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Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Lineup, Waters, Wiggins, Moody

October 30th, 2024 at 7:41am CST by Luke Adams

With Stephen Curry sidelined on Tuesday due to a sprained ankle and Andrew Wiggins out dealing with a back strain, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr decided to revamp his starting lineup, removing Jonathan Kuminga and inserting Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, and Buddy Hield alongside Trayce Jackson-Davis and Draymond Green. As Kendra Andrews of ESPN relays, Kerr explained his thinking following an 18-point win over New Orleans.

“Without Steph and Wiggs, I didn’t want to start Trayce, Draymond, and JK,” Kerr said. “I wanted a little more spacing. I knew it would be a JK game. I knew he would play a lot … this is just about combinations and getting a bit more spacing on the floor to start. All it is, is shuffling the lineup to try to get the right five-man grouping out there.”

Although Kuminga came off the bench for the first time this fall, his 17 points and 28 minutes were both season highs. Still, while Kerr made it clear with his comments and rotation decisions that it wasn’t a demotion for Kuminga, it would have been easy for him to view it as one. Asked after the game how he felt about the move, the fourth-year forward, who will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, suggested to reporters that he and Kerr didn’t have any sort of extended conversation about it.

“It wasn’t my decision. I got a text, this is how it’s going to go, this is who it’s going to be, and I went with it,” Kuminga said. “What am I supposed to do … ask why am I not starting? This is the decision of the coach, and we will follow what he’s going to do. … At the end of the day, I’m still a professional. I’m going to do what I’ve got to do.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Lindy Waters has seen the floor in all four Warriors games, but Tuesday was the first time he earned rotation minutes, notes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The 27-year-old guard delivered in a major way, racking up 21 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in nearly 31 minutes of action. Golden State was a plus-26 in those minutes. “From day one of camp, this guy has been one of our best players, frankly,” Kerr said, joking that he’ll have to expand his rotation from 12 players to 13 when everyone is healthy in order to incorporate Waters.
Kerr and the Warriors plan to continue using an extended rotation for the foreseeable future, according to Andrews, who hears from sources that the club wants to use the first 30 games to trim that rotation based on which role players make the strongest cases for minutes.
Taking a look back at the Warriors’ offseason pursuits of Paul George and Lauri Markkanen, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN covers some familiar ground while also providing a couple new details. According to Youngmisuk, Kuminga’s name was never seriously discussed with the Clippers in regard to George — Golden State’s offer likely would have consisted of Wiggins, Moody, expiring contracts, and “some draft capital,” Youngmisuk writes. The Clippers weren’t interested, since taking on Wiggins’ contract would have meant continuing to operate over the tax aprons and may have complicated their pursuit of a young star in the future, sources tell ESPN.
The Santa Cruz Warriors have announced their training camp roster ahead of the 2024/25 G League season, with former lottery pick Kevin Knox among the headliners.

Lonzo Ball Has Wrist Sprain, Out At Least 10 Days

October 29th, 2024 at 9:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is dealing with another injury. He has a right wrist sprain and will be reevaluated in 10 days, the team’s PR department tweets.

Ball suffered the injury during the first quarter against Memphis on Monday. Chicago has two games remaining this week and four more next week, so the point guard will miss a minimum of six contests.

The 27-year-old played a season-high 18 minutes off the bench against the Grizzlies and contributed six points and six assists without a turnover. Ball has appeared in three of Chicago’s first four games, averaging 4.7 points, 3.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game.

Ball missed the last two-and-a-half seasons with persistent knee issues. He hadn’t suited up since January 2022 before his long-awaited return last Wednesday, when he played 14 minutes against New Orleans. While the wrist injury is an unfortunate setback, the good news is that his knees have held up fine so far this fall.

Ball’s four-year, $80MM contract expires after the season.

Bucks Notes: Cap Relief, Giannis, Rondo, Celtics Loss, G League

October 29th, 2024 at 8:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks, under second apron restrictions this season, will have a lot more financial flexibility beginning next offseason, according to Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Even with the contracts of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard still on the books, there’s a good chance Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis will decline their player options with the salary cap rising. Brook Lopez, who is making $23MM this season, will be an unrestricted free agent.

