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Suns To Become 30th NBA Team With G League Affiliate

February 14th, 2024 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have announced in a press release that they’ve acquired the right to own and operate a G League team, which will debut in 2024/25.

Phoenix had been the only NBA team without an NBAGL affiliate, so barring an unexpected development, all 30 NBA clubs will be affiliated with a G League team beginning next season. The league, which also features the unaffiliated G League Ignite and Mexico City Capitanes, will feature a total of 32 franchises in ’24/25.

Suns owner Mat Ishbia stated after he took over majority control of the team a year ago that establishing a G League affiliate was a priority and formally announced last July that he intended to do just that. Today’s announcement confirms that the Suns are officially moving forward with that plan and are on track to have the team begin competing this fall.

“Bringing a G League team to Phoenix was one of my first priorities as owner,” Ishbia said today in a statement. “Adding a G League team creates another area for us to compete to be the best and will be a vital tool to help develop players and coaches. Just like the Suns and Mercury, our G League team will serve as a community asset and make a positive impact on and off the court.”

The Suns’ new G League team will play its home games in the Phoenix metro area, but more details beyond that aren’t yet known. Announcements on the venue, team name, and logo, will come in the spring, with a contest being held during the next two weeks giving fans an opportunity to name the franchise.

“To get the team going as quickly as we are, we’re probably going to have to find some temporary,” Ishbia told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “The plan is to have an arena and place and a venue for the G League team to play. We plan on it being close enough to our current place that players aren’t driving four hours like I think a lot of other teams have set up.”

Phoenix actually had a G League affiliate known as the Northern Arizona Suns from 2016-21, but former team owner Robert Sarver sold the franchise to the Pistons, who relocated it to Michigan and rebranded it as the Motor City Cruise.

As a result, the Suns haven’t had a G League team for the past three seasons, meaning any player they want to send to the NBAGL has had to report to another NBA club’s affiliate. That will no longer be the case beginning this fall.

Hassan Whiteside Reportedly Intends To Retire

February 14th, 2024 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran center Hassan Whiteside has informed Piratas de Quebradillas – his team last season in Puerto Rico – that he intends to retire from basketball, according to a report from the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia.

Although Whiteside hasn’t made an official, public announcement himself, he did re-post several social media stories about his reported retirement on his Instagram account.

Whiteside, 34, was the 33rd overall pick out of Marshall in the 2010 draft and spent his first two professional seasons playing in Sacramento. However, he saw limited minutes in just total 19 appearances for the Kings and subsequently played in the G League, China, and Lebanon from 2012-14 before catching on with the Heat.

The best stretch of Whiteside’s NBA career came in Miami from 2014-19, as he averaged 14.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks across 324 appearances (259 starts) in 27.2 minutes per night. He made the All-Defensive Second Team and led the NBA in blocked shots in 2015/16, then was the league’s top rebounder in ’16/17.

Whiteside was traded from the Heat to the Trail Blazers entering the final season of a four-year, $98MM+ contract in 2019 and once again led the NBA in blocked shots in his first and only season in Portland. He was a backup center with the Kings in 2020/21 and the Jazz in ’21/22 before playing in Puerto Rico in 2023.

For his career, Whiteside averaged 12.6 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in 511 NBA regular season games (24.7 MPG). Despite his gaudy stats, the big man sometimes faced criticism due to the perception that he pursued individual numbers over team success and that his effort fluctuated on the defensive end of the court.

According to El Nuevo Dia, Whiteside will be replaced on Piratas de Quebradillas’ roster this season by another former NBA player: 7’6″ center Tacko Fall.

Warriors Attempted To Get Lakers To Consider LeBron Trade

February 14th, 2024 at 7:21am CST by Luke Adams

Prior to last Thursday’s trade deadline, the Warriors tried – unsuccessfully – to convince the Lakers to consider sending superstar forward LeBron James to Golden State, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne.

