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Pacific Notes: LeBron, Bronny, Divac, Kings, Wiggins, Moody

December 1st, 2023 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

A little over four months after suffering cardiac arrest, USC freshman Bronny James has been cleared to make a full return to basketball, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to Charania, the expectation is that James will resume practicing with the team next week and make his NCAA debut not long after that.

Discussing the good news on Thursday, star forward LeBron James – Bronny’s father – told reporters that if his son’s USC debut occurs on the same day as a Lakers game, he intends to skip his own game to watch Bronny.

“Whenever he’s cleared and ready to have his first game, I already told my teammates that if they play on the same day we’re playing, I’m going to have to catch them the next game,” James said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Family over everything … But definitely got to see Bronny’s first game whenever he’s cleared and ready to go.”

Teammate Anthony Davis said on Thursday that James has the support of the Lakers’ locker room if he missed a game to attend Bronny’s debut, but as John Hollinger of The Athletic observes (via Twitter), it likely won’t come to that. After this Saturday, the Lakers and Trojans won’t play on the same day until December 28, so as long as Bronny’s timeline doesn’t get pushed back, he’ll probably suit up for USC before then.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Vlade Divac, a former player and head of basketball operations for the Kings, has formally returned to the organization in the role of team ambassador, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Amick explains, Divac’s position is on the business side of the franchise and doesn’t include any basketball operations influence. The former All-Star center is focused on “community, fan, and business outreach,” per Amick.
Seerat Sohi of The Ringer considers whether the Kings still have more room for internal improvement or whether the front office might feel pressure to make a trade to raise the team’s ceiling. If they go the latter route, the Kings will have to make sure they find a systemic fit who doesn’t overlap with the club’s existing talent, Sohi writes.
Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins injured his right index finger when he slammed a car door on it on Thursday, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Although Wiggins missed Thursday’s game, head coach Steve Kerr believes his absence will be short-term, Slater adds.
Third-year wing Moses Moody started in Wiggins’ place on Thursday and logged a season-high 28 minutes, scoring 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Moody has earned an opportunity to play a larger role for the Warriors, argues Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link).

Zach LaVine Out At Least One Week Due To Foot Issue

December 1st, 2023 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

Bulls guard Zach LaVine will be sidelined for at least the next week due to right foot soreness, the team announced today (via Twitter).

LaVine initially sat out the Bulls’ game on November 22 due to what was listed on the injury report as right foot soreness, though he referred to it during a media session as a mid-foot sprain. The issue flared up again during Tuesday’s loss to Boston, forcing him out of action for Thursday’s contest vs. Milwaukee.

It sounds like the Bulls want to give LaVine some time to rest and recover so that the issue doesn’t become a recurring one over the course of the season. Based on the timeline announced by the club, he’ll at least miss games vs. New Orleans (on Saturday) and Charlotte (next Wednesday). The Bulls will visit San Antonio next Friday.

LaVine, 28, has averaged 21.0 points per night on .443/.336/.866 shooting in 18 appearances (35.3 MPG) so far this season. The scoring average and field goal percentage represent his lowest marks since the 2017/18 season.

LaVine is one of the NBA’s top trade candidates, so it’s safe to assume teams around the NBA will be keeping a close eye on the status of his right foot in the coming days and weeks.

NBA Waiver Order Now Based On 2023/24 Records

December 1st, 2023 at 7:19am CST by Luke Adams

As of December 1, the NBA’s waiver priority order is determined by teams’ current-year records, rather than the previous season’s results.

That means, starting today, the waiver order for this season is based on teams’ 2023/24 records, with the worst teams getting the highest priority. In other words, if two teams place a claim on the same player, the team lower in this season’s NBA standings will be awarded that player.

Up until today, the waiver claim order was based on which teams had the worst records in 2022/23.

Waiver claims are relatively rare in the NBA, but it’s still worth noting which teams will have the first crack at intriguing players who may be cut over the next few weeks or months.

[RELATED: 2023/24 NBA Waiver Claims]

Here’s what the teams at the top of the NBA’s waiver order look like as of today:

Detroit Pistons (2-17)
San Antonio Spurs (3-15) (tie)
Washington Wizards (3-15) (tie)
Memphis Grizzlies (4-13)
Chicago Bulls (6-14)
Utah Jazz (6-13)
Portland Trail Blazers (6-12)
Charlotte Hornets (6-11)
Los Angeles Clippers (8-10)
Golden State Warriors (9-10) (tie)
Toronto Raptors (9-10) (tie)

In instances where multiple teams have identical records, head-to-head record for the current season is used to break ties — the team with the worst winning percentage in head-to-head games gets the higher priority.

