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Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis Named Players Of The Week

October 28th, 2024 at 2:47pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum and Lakers star forward/center Anthony Davis were named the NBA’s Players of the Week for the stretch of Oct. 22-27, the league announced (Twitter link). Tatum was the Eastern Conference’s winner, while Davis claimed the Western Conference award.

Tatum helped the Celtics to a 3-0 start to the season, which included blowout wins over the Knicks and Wizards. In his first three games, Tatum averaged 33.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists while shooting a blistering 54.7% from the field and 48.6% from beyond the arc.

Davis has also shot the ball extremely well to open the year, connecting on a .571/.400/.800 line. He has helped the Lakers win against three playoff hopefuls this year, defeating the Timberwolves, Suns and Kings to remain undefeated. Davis is averaging 34.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.7 steals per game to open the year.

According to the league (Twitter link), the other nominees in the East were Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Atlanta’s Trae Young. Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, the Clippers’ James Harden and Ivica Zubac, and the Lakers’ LeBron James were nominated in the West.

Stephen Curry Exits Sunday’s Game With Ankle Sprain

October 27th, 2024 at 10:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors star Stephen Curry exited Sunday’s home game vs. the Clippers with a left ankle sprain and was ruled out for the rest of the night, according to an announcement from the team (Twitter link).

Curry initially checked out of the game with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter after turning his left ankle while trying to make a cut (Twitter video link via NBC Sports Bay Area). He returned at the 8:08 mark in the fourth quarter, but aggravated the injury on the Warriors’ next offensive possession and immediately limped to the locker room just 13 seconds after checking back in (Twitter video link).

Curry is no stranger to ankle injuries, having dealt with many of them over the years, dating all the way back to his first few seasons in the NBA. Most recently, he missed three games in March when he sprained his right ankle.

It’s too early to say how much – if any – time this latest ailment might cost him, but head coach Steve Kerr conveyed optimism during his post-game media session. Kerr said Curry referred to the injury as a “mild or moderate” sprain, adding that the 36-year-old would undergo an MRI to confirm the severity, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk.

The Warriors have a back-to-back home set vs. New Orleans on Tuesday and Wednesday, then will begin a five-game road trip on Saturday in Houston.

Curry hasn’t had any huge games yet this season, scoring between 17 and 20 points in all three of his outings and shooting just 41.5% from the field. But Golden State has been dominant with its two-time MVP on the court, outscoring opponents by 47 points during his 79 minutes of action.

2024 NBA G League Draft Results

October 26th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League held its draft for the 2024/25 season on Saturday afternoon. Players who signed NBAGL contracts and whose rights weren’t already controlled by a team were part of the draft pool.

It was the first time in G League history that each of the 30 NBA teams had an affiliate squad take part in a draft. A 31st team, the unaffiliated Mexico City Capitanes, also participated.

The Westchester Knicks, New York’s affiliate, held the top two picks in Saturday’s draft and used them to select a pair of NBA veterans.

The No. 1 overall pick was sharpshooter Matt Ryan, who is reportedly drawing interest from the Knicks and is a candidate to be called up to their NBA roster at some point this season.

Drafting Ryan to Westchester won’t prevent another NBA team from poaching him, since holding a player’s G League rights doesn’t mean you control his NBA rights. But it will give the Knicks a chance to take a first-hand look at him before potentially offering him a standard or two-way contract.

Ryan has knocked down 41.1% of his three-point attempts in 63 career NBA games for the Celtics, Lakers, Timberwolves, and Pelicans.

The second player off the board was swingman Landry Shamet, who is recovering from a dislocated shoulder. Selecting him in the G League draft will allow the Knicks to keep him in the organization and closely monitor his rehabilitation process.

Shamet was expected to make the NBA roster prior to the injury and will be a candidate to rejoin the NBA squad later in the season if he fully recovers from his shoulder injury. He was the most experienced player in the NBAGL draft pool, with 348 career regular season outings at the NBA level.

Another notable name was picked fifth overall, as former NBA first-round pick Chandler Hutchison came out of retirement and was drafted by the Long Island Nets. Hutchison, 28, was the No. 22 pick in the 2018 NBA draft and appeared in 103 total games over the next four seasons for Chicago, Washington, and Phoenix.