The Warriors’ pursuit of James occurred at multiple levels, per ESPN’s reporting. Klutch Sports client Draymond Green contacted agent Rich Paul in an effort to solicit his help getting LeBron on board with a move to Golden State, while Warriors owner Joe Lacob reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. touched base with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.

Ultimately, the same answer came back from all involved parties — the Lakers had no interest in trading James, and the four-time MVP had no interest in going anywhere, as Paul stated six days ahead of the deadline.

As Wojnarowski and Shelburne outline, the Warriors’ pursuit stemmed from the fact that James seemed to be frustrated by the Lakers’ up-and-down first half. He hinted at those frustrations in some comments to the media and posted a cryptic tweet consisting only of hourglass emoji.

When Lacob reached out to Buss, she told the Warriors owner that while she had no interest in trading LeBron, that she would check in with him and Paul to gauge their thoughts.

Sources tell ESPN that Buss has “operated with the mindset that she wants her star players content with the franchise,” so if he had been unhappy with his situation in Los Angeles, the team would have been open to changing its stance. That wasn’t the case, however, as Paul told both Lacob and Dunleavy that his top client wanted to remain a Laker.

ESPN’s report doesn’t include any details about the package the Warriors would have offered for James, but since the goal was to pair him with Stephen Curry and Green was involved in the recruiting, we can at least safely assume those two wouldn’t have been on the table. Beyond that, there are many permutations Golden State could have explored — an offer involving Chris Paul and/or Andrew Wiggins, plus prospects and draft picks, seems most likely, given that the Dubs reportedly weren’t interested in moving Klay Thompson.

According to Wojnarowski and Shelburne, the Warriors weren’t the only team to check in on James prior to the trade deadline. Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey also inquired on LeBron’s availability, though that’s a common practice for Morey, who also contacted the Suns to ask about Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and/or Bradley Beal, per ESPN.

As ESPN’s duo explains, the Warriors situation was a little different because it began at the ownership level and included a conversation with Paul, whereas Morey is known around the league for making “bold” long-shot trade inquiries. When Morey asked the Lakers about LeBron, Pelinka responded by inquiring about the availability of reigning MVP Joel Embiid, which ended their brief conversation, sources tell Woj and Shelburne.

James will have a decision to make this summer on a 2024/25 player option worth $51.4MM. While he’s considered likely to either pick up that option or sign a new deal with the Lakers, suitors like the Warriors and Sixers may get a chance to pursue him again at that time.

Pacific Notes: Zubac, Green, Beal, Young, Gallinari, Leonard

February 13th, 2024 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clippers center Ivica Zubac is dealing with a minutes restriction since returning from a calf injury, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register notes, averaging 20.5 minutes in four games. He had 11 rebounds in 23 minutes against Minnesota on Monday.

“I wanted to play a little more, but I got to trust the process,” Zubac said. “I didn’t go to my limits, so the game was like that. I can’t complain. If I was not in foul trouble, if I was playing a little better, I would have been out there more.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Warriors are riding a five-game winning streak and Draymond Green believes his 16-game league suspension played in a role in the resurgence, ESPN’s Kendra Andrews writes. Golden State had to adjust without Green and Jonathan Kuminga emerged as a starter in his absence, while other young players cracked the rotation. “I think me getting suspended helped in a weird way,” Green said. “Not that I wanted to get suspended, but I do think that helped us find different things we can go to and explore.”
Bradley Beal departed the Suns’ game on Tuesday early due to a left hamstring injury, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets.
The impending addition of Thaddeus Young will add size and physicality to the Suns, Bourguet writes. Young can serve as a small-ball center at times and a connector at the offensive end.
The Suns will still have a roster spot open when Young officially signs. They have also shown interest in Danilo Gallinari, who was waived by the Pistons after the trade deadline, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. It’s unclear whether they will still pursue Gallinari once they officially sign Young on the buyout market, given that they also added two forwards – Royce O’Neale and David Roddy – via trade last week.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard (left adductor strain) won’t play against the Warriors on Wednesday, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears tweets. It will be the fifth game he’s missed this season.

