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Southwest Notes: Edey, Rockets, Branham, Wesley, Williamson

October 6th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Zach Edey, three-point shooter? The former Purdue big man only attempted two shots beyond the arc during his illustrious college career and made one. But the Grizzlies don’t want their lottery pick to feel like he’s restricted to the paint as a pro. He participated in a three-point shooting contest during an open practice on Sunday and showed a good stroke.

“When it’s opportunities to be out on the perimeter, whether it’s trailing the play or he just so happens to kind of move himself out there, I want him to feel like he’s got the green light,” said coach Taylor Jenkins, per Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I don’t want to restrict him by any means. I want to see what he’s capable of.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

The Rockets will play two preseason games in three days, facing the Jazz on Monday and Thunder on Wednesday. They’re viewing those contests as a measuring stick to see how much progress they’ve made during training camp, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I just want to go out, play hard, win, win the preseason games and get good momentum going into the season,” Jalen Green said. “The same way we’re playing here, we have to go out and play there.”
The Spurs have an Oct. 31 deadline to pick up the contract options on guards Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley for the 2025/26 season. Wesley admits the pressure is on to perform well in training camp — if those options aren’t picked up, he and Branham will be looking at free agency next offseaason. “Everybody knows it’s a contract year,” Wesley told Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “We’re trying to win, trying to get better. There’s a lot of pressure.”
After losing starting center Jonas Valanciunas in free agency, the Pelicans didn’t bring in an obvious replacement. New Orleans will employ smaller lineups, mainly with Zion Williamson as the de facto center, quite often this season, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune writes. “The fact of the matter is we are going to have a ton of games where we don’t have a traditional center on the floor,” coach Willie Green said. “That’s going to happen. We have to get accustomed to playing that way for a good bulk of the game.”

Charles Bediako Signing With Nuggets

October 6th, 2024 at 4:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent center Charles Bediako is signing a contract with the Nuggets, Bediako’s agent Daniel Green informs Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The terms of the deal have yet to be divulged. But given the timing – and the fact that Denver is carrying 15 players on guaranteed contracts and three on two-way deals – it’s likely to be a training camp contract, probably with Exhibit 10 language. The Nuggets don’t have an open roster spot, so someone will need to be cut to make room for Bediako.

Bediako went undrafted out of Alabama in 2023, but ultimately latched on with the Spurs on a two-way deal for the 2023/24 season. However, he was cut near the end of December after tearing his meniscus.

The raw seven-footer didn’t appear in any NBA games for San Antonio, but did play in a total of 17 Showcase Cup and regular season bouts for the club’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs.

Across six regular season matchups with Austin after returning from his knee injury, Bediako averaged 1.3 points and 1.7 rebounds while playing just 4.2 minutes per game. Prior to the injury, he put up 7.7 PPG and 6.9 RPG in 19.0 MPG across 11 Showcase Cup outings.

Most recently, the 22-year-old spent his Summer League this past July suiting up for the Magic.

Denver is almost certainly bringing on Bediako with an eye toward having him play for the team’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold. The Gold acquired Bediako’s NBAGL returning rights from Austin in July.

P.J. Tucker Away From Clippers Indefinitely

October 6th, 2024 at 2:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Clippers and P.J. Tucker have mutually agreed that the veteran forward will remain away from the team indefinitely, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Marc J. Spears of Andscape (via Twitter), L.A. is working with Tucker’s agent to try find a new situation for the former NBA champ.

“We’ve had ongoing conversations with P.J. throughout the offseason and have both decided that he won’t be with the team for the time being,” the Clippers said in a statement, first shared by Spears. “P.J. is a pro who has achieved a lot in his career and there’s more he wants to accomplish. We will continue working with P.J. and his representative to find the best situation for him moving forward.”

It sounds like the two sides will try to find a trade involving Tucker’s expiring $11.54MM contract, but given his recent production, a buyout may be the inevitable outcome.

As Law Murray of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), Tucker – who was a healthy scratch during the Clippers’ Saturday preseason bout against the Warriors – was the lone L.A. player to not attend the team’s media day festivities last Monday.

The 6’5″ combo forward had an effective run as a venerated three-and-D role player on playoff teams in Houston, Miami and Milwaukee. Tucker won his lone NBA championship to date as a member of the Bucks in 2021 — a trade deadline addition that year, he came off the bench down the stretch for Milwaukee, then was elevated to the starting lineup during the team’s postseason title run.

