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Luka Doncic Played Through Thigh Injury At World Cup

September 9th, 2023 at 4:05pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks star and Slovenian captain Luka Doncic played through a thigh injury at the World Cup, he told reporters following Thursday’s loss to Lithuania.

“I do not know what to say,” Doncic said, according to Eurhoops. “It’s not okay. At the same time, I have to prepare for one more game, and then for a whole season in the NBA.”

The All-NBA guard said last month that he had an MRI to get the injury checked out.

“It is an old injury, which caused me problems in March in the NBA,” Doncic said. “Therefore, we performed an MRI. Everything is okay. Nothing worse.”

It’s troubling that Doncic, 24, is still dealing with lingering effects from the thigh strain he sustained late in the 2022/23 season. His March MRI was clean, and he wound up missing five games.

Oddly, Doncic played a tournament-high 37 minutes against Lithuania less than 24 hours after losing in the quarterfinals to Canada, notes Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. The game was basically meaningless, as both teams had already been eliminated from medal contention and couldn’t qualify for the Olympics.

“The answer is very simple. It’s because Luka is very competitive,” head coach Aleksander Sekulic responded to BasketNews when asked about Doncic’s motivation for the game.

“I don’t know where he found energy, but he said he feels great and wanted to play,” Sekulic added. “He’s our best man regarding energy. He was trying to motivate everybody and put everybody on another level. I think we were not on the level we wanted to be, but he tried hard in the game, timeouts, and locker room. He tried all the time to push them to their limits. But that’s why he played because he felt good.

“This shows his character and that he loves basketball. That also shows a lot of how serious he is when he plays for his country and that he plays with his heart.”

Perhaps that explains why Doncic played one additional minute — 38 — as Slovenia defeated Italy on Saturday to finish seventh place.

Despite the injury, Doncic still put up his typical gaudy stats at the tournament, averaging 27.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.5 steals in 32.2 minutes. However, he also struggled with turnovers, committing 4.3 per contest.

Gigi Datome Announces Retirement

September 9th, 2023 at 1:26pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA forward Gigi Datome played his final game as a professional basketball player at the 2023 World Cup, writes Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops.

Datome, who captained Italy’s national team, received a standing ovation from fans, his team, and his opponents near the conclusion of the seven-eight matchup with Slovenia. The Italians wound up losing the game to finish the World Cup in eighth place.

The 35-year-old veteran also received a standing ovation from the media after the game, Milanti adds.

“This is one of the many gestures I’ve received this summer, gestures of love and respect,” Datome said. “Tonight it was very emotional. I hope this is why I played so badly. My teammates played hard and tried to make me finish with a win. However, after many years I’ve learned this is not the most important thing.

“I’m proud of this team, we showed that we could compete at the highest level. They also treated me so well, they made me special. One of the best summers of my life. … Thank you to everybody. Also thanks to the referees, media, teammates, coaches, former coaches: thanks again to all of you.”

Datome played two NBA seasons with the Pistons and Celtics from 2013-15. In 55 regular season games, he held modest averages of 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 8.1 minutes per contest.

While he didn’t find much success stateside, Datome has had a lengthy and productive professional career overseas, playing another 18 seasons for various European clubs, primarily in his home country of Italy. According to Basketball-Reference, Datome averaged 8.5 points and 3.2 rebounds on an impressive .477/.429/.884 shooting line in 565 career games (19.5 MPG) across various competitions.

“I have no regrets,” Datome said, per Milanti. “It was my choice, I think it’s a good moment to step out. That’s why I feel grateful. Doing it now as captain of the Italian national team is an honor.”

Kings Sign, Waive Skal Labissiere

September 8th, 2023 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 8: The Kings have officially signed and waived Labissiere, per RealGM’s transaction log.

Stockton made a trade this week to acquire Labissiere’s G League returning rights, so he’ll get an Exhibit 10 bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the NBAGL club.

AUGUST 21: The Kings are signing Skal Labissiere to a one-year contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The Labissiere acquisition is for the G League Stockton Kings, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. As Ham explains, the hope is that he’ll join the franchise on an Exhibit 10 contract after a trade with the Mexico City Capitanes (G League) is finalized.

Labissiere hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2019/20 season, when he saw action in 33 games with the Trail Blazers. Labissiere, the 28th pick of the 2016 draft, spent the bulk of his NBA career with Sacramento. He played 106 games for the Kings, including 41 starts.

In the last few years, he has spent time in the NBA G League, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

For his NBA career, he’s averaged 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game in 148 appearances.

Germany, Serbia Advance To World Cup Final; USA, Canada To Play For Bronze

September 8th, 2023 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

The United States, with a roster made up entirely of NBA players, and Canada, led by All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, both fell at the World Cup semifinals on Friday, defeated by Germany and Serbia, respectively.

