New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

VanVleet To Miss Game 6; Booker Returns For Suns

April 28th, 2022 at 5:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

5:05pm: Booker will play tonight, according to coach Monty Williams, Andrew Lopez of ESPN tweets.

4:40pm: The Raptors have ruled out guard Fred VanVleet for Game 6 against the Sixers tonight, according to coach Nick Nurse, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets.

VanVleet had been listed as doubtful. The Raptors will be looking to stave off elimination once again and even up the series at 3-3 with a win in Toronto.

VanVleet suffered a left hip flexor strain in Game 4 on Saturday. Toronto emerged with a 103-88 win in Game 5 without him as Nurse used an unconventional rotation without a true point guard.

Meanwhile, the Suns will look to close out their series with the Pelicans with their leading scorer back in action. Devin Booker is expected to play in Game 6 tonight, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Booker will test out his strained hamstring in pregame warmups, and assuming all goes well, he’ll be back on the floor after missing the past three games.

Phoenix has gone 2-1 without Booker, who is officially listed as questionable.

Injury Notes: VanVleet, Mitchell, Ingram, Z. Williams

April 27th, 2022 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors guard Fred VanVleet has officially been listed as doubtful for Game 6 of the team’s first-round series vs. Philadelphia, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The Raptors will be looking to even up the series at 3-3 with a win in Toronto on Thursday.

VanVleet suffered a left hip flexor strain in Game 4 on Saturday and his comments prior to Game 5 indicated there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to return in the first round.

Although VanVleet was an All-Star this season and will be missed if he’s officially ruled out, the Raptors have actually looked better against the Sixers with their starting point guard on the sidelines. Toronto has a +11.2 net rating in 105 minutes without VanVleet, compared to a -16.0 net rating in the 140 minutes he has spent on the court.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

After getting good news when an MRI on his hamstring came back clean on Tuesday, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell said today that he’ll be “good to go” for Game 6 on Thursday, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter links). Mitchell told reporters that he was concerned when he thought his soreness was hamstring-related, but isn’t worried now that he has just been diagnosed with quad bruising.
Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram told reporters after Tuesday’s game that he banged up the ring and pinkie fingers on his right hand during the fourth quarter of the team’s Game 5 loss, but he doesn’t expect the injury to be an issue going forward. “(The fingers) got jammed. They’re pretty sore right now,” Ingram said, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “But nothing that treatment can’t fix and get better by next game.”
Grizzlies rookie Ziaire Williams exited Tuesday’s win over Minnesota early due to right knee soreness, as Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. Williams’ status for Game 6 on Friday is unknown.

CJ McCollum Wants To Retire With Pelicans

April 26th, 2022 at 9:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Just months into his Pelicans tenure, veteran guard CJ McCollum has indicated a desire to remain in New Orleans long-term. During an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Pelicans said he hoped to retire with his new club.

“I’m not going nowhere,” McCollum said. “Leave for what? I want to retire here. I’m 30 years old and I have a son who is 13 weeks old. I’m married. When you have something good, you hold on to it. This is something fun for both sides. We’re going to grow. I’m still learning the city. I’m going to find a house.”

The Pelicans are McCollum’s second NBA team. He was traded this season following a fruitful eight-plus years logged with Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers. He is averaging 24.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 5.8 APG through the Pelicans’ first four games in their 2-2 first-round matchup against the Suns. Game 5 is in progress tonight.

McCollum’s passion for the Pelicans must be encouraging for the club’s front office. The 6’3″ veteran still has two seasons left on the three-year, $100MM extension he signed while with Portland.

Here are more highlights from the conversation:

McCollum raved about the Pelicans’ personnel on and off the hardwood. “You respect [team president David Griffin] as a person in the front office,” McCollum said. “Then there is BI’s [Brandon Ingram] game, JV [Jonas Valančiūnas], Zion [Williamson], Herb [Jones], Trey [Murphy], Jaxson [Hayes] … a lot of young talent they’re considered and they’re going to get even better. I felt like I was what they were missing, and they were what I was missing.”
McCollum expressed similar excitement about what he’s observed from first-year head coach Willie Green. “He knows what he is doing,” McCollum said. “He’s been around the game for so long. Secondly, he was around the right coaches. He and [Suns head coach] Monty [Williams] are like best friends. He’s arguably the best coach in the league with X’s and O’s, demeanor and getting the most out of his players’ development.”
McCollum, who could be signed to a three-year extension to his current contract as of August 9, was asked about the possibility of a deal getting done during the offseason. “We haven’t talked yet,” McCollum noted. “I haven’t talked to upper management. But I told my wife before I left [Portland] that ‘Wherever I go, I want to finish my career. New Orleans is on the list of places I would like to finish my career.’ I told my agent that. I’m not about bouncing around. I don’t go through free agency. I’ve been in the league nine years. Have you ever seen me be a free agent? When I’m committed to something, I’m committed to it. New Orleans, in my mind, I’m finishing my career here. That is how I devote myself to a city, things and people.” If he doesn’t sign an extension, McCollum would remain under contract through the 2023/24 NBA season.
When asked by Spears about the Pelicans’ plan for defeating the Suns and pulling off a historic upset, the best team in the NBA by record with a 64-18 regular season, McCollum was understandably tight-lipped. “I guess we will find out,” McCollum said. “Even if I had the answer, I’m not giving you it until the series is over.”

