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Jazz, Grizzlies Could Revisit Conley Trade Talks In Offseason

March 18th, 2019 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

Prior to this season’s trade deadline, the Jazz and Grizzlies engaged in serious discussions about a deal that would have sent Mike Conley to Utah. While the two sides ultimately didn’t agree to terms on a deadline deal, those talks could pick back up in June, front office executives tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.

The exact details of Utah’s February offer for Conley aren’t known, but the Jazz were believed to be offering at least a first-round pick and a pair of expiring veteran contracts (Ricky Rubio and Derrick Favors). Memphis reportedly sought a second first-round pick or point guard Dante Exum, and the Jazz weren’t willing to go that high.

The Grizzlies moved on from veteran center Marc Gasol at last month’s deadline, signaling that they’re ready to break up their longtime core and retool their roster. In other words, Conley is a good bet to be back on the trade block this summer. However, a report after the deadline suggested that Memphis also doesn’t mind the idea of hanging onto its point guard and building around Conley and Jaren Jackson, so an offseason trade certainly isn’t a foregone conclusion.

Conley remains under contract for $32.5MM in 2019/20, with a $34.5MM early termination option for 2020/21. That’s a steep price to pay for a point guard in his 30s, but the former Ohio State standout has been as good as ever this season, averaging a career-high 20.7 PPG to go along with 6.4 APG, 3.4 RPG, and 1.4 SPG.

The Jazz, meanwhile, could be on the lookout for a point guard this summer with Rubio set to reach unrestricted free agency and Exum once again plagued by health issues.

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls 3/17/19

March 17th, 2019 at 6:55pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Thunder have assigned Hamidou Diallo to the Oklahoma City Blue, according to a team press release. Hamidou has appeared in 47 games for the Thunder this season, averaging 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.1 minutes per contest.
  • The Clippers have recalled Justin Bibbs and Jerome Robinson from the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
  • The Grizzlies have assigned Tyler Dorsey to the Memphis Hustle, per the team’s Twitter feed.
  • The Bucks have recalled Christian Wood from the Wisconsin Herd, per the team’s Twitter feed. The latest assignment was Wood’s 15th in the G League this season.
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And-Ones: G League, T. Robinson, Hawes, Ajinca

March 17th, 2019 at 8:56am CST by Arthur Hill

More G League players than ever are either leaving their teams for personal reasons or being “removed from a team,” writes Adam Johnson of 2 Ways and 10 Days. Terrence Jones, who recently completed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Rockets, is the latest example, as Johnson tweets that he has been removed from the active roster of the Erie BayHawks.

Jeff Ledbetter, Lavoy Allen, Jarnell Stokes, Raphiael Putney, Quincy Acy, DeAndre Liggins and Chris McCullough have also left their G League teams this season for various reasons. Some ultimately returned, but Johnson sees the pattern as an issue for the league. He notes the stress involved in being so close to the big leagues can make players react poorly if they have a bad game in front of NBA scouts.

Johnson urges new G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim to expand the availability of mental health services available to players and encourage more discussion on the topic, just like the NBA did after revelations from Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan.

