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Bulls Notes: DeRozan, LaVine, Offseason, Ball, Roster

April 20th, 2024 at 9:03am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Bulls fell to the Heat in blowout fashion on Friday, ending their postseason hopes and sending the franchise into an offseason filled with questions about the long-term futures of franchise centerpieces DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. DeRozan, an unrestricted free agent, has repeatedly emphasized his desire to remain in Chicago. But on Friday, DeRozan sounded like a possible return would be contingent on change, NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson writes.

“That’s still where I’m at,” he said about wanting to remain in Chicago. “But at the end of the day, I hate losing. I hate missing opportunities. It really hits you after the season when you look up and the last seconds run off. You don’t have another game. The next time I play a game will be my 16th season. You realize the window closes for you personally. I ain’t trying to play 25 years. You just want to have the opportunity to give everything great in you. My stance on wanting to be here is still the same. But I just want to win. Seeing the first round of the playoffs, the second round of the playoffs is frustrating.”

Teammates and coaches like Coby White and Billy Donovan are emphatic about wanting DeRozan to return. Donovan in particular noted Chicago’s injuries as an inhibiting factor regarding its ability to compete. Both he and general manager Arturas Karnisovas discussed the importance of continuity. DeRozan, though, said he wants the Bulls to field a competitive roster that isn’t just contending for the play-in next year, though he acknowledged Chicago’s poor injury luck.

As for LaVine, the two-time All-Star was involved in trade speculation this year before undergoing season-ending foot surgery. According to Johnson, Donovan said he still envisions LaVine being part of a winning equation in Chicago. Both Donovan and White spoke highly of LaVine on Friday.

“We’re not really focused on that (speculation about LaVine’s future),” White said. “I know what type of dude he is. I know what type of player he is and how much he cares about winning and how much he cares about the team. Everybody in this locker room knows who he is as a person. He’s been there since he had surgery, giving us motivation. I can’t thank him enough for that.”

We have more from the Bulls:

  • Apart from DeRozan, Patrick Williams (restricted) and Andre Drummond are key free agents that will help dictate Chicago’s offseason direction, ESPN’s Bobby Marks writes. Lonzo Ball‘s recovery from knee injuries that have kept him out the past two-plus years will also play into the offseason plans. As Marks observes, if Ball’s injury is deemed career ending, Chicago would be allowed to remove his $21.9MM salary (player option) from the books. As for the duo of DeRozan and LaVine, the Bulls have until June 30 to extend DeRozan for up to three years and up to $129MM. Finding a taker for LaVine’s $43MM salary could be difficult, but the Bulls could benefit if a team with cap space strikes out in free agency. Alex Caruso, eligible to sign for up to four years and $78.8MM, is an extension candidate to watch.
  • With White, LaVine, Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu and Dalen Terry all under contract for next season, Chicago’s guard rotation looks full. Still, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Donovan still sees plenty of room for Ball in the rotation. While there’s still uncertainty with Ball’s ability to return, as Marks mentioned, the Bulls have maintained optimism in his comeback. Donovan said if the guard rotation remains the same, he likes his players’ abilities to complement each other’s games. “When I was in Oklahoma [City], we had Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], Chris Paul and Dennis Schröder, and I played those guys a lot together because of the IQ and the unselfishness, the way they were willing to play,” Donovan said. “… I feel really good with [White, Dosunmu and Ball] out there because of their makeup and their mindset as players.“
  • While the Bulls deserve credit for overcoming a 5-14 start to the season, they’re ultimately stuck in a cycle of mediocrity and the franchise has just one playoff appearance since 2016/17, Johnson writes. In order to break the cycle, Johnson opines, the Bulls need to get creative in free agency like they did when they brought in DeRozan, Ball and Caruso in 2021.
  • Despite an uninspiring season, the Bulls continue to express interest in retaining all of their free agents, which would have the organization set up to pay the luxury tax for just the second time since ’02/03. ESPN’s Jamal Collier explores how Chicago got to this point.
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Post-Play-In Update On 2024 Draft Order, Lottery Standings

April 20th, 2024 at 7:28am CST by Luke Adams

As we explained on Monday following the conclusion of the NBA’s 2023/24 regular season, the results of the play-in tournament helped move the lottery standings and the 2024 draft order one step closer to being officially set.