Although the Nets’ affiliate technically drafted Hutchison, he was traded to the Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers) in a four-team trade that saw No. 3 pick Sean East II sent to the South Bay Lakers and Colin Castleton‘s returning rights acquired by Long Island. The full details of the deal, which also involved the Santa Cruz Warriors, can be found here.

East reportedly agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Lakers back in June, but that signing never became official. It’s not clear why, but after his rights were acquired by South Bay on draft day, the former Missouri guard will head to Los Angeles’ affiliate after all.

Finally, a pair of familiar names were selected late in the second round, with the 53rd and 54th overall picks. The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets‘ affiliate, nabbed former Knicks guard Allonzo Trier, followed by the Maine Celtics (Boston’s affiliate) drafting Kavion Pippen, the cousin of Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and nephew of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen.

Kavion Pippen wasn’t the only family member of a Hall of Famer who came off the board in the second round. The Capital City Go-Go (Wizards) picked former USC forward DJ Rodman, the son of Dennis Rodman, with the 43rd overall pick.

Here are the full 2024 G League draft results:

Round One:

Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Matt Ryan
Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Landry Shamet
Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Sean East II
Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): Thierry Darlan
Long Island Nets (Nets): Chandler Hutchison
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Christian Brown
Texas Legends (Mavericks): Tyson Walker
Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Malik Hall
Maine Celtics (Celtics): Eric Gaines
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Tae Williams
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Seth Maxwell (Indiana Wesleyan)
Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Cam Martin
Austin Spurs (Spurs): Ibrahima Diallo
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Justin Moore
Raptors 905 (Raptors): Tylor Perry
Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers): Kevin Cross
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Paul Mulcahy
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Brandon Childress
Valley Suns (Suns): Nate Roberts
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Tommy Rutherford
Maine Celtics (Celtics): London Johnson
Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Trae Hannibal
South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Marlain Veal
Texas Legends (Mavericks): Bryce Griggs (Overtime Elite)
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Jaylan Gainey
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Justyn Hamilton
San Diego Clippers (Clippers): Garrett Denbow (Anderson University (SC))
Austin Spurs (Spurs): Steven Richardson (Montana State-Billings)
Mexico City Capitanes (N/A): Lewis Duarte (Overtime Elite)
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): No pick
San Diego Clippers (Clippers): Emmanuel Bandoumel

Round Two:

Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Sy Chatman
Austin Spurs (Spurs): Xavier Johnson
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Vonterius Woolbright
Texas Legends (Mavericks): Keyon Menifield
College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Terrell Burden
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Kamani Johnson
Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Jamal Bieniemy
Austin Spurs (Spurs): Charles Pride
- Note: Pride is being traded to the Raptors 905, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link).
Texas Legends (Mavericks): Bobby Planutis
Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): E.J. Montgomery
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): DJ Rodman
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Dee Barnes
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Devine Eke
Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): Sterling Manley
Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): Olisa Akonobi
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Jericole Hellems
Valley Suns (Suns): Olin Carter III
Osceola Magic (Magic): Cameron Parker
Long Island Nets (Nets): No pick
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Allonzo Trier
Maine Celtics (Celtics): Kavion Pippen
Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): William Kondrat (D’Youville University)
Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Jayden Hardaway
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Tray Jackson
Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers): Ishmael Lane
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): No pick
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): No pick
San Diego Clippers (Clippers): Mike Scott

Teams will fill out their rosters with affiliate players, returning rights players, tryout players, and players who are assigned to the G League from the NBA roster (including those on two-way contracts).

G League training camps open on Monday, with this year’s NBAGL Tip-Off Tournament getting underway on November 8. The Tip-Off Tournament will be played over about a month-and-a-half and will be followed by the G League regular season, which begins on December 27.

Rudy Gobert Signs Three-Year Extension With Timberwolves

October 25th, 2024 at 3:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 25: Gobert’s extension with the Timberwolves is now official, the team announced today in a press release.

Gobert was permitted to sign the contract after the regular season began because it’s a veteran extension and he declined his 2025/26 player option as part of the agreement.

The deal begins at $35MM in 2025/26 and increases to $36.5MM in ’26/27, with a $38MM player option for ’27/28, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links), who adds that Gobert’s trade kicker is worth 7.5%.

