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Lakers Notes: James, Vincent, Russell, Davis, Castleton

March 28th, 2024 at 11:53am CST by Dana Gauruder

With the Lakers fighting for the best possible postseason spot — most likely in the play-in tournament — LeBron James says his injured ankle may not always allow him to suit up the rest of the way.

“I got to be smart with it,” he said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “If I’m not healthy, or [anywhere] close to being healthy, then it’s not good for our ballclub anyway. It’s not good for me.”

James posted a triple-double — 23 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists — in Wednesday’s victory over Memphis. He sat out the previous game vs. Milwaukee.

We have more on the Lakers:

  • Barring a last-minute setback, injured guard Gabe Vincent is expected to return to action on Sunday in Brooklyn, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). One of the team’s major offseason acquisitions, Vincent has been out since December 20 after undergoing knee surgery, Charania notes. He has only appeared in five games this season.
  • Guard D’Angelo Russell believes the Lakers may have more quality players than they know what to do with at times, he told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “I think we’re much better than our record,” he said. “We match up, adjust, and do all these different things in the flow of the game. The problem is we’ve got 12 different guys that can be out there. When that random group of five is out there, the familiarity with what we’re trying to do is on the fly. A lot of teams have five or six guys that know they’re always going to have an idea who’s going to be in and where’s this and that.”
  • The team gave Anthony Davis, who is a battling a knee injury, the night off on Wednesday, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register notes. Davis played 52 minutes in the double overtime win against Milwaukee on Tuesday.
  • Two-way big man Colin Castleton made a brief cameo against Memphis. He had not appeared in an NBA game since Feb. 14 due to a fractured wrist.
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New York Notes: Robinson, DiVincenzo, Anunoby, Clowney, Wilson

March 28th, 2024 at 10:58am CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson returned on Wednesday from an ankle injury that robbed him of nearly four months of action. Robinson contributed eight points, two rebounds and two blocks in 12 minutes during a 44-point romp past Toronto. Even in limited minutes, he looked like a defensive force, Fred Katz and Eric Koreen of The Athletic write.

“I believe my defense is kind of there,” Robinson said. “I think I still got a little bit to work on for that, but the shot blocking is still there, so that’s pretty good.”

Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic noticed how Robinson, now backing up Isaiah Hartenstein, impacted the Knicks’ rotation.

“Mitchell Robinson, when he checked in, looked like a giant out there,” Rajakovic said.

We have more on the New York teams:

  • The four-year, $46.9MM contract that Donte DiVincenzo signed as a free agent last summer is turning into a huge bargain, Katz writes. DiVincenzo, who set a franchise record with 11 three-pointers against the Pistons on Monday, has emerged as a starter. He’s just another example of mid-sized contracts the Knicks have given out where the player has exceeded their cap hit in terms of production. “Donte has been amazing for us this season,” Josh Hart said.
  • Knicks forward OG Anunoby, trying to work his way back from elbow soreness, did some conditioning work in Toronto, but head coach Tom Thibodeau said Anunoby’s status hadn’t changed, Steve Popper of Newsday tweets. “No, just allowing it to calm down and each day it’s a little better, but be patient, get through it,” Thibodeau said.
  • Rookies Noah Clowney and Jalen Wilson made significant contributions during the Nets’ win over Toronto on Monday, combining for 19 points and 11 rebounds, Bridget Reilly of the New York Post writes. “They come in, they do solid things. They do simple better,” interim coach Kevin Ollie said of Clowney and Wilson. While the Nets haven’t been officially eliminated from the play-in tournament, Brian Lewis of the Post argues that Clowney, Wilson and the team’s other young players should get extended minutes the rest of the way.
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Glen Taylor Announces He’ll Retain Majority Stake In Timberwolves

March 28th, 2024 at 10:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

Glen Taylor says he will remain the majority owner of the Timberwolves as well as the WNBA’s Lynx, the team announced in a press release.

Taylor confirmed the expiration of the option of Marc Lore and former baseball star Alex Rodriguez to purchase controlling interest in the team. Under terms of the purchase agreement, the closing was required to occur within 90 days following the exercise notice issued by Lore and Rodriguez. That 90-day period expired on Wednesday, according to the statement.

Under certain circumstances, the buyer could have been entitled to a limited extension. However, those circumstances did not occur, the statement adds.

Taylor will retain approximately 60% of the franchises, while Lore and Rodriguez will hold an approximate 40% stake.

“I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court,” Taylor said in the statement. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”

Last week, Lore and Rodriguez reportedly had found new financial backing to complete the purchase. A previous report indicated that the sale proceedings were disrupted when the Carlyle Group chose to withdraw. Lore and Rodriguez were supposedly able to replace the firm with Dyal Capital Partners but apparently that was not enough to close the sale by the March 27 deadline.

