Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Notes: Durant, Craig, Paul, Foster

April 19th, 2023 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant believes the playoffs are presenting the Suns with their first real test since he was acquired from Brooklyn at the trade deadline, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. An MCL sprain and a sprained left ankle limited Durant to eight regular season games with Phoenix. They were all victories, which made a lot of observers believe the new-look Suns might steamroll their way through the postseason.

It was somewhat surprising to see the Clippers win Game 1 in Phoenix and then stay competitive for much of Game 2 before the Suns pulled away. Durant expected the series to be challenging, but he’s happy with his team’s position after two games.

“Towards the end of the season, we played some solid ball, but that’s not much you can take from that,” he said. “A lot of teams weren’t playing their guys. This is kind of like the first real look at us as a team against some great competition. I like where we are. Unfortunately, we lost Game 1, but it’s always good to get a W. I’m looking forward to the next game.”

There’s more from Phoenix:

The Suns have been looking for someone to give them consistent playoff minutes alongside their four stars, and Torrey Craig has filled that role so far, Rankin adds. In addition to guarding Kawhi Leonard, Craig posted a personal playoff high of 22 points in the series opener and followed that with 17 points in Game 2. “We need him to continue to be confident to shoot the ball,” Durant said. “He understands that teams are going to play a little gimmicky and throw a big on him or just leave him wide open and give him the 3. He’s got to make them pay and I think he’s been doing a great job of it so far.”
Chris Paul addressed his 13-game losing streak in playoff games officiated by Scott Foster, which came to an end with the Suns’ victory Tuesday night, Rankin states in another Arizona Republic story. “The league knows what it is,” Paul said. “Can’t control it. Haven’t been able to control all the other ones so it’s not going to change now.”
X-rays taken on Paul’s right hand after Game 2 came back negative, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.

Injury Updates: Morant, Payne, James, Davis, George, Gobert, Jokic

April 18th, 2023 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant is officially listed as questionable to play in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Lakers, the team’s PR department tweets. Morant is dealing with right hand soreness. He landed hard on the court while committing a charge during the fourth quarter of Game 1.

Adrian Wojnarowski said on the “NBA on ESPN” show that he “does not sense a great deal of optimism” that Morant will play on Wednesday (Twitter link). An MRI on Monday revealed an aggravation of soft tissue bruising in Morant’s hand. He originally injured the hand in the Grizzlies’ April 7 win over Milwaukee, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

We have more injury-related updates:

Suns reserve guard Cameron Payne won’t play in Game 2 against the Clippers on Tuesday, Chris Haynes of TNT tweets. Payne hasn’t played since April 7 due to a back injury.
Both members of the Lakers’ dynamic duo popped up on the injury report submitted the team’s PR department, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. However, they are listed as probable for Game 2 against Memphis, with LeBron James dealing with right foot soreness and Anthony Davis nursing a right foot stress injury.
Clippers forward Paul George did a mix of conditioning and shooting drills during a workout prior to the team’s shootaround on Tuesday, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times reports. George is recovering from a sprained right knee and it remains uncertain whether he’ll play at all during the first-round series.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is listed as questionable to play in Game 2 of their series against the Nuggets on Wednesday due to back spasms, the team’s PR department tweets.
While it would be surprising if he didn’t play in Game 2, Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is also listed as questionable due to a right wrist sprain, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. Jokic participated in practice on Tuesday and didn’t seem to think the sprain was overly serious.

Injury Notes: Giannis, Morant, Hart, Randle, Payne

April 18th, 2023 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

After previously stating that X-rays on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s back injury came back negative, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said on Monday that an MRI also came back clean, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

The Bucks haven’t made any official announcements yet about Antetokounmpo’s availability for Game 2 on Wednesday, but Budenholzer told reporters on Monday that the superstar forward was making progress despite still being sore.

“He’s getting some treatment and I think we’ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two,” Budenholzer said. “Probably fortunate that there are two days between games, so I think still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we’ll see how he feels over the next day or two.”