Here’s what we know now…

Lottery teams

The results of the play-in tournament didn’t actually change the lottery standings we originally projected on Sunday. The teams that entered the play-in as the seventh and eighth seeds are the ones that made it through.

The Sixers and Heat claimed the East’s final two playoff spots and will face New York and Boston, respectively, in round one of the postseason. The Lakers and Pelicans locked up the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds in the West, lining up first-round dates with Denver and Oklahoma City, respectively.

As a result, the tentative lottery standings are as follows:

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
DET 14 13.4 12.7 12 47.9 – – – – – – – – –
WSH 14 13.4 12.7 12 27.8 20 – – – – – – – –
CHA 13.3 12.9 12.4 11.7 15.3 27.1 7.4 – – – – – – –
POR 13.2 12.8 12.3 11.7 6.8 24.6 16.4 2.2 – – – – – –
SAS 10.5 10.5 10.6 10.5 2.2 19.6 26.7 8.7 0.6 – – – – –
TOR* 9 9.2 9.4 9.6 – 8.6 29.8 20.6 3.7 0.1 – – – –
MEM 7.5 7.8 8.1 8.5 – – 19.7 34.1 12.9 1.3 >0 – – –
UTH* 6 6.3 6.7 7.2 – – – 34.5 32.1 6.7 0.4 >0 – –
BKN* 4.5 4.8 5.2 5.7 – – – – 50.7 25.9 3 0.1 >0 –
ATL 3 3.3 3.6 4 – – – – – 65.9 19 1.2 >0 >0
CHI 2 2.2 2.4 2.8 – – – – – – 77.6 12.6 0.4 >0
HOU* 1.5 1.7 1.9 2.1 – – – – – – – 86.1 6.7 0.1
SAC 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 – – – – – – – – 92.9 3.3
GSW* 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 – – – – – – – – – 96.6

* Asterisks denote traded picks:

  • The Raptors‘ pick will be sent to the Spurs if it’s outside the top six.
  • The Jazz‘s pick will be sent to the Thunder if it’s outside the top 10.
  • The Nets‘ pick will be sent to the Rockets.
  • The Rockets‘ pick will be sent to the Thunder if it’s outside the top four.
  • The Warriors‘ pick will be sent to the Trail Blazers if it’s outside the top four.

Multiple tiebreakers will still be required before the pre-lottery draft order is locked in, since two pairs of lottery teams finished the regular season with identical records.

The teams listed above in italics and marked with asterisks were tied, so the following spots in the chart could still be flipped, pending the results of random tiebreakers:

  1. Charlotte Hornets / Portland Trail Blazers (21-61)
  2. Sacramento Kings / Golden State Warriors (46-36)

For instance, if the Trail Blazers win their tiebreaker with the Hornets, they’ll be the team that can’t fall further than No. 7 in the lottery, while Charlotte could slide as far as No. 8.

Lottery teams that ended up with identical regular season records essentially have the same odds at a top-four pick as each other, though the club that wins the tiebreaker will get one extra ping-pong ball combination at No. 3 and No. 13.

Traded first-round picks

The play-in results also provided some clarity on certain first-round picks that were traded with protections.

Crucially, the fact that the Kings missed out on the playoffs means they’ll hang onto their 2024 first-round pick, since it was top-14 protected and will land in that range. Instead of receiving Sacramento’s ’24 first-rounder, the Hawks will be owed the Kings’ 2025 pick, with top-12 protection.

The fact that the Warriors ended up in the lottery means there still a chance they could hang onto their first-round pick, which is top-four protected. Those odds are slim though — the Warriors will have a 3.8% chance of moving up into the top four if they win their tiebreaker with Sacramento, or a 3.4% chance if the Kings win that tiebreaker.