Since 2021, Lore and Rodriguez have been involved in the purchase of the Wolves for $1.5 billion on a multi-phase payment plan. They have made two payments so far — giving them a 20% stake each time, for a total of 40%.

They exercised their option in December for the final 40% of the purchase. That began a 90-day window to submit the required documents and commitment letters to finalize the deal.

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Hornets’ LaMelo Ball Won’t Return This Season

March 28th, 2024 at 9:27am CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball will miss the remainder of the season as he continues to rehab from right ankle surgery, the team’s PR department tweets.

It comes as no surprise that the team is shutting down its star player. The Hornets have the Eastern Conference’s third-worst record at 18-54.

Ball signed a five-year, maximum-salary extension last July. However, his young career has been sidetracked by injuries. He appeared in 51 games in his rookie season and 75 in his sophomore campaign. A wrist injury limited his rookie season.

Last season, he was only able to suit up for 36 games. His season was cut short by a fractured right ankle that required surgery.

This season, he appeared in just 22 games, averaging 23.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists. He hasn’t played since Jan. 26 after the ankle flared up again.

Earlier this month, Ball was believed to be on track to return to action this season. That obviously never materialized. The team initially described his injury as right ankle soreness and later diagnosed it as ankle tendinopathy.

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Sixers Notes: Harden, Melton, Covington, George

March 28th, 2024 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

In the days leading up to his return to Philadelphia on Wednesday, James Harden wasn’t eager to speculate about how he might be received by his former home crowd, as Law Murray of The Athletic writes, telling reporters that he “didn’t care” and that he was more concerned about helping the Clippers get out of their recent slump.

Harden accomplished what he set out to on Wednesday, finishing with 16 points and 14 assists in a 108-107 win over the Sixers. He was on the receiving end of plenty of boos from the Philadelphia faithful over the course of the evening and admitted after the game that it didn’t come as a surprise. However, he also contended he didn’t understand the motivation for those boos.

“I expected it,” Harden said, according to Murray. “They don’t know what it was about. But I expected it. So it is what it is. I don’t even know why they were booing, I don’t think. You ask them. They probably don’t know why they were booing.

“… For me, personally, I feel like I did everything I needed to do in the sense of, in the year prior, taking myself off of the max to help the team get better,” Harden continued. “For this city, you know what I mean? And for myself, obviously. But to win a championship. So things didn’t work out. I wanted to get paid. They weren’t talking. So it is what it is. You move on, everybody’s happy, life is good. And I mean, everybody’s looking forward.”

Harden accepted a $33MM salary rather than picking up his $47MM player option in 2022/23, but the boos on Wednesday suggest that move didn’t earn him enough goodwill in Philadelphia for Sixers fans to forgive and forget his decision to demand a trade a year later.

Harden, who blasted Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey last summer due to his belief that Morey failed to keep certain promises, replied, “Hell no” on Wednesday when asked if he believes he’ll ever reconcile with the veteran executive, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Harden also said he hasn’t stayed in touch with 76ers star Joel Embiid.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

  • The Sixers’ loss on Wednesday was a controversial one, with referee crew chief Kevin Scott admitting after the game that a foul should have been called on a drive to the basket by Kelly Oubre on the game’s final play, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Oubre and head coach Nick Nurse expressed their frustrations to the game’s referees after the final buzzer and had to be pulled away by assistant coaches (Twitter video link). Oubre apologized to the refs during his post-game media session for “losing his cool.”
  • Nurse told reporters prior to Wednesday’s game that he’s optimistic that both De’Anthony Melton (back) and Robert Covington (knee) can return before the end of the regular season, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports. Of the two, Covington is closer to getting back on the court, according to Nurse.
  • Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer is skeptical that the Sixers’ reported interest in Paul George will result in the star forward ending up in Philadelphia, writing that it looks more like a leverage play as the free-agent-to-be discusses a new deal with the Clippers.
  • In case you missed it, Nurse also discussed Embiid’s recovery from knee surgery on Wednesday.
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Optimism Joel Embiid Can Return In Regular Season

March 27th, 2024 at 10:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Speaking to reporters before Wednesday’s game vs. the Clippers, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said he was optimistic about the odds of Joel Embiid returning before the 2023/24 regular season ends.

“I think there’s a very good likelihood that he will return before the play-in, playoff,” Nurse said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

As Bontemps writes, Philadelphia is currently the No. 8 seed in the East and is fighting to avoid the play-in tournament. The team has gone just 10-17 since Embiid sustained a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee in late January, an injury that required surgery.

Nurse said while there’s no official timeline for Embiid’s return, the Cameroonian big man continues to do on-court work.

Following up on Nurse’s comments, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on NBA Countdown that Embiid will likely be back in action within the next couple weeks (Twitter video link).

“I’m told it’s not a question of if, but when,” Wojnarowski said. “And the belief is with nine regular season games left after tonight against the Clippers, that Joel Embiid can be back for a handful of those.