“I’d like to say it’s by design,” Bucks co-owner and governor Wes Edens said. “We’ve worked pretty hard to be in the position we’re in. I think we have one of the most competitive teams. I think we have a very good chance to really contend and maybe win a championship (this season) and we have a real chance for continuity and continuance beyond this. That’s the goal.”

We have more on the Bucks:

Antetokounmpo was outspoken after Sunday’s 13-point loss to the rebuilding Nets, saying the team is searching for an identity. “Right now, we don’t have an identity. Like, how are we going to win the game?” he said, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Are we going to defend for 48 minutes? Are we going to move the ball for 48 minutes? Are we going to attack and play fast for 48 minutes — or 36 minutes and slow down in the last 12? We gotta find an identity. We don’t have that right now.”
Rajon Rondo is working with the club on a part-time basis under head coach Doc Rivers, who explained Rondo’s status. “He’s got a son, it’s not that he didn’t want to be a coach,” Rivers told Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “He’s got a son that’s a really talented player and he’s working with him. We’re crafting out a schedule right now to try to give him enough time to be there and to be with us.”
Their third consecutive loss, this time to the Celtics on Monday, was a reminder that swapping out Jrue Holiday for Lillard hasn’t worked out for Milwaukee, Robb notes. The Bucks led at halftime but were outscored by 11 in the third quarter and couldn’t mount a meaningful rally. “I don’t like moral victories, but I just thought that’s what we can be — at least for three quarters,” Rivers said, per Nehm. “I thought we kind of ran out of gas a little bit. Didn’t get a lot of help tonight from our bench, so we extended minutes.”
The Wisconsin Herd, their NBA G League club, has announced its camp roster. James Akinjo, Terence Davis, Henry Ellenson and Justise Winslow are among the notable names with NBA experience on the list.

Southwest Notes: Kennard, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Rockets

October 29th, 2024 at 7:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Grizzlies sharpshooter Luke Kennard, who has missed the first three games of the season due to a left foot muscle strain, is getting closer to returning to action. According to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link), head coach Taylor Jenkins said today that Kennard was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice and that he’ll ramp up his activity over the next week.

Kennard was limited to just 39 outings last season due to injury issues, but was his usual effective self from beyond the arc when he played, averaging 11.0 points per game and making 45.0% of his three-point attempts. He re-signed with the team on a one-year, $9.25MM deal and will be an unrestricted free agent again next summer.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies‘ G League affiliate, announced their training camp roster on Monday in a press release. The 17-man squad includes multiple former NBA second-round picks, including guard David Johnson and forward Robert Woodard.
After their starting lineup was outscored in its minutes last season, the Pelicans made offseason moves in the hopes of revamping that five-man group. However, they’ve been forced to play a similar unit in the early going this season due to injuries to Dejounte Murray and Trey Murphy, with Daniel Theis replacing Jonas Valanciunas at center. As a result, the team has no choice but to try to figure out why a starting five featuring Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum isn’t more effective offensively, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com.
Veteran guard Elfrid Payton is the headliner on the official training camp roster announced by the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans‘ G League affiliate. Ike Anigbogu and Jalen Crutcher are among the other Squadron players with some NBA experience.
Former NBA lottery pick Thon Maker and former Knicks guard Allonzo Trier are among the notable names on the training camp roster announced by the Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: Nets Big Lineup, Simmons, Towns, Barnes

October 29th, 2024 at 6:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets have experimented with a bigger lineup and thus far, the results are promising, Bridget Reilly of the New York Post notes. The frontcourt of Nic Claxton, Ziaire Williams and Noah Clowney has posted a plus-24.3 net rating.

