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Knicks Notes: Hart, Grimes, Anunoby, Barrett, Quickley

January 19th, 2024 at 9:21am CST by Luke Adams

Knicks forward Josh Hart sat out Thursday’s victory over Washington due to left knee soreness, which the team referred to as patellar tendinopathy, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post.

Hart, who described himself as day-to-day, said it’s an issue that has affected him in past seasons, but that it popped up earlier than usual this year after a shortened summer that included a stint with Team USA.

“I’m not surprised with how it feels. Normally, once you get later in the season, Game 50-ish, 55-60 you start kind of feeling it,” Hart said. “Then you have a little All-Star break so you can kind of rest for some days and then get back into it. So I’m not surprised with the shorter summer that it’s kind of starting to bite me in the butt a little bit a little earlier than it normally does. But it’s not something that is too serious.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

With multiple reports indicating that the Knicks have made Quentin Grimes available via trade, Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link) identifies a few of the teams that have expressed interest in the third-year wing, suggesting that the Jazz, Hawks, Rockets and Grizzlies are potential suitors for Grimes.
Barbara Barker of Newsday argues that Tom Thibodeau has earned a contract extension from the Knicks, not only for the success the team has had on the court in recent years but for the way he has helped change the culture around the franchise.
Former teammate Fred VanVleet views OG Anunoby as an “absolutely perfect” fit for the Knicks, he said on Wednesday, according to Botte. “Thibs is gonna love him, obviously. But I think more than that, with all those Villanova guys you got over here, he fits right into that mold, a similar type of personality and player,” VanVleet said. “I think he’s a great fit for their team, and you could see it right away the way he plugged right in and was able to have success. Definitely, I think New York is gonna love him.”
Former Knicks RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, who will face their old team on Saturday for the first time since being traded to Toronto last month, spoke ahead of their return about how much their time in New York meant to them, per Steve Popper of Newsday. Barrett said he’ll have “mixed emotions” being back in Madison Square Garden, since it was “definitely difficult” to leave the place where he spent the first four-and-a-half NBA seasons, even though he’s enjoying playing for his hometown Raptors.

Southwest Notes: Whitmore, Sengun, Jackson, Grizzlies, Kleber

January 18th, 2024 at 10:39pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore took a patient approach to entering Houston’s rotation but was eager to be on the court and show what he could do, writes The Athletic’s Kelly Iko. The 20th overall pick in the 2023 draft said it was a challenge to bounce between the Rockets and their G League affiliate.

“It’s a struggle because I love the game of basketball and I want to play basketball,” Whitmore added. “At the end of the day, just be patient. That’s really it.”

Whitmore’s patience paid off in an eight-game stretch from Jan. 3-15 in which he played 20.1 minutes a night and averaged 12.5 points while shooting 38.2% from deep. Whitmore credited the G League with helping him get up to speed on the offensive side of the ball, writes Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen.

At 6’7″ and 235 pounds, Whitmore has the tools to be an effective defensive player, Feigen writes, but he knows that’s an area of the game he has to work on.

“My awareness on defense,” Whitmore said when asked what he needs to improve. “That’s really it. Being locked in on the defensive side of the ball. Once I get that down pat, everything else will fall into place. That’s the main thing; awareness on the defensive end off ball.”

After playing in 23 minutes and scoring 14 points on Jan. 15 against the Sixers, Whitmore played just under nine minutes in the following game against the Knicks.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka was an assistant coach on the Sixers from 2019-20, working closely with superstar Joel Embiid, writes Feigen. Udoka sees some similarities between Embiid and Houston center Alperen Sengun. “It’s rare in this day and age with actual low-post scorers. These are two of the best in the game right now,” Udoka said. “With Alperen, I’m imparting some of the same wisdom, things I talked to Joel about, which is professionalism, the approach. When you’ve had that losing early on, breaking those bad habits is something I’m constantly on him about. Skill level and talent, he wants to be coached hard and wants to be held accountable.“
The Grizzlies — marred with injuries to stars and starters — defeated the Warriors in Draymond Green‘s return on Monday behind contributions from several young players. Vince Williams Jr., who was recently converted to a standard contract, led the team in scoring with 24 points. Two-way player GG Jackson scored a career-high 23 points, his second straight game with 20 or more points. At 19 years old, he became the second youngest player in NBA history to record 20+ points in back-to-back games (Twitter link via NBA). “Big win for the Grizzlies, and definitely got to shout out big win for the [Memphis] Hustle as well,” head coach Taylor Jenkins said via AP’s Clay Bailey. “This is a product of full-on development.“
The Mavericks got Maxi Kleber back from a toe injury on Saturday, his first game action since Dec. 8. His workload has increased in each game since his return. Kleber spoke more about the injury with Mavs.com’s Eddie Sefko. “It felt good. I just got to get used to it, get my rhythm back, get my wind back,” Kleber said after Dallas’ Saturday game against the Pelicans. “But overall I’m just happy. It held together in limited minutes. The second half was a little rougher just because it was sore from the first half. But overall, a good day.“

Scotty Pippen Jr. Signs Two-Way Contract With Grizzlies

January 16th, 2024 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

2:42pm: Pippen has officially signed with the Grizzlies, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). He’ll be eligible to appear in up to 26 regular season games for the club.