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

The status of Grizzlies star Ja Morant for Wednesday’s game vs. the Lakers remains up in the air due to his hand injury. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on NBA Today on Monday (Twitter video link) that there’s “significant doubt” about Morant’s ability to play in Game 2. Shams Charania of The Athletic hears that tests on Morant’s hand revealed no breaks and that his availability could end up being a question of pain tolerance. The All-Star guard referred to his pain level on Sunday as a 10 out of 10.
One day after listing Josh Hart as doubtful for Game 2 due to a left ankle sprain, the Knicks have upgraded him to questionable (Twitter link). Knicks forward Julius Randle also provided a positive update on his own ankle sprain, telling reporters that he’s feeling no ill effects after playing in Game 1, though he admitted that his conditioning isn’t yet where he wants it to be (Twitter link via Nick Friedell of ESPN).
Suns guard Cameron Payne, who was limited to 48 games this season due to injuries and didn’t play in Game 1 on Sunday, has been listed as questionable for Tuesday’s Game 2 due to low back soreness, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

2023 NBA Draft Tiebreaker Results

April 17th, 2023 at 4:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tiebreakers among teams with identical regular-season records were broken on Monday through random drawings to determine the order for this year’s draft prior to the lottery.

The results of the drawings were as follows:

The Rockets (No. 2) won a tiebreaker with the Spurs (No. 3).
- Note: The lottery odds remain the same for both teams. The Rockets will draft ahead of the Spurs if neither lands in the top four.
The Pacers (No. 7) won a tiebreaker with the Wizards (No. 8).
- Note: The Pacers will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Wizards.
The Bulls (No. 11) won a tiebreaker with the Thunder (No. 12).
- Note: The Bulls will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Thunder. Chicago’s pick will be conveyed to the Magic if it doesn’t move into the top four.
The Heat (No. 18) won a tiebreaker with the Warriors (No. 19, who won a tiebreaker with the Clippers (No. 20).
- Note: The Clippers’ pick will be conveyed to the Rockets.
The Suns (No. 21) won a tiebreaker with the Nets (No. 22).
- Note: The result is negligible for the first round, since the Suns’ pick was traded to the Nets.
The Grizzlies (No. 25) won a tiebreaker with the Cavaliers (No. 26).
- Note: The Cavaliers’ pick will be conveyed to the Pacers.

In the case of tiebreakers, second round order is the reverse of first round order except for the lottery teams. In that case, the second-round order could still change, depending on which team finishes higher in the lottery.

In the case of the three-way tie at 18-20, the Clippers will pick first in the second round at No. 48, followed by the Warriors at No. 49 and the Heat at No. 50. Golden State’s pick has been traded to the Cavaliers, while Miami’s pick will be conveyed to the Thunder or Pacers, depending on the lottery results.

The tiebreaker between the Rockets and Spurs didn’t decide which team gets the Rockets’ second-round pick, which is top-32 protected. It will be conveyed to either the Pacers or Celtics once the lottery is conducted.

Clippers Notes: Westbrook, Leonard, George, Fan Incident

April 17th, 2023 at 8:04am CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers understood what they were getting when they signed Russell Westbrook in February, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The 34-year-old guard may be an unreliable shooter who commits frustrating turnovers, but he’s also an extreme competitor that has brought some much-needed energy to the team.

That was on display Sunday night as Westbrook made one big play after another in the closing minutes to help L.A. win in Phoenix. The most significant was a block of Devin Booker‘s layup attempt with 10 seconds left, followed by a quick reaction to throw the ball out of bounds off Booker and give possession to the Clippers. Although he shot 3-of-19 from the field, Westbrook had 11 rebounds — five on the offensive end — along with eight assists, three blocks and two steals.

“It is [heart], it’s timing, it’s the will to win,” he said. “Be able to make plays. Understanding time, scoring, possession. At this position, humbly speaking, nobody a better rebounder than me.”

Westbrook was struggling through one of the worst shooting seasons of his career when the Lakers shipped him to Utah at the trade deadline. From the time he joined the Clippers after a buyout, coach Tyronn Lue has urged him to find other ways to contribute when his shot isn’t falling, and it’s a message he emphasized Sunday night.

