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Atlantic Notes: Maxey, Sixers, Horford, Trent, Barnes

March 3rd, 2023 at 10:49am CST by Luke Adams

Tyrese Maxey returned to the Sixers‘ starting lineup on Wednesday for the first time in over a month, replacing big man Joel Embiid. Interestingly, Maxey remained in the starting five on Thursday when Embiid was healthy, supplanting fellow guard De’Anthony Melton.

As Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice writes, when Melton first replaced Maxey in the starting five, the five-man group that featured Melton, Embiid, James Harden, Tobias Harris, and P.J. Tucker had a clear statistical advantage over the one that had Maxey in Melton’s spot, particularly on defense. However, in recent months, the five-man unit with Maxey alongside those four other starters has been the more effective lineup.

In Neubeck’s view, the Sixers should use the final few weeks of the season to get a long look at both lineups to assess their options entering the playoffs. However, he believes there’s a strong case to be made that it’s time to reincorporate Maxey into the starting five, based on how productive that group has been. Plus, as Neubeck outlines, starting Maxey means he’ll play alongside defensive anchor Embiid more often — that should benefit the young guard, who is frequently targeted on the defensive end.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The Sixers look like the clear winners in last year’s James Harden/Ben Simmons trade for the time being, but that could change if Harden leaves in free agency without winning a title in Philadelphia, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, noting that the Nets still control two of the 76ers’ future first-round picks (in 2023 and 2027) as part of that blockbuster deal.
It looked like Al Horford‘s NBA career might be winding down when he was traded in a salary-dump deal in 2020 following a failed stint in Philadelphia, but the 36-year-old has resurrected his career during his second stint with the Celtics. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports has the story.
With recent acquisition Jakob Poeltl now part of the Raptors‘ starting lineup, Gary Trent Jr. is the team’s new sixth man. As Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes, that role looks like Trent’s best fit in Toronto going forward, so it will be interesting to see how it might affect the swingman’s free agency decision if the Raptors make it clear they want him to come off the bench beyond this season.
Scottie Barnes‘ sophomore season got off to a shaky start, but since January 1, the Raptors forward has looked more like the player that won the Rookie of the Year award last spring, as Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com details.

Cavaliers Sign Sam Merrill To 10-Day Deal

March 3rd, 2023 at 10:09am CST by Rory Maher

MARCH 3: Merrill’s 10-day contract is now official, the Cavs have confirmed. The deal will cover Cleveland’s next five games, running through the club’s March 12 contest in Charlotte.

MARCH 1: The Cavaliers intend to sign guard Sam Merrill to a 10-day contract, sources tell Shams Charania and Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Merrill, 26, was the 60th and final pick of the 2020 draft after four years at Utah State. He spent his rookie season with Milwaukee, winning a championship with the Bucks in a very minor role.

He was traded to the Grizzlies in the 2021 offseason, but unfortunately suffered a major ankle sprain in November 2021 which later required surgery. Memphis waived him last January, and he didn’t join another NBA team until signing a partially guaranteed deal with the Kings this past summer.

He spent training camp with Sacramento, but ultimately didn’t make the roster. Merrill’s $150K partial guarantee made him ineligible to join the Kings’ G League affiliate, and the Cleveland Charge, the Cavs’ affiliate, selected him first overall in October’s G League draft.

The sharpshooter hasn’t played much at the NBA level, logging just 8.1 minutes per game in 36 career games with Milwaukee and Memphis. However, he has put up strong numbers for the Charge in ’22/23, averaging 17.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.3 SPG on an excellent .469/.437/.852 shooting line in 18 regular season games (33.8 MPG).

The Cavs have an opening on their standard roster, so a corresponding move will not be required in order to sign Merrill.

Pistons Sign Eugene Omoruyi To 10-Day Contract

March 3rd, 2023 at 9:30am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have filled the open spot on their 15-man roster, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed forward Eugene Omoruyi to a 10-day contract.

Omoruyi, 26, has spent most of this season with the Thunder, appearing in 23 games for the team and averaging 4.9 points and 2.3 rebounds on .468/.258/.607 shooting in 11.8 minutes per night.

The former Oregon standout was on a two-way contract until being promoted to Oklahoma City’s standard roster after last month’s trade deadline. However, he was cut this past Sunday in order to make room for Lindy Waters on OKC’s 15-man squad.

In addition to seeing some action at the NBA level, Omoruyi also played for the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League this season. He averaged 17.5 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 13 NBAGL contests (26.8 MPG), making 45.1% of his shots from the floor but just 18.1% of his three-pointers.

The Pistons opened up a spot on their 15-man roster on Monday, when they bought out Nerlens Noel. Omoruyi will occupy that spot for at least the next 10 days — his deal will run through March 12, covering Detroit’s next five games.

A second-year player, Omoruyi will earn $94,136 on his 10-day contract, as our chart shows.

Follow NHL Trade Deadline Coverage At Pro Hockey Rumors

March 3rd, 2023 at 8:00am CST by Josh Erickson

The 2023 NHL Trade Deadline is approaching today at 2 p.m. CT, and Pro Hockey Rumors is your go-to source for all the latest news and rumors.

