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And-Ones: Timberwolves, Durant, Buycks, Draft

November 3rd, 2019 at 9:43pm CST by JD Shaw

The Timberwolves are fuming over how the NBA handled the discipline for Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns, which stems from a mid-game scuffle between the two superstars last week, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Minnesota has expressed disapproval of the league’s decision to suspend both Embiid and Towns two games for multiple reasons, as noted by Krawczynski.

Firstly, team officials believe Embiid was the instigator of the scuffle, leading to Towns’ involvement. The franchise also touched on Embiid’s decision to leave the game with a bang upon his ejection, shadow-boxing and firing up the Philadelphia crowd while Towns exited the floor quietly.

And the last issue, one discussed heavily by fans across the league, relates to the league’s decision not to penalize Ben Simmons for his involvement in the altercation. Simmons was seen with his arms wrapped around the neck of Towns, causing many to believe he was attempting a rear-naked choke. The league ultimately viewed Simmons as a peacemaker.

“While we are disappointed in the league’s decision, we understand the magnitude of this unfortunate incident,” Wolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said, according to Krawczynski. “The NBA is highly competitive and last night was a reflection of that. We support Karl and will move forward together as a group.”

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The shaky starts from both the Nets and Warriors show Kevin Durant‘s tremendous on-court value even more, as detailed by Frank Isola of The Athletic. Golden State lost Durant in free agency this summer, with the 10-time All-Star choosing to take his talents to Brooklyn on a multi-year deal. Durant is expected to miss the rest of the 2019/20 season as he rehabs from a torn Achilles’ tendon, with the Nets currently struggling at 2-4.
Free agent guard Dwight Buycks has agreed to a new deal with the Shenzhen Leopards in China, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Buycks averaged 20.5 points with the team last season.
Jonathon Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN.com discuss the early contenders for the 2020 NBA Draft, including which prospects have the best chances of being selected in the lottery. ESPN revealed its early mock draft for the event last week, with 7-foot-1 center James Wiseman currently projected as the No. 1 overall pick.

Youngest, Oldest NBA Rosters For 2019/20

November 1st, 2019 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns currently have the NBA’s youngest roster, according to the NBA’s official roster survey. The league’s data shows that the average age of a Suns player this season is just 24.49 years. On the other end of the spectrum, the Rockets have the league’s oldest roster, with an average age of 30.24.

Houston also has the NBA’s oldest roster in terms of years of experience — the average Rocket has played in the NBA for 8.93 seasons. The Celtics beat out Phoenix for the league’s least experienced roster, at an average of 2.73 seasons per player.

The NBA’s full roster survey, which includes every player on a standard contract (ie. not two-way players), is packed with interesting data, including the official heights and weights for every player, as well as each player sorted by jersey number and by home country. It’s worth checking out in full, but here are the rest of the league’s findings on the youngest and oldest NBA rosters:

Youngest rosters by average age:

Phoenix Suns (24.49)
Chicago Bulls (24.83)
Golden State Warriors (24.87)
Minnesota Timberwolves (24.91)
New York Knicks (24.98)

Least experienced rosters by average seasons of NBA experience:

Boston Celtics (2.73)
Phoenix Suns (2.80)
Chicago Bulls (3.07)
Minnesota Timberwolves (3.40)
Indiana Pacers (3.53)

Oldest rosters by average age:

Houston Rockets (30.24)
Los Angeles Lakers (29.07)
Milwaukee Bucks (28.73)
Dallas Mavericks (27.40)
Utah Jazz (27.08)

Most experienced rosters by average seasons of NBA experience:

Houston Rockets (8.93)
Los Angeles Lakers (8.07)
Milwaukee Bucks (7.07)
San Antonio Spurs (5.67)
Portland Trail Blazers (5.57)

NBA Suspends Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns Two Games Each

October 31st, 2019 at 5:17pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The punishment for the scuffle between Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid has been handed down by the league. Each player will miss the next two games, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The two big men wrestled one another to the ground on Wednesday and were each ejected from the contest. The jabs didn’t stop there, as the star big men exchanged insults via social media later that night. Charania adds that the duo’s suspension was for their on-court altercation and “their continued escalation following the incident.”