“He was mad about missing shots,” Lue said. “And I said, ‘Listen, your shot is not important. Take good shots, take the right shots, but what you bring to our team is way more valuable, and that’s rebounding the basketball.’ That’s the three offensive rebounds at the end of game against the extra possession, the defense on (Kevin Durant), the stop on Book at the end, and defensively, he was locked in.”

There’s more on the Clippers:

Kawhi Leonard was brilliant in his first playoff game since suffering an ACL injury in the 2021 Western Conference semifinals, Youngmisuk adds. The Clippers have been careful with Leonard, who played just 52 games this season, but he was on the court for 42 minutes Sunday, delivering 38 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter. “That’s what we’ve been saving up for,” Lue said. “This moment here in the playoffs, we have to play heavy minutes, especially with (Paul George) being out, being short-handed, and he was great tonight.”
A report Sunday indicates that George is likely to miss the entire first round with a sprained right knee, and the players understand that they may have to grind out a few victories without their star teammate, per Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. “We gotta work,” Ivica Zubac said. “Missing PG, it’s big for us, so we know our chances to win this series is be physical, be aggressive, bring a lot of energy.”
The Suns are investigating an incident between a fan and Westbrook when he took a shortcut to the locker room through a club lounge area at halftime, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The team issued a statement that read, “We are aware of the incident that happened tonight and are conducting a review.”

Clippers’ Paul George Likely To Miss Entire First Round

April 16th, 2023 at 3:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Clippers All-Star Paul George is now expected to miss Los Angeles’ entire first-round playoff matchup against the Suns, sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

This news isn’t completely unexpected. Even in late March, soon after George initially sprained his right knee during a regular season game against the Thunder, word trickled out that the Clippers anticipated they might need to advance beyond the first round to give the star forward a chance to return.

Rumors continued to persist earlier this week suggesting that George could sit out the Phoenix series as he continues to rehabilitate the knee.

Across his 56 healthy contests this season, the 32-year-old posted typically stellar numbers, averaging 23.8 PPG on .457/.371/.871 shooting splits, along with 6.1 RPG, 5.1 APG, and 1.5 SPG.

Without one of their two best players, the Clippers will have their work cut out for them against a healthy Suns club that could be much better than its 45-37 record suggests.

Phoenix has gone 8-0 in its games when newly-added All-Star small forward Kevin Durant has been available, and will start an intimidating lineup featuring Durant and fellow All-Star Devin Booker, along with future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul and maximum-salaried center Deandre Ayton. Josh Okogie rounds out the Suns’ healthy first five.

LA will hope that its remaining star forward, Kawhi Leonard, can help hold the line against Phoenix. The first game of the series tips off tonight.

Western Notes: Ishbia, Morant, Nuggets, Russell

April 16th, 2023 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

Approximately 17 months after an ESPN report painted a detailed picture of a toxic workplace environment in Phoenix under Suns owner Robert Sarver and just over two months after Sarver completed the sale of the team to Mat Ishbia, Ishbia’s own company – United Wholesale Mortgage – is facing allegations along similar lines.

According to Polly Mosendz and Caleb Melby of Bloomberg, conversations with more than two dozen people who have worked at the company revealed complaints about racial disparities, sexual harassment, and bullying by managers at United Wholesale Mortgage.

While the troubling allegations may feel like déjà vu for Suns fans, it’s important to clarify that Ishbia himself wasn’t accused of any wrongdoing like Sarver was and that these allegations aren’t related to the NBA franchise at all.