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

  • Former NBA forward Thomas Robinson, who signed a G League contract this week, has been claimed on waivers by the Celtics‘ affiliate in Maine, Johnson tweets. The league mistakenly awarded Robinson to the Red Claws a day early, as players must spend at least 48 hours on waivers unless they are claimed by the team with the top waiver spot. Robinson prefers to go to Maine, and Johnson states that still appears to be his destination (Twitter link). The fifth player selected in the 2012 draft, Robinson played for six NBA teams in five seasons.
  • Spencer Hawes has been impressive in the G League and is “on the radar” for an NBA call-up, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Playing for the Lakers‘ affiliate, Hawes had a 29-point game last night and is shooting 59% from 3-point range.
  • A few unlikely teams appear to have done very well at the trade deadline, according to Matt John of Basketball Insiders. Many observers thought the Clippers were giving up on this season when they traded away leading scorer Tobias Harris, but they got a nice collection of young talent and future assets in return and acquired Ivica Zubac from the Lakers in a separate deal. The Clippers have solidified a playoff spot at 40-30 and appear in stronger position to make an offseason run at Kawhi Leonard. The Pistons only made minor moves, John adds, but trading away Stanley Johnson and Reggie Bullock created more playing time for Luke Kennard and Wayne Ellington, who have helped Detroit to a 10-4 record since the deadline. The Grizzlies have been playing better since unloading Marc Gasol, JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple. Avery Bradley and Jonas Valanciunas have been standouts in Memphis and have increased the chances that the Grizzlies will convey their first-round pick to the Celtics this year rather than having to worry about it in the future.
  • Italian club Grison Bon Reggio Emilia has expressed interest in former NBA center Alexis Ajinca, who left his French team last week, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
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Southwest Notes: House, Porzingis, Grizzlies

March 13th, 2019 at 10:53pm CST by Luke Adams

After having his two-way deal officially converted into a standard NBA contract today, Danuel House is happy to be back with the Rockets, telling reporters he’s “really excited that we got everything done,” as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. Head coach Mike D’Antoni is also glad to have House on the 15-man roster, per Feigen.

“It’s good,” D’Antoni said. “There’s no downside; there’s only upside. He played really well for us. As soon as we can work him back in the rotation, if he’s as good as he was, then it’s all positive. If it doesn’t work out, it is what it is and we still have the same team.”

While House played a regular rotation role for the Rockets earlier in the season, even starting 12 games, the team has a healthier roster and a deeper bench at this point. Feigen notes in a separate article that it will be interesting to see how Houston manages all its pieces the rest of the way.

Currently, the Rockets’ bench features Austin Rivers, Gerald Green, Kenneth Faried, Nene, Iman Shumpert, and House, among others, so the club figures to use the final month to assess how many of those players will see regular minutes in the postseason.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Thirteen months after undergoing ACL surgery, Kristaps Porzingis participated in his first 5-on-5 practice for the Mavericks on Wednesday. And according to Dwain Price of Mavs.com, all indications are that it was a very successful return for the big man. “He went through a full practice with no issues, so very encouraging,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s made tremendous progress with his rehab, with his conditioning, his strength, and (playing 5-on-5) was the next logical progression. He played 3-on-3 yesterday morning with some of the other guys and did extremely well there. So this went really well.” Porzingis still isn’t expected to return to game action until 2019/20.
  • Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas has made a strong early impression on his new club in Memphis, as Blake Murphy of The Athletic details. David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal also takes a look at Valanciunas’ first month with the Grizzlies and looks ahead to assess whether or not the 26-year-old will exercise his $17.6MM player option for next season.
  • In a column for The Memphis Commercial Appeal, Mark Giannotto argues that the Grizzlies have been better off without Marc Gasol in recent weeks, as they’ve played at a faster pace and appear to be having more fun on the court. While it was painful to see Gasol go, it’s becoming clear that the two sides needed to move on from one another to move forward, Giannotto writes.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/12/19

March 12th, 2019 at 8:14pm CST by marksuleymanov

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Grizzlies recalled Tyler Dorsey from the G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, the team announced (Twitter link).
  • The Celtics assigned Robert Williams to their G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, the team announced (Twitter link).
  • The Wizards assigned Chasson Randle to their G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, per a press release. Randle has averaged 5.7 PPG and 2.0 APG in 15.2 minutes per game with Washington.
  • The Jazz assigned Grayson Allen to the Salt Lake City Stars, the team announced today in a press release. Allen, on his 11th assignment of the season, will suit up for Utah’s G League affiliate tonight.
  • The Sixers recalled rookie Zhaire Smith, who was available for Philadelphia’s game tonight, according to the team (via Twitter). Smith, who has yet to make his NBA debut, didn’t see any action vs. Cleveland.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/11/19

