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Five Players Suspended For Friday Altercation Between Heat, Pelicans

February 25th, 2024 at 1:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat big man Thomas Bryant and Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado have been suspended three games apiece for leaving the bench area and fighting during an on-court altercation on Friday in New Orleans, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

Additionally, Heat forward Jimmy Butler and Pelicans forward Naji Marshall will face one-game suspensions for instigating the incident, while Heat forward Nikola Jovic will be suspended for one game for leaving Miami’s bench area and entering the fracas, per the league.

The incident began when Heat forward/center Kevin Love wrapped up Zion Williamson as the Pelicans star attempted a layup early in the fourth quarter (Twitter video link). Marshall objected to the play and rushed to confront Love, resulting in Marshall and Butler getting into a shoving match, with players and coaches from both teams looking to intercede.

The altercation escalated briefly, then seemed to be cooling down before Bryant and Alvarado exchanged heated words and threw punches in front of the scorer’s table (Twitter video link). Butler, Bryant, Marshall, and Alvarado were all ejected from the game, which Miami eventually won.

The Pelicans will host the Bulls on Sunday, so Marshall will serve his one-game suspension tonight, while Alvardo will begin serving his three-game ban. Alvarado will miss games in New York on Tuesday and Indiana on Wednesday as well.

With Dyson Daniels (left knee) and CJ McCollum (left ankle) also unavailable for the Pelicans on Sunday and Williamson (left foot) and Brandon Ingram (non-COVID illness) considered questionable, the team recalled a handful of players – Jalen Crutcher, E.J. Liddell, Malcolm Hill, and Dereon Seabron – from the G League on Saturday for depth purposes.

The Heat will be in action on Monday in Sacramento, so Bryant, Butler, and Jovic will miss that game, with Bryant also sitting out the team’s contests in Portland on Tuesday and Denver on Thursday.

The three-game suspensions will cost Bryant $52,308 (of his $2,528,233 salary) and Alvarado $37,988 (of $1,836,096), per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links).

Because he’s on a maximum-salary contract, Butler will forfeit by far the biggest total ($259,968) of any of the five affected players, despite being suspended for just a single game. Jovic will lose $13,517, while Marshall will lose $11,096.

Trae Young Undergoing Hand Surgery, Out At Least Four Weeks

February 25th, 2024 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Hawks star Trae Young, who underwent an MRI on his left hand after injuring it in Friday’s loss to Toronto, has been diagnosed with a tear of the radial collateral ligament (RCL) in the fifth finger of that hand, the team announced today (Twitter link).

According to the Hawks, Young will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair the RCL and will be reevaluated in four weeks.

It’s unclear whether or not Young will be healthy enough to return at the four-week mark, but even if he is, he’ll miss more than half of Atlanta’s 26 remaining games. The team currently has a 24-32 record and is hanging onto the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference, two games back of the ninth-seeded Bulls and three games ahead of the No. 11 Nets.

Securing the No. 10 spot would give the Hawks a chance to make the playoffs, though they’d need to win two play-in contests against higher seeds to advance in that scenario.

An All-Star this season for the third time in his career, Young is averaging 26.4 points and a career-high 10.8 assists this season in 51 games (36.5 MPG), with a shooting line of .426/.371/.856. He’s the Hawks’ leading scorer and his 30.3% usage rate is easily the highest mark on the roster.

Young is under contract on a maximum-salary deal for two more guaranteed seasons beyond this one, then holds a $49MM player option for 2026/27. He has been cited as a potential offseason trade candidate a couple times since the February 8 deadline, though those reports were based more on the speculation of rival executives than information from inside the Hawks’ organization.

With Young unavailable, Atlanta will likely lean more on Dejounte Murray and Bogdan Bogdanovic to handle the ball and initiate the offense.

It’s worth noting that guard Trent Forrest, who is on a two-way contract, has reached his limit of 50 active games, so it will be interesting to see whether the team makes a roster move involving Forrest to fortify its backcourt depth. Promoting him to the 15-man roster would free him up to continue playing, though it would require waiving someone on a guaranteed contract. Cutting him would allow Atlanta to add a new two-way player who could be activated immediately.

Hawks’ Okongwu Out At Least Two Weeks With Toe Sprain

February 24th, 2024 at 1:30pm CST by Rory Maher

FEBRUARY 24: Okongwu has been placed in a walking boot and will miss at least two weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated, the Hawks announced in a press release.