“… There’s a lot of optimism right now around Joel Embiid. I’m told that he is moving well — he has looked good on the court.”

Philadelphia will have five games remaining on April 6 and four left on April 7 for a road back-to-back in Memphis and San Antonio. The Sixers will return home for the final three games of the season, starting with an April 9 contest vs. Detroit. If Wojnarowski’s projection is accurate, it’s possible Embiid could return at any point during that time frame.

Embiid was the frontrunner for his season straight MVP award prior to the injury, averaging 35.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.1 SPG and 1.8 BPG in 34 games (34.0 MPG).

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Northwest Notes: SGA, Wiggins, Jazz, Murray

March 27th, 2024 at 9:10pm CST by Rory Maher

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — one of leading MVP candidates in 2023/24 — missed his second game of the season on Wednesday against Houston due to a right quad contusion, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

According to MacMahon, Gilgeous-Alexander has been been dealing with the injury for a while — he was kneed in the quad a week ago.

It’s a big game for both teams, but particularly the Rockets, who are trying to win their 10th straight game and stay on the heels of the Warriors for the final spot in the West’s play-in tournament. Oklahoma City, on the other hand, is trying to secure the No. 1 seed — the Thunder currently trail the Nuggets by a half-game.

Here’s more from the Northwest:

  • Third-year wing Aaron Wiggins has been a rotation regular for the Thunder for much of ’23/24, but he was a healthy scratch in Wednesday’s victory in New Orleans. When asked what led to the decision, head coach Mark Daigneault, said it wasn’t in his game plan. “He was live,” Daigneault said, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). “I just thought with the start we got off to, with the groups that were out there, I just kind of rolled with them. And it kind of drifted him out of rotation and it wasn’t necessarily pre-planned. In fact, I was planning on using him but we were in such a good rhythm.” OKC holds a $1,988,598 team option on Wiggins for ’24/25.
  • The postseason is now out of reach amid a slide down the standings since the All-Star break, but the Jazz are still trying to find ways to motivate themselves as the season winds down, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. “We might not make a deep run … this year, but everybody has something to play for,” Forward Lauri Markkanen said. “Individually, you’ve got to find it and lean into it. We have to set the standard on how we want to play. We have to come out and play hard and play together, and we have to play with pride.  So I think there is always something that you can do to improve, and we have to do a lot of that as a team.”
  • Speaking of the Jazz, a big part of their recent struggles has been an inept defense, which now ranks dead last in the NBA. As Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes (subscription required), Utah is the worst defensive team in the league by a significant margin over the past 10 games. While the roster may not be built to be stout defensively, Larsen argues the Jazz should at least be “acceptable” on that end, and they haven’t been, especially lately.
  • Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has missed the past two games with an ankle injury, and he missed his third straight contest on Wednesday vs. Phoenix. However, the injury designation changed — according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link), Murray is out with right knee inflammation. The 27-year-old “looked pretty good” as he went through a “lengthy shooting routine” before the game, Wind tweets. That suggests Murray’s injuries aren’t particularly serious, which is certainly good news for Denver.
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Warriors’ Draymond Green Ejected Wednesday In Orlando

March 27th, 2024 at 7:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors forward/center Draymond Green was ejected less than four minutes into Wednesday’s matchup with the Magic in Orlando after an argument with official Ray Acosta, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

NBC Sports Bay Area has a video (Twitter link) of the incident. Green wasn’t even directly involved in the play — he was arguing a foul that was called on Andrew Wiggins against Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, who converted an and-one layup with 8:24 remaining in the first period.

Several members of the Warriors — including Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Brandin Podziemski — went over to Green as he continued to complain to Acosta. As Green was heading back to the bench, he had some choice words for the official, and he received his second technical foul, resulting in an automatic ejection.

Curry was visibly emotional after Green was ejected, per NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter video link).

Green’s latest incident comes at a critical time in the season for the Warriors, who hold a one-game lead on the red-hot Rockets for the final spot in the Western Conference’s play-in tournament. Both teams have 11 games remaining on their regular season schedules.

The Warriors were already playing without third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga on Wednesday — the second of a back-to-back — against a Magic team that has gone 18-6 over its past 24 games. According to Slater, head coach Steve Kerr said Kuminga is dealing with knee tendinitis, describing it as a minor issue (Twitter link). Kerr expects Kuminga to be active Friday in Charlotte.

It’s also a noteworthy development because it’s Green’s first ejection since his indefinite suspension back in December for striking Jusuf Nurkic in the face. That wound up being a 12-game ban, and Green missed another four while working himself back into shape. He was also suspended five games earlier in the season for putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock.

Green has now received 10 technical fouls in 2023/24, according to Spotrac, with six (including the two today) coming after his last suspension. For today’s ejection, he’ll be fined a total of $6,000 — $3,000 for each technical.