Central Notes: Fournier, Grimes, Bucks, Carter

February 13th, 2024 at 10:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Evan Fournier is glad for the change of scenery, even though he isn’t sure whether he’ll have a role with the Pistons. Fournier was languishing on the Knicks‘ bench before getting dealt to Detroit a week ago.

“I’m really excited to finally be out of New York,” he said (video link from James Edwards III of The Athletic). “As soon as I got traded they called me and said they’ve been trying to have me for the last couple of seasons now, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”

Fournier’s contract includes a $19MM club option for next season, which almost certainly will be declined. He hopes to show what he has to offer before the end of this season.

“I don’t know what my role is, but I’m just going to be myself and prepare as if I’m going to play,” he said. “I have to get to know the guys still, but if I can help them with what I see then I’ll gladly do it.”

We have more from the Central Division:

There’s little doubt that Quentin Grimes, who was also included in the same trade, will have a rotation role with the Pistons, though he’s dealing with a knee sprain and won’t make his Detroit debut until after the All-Star break. “I’ve always felt like he’s one of those guys who’s trying to find that consistent path, but he has a skill set and body type that fits the way we want to play,” coach Monty Williams said, per Mike Curtis of the Detroit News. “He can shoot the ball. He’s got a big body, so defensively, he can switch and guard the way that we like to. I think there’s a lot more in his game. We want to try to figure that out.”
The Bucks defeated the Nuggets 112-95 on Monday, marking the second consecutive game they have held an opponent under 100 points. It’s the first time the Bucks have pulled that off in the regular season since November 2021. Giannis Antetokounmpo said the coaching change from Adrian Griffin to Doc Rivers has made a difference. “Coach Doc is holding us to a high standard,” the Bucks superstar said. “He wants us to defend. He doesn’t take lack of effort as an excuse. If you’re on the floor, you’ve got to do your best.”
The Bulls signed guard Jevon Carter to a three-year, $19.5MM contract last summer but he’s played a much smaller role than anticipated, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago notes. “They don’t really have too much to say about it,” Carter said of the coaching staff’s reasons for not playing him more often. “It’s just the NBA. That’s how it goes. All I can do is keep working and be ready for whenever my name is called. And that’s what I’m going to do.” Carter has appeared in 51 games off the bench, averaging 13.8 minutes per night. He averaged 22.4 MPG while playing 81 regular season games with Milwaukee last season.

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Langdon, Brand, Heat, Capela, Okongwu

February 13th, 2024 at 8:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With Mitch Kupchak shifting to an advisory role, the Hornets are seeking a lead executive with previous experience, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer reports. Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon and Sixers GM Elton Brand are considered the early frontrunners to replace Kupchak, Boone adds.

Charlotte is likely to hire both a president of basketball operations and a GM, according to Boone, who also lists Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton, Nets assistant GM Jeff Peterson and Knicks assistant GM Frank Zanin as potential candidates for the lead executive job.

Bulls GM Marc Eversley is another name under consideration, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Heat have won four of their last six games, following a seven-game losing streak. A team meeting in late January helped to turn their fortunes, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Numerous players spoke up, as well as coach Erik Spoelstra. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Heat swingman Duncan Robinson said of the team’s improved play. “If there’s anything I’ve learned during my time in the NBA, it’s that a big part of playing well is not necessarily about Xs and Os, but putting your own whatever sort of things you’re going through aside and just giving into the team. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
The Hawks’ top two centers are banged up heading into the All-Star break, according to a team press release. Clint Capela is showing progress in his rehab from a left adductor strain but he’ll be listed as out for Wednesday’s game at Charlotte. He’s expected to return to practice following the All-Star break. Onyeka Okongwu left Monday’s game against Chicago late in the fourth quarter with a left big toe injury. Okongwu underwent an MRI on Tuesday and has been diagnosed with a left big toe sprain. He’ll be re-evaluated in seven-to-10 days.
In case you missed it, there’s an update on Miles Bridges‘ latest legal situation.