The Texas alum was traded to the Clippers from the Sixers early in the 2023/24 season as part of the deal that also landed James Harden in Los Angeles. Tucker subsequently had his least productive season since his rookie year in 2006/07, serving as a fringe rotation player in L.A. and appearing in just 28 games for the team, including none for nearly three months from late November to late February.

Tucker spent some time away from the Clippers last season after word broke that he was unhappy with his situation in L.A. He was fined by the NBA in February for publicly expressing a desire to be traded. While there was a sense after he exercised his player option for 2024/25 in June that the Clippers might part ways with Tucker over the offseason, reporting in August indicated he was likely to open the season with the team.

Tucker, 39, averaged a career-worst 1.7 points per game in 31 total appearances for the Sixers and Clippers, adding 2.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 0.5 steals in 15.7 minutes per contest. However, as a deep-bench piece on a more favorable contract, the aging pro could still add value to a contending franchise as a versatile frontcourt defender.

Even during his most prolific offensive season, 2013/14 with the Suns, Tucker averaged a fairly modest 9.4 points on .431/.387/.776 shooting, along with 6.5 boards, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He finished 12th in Defensive Player of the Year voting that season.

Pistons Notes: Beasley, Klintman, Point Guards

October 6th, 2024 at 1:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New floor-spacing Pistons shooting guard Malik Beasley has been a critical addition to Detroit’s revamped three-point shooting attack, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.

Last year, Detroit ranked 29th in made three-pointers, 27th in attempts, and 26th in conversion rate. Beasley — along with fellow veterans Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. — was brought in expressly to address that issue this year.

Across 79 contests as the Bucks’ (mostly) starting shooting guard last year, Beasley was an elite high-volume, long-range sniper. He averaged 11.3 points per game on .443/.413/.714 shooting splits, with 6.9 of his 9.1 nightly field goal attempts coming from the beyond the arc.

“We’re more talking about the type of [three-point] shots that we’re trying to create and how we’re going to create them,” new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of how he plans to approach his fresh optionality from beyond the arc. “Right now, the emphasis is on we want to create as many feet-set, catch-and-shoot threes as we can and then what do we have to do before that to get to those shots. That’s where we’re at right now.”

There’s more out of Detroit:

Rookie Pistons combo forward Bobi Klintman missed a team practice late last week with a calf contusion, reports Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Klintman will miss a few days as a precaution, Sankofa adds. Detroit selected Klintman out of Wake Forest with the No. 37 overall pick this summer.
Detroit is looking to share ball-handling duties when starting point guard Cade Cunninghamis on the bench, Sankofa writes in a story for The Free Press. Without another traditional point guard currently on the team, Bickerstaff is looking to spread the wealth and build the confidence of his other players as passers and play-makers. “We may not have guys who are historically initiators, but we’ve got guys that can handle the ball and make plays and use their intelligence,” Bickerstaff said. “You’re going to see, from us, a ton of guys that have the ball in their hands and are making decisions. We may not have a primary ball-handler all the time, but we can split it up and make ourselves a little more difficult to guard.” Combo guards Jaden Ivey and Marcus Sasser are among the players who figure to see minutes in that role.
In case you missed it, the Pistons are looking to transition veteran big man Isaiah Stewart back to his preferred role of center for most of his minutes. Stewart had spent more time at power forward in recent years.

Wizards Notes: Kuzma, Brogdon, Poole, George

October 6th, 2024 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Kyle Kuzma had an opportunity to be traded to Dallas at last season’s deadline, but he opted to remain with the Wizards, even though they were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and are probably several years away from contending. Although the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals, Kuzma said in an interview with Josh Robbins of The Athletic that he doesn’t have any regrets about his decision.

“Absolutely not,” Kuzma responded. “A big part of the Mavericks becoming who they were was getting an extra center and a forward. If I would’ve went there, that wouldn’t have happened, getting two impact players. And when you look at who won the championship, it wasn’t a team with (just) three or four players; it was a team with six or seven really good players.”

Trade rumors continue to swirl around Kuzma, who is the most accomplished player on a very young team. At age 29 and with a declining contract over the next three seasons ($23.5MM, $21.5MM and $19.4MM), Kuzma will have plenty of trade value if Washington decides to move him. But he’s also happy staying where he is and being a team leader.

