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Kevin Durant Disputes Claim He’s Frustrated By Suns’ Situation

January 10th, 2024 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Countdown ahead of the Suns‘ Christmas Day game against Dallas, Adrian Wojnarowski said that star forward Kevin Durant had been frustrated by the situation in Phoenix, citing Bradley Beal‘s repeated injury absences and an “underwhelming” supporting cast as factors.

Speaking this week to Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports, Durant dismissed that reporting and expressed a distaste for the speculation it generated.

“I don’t want to get traded,” Durant said. “I’m not frustrated because Brad was injured. I wasn’t frustrated because of the role players on the team. That s–t really was ignorant to me, you know what I’m saying?

“It’s like, yeah, we lose a game – you think I’m supposed to be happy after we lose a game? You know what I’m saying? I’m not frustrated with the whole situation. I may be frustrated at the moment, at a bad play or a tough stretch. But nah, I enjoy the grind.”

It’s worth noting that Wojnarowski didn’t suggest that Durant’s frustration with the Suns’ slow start would lead to a trade request or that the former MVP was doubting Phoenix’s championship upside. Based on Woj’s comments, it sounded as if Durant was frustrated by the circumstances that resulted in Phoenix’s big three rarely playing together early in the season and by the team underperforming relative to its expectations.

However, that NBA Countdown segment led to speculation about Durant’s future in Phoenix, with pundits and other members of the media weighing in with their own thoughts on the subject. For instance, Rohlin notes that a tweet by former NBA guard Brandon Jennings calling for KD to leave the Suns gained plenty of traction on social media.

“The people that respond to that as if I said something, that’s really delusional to me,” Durant said. “Brandon Jennings can have his ideas and opinions, but to act like it came from me is the wildest part. I don’t talk to this guy. He’s got his own opinions on the league, which is fine. But the response to that was like I was saying it. Like, why are (people) even spending this much time worrying about … ‘Does KD deserve better? Or he doesn’t deserve better?’ Like, why are you even talking about this?”

The Suns have continued to play up-and-down ball since Christmas, with Durant missing a handful of games due to his own health issues last week. The team is currently 19-18, but Durant says he’s not discouraged by a first half showing that has Phoenix in play-in territory.

“I love that we’re struggling almost because we can learn from it and get better and move forward from it,” Durant said. “Obviously, I don’t love struggling. But I like finding good things out of winning basketball games. The more film we watch, the more pride we take. The tougher it is, the better we’ll become from it. That’s my mentality the whole time.”

After Durant and fellow stars Kyrie Irving and James Harden pushed to be traded out of Brooklyn, it’s perhaps no surprise that Durant’s feelings about his new situation are being closely monitored and being placed under a microscope. The 35-year-old tells Rohlin that he’s aware of that scrutiny and feels as though he can’t express run-of-the-mill frustration about losses since it will be blown out of proportion.

“Me talking about any frustration is going to turn into people thinking that I’m checked out or I’m trying to ask for a trade,” Durant said. “So, me saying that I’m frustrated, I don’t even want to talk like that. Like, I’m happy about everything.”

Clippers Sign Kawhi Leonard To Three-Year Extension

January 10th, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

1:00pm: Leonard’s new contract is a three-year extension worth $152.4MM, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links). The deal, which runs through 2026/27, doesn’t include a player option and comes in a little below Leonard’s maximum salary, Charania adds.

The precise value of Leonard’s maximum salary for next season won’t be known until the 2024/25 salary cap is set, but based on current projections, Leonard could have earned up to about $161MM on a three-year max extension; that figure could end up at nearly $170MM if the cap increases by the maximum 10%.

Leonard’s new deal will feature a salary in the $52MM range in year one before dipping to approximately $50MM for each of the next two seasons, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The cap would have to rise by more than 9% this summer for Kawhi’s max to get to $52MM — if it doesn’t, the first-year salary on his new deal will come in slightly lower than that.

The extension will make Leonard ineligible to be traded until July 10.

12:34pm: The Clippers have signed star forward Kawhi Leonard to a contract extension, the team announced today in a press release.

Prior to agreeing to a new deal, Leonard was eligible to reach unrestricted free agency this summer by turning down a $48.8MM player option for 2024/25. The terms of his extension aren’t yet known, but he had the ability to decline that option at any time up until June 30 and then add as many as four years to the final season of his current contract.

“We’re thrilled to continue our relationship with Kawhi,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement. “He is an elite player, a terrific partner and a relentless worker who knows how to win and makes it his first priority. He elevated our franchise from the moment he arrived. We feel fortunate that Kawhi chose to join the Clippers four years ago, and excited to keep building with him.”