FEBRUARY 22: Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu will be sidelined “for the foreseeable future” with a left big toe sprain, head coach Quin Snyder said on Thursday, per Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

“I don’t want to speak out of turn as far as a timeline goes, but he’s not going to be available for the foreseeable future,” Synder said (Twitter link via Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks).

Okongwu had only missed one game this season prior to last Monday’s loss to Chicago, which is when he sustained the injury. Unfortunately, it sounds like he could miss a good deal of time.

The 23-year-old played one college season at USC before being selected sixth overall by Atlanta in 2020. Okongwu is a key reserve for the Hawks, averaging 10.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 1.1 BPG on .610/.338/.800 shooting in 53 games in 2023/24 (25.8 MPG).

Snyder also said starting center Clint Capela will be back in action on Friday vs. Toronto after dealing with a left adductor strain. However, the Swiss big man will be on a minutes restriction. Capela had missed the past six games with the injury, with Feb. 3 being his last appearance.

With Okongu out, the Hawks will likely continue to lean on Jalen Johnson and Bruno Fernando for minutes at the backup five spot.

The Hawks are currently 24-31, the No. 10 seed in the East.

Grizzlies Release Gilyard, Sign Goodwin To Two-Way Deal

February 24th, 2024 at 12:40pm CST by Rory Maher

The Grizzlies have released Jacob Gilyard and filled his two-way spot by signing Jordan Goodwin, the team announced in a press release (via Twitter).

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report the moves (Twitter link), noting that Gilyard made a “positive impression” on Memphis despite being waived. He initially signed a two-way deal with the Grizzlies last April, making one appearance as a rookie in 2022/23.

Players on two-way contracts can only be active for 50 NBA games in a season. As we relayed a few days ago, Gilyard — a 5’9″ point guard who went undrafted in 2022 out of Richmond — was nearly at the 50-game limit, and the Grizzlies have a full 15-man standard roster.

Instead of converting him to a standard deal and having to waive someone on a guaranteed contract, they decided to cut Gilyard, who averaged 4.7 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 42.5% from deep in 37 games this season (17.7 minutes). He’ll still receive his full two-way salary, but two-way deals don’t count against the salary cap, whereas standard deals do.

Gilyard will become an unrestricted free agent on Monday if he clears waivers.

Memphis initially signed Goodwin to a 10-day hardship contract before the All-Star break. That deal expired after last night’s loss to the Clippers, but the Grizzlies will keep him around on a two-way contract.

A third-year guard out of Saint Louis, Goodwin has previously played for the Wizards and Suns. He has averaged 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals in two appearances thus far with Memphis (26.5 minutes).

The Grizzlies have a full 18-man roster, with all three two-way slots filled.

Patrick Williams To Undergo Season-Ending Foot Surgery

February 23rd, 2024 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls forward Patrick Williams will undergo surgery on his injured left foot and will be sidelined for the remainder of the season, the team announced today in a press release.

According to the Bulls, Williams was initially diagnosed with a bone edema, but recent imaging revealed a “progression of his foot stress reaction.” He last played on January 25.

The No. 4 overall pick of the 2020 draft, Williams has had an up-and-down four seasons with Chicago, showcasing tantalizing two-way upside at times mixed in with plenty of inconsistency. Part of that has been due to injuries — while he played 71 games as a rookie and all 82 games in 2022/23, he was limited to just 17 games in ’21/22 due to a wrist injury and only made 43 appearances this season due to foot and ankle issues.

Overall, the 22-year-old averaged 10.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.9 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .443/.399/.788 shooting in 43 games (27.3 MPG) in ’23/24, including 30 starts.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Williams will be a restricted free agent this summer if the Bulls give him a $12,973,527 qualifying offer.

With Williams and Torrey Craig (right knee sprain) both sidelined, the Bulls have been running smaller lineups, with a starting five of Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic. Rookie Julian Phillips and second-year wing Dalen Terry also received rotation minutes in Thursday’s loss vs. Boston.

Williams is Chicago’s second opening-night starter to go down with season-ending foot surgery, joining two-time All-Star Zach LaVine. The Bulls are currently 26-30, the No. 9 seed in the East.