“We’re laying a foundation of how we want to play, how we want to be perceived on the court, what kind of team you’re going to get when you play the Wizards,” he added. “I see that vision. I’m optimistic of that trajectory, regardless of whatever our record is.”

There’s more on the Wizards:

Malcolm Brogdon injured his shooting hand during Saturday’s practice, head coach Brian Keefe said (Twitter link from Robbins). Brogdon will return to Washington for medical imaging to determine how serious the injury is.
With Tyus Jones lost in free agency, Jordan Poole will take over as the Wizards’ primary ball-handler, according to Bijan Todd of Monumental Sports Network. Keefe told reporters that Poole has been embracing his new role at training camp. “He’s been great,” Keefe said. “Pushing the ball, playing with pace, sharing it, touching the paint, creating for others. Exactly the stuff we want him doing.”
After growing up near Montreal, rookie Kyshawn George is thrilled to be making his preseason debut tonight in the city, per Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. George played collegiately at Miami (Florida), so it’s been a while since much of his family has been able to watch him in person.

Sixers Notes: Training Camp, George, McCain, Oubre

October 6th, 2024 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers are ready for preseason games to get started after wrapping up training camp in the Bahamas on Saturday, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Spirits are high following an offseason roster makeover that included the addition of Paul George, the top name on this year’s free agent market.

“We had everything that we needed. I feel like a lot of teams can say that. But I feel like last year one of our main things was like that third punch, at times,” Ricky Council said. “We knew we had Tyrese (Maxey). We knew we had Joel (Embiid). But who was going to be that next punch? Who was going to be that defensive stopper? All those types of things. And I feel like we have all that and some this year. … So I feel like our depth is good. Our talent is there. We’re going to play hard. So I think we have it all.”

In addition to bringing in George, Philadelphia fortified its roster with Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson and Guerschon Yabusele, along with first-round pick Jared McCain. Coach Nick Nurse had a lot of new weapons to work with during camp, and he believes the week was productive.

“I think we got put in a lot of situations that happened organically this week, which, again, I think helped,” Nurse said. “We brought a big number to camp, which I think helped. I liked the energy, the enthusiasm for the youth. I think that helped. Lots of stuff. So, yeah, I’d say it’s a big two thumbs up for sure.”

There’s more on the Sixers:

George has played alongside plenty of All-Stars throughout his career, and he believes the combination with Embiid and Maxey works “extremely well” together, Pompey states in a separate story. The Sixers’ new Big Three will be relied on to carry the team at both ends of the court, and George is willing to do whatever is necessary to make it successful. “I think just continuing to play off the ball,” he said of his role in the trio. “Continue to find my rhythm, staying aggressive whether I have the ball or I don’t have the ball. But I think just giving myself up for the team, whether it’s spacing, cutting, getting Tyrese off the ball because he’s getting [hot] or finding opportunities to get Joel easy looks and touches as well.”
McCain is already learning something important about the NBA by being around his new teammates, especially those who have been in the league for several years, Pompey adds. “A lot of it is taking care of their bodies,” McCain said. “We got some older people so they have to take care of their bodies. But yeah, just making sure your mental’s straight, making sure you’re getting your work in before and after practice, but just kind of simple things.”
Kelly Oubre has a lot more security now than when he joined the Sixers last summer on a veteran’s minimum contract, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Oubre signed a two-year, $16.3MM deal over the offseason, and he feels like a veteran leader on the team. “I just wanted to go to where the love was at,” he said. “… It’s hard to kind of accept me as a human being because I’m very eccentric. I’m me. So once you kind of understand who I am, it makes things easier. I was like, ‘I want to stay where I’m at because they know me and they know my heart and my intentions and who I am off the court.’”

Pacific Notes: Leonard, Clippers, Waters, Vincent

October 6th, 2024 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Kawhi Leonard sat out the Clippers‘ preseason opener Saturday night, but he expressed confidence that his surgically repaired right knee will be less of a problem this season, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Leonard was limited to two games in last year’s playoffs due to inflammation in the knee, then he was replaced on the U.S. Olympic team because of concerns that the knee wouldn’t permit him to play.

Leonard told Youngmisuk that the focus in training camp has been on strengthening his knee and preparing him for the long season ahead. However, no determination has been made on whether he’ll be used in back-to-back games.

“I feel good,” Leonard said. “Just been taking my time, getting stronger and getting ready. … We’re just taking it slow, day by day and just trying to get me back on the floor. Once those conversations come, we’ll see what they’re talking about [on the best approach for back-to-backs].”