Leonard, who signed with the Clippers in 2019 on the heels of leading the Raptors to a championship, has been hampered by injuries during his time in Los Angeles, appearing in no more than 57 regular season games in any of his first four years as a Clipper. He missed the entire 2021/22 season while recovering from an ACL tear that he sustained during the ’21 playoffs.

However, the 32-year-old has continued to perform at an All-NBA level when he’s healthy and has played in 32 of 36 Clippers games so far in his fifth season with the franchise, leading L.A. to a 23-13 record. Leonard has averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.8 steals in 34.5 minutes per night in 2023/24, posting an elite shooting line of .516/.430/.871.

Entering the day, Leonard and Paul George were on identical contracts, with George also eligible to sign an extension of up to four years if he declines a $48.8MM player option for ’24/25.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the organization’s extension talks with George are ongoing, with the Clippers hoping to get both stars locked up to longer-term contracts as they prepare to move into their new arena later this year.

The Clippers won’t be able to extend James Harden‘s contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the 2024 offseason, but if the rest of this season goes well, the team would presumably be looking to sign him to a new deal as well.

The Clippers lost their first six games after acquiring Harden on November 1, but have been on fire since then, winning 20 of their past 26 games to move up in the Western Conference standings from 12th place to fourth.

Raptors’ Rajakovic Blasts Officiating After Loss To Lakers

January 10th, 2024 at 7:21am CST by Luke Adams

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic ripped the officiating following his team’s 132-131 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays.

Toronto carried a narrow lead into the fourth quarter, but the Lakers eked out a win after going 19-of-23 from the foul line and scoring 44 points in the final frame. The Raptors were awarded two free throws during the game’s final 12 minutes.

“That’s outrageous. What happened tonight, this is completely B.S.,” Rajakovic said (Twitter video link via Dime). “This is shame. Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this. Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter? Like, how to play the game? I understand respect for All-Stars and all that, but we have star players on our team as well.

“How (is it) possible that Scottie Barnes, who is (an) All-Star-caliber player in this league, he goes every single time to the rim with force and trying to get to the rim without flopping and not trying to get foul calls, he gets two free throws for a whole game? How is that possible? How are you going to explain that to me?

“They had to win tonight? If that’s the case, just let us know, so we don’t show up for the game. Just give them a win. But that was not fair tonight. And this is not happening (for the) first time for us. Scottie Barnes is going to be (an) All-Star. He’s going to be the face of this league, and what’s happening over here during (the) whole season … it’s complete crap.”

Asked if he was given an explanation from the game’s referees for some of the more controversial or marginal foul calls, Rajakovic said no, adding that “they see what they want to see” and “don’t want to hear what we’ve got to say.” The first-year head coach also reiterated that Tuesday wasn’t the first time his team had been on the wrong end of questionable officiating decisions this season.

“It’s happening a lot, but I’m telling our guys, ‘Be professional, keep fighting, keep going for the next one,'” Rajakovic said, per McMenamin. “But until when? For how long?”

While Rajakovic will likely be hit with a significant fine by the NBA for his comments, veteran forward Thaddeus Young – who played a significant role on Tuesday with starting center Jakob Poeltl sidelined – suggested that the Raptors’ players appreciated their head coach publicly sticking up for them.

“It just says that he’s all for us as a family, as a team,” Young said. “… We’re always going to be behind one another as a family, as a team. We’re always going to stick together, and he’s always been behind us since day one coming in here. We love Darko to death. We think the world of Coach, and we definitely appreciate him going to bat for us.”

Tuesday’s officiating crew was led by Ben Taylor, who was also on the receiving end of a postgame media rant from a member of the Raptors last season, when Fred VanVleet called his performance “f–king terrible” and pointed out that most of his technical fouls were called in games refereed by Taylor.

Asked after the Lakers’ victory about the discrepancy in fourth quarter free throw attempts, star forward LeBron James took a couple seconds to consider his response, then replied, “I feel like they fouled and we didn’t” (Twitter video link).

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), eight of the Lakers’ 23 fourth quarter free throws occurred in the final 24 seconds, when the Raptors had to foul intentionally to extend the game.

Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra Signs Eight-Year Extension

January 9th, 2024 at 7:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

8:04pm: It’s an eight-year deal, a source tells Reynolds (Twitter link). The contract is worth over $100MM, Chiang tweets, while ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski pegs that figure above $120MM (Twitter link).

7:51pm: Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has signed a long-term contract extension, according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press (Twitter link).

Spoelstra had been in the last year of his contract. While the exact terms of the extension are unknown, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that it’s for more than five years at a rate of over $10MM per season (Twitter link).

Spoelstra will be one of the league’s highest-paid coaches, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Head coaching salaries have risen dramatically over the past year. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich signed a five-year contract worth a reported $80MM and Pistons coach Monty Williams inked a six-year, $78.5MM deal.