2:30pm: Former Lakers guard Scotty Pippen Jr. has agreed to a two-way contract with the Grizzlies, agent Erika Ruiz tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, it will be a two-year deal, covering not just the rest of this season but 2024/25 as well.

Pippen, the son of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, spent his rookie year in 2022/23 on a two-way deal with the Lakers after going undrafted out of Vanderbilt. He logged just 32 total minutes in six games at the NBA level, but played regularly for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 22.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game across 35 NBAGL appearances in the Showcase Cup and regular season.

After spending training camp with Los Angeles again this past fall, Pippen was waived ahead of the regular season and returned to South Bay. He has put up 20.2 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 5.3 RPG with a .485/.329/.846 shooting line in 17 G League games this season.

The Grizzlies had a two-way slot available after promoting Vince Williams to their standard 15-man roster last week. Pippen will join G.G. Jackson and Jacob Gilyard as Memphis’ two-way players.

Once Pippen officially signs, Memphis will have a full roster of 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals. However, as we outlined earlier this afternoon, the Grizzlies are in position to fill out their roster beyond the standard limits due to a series of injuries that will make the team eligible for hardship exceptions.

Grizzlies Expected To Qualify For Multiple Hardship Exceptions

January 16th, 2024 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

As we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, an NBA team that qualifies for a hardship exception is permitted to add an extra player to its standard roster beyond the usual 15-man limit. In some cases, if a club’s roster is especially injury-plagued, that club can be granted multiple hardship exceptions and is allowed to sign multiple replacement players to 10-day contracts.

A team qualifies for a hardship exception when it meets all of the following criteria:

It has at least four players unavailable due to injury or illness.
All four of those players have missed at least three consecutive games.
All four of those players are expected to remain sidelined for at least two more weeks.

If a team has five players who meet those criteria, it can qualify for two hardship exceptions; six players who meet the criteria would result in three hardship exceptions.

The Grizzlies have dealt with a banged-up roster all season long and were awarded a pair of hardship exceptions simultaneously earlier in the season. Memphis used them to sign Jaylen Nowell and Shaquille Harrison to 10-day deals.

Those exceptions expired once the roster got a little healthier, but the injury bug is doing a number on the Grizzlies again as of late, putting the team in position to once again qualify for multiple hardship exceptions.

Currently, the Grizzlies have four players who definitely meet the criteria: Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke, Ja Morant, and Marcus Smart. Adams and Morant are out for the season, while Clarke and Smart are still at least several weeks away from returning, and all four players have missed at least the past three games.

Once Desmond Bane misses his third straight contest on Thursday in Minnesota, the Grizzlies will have at least five players who meet the hardship criteria, since Bane is expected to be out for at least six weeks. That means Memphis will be in position to add at least two players via hardship exceptions.

It may not stop there — Derrick Rose has missed the past seven games due to a hamstring issue and his return timeline is unclear. If the Grizzlies aren’t counting on him to be back within the next two weeks, he’d meet the hardship criteria too. On top of that, Jake LaRavia is expected to be out for at least three weeks, so once he sits out a third consecutive game on Saturday, he’d fit the bill as well.

It’s unclear exactly how many hardship exceptions the Grizzlies will qualify for once the dust settles, but it certainly looks like the club is in position to begin supplementing its 15-man roster with temporarily fill-ins on 10-day contracts. It won’t be a surprise if Memphis signs a couple free agents for depth purposes at some point this week.

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Memphis Grizzlies

Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane Out At Least Six Weeks

January 14th, 2024 at 9:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies’ lengthy injury list added two more names on Sunday, the team announced (via Twitter).

Guard Desmond Bane suffered a Grade 3 left ankle sprain during the third quarter against the Clippers on Friday. He will be reevaluated in six weeks.

Forward Jake LaRavia has a Grade 2 high left ankle sprain, which he suffered during the first quarter against the Knicks on Saturday. He will be reevaluated in three weeks.

Ja Morant and Steven Adams have already suffered season-ending injuries. The team announced on Thursday that Marcus Smart will be out at least six weeks due to a finger injury, and Brandon Clarke (Achilles) and Derrick Rose (hamstring) are also currently sidelined.

Bane is enjoying a career year, averaging 24.4 points, 5.3 assists and 4.6 rebounds. He officially leads the teams in scoring and assists, as Morant only appeared in nine games before a shoulder injury ended his season.

LaRavia has appeared in 11 games this season, averaging 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds.

As was the case earlier this season, Memphis will soon become eligible for multiple hardship exceptions. The Grizzlies carried as many as 17 players on their standard roster in the fall when they was beset by injuries, adding Jaylen Nowell and Shaquille Harrison to 10-day contracts.

Draymond Green Set To Return For Warriors On Monday

January 14th, 2024 at 3:37pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors forward Draymond Green will return to action in a Monday clash with the Grizzlies, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

This will mark the four-time All-Star’s first appearance in the last 16 contests, as he was suspended indefinitely last month after violently striking Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face last month, unprovoked. He was instantly ejected upon being assessed a flagrant 2 foul for the offense.