For what it’s worth, United Wholesale Mortgage issued a statement to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic insisting that Bloomberg’s portrayal of the company’s workplace is “false and misleading” and referring to the report as having portrayed a “sensationalized caricature” of UWM.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Grizzlies star Ja Morant has filed a countersuit against the teenager he punched during a pickup game last summer, arguing that false statements by the teen could cost him an All-NBA berth and his chance at a super-max payday, reports Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. The teen’s initial lawsuit named Morant as the instigator of the incident and said that the Grizzlies guard went into his home and came back with a gun tucked into his pants, both claims that Morant denies. Regardless of whether those allegations are true or false, Morant’s suit makes a dubious argument, since the eight-game suspension that may cost him an All-NBA spot (and upwards of $39MM) was the result of a separate gun-related incident.
As the No. 1 seed in in a year without an obvious favorite to come out of the West, there will be significant pressure on head coach Michael Malone and the Nuggets to make a deep playoff run, writes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post (subscription required). Malone doesn’t necessarily disagree with Kiszla’s argument, but says he won’t be influenced by the expectations that outsiders have for his team. “We as an organization put pressure on ourselves to win a championship. That’s what motivates us. That’s the pressure,” Malone said. “The external pressure? Fans, bloggers, this, that, I could give a (bleep). It’s about what I put on myself.”
D’Angelo Russell didn’t make the postseason during his first stint with the Lakers, so after rejoining the team at the February trade deadline, he’s excited to make his playoff debut for Los Angeles — even after a forgettable play-in performance in which he made 1-of-9 shots and was benched down the stretch. “We needed to win, honestly. We needed to win,” Russell said of Tuesday’s play-in game, per Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “For me to dwell on it and be upset or confidence low, I don’t think that’s the right approach. Definitely want to do anything and everything I can do to not be in that position in the future.”

Pacific Notes: Paul, Thompson, Davis, Hyland

April 15th, 2023 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

A championship is the only thing missing from Chris Paul‘s Hall of Fame résumé, but the Suns guard may be running out of time to get one, writes Doug Haller of The Athletic. Paul will turn 38 next month, and his contract for 2023/24 is only 50% guaranteed at $15.4MM. The acquisition of Kevin Durant in February puts Phoenix among the favorites in the West, but there’s a chance this could be Paul’s last year with the team.

The veteran point guard said Saturday that he’s trying to block out those concerns, focusing only on the playoff challenges that lie ahead.

“For me, I’m going to compete day-in and day-out. And right now we got a one-track mind, and that’s to focus on Game 1 against the Clippers,’’ he said. “All that other stuff, that ain’t it right now.”

Paul addressed the championship issue after the Suns were eliminated last spring, Haller adds, saying that it bothered him more earlier in his career but now he feels fortunate to be able to play at a high level for so long. However, now that playoff season is here again, he’s ready to go all out.

“When you play for a while and it doesn’t go the way you want it to, you basically wait a whole year for another opportunity at it,’’ he said. “It starts now.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Klay Thompson “has an expectation” that the Warriors will offer him a max-level contract extension this summer, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Saturday’s “NBA Countdown” (video link). Thompson has one more year on his current deal at $43.2 MM and can become a free agent in 2024 if he doesn’t get an offer that he likes. Wojnarowski notes that the extension decision for Thompson will be influenced by luxury tax concerns, the uncertain status of general manager Bob Myers, whose contract will expire after this season, and punitive restrictions in the new CBA against the highest-spending teams.
The seventh-seeded Lakers had to go through the play-in tournament to reach the playoffs, but they don’t feel like underdogs against No. 2 seed Memphis, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. L.A. is playing its best basketball of the season, winning 10 of its last 12 games. “I think seeding doesn’t matter,” Anthony Davis said. “Once you get in, it’s all about matchups and things like that.”
Trade deadline acquisition Bones Hyland could be a difference maker for the Clippers in their playoff run, according to Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. The second-year guard averaged 12.8 points and 4.3 assists off the bench in his last nine games to help the team wrap up the fifth seed. “He’s not scared and that’s the first step in being a good player is just not being scared, not being afraid of the moment,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “He’s not afraid of the moment. He’s not afraid of the big shots.”

Poll: Western Conference’s First Round Playoff Series

April 15th, 2023 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

After calling for your predictions for the four first round series in the Eastern Conference earlier in the day, we’re pivoting to the West this afternoon.

Here are the four first round series in the Western Conference:

Denver Nuggets (1) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (8)

Unlike in the East, where there are a handful of overwhelming favorites at the top of the conference, the Western Conference field appears more wide open as the playoffs begin. The Nuggets are heavily favored in this series, but their betting line (-550, per BetOnline.ag) isn’t anywhere close to the -1200 and -1300 lines we were seeing in the East.