Spoelstra, who has been in the Heat organization since 1997, has been the team’s head coach since the 2008/09 season and has two championships to his credit. He has also guided the franchise to the NBA Finals in four other seasons, including last season’s appearance after surviving the play-in tournament.

In total, Spoelstra has compiled a 725-506 (.589) regular season record across his 15-plus seasons in Miami, with an impressive 109-75 (.592) mark in the playoffs.

Popovich is the NBA’s only current head coach who has been with his current organization longer than Spoelstra has been with the Heat.

Kings Re-Sign Toscano-Anderson To 10-Day Deal

January 9th, 2024 at 5:57pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JANUARY 9: The Kings have re-signed Toscano-Anderson on a 10-day contract, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee tweets.

JANUARY 7: As expected, the Kings have officially waived reserve wing Juan Toscano-Anderson, according to James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento (Twitter link). However, Ham reports that Sacramento intends to re-sign Toscano-Anderson to a 10-day deal if and when he clears waivers.

Toscano-Anderson first joined Sacramento last month, though he never cracked the regular lineup, only playing 19 minutes of mop-up duty across eight games. He scored a total of two points, grabbed five cumulative boards, and dished out three dimes.

After spending two days on waivers, the 30-year-old will have earned a total of $323,506 from the non-guaranteed minimum deal he initially signed on December 15.

Given that today marks the NBA’s deadline to lock in non-guaranteed salaries, it makes sense that Sacramento wants to maximize its flexibility on the fringes of its roster, with just over a month until this year’s February 8 trade deadline. Toscano-Anderson would again fill the Kings’ 15th and final roster spot once he rejoins the team.

Across his five NBA seasons spent with four teams now, the 6’6″ swingman boasts averages of 4.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 0.6 SPG. He went undrafted out of Marquette in 2015. Following stints with pro clubs in Mexico and Venezuela, he latched on with the Warriors’ Santa Cruz NBAGL affiliate in 2018. Toscano-Anderson signed on with Golden State proper in 2020 and won a title with the club in 2022. He has spent the past two seasons with the Lakers, Jazz, and now Kings.

Spurs Reportedly Have Exploratory Interest In Dejounte Murray

January 9th, 2024 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs are among the teams with a “level of exploratory interest” in Hawks guard Dejounte Murray, Shams Charania of The Athletic stated on FanDuel TV (Twitter video link via Noah Magaro-George of The Vic-And-Roll).

The 29th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Murray spent his first six NBA seasons in San Antonio before being traded to Atlanta during the 2022 offseason, so the Spurs are obviously very familiar with him as a person and a player. And multiple reports have suggested that the Hawks are open to inquiries on the 2022 All-Star.

The Spurs are also on the hunt for an answer at point guard to pair with No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama. The team appears to view last season’s starter Tre Jones as a better fit as a long-term backup and has tried youngsters like Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham in the point guard role so far this season, with mixed results.

Still, within his own report, Charania seemingly downplays the likelihood of San Antonio making a move to reacquire Murray. The 5-30 Spurs are still in the early stages of their rebuilding process and while they have a plethora of draft assets, they presumably won’t be eager to give up several of those picks to acquire a veteran who’s already in his prime.

“I think they’re going to take a very patient approach in their building process,” Charania said. “There’s not a real level of urgency, of going out there immediately. They’re going to be patient. They’re going to pick and choose their spots, whether that’s this season, in the summer, next season. There’s not a real urgency, but they have a runway to make things happen potentially if they want to.”

In the event that Atlanta and San Antonio do discuss a Murray deal, the Hawks would likely be motivated to reacquire their 2025 and 2027 first-rounders, which they gave up when they initially traded for the standout guard.

Getting those picks back would give Atlanta more flexibility in future trades (due to the Stepien Rule) and would put the Hawks in a better position to take a step back in their own building process if necessary, since they wouldn’t have to worry about potentially shipping a lottery pick to the Spurs.

Chris Paul Expected To Miss 4-6 Weeks Following Hand Surgery

January 9th, 2024 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 9: The Warriors have issued a formal update on Paul, announcing (via Twitter) that he underwent surgery on the second metacarpal in his left hand on Monday and that he’ll be reevaluated in three weeks.

JANUARY 7: Warriors point guard Chris Paul, who is undergoing surgery to repair a fractured bone in his left hand, is expected to miss the next four-to-six weeks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

A four-week absence would put Paul on track to return during the first few days of February, just ahead of this season’s Feb. 8 trade deadline.

A six-week timeline would land in the middle of the All-Star break, so if Golden State takes a more conservative approach to CP3’s return, the team could get him eight extra days of rest and rehab — the team plays on Feb. 14, then not again until Feb. 22.

Paul, who sustained the injury in Friday’s win over Detroit, has now undergone surgery on his left hand five times in addition to six procedures on his right hand, per Wojnarowski.

