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Texas Notes: Bogut, Barea, Nene, Ennis

December 26th, 2016 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks center Andrew Bogut, who has been sidelined since December 5th with a bone bruise on his right knee, could be back on the court this week, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Coach Rick Carlisle announced the news today on Bogut, who started 16 games before the injury. The 32-year-old, who was acquired in a trade from Golden State to sure up the Mavericks’ interior defense, is averaging 3.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per night. He was considered a prime candidate to be traded again when Dallas was at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, but Mavericks may consider keeping him as they inch back toward playoff contention. The way he and the team play between now and the February 23rd trade deadline could determine how long he stays in Dallas.

There’s more basketball news out of Texas:

Carlisle also indicated good news might be coming about J.J. Barea, according to Sneed (Twitter link). The backup guard, who has been out with a muscle strain in his left leg, still has no timetable to return, but his coach says it’s “on the shorter end of things.” Barea has only been available for 11 games this season.
The Rockets‘ plan for veteran center Nene involves more games and fewer minutes, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. With starting center Clint Capela out a month or more with a fracture in his left fibula, Houston needs Nene to play in back-to-back games. The Rockets play the Suns tonight and the Mavericks on Tuesday, and coach Mike D’Antoni plans to limit him to fewer than 20 minutes in the second game. “I think it’s working out,” D’Antoni said. “I talked to him [Monday]. He said he’s feeling great. I would like to avoid some back-to-backs, but we can’t right now. The sooner we get Clint back the better.”
Tyler Ennis hasn’t played much since coming to Houston in a September trade, but he is hoping to be part of the Canadian National Team, Feigen relays in a separate story. Ennis met tonight with Suns assistant Jay Triano, who serves as Canada’s coach, to discuss his future role with the squad. “I’ve always played for the national team,” Ennis said. “With the Canadian guys we have in the NBA now, there’s more interest in playing. Hopefully, one summer, we’ll get everybody to come and play. We’re all pretty young.”

Kings Have Interest In Brandon Knight

December 25th, 2016 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings have been talking to the Suns about a possible deal for Brandon Knight for several months, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Appearing on a podcast with Zach Lowe, Windhorst said Sacramento is looking for help at point guard and has been talking to Phoenix about Knight since the summer. Knight still has three seasons and nearly $44MM left on his current deal.

Suns Feel Tucker Is Underrated

December 23rd, 2016 at 9:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns want to become a team with a strong defensive mentality and they feel they have their best unit with P.J. Tucker in the line-up, Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic writes.

Mike D’Antoni speaks highly of the city of Phoenix and of his time with the Suns, as Jonathan Feigan of the Houston Chronicle relays. “Yeah, it’s special, there’s no doubt,” D’Antoni said. “It was special to live here, and the people and the fans. It was a good time.”

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/23/16

December 23rd, 2016 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Friday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

1:05pm:

The Suns have sent forward Derrick Jones to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). It will be the third assignment of the season for Jones, who will get a chance to play in the D-League’s lone Christmas Day game on Sunday, assuming he isn’t back with Phoenix by then.
The Knicks have assigned Ron Baker, Maurice Ndour, and Marshall Plumlee to the NBADL, according to the team (Twitter link). They’ll play for the Westchester Knicks tonight, in their game against the Raptors 905.

10:34am:

After recording 16 points and 10 assists for the Raptors 905 on Thursday, Fred VanVleet has been recalled to the NBA, according to the Raptors (Twitter link). Bruno Caboclo, who was assigned to the D-League on Thursday along with VanVleet, remains with Toronto’s affiliate for now.
The Celtics have assigned rookie guard Demetrius Jackson to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). The Maine Red Claws, Boston’s NBADL affiliate, is in action tonight against Grand Rapids, so Jackson figures to suit up for that game.
Following a quick stint with the Salt Lake City Stars, Hawks rookie DeAndre’ Bembry has been recalled to Atlanta, according to a press release issued by the team. Bembry struggled in his latest D-League game, scoring just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting for the Stars in Thursday night’s loss.
While Bembry was ineffective on Thursday night, his Salt Lake City teammate Joel Bolomboy had another big game, putting up 23 points and 23 rebounds. The Jazz announced today in a press release that they’ve recalled Bolomboy from their D-League affiliate.