March 11th, 2019 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Pacers assigned forward Alize Johnson and guard Edmond Sumner to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to the team’s transactions log. Johnson has averaged 19.2 PPG and 13.6 RPG in 36.9 MPG over 25 appearances with the Mad Ants. Sumner has averaged 23.8 PPG and 3.7 APG in 31.2 MPG over 20 games at the G League level.
  • The Grizzlies assigned rookie guard Jevon Carter and second-year guard Tyler Dorsey to the Memphis Hustle prior to their game against the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team’s PR department tweets. Carter has averaged 18.7 PPG, 6.1 APG and 2.8 SPG in 34.0 MPG through 18 G League contests.  Dorsey will be making just his third G League appearance this season after seeing action in 34 NBA games with Atlanta and the Grizzlies.
  • The Clippers assigned rookie guard Jerome Robinson to the Agua Caliente Clippers, the team’s PR department tweets. Robinson, the 13th overall pick in last year’s draft, has seen action in 25 NBA games.
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2018/19 Disabled Player Exceptions Set To Expire

March 11th, 2019 at 9:52am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of disabled player exceptions are set to expire, assuming they go unused today. Three teams were granted DPEs this season and two of those teams – the Mavericks and Grizzlies – have yet to use them.

We go into more detail on how exactly disabled player exceptions work in our glossary entry on the subject. But essentially, a DPE gives a team the opportunity to add an injury replacement by either signing a player to a one-year contract, trading for a player in the final year of his contract, or placing a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract.

The Wizards, who were granted a disabled player exception worth $8.641MM (the amount of the mid-level exception) after John Wall went down with a season-ending injury, used their exception to acquire Wesley Johnson in a deadline-day trade with the Pelicans.

Using the DPE to accommodate that deal, which saw Markieff Morris sent to New Orleans, allowed Washington to create a trade exception worth Morris’ salary ($8.6MM). That trade exception won’t expire until February 7, 2020, which gives the Wizards some additional flexibility. Their disabled player exception would have expired today, as a team with a DPE has until March 10 (or the next business day) to use it.

As for the Mavericks and Grizzlies, their disabled player exceptions are far more modest than Washington’s. Dallas received one worth $1,855,425 (half of J.J. Barea‘s salary), while Memphis’ is worth just $689,121 (half of Dillon Brooks‘ salary).

With the trade deadline behind us and no player on waivers, the only option for those teams would be to sign a free agent using the DPE, but that seems unlikely at this point — there’s little incentive for either lottery-bound club to sign a player to a one-year contract worth more than the minimum. The more probable outcome is that both exceptions simply expire.

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Kyle Anderson To Be Re-Evaluated In Two Weeks

March 6th, 2019 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams
  • Grizzlies forward Kyle Anderson will receive an anesthetic injection in the hopes of alleviating soreness in his right shoulder, the team announced in a press release. Anderson, who hasn’t played since January 30, will be re-evaluated in about two weeks.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls 3/5/19

March 5th, 2019 at 8:42pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/2/19

March 2nd, 2019 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Timberwolves recalled Robert Covington from their Iowa affiliate, the team announced on Twitter. Covington, who is recovering from a bone bruise on his right knee, has already been ruled out of tomorrow’s game against the Wizards.
  • The Spurs recalled first-round pick Lonnie Walker from Austin, according to a press release. After suffering a meniscus tear in the preseason, Walker has appeared in just six NBA games, but is averaging 16.0 PPG in 20 games with Austin.
  • The Clippers recalled first-round pick Jerome Robinson from Agua Caliente, the team tweeted.
  • The Grizzlies recalled Jevon Carter from the Memphis Hustle.
  • The Hornets tweeted that they assigned Dwayne Bacon to the Greensboro Swarm so he could play in tonight’s game against Long Island.
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