That means the Trail Blazers will have either a 96.2% or 96.6% chance to receive Golden State’s pick. Portland is actually probably rooting for the Warriors to win that tiebreaker with the Kings, even though it would ever so slightly reduce the Blazers’ odds of getting the pick — in that scenario, the Blazers would almost certainly receive No. 13 instead of No. 14.

Two more traded picks are worth mentioning, given the results of the play-in tournament. First, the Lakers‘ first-rounder will now end up somewhere in the No. 16-19 range, depending on tiebreakers. The Pelicans have the option of acquiring that pick or deferring it to 2025 — the odds of a deferral are higher now that it’s not a lottery selection.

The Pelicans’ ability to swap picks with the Bucks also remains alive as a result of New Orleans’ playoff berth. The two teams finished with identical records and also tied with Phoenix, so a three-way tiebreaker will determine the picks from No. 21 to 23. If Milwaukee ends up with a higher pick than New Orleans as a result of those tiebreakers, the Pelicans will exercise their swap rights.

Playoff teams

Based on the play-in results, the draft order in the middle of the first round will be as follows:

  1. Miami Heat (46-36)
  2. Indiana Pacers / Los Angeles Lakers / Orlando Magic / Philadelphia 76ers (47-35)
    • Note: The Pacers’ pick will be sent to the Raptors.
    • Note: The Lakers’ pick may be sent to the Pelicans (New Orleans has the option to defer it to 2025).
  3. Cleveland Cavaliers (48-34)
  4. Milwaukee Bucks / New Orleans Pelicans / Phoenix Suns (49-33)
    • Note: The Pelicans have the ability to swap first-round picks with the Bucks.

In addition to the tiebreaker required for the 16-19 and 21-23 picks, the following tiebreakers will be necessary for playoff teams:

  1. Dallas Mavericks / New York Knicks (50-32)
    • Note: The Mavericks’ pick will be sent to the Knicks.
  2. Denver Nuggets / Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25)
    • Note: The Thunder’s pick will be sent to the Jazz.

It’s worth noting that even though Miami, Sacramento, and Golden State all finished the season with identical 46-36 records, the Heat aren’t involved in the Kings/Warriors tiebreaker because they made the playoffs and the other two teams didn’t.

Because those three teams finished tied in the standings, however, Miami will get the first pick of the three in round two — it will be No. 43, while the Kings and Warriors will pick at No. 44 and 45, in some order.

The random tiebreakers for draft positioning are typically conducted on the Monday eight days after the regular season, which would be April 22. Once those are completed, we’ll publish a full pre-lottery order for both rounds of the 2024 draft.

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Nets Notes: Claxton, Budenholzer, Borrego, DSJ, Marks

April 19th, 2024 at 11:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the HoopsHype podcast with Michael Scotto, Brian Lewis of The New York Post said he believes there’s better than a 50/50 chance that Nic Claxton will remain with the Nets, suggesting the team has been preparing for having to give the unrestricted free agent center a significant raise.

“I’d go as far as saying they’ve been fretting over it because they’ve had to carve out the money for this,” Lewis said. “They want him back. … I think they’re reasonably confident that they can, as of today, come to some sort of an agreement.”

As for the Nets’ broader plans going forward, Lewis thinks the team will likely wait until 2025 – when Ben Simmons‘ maximum-salary contract comes off the books – to go “big-game hunting,” though that prediction came with a caveat.