Ben Simmons, who held Towns down on the ground as other players pulled Embiid away, will not be suspended for the incident, despite the Wolves pushing back against the notion that he acted as a peacemaker.

Embiid will lose roughly $379K as a result of the conflict while Towns will lose roughly $376K, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The 76ers will play Portland and Phoenix over their next two games while Minnesota faces Washington and Milwaukee.

Wolves Dispute Simmons As ‘Peacemaker’ In Brawl

October 31st, 2019 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

While Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns were the instigators of Wednesday’s brawl between the Sixers and Timberwolves, they weren’t the only players who jumped in the fray. Ben Simmons was among the players who ended up on the ground with Towns during the fracas, with referees ruling that Simmons was acting as a “peacemaker.” According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wolves are pushing back on that ruling.

As Wojnarowski details, the Timberwolves are arguing that Simmons had Towns in a “dangerous choke hold” as he pinned him to the floor. Minnesota’s front office was in touch with NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe, sources tell Wojnarowski, and presumably the Wolves would like to see Simmons receive some sort of discipline as a result of the altercation.

According to Michael Lee of The Athletic (Twitter link), people on the Wolves’ side may have been even more upset with Simmons’ actions than Embiid’s, and questioned why he was allowed to stay in the game.

For their part, the Sixers were “adamant” in supporting the referees’ conclusion that Simmons was a peacemaker, per Woj. The 76ers have also been in contact with VanDeWeghe and the league office, telling the NBA that they believe Towns was the aggressor in the fight.

The NBA will review the tape and interview participants and witnesses beginning today as it determines the appropriate punishment for those involved in the brawl, says Wojnarowski. Neither team plays until Saturday, so the league has some time to mull its decisions.

As we detailed in our earlier story on the incident, Embiid and Towns brought the fight to social media after the game, though it’s not clear whether the league will take those tweets and Instagram posts into account when considering discipline.

Timberwolves Exercise Josh Okogie’s 2020/21 Option

October 31st, 2019 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have officially picked up their 2020/21 rookie scale team option on Josh Okogie, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North. Although Minnesota waited until deadline day to officially make the move, there was never a doubt that the club would exercise the third-year option, worth $2,651,040.

Okogoie, 21, emerged as a reliable rotation player for the Timberwolves in his rookie season after being selected 20th overall in the 2018 draft. While he struggled with his shot (.386 FG%, .279 3PT%), the former Georgia Tech standout provided strong perimeter defense and flashed some offensive potential.

With Okogie now locked up through at least 2020/21, the next decision the Wolves face will be whether to pick up his $4,087,904 fourth-year option for 2021/22. That decision will be due one year from today.

NBA teams have until the end of the day to exercise their rookie scale options for the ’20/21 season, and only a handful of them are still outstanding. We’re tracking all those decisions right here.

Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns Involved In Brawl

October 31st, 2019 at 7:56am CST by clarkcrum

OCTOBER 31, 7:56am: Embiid and Towns took to social media overnight to essentially pick up where they left off, trading increasingly nasty barbs on Instagram and Twitter.

As we wait to see how the NBA will respond to Wednesday’s fight, Marks notes (via Twitter) that a suspension will cost Embiid nearly $190K per game and Towns about $188K per game.

OCTOBER 30, 9:57pm: All-Star big men Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns were involved in an on-court brawl during the third quarter of the Sixers‘ win over the Timberwolves‘ on Wednesday night, resulting in both players being ejected for fighting.

It’s possible that one or both combatants threw a punch, and photographs make it appear as if Embiid attempted to gouge/poke Towns’ left eye with his right thumb, although his hand may have landed on Towns’ face accidentally.

This is not the first time bad blood has surfaced between Embiid and Towns. After a game in December 2017, Embiid went to Instagram to post a photograph of himself scoring on Towns. Towns criticized the caption and picture quality, to which Embiid responded, “Better quality than your defense.”

