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Northwest Notes: Mitchell, Nuggets, Grant, Wolves

January 30th, 2020 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Team USA fell short of a medal at last year’s World Cup, but a handful of players who represented USA Basketball in China at that event have expressed interest in doing so again at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The latest to convey that interest is Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, as Aaron Falk of UtahJazz.com writes.

“I loved playing for (Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich). I loved representing my country,” Mitchell said on Wednesday when the Jazz played in San Antonio. “… Hopefully this summer we can go at it again.”

After a disappointing seventh-place finish in the World Cup, Mitchell would like another shot at a gold medal. He also believes that the international experience played a role in expanding his game. Although he was one of Team USA’s top scorers and is averaging a career-high 25.0 PPG for the Jazz, Mitchell said his time in China helped him improve on the defensive end of the floor.

“He’s gotten more consistent with his focus,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said of Mitchell’s defense. “… Sometimes when you ask someone to carry the load he has assumed offensively, it’s easy to rest on the other end. That’s why two-way players are so unique.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • The Nuggets are one of two NBA teams without their own G League affiliate, but Jarred Vanderbilt, Vlatko Cancar, Bol Bol, and PJ Dozier have all spent ample time in the NBAGL this season. Kendra Andrews of The Athletic explores how the team navigates not having its own affiliate and the challenge of reintegrating players when they’re recalled to the NBA team. According to Andrews, Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas said Denver could get its own G League affiliate as soon as next season, but the club isn’t feeling any urgency to do so.
  • After being acquired by the Nuggets in the offseason, Jerami Grant had an up-and-down start to the season. However, as Nick Kosmider of The Athletic and Eric Spyropoulos of Nuggets.com detail, Grant has been showing lately why the club was willing to surrender a first-round pick for him. The veteran forward will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • Already frustrated by their long losing streak, the Timberwolves were further demoralized by a historic collapse on Monday, writes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune. “As low as you can get,” Shabazz Napier said. “This is it.” Once 10-8, the Wolves have lost 24 of their last 29 games, including 10 in a row, giving president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas plenty to think about as the trade deadline nears.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/29/20

January 29th, 2020 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Wednesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/28/20

January 28th, 2020 at 9:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

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.
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And-Ones: Dinwiddie, Ross, Rising Stars, Zion

January 28th, 2020 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

There hasn’t yet been a league-wide push to retire Kobe Bryant‘s No. 8 or No. 24, but some players around the NBA have begun informally retiring those numbers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. As Charania tweets, the first of those players is Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who had worn No. 8 and will be switching to No. 26. Magic sharpshooter Terrence Ross is changing from No. 8 back to his old No. 31, Charania adds (via Twitter).

It’s not yet clear which other players will follow suit and make changes of their own. The NBA generally doesn’t allow players to change jersey numbers during the season, but Dinwiddie and Ross were granted permission, a source tells Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). Given the special circumstances, it seems safe to assume the league would approve similar requests from others. However, Stein hears that they’ll be reviewed on a case-to-case basis (Twitter link).

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • The NBA’s announcement of the rosters for this year’s Rising Stars game has been pushed back to this Friday at noon eastern, the league announced today in a press release. A source tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link) that Pelicans forward Zion Williamson would be interested in participating now that he’s healthy, which would certainly add some extra excitement to the All-Star event.
  • Former Trail Blazers and Rockets guard Tim Quarterman has signed a G League contract and has been acquired off waivers by the Sioux Falls Skyforce, per the NBAGL’s transactions log. Quarterman, who appeared in 19 total games for Portland and Houston from 2016-18, spent last season playing in Israel and New Zealand.
  • A pair of former NBA guards have reached deals with international teams, according to reports from Sportando. Emiliano Carchia relays word of ex-Thunder guard Semaj Christon signing with Spanish team Baskonia, while Nicola Lupo has the details on former Pelicans guard Charles Cooke agreeing to sign with Atleticos de San German in Puerto Rico.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/27/20

January 27th, 2020 at 7:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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.
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Grizzlies Rule Grayson Allen Out Indefinitely, Recall Josh Jackson

January 27th, 2020 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

Another Grizzlies bench player will be sidelined for the foreseeable future, as the team announced today in a press release that Grayson Allen will be out indefinitely with a hip injury. According to the club, the injury – which occurred when Allen fell awkwardly on his left leg during Friday’s game vs. Detroit – will require “offloading” to heal.