As good as the Nuggets were this season, they weren’t playing their best basketball down the stretch, having lost five of their last seven games and 10 of their last 17 entering the postseason. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, had a disappointing year, but have a lot of high-end talent on their roster, including three-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, and ascendant All-Star Anthony Edwards.

A Timberwolves team playing to its full potential could give Denver trouble, but we haven’t seen that often this season. It would be a major upset if Tim Connelly‘s new team can get past his old one.

Memphis Grizzlies (2) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7)

After incorporating their trade-deadline acquisitions on February 11, the Lakers went 18-8 to close the regular season, which would translate to a 57-win pace over 82 games.

Throw in the fact that LeBron James and Anthony Davis are relatively healthy and two key members of the Grizzlies‘ frontcourt (Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke) aren’t, and it’s easy to understand why Memphis is only a slight favorite (-142) over Los Angeles (+122) in this series.

Still, the Grizzlies had the best net rating (+4.0) in the West this season and history is working in their favor — as John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, the NBA’s No. 7 and No. 8 playoff seeds have lost 95 of 100 first round series in the last 25 years. Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and company won’t be intimidated by the Lakers’ star power.

Sacramento Kings (3) vs. Golden State Warriors (6)

The Kings‘ reward for snapping a 16-season playoff drought is a first-round matchup against the defending champions, who have won titles in four of the last eight years.

The Warriors‘ impressive track record in the postseason has made them betting favorites (-265) in this series over Sacramento (+225). Golden State has had an up-and-down year, but has a huge experience edge in this matchup and seemed to be hitting its stride at the right time in the season’s final weeks. With Andrew Wiggins set to be available for Game 1, the roster is at full strength and will present a tough challenge for the higher-seeded Kings.

Still, the Kings have been exceeding expectations all season long, and their home crowd should be whipped into a frenzy for the first NBA playoff basketball in Sacramento since 2006. This has a chance to be a very fun series.

Phoenix Suns (4) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (5)

The key for both of these star-studded rosters is staying healthy. Suns forward Kevin Durant and guard Chris Paul have battled multiple injuries over the years, including this season, as have Clippers forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Suns have the health advantage entering this series, with George considered unlikely to play vs. Phoenix as he recovers from a sprained knee.

Even if PG13 can return to action before the series ends, the Clippers will be in tough against a Phoenix team that has looked incredibly dangerous with Durant on the court. The former MVP has only played in eight games for the Suns since being acquired at the trade deadline, but they’ve won all eight, outscoring opponents by a total of 88 points in those contests.

The Suns are considered strong betting favorites, with a -465 line at BetOnline.ag.

Rockets Notes: K. Young, Griffin, Culture, Free Agency

April 15th, 2023 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets‘ interview with Suns assistant Kevin Young for their head coaching position took place on Friday, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Houston followed up that meeting by interviewing Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin on Saturday, Iko adds (via Twitter).

Young and Griffin are at least the third and fourth candidates known to have interviewed for the Rockets’ coaching vacancy. Frank Vogel and Ime Udoka also reportedly met with the team.

Kenny Atkinson, James Borrego, and Sam Cassell have been mentioned as candidates Houston plans to talk to, though there’s no indication those meetings have happened yet.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

Speaking this week to the media, including Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), general manager Rafael Stone strongly pushed back against criticism of the rebuilding Rockets’ culture. “We have not managed to turn that culture into wins at this point in time,” Stone said. “But culture — I would put our team up there with anybody in the NBA. We work really hard. People are very supportive of each other. They get along very well. They spent a ton of time together off the court. A lot of that is a function of their youth, which is always one of the reasons why we’ve struggled to win. It’s all interrelated. I’m willing to fight with anyone who will say that our culture, on this team, this year was challenged.”
Stone went on to speculate that there are people in the media who have a residual distaste for how Houston conducted business under Daryl Morey, including the unconventional way the front office built the roster and the organization’s deference to stars like James Harden. “I was part of these teams, so I don’t want to walk away from it,” said Stone, who was an assistant GM under Morey. “… Those teams were very successful. They did things in their own way. I think some people didn’t like the way they did them. One of the