“It’s great because Noah was committed to shoot the three. Ziaire will let it fly. And if you look at those three guys it’s like a lot of length, size,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “We’ve been talking about how small we’ve been, but right now, you see those three guys on the court and you’re like, wow, there’s no room. They’re flying around. Their effort has been amazing. They’re long, so very, very happy to see those guys working well together and doing the right things for the team.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Ben Simmons didn’t suit up for Tuesday’s game against Denver. Simmons was ruled out on Monday due to lower back injury management, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. The former No. 1 overall pick has posted modest stats in three outings this season — 5.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. Simmons, who is making over $40MM this season, will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
What does Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson think of the Knicks’ acquisition of Karl-Anthony Towns? A whole bunch, according to Peter Botte of the New York Post. “What an incredible pickup for the Knicks. I mean, as soon as I saw that, I said they are championship contenders, because he’s that good,” Atkinson said. “I think he’s really improved. His defense has improved since his first couple of years [in the NBA]. Heck of a player.”
The Raptors won’t have their top player against the Hornets on Wednesday. Scottie Barnes didn’t travel with the team on Tuesday to Charlotte. He’s undergoing medical assessments after taking an elbow to his right eye in the fourth quarter of Monday’s loss to Denver, Marc J. Spears of ESPN tweets. His condition will be updated on Wednesday.

Hawks’ Bogdanovic, Bufkin, Krejci Will Be Out Multiple Weeks

October 29th, 2024 at 5:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic will be sidelined for at least a month, the team announced in a press release on Tuesday.

Bogdanovic underwent a non-surgical procedure on Monday. He missed the team’s game on Sunday with what the team labelled right hamstring tendinopathy. He will be reevaluated in approximately four weeks.

The team also provided updates on three other players.

Guard Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder subluxation) has begun treatment and rehabilitation. Like Bogdanovic, he will be reevaluated in approximately four weeks. Bufkin suffered a partially dislocated shoulder in practice last week.

Guard/forward Vit Krejci sustained a right adductor strain during Monday’s game against Washington. He will be reevaluated in two weeks.

Guard Dyson Daniels has a right hip flexor strain, which also occurred on Monday. He’s out for Wednesday’s game at Washington and will continue to receive treatment.

The news regarding Bogdanovic, who is in the second year of a four-year, $68MM contract, is the most significant. He averaged a career-best 16.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals last season while appearing in 79 games. He’s one of the top three-point shooters in the league, making 38.4% for his career.

The injuries on the backcourt and wing will mean more playing time for Garrison Mathews and Keaton Wallace.

Sixers Fined $100K For Statements About Embiid

October 29th, 2024 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have been fined $100K by the NBA for violating league rules, including its player participation policy, according to a press release.

Philadelphia had been the subject of a league investigation after holding Joel Embiid out of games during the first week of the season for what the team dubbed “left knee injury management.”

According to today’s announcement from the NBA, the 76ers weren’t fined for resting Embiid, but for public statements that club representatives – including general manager Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse – made about his status.

Nurse told reporters last week that Embiid hadn’t suffered any setbacks after injuring his left knee last season and suggested that the star center’s absence during the first few days of the season was part of the team’s plan for managing his workload.

“The league’s investigation also confirmed that Embiid has been unable to play in the 76ers’ regular season games this season due to a left knee condition, and therefore his games missed have not violated the Player Participation Policy,” the NBA’s statement reads.

While a team is considered to have violated the player participation policy and is subject to a fine for holding a healthy player out of nationally televised game (like last Wednesday’s Sixers/Bucks contest), a team can also be fined for inconsistent statements that don’t accurately represent a player’s health. The NBA made this ruling based on the latter rule, not the former.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, a $100K fine is the standard for an initial violation of the player participation policy. Those fines would escalate for subsequent violations, beginning with a $250K penalty for the second strike.

Wizards Won’t Exercise Options On Davis, Baldwin

October 29th, 2024 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have decided not to exercise their 2025/26 team options for guard Johnny Davis and forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., a league source tells Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

Rather than having the fourth-year salaries in their respective rookie scale contracts become guaranteed, Davis and Baldwin will be on track to become unrestricted free agents in July 2025, assuming they play out the 2024/25 season on their current deals.

Davis’ fourth-year option for 2025/26 would have been worth $6,746,229, while Baldwin’s was for $4,420,156. It doesn’t come as a huge surprise that the Wizards were unwilling to lock in those salaries, since neither player has established himself as a reliable, productive role player to this point. Davis was also drafted by Washington’s previous front office regime.

The 10th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Davis has appeared in a total of 80 games for the Wizards, averaging just 4.0 points and 1.7 assists in 13.1 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .392/.279/.549. Baldwin, the 28th overall pick who began his career in Golden State and was traded to D.C. along with Jordan Poole last summer, has averaged 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest on .390/.348/.676 shooting in 71 total games (10.3 MPG).