Thunder Waive Aleksej Pokusevski

February 23rd, 2024 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have cut forward Aleksej Pokusevski from their 15-man roster, the team announced today in a press release. Pokusevski will become a free agent on Sunday if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

The No. 17 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Pokusevski flashed some tantalizing upside in his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons. However, his development was hindered by health issues. He was limited to just 34 games (25 starts) in 2022/23 due largely to a leg fracture that sidelined him for about three months, then broke his arm during a workout in the spring of 2023 and sprained his ankle this past September.

Pokusevski got off to a strong start in ’22/23, averaging 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 20.6 minutes per game across his 34 appearances, with career-best shooting rates of 43.4% from the field and 36.5% from the three-point line. But those injuries ended the seven-footer’s season early and he only saw garbage-time action in 10 games this season, logging 60 total minutes.

Given his lack of a role and his expiring contract, Pokusevski was a candidate to be on the move at this month’s deadline, but has now been waived instead after not being in included in a trade. Barring an unexpected waiver claim, the Thunder will remain on the hook for his 2023/24 cap hit of $5,009,633.

Pokusevski is still just 22 years old, so as long as he’s healthy, there will likely be rebuilding teams that explore taking a flier on him. John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link) wonders if the Wizards might kick the tires on the young forward, given that general manager Will Dawkins was in Oklahoma City’s front office when he was drafted. For what it’s worth, Pokusevski remains eligible this season to sign a two-way contract.

As for the Thunder, they open up a spot on their 15-man roster as a result of the move. That opening doesn’t have to be filled immediately — it could be used to explore the buyout market, sign someone to a 10-day contract, or perhaps promote one of their two-way players.

Mike Conley Signs Two-Year Extension With Timberwolves

February 23rd, 2024 at 9:10am CST by Rory Maher

FEBRUARY 23: Conley’s extension with the Timberwolves is now official, the team announced today in a press release.

FEBRUARY 19: Veteran point guard Mike Conley has agreed to a two-year, $21MM extension with the Timberwolves, agents Steven Heumann and Jess Holtz tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Conley, 36, is earning $24.4MM this season in the final year of his current contract. He would have been Minnesota’s biggest free agent this summer, but inking a two-year extension will keep him off the open market.

Shams Charania of The Athletic hears Conley’s extension is worth $22MM (Twitter link), so we’ll have to wait for more details to learn his exact cap hits for 2024/25 and 2025/26. Either way, it sounds like he won’t hit free agency until 2026, when he’ll be 38.

Conley has started all 50 of his games for the Wolves in ’23/24 and has been a key leader for the No. 1 seed in the West. In 28.9 minutes per night, he has averaged 10.6 PPG, 6.4 APG, 2.9 RPG and 1.0 SPG. In his 17th NBA season, Conley is posting career-high marks from three-point range (44.2%) and the free throw line (92.3%).

According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), Minnesota’s front office has been trying to work out a deal for Conley for several weeks, and obviously the interest was mutual. His new extension is similar to the one Al Horford signed with Boston in December 2022 (two years, $19.5MM).

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (Twitter links), the Wolves project to be over the second tax apron in ’24/25, with their entire starting lineup under contract. The other four starters are Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.

Wizards Move Jordan Poole To Bench

February 23rd, 2024 at 7:32am CST by Luke Adams

After starting each of his first 52 contests with the Wizards, guard Jordan Poole was moved to the second unit in the team’s first game after the All-Star break on Thursday, writes Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. Rookie forward Bilal Coulibaly took Poole’s place in the starting lineup.

Interim head coach Brian Keefe stressed that the move wasn’t made because the Wizards have lost faith in Poole but because they want to make the most of his skill set and get the ball in his hands more often, according to Wallace, who notes that the team is down a point guard following Delon Wright‘s recent buyout.

“It’s all about helping our group improve as a whole,” Keefe said prior to Thursday’s game vs. Denver. “One of the things we’ve liked about Jordan since I’ve taken over is that I’ve definitely given him the ball more and have allowed him to be an elite decision-maker. With some of the roster opening up, now there’s an opportunity for him to do that more and make our team more complete and be able to play a better, full 48 minutes.

“… It’s really a positive. It’s actually a credit to Jordan. Jordan’s been one of our highest net ratings since I’ve taken over, and I just want to see more of that. This gives him an opportunity now, being in that unit, to be the lead handler, lead decision-maker and kind of be our offensive engine.”