“There are a few players who could accelerate that process,” Lewis said. “Donovan Mitchell is one of those few. … If another superstar becomes disgruntled – like Giannis (Antetokounmpo), if he decides he’s given a lot of great years to Milwaukee and wants to leave – there are a few players who’d make the Nets pivot off of waiting until 2025. The baseline right now is the summer of 2025.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

  • Discussing the search that led to Brooklyn identifying Jordi Fernandez as its next head coach, Lewis said he has heard that Mike Budenholzer‘s contract demands were “rather high” in terms of both years and dollars, while Scotto says James Borrego was another candidate who received legitimate consideration from the Nets alongside their three reported finalists.
  • Dennis Smith Jr. hopes to secure a multiyear contract in free agency this summer, according to Scotto. Asked if he sees himself returning to the Nets, Smith didn’t rule it out. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind it,” he said. “I’ve got a great relationship with these guys, and the medical and training staff is one of the best I’ve ever seen in the league – and I’ve got a real perspective on that because I’ve been around. I would welcome that.” For what it’s worth, Lewis believes Smith is more likely to land elsewhere than to remain in Brooklyn, particularly if he’s seeking multiple years.
  • NetsDaily passes along some of the highlights from a Sean Marks Q-and-A session with fans at the HSS Training Center this week. The Nets’ president of basketball operations discussed the team’s roster-building approach in fairly general terms and left the door open to the possibility that the club could trade into this year’s draft.
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Yuta Watanabe Plans To Play In Japan In 2024/25

April 19th, 2024 at 9:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran swingman Yuta Watanabe announced on Friday night during an Instagram Live session that he intends to leave the NBA to play in his home country of Japan for the 2024/25 season, according to tweets from Daisuke Sugiura and Takeshi Shibata, among others (Twitter links).

Watanabe, 29, spent a pair of seasons with the Grizzlies from 2018-20, then two years in Toronto from 2020-22. He enjoyed his best NBA season in Brooklyn in 2022/23, averaging 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game off the bench while ranking among the league leaders in three-point percentage (44.4%).

Watanabe’s solid showing with the Nets earned him a two-year, minimum-salary contract from the Suns last summer, but he ended up not playing a major role in Phoenix, averaging just 13.2 minutes per game in 29 appearances before being traded to Memphis in February as part of the three-team deadline deal that sent Royce O’Neale and David Roddy to the Suns.

Having joined an injury-plagued roster in his return to Memphis, Watanabe had a path to regular minutes, but he was limited to just five games due to a wrist issue and personal reasons.

Watanabe’s $2,654,644 player option for next season looked like a safe bet to be exercised entering this offseason, but his comments in Friday’s Instagram Live suggest he plans to decline it in order to clear the path for his return to Japan. Assuming he goes through with that move, it’ll create a little extra cap and roster flexibility for the Grizzlies, who already owe more than $155MM in guaranteed money to 12 players for 2024/25.

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Mavs Notes: Washington, Gafford, THJ, Lively, Kidd, Harrison, Kyrie

April 19th, 2024 at 9:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Few NBA teams could argue they had a better trade deadline this season than the Mavericks, who fortified their rotation by acquiring P.J. Washington from Charlotte and Daniel Gafford from Washington. Dallas has been on a roll since those two new additions debuted on February 10, going 21-9 during that stretch, including a 16-2 run from March 7 to April 10.

Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News takes a closer look at how Washington, who grew up rooting for the Mavs, got to achieve a childhood dream by suiting up for his hometown team, while Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News (subscriber link) explores the impact Gafford has had since he arrived in Dallas.

As Sherrington writes, the Mavs are 18-3 in games Gafford has started, as he and Washington have helped turn the team into a genuine threat to make a playoff run. Six weeks ago, just avoiding the play-in and having a competitive first-round series might have been a realistic goal for the club, but now the Mavs looks like they could be the best team in the West besides Denver, Sherrington says.