Leonard appeared in 68 games last season, his highest total in seven years, and the Clippers will need him in the lineup as much as possible to remain competitive after losing Paul George in free agency. Leonard is hoping for a similar workload this season, but that’s not his primary concern.

“I strive to get a championship and I’m not out there to try to [solely] play 82 games,” he added. “I’m trying to win, even though [playing as much as I can] that’s obligated for me. I try to. But it hasn’t worked out [the last two postseasons] so we’ll see.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

James Harden, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac looked ready for the regular season on Saturday, but it may take time for coach Tyronn Lue to work out the rest of the Clippers‘ rotation, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Newcomers Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones were in the starting lineup, but they both went scoreless. More impressive were Kevin Porter Jr., who scored seven points, and Kai Jones, who contributed four points, six rebounds and three assists.
Lindy Waters, who’s in camp on a non-guaranteed contract, won the game for the Warriors with a buzzer-beating three-pointer, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Waters described the moment as the “cherry on top” after a long week of training camp. “I had already hit a couple of them, so that rim gets bigger and bigger,” he said. “So I just let it fly, and I knew it was good as soon as it left my hand.”
One positive for the Lakers in Friday’s preseason opener was backup guard Gabe Vincent, who scored 11 points in 15 minutes. Vincent missed 71 games last year with a knee injury, and he told Lakers Nation this week that he didn’t feel 100% until about a month after the season ended. “Obviously I was healthy enough to come back and compete, but I think it was clear to everybody that I wasn’t really myself even though I was able to impact in certain ways,” Vincent said. “It just wasn’t really what I was proud of producing and I don’t think it’s what this ballclub needed me to produce at the time. So definitely happy to be healthy coming into this season.”

International Notes: Bertans, Lee, Bogdanovic, Jokic

October 6th, 2024 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

After changing teams frequently in the NBA, Davis Bertans was looking for stability when he decided to move overseas. In an interview with Mozzart Sport (translation via BasketNews), Bertans said part of the attraction of joining the new Dubai Basketball Club is long-term security.

“I also got a contract for three years, which was very important for my family, so that I don’t have to move every year,” he said.

Bertans was traded from Washington to Dallas at the 2022 deadline, then was moved to Oklahoma City in a 2023 draft-night deal. He got sent to Charlotte at this year’s deadline and was waived by the Hornets in July.

There were rumors this summer that Bertans might return to his former Partizan team in Belgrade, but he said that never came close to happening.

“I didn’t get an offer to go to Partizan,” Bertans said. “Maybe there was a chance to go for one season, but it wasn’t for me. I wanted to spend a longer time in the same city. I was traded four times in two years in the NBA, it’s very difficult for the family.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

There’s a growing market for Saben Lee, who signed with Turkey’s Manisa Basket in August, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. Sources tell Barkas that Fenerbahce is nearing a deal with the former NBA point guard after losing Scottie Wilbekin with a torn ACL. Maccabi is also interested in adding Lee, Barkas adds in a separate story, but he may be hesitant to play in Israel due to the fear of a war. Lee recently had a stellar debut in the Basketball Champions League with 36 points and six assists.
Former NBA center Pero Antic hopes to convince Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic to join Belgrade’s Crvena Zvezda once his NBA career is done, according to BasketNews. “We corresponded two days ago,” said Antic, who’s now president of the Basketball Federation of North Macedonia. “We’re in constant contact, we joke, we’ve been roommates. I’ll bring him to Crvena Zvezda sometime. He said that he would finish his career in Partizan, but I think that he will do it in Crvena Zvezda.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said over the weekend that Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic have all requested exhibition games in their native countries. However, Jokic told reporters that he never asked for a game in Serbia, BasketNews relays. “I don’t have approval to talk about it, I didn’t demand it,” Jokic said in Abu Dhabi, where the Nuggets are playing their second preseason contest today.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Davis, Bronny, Christie, Knecht

October 5th, 2024 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James and Anthony Davis will make their preseason debuts Sunday night against Phoenix, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Both players were held out of Friday’s loss to Minnesota, with coach J.J. Redick explaining that he didn’t want to risk using them after they played in the Olympics and had a heavy workload at training camp.