If the tied teams have yet to face one another or if they’ve split their head-to-head matchups, a coin flip determines priority for those teams. That would be the case for both the Spurs and Wizards and Warriors and Raptors right now, since those two pairs have yet to go up against each other this season.

If a waived player can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception, a team must use a trade exception, a disabled player exception, or cap room to absorb his salary. So a club with a top priority won’t be in position to nab just anyone who reaches waivers.

The Pistons, for example, have no cap space or exceptions available to place a waiver claim on any player earning more than the minimum, so despite their spot at the top of the waiver order, their ability to claim players is somewhat limited.

Pistons Bench Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson

November 30th, 2023 at 10:29pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Pistons made a pair of significant lineup changes before their 118-112 loss to the Knicks on Thursday night, benching Jaden Ivey and rookie Ausar Thompson and moving Killian Hayes and Isaiah Livers into their starting lineup. With their 16th straight loss, they became the first team to go winless for an entire month since the 2015 Sixers.

Coach Monty Williams making the decision to bench both Ivey and Thompson is significant. Ivey was a key starter for Detroit last season after being selected with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft, averaging 16.3 points in 73 starts last year.

However, his role has been much more suppressed this year under Williams. His efficiency is up (50.8% from the floor this year entering Thursday compared to 41.6% last season), but he’s only started in five of his 15 appearances and was down to 23.4 minutes per night (from 31.1) entering Thursday.

Ivey didn’t begin the year as a starter, with Hayes taking on that role before relenting it to Ivey over the past five games. Hayes, the No. 7 overall pick in 2020, was averaging 8.5 points and 4.4 assists per game entering Thursday but recorded 23 points on 76.9% shooting against New York.

According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link), Williams said the decision to start Hayes over Ivey came down to him liking Hayes’ ability to allow Cade Cunningham to play off the ball more and he likes how the fourth-year guard can get the team organized.

As for Thompson, he was a full-time starter before his benching Thursday. This year’s No. 5 overall pick has been one of the most impressive rookies this season, averaging 11.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks. Livers started in his place, recording six points and four rebounds.

Neither Thompson or Ivey played major roles off the bench on Thursday, with both logging just 13 minutes of game time, though Thompson had five fouls. That marks Ivey’s second-lowest minute total this season and Thompson’s lowest in his young career. Marcus Sasser finished with the most minutes off the bench, recording 17 points.

While losing their 16th straight game is obviously disappointing, the Pistons kept it close with the Knicks and seemed to find something with how they utilized Cunningham, tweets Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Cunningham finished with 31 points and eight assists. Mike Curtis of The Detroit News observes that the Pistons’ three-guard lineup of Cunningham, Ivey and Hayes helped kick-start a 13-0 run and when Ivey was subbed out, the Knicks hit back.

We’ll be watching Detroit to see what happens with the team’s young pieces moving forward. So far, their young core hasn’t meshed well and moves could be on the way if their losing ways continue. In the short term, Bojan Bogdanovic is expected back soon, which should help with the Pistons’ spacing issues (they ranked 29th in made threes entering Thursday).

Northwest Notes: George, Yurtseven, Kessler, Brown, Green

November 30th, 2023 at 9:12pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The early part of the season has been a struggle for the Jazz as they battle through stints of inconsistency, according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones. Still, there have been some bright spots, the biggest of which is finding their starting point guard of the future in rookie Keyonte George, Jones writes.

George is running the floor with confidence and his efforts helped the Jazz earn back-to-back wins over the Pelicans on Saturday and Monday, as he put up a combined 34 points and eight assists over that stretch. George is averaging 11.8 points and 6.3 assists to 2.4 turnovers in the 10 games since becoming Utah’s full-time starter.

Other highlights from that two-game stretch for the Jazz include players like Simone Fontecchio, Omer Yurtseven and Talen Horton-Tucker stepping up.

“The best thing for me watching us is that we felt like a team,” head coach Will Hardy said.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Yurtseven and Walker Kessler, the latter of whom moved to the bench with the former starting, were key factors in the Jazz‘s back-to-back wins, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Players and coaches on the team agreed that Yurtseven’s strength allows the Jazz to be more physical with traditional centers, per Walden. “Those two guys are giving us a big presence on both sides of the ball,” Hardy said. “… Having a couple of traditional bigs has definitely helped us the last two games.“
Timberwolves guard Troy Brown was mostly out of the rotation to begin the year, but began earning minutes after Jaden McDaniels went down with an ankle injury. Now, Brown is playing late into games and impressing with his performance, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Brown scored 17 points in a win over the Thunder on Tuesday and is averaging 11.0 points per game and hitting 46.2% of his threes since receiving an uptick in play time. “At this point, that’s the NBA. You can literally go from being sixth man to not in the rotation,” Brown said. “It’s just based off what the team needs at the time. To me, I’ve had my ups and downs in the career. Just being in different positions and learning how to deal with all that mentally has helped me a lot. Now I just try to be as happy as I can and bring energy to my teammates and stay ready.“
As the Nuggets sort through their bench rotation, it’s clear they miss forward Jeff Green, writes The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando. “I wish Jeff was still wearing a Nuggets uniform,” head coach Michael Malone said. Green broke down his decision to join the Rockets this offseason, leaving the Nuggets he spent two seasons and one championship run with. “It’s very hard [to leave], especially when you do what we did last year,” Green said. “You create a bond, and that’s something that’s forever. And the relationships that were built last year off the journey that we had, it’s tough to kind of deter away from that. But at the end of the day, it’s a business.“