After signing a four-year, $123MM extension with the Warriors in 2022, Poole was traded from Golden State to Washington during the 2023 offseason, just as that lucrative long-term contract was beginning. His transition to his new NBA home has been a bumpy one — his scoring average has dipped to 15.7 points per game and his shooting percentages (.396 FG%, .304 3PT%) are his lowest since he was a rookie in 2019/20.

The 24-year-old also hasn’t been particularly effective on defense, and while Keefe is right that Poole’s net rating relative to Washington’s overall mark has been solid in recent weeks, that wasn’t the case during the first half of the season. Under previous coach Wes Unseld Jr., the Wizards had a -14.1 net rating during Poole’s minutes, compared to a -2.3 rating when he wasn’t on the court.

Poole was just 4-of-17 from the field in Thursday’s loss to the Nuggets, but he did end up scoring 18 points and logging 30 minutes, both above his season averages. While he suggested he wasn’t thrilled about the move to the bench, Poole said he’ll look to make the most of it.

“If there’s any common sense, with the situation, you should know how I feel. But I’m just going to come out, do what I can do to help the team, keep it moving,” he said. “I’ve been a point guard the last three years of my career. I haven’t really played in my position all year, just kind of trying to figure that out. I mean, if this is a way to try to get me on ball, I guess that’s just what we have to do.

“But I feel like I’ve mentioned it, I’ve been a (point guard), I’ve been primary on-ball, I’ve been a facilitator, play-maker, as well as scoring. I feel like that’s kind of where I proved my game and how I play, played to my strengths, and it hasn’t been like that this year unfortunately. I’m just trying to get better in the other areas of the game.”

It remains to be seen whether Poole will come off the bench for the rest of the season. As Wallace relays, Keefe told reporters on Thursday that the new lineup is one “we’re going to look at for a little while.”

Grizzlies’ Bane, Smart To Remain Out For Multiple Weeks

February 22nd, 2024 at 8:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies will continue to be without guards Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart for several more weeks, the team announced in a press release.

Bane is progressing well from a Grade 3 left ankle sprain he suffered on Jan. 12 game against the Clippers. He is expected to return to play during the next three-to-five weeks, per the Grizzlies.

Bane was in the midst of a career year prior to the injury, averaging 24.4 points, 5.3 assists and 4.6 rebounds in 37 games.

Smart, who sustained a left finger/hand injury during a Jan. 9 game against the Mavericks, will continue to wear a splint for another three weeks, per that club. He will be reevaluated at that three-week mark.

Acquired from the Celtics during the offseason, Smart is averaging 14.5 points and 4.3 assists in 20 starts with Memphis.

The injury-ravaged Grizzlies return Friday from the All-Star break with a 20-36 mark, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Smart is eventually shut down.

Timberwolves Sign Justin Jackson To 10-Day Deal

February 22nd, 2024 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 22: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

FEBRUARY 21: The Timberwolves have agreed to sign former first-round pick Justin Jackson to a 10-day contract, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 15th overall pick in 2017, Jackson has appeared in 278 total regular season games for the Kings, Mavericks, Thunder, Bucks, Celtics, and Suns across six seasons in the NBA. However, he has been out of the league for over a year, having been waived by Oklahoma City last February after being sent from Boston to OKC in exchange for Mike Muscala at the trade deadline.

Jackson has spent the 2023/24 season playing for the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League affiliate. In 35 games for the Legends, he has averaged 19.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 34.6 minutes per contest, with an excellent shooting line of .480/.427/.868.

Minnesota had been carrying 13 players on standard contracts since this season’s February 8 trade deadline and had until Thursday to fill at least one of the two openings on its roster, as we outlined over the weekend. Unless the Wolves make a second addition to their roster, they’ll find themselves in a similar situation once Jackson’s 10-day contract expires, with up to two weeks to re-add a 14th man.

Jackson will earn $145,301 over the course of his 10-day deal, while the Wolves take on a cap hit of $116,075. The contract will cover the team’s next five games, starting on Friday vs. Milwaukee.

With Jackson’s 10-day deal on their books, the Wolves are now $1.4MM below the luxury tax line, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That will be a consideration as Minnesota manages its roster during the season’s final weeks, since the organization won’t want to become a taxpayer.