“We want to carry over with what we did [Saturday] at practice,” James said. “We were very intent on what we want to accomplish going forward. [Friday] was one of those first games. It’s been a while since a lot of guys have played in a game setting. And it looked that way.”

James had a good vantage point to watch his son, Bronny James in his first game against NBA competition. Bronny scored two points and shot just 1-of-6 from the field, but he led the team with three blocked shots.

“For him, it’s obviously an adjustment,” LeBron said. “Every rank that you climb, it’s always an adjustment to get used to it. When he went to high school, from middle school from high school to USC and now to the pros, it’s always an adjustment to make. The more time he’s out on the floor with pros, the speed, the cadence, you get better and better the more time you put on the floor.

“And you’ve got to think that he lost pretty much a third of last season because of the (heart) condition. But he’s gotten better and better every day. He continues to put the work in. And it’s up to us as the veterans and the guys out here to try to help him, help Dalton (Knecht), help all the young guys to get him better and better every day to help them accomplish what we want to accomplish.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

Redick was also encouraged by what he saw from Bronny, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Redick said Bronny has looked good in camp and is “easy to coach.”“He can do some things defensively at his size that are really unique, and I think can turn into a really disruptive defender,” Redick said. “That manifested itself. On the offensive end, he’s still figuring out who he is. That’s our job as a player development program just to build him in.”
There was a lot of attention on Bronny, but Max Christie made the biggest impact on Friday night, observes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. The 21-year-old shooting guard, who signed a four-year, $32MM contract this summer, started the preseason with 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks in 34 minutes. He has also become more aggressive defensively — at Redick’s request. “He’s asked me to be kind of that dog on defense, pick up full-court,” Christie said. “I tried to do a little bit of that tonight. There’s a comfort level that I’m going to get a little bit more comfortable with. I haven’t really done that a lot in my career.”
The Lakers also got an encouraging debut from Knecht, who shot 7-of-13 from the field and tied for the team lead with 16 points, Buha adds. He displayed a quick release on his jumper and was competitive on the defensive end.

Nets Notes: Schröder, Simmons, Claxton, Williams, Hayes, Sharpe, Watford

October 5th, 2024 at 9:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dennis Schröder and Ben Simmons will both be in the starting lineup Tuesday when the Nets open the preseason against the Clippers, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Much of the training camp discussion has been focused on which player will be used as the starting point guard, but coach Jordi Fernandez has decided to try them together.

“It’s something that it gives us a different look right now, playing with size, but not a true big and a lot of play-making and shooting,” Fernandez explained. “So it’s going to be fun. It’s going to very fun to give it a look.”

Schröder wanted to be used in tandem with Simmons after being acquired from Toronto in February, but Simmons’ back issues limited them to 16 total minutes together in three games. Schröder believes they have skills that complement each other.

“He wasn’t healthy the last couple of years, but when he’s healthy, we know what he can do,” Schröder said. “He’s an All-Star-type player, so he’s going to push the ball. (He’s) unselfish. On the defensive end, he’s playing with grit. And that’s what we need here. So, a lot of speed. He can bring it up, I go to the corner. If not, me and him in pick-and-roll, him setting the screen or me setting the screen. I think we can do a lot of things. And today we worked on it, and we try to keep building forward, going forward, try to build. Yeah, we’re going to keep working.”

There’s more on the Nets:

Nic Claxton will be held out of the preseason opener due to hamstring soreness, according to Bridget Reilly of The New York Post. Fernandez called the move precautionary, adding that Claxton also didn’t participate in a scrimmage at Thursday’s practice. “We’re not concerned about it,” he said. “We’re just more aiming [for] the first game of the season and doing what we believe is best just for him to be ready there.”
Former lottery picks Ziaire Williams and Killian Hayes have a chance to revive their careers after being let go by their original teams, Reilly notes in a separate story. Williams was traded to Brooklyn in July after three years in Memphis, and Hayes was signed last month after Detroit waived him in February. “A fresh start is good, but at the end of the day, you need consistency because you cannot keep having fresh starts,” Fernandez said. “You cannot say, ‘Oh, I’m done here. I’ll go somewhere else.’ Sometimes, when you get hit in the mouth, it’s good to recover and then start and look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘What did I do wrong that I can fix myself?’”
Day’Ron Sharpe and Trendon Watford remained in Brooklyn to be evaluated for injuries rather than accompanying the team to San Diego for training camp, Lewis tweets. Updates on both players are expected soon.

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