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Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson Named Players Of The Month

April 2nd, 2024 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has been named the Western Conference’s Player of the Month, while one of his former teammates – Knicks guard Jalen Brunson – has earned the honor for the Eastern Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

It’s the second consecutive Player of the Month award for Doncic, who has strengthened his case for MVP consideration in recent weeks as the driving force of a streaking Mavs team that has moved into fifth place in the West. Doncic is the second player to earn Player of the Month honors twice this season, joining Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.

Doncic won the award for March by averaging a triple-double – 32.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 10.1 assists – through 14 games, with a .470/.381/.781 shooting line. The Mavericks lost the first three of those games but have won each of the last 11 contests in which Doncic has been active.

Brunson has earned Player of the Week honors three times in 2023/24, but this is his first Player of the Month award of the season. He helped the banged-up Knicks hang onto a top-four seed in the East in March by putting up 28.8 PPG and 5.8 APG in 13 games (30.9 MPG) on .481/.376/.813 shooting.

Those per-game averages include a March 3 contest in Cleveland that Brunson exited due to a knee injury after just 47 seconds. Not including that game, the Knicks’ point guard averaged over 31 points per contest for the month.

The other Player of the Month nominees in the Western Conference were Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Green, Nikola Jokic, and Domantas Sabonis, according to the NBA (Twitter link). Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown, Tatum, DeMar DeRozan, Dejounte Murray, and Pascal Siakam were also nominated in the East.

Rajon Rondo Confirms Retirement From NBA

April 2nd, 2024 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA point guard Rajon Rondo confirmed during an appearance on the All the Smoke podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson (YouTube link) that he has retired as an NBA player.

Asked by Barnes if his NBA career is over, Rondo replied, “Absolutely,” adding that he wants to focus on spending time with his kids.

Rondo, 38, last played in the league during the 2021/22 season when he appeared in 39 total games for the Lakers and Cavaliers. He played in 957 regular season games and 134 additional postseason contests over the course of 16 years in the NBA, winning titles in 2008 with the Celtics and 2020 with the Lakers.

Rondo was never an elite scorer, but was a talented play-maker and defender who led the league in assists per game three times and made four All-Defensive teams. He also earned All-Star nods in four consecutive seasons in Boston from 2010-13 and was named to the All-NBA third team in 2012.

After spending the first eight-and-a-half years of his career with the Celtics, the former 21st overall out of Kentucky was traded to the Mavericks and spent the next several years bouncing around the NBA. In addition to Boston, Dallas, Cleveland and the Lakers, Rondo also suited up for the Kings, Bulls, Pelicans, Hawks, and Clippers.

The veteran point guard finished his career with regular season averages of 9.8 points, 7.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 29.9 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .456/.324/.611. He earned approximately $118MM in salary over the course of his career, per Basketball-Reference.

While his playing time and production declined in his later seasons, Rondo’s exit from the NBA may have been expedited by a series of legal issues in recent years. Most recently, he was arrested in Indiana this January for unlawful possession of a firearm, drug paraphernalia, and marijuana.

Spurs’ Vassell, Sochan To Miss Remainder Of Season

April 1st, 2024 at 6:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spurs guard Devin Vassell and forward Jeremy Sochan will miss the remainder of the season, according to a team press release.

Vassell underwent an MRI Monday morning in San Antonio. The exam revealed a stress reaction to the third metatarsal head in his right foot.

Sochan has been diagnosed with a left ankle impingement and he’ll undergo arthroscopic surgery. That determination was made after the Spurs medical team consulted with outside experts.

Vassell signed a five-year rookie scale extension with $135MM in guaranteed money last October. That extension kicks in next season. He finished this season with averages of 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 33.1 minutes per game. He appeared in 68 games, including 62 starts.

Sochan completes his second NBA season with averages of 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 29.6 minutes per game. The No. 9 pick of the 2022 draft appeared in 74 games, including 73 starts.

Kevin Porter Jr. Signs With Team In Greece

April 1st, 2024 at 7:54am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. has signed with PAOK in Greece, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The deal will cover the rest of the season and Porter is expected to report to the team soon, sources tell Charania.

Porter’s career has been on hold since being arrested in September following an altercation with his former girlfriend, ex-WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick. Originally charged with felony counts of assault and strangulation, he reached a plea deal in January, agreeing to plead guilty to reckless assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor, as well as harassment in the second degree.

