosic if he’s serious about leaving the NBA, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul is “seriously pursuing” Teodosic, according to Carchia, although he would have to reach a buyout agreement with the Clippers before signing anywhere else. L.A. is paying Teodisic $6.3MM this season and can extend a $7.875MM qualifying offer next summer.
Teodosic, a former EuroLeague star, said last month he wasn’t sure if he wanted to finish out the current NBA season because of reduced playing time. He is seeing just 10 minutes per night through 15 games, way down from 25.2 minutes as a rookie. The Clippers’ backcourt got more crowded this year as Patrick Beverley and Avery Bradley both returned from injuries and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was added through the draft.
Teodosic and the Clippers had opportunities to terminate their relationship over the offseason, but both elected to extend it for another year. He exercised a player option in June, but it only carried a $2.1MM guarantee through July 15, meaning the team could have saved $4.2MM by waiving him before that date.
- While the Clippers haven’t explicitly expressed interest in Rodney Hood, they’ve scouted the Cavs’ last several games, could use a wing, and don’t want to take on multiyear money, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Those factors could make L.A. an ideal suitor for Hood.
The Clippers continue to be obsessed with the top of the 2019 free agency class and with a recent report reiterating Kawhi Leonard‘s desire to be in Los Angeles, Steve Ballmer‘s squad isn’t likely to let up anytime soon. The Raptors are not concerned with the Clippers’ efforts, as aggressive as they may be, team sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Raptors officials have previously claimed that a Clippers’ employee has attended about three-quarters of Toronto’s games this season but a source tells Amick that the figure is closer to 25%. Still, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank and his team in the front office are doing everything within the league’s rules to up the odds of the franchise landing the former NBA Finals MVP.
NBA squads are allowed to gather as much intel about rival players as possible that might shape their free agency pitch, including both on and off court information. There’s a grey area when it comes to distinguishing the lines between research and recruiting, Amick explains. Teams are not allowed to recruit directly, though they can build relationships with people around a free-agent-to-be.
Up until recently, Leonard was unaware Clippers’ officials had been attending his games nor did he know what Frank even looked like, as Amick details. The scribe was with the head of the Clippers’ front office directly after last week’s game between the two squads. Leonard briefly embraced Amick while ignoring the front office executive and although some may see this as a case of Leonard and Frank consciously creating a ruse in front of a media member, Leonard simply isn’t wired that way, Amick writes.
Many within the league believe that the next six months will play a big part in determining Leonard’s decision. How far Toronto goes in the playoffs and how well he clicks with his coach, teammates, and the city will be factors. One source close to the situation pegs Leonard’s chances of staying up north as “50-50.”
Teammate Kyle Lowry isn’t sure if Leonard will call Toronto home long-term but the point guard is certain that Leonard is enjoying his time on the court.
“We don’t have to read him, because he talks to us,” Lowry said of Leonard. “He’s our teammate. He’s a guy we talk to every day. He’s awesome. He’s enjoying being back on the floor playing basketball at a high level. That’s what he’s really enjoying. I think he missed playing basketball last year, and I think people take that [for granted] When you lose the game for a little while, you’re like, ‘Man, that’s a tough thing.’ But when you get it back, it’s like, ‘Wow.’
“I don’t know [if Toronto fits him]. That’s a question where his individualized personality is going to have to step in [and determine it].”