NBA players receive an automatic one-game suspension when they reach 16 technical fouls, so Green has a little wiggle room below that threshold. Still, the fact that he lost his cool again in a crucial game obviously isn’t ideal for Golden State.

On a more positive note, rookie big man Trayce Jackson-Davis returned from a one-game absence due to knee soreness and immediately went into the starting lineup in the frontcourt alongside Green, notes ESPN’s Kendra Andrews (via Twitter). Klay Thompson also made his second straight start after a big game on Tuesday in Miami.

For what it’s worth, the Warriors led the Magic at halftime, 45-37.

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Wizards To Remain In D.C., Virginia Talks Dead

March 27th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Rory Maher

5:40pm: Monumental Sports confirmed in a press release that it has reached an agreement with the District of Columbia to keep the Wizards and Capitals in their current home downtown.

“I look at outcomes, not process, and we got to the right outcome,” said Leonsis. “I know this was a difficult process and I want people to understand how much I love Washington D.C. and how much I’ve always loved Washington D.C.”

5:34pm: In December, Monumental Sports, the Ted Leonsis-led company that owns the Wizards, announced a plan to move from the District of Columbia to Alexandria, Virginia.

However, the plan never seemed to gain any traction in the Virginia legislature, and it faced opposition from powerful labor unions in the area. A couple weeks ago, the deal was said to be on life support after the proposal to build a new arena and “entertainment district” was removed from the state’s 2024 budget.

On Wednesday, the city of Alexandria announced in a press release that it has ended negotiations on the deal that would have moved the Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals to the Potomac Yard area.

According to Jonathan O’Connell, Teo Armus, Gregory S. Schneider and Michael Brice-Saddler of The Washington Post, Leonsis and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday they were finalizing a deal that would keep the Wizards and Capitals in Capital One Arena until 2050, pending approval of the D.C. Council.

The proposal includes $515MM from D.C. to assist with Leonsis’ efforts to modernize the arena. The plan also addresses some of Leonsis’ concerns about his ability to grow his businesses, as well as crime in the downtown area near the arena.

As the Post’s authors write, the tentative agreement seems quite similar to one that Leonsis rejected in December, as the 13-member D.C. Council approved $500MM in upgrades for the arena just a few months ago.

Leonsis and Bowser had remained in regular contact despite the proposed plan to move to Virginia, per the Post’s report.

“We appreciated our discussions about how we could grow together,” Bowser said, adding that, “it became very clear about how our community feels about our teams” following Leonsis’ December announcement.

Virginia House Speaker Don Scott confirmed to Sarah Rankin, Matthew Barakat and Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press that he has been told Leonsis is no longer considering moving the teams out of D.C.

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Draft Notes: Buzelis, Risacher, Castle, Mocks, Early Entrants

March 27th, 2024 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Matas Buzelis‘ draft stock has dipped a little over the course of the 2023/24 season, but the G League Ignite forward isn’t lacking for confidence as the pre-draft process nears. Speaking to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, Buzelis expressed confidence that he’d match up well with Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 prospect on ESPN’s big board.

“Of course, I want to see him one-on-one,” Buzelis said. “He just doesn’t want to do that with me. His agent will not do that with me, and I know he won’t. It’s a business decision.”

Asked why he feels as if he has an edge over Risacher in a hypothetical 1-on-1 matchup, Buzelis replied, “My advantage is that I have everything over him.”

While Buzelis has spent the season in the G League, Risacher has been playing for JL Bourg in France, so the two prospects haven’t gone head-to-head. Considered a potential No. 1 overall pick when mock drafts for 2024 were first being published last summer, Buzelis is now at No. 6 on ESPN’s board, though he tells Urbonas that he’s attempting not to focus on where he’s projected to be selected.

“I try not to look at it,” Buzelis said. “It’s obviously there, and I see it. But I try to stay in the zone. I know what I’m capable of, and I don’t look at what number I am. I know if I’m getter better, then I’m winning.”

Here’s more on the 2024 draft:

  • Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer made updates to both his 2024 big board and mock draft on Wednesday. Interestingly, UConn’s Stephon Castle is now O’Connor’s highest-ranked NCAA prospect, at No. 2 on his big board, but comes in at No. 8 in his mock.
  • Despite Rob Dillingham‘s underwhelming performance in Kentucky’s NCAA tournament loss to Oakland, the freshman guard is still the first college player off the board in the latest mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, at No. 2.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic identifies a few NBA prospects whose draft stocks have risen or dropped as a result of their March Madness performances. Duke’s Jared McCain and Oregon’s N’Faly Dante are among those who are “up,” while Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard and Virginia’s Ryan Dunn are a couple names on the “down” list.
  • The following college players made announcements within the last week indicating that they plan to test the 2024 NBA draft waters:
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