Porter was ordered to complete a 26-week counseling program. If he does that and abides by a restraining order regarding Gondrezick, he can withdraw his plea to the assault charge next January. A second-degree assault charge against Porter was dropped after it was determined that Gondrezick’s vertebra fracture was a congenital defect and not caused by Porter.

In the wake of the charges, Houston traded Porter to Oklahoma City in October, shortly before the start of the regular season. The Thunder waived him the day after the deal was completed. OKC received two second-round picks for taking on Porter’s $15.86MM contract for this season, along with a $1MM partial guarantee for 2024/25. The rest of his four-year, $63MM+ contract was non-guaranteed.

Porter, 23, averaged 19.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 59 games with the Rockets last season while shooting 44.2% from the field and 36.6% from three-point range. He joins a PAOK team that is battling for a playoff spot in the Greek Basket League, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.

Malik Monk To Miss Four-To-Six Weeks With MCL Sprain

March 30th, 2024 at 8:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:02pm: The Kings will reevaluate Monk’s condition in four weeks, tweets James Ham of The Kings Beat.

5:16pm: Kings guard Malik Monk suffered a sprained right MCL in Friday’s game and is expected to be sidelined for four-to-six weeks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The injury occurred shortly after Monk entered the game in the first quarter against Dallas, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Monk was defending Luka Doncic on a drive to the basket when their legs got tangled up, and Doncic landed on Monk’s right leg with much of his weight. Monk was able to walk to the locker room for treatment, but the Kings announced that he wouldn’t return to the game.

Monk is among the favorites for Sixth Man of the Year honors, averaging career highs of 15.6 points and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 44.3% from the field and 35.1% from beyond the arc. He’s also an indispensable piece for a Sacramento team that’s locked in a tight race to avoid the play-in tournament.

A four-week absence would have Monk returning in late April. That would keep him out of action past the play-in games, which start April 16, but it could allow him to return late in a first-round matchup that lasts six or seven games.

A six-week absence means Monk wouldn’t be back until mid-May, which would be well into the middle of the second round.

Lauri Markkanen Likely Done For Season

March 30th, 2024 at 7:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

An MRI conducted Friday on Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen revealed that he re-aggravated an impingement to his right shoulder, the team announced (via Twitter). Doctors plan to reevaluate Markkanen in two weeks, which effectively ends his season.

Markkanen was feeling discomfort in the shoulder after playing 42 minutes in Wednesday’s game against San Antonio, the Jazz added. He missed more than two weeks earlier this month due to a right quadriceps contusion.

Injuries limited Markkanen to just 55 games in his second year with Utah. His numbers were down slightly from his All-Star season in 2022/23, but he still averaged 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 33.1 minutes per night while shooting 48% from the field and 39.9% from three-point range.

Markkanen’s $18MM contract for next season currently carries just a partial guarantee of $6MM and won’t officially become fully guaranteed until two days before the start of this year’s moratorium. That figures to become a moot point, though, as Markkanen is expected to pursue a renegotiation and long-term extension with the Jazz this summer.

Suns Sign Isaiah Thomas To Second 10-Day Deal

March 30th, 2024 at 12:41pm CST by Rory Maher

MARCH 30: The Suns have officially signed Thomas to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). The deal will run through April 8.

MARCH 29: The Suns intend to bring back veteran guard Isaiah Thomas on a second 10-day contract, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

As our Luke Adams wrote this morning, Thomas’ first 10-day deal is set to expire at midnight ET. The 35-year-old has only played two garbage-time minutes with Phoenix thus far, but he has received praise from his coaches and teammates for his performances in practices and pickup games.

Prior to his stint with the Suns, the 12-year veteran had been out of the NBA since the 2021/22 season, when he made brief appearances with the Lakers and Mavericks before ending the year with the Hornets.

Thomas was an All-Star with Boston in ’15/16 and ’16/17 before suffering a right hip injury that derailed his career. He bounced around the league after that, and most of his recent stops have been on 10-day contracts.

Once Thomas’ second 10-day contract expires, the Suns will have to decide whether or not they want to sign him for the rest of the season in order to make him eligible for the postseason. Phoenix is in a very tight playoff race, currently sitting with a 43-30 record, which is good for the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.