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Nance, Wall, Spurs

April 24th, 2022 at 3:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Pelicans are aware that evening their current first-round playoff matchup against the top-seeded Suns will require them to keep their cool, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com.

In the middle of Game 3’s second quarter, Pelicans big man Jaxson Hayes was ejected from the contest, an eventual Suns win, after aggressively pushing Phoenix forward Jae Crowder. New Orleans would go on to lose at home by a narrow margin (114-111). The Suns now have a 2-1 series edge.

Pelicans head coach Willie Green acknowledged that Hayes let his emotions get the best of him in that instance, but that the team overall has been effective at managing its emotions in a playoff environment.

“I thought we’ve done a really good job of that this series,” Green said of the Pelicans’ approach to their emotions. “We had a moment — the Jaxson-Jae Crowder thing. But other than that, it was a close game coming down the stretch, the last five minutes. They pulled away a bit. But we’re doing a lot of good. We just have to be better down the stretch.”

New Orleans will face off against the Suns in a big Game 4 today.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. is confident in the team’s core even without star forward Zion Williamson, writes Logan Murdock of The Ringer. “We’re the real deal,” Nance tells Murdock. “This team is here and this team is for real… And we have a top-10 asset that hasn’t even touched the court yet.” Murdock notes that three promising New Orleans rookies have emerged as key additions to the club’s playoff rotation: Herbert Jones, Jose Alvarado, and Trey Murphy III. Star veterans CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram have proven they belong in these playoffs thus far.
Rockets veteran point guard John Wall is expected to opt in to the final season on his max deal, worth $47.3MM in 2022/23. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report suggests that Wall’s agents and Houston brass will discuss the possibility of a buyout arrangement if the Rockets are unable to find a trade partner for Wall before the 2022 draft in June. Should Wall be bought out, the Heat and Clippers may have interest in adding the former All-Star, says Fischer.
With the team’s youth movement fully underway, the Spurs are ready for an offseason typical of San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich: one full of Popovich’s exacting standards, per Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Third-year forward Keldon Johnson knows what to expect from Popovich, who wants to see Johnson improve his defense. “He’s hard on me because he wants me to be great,” Johnson said. “If it was anything different, I wouldn’t want that.” McDonald writes that San Antonio All-Star guard Dejounte Murray will need Johnson, forward Devin Vassell, and rookie shooting guard Joshua Primo to develop for the Spurs to return to the playoffs.

Devin Booker Could Be Out 2-3 Weeks With Hamstring Strain

April 21st, 2022 at 12:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Suns star Devin Booker has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain and could miss two to three weeks, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

Reports on Wednesday indicated that Booker was unlikely to play in Games 3 and 4 of Phoenix’s series against New Orleans — now it sounds like the injury could sideline him beyond that.

After scoring 31 points in the first half of the Suns’ Game 2 loss on Tuesday, Booker left the game in the third quarter due to the injury and didn’t return. Booker underwent an MRI on Wednesday and the Suns initially deemed it to be a mild hamstring strain, but were still evaluating the results.

As Windhorst explains, a typical recovery period for a player with a Grade 1 hamstring strain is between 14-21 days. However, sources tell ESPN that Pelicans head coach Willie Green is warning his players to expect Booker back sooner than that.

Booker missed seven games earlier this season due to a hamstring strain that affected his left leg. He also played through a hamstring injury during last year’s NBA Finals and has dealt with a few other hamstring issues over the years, though none have been too significant — this year’s seven-game absence was his longest stretch on the sidelines.

The top-seeded Suns, who went 8-6 this season without Booker, will still be favored over the Pelicans even without their leading scorer, but they don’t have a huge margin for error as they head to New Orleans with the series tied at one game apiece.

In 68 regular season games this season (34.5 MPG), Booker averaged 26.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.8 APG and 1.1 SPG on .466/.383/.868 shooting. He was outstanding during the team’s run to the Finals last season and carried that strong play into this postseason, averaging 28 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 4.5 APG on .526/.579/.833 shooting in the first two games of the series (32.5 MPG). Game 3 tips off at 8:30pm CT on Friday night.