Here’s more out of Dallas:

  • Veteran Mavs swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. didn’t practice on Friday due to an illness, but he’ll join the team in Los Angeles, per head coach Jason Kidd, and there’s no indication his availability for Sunday’s Game 1 is in jeopardy at this point. (Twitter link via Townsend). Kidd also said that big man Dereck Lively (knee) has looked good this week and is trending toward playing on Sunday.
  • Kidd and Nico Harrison are both in the third season of four-year contracts, according to Townsend, who opines in a Morning News column that the Mavs’ head coach and general manager have done enough this year to warrant contract extensions this offseason. Those decisions will be made by a new-look ownership group led by governor Patrick Dumont.
  • Kyrie Irving would have accepted an invitation to play for Team USA this summer if he had received one, but won’t hold any grudges for not being selected, telling reporters on Thursday that “the deliberation process was a tough one” for USA Basketball, as Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News relays. “I would’ve loved to, but I wish my brothers well and I just didn’t fit in to this team,” Irving said. “… At this point in my career, I think my focus should be on winning the championship and in the summertime, just going to support those guys when I get a chance.”
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And-Ones: NBA Media Rights, T. Moore, Splitter, I. Austin

April 19th, 2024 at 9:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s exclusive media rights negotiating window with Disney (ESPN/ABC) and Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT) is expected to expire on Monday without a new deal in place, reports Alex Sherman of CNBC Sports.

After Monday, the league will be able to continue to negotiate with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery while also having conversations with other potential media rights partners, including streamers like Apple, Netflix, and Amazon. A league spokesperson told CNBC that talks with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have been “productive” and are ongoing.

As both Sherman and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic explain, the NBA’s next media rights deal will likely be more complex and wide-ranging than the current agreement, with the league expected to put together a package that includes three or four partners rather than just two. That current deal with ESPN/ABC and TNT will expire after the 2024/25 season.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Shooting guard Taze Moore – who signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Trail Blazers this season, including one on the final day of the season – has joined the Vancouver Bandits in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, per a press release (hat tip to Sean Highkin on Twitter). A former Houston Cougar, Moore didn’t see much action in his first 10 days with Portland, but played 30 minutes in last Sunday’s blowout loss, compiling 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
  • Tiago Splitter, an assistant coach on Ime Udoka‘s Rockets staff, will join the Brazilian national team’s staff as an assistant this summer, according to an announcement from the program (hat tip to Eurohoops). Brazil hasn’t secured a spot in the Olympics but will be looking to claim one of the four remaining openings by winning a six-team qualifying tournament in Latvia.
  • Isaiah Austin, the former Baylor standout whose plans of playing in the NBA were derailed when he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, has been hired an assistant coach by Florida Atlantic, reports Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. As Reynolds details, Austin has spent the last several years working for the NBA and playing in the BIG3.
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Key 2024 NBA Offseason Dates, Deadlines

April 19th, 2024 at 8:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With the 2023/24 NBA regular season in the books, nearly half of the league’s teams have shifted their focus to the offseason and others will soon follow suit.

That means it’s time to retire our list of the NBA’s key in-season dates and deadlines for the ’23/24 campaign in favor of an updated offseason calendar of the most important dates facing teams and players in the coming months.

In the space below, you’ll find a breakdown of many of the NBA’s important dates and deadlines for the next few months, right up until training camps open for the 2024/25 season.

April 27

  • Deadline for early entrants to declare for the NBA draft (10:59 pm CT).
    • Note: For more information on draft-related dates and deadlines, check out our full breakdown.

May 11-12

  • NBA G League Elite Camp for draft prospects.

May 12

May 12-19

  • NBA draft combine.

May 29

  • Last day for early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft and retain their NCAA eligibility (10:59 pm CT).

June 6

  • NBA Finals begin.

June 16

  • Deadline for all early entrants (including international players) to withdraw from the NBA draft (4:00 pm CT).

June 23

  • Latest possible end date for NBA Finals.

TBD (first day after NBA Finals)

  • Teams can begin negotiating with their own free agents.

June 26

  • Day one of NBA draft (first round)

June 27

  • Day two of NBA draft (second round)

June 29

  • Last day for decisions on player, team, and early termination options
    • Note: Certain contracts will require earlier decisions.
  • Last day for teams to make qualifying offers to players eligible for restricted free agency.

June 30

  • Last official day of the 2023/24 NBA league year.
  • Last day for players eligible for veteran extensions in 2023/24 to sign them.
  • Teams can begin negotiating with outside free agents (5:00 pm CT).