The Germans and Serbians will vie for the gold medal on Sunday, with the loser claiming the silver. Before that game tips off, the U.S. and Canada will battle for bronze.

Although the U.S. entered the tournament – and Friday’s semifinal – as the betting favorites, Germany remains the only undefeated team at the 2023 World Cup. The Germans won their seventh consecutive game, with Bayern Munich guard Andreas Obst (24 points, six assists) and NBA veterans Franz Wagner (22 points, five rebounds), Daniel Theis (21 points, seven rebounds), and Dennis Schröder (17 points, nine assists) leading the way.

The Americans, who were missing Brandon Ingram due to an upper respiratory illness, got 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting from Anthony Edwards and had no problems scoring as a team — they made 38-of-65 shots (58.5%) from the field overall, including 12-of-25 three-pointers, and missed just one of 24 free throw tries.

However, they struggled on defense, giving up 113 points in the 40-minute contest. That’s the most a U.S. team has ever conceded in a World Cup game, breaking the previous record of 110 that was set a few days ago in the second-round loss to Lithuania, per HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Meanwhile, in Friday’s early game, Serbia took a first quarter lead and never looked back, led by another big game from Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (23 points on 8-of-12 shooting). The Serbians got the ball out of Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands, limiting him to just eight shot attempts (he had 15 points), and controlled the boards, grabbing 33 rebounds to Canada’s 22.

Despite missing key players – such as Maxi Kleber for Germany and, more importantly, Nikola Jokic for Serbia – the two European clubs have looked terrific in the World Cup, clinching 2024 Olympic berths and at least a silver medal.

The Canadians will go home a little disappointed if they can’t claim a medal, but regardless of the result on Sunday, they’ll have their best ever World Cup finish. And earning a spot in the Olympics for the first time since 2000 qualifies as a win from the program.

On the other hand, it’s a second consecutive discouraging World Cup for Team USA, which finished seventh at the 2019 tournament. The Americans won’t end up lower than fourth this time around, but also won’t do better than a bronze medal in an event they were favored to win.

Woj: Blazers May Be Prepared To Hold Damian Lillard Into Season

September 7th, 2023 at 7:46pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Appearing on a recent episode of NBA Today, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said that “very little of substance” has happened in terms of movement on a potential Damian Lillard trade since the star guard first made his trade request in early July (YouTube link).

According to Wojnarowski, the league had shut down since summer league in a way he hadn’t seen in the last several years, leading to a lack of any traction on any potential blockbuster trades.

Now that executives are returning from vacations and players are coming in to work out in team facilities, there’s an expectation that conversations between the Trail Blazers and interested teams will ramp up in the coming weeks, per Wojnarowski. The next real deadline or landmark for Portland, Wojnarowksi adds, is the start of training camps in late September.

Wojnarowki says that the Blazers and maybe even Lillard are prepared for the possibility of the veteran remaining with the team in training camp and even into the regular season. The Blazers could look to reevaluate the situation after the first 20-25 games of the season and see how they’re performing, in addition to determining at that point whether the landscape of interested teams has changed, Wojnarowski said.

As ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently reported, there has been no indication that any team besides the Heat has expressed serious interest in making a trade for Lillard. However, as has long been the case, the Blazers aren’t interested in any packages Miami is putting on the table at this moment in time. Miami’s best offer would almost certainly include some combination of Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson, as well as first-round picks and young players like Nikola Jovic or Jaime Jaquez Jr.

After the first 20-25 games of the season, Wojnarowski suggests, teams that weren’t inquiring on Lillard before may become interested, such as an unexpected contender looking to go all in. Additionally, teams with existing interest in Lillard (ie. Miami) could be willing to increase their trade offers. Wojnarowski adds that he expects any Lillard trade to be a multi-team deal, rather than a two-team agreement.

Lillard, 33, is coming off an elite All-Star season in which he averaged 32.2 points and 7.3 assists in 58 games. One of the best Blazers ever, Lillard has played with Portland for 11 seasons, so he may be unwilling to sour relationships in the organization.

Lillard’s status as an all-time great who is still capable of averaging over 30 points per night makes high trade demands from Portland’s end understandable. However, hesitation from opposing teams also makes sense, given the guard’s age and contract (he could be on the books for $63.2MM in his age-36 season, pending a player option in 2026/27).

Trey Murphy Undergoes Surgery On Left Meniscus

September 7th, 2023 at 5:31pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 7: Murphy has undergone surgery to repair his slightly torn left meniscus and is expected to miss 10-to-12 weeks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). That timeline would have him back in action around mid-November, Wojnarowski adds.