Kyle Lowry Officially Signs With Sixers

February 13th, 2024 at 6:19pm CST by Luke Adams

After clearing waivers on Tuesday, free agent guard Kyle Lowry has officially signed with the Sixers as planned, Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports confirms (via Twitter). President of basketball operations Daryl Morey published an Instagram photo showing Lowry signing his contract.

Lowry was traded from Miami to Charlotte for salary-matching purposes in the January deal that sent Terry Rozier to the Heat. The veteran point guard never suited up for the Hornets, who explored the possibility of flipping him to a new team prior to the trade deadline, but couldn’t find a taker due to his $29.7MM cap hit.

Lowry reached a buyout agreement with Charlotte a couple days later and was officially waived on Sunday.

A six-time All-Star and former NBA champion, Lowry will turn 38 next month and is no longer the impact player he was earlier in his career. He averaged just 8.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 28.0 minutes per game across 37 appearances (35 starts) with Miami this season. All of those averages are his lowest since 2008/09.

Still, Lowry is a tough, savvy veteran who is hitting three-pointers at a 38.5% clip this season. He’ll provide some depth in a Sixers backcourt that no longer features Patrick Beverley or Jaden Springer, who were sent out in deadline deals. Lowry and new addition Cameron Payne figure to back up Tyrese Maxey at the point and will likely spend some time playing alongside Maxey.

As Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, Lowry gave up $1,138,964 in his buyout agreement with Charlotte. That’s the exact amount he’d receive on a prorated minimum-salary deal for the rest of the 2023/24 season, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Saturday that the guard’s rest-of-season contract will actually be worth $2.8MM, which suggests it’s coming out of the 76ers’ mid-level exception.

Knicks Intend To Protest Controversial Loss To Rockets

February 13th, 2024 at 6:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks are filing a protest with the league, disputing their controversial 105-103 loss to the Rockets on Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Both the NBA’s L2M (last two minutes) report and crew chief Ed Malloy acknowledged that the foul call on Jalen Brunson in the final second, leading to Aaron Holiday’s two winning free throws, was erroneous. Had the call not been made, the game would have gone to overtime.

Teams have 48 hours to file a protest with the league office and five days to provide evidence of the protested action. The league office has five more days to make a decision.

Only six protests in league history have been upheld. It’s unlikely the Knicks’ will be the seventh, since a successful protest requires the team to prove that a rule was misapplied, not just that the officials got a judgment call wrong, notes Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).

An example of that is the last protest that was upheld. Miami protested a Dec. 19, 2007 loss to Atlanta, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link). Shaquille O’Neal was removed from the game when he supposedly fouled out with 51.9 seconds left overtime. Upon review, he only had five fouls, not six, and those last 51.9 seconds were replayed.

New York and Houston are not scheduled to play again this season, so there could be complications with rescheduling the OT session in the unlikely event that the Knicks win the protest.

North Carolina Court Dismisses Three Counts Against Miles Bridges

February 13th, 2024 at 4:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets forward Miles Bridges had three criminal counts against him dismissed by the Mecklenburg County (N.C.) Superior Court on Tuesday due to “insufficient evidence to warrant prosecution,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps report.

The court filing revealed that prosecutors believed “the state would not be successful at trial” due to conflicting statements made by Bridges’ former girlfriend.

The incident occurred in October. Summons were issued against Bridges for violating a domestic violence protective order, misdemeanor child abuse and injury to personal property.

During a custody exchange at Bridges’ residence in Charlotte, the 25-year-old allegedly threw billiard balls at his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle while their two children were inside it, which smashed the windshield and dented her car. The summons also stated that Bridges threatened his former girlfriend, saying that if she called the police “he would take everything from her and withhold child support.”

Subsequently, the woman gave conflicting statements to police and later said she was unsure how the damages were caused.

“The evidence was going to show Miles was innocent and we were going to win a trial,” Bridges’ attorney, Allen Brotherton, said in a statement. “Our local prosecutor has great integrity and people should appreciate the courage to do the right thing.”