July 1

  • Official start of the 2024/25 NBA league year.
  • Moratorium period begins.
  • Restricted free agents can sign an offer sheet.
  • Teams can begin signing players to one- or two-year minimum-salary contracts.
  • Teams can begin signing players to two-way contracts.
  • Teams can begin signing first-round picks to rookie scale contracts.
  • Teams can begin signing second-round picks using the second-round pick exception.
  • Teams can begin exercising the third- or fourth-year team options for 2025/26 on rookie scale contracts.

July 6

  • Moratorium period ends (11:01 am CT).
  • Teams can begin officially signing players, extending players, and completing trades (11:01 am CT).
  • The 24-hour period for matching an RFA offer sheet signed during the moratorium begins (11:01 am CT).

July 12-22

  • Las Vegas Summer League.

July 13

  • Last day for teams to unilaterally withdraw qualifying offers to restricted free agents.

July 27

  • Start of 2024 Olympics in Paris.

July 31

  • Players signed using the second-round pick exception begin to count against a team’s cap.

August 5

  • Last day for teams to issue required tenders to unsigned second-round picks.

August 10

  • Gold and bronze medal games at the Paris Olympics.

August 29

  • Last day for teams to waive players and apply the stretch provision to their 2024/25 salaries.

September 27

  • Training camps open for teams playing exhibition games outside North America.

October 1

  • Training camps open for the remaining teams.

October 19

  • Last day for players on fully non-guaranteed contracts to be waived and not count at all against a team’s 2024/25 cap. They must clear waivers before the first day of the regular season.

October 21

  • Last day of the 2024 offseason.
  • Roster limits decrease from 21 players to 18 (4:00 pm CT). Teams will be limited to carrying 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals as of this deadline.
  • Last day for teams to sign a player to a rookie scale extension (5:00 pm CT).
  • Last day for teams to sign an extension-eligible veteran player with multiple seasons left on his contract to an extension. An extension-eligible veteran player on an expiring deal can still be extended after October 21.
  • Last day for teams to complete sign-and-trade deals.
  • Last day for teams to convert an Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way contract.

October 22

  • 2024/25 regular season begins.

Information from NBA.com and ESPN’s Bobby Marks was used in the creation of this post.

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Draft Notes: Karaban, Clingan, Talent, Warren, Crawford, Richard

April 19th, 2024 at 6:54pm CST by Rory Maher

After winning his second consecutive national championship with UConn, sophomore forward Alex Karaban announced (via Twitter) that he’s entering the 2024 draft pool while maintaining his college eligibility.

Karaban, who averaged 13.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.9 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .495/.379/.885 shooting in 39 games for the Huskies (31.4 MPG) this season, is ranked No. 41 on ESPN’s big board, making him a projected second-round pick.

Karaban’s college teammate, center Donovan Clingan, already announced he’s entering the draft. Clingan is ranked No. 3 on ESPN’s board and will reportedly receive consideration for the No. 1 overall pick.

However, that doesn’t appear to be the consensus. Five “high-ranking NBA executives” who spoke to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 had Clingan ranked anywhere from No. 5 to 20, with most saying mid-to-late lottery (Twitter link).

Here are a few more notes ahead of June’s draft:

  • One general manager Goodman talked to was very critical of the available talent in this year’s class, particularly at the top (Twitter link). “This is an absolutely awful draft,” the GM said. “There’s no guy that projects as a franchise player, no one that even stands out as the No. 1 pick. This is the type of draft that gets someone fired if they get the No. 1 pick.”
  • Count Sam Vecenie of The Athletic among the talent evaluators who are skeptical of any prospect having real star potential in the 2024 draft. His updated big board has several differences with ESPN’s. For example, french forward Zaccharie Risacher, who is No. 1 on ESPN’s list, is No. 8 on Vecenie’s board. He’s higher on UConn’s Stephon Castle, who recently entered the draft — Castle is No. 3 on Vecenie’s board but No. 9 on ESPN.
  • Former Overtime Elite guard Bryson Warren, who was drafted into the NBA G League last year, is entering the 2024 draft (Twitter link). Once a five-star recruit, Warren had a statistically disappointing season for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, averaging just 6.9 PPG and 1.8 APG on .376/.325/.800 shooting in 27 total games (17.4 MPG).
  • Louisiana Tech forward Isaiah Crawford, who’s coming off an impressive senior season in which he averaged 16.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.4 APG, 2.1 SPG and 1.7 SPG on .485/.414/.728 shooting in 32 games (32.9 MPG), is “drawing strong interest from NBA teams,” according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link). Crawford is participating in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
  • Florida junior Will Richard is testing the draft waters while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced on Instagram. The 6’5″ guard averaged 11.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG on .411/.345/.802 shooting in 36 games this season for the Gators (29.5 MPG).
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Injury Notes: Caruso, Bulls, Bucks, Embiid, Hartenstein

April 19th, 2024 at 5:36pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls defensive ace Alex Caruso will be available for tonight’s play-in tournament game in Miami, head coach Billy Donovan said (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago).

Guard Ayo Dosunmu (quad) and center Andre Drummond (ankle) will be active too, Donovan added. All three players had previously been listed as questionable.

Caruso was said to have sustained a “significant” left ankle sprain in Wednesday’s play-in victory over Atlanta, but the swelling subsided over the past couple days and he told reporters on Friday morning he expected to suit up. The injury was an aggravation of a previous sprain.

Duncan Robinson, who has been battling a back issue, will be available tonight for the Heat, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Robinson was technically active for Wednesday’s loss to Philadelphia, Chiang notes, but he didn’t see any action — that might change with Jimmy Butler sidelined due to a knee sprain.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

  • Bucks guard Damian Lillard was a full practice participant on Friday, but two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (left calf strain) was unable to do any live drills, according to a report from ESPN. Reserve guard A.J. Green, who sat out Tuesday’s practice with a left ankle sprain, was able to go through most of Friday’s practice. There have been mixed messages from Milwaukee on Antetokounmpo’s status, with president Peter Feigin saying he”definitely will not be back for Sunday,” when the Bucks will host the Pacers in Game 1 of their first-round series. Head coach Doc Rivers is still holding out hope that the perennial All-NBA First Team member will be ready though, per ESPN. “I don’t know yet,” Rivers said. “We’re still hoping. He hasn’t done anything. Would we throw him out there? Yeah, we would. For us, still we’re not sure.”
  • Speaking of Lillard, the Bucks‘ All-Star said he aggravated his Achilles tendon in Sunday’s loss to Orlando, but his adductor has been giving him the most trouble, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays (Twitter links). Lillard missed four games over the past few weeks with various injury designations, but he said the week off has helped him recover.
  • Sixers center Joel Embiid is officially questionable for Saturday’s Game 1 in New York with what the team is calling left knee injury recovery, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. Embiid, who missed a few months after tearing his meniscus in January, has been considered questionable for nearly every game since he returned to action at the beginning of April.
  • Since January 20, Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein has only played 30-plus minutes five times due to Achilles soreness. However, two of those instances came in his last two regular season games, and he said he’s ready for an increased workload in the postseason, according to Katz (Twitter link).
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Clippers Fined $25K By NBA For Injury Reporting Violation

April 19th, 2024 at 3:39pm CST by Rory Maher

The Clippers have been fined $25K for an injury reporting violation, the NBA announced on Friday (via Twitter).

According to the league, the Clips “failed to accurately disclose the availability status of Paul George, Norman Powell and Russell Westbrook” in advance of the team’s regular-season finale vs. Houston on April 14. The three players were not cited on L.A.’s injury report as being out for injury or rest, and none of them ended up playing.

With a 51-31 record, the Clippers enter the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. They’ll face the Mavericks in their first-round series.

Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who is battling right knee inflammation, is considered questionable for Sunday’s Game 1.

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