Toumani Camara To Miss Rest Of Season After Rib Injury

March 30th, 2024 at 11:31am CST by Tristan Tucker

Trail Blazers rookie Toumani Camara will miss the rest of the 2023/24 season after suffering a rib injury, according to team PR (Twitter link). Camara exited the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s matchup with the Hawks and further testing showed that he fractured his left rib and has a small laceration in his kidney, per the team.

According to the team, Camara spent time in a hospital in Atlanta for further observation but is improving and has been released. He’s expected to make a full recovery after missing the rest of this season.

Camara, 23, was the 52nd overall pick in the 2023 draft by the Suns out of Dayton. He was then re-routed to the Blazers in the three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Bucks.

Camara made an impact right away in his rookie season, finishing the year averaging 7.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 45.0% from the floor in 70 appearances (49 starts). He was one of the only constants in a tumultuous season for Portland — he led the team in games played and is one of just four Blazers to have made 60 or more appearances.

Camara might not make an All-Rookie team, but he was certainly one of the more impressive rookies this year. He ranked seventh in rebounds per game among all first-year players, as well as ranking 19th in points per game. He, Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace are currently the only rookies with 70 or more appearances, though that will surely change before the season ends.

The remaining seasons of Camara’s four-year rookie deal are non-guaranteed, but his 2024/25 minimum salary will become guaranteed if he’s on the roster past July 20.

Pistons Sign Chimezie Metu For Rest Of Season

March 30th, 2024 at 10:15am CST by Tristan Tucker

10:15am: The Pistons have officially signed Metu to his new contract, according to a team release.

9:26am: The Pistons are signing forward/center Chimezie Metu for the rest of the season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Wojnarowski adds that Metu’s deal will feature a team option for the 2024/25 season.

Metu recently completed a 10-day contract with Detroit, appearing in six games and making two starts. He averaged 7.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 26.0 minutes per night.

Metu began the season in Phoenix after signing with the Suns last offseason but was traded at the deadline to the Grizzlies as part of the three-team deal that sent Royce O’Neale to Phoenix. He didn’t appear in a game in Memphis before being waived.

On the season, Metu is averaging 5.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 43 games (seven starts).

The USC product was selected with the 49th overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Spurs. He played there for two seasons before spending the next three with the Kings.

Metu has averaged 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game over the course of his NBA career, with his best statistical season coming in ’21/22 when he averaged 8.9 PPG and 5.6 RPG while making 20 starts for Sacramento.

Kings’ Malik Monk Feared To Have Sprained MCL

March 30th, 2024 at 7:31am CST by Tristan Tucker

Kings guard Malik Monk is believed to have suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee and is undergoing further testing, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Those tests will provide a better idea of a recovery timeline for the guard.

For comparison’s sake, Monk’s teammate Trey Lyles was ruled out for at least two weeks with a sprained MCL earlier in March, while Heat guard Delon Wright missed about a month-and-a-half earlier this season with a similar diagnosis.

Monk suffered the injury after Mavericks guard Luka Doncic fell onto him after a drive. According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Charania, Monk was in the locker room in “decent spirits” but was definitely in pain and left the arena with a noticeable limp.

This is another blow to an injury-riddled Kings team also dealing with the losses of Lyles and Kevin Huerter, who was recently ruled out for the season due to shoulder surgery.

“It’s unfortunate,” teammate Harrison Barnes said, per The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson. “Obviously, still trying to figure out the severity of it, but that’s part of the business. I think last year we were extremely healthy and we didn’t have to worry about that. This year, we’ve been a little bit injury plagued.”

Monk has been one of the most productive guards off the bench in the league this season and is the betting odds favorite for Sixth Man of the Year. He has averaged career highs of 15.3 points and 5.1 assists per game this season while shooting 44.3% from the field and 35.0% from three.

Without him, Davion Mitchell and Kessler Edwards saw an increase in minutes. Sasha Vezenkov, who has been out since Feb. 9, is on the verge of returning, according to Slater and Charania, and could factor into the rotation. Chris Duarte is also potentially in line for more minutes.

“Hey, we’ve got to have the next man step up,” Kings coach Mike Brown said, “Nobody’s going to fill Malik’s shoes, so we just have to do it by committee.”

The Kings have now lost back-to-back games to slip into eighth place in the West and back into the play-in tournament picture. A win against Dallas on Friday would have kept them in sixth in the standings, but instead they’re two games behind the Mavericks and are soon scheduled to play the likes of the Clippers, Knicks, Celtics and Thunder.