Gordon Picked Suns In 2012 Because of Training Staff

December 20th, 2016 at 5:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Gordon said he thought Phoenix had a better training staff and that was the reason why he signed there in 2012, as he tell Lee in the same piece. Gordon was a restricted free agent at the time and New Orleans exercised its right to match the Suns‘ offer.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/15/16

December 15th, 2016 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

The Raptors assigned point guard Fred VanVleet and forward Bruno Caboclo to their affiliate, Raptors 905, according to the team’s Twitter feed (Twitter links). They both played against the Oklahoma City Blue on Thursday, with VanVleet scoring nine points and dishing out 12 assists, while Caboclo had 13 points. VanVleet has seen action in six games with Toronto this season, while Caboclo has appeared in three games.
The Magic assigned guard C.J. Wilcox and center Stephen Zimmerman to the Erie BayHawks, the team announced on its website. Wilcox has played in 10 games this season with the Magic. Zimmerman has appeared in four games this season with the Magic. He was previously assigned to Erie on November 28th.
The Suns recalled point guard Tyler Ulis and big man Alan Williams from the Northern Arizona Suns, the team tweets. Ulis, an early second-rounder, has played in 14 games with Phoenix this season. Williams has played nine games with the NBA club.
The Jazz assigned forward Joel Bolomboy to their affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, the team announced. This marks the fifth assignment this season for Bolomboy, who has played eight games this season with the Jazz.
The Grizzlies assigned guard Wade Baldwin IV to their affiliate, the Iowa Energy. Baldwin, who has appeared in 20 games with Memphis, played two games for the Energy last month.

Should Suns Deal Chandler?

December 14th, 2016 at 10:31pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns should deal Tyson Chandler in order to free up minutes for their younger frontcourt players, Keith P. Smith of RealGM contends. Smith argues that the team should be patient with its rebuild and not try to bring aboard any other veterans who don’t fit its timeline.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/14/16

December 14th, 2016 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

The Suns have sent Tyler Ulis and Alan Williams to the Northern Arizona Suns, the team announced today in a press release. It will be the first D-League assignment of the season for both players, who are likely to be recalled to the NBA following tonight’s game against Santa Cruz.
Rookie swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is back from the D-League, with the Sixers announcing his recall today in a press release. Luwawu-Cabarrot was assigned for Tuesday night’s game, and helped the Delaware 87ers get a win, posting 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
The Rockets have recalled rookie forward Kyle Wiltjer from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, according to the team (Twitter link). Wiltjer has been the second-leading scorer for the Vipers so far this season, averaging 19.7 PPG in 10 games.
Rakeem Christmas is headed back to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers announced today in a press release. Indiana’s D-League affiliate doesn’t play until Friday, so it’s not clear if Christmas will stick with the team for that game, or if he’s just being sent down for practice.

Bender Learning On The Job

December 9th, 2016 at 7:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Suns big man Dragan Bender is learning on the job during his first season in the league, a process he discussed with Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. “I’m just growing each and every day, trying to learn,” Bender said. “I know this is my first year and I’m 19 years old and I know it’s going to be tough for me. I’m just going to come each and every day and compete. I’ll try to go against anybody on the court. It doesn’t matter who it is in front of me. I just try to help win the games. My job is to play defense and hit the open shots and deliver the ball at the right time.”

Watson Responds to Kerr's Marijuana Comments

December 4th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

An opposing view comes from Suns coach Earl Watson, who as a youth saw many of his friends use marijuana as a gateway to harder drugs, writes ESPN’s Chris Haynes. “I think our rhetoric on it has to be very careful because you have a lot of kids where I’m from that’s reading this, and they think [marijuana use is] cool,” Watson said. “It’s not cool. Where I’m from, you don’t get six fouls to foul out. You get three strikes. One strike leads to another. I’m just being honest with you, so you have to be very careful with your rhetoric.”