Devin Booker Unlikely To Play In Games 3, 4

April 20th, 2022 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

1:46pm: The results of the MRI on Booker’s hamstring are still being evaluated, but for now it appears unlikely that he’ll be able to play in Games 3 and 4 in New Orleans, reports Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that Booker’s right hamstring strain is believed to be relatively mild and he’s not being ruled out for the series.

The Suns have put out their own update, confirming that Booker has been diagnosed with a mild right hamstring strain and announcing there’s no timetable for his return.

7:07am: After scoring 31 points in the first half of the Suns‘ Game 2 loss to New Orleans on Tuesday, All-Star guard Devin Booker left the game in the third quarter due to a hamstring injury and didn’t return.

Booker, who was ruled out for the rest of the night with what the team referred to as right hamstring tightness, is expected to undergo testing and treatment on the injury today, writes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Head coach Monty Williams said after the game that the team expects to have “more information” on Wednesday.

As Windhorst notes, Booker missed seven games earlier this season due to a hamstring strain that affected his left leg. He also played through a hamstring injury during last year’s NBA Finals and has dealt with a few other hamstring issues over the years, though none have been too significant — this year’s seven-game absence was his longest stretch on the sidelines.

The top-seeded Suns, who went 8-6 this season without Booker, will still be favored over the Pelicans even without their leading scorer, but they don’t have a huge margin for error as they head to New Orleans with the series tied at one game apiece.

Williams told reporters after Tuesday’s game that the club would be ready to play without Booker in Game 3 on Friday if necessary.

“We’ve played without Chris (Paul) and Book before,” he said. “If we have to play without Book, next man up. We’ve done that all year long.”

Pelicans Notes: Lineup, Griffin, Ingram, Alvarado

April 19th, 2022 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans‘ “jumbo” lineups weren’t working in Game 1 of their first-round series vs. the Suns, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. The team found success in the second half of the regular season by starting Jaxson Hayes at power forward alongside center Jonas Valanciunas, but the two big men had matching plus-minus ratings of -11 on Sunday, the worst marks of any player on either team.

Hayes ended up playing just 11 minutes, with Trey Murphy coming off the bench to play 26 minutes. New Orleans was a plus-six when Murphy was on the court and the team’s offense was functioning better, says Guillory. However, head coach Willie Green told reporters on Monday that he’s not planning to change his starting lineup, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).

“Not at the moment,” Green said. “I think as a group, we didn’t have a great first half. That wasn’t one individual, that was us as a team. We have to be better. We have to do the things we do better, harder and with more force and see where we are after that.”

Here’s more on the Pelicans:

Pelicans VP of basketball operations David Griffin has made some mistakes since being hired to head up the team’s front office in 2019, but he deserves credit for putting together a team that made the playoffs even without Zion Williamson available all season, Rod Walker of NOLA.com opines. Walker believes the Pelicans look like a potential top-three squad in the West with a fully healthy Williamson.
Griffin’s faith in Brandon Ingram as a franchise leader on and off the court has been rewarded, according to Scott Kushner of NOLA.com, who points to Ingram’s performances in play-in wins over the Spurs (27 points) and Clippers (30 points) as indicators of the forward’s ability to handle the spotlight and step up in big games.
Pelicans rookie guard Jose Alvarado is joining Puerto Rico’s national team, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). As Charania observes, Alvarado will get a chance to face Team USA this summer in qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Jason Quick of The Athletic takes a look at the long-standing bond between Willie Green and his first-round coaching rival Monty Williams. After the two men were teammates in Philadelphia, Green played for Williams in New Orleans and then was an assistant on his Suns staff. “Monty and I are not just friends,” Green told Quick. “We are like … that’s like my older brother. I look up to Monty.”

Western Notes: Bane, Grizzlies, Wolves, Nance Jr., Gordon

April 17th, 2022 at 9:50pm CST by JD Shaw

Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane believes his team needs to play more physical against the Timberwolves in Game 2, according to Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Memphis lost 130-117 in Game 1 on Saturday, allowing Minnesota to shoot 50% from the field and win the rebound battle 46-35.

That rebounding clash included 11 offensive rebounds from the Wolves. Minnesota was led by Anthony Edwards (36 points and six assists), along with Karl-Anthony Towns (29 points and 13 rebounds). Game 2 of the series is on Tuesday.