LaMelo Ball Likely Sidelined For Extended Period

November 30th, 2023 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 30: Ball will be reevaluated in one week after an MRI confirmed he suffered a right ankle sprain, according to a release from the team.

NOVEMBER 28: Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball has a severely sprained right ankle and will likely miss extended time, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

While the ankle isn’t fractured, a cautious approach is expected for a player who has been riddled with injuries in his young career. Ball had surgery on the same ankle last season. He’s currently in a walking boot and on crutches, per Charania.

Ball had already been ruled out Tuesday’s in-season tournament game against the Knicks. He needed assistance to leave the court on Sunday after being injured against Orlando.

Ball landed awkwardly while attempting a left-handed layup shortly before halftime of that contest when he got tangled up with Paolo Banchero.

Ball was limited to 36 games last season because of four ankle injuries. He had gotten off to a strong start this fall — 24.7 points, 8.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. He scored 30 points or more in seven of his last 10 games.

Ball signed a five-year max extension during the summer. Ball’s starting salary on the new deal will pay him at least 25% of the 2024/25 cap. There is reportedly Rose Rule language in the contract that could increase that figure to 30% of the cap if Ball earns All-NBA honors this season. A lengthy absence would almost certainly dash those hopes, given the 65-game minimum requirement for major awards this seasono.

Without Ball, Hornets guards Ish Smith, Theo Maledon and James Bouknight could all see a bump in playing time.

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Bryant, Martin, Richardson

November 30th, 2023 at 7:34pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Heat center Bam Adebayo is taking his game to new heights this season as he becomes more aggressive on the court than ever before, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Adebayo’s latest game, Tuesday’s loss to the Bucks, saw the seventh-year center set a career high with 27 field-goal attempts, along with season highs in points and minutes. The two-time All-Star did this against an interior defense spearheaded by 2022/23 Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Brook Lopez and five-time All-Defensive Team selection Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“He was just super assertive,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Adebayo. “That’s what we need from Bam. He was really aggressive getting into the paint, creating those paint opportunities that normally Jimmy is so great at for us. Now we have a lot of guys with that ability to do that. But Bam was relentless all game long and that just shows you his capacity to do it on both ends.”

Adebayo is currently averaging career highs of 23.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in addition to his 4.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. His play has him under consideration for his third All-Star Game as well as for Defensive Player of the Year and/or an All-NBA selection.

As Chiang observes, being named Defensive Player of the Year or being selected to an All-NBA Team would make Adebayo eligible to sign a four-year super-max extension this upcoming offseason. His teammates have been vocal about Adebayo’s continued evolution.

“I think he should be a lock for All-NBA this year,” Richardson said. “He’s really been carrying a lot of the load for us this year.”

We have more from the Heat:

Center Thomas Bryant was signed over the offseason to help stabilize the Heat’s non-Adebayo minutes, but he has fallen out of the rotation as Kevin Love has produced positive minutes in that role. According to Chiang in a separate story, Bryant said it’s been an adjustment but that he’s staying ready for anything. “Everything being communicated is just staying ready, going over things that I’ve done before, just keep improving on everything and just stay with it,” Bryant said. “‘Your time is coming’ whenever it might be, so it’s always about a stay ready mind-set and just always staying ready no matter what the outcome is.“
Forward Caleb Martin is continuing to work his way back into form after a lingering knee injury kept him out of most of the preseason and 10 straight games at one point this season, according to Chiang. After averaging 5.8 points on 30.6% shooting in his first five games back, Martin scored 22 points on Saturday against the Nets. “I want quick results, I want to just get back to my normal self, too,” Martin said. “I just know it’s going to take some time. So I accept that and figure out how to go with that.“
With Dru Smith out for the season and Tyler Herro recovering from his own injury, Josh Richardson has adopted the Heat’s backup point guard position for the time being, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel observes. “I play with kind of both units,” Richardson said. “So with the first unit, it’s more so spacing, giving Jimmy and Bam kind of like an outlet. With the second unit, I kind of got to be a paint-touch guy. We have Duncan [Robinson] out there running around. So it’s kind of fluid. It’s one thing that I’ve got to figure out.“

Gary Payton II To Be Reevaluated In One Week

November 30th, 2023 at 7:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 30: Payton will be reevaluated in one week after an MRI confirmed a right calf strain, according to a release from the team (Twitter link via Andscape’s Marc J. Spears).