Per a Pelicans press release (Twitter link), Murphy underwent a successful partial meniscectomy and received a biologic injection in his left knee. The release states that Murphy is expected to make a full recovery.

SEPTEMBER 5: Pelicans sharpshooter Trey Murphy III has suffered a meniscus injury in his left knee, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the injury occurred during a workout on Tuesday.

Murphy will undergo further testing to determine the severity of the injury and the best treatment path, Wojnarowski adds, noting that it’s not yet clear whether he’ll require surgery.

The 17th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Murphy emerged as a full-time starter for New Orleans in his second NBA season. He averaged 14.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per night across 79 appearances (65 starts), posting an impressive shooting line of .484/.406/.905.

If Murphy has to miss a significant chunk of the season, it would be a major blow for a Pelicans team that would badly miss his shooting. However, we’ll have to wait for further updates to get a sense of what sort of recovery timeline the 23-year-old might be facing.

Meniscus injuries can be treated differently depending on the severity. Even if a player has to go under the knife, the recovery timeline varies drastically depending on whether he has his meniscus repaired or removed. Some players have missed most or all of a season while recovering from a meniscus tear, while others have returned within a month or two.

Murphy is entering the third year of his rookie scale contract and will become extension-eligible for the first time during the 2024 offseason. While a big performance this season could benefit him financially, the Pelicans presumably envision him as part of their future and will prioritize his long-term health over his short-term availability.

Dillon Brooks Thinks He’s The Best Defender In The World

September 7th, 2023 at 3:53pm CST by Rory Maher

Rockets forward Dillon Brooks certainly doesn’t lack confidence. Following Canada’s quarterfinal victory over Slovenia at the 2023 World Cup, the veteran wing was asked if he was the best defender at the tournament.

“Yeah. This tournament, this world, in the NBA,” Brooks said, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. “I feel like I bring a different type of defense with my IQ and how physical I play and how disciplined I am on the floor.”

Brooks earned a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team this past season, his first appearance on an All-League team. As Fischer writes, new head coach Ime Udoka singled out the former Oregon product as a key target for Houston in free agency this summer due to his defensive tenacity.

“He (Udoka) knows that I bring a different type of edge to the game,” Brooks told Yahoo Sports. “I have my ups and downs with it. But I can teach young guys. Houston was a great offensive team. They just needed more on the defensive end, stressing priority on the defensive end.”

Describing the Rockets as a “great offensive team” in 2022/23 isn’t exactly accurate — they ranked 27th in the league, only faring better than the Pistons, Spurs and Hornets. However, Brooks is right that Houston needs help on both ends — the team was even worse on defense, finishing 29th in ’22/23 after being dead last two seasons ago.

Long known for being an irritant and a tone-setter for Memphis, the 27-year-old received a lucrative four-year, $86MM+ deal from the Rockets via a complex sign-and-trade. Brooks tells Fischer he’s ready for a leadership role with Houston.

“Just having a positive mindset, knowing that it’s gonna be a transition day by day,” Brooks said. “Getting better day by day and finding ways to believe in the details and believe in the little things that get you to where you need to get to, whether it’s playoffs, whether it’s winning the in-season tournament, each game getting better and better.”

In case you missed it, Canada faces Serbia in the first World Cup semifinal early Friday morning. You can vote in our poll for both semifinal match-ups right here.

Jayson Tatum Wants To Be On Celtics’ “Mount Rushmore”

September 7th, 2023 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

In an interview with Jeff Goodman of The Messenger, Jayson Tatum talks about his desire to add his name to the long list of Celtics legends.

Tatum is off to a strong start, with nearly 10,000 career points, four All-Star appearances and several long playoff runs by age 25. But he understands that being an all-time great in Boston requires championship banners, and he hopes to win a few of those before he’s done.

“I would love to be on the Mount Rushmore of Celtics,” Tatum says. “(Larry) Bird, (Bill) Russell, Paul Pierce and those guys. They paved the way. The one thing all those guys have is chips. I have to get to the top of the mountain to even be considered as one of those guys. I want to be an all-time great, I want to be known as a winner, and I believe I will be.”

A year ago, the Celtics appeared to be in a strong position to win their 18th title as they prepared to report to training camp. They were coming off a tough Finals loss to the Warriors and had added Danilo Gallinari to an already impressive roster.

Things began to unravel when head coach Ime Udoka was suspended on September 22. Gallinari suffered an ACL tear that wound up sidelining him for the entire season, and an injury kept Robert Williams out for the early part of the year.

“It was a lot, a lot to process and deal with,” Tatum said. “And I give us credit, we came together. I think it brought us together as a team. We had the second-best record. We could have had every excuse to start off slow and make excuses.”