“Physicality is something that we felt like we addressed coming into the series, and I didn’t think that it was there tonight,” Bane said of the Game 1 loss. “At least at the level it needed to be to win. We’re going to have to get grimy out there to win a playoff series.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

The young Timberwolves are establishing themselves as a problem this year, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. Minnesota has gained confidence as the campaign moves on, showing potential by defeating Memphis (30-11 home record) on the road in Game 1.
Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. is a key part of the team’s culture change, Christian Clark of NOLA.com opines. Nance finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds off the bench in the club’s play-in tournament win over the Clippers. The seven-year veteran is well-respected by his teammates and coaches. “Look at what we got,” Nance said. “This is a situation anybody can look at from the outside. When I was in Portland, I knew it. Then when I got here, I really knew it. We have Brandon Ingram, who is an All-Star at 25 years old. We have CJ, who is playing like an All-Star. And a freak (Zion Williamson) on ice right now. Who wouldn’t be thrilled about coming to the situation? This summer, I left Cleveland and wanted to go to a playoff team. Now, look, here we sit. I’m thrilled to be here.”
In order to beat the Warriors, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon must have a good series, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports writes. “Aaron Gordon is at his best when he’s attacking,” head coach Michael Malone said. “We don’t want to just settle for 3s as a team.” Gordon finished with just eight points and five rebounds in 26 minutes on Saturday. Denver lost the first game of the series 123-107, shooting 11-of-35 from three-point range (31%).

Update On 2022 First-Round Picks

April 16th, 2022 at 12:34am CST by Rory Maher

Cleveland fell to Atlanta in the East’s final play-in game, missing out on a playoff berth. However, there was one silver lining for the Cavaliers: they’re keeping their first-round pick in the 2022 draft.

If the Cavs had won and advanced to the playoffs, the Pacers would have received Cleveland’s lottery-protected pick. But now that pick will be pushed off until next season, with Cleveland owing its lottery-protected 2023 first-rounder to Indiana.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), if the Cavs fail to advance to the postseason in 2023, Indiana will again miss out on the first-round pick and will instead control Cleveland’s 2025 second-round pick.

The Cavs’ pick this season will be No. 14, unless they get lucky and move into the top four in the lottery. The Hawks, meanwhile, will move out of the lottery and will pick at No. 16.

The West’s final play-in tournament contest also had major first-round implications. The Pelicans defeated the Clippers, so the Hornets now own New Orleans’ first-round pick (No. 15), while the Trail Blazers will receive Milwaukee’s 2025 first-rounder (top-four protected; via NOLA).

All is not lost for the Pelicans, of course. In addition to making the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, there’s a 99.6% chance they’ll control the Lakers‘ first-round pick.

The Thunder also picked up an additional lottery pick from the Clippers, as they controlled LAC’s unprotected first-rounder. That pick will have the 12th-best lottery odds.

We’ll have a more complete picture of where things stand for the entire first round after the draft tiebreakers are conducted on Monday, at which point we’ll release a full breakdown of the lottery odds and draft order.

Southwest Notes: McCollum, Pelicans, Spurs, Rockets

April 15th, 2022 at 12:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans still have to win one more game in Los Angeles on Friday night in order to secure a playoff spot, but veteran guard CJ McCollum expressed confidence after New Orleans’ first play-in win over San Antonio on Wednesday that the team is pointed in the right direction in both the short- and long-term.

“This is the start of something special, for sure,” McCollum said, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “You see the energy. Feel the energy. My mother is in town; I have some family in town. When we go out to eat, you can feel the city is excited about basketball, as they should [be]. There’s a lot of talent here. We’re playing the game the right way. It’s going to be a lot of winning in our future.”

If the Pelicans can clinch the No. 8 seed, they’d be significant underdogs against the NBA-best Suns, with Zion Williamson still not expected to be available, so their playoff run could be brief. Still, McCollum is optimistic about what the future holds, according to Lopez, who writes that the 30-year-old says he plans to visit Williamson and other teammates at their houses this offseason to get to know them better.

“I think that’s how you build chemistry,” McCollum said. “That’s how you build cohesiveness.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Herbert Jones may not get any Rookie of the Year votes, but the first-year Pelicans forward helped spark a defensive turnaround in New Orleans this season, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com.
In his latest Substack article, Marc Stein says his best read on the Spurs‘ coaching situation is that Celtics assistant Will Hardy – who was formerly an assistant in San Antonio – could be at the front of the line to succeed Gregg Popovich if the longtime Spurs coach decides to step down this offseason.
After being named the G League MVP for 2021/22, Rockets two-way player Trevelin Queen also took home the Finals MVP award, averaging 34.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 3.5 APG on 56.1% shooting in a pair of Rio Grande Valley Vipers victories over the Delaware Blue Coats. Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle takes a closer look at Queen’s path to the NBA and explores what’s next for him. “I got emotional (signing a two-way contract earlier this season) because I’ve been waiting my whole life, but I just know there’s more work to do,” Queen said. “I know I can do more than the two-way, so I just want to let them know.”
In a mailbag for The Athletic, Kelly Iko answers readers’ questions about the Rockets‘ long-term view of a Jalen Green/Kevin Porter Jr. backcourt, the prospects Houston should target with Brooklyn’s first-round pick, and which free agents might be of interest to the team.