Bobby Marks of ESPN notes that the severity of the brawl will likely warrant multi-game suspensions for both players. Marks adds that both teams don’t play again until Saturday, so the league will have plenty of time to assess whether any players left the bench area, which could lead to additional suspensions (Twitter link). Stay tuned.

Rookie Scale Option Decisions Still To Come

October 30th, 2019 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Thursday, October 31 is the deadline for teams to exercise rookie scale options for the 2020/21 season. These options apply to either the third or fourth year of a rookie scale contract for players who were drafted in the first round. If they’re not exercised, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent the following summer.

These decisions must be made a year in advance, so even though Lonzo Ball has just started his third season, the Pelicans are already required to exercise his fourth-year option for $11MM+.

Most clubs facing these options decisions have already made them. As our tracker shows, of the 58 rookie scale options for 2020/21, 48 have been exercised so far. That leaves just 10 outstanding rookie scale options to be picked up or turned down by the end of the day on Thursday.

Here are the 2020/21 rookie scale options that have yet to be exercised:

Marvin Bagley III, Kings (third year, $8,963,640)
Josh Jackson, Grizzlies (fourth year, $8,930,242)
- Note: Memphis won’t exercise Jackson’s option.
De’Aaron Fox, Kings (fourth year, $8,099,627)
Harry Giles, Kings (fourth year, $3,976,510)
Ante Zizic, Cavaliers (fourth year, $3,872,215)
Caleb Swanigan, Kings (fourth year, $3,665,787)
Josh Okogie, Timberwolves (third year, $2,651,040)
Robert Williams, Celtics (third year, $2,029,920)
Jacob Evans, Warriors (third year, $2,017,320)
Omari Spellman, Warriors (third year, $1,988,280)

Teams only have to take action if they intend to pick up these options. Otherwise, they can simply let the deadline pass without exercising them. That’s reportedly what the Grizzlies intend to do with Jackson; we’ll see if any other teams follow suit.

Players like Bagley, Fox, and Okogie are locks to have their options picked up, but that’s not necessarily the case for everyone on this list. Zizic and Swanigan are among the candidates to potentially join Jackson as unrestricted free agents in 2020.

Poll: Which Team Will Stay Undefeated Longest?

October 29th, 2019 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

No NBA team has played more than four games in the first seven days of the 2019/20 regular season, but only four clubs didn’t lose during that stretch. The Sixers, Nuggets, Spurs, and Timberwolves are all 3-0.

It’s no surprise that Philadelphia and Denver are off to strong starts. Both teams are expected to finish near the top of their respective conferences this season — I had them as the No. 1 seeds in my preseason predictions.

However, the early three-game winning streaks from San Antonio and Minnesota are a little more unexpected. Neither team has had a brutal schedule to start the season, with the Spurs picking up home wins vs. the Knicks, Wizards, and Trail Blazers, while the Wolves won in Brooklyn, in Charlotte, and at home against the Heat.

Still, their hot starts have been promising. Karl-Anthony Towns is putting up MVP-caliber numbers in the early going for the Wolves (32.0 PPG, 13.3 RPG). The Spurs have had a more balanced attack, led by DeMar DeRozan (22.0 PPG) and LaMarcus Aldridge (21.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG) and complemented by players like now-healthy guard Dejounte Murray (14.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 6.0 APG).

The four undefeated teams have the following games on tap as they look to extend their winning streaks to start the season:

Sixers: vs. Min (10/30), @ Por (11/2), @ Phx (11/4), @ Utah (11/6), @ Den (11/8)
Nuggets: vs. Dal (10/29), @ NO (10/31), @ Orl (11/2), vs. Mia (11/5), vs. Phi (11/8)
Spurs: @ LAC (10/31), @ GSW (11/1), vs. LAL (11/3), @ Atl (11/5), vs. OKC (11/7)
Timberwolves: @ Phi (10/30), @ Wash (11/2), vs. Mil (11/4), @ Mem (11/6), vs. GSW (11/8)

The Spurs have a brutal three-game stretch on tap beginning on Thursday, though at least one of the Sixers or Wolves will have lost a game by that point, as those two teams are set to face one another on Wednesday. Even if the 76ers beat Minnesota, they have a tough Western road trip up next, with games in Portland, Phoenix, and Utah before they’d get a chance to face Denver. Of course, the Nuggets’ schedule isn’t exactly a cakewalk up until that point either, starting tonight vs. Luka Doncic and the Mavs.