A first-round pick in 2018, Allen was acquired by Memphis in last summer’s Mike Conley blockbuster. The second-year shooting guard has been limited to 30 games this season due to health issues, but has had a fairly regular rotation role when healthy. He was averaging 7.2 PPG on .494/.375/.833 shooting in the 16 games leading up to his injury.

The Grizzlies are now down three roster players, with Bruno Caboclo on the shelf due to a knee injury and Andre Iguodala away from the team while he awaits a trade. Jae Crowder also missed Sunday’s game with knee soreness, though there’s no indication that’s a major issue.

To add some depth to their rotation, the Grizzlies have recalled former No. 4 overall pick Josh Jackson for the first time this season, according to the team (Twitter link). Jackson, also acquired in a trade last summer, has spent the entire 2019/20 campaign in the G League, averaging 20.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.5 BPG, and 1.4 SPG in 26 games for the Memphis Hustle.

As Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian observes (via Twitter), the Grizzlies had been reluctant to call up Jackson to the NBA roster without a clearer path to playing time. It remains to be seen whether or not he’ll be inserted into the rotation with Allen out, but at the very least, he’ll travel with the team for now and provide emergency depth.

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/26/20

January 26th, 2020 at 6:43pm CST by JD Shaw

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

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Cameron Payne Leaves CBA For G League

January 26th, 2020 at 1:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After appearing in just two games in the Chinese Basketball Association, point guard Cameron Payne has departed the Shanxi Loongs for the G League, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando. Payne joined the Loongs in November. He has been claimed off waivers by the Mavericks’ Frisco-based affiliate, the Texas Legends.

The former NBA point guard was drafted at the tail end of the 2015 NBA lottery with the No. 14 pick by the Thunder. The 6’3″ Murray State alum spent his four NBA seasons on the Thunder, Bulls and Cavaliers.

Over the course of his NBA career, Payne averaged a slash line of 6.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.8 RPG, while shooting 33.1% from three-point range on 2.4 attempts. He started in just 28 of a possible 153 games.

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Knicks Notes: Branding, Oakley, Dotson, Udrih

January 26th, 2020 at 12:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks need more than a brand agency to help improve their image with fans, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. On Thursday, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg broke the news that the team will be partnering with Steve Stoute’s Translation agency, which helped create a positive image for the Nets. Stoute will serve as a special adviser to the Knicks and will use data and analytics to develop public relations campaigns.

“We have a ways to go,” Stoute told Soshnick. “People can say what they want, but the world knows when you get it right — when the New York team is winning — basketball is better. When the New York Knicks are right, the NBA is a better place. That is the opportunity.”

Popper contends there’s little the franchise can do to improve its image as long as it’s putting a losing product on the court. He adds that the basketball side of the Knicks brand is “poison” because of a “culture of fear and backstabbing” that has executives and coaches afraid to speak out about the problems that are holding back the organization.

There’s more out of New York:

  • The new marketing effort could result in the return of Knicks legend Charles Oakley to Madison Square Garden, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman that Oakley and Stoute are friends, and the power forward tweeted a congratulatory message this morning. Oakley has been a vocal critic of team owner James Dolan, particularly since being evicted from the Garden in 2017. Oakley claims the incident has caused some players to decide they don’t want to play for the Knicks.
  • Damyean Dotson‘s improved play has helped make up for the loss of RJ Barrett, who is sidelined with a sprained ankle, observes Greg Joyce of The New York Post. Dotson made seven of 10 shots and scored 21 points Friday night. “We find the minutes for the guys that need to be playing,” interim coach Mike Miller said. “As they’re out they’re playing, Dot’s playing well, so he played the whole fourth quarter.”
  • Beno Udrih has joined the coaching staff for the Knicks’ G League affiliate in Westchester, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Udrih spent 13 years in the NBA, including a brief stop in New York.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/25/20

January 25th, 2020 at 8:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

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

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