Tatum touches on several other topics in the lengthy interview:

On head coach Joe Mazzulla, who was frequently the target of criticism, especially as Boston fell behind 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals:

“I think it was unfair. I don’t know what more Joe could have done. He wasn’t out there turning the ball over and missing free throws. That was us.”

On the loss of Marcus Smart, who was sent to Memphis in the Kristaps Porzingis trade and had been the team leader since Tatum arrived in 2017:

“I am for sure going to miss Smart. He was my teammate for six years and we’ve been through it all. We had good moments together, we had bad moments together. He’s somebody that I wish was going be my teammate forever.”

On the record-setting five-year, super-max extension that Jaylen Brown received this summer:

“I was excited for Jaylen, and I wasn’t surprised. That was a no-brainer for me because he deserves it. He had a hell of a year, the best year of his career, and he was rewarded for that. It was the right time. People make a big deal of $300 million. The NBA makes a lot of money. Contracts will be $350 and then $370 million. That’s the way it’s going. I was happy for him. I knew it was going to happen, it was a no-brainer, but I still reached out to him and told him he should be proud of himself and his family. Don’t take it for granted. This is generational.”

On his own NBA future and whether he wants to spend his entire career with one team:

“Just recently I started to feel the connection with Boston. I have spent my adult life here, my son has grown up here, I’ve grown up here. I’ve accomplished so many things. … You never know what can happen, but I love playing for the Celtics. I figured out my space in the city and have grown to really enjoy it. I love the fans. It would be really hard to leave this place.”

Christian Wood Signs Two-Year Contract With Lakers

September 6th, 2023 at 4:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 6: Wood is officially a Laker, the team announced (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).

SEPTEMBER 5: Unrestricted free agent Christian Wood has agreed to a two-year contract with the Lakers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The second year includes a player option.

The Lakers’ interest in Wood was reported weeks ago and now the two parties have finally come to an agreement. Wood and the Mavericks failed to reach an extension agreement last season and Wood wound up on the open market. However, he didn’t get the type of offers normally conveyed to players who averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds during their walk year.

He had to settle for the veteran’s minimum, which is all the Lakers could offer. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link), Wood will make $2,709,849 this upcoming season and $3,036,040 in 2024/25, if he doesn’t opt out.

Wood gives the Lakers 14 players with guaranteed contracts and there’s a good chance they’ll leave the other roster spot open to maintain roster and financial flexibility.

Los Angeles already looked solid in the frontcourt and the addition of Wood gives the Lakers plenty of quality depth. He joins Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes and Rui Hachimura at the power forward and center spots. LeBron James and Taurean Prince could also see minutes at the ‘4’ position.

Wood appeared in 67 games, including 17 starts, in his lone season with the Mavericks. He was acquired in an offseason deal from Houston.

Wood put up big numbers during his two seasons with the Rockets, including a career-high 21.o points per game during the 202o/21 season. He signed a three-year, $41MM contact with Houston in 2020 after a breakout season with Detroit.

The Lakers will be the eighth NBA franchise on Wood’s resume.

Nets Sign Harry Giles To Non-Guaranteed Deal

September 6th, 2023 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 6: The signing is official, the Nets announced today in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 2: The deal between Giles and the Nets is a one-year, non-guaranteed contract, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). Scotto adds that Giles will compete for a roster spot in training camp.

SEPTEMBER 1: The Nets and free agent big man Harry Giles are in agreement on a one-year deal, agent Daniel Hazan tells Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

The financial terms of the deal have yet to be revealed, but it’s a safe bet it will be worth the veteran’s minimum and it’s extremely unlikely to be guaranteed.

Giles was the 20th overall pick in the 2017 draft. He missed his entire rookie year due to knee issues, then appeared in 142 regular season games for the Kings and Trail Blazers from 2018-21, averaging 5.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per night, with a .511 FG%. He suited up for the Clippers’ G League affiliate in 2021/22, but suffered a season-ending injury and didn’t play anywhere last season.

A top recruit in high school, Giles played limited minutes during his lone season at Duke due in part to his knee problems, which have continued to plague him during his professional career. However, he’s still just 25 years old and appears to be healthy entering training camp, having worked out for several NBA teams – including Brooklyn – earlier this offseason.

It’s worth noting that a change to the Collective Bargaining Agreement has made Giles eligible for a two-way contract in 2023/24 despite the fact that he has four years of NBA service, since he missed the entirety of one of those four seasons due to an injury. So if his deal with the Nets includes Exhibit 10 language, Giles could have it converted to a two-way contract before the season begins. Brooklyn currently has one two-way opening.