Golden State has gone 8-8 since Green began serving his suspension.

Across his 15 available contests with the club, Green has averaged 9.7 PPG on a respectable .490/.429/.833 shooting line, along with 5.8 APG, 5.5 RPG, and 0.7 BPG.

This latest altercation with Nurkic marked just the most recent in a series of bizarre on-court transgressions from Green in the last two seasons. The four-time champ received no regular season penalty for punching then-teammate Jordan Poole in the face during a training camp practice in the fall of 2022. He was suspended, however, after stomping on Kings center Domantas Sabonis‘ chest during a first-round playoff game last season, and again last month after choking Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert.

Green, 33, underwent counseling during his time away. The 2016/17 Defensive Player of the Year also revealed recently that he had contemplated retirement, but was talked out of it by league commissioner Adam Silver.

Because his ban lasted less than 20 games, Green lost $153,931 per contest during the suspension.

Bane, Jackson Added To Injury List; Details On Vince Williams' New Contract

January 13th, 2024 at 5:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are the latest additions to the Grizzlies‘ long injury list. Bane, who has a sprained left ankle, is one of seven players who have been declared out for tonight’s game against New York, while Jackson is listed as doubtful with a right knee contusion.
Vince Williams‘ new contract with the Grizzlies is valued at $9.1MM over four years, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), with the first three seasons guaranteed at $6.6MM. The fourth year is a team option.

Grizzlies Apply For Second DPE; Spurs Granted One

January 12th, 2024 at 7:06am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have formally applied for a disabled player exception following Ja Morant‘s shoulder injury, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The move had been anticipated since Memphis announced earlier this week that Morant would miss the rest of the season following surgery to repair a torn labrum. The Grizzlies faced a deadline of January 15 to submit their request to the league.

A disabled player exception gives an over-the-cap team some extra spending power – but not an additional 15-man roster spot – when it loses a player to an injury deemed likely to sideline him through at least June 15. As we explain in our glossary entry, the exception can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers, or to acquire a player in a trade.

The disabled player exception can only be used on a single player and can only accommodate a player on a one-year deal. A free agent signee can’t get a multiyear contract, and any trade or waiver target must be in the final year of his contract. The exception is worth either half the injured player’s salary or the value of the mid-level exception, whichever is lesser. Since Morant is earning $34MM+ this season, the Grizzlies’ DPE would be worth $12,405,000, the amount of the non-taxpayer MLE.

Memphis has already been granted one disabled player exception this season — the team was awarded a $6.3MM DPE following Steven Adams‘ season-ending knee surgery. While the Grizzlies may not end up using both exceptions (assuming their request for Morant is approved), their team salary is well below the luxury tax line, so they have some financial flexibility to explore possible uses for those DPEs on the trade market.

In other disabled player exception news, the Spurs’ request for a DPE following Charles Bassey‘s season-ending ACL tear has been approved, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter). Bassey was only earning $2.6MM this season, so that exception will be worth a modest $1.3MM, limiting its usefulness.

The deadline to use as disabled player exception this season is March 11. Any DPE that hasn’t been used by that point will expire. The full list of available disabled player exceptions can be found right here.

Marcus Smart Out At Least Six Weeks With Finger Injury

January 11th, 2024 at 11:22am CST by Rory Maher

Veteran guard Marcus Smart has suffered a “severe” injury to his right ring finger and is out at least six weeks for the Grizzlies, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Memphis confirmed the news in a press release (Twitter link), saying that Smart sustained a “rupture of the proximal interphalangeal joint central slip” in Tuesday’s game vs. Dallas. He’ll be reevaluated in six weeks, per the team.

The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year has only made 20 appearances in ’23/24, which is his first season with the Grizzlies after being acquired in an offseason trade. He missed 17 games with a left foot sprain.

Statistically, Smart is all over the map this season. He’s averaging career highs in points (14.5) and steals per game (2.1), but rebounding at a career-worst rate (2.7), averaging his fewest assists in eight seasons (4.3), and turning the ball over more than ever before (3.1) in a higher-usage role with Ja Morant missing most of the season due to suspension.

Morant will miss the remainder of ’23/24 after undergoing shoulder surgery, and now Smart will be sidelined through at least mid-February. Obviously, Smart’s injury is yet another unfortunate turn of events for a team that has been decimated by injuries to key players.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, the Grizzlies can apply for a hardship exception with Morant, Smart, Steven Adams (knee surgery) and Brandon Clarke (Achilles recovery) out with long-term injuries. The exception would be granted after Monday’s game and would create an extra roster spot; it’s worth noting that Memphis signed former Minnesota guard Jaylen Nowell to a pair of 10-day hardship deals earlier this season (Shaquille Harrison also received one 10-day contract).

Recently-promoted wing Vince Williams is a candidate to take on more defensive assignments with Smart injured, while other young players like David Roddy, Ziaire Williams and Jacob Gilyard could receive more minutes.

Ja Morant Has Surgery On Shoulder

January 11th, 2024 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Ja Morant had successful surgery on his right shoulder this morning, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter). Morant will miss the rest of the season.