By rule, the Wizards won’t be able to offer Davis or Baldwin a starting salary exceeding their 2025/26 option salaries next summer. That restriction only applies to the team that ends the season with the player on its roster — for instance, is Davis is traded and finishes the season with another club, that club would be prohibited from offering a starting salary worth more than $6,746,229.

Davis and Baldwin are two of the three Wizards players whose contracts include rookie scale team options for ’25/26. The Wizards have, unsurprisingly, picked up the third-year option on Bilal Coulibaly, the team confirmed in a press release. That option is worth $7,275,600.

The No. 7 overall pick in last year’s draft, Coulibaly averaged 8.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 1.7 APG as a rookie in 63 games (27.2 MPG). He’s off to a good start this season, having boosted those averages to 16.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 3.3 APG on .500/.357/.813 shooting through Washington’s first three games.

Spurs Notes: Branham, Paul, Vassell, Cissoko, G League

October 29th, 2024 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

It remains to be seen whether there will be a regular role for him once the Spurs‘ roster is fully healthy, but Malaki Branham continues to take advantage of an early-season opportunity and is making a case for consistent playing time, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News.

After providing the Spurs with 14 solid minutes on Saturday, Branham had his best game of the season in Monday’s five-point loss to Houston, scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting in just under 17 minutes of action. His plus-22.6 net rating through three contests is easily the best mark of any San Antonio rotation player — the team’s overall rating is minus-6.0.

“He’s been a pro,” head coach Gregg Popovich said of the third-year guard. “He’s done what he needed to do at practice and shootarounds. He came in and was ready to go. A class act.”

Here’s more on the Spurs:

In an entertaining feature story for The Athletic, Fred Katz takes an in-depth look at Chris Paul‘s history of mentorship, speaking to former teammates like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cameron Johnson, Mikal Bridges, and Cameron Payne about what they learned from the future Hall of Famer and exploring how the Spurs will benefit from his presence. “There has been a mentorship dynamic with everybody because Chris is Chris,” Popovich said. “His experience and his intelligence, as we know, is off the charts. … He talks to everybody on the court: big, little. (He’s) just been fantastic in that regard.”
The Spurs are sending Devin Vassell and Sidy Cissoko to Austin to participate in training camp with their G League team, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Vassell is in the final stages of his rehabilitation following offseason foot surgery, while Cissoko hasn’t seen any game action yet this season for San Antonio and could use the reps.
Speaking of the Austin Spurs, they officially announced their training camp roster on Tuesday (via Twitter). Malachi Flynn, Jamaree Bouyea, and Jameer Nelson Jr. (the son of former NBA point guard Jameer Nelson) are among the notable names on the 14-man squad.

Raptors Pick Up Options On Ochai Agbaji, Gradey Dick

October 29th, 2024 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have exercised their fourth-year option on shooting guard Ochai Agbaji and their third-year option on shooting guard Gradey Dick, the team announced today in a press release.

Both options are for the 2025/26 season, locking in the duo for at least the next two years. Agbaji’s option will pay him a guaranteed salary of $6,383,525, while Dick’s is worth $4,990,560.

Agbaji has been traded twice since being selected 14th overall in the 2022 draft out of Kansas. He was sent from Cleveland to Utah in the Donovan Mitchell blockbuster that offseason, then was flipped to Toronto along with Kelly Olynyk at the 2024 trade deadline. The third-year wing is off to a strong start this season, with averages of 12.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game and a shooting line of .588/.455/.571 through four contests.

Dick, another former Kansas Jayhawk, got off to a slow start last season and spent some time in the G League, then began to find his footing in the second half. Known as a sharpshooter, the 13th overall pick in the 2023 draft made 36.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc as a rookie and has been part of the Raptors’ starting lineup this fall. He’s averaging 16.0 PPG on .431/.346/1.000 shooting through four games.

Agbaji will now become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2025 offseason. The Raptors will have to make a decision on Dick’s fourth-year option for 2026/27 by October 31, 2025.

We’re tracking all of this year’s rookie scale team option decisions, which are due on Thursday, right here.