Pro Hockey Rumors will provide extensive coverage of all the trades and rumors leading up to the deadline, as always. While a lot of big names have been moved in recent days — including big fish like Jakob Chychrun, Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Ryan O’Reilly — there is a multitude of intriguing options available left on the market. James van Riemsdyk and Brock Boeser are there for teams looking to add on the wing, and former 65-point scorer John Klingberg is on the block for teams looking to add an offensive boost to their defense.

Some teams are still embroiled in tight playoff races, with Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Florida, Ottawa, Washington, Detroit, and the New York Islanders all stuck battling for the final two spots in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. In the West, the Calgary Flames are still looking to crack the top eight after a busy offseason.

Stay up to date with our comprehensive coverage, including expert analysis and insights into all the deals. Don’t miss a single trade or rumor – follow Pro Hockey Rumors for all your trade deadline news. You can visit prohockeyrumors.com, or follow @prohockeyrumors on Twitter!

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Southwest Notes: Porter, Morant, Kyrie, Jones, Vassell

March 3rd, 2023 at 7:49am CST by Luke Adams

After returning on Wednesday from a 20-game absence due to a toe injury, Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. admitted that he still wasn’t 100%, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. However, Porter considers it important to play during the final stretch of the season to try to carry some positive momentum into the offseason.

“There’s definitely going to be some tolerable pain going on,” Porter said. “I want to play. This is the best I can get it. Can’t get it 100 percent, so I will play.

“Just the passion and love I’ve got for the game. I’ve been away, been trying to do everything I can to get back on the court. Twenty games later, I’m at this point. This is the best I can get as far as my toe. The pain’s not too bad. I can play through it.”

As Feigen observes, injuries have prevented the Rockets from getting an extended look at their young core together this season, so the hope is that they can stay relatively healthy down the stretch. The starting lineup that Houston employed on Wednesday – Porter alongside Jalen Green, Jabari Smith, Alperen Sengun, and Kenyon Martin Jr. – is probably the one the team would like to lean on down the stretch, but it has been used just four times so far this season.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, whose alleged involvement in a pair of off-court incidents had been previously reported, has been accused of threatening a security guard at a Memphis mall, according to reporting from Molly Hensley-Clancy of The Washington Post. The Post’s report also stated that the 17-year-old who was punched by Morant last summer during a pickup game claimed that the Grizzlies star went into his house and reemerged with a gun visible in his waistband. Morant’s lawyer and agent put out statements on Twitter vehemently disputing that claim, but didn’t address the incident involving the security guard.
On Thursday, two days after expressing a need to scale back the pressure he’s putting on himself with his new team, Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving scored 40 points to complement Luka Doncic‘s 42 in a victory over Philadelphia. The Mavs are still just 2-4 in games the two stars have played together, but are confident that the wins will come, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “They’ve got to work through the kinks,” head coach Jason Kidd said of his backcourt duo. “But I think at the end of the day, we’ll be happy with what we have.”
The Spurs got two of their top rotation players back on Thursday, as Tre Jones (left foot soreness) returned from a five-game absence, while Devin Vassell (left knee surgery) played for the first time since January 2. Both players were on minute limits, but had positive plus-minus ratings in a victory over Indiana, with Vassell scoring 18 points in 23 minutes. “It’s refreshing, man,” Spurs center Zach Collins said, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “These guys mean so much to our team. We’ve had a lot of guys hurt, one through 15. But Tre and Devin were starters for us. To get them back, is going to make the game a lot easier for us.”

Hawks Notes: Young, Snyder, Lineups, Murray

March 2nd, 2023 at 11:27pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The bond between maximum-salaried Hawks star point guard Trae Young and newly signed head coach Quin Snyder will be imperative to establish for the future of the club, per Jeff Schultz of The Athletic.

“My focus with Trae is on what lies ahead,” Snyder said. “It’s an opportunity for both of us to make each other better, to challenge him and for him to respond and grow. He’s had so much success at a young age, and this is a tough league and you become highly scrutinized with everything you do. The discussions we’ve had is, let’s just get better. I’m not going to be right all the time and that’s the partnership that allows people to grow together. That relationship is important to me and I think it’s important to him.”

Rumored tensions between Young and former head coach Nate McMillan clearly soured that duo’s dynamic, and seem to have played a part in McMillan’s firing late last month.

There’s more out of Atlanta:

Snyder elaborated on his decision to take over the head coaching gig midway through the 2022/23 season, as opposed to waiting to sign on until the summer, per ESPN/The Associated Press. “It’s always a challenge, but those challenges are often most rewarding and the best opportunity,” Snyder said. “As I thought about it, I think the opportunity to come in now, although maybe challenging, is also an opportunity to hopefully go on a run… Also, and I think these things are not mutually exclusive, to begin to build a foundation, a culture.”
Hard choices await Snyder with Atlanta, details John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger opines that he may want to start by juicing up the team’s three-point shooting and moving new addition Saddiq Bey into the starting five for power forward John Collins. Hollinger also has a few other small improvements in mind for freeing up the club’s offense, as well as team-building ideas beyond 2022/23.
For his part, Hawks shooting guard Dejounte Murray appears to be excited to collaborate with Snyder, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “For me, it’s his attention to detail,” Murray said of the element that most stands out in Snyder’s coaching technique. “He’s already been breaking down film, since there’s been a conversation for him to come here, and just listening to everything from defensive personnel to the offense of focusing on getting more mismatches and everything we want to do just to come together and build toward being a great team.”