What do you think? Which of this season’s undefeated teams will keep its streak going the longest and be the last to lose in 2019/20?

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

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/28/19

October 28th, 2019 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every night during the NBA G League season, Hoops Rumors provides the assignments and recalls by each team. With training camps now open, here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the G League:

Bulls swingman Chandler Hutchison was assigned to the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls’ PR department tweets. Hutchison, who recently had his contract option for the 2020/21 season picked up, is working his way back from a hamstring injury.
As expected, the Grizzlies assigned former lottery pick Josh Jackson to the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ PR department tweets. That was the plan all along when Memphis acquired the former Suns forward this offseason and he attempts to jump-start his career.
Undrafted rookie guard Jalen Lecque was assigned to Northern Arizona by the Suns, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
The Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The rookie guard out of Yale was selected with the 58th overall pick in June.
The Timberwolves assigned forward Keita Bates-Diop, guard Jaylen Nowell and center Naz Reid to their Iowa affiliate, according to a team press release. Bates-Diop was a second-round selection last year, while Nowell was chosen in the second round this June. Reid is an undrafted rookie out of LSU.
The Mavericks assigned rookie forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Roby, who played at Nebraska, was chosen in the second round in June and acquired in a draft-night deal.
The Sixers assigned swingman Zhaire Smith to the Delaware Blue Coats, the team’s PR department tweets. Smith, a 2018 first-round selection, recently had his 2020/21 contract option picked up by Philadelphia even though he missed most of his rookie campaign due to injuries.
The Hornets assigned rookie forward Jalen McDaniels to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. McDaniels, a second-round pick, made his NBA debut on Friday.

Northwest Notes: Towns, Blazers, Bazemore, Thunder

October 27th, 2019 at 6:35pm CST by JD Shaw

For Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves, any barriers that have kept him from leading the team are now removed this year, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune writes.

Towns, a perennial All-Star who’s averaged 36.5 points and 14.5 rebounds in his first two games of the season, is set to lead Minnesota as the club seeks its second postseason berth in the last 16 years.

“I’m in a spot right now where I got to lead these guys,” Towns said. “I’ve got to lead them. And no matter what I go through in life or whatever I went through, I got to make sure I take those experiences, teach the guys, especially young guys, how to go from boys to men, no pun intended.”

Behind Towns’ strong play, the Timberwolves could wind up contending for a spot in the postseason. Their major concern, however, is the glut of other West teams that are also expected to make concerted efforts for a late seed: Dallas, Phoenix, Sacramento and San Antonio.

There’s more from the Northwest Division tonight:

Since the Trail Blazers don’t have a G League affiliate of their own, their two-way players – Moses Brown and Jaylen Hoard – will join the Texas Legends, G League affiliate of the Mavericks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Trail Blazers forward Kent Bazemore is here to disrupt, Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com writes. Bazemore, an accomplished defender who’s spent eight seasons in the NBA, was acquired by the team this past summer in a deal with Atlanta. “It’s good to kind of see the ball go in, but that’ll come,” he said. “Just find your rhythm as you kind of get used to things, get the jitters out. My defense is going to be the constant thing for me regardless of if the shot’s falling for me or not. I just want to find other ways to impact the game. We’ve got two of the best scorers at their position in the league and Hassan down low, Ant Simons did a great job for us off the bench. My job is to go out there and disrupt.”
The Thunder’s rivalry with the Warriors has dissolved without the likes of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, contends Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman. Nevertheless, Oklahoma City delivered a crushing defeat to Golden State on Sunday, winning 120-92 at home.