However, the injury will keep him out for longer than one week, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater (Twitter link), who says the Warriors are expecting to have a better grasp on the severity and timeline over the next week.

NOVEMBER 29: Warriors swingman Gary Payton II tore his right calf in Tuesday’s game and will be out of action indefinitely, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The injury occurred late in the third quarter when Payton attempted to go around a screen while defending Sacramento guard De’Aaron Fox, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Payton grabbed at his right calf and hopped around in pain before limping to the team’s locker room. An MRI conducted today revealed the full extent of the damage.

Payton has been an important part of Golden State’s rotation, appearing in 14 games and playing 17.3 minutes per night. He averages 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds, but his greatest impact is on defense as he collects 1.2 steals per game.

After playing a vital role in the Warriors’ 2022 championship, Payton signed with Portland as a free agent but was reacquired in February to help Golden State fix its struggling defense. He has a $9.13MM player option for next season.

Pacific Notes: Paul, Brown, Vezenkov, LaVine

November 30th, 2023 at 6:08pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Warriors guard Chris Paul seems to have avoided a major injury. Paul exited Golden State’s Tuesday game against Sacramento in the first quarter due to a lower left leg nerve contusion. He underwent an MRI on Wednesday, according to a team release (Twitter link via Andscape’s Marc J. Spears), and it confirmed his contusion and revealed no structural damage.

While Paul has to miss the Warriors’ next two games, he’s scheduled to be reevaluated on Monday.

Paul is an integral part of the Warriors’ rotation, averaging 8.9 points and 7.3 assists per game in 18 appearances (seven starts) this season. With Gary Payton II also out, Moses Moody and Cory Joseph are most likely to pick up extra minutes during Golden State’s upcoming stretch of games.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said rookie forward Kobe Brown will be a part of the team’s rotation moving forward, tweets ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. Lue said he wants to give Brown a chance due to his ability to knock down shots and his physicality. Brown is averaging 2.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in eight games this season after being selected with the 30th overall pick in this year’s draft.
Kings forward Sasha Vezenkov had season highs of 13 points and five rebounds during Sacramento’s Wednesday loss to the Clippers, continuing to assert himself into the team’s rotation. According to Eurohoops.net, Vezenkov is still adjusting to the NBA after making the transition from EuroLeague this summer. “It’s like going from the EuroCup to the EuroLeague or from the EuroLeague to the NBA,” Vezenkov said. “It’s hard to adjust, create your comfort zone, learn how the game is played, and earn everyone’s trust. With my work, my character, and my desire to win and help the team, I’m sure everything will be fine.”
Stemming from reports that the Lakers are expected to register some interest in trading for Bulls star guard Zach LaVine, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores whether such a trade makes sense for Los Angeles. Pincus writes that matching the price (LaVine is set to make $40.1MM this season) and taking on his long-term money (he’s under contract through at least 2026) are huge risks for the Lakers. On top of that, L.A.’s biggest issues this year have been injury problems and dealing with opposing centers and LaVine doesn’t address either of those concerns. Pincus reasons that the Lakers should consider trying to trade for Andre Drummond and Alex Caruso rather than for LaVine.

Pelicans’ Larry Nance Jr. Out 4-6 Weeks With Rib Fracture

November 30th, 2023 at 4:48pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. is expected to miss four-to-six weeks after re-aggravating his right rib fracture, according to a release from the team.

Nance has been affected by health problems since he arrived in New Orleans at the trade deadline in 2022. He was dealing with an injury when he first was traded to the Pels and was limited to just nine games with the team that year. In 2022/23, Nance was healthier, but still missed 17 games. This year, he’s played in 14 games, having missed four in a row from Nov. 14-20 due to the rib injury he has now re-aggravated.

It’s a tough blow for both Nance and the Pelicans. When fully healthy, Nance can be an impact player at the forward position for a team continually dealing with injuries across the rotation. As pointed out by ESPN’s Andrew Lopez (Twitter link), the Pelicans are tied for the fourth-most missed games this season due to injury. Thankfully for New Orleans, CJ McCollum just returned to the rotation and Trey Murphy is also set to make his season debut.

Nance is averaging 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 88 games since joining the Pelicans. In his 14 appearances this year, he’s averaging 3.5 points in 15.1 minutes per night.

Naji Marshall is the most obvious choice to take over some of the minutes left by Nance. New Orleans could also look to turn to two-way forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl if needed.