While Paul remains on the shelf, guards Brandin Podziemski, Cory Joseph, and Moses Moody are expected to see an uptick in minutes, head coach Steve Kerr indicated this week. Another backcourt regular, Gary Payton II, will be sidelined for multiple weeks due to an injury of his own – a hamstring strain – which will create additional opportunities for those guards further down on the depth chart.

Raptors’ Poeltl Out Indefinitely With Ankle Sprain

January 9th, 2024 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors center Jakob Poeltl has been ruled out indefinitely due to a left ankle sprain, the team announced today in a press release.

While there’s currently no timeline for Poeltl’s return, the Raptors say he’ll be reevaluated in two weeks, so it seems safe to assume he’ll be out until at least late January and possibly beyond that.

Poeltl’s injury occurred during the third quarter of Sunday’s victory over Golden State. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca tweets, the big man rolled it when he stepped on Pascal Siakam‘s foot while attempting corral a loose ball. Poeltl remained in the game but won’t continue to play through the injury going forward.

Poeltl, who began his career as a Raptor in 2016, was sent to San Antonio in 2018’s Kawhi Leonard trade, then was reacquired by Toronto at the 2023 deadline.

He signed a new four-year, $78MM contract with the organization over the summer and has averaged 10.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 blocks in 26.5 minutes per game across 36 appearances so far this season. His 68.5% field goal percentage is a career high.

The Raptors traded away Precious Achiuwa in their OG Anunoby deal with New York and have been missing Christian Koloko all season due to a respiratory issue, so their frontcourt depth is somewhat thin at the moment.

With Poeltl out, Chris Boucher and Jontay Porter are prime candidates for increased roles, while Thaddeus Young could also get a shot at rotation minutes. It’s worth noting too that Toronto has an open spot on its 15-man roster and could add another big man on a short-term deal.

Wizards Sign Hamidou Diallo To 10-Day Deal

January 9th, 2024 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

1:58pm: The Wizards have officially signed Diallo to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through next Thursday (January 18).

8:14am: The Wizards have agreed to sign free agent wing Hamidou Diallo to a 10-day contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Diallo, 25, was the 45th overall pick in the 2018 draft. Over his first five years in the NBA, he appeared in 263 regular season games for the Thunder and Pistons, averaging 8.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per night. Last season, he made a career-high 57.3% of shots from the field in 56 games (17.8 MPG) for Detroit, putting up 9.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG.

While Diallo is an athletic player, an above-average rebounder for his position, and an active defender, he’s an awkward fit in some lineups due to his inability to space the floor — he has made just 27.4% of his career three-point attempts. That’s presumably a key reason why he didn’t find an NBA home when he became an unrestricted free agent this past offseason.

Washington eventually signed Diallo to an Exhibit 10 contract at the end of the offseason and made him an affiliate player for the Capital City Go-Go. The former Kentucky standout has averaged 18.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 31.1 minutes per game across 20 appearances this season for the Go-Go.

The Wizards have an open spot on their 15-man roster after having waived Ryan Rollins on Monday. Diallo will fill that opening and will earn $134,863 over the course of his 10 days with the club. He’ll be available for the team’s next four games, assuming he officially signs today or tomorrow. Washington would be eligible to sign Diallo to one more 10-day contract after his first deal expires.

As Rylan Stiles of Locked on Thunder points out (via Twitter), current Wizards general manager Will Dawkins was in the Thunder’s front office during Diallo’s time in Oklahoma City.

Pacers’ Star Haliburton Suffers Left Hamstring Strain

January 9th, 2024 at 10:34am CST by Dana Gauruder

JANUARY 9: Haliburton has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain and is expected to be reevaluated in about two weeks, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Although the star guard will miss some time, there’s a sense of relief that the injury isn’t more serious, Wojnarowski adds.

JANUARY 8: Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered a left hamstring strain during the first half of Indiana’s game against the Celtics on Monday and did not return.

Haliburton was injured late in the second quarter while driving to the basket. He slipped in the lane and did the splits. He then twisted around on the court in pain while grabbing the back of his left leg.

Buddy Hield and James Johnson carried Haliburton off the court and into the locker room. He’ll undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files writes.

Haliburton leads all Eastern Conference guards in the All-Star voting and it’s much deserved. He’s averaging career highs at 24.2 points and 12.7 assists per game.

If Indiana has to go an extended stretch without him, Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell would take over the essential role of lead ballhandlers.

Agness points out that Haliburton was wearing high-top Kobe shoes, rather than his usual low-top Kobe’s. He also slipped on the court during the first quarter.

The Pacers pulled out a 133-131 victory.

“Really amazing effort from our team,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “A lot of emotions in this game for a lot of reasons. You’re playing the best team in basketball and Tyrese’s injury situation is a very deflating moment. We hope that it’s not serious.”