OCTOBER 22: The Timberwolves and center Rudy Gobert have agreed to a three-year, $110MM contract extension, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets.

The move comes on the heels of Minnesota trading away Gobert’s frontcourt partner, Karl-Anthony Towns, this offseason at the start of Towns’ max extension, which created more long-term cap flexibility for the club.

Gobert, 32, is scheduled to make $43,827,587 this season on his current deal. He had a $46,655,173 option for the 2025/26 season, which he’ll decline and replace with a smaller number in order to lock in two additional years beyond that.

The new extension will include a player option for 2027/28, as well as a trade kicker, Charania adds (Twitter link).

Minnesota will get some cap relief with Gobert declining that 2025/26 option, giving the team more flexibility to make moves next offseason. Julius Randle and Naz Reid, the team’s other main frontcourt players, could become free agents if they decline their own ’25/26 player options next summer.

Gobert is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, having won the award for a fourth time this past spring. After a rocky first season with the organization following the blockbuster deal between Minnesota and Utah, Gobert settled in last season and played an integral role on a team which reached the Western Conference Finals.

Gobert is also one of the more durable players in the league by current standards. He hasn’t appeared in fewer than 66 regular season games since the 2018/19 season.

Last season, he made 76 starts and averaged 14.0 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per night. He also started 15 postseason games, averaging 12.1 PPG and 9.8 RPG.

The Wolves had a +8.0 net rating during the regular season when Gobert was on the court, compared to a +3.0 mark when he sat. During the playoffs, that gap increased to +9.8 in the center’s minutes and -6.3 when he on the bench.

Dejounte Murray To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Hand Fracture

October 25th, 2024 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The fractured left hand that Dejounte Murray suffered in his Pelicans debut on Wednesday night will keep him out of action for four to six weeks, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). Murray underwent successful surgery on the hand, Charania adds.

Murray injured his hand at some point in the fourth quarter of New Orleans’ victory over Chicago, according to Brett Martel of The Associated Press. He didn’t talk to reporters after the game, but CJ McCollum said Murray indicated during the game that the hand was bothering him.

“He looked at me and said his hand didn’t feel right,” McCollum said. “He just continued to play. … He battled through, he played and played well considering those circumstances.”

Despite the injury, Murray was giving the Pelicans the kind of steady backcourt presence they were seeking when they acquired him in an offseason trade with Atlanta. He had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds while turning the ball over just once.

While Murray is sidelined, more ball-handling duties are expected to be given to Zion Williamson, who frequently ran the offense last season, writes Christian Clark of NOLA. McCollum and Brandon Ingram will also see more time in that role.

“I hate it for Dejounte and our group,” coach Willie Green said. “We are kind of just getting started, just getting going. But at the same time, we understand that in this league and in life, you’re going to face adversity. The good thing about it is it’s not a long-term injury that will keep him out for a whole season.”

There’s also a financial component to Murray’s injury, Clark adds. His contract includes approximately $1.9MM in incentives that are tied to him playing at least 65 games, so they won’t be available if he misses more than 17.

New Orleans is operating slightly above the luxury tax line, so Murray’s incentives will be very important in determining whether it’s headed toward being a taxpaying team. The Pelicans would only be in the tax by about $850K if Murray doesn’t achieve any of his bonuses, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Clark points out that the Pelicans are one of two NBA franchises that have never paid the tax, so the team figures to explore cost-cutting moves whether or not Murray is able to return in time to reach the 65-game threshold. He will miss 15 games if he’s able to come back exactly four weeks from today.

Pacers’ James Wiseman Suffers Torn Achilles Tendon

October 24th, 2024 at 4:04pm CST by Rory Maher

Pacers backup center James Wiseman sustained a torn left Achilles tendon in Wednesday’s season opener vs. Detroit, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).

According to Charania, Wiseman and the team are working together to evaluate treatment options. Wiseman underwent an MRI on Thursday which confirmed the injury, according to a press release from the Pacers.

Wiseman suffered the injury in the first quarter while backpedaling after a missed three-point attempt (YouTube link via ESPN). He glanced behind him as though someone had kicked his leg, but there was no contact, a common sign of an Achilles injury.