Stephen Curry Plans To Return Sunday

March 2nd, 2023 at 10:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors All-Star point guard Stephen Curry is planning to come back from his leg injury on Sunday against the Lakers, reports Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Haynes cautions that a setback could impede this tentative return timeline, but Sunday is the target date.

Curry, 34, has missed 10 games for Golden State thus far. He suffered a lower left leg contusion and partially tore his superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane during a 119-113 Warriors victory over the Mavericks on February 4.

The 32-30 Warriors have gone 5-4 through their nine completed contests since Curry’s injury. The 10th, a nationally televised TNT battle against the Clippers, is currently underway as of this writing.

Kendra Andrews of ESPN reports that Curry participated in team scrimmages Wednesday and Thursday while gearing up for his comeback. Per head coach Steve Kerr, however, Curry will miss an 11th straight contest, Friday night against the Pelicans.

Across his healthy 38 games, the reigning NBA Finals MVP has been his typically excellent self, averaging 29.4 PPG on .495/.427/.922 shooting splits. He’s also contributing 6.4 APG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.0 SPG in 34.6 MPG.

Bucks Closing In On Goran Dragic

March 2nd, 2023 at 6:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Bucks are considered leaders in the clubhouse to sign veteran free agent point guard Goran Dragic, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link).

Dragic, who just cleared waivers today after being released by the Bulls earlier this week, has spoken recently with several title-contending teams, according to Wojnarowski. However, Milwaukee – currently riding high on a 16-game win streak – seems to have the best odds of adding Dragic, Woj adds.

Dragic is set to visit the Bucks tomorrow, and a deal could be finalized as soon as then, Wojnarowski reveals. Milwaukee was also trying to add Dragic last year, before he latched on with the Nets for the final stretch of the season.

The 6’3″ vet, a former All-Star during his tenure with the Heat, started off strong during his first full month with Chicago this year, averaging 9.3 PPG on .448/.440/.667 shooting splits, plus 3.8 APG and 1.9 RPG, in just 19.2 MPG. Lately though, his production has declined in a major way. Across his final 10 games with the Bulls, he averaged just 2.6 PPG with a .333/.250/800 shooting line, plus 2.4 APG.

The 36-year-old was supplanted in Chicago’s rotation when the team brought in Patrick Beverley. Beverley immediately became the team’s starter, pushing down then-incumbent starter Ayo Dosunmu to a backup role and leaving Dragic as the odd man out.

This is a curious choice for Milwaukee, as it is unclear how much Dragic has left to give a team gunning to win it all this year. But the Bucks have an open spot on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding move would be necessary to add Dragic.

Mike Brown, Mike Budenholzer Named Coaches Of The Month

March 2nd, 2023 at 5:15pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Kings head coach Mike Brown and Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer have been named the league’s coaches of the month for February, the NBA has announced (Twitter link).

Led by All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, Budenholzer’s Bucks are currently at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 45-17 record. Milwaukee is in the midst of a 16-game winning streak and enjoyed a spotless February, going 10-0.

Brown led Sacramento to an 8-4 record across the month. The team is currently on a four-game win streak, while top players De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis both played in this month’s All-Star Game.

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and Suns head coach Monty Williams were runners-up to Brown in the Western Conference, while Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau were also nominated in the East, the league added (via Twitter).

Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL tweets that Brown is the first Sacramento coach since Rick Adelman during the 2003/04 season to earn a Coach of the Month honor. Given that his 36-25 Kings club appeared poised to make its first return to the postseason in nearly that long, he certainly seems worthy of the award.

Greg Brown Signs With Ontario Clippers

March 2nd, 2023 at 3:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Former Trail Blazers forward Greg Brown has signed a rest-of-season deal with the Ontario Clippers, L.A.’s G League affiliate, according to Albert De Roa of HoopsHype.

Brown was a highly touted prospect entering college, but his stock fell ahead of the 2021 draft, as he was selected 43rd overall after one season at Texas. The raw, athletic forward only made 16 appearances for a total of 93 minutes this season with Portland.

The Blazers waived Brown to accommodate new acquisitions as part of a four-team trade last month. He will receive his full $1.54MM salary for 2022/23.

In 64 games with Portland over the past two seasons, the 21-year-old holds career averages of 4.0 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .422/.294/.636 shooting in 11.5 MPG. In four regular season games (27.0 MPG) with Ontario, he has averaged 15.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG and 2.0 BPG on .375/.280/.750 shooting.