In Bridges’ previous domestic violence case, he originally facing three felony charges after being accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend in front of their two children. He entered a plea of no contest — accepting punishment without formally admitting guilt — to one felony count of injuring a child’s parent in November 2022. He received three years probation and no jail time as part of the plea deal.

Bridges didn’t play last season and served a 10-game league suspension prior to this season. He signed a $7,921,300 qualifying offer during the offseason and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Hornets retained him through the trade deadline and have indicated they hope to re-sign him in the offseason.

Rockets’ Stone Discusses Adams Deal, Green, Deadline Talks

February 13th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After the Rockets acquired Steven Adams a week before the trade deadline in a move with next season in mind, the front office had plenty of discussions about deals that would’ve helped the team more in the short term, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Houston kicked the tires on players like Kelly Olynyk, Andre Drummond, Jericho Sims, and Xavier Tillman, among others, but couldn’t find a trade that worked for both sides.

“We certainly weren’t going to do something that would hurt us on a going-forward basis,” general manager Rafael Stone said. “The moves we were the most excited about were moves where we thought that could help us in the short term and also the long term, the moves subsequent to (the trade for) Steven.   We were very excited about acquiring Steven. Subsequently, a lot of the ones we had long discussions about were moves that would have provided elements this year maybe that we don’t have, as well as stuff for the future.

“But they didn’t happen, and we’re fine with that. We like our group, and this gives everybody on our current roster an opportunity to shine.”

If the Rockets had wanted to make a more significant deal, it would’ve likely required them to part with a player from their young core: Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith, Tari Eason, Amen Thompson, or Cam Whitmore. But Stone said the team wasn’t looking to move on from any of those youngsters, adding that he and head coach Ime Udoka were in agreement on the deals they pursued and those they didn’t.

“We’re looking at the long term more so than anything,” Udoka said. “When you have that many young, talented players, you want to see what they become and not rush to judgment on anything.  …  As far as those guys, everyone’s going to check in when you have this amount of young talent. We’re trying to win. We’re in the development and winning stage at the same time, so people checked in. We knew they would. They are talented young guys, and we have some duplicated positions there. We like what we’re seeing from those guys and want to see what we are as a whole unit.”

Here are a few more of Stone’s most notable comments from Monday’s post-deadline media session:

On the acquisition of Adams:

“I think we got a really high-level basketball player. A guy who’s been a dominant rebounding force in the NBA for the last five, six years. One of the best defenders in the NBA. We obviously feel great with Alperen, but now we have two truly starter-level centers next year. Depth is extraordinarily important. On top of that, he’s a very different player and will be a good complement on and off the court for our group.”

On the long-term fit of Jalen Green, whose name popped up in some pre–deadline rumors:

“Jalen has been and continues to be, on paper, a great fit with us. He has a skill set that isn’t really replicated on our roster. My expectation of him – and he knows this, and I think he echoed in his postgame comments – my expectation is that the defense, which has gotten better, is still going to get a lot better. That the physicality and the efficiency are all going to get better. He needs to take those steps. That’s extraordinarily important. He’s aware of it. We’re aware of it. And that’s the challenge for him and for us.”

On Stone’s assessment of his own job performance in the past year:

“I’m happy with the choices we made. I think for the most part, we’ve gotten what we want. And the additions of Fred (VanVleet) and Dillon (Brooks) were necessary and really important. I like that we brought Boban (Marjanovic) back. I like that we have Jeff (Green). I love the hire of Ime. And then I think we did well drafting Cam and Amen. So we had a very successful offseason, which set us up to make the right steps for this season.

“But I would say for myself, similar to our young guys, it’s not good enough. And so they need to improve. Our front office — not just me, all of us, our coaching staff, all of us — we’ve got to continue on the grind and make sure the choices we make between now and the end of the season, the ones in the offseason all set us up to have the best possible chance to win a championship in the short term. Not meaning like a year or two, but not 20 years either. And that’s very much our goal. And my goal.”