It’s a devastating blow for the former No. 2 overall pick, who signed a two-year, minimum-salary deal with Indiana as a free agent over the summer. While Wiseman’s $2.2MM salary for 2024/25 is currently only partially guaranteed for $500K, it will likely become fully guaranteed due to the injury, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The Pacers hold a team option on Wiseman’s contract for ’25/26.

Wiseman had played well in the preseason, Marks notes, averaging 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game. The 23-year-old big man seemed to be ahead of fourth-year center Isaiah Jackson on the depth chart, and had six points in four minutes on Wednesday prior to the injury.

Wiseman has dealt with several injuries in his young career, including missing the entire ’21/22 season following knee surgery. Through four seasons, he was limited to just 148 games, and now will likely be out until at least next fall after tearing his Achilles.

The Pacers, who have an open roster spot, have a few different options for replacing Wiseman’s minutes. Jackson is the other primary center off the bench, but they could also go small, with forwards Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker and Enrique Freeman all receiving playing time yesterday.

Dejounte Murray Breaks Hand In Pelicans Debut

October 23rd, 2024 at 10:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

OCTOBER 24: Imaging has indeed revealed that Murray broke his left hand, sources tell Charania. He now faces a lengthy recovery before he can play his second game for the Pelicans.

OCTOBER 23: The Pelicans are concerned that combo guard Dejounte Murray may have fractured his left hand during his New Orleans regular season debut on Wednesday, sources inform Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 6’5″ vet was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Hawks this summer that saw New Orleans give up multiple role players and draft picks. In the Pelicans’ 123-111 victory over the Bulls, Murray scored 14 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the floor and 6-of-7 shooting from the charity stripe. He also handed out 10 assists and pulled down eight boards.

New Orleans won 49 contests last season, but was quickly swept out of the playoffs by the Thunder in the first round in the spring. In making a play for Murray, team president David Griffin opted to load up on two-way backcourt talent. Should the injury be a break, that move could come back to bite the Pelicans during the regular season.

A former All-Star and All-Defensive player with the Spurs, Murray struggled to find his footing during his two seasons in Atlanta, playing alongside another ball-dominant guard in All-Star Trae Young.

While plying his trade for the Hawks, Murray averaged 21.5 points, 6.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game on .462/.355/.810 shooting splits. The team, however, made the playoffs only once during his tenure.

New Orleans represented a far more balanced squad for Murray, perhaps his best chance yet to make at least the second round of the playoffs. With his health now a long-term concern this year, the Pelicans’ fate is suddenly far more tenuous in what figures to be a competitive Western Conference race.

Sixers Facing NBA Investigation Over Embiid’s Early-Season Absence

October 23rd, 2024 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is expected to launch an investigation into Joel Embiid‘s absence from the Sixers‘ lineup this week to determine whether the team is violating the league’s player participation policy, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

The player participation policy requires stars (defined as players who have made an All-Star or All-NBA team in the past three seasons) to suit up for nationally televised games. If they’re held out of action without an injury or without the league granting an exception, the team is subject to a fine.

The Sixers have already stated that Embiid will miss the first three games of the season, including Wednesday’s home opener vs. Milwaukee, which is being nationally broadcast on ESPN.

Embiid dealt with a left knee injury last season and the Sixers have referred to his absence this fall (he also sat out the preseason) as “left knee injury management.” However, Embiid played in the postseason and in the Olympics and head coach Nick Nurse told reporters on Tuesday that the star center hasn’t suffered any setbacks, so the league clearly has questions about whether there’s legitimate cause for him to be held out for the start of the season.

Leading up to the season, the Sixers have repeatedly and publicly made it clear that they’ll handle Embiid extremely cautiously this season in the hopes of having him healthy for the playoffs. According to Charania, the club’s plan is expected to include “periodic time off during the regular season and routine evaluations from doctors and the 76ers medical staff.”

There’s enough wiggle room within the player participation policy (which also discourages teams from resting more than one star in the same game, frequently resting a star during road games, or resting a star during an in-season tournament game) for the Sixers to adhere to its rules and still get Embiid plenty of off-days during the season. But if they want to manage the former MVP’s participation on their own terms rather than on the NBA’s terms, the 76ers may have to prepare to pay some fines.

While Paul George has also been ruled out for Philadelphia’s regular season opener on Wednesday, he recently sustained a knee injury that he’s still recovering from, so there’s no potential violation of the participation policy there.

Hardy Signs Three-Year Extension With Mavs; No Extension For Grimes

October 22nd, 2024 at 6:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 22: Hardy has officially signed his extension, according to Mavs PR (Twitter link).

OCTOBER 21: Third-year guard Jaden Hardy has agreed to a three-year, $18MM extension with the Mavericks, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. The final year of Hardy’s extension will include a team option, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.

Hardy was a second-round pick in 2022 and the contract he’s signing is considered a veteran extension rather than a rookie scale extension.

He was eligible to sign at any point this season, unlike some other veterans who faced a Monday deadline. However, Hardy and the team chose to get the deal done sooner rather than later.

In related news, the Mavericks won’t be signing Quentin Grimes to a rookie scale extension, The Athletic’s Fred Katz tweets. Grimes will be headed to restricted free agency next summer.

Hardy has proved to be a valuable rotation player in his two NBA seasons. He saw action in 73 regular season games last season, including seven starts, averaging 7.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 13.5 minutes per contest. He’s established himself as a reliable three-point threat in his two seasons in Dallas (37.9%).

The 6’4” Hardy also played regularly in the postseason, albeit in limited minutes. He averaged 4.2 PPG in 6.8 MPG. He could have an opportunity for more minutes early in the 2024/25 season with Dante Exum sidelined due to wrist surgery.

Low-cost rotation players are extremely valuable to contenders with max contract players on their ledger, so Hardy’s willingness to sign for an average of $6MM per season was naturally an incentive for the Western Conference champions.

The Grimes news comes somewhat as a surprise, considering he was reportedly negotiating a three-year extension with Dallas. According to Marc Stein (Twitter link), despite some initial optimism, the two sides were unable to bridge a gap in their discussions during the final days leading up to Monday’s deadline.

Grimes, a late first-rounder in 2021, spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Knicks, then was dealt to the Pistons at the February trade deadline. Detroit included Grimes in the offseason Tim Hardaway Jr. deal.

Aaron Gordon Signs Long-Term Extension With Nuggets

October 21st, 2024 at 11:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

11:00pm: Gordon’s new deal with the Nuggets is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

7:38pm: The Nuggets and forward Aaron Gordon have agreed on a contract extension, NBA insider Chris Haynes tweets. The deal will include a player option and a trade kicker, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets.

While Haynes and Charania refer to the contract as a four-year extension, the agreement will actually adding three new years to Gordon’s current contract and will begin in 2026.

Gordon, who is earning a base salary of $22.84MM in 2024/25, will exercise his $22.84MM player option for ’25/26 as part of the agreement, then receive his maximum salary for the next three seasons after that, Charania adds (Twitter link).

Because Gordon is eligible for a 40% raise on his option salary, the extension will start at $31.98MM, with a ’27/28 salary of $34.54MM and a player option worth $37.1MM in ’28/29. The deal will include $103.61MM in total new money over those three seasons, plus incentives that could increase the total value to approximately $109MM.

Gordon is the second Nuggets starter to get a major extension this offseason. Denver locked up point guard Jamal Murray with a four-year, maximum-salary extension in September.

Superstar center Nikola Jokic and forward Michael Porter Jr. are both signed through the 2026/27 season, with Jokic also holding a player option for ’27/28.

The Nuggets lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency in July and were intent on keeping their remaining core intact. Gordon would have remained extension-eligible during the season if he had declined his ’25/26 option as part of an agreement, but had to get the deal done by Monday night in order to pick up that option and extend off that number.

If he had declined his option, Gordon would have eligible for up to $143.3MM on a four-year extension starting in 2025, so the Nuggets managed to get the deal done somewhat lower than that figure. That should help the team better manage its luxury tax situation in ’25/26.

Gordon has proven to be a versatile starter since he was acquired from Orlando during the 2020/21 season, fitting in well with Jokic on offense and providing solid defense on the wing. He has appeared in at least 68 regular season games in each of his three full seasons with Denver. Last season, Gordon averaged 13.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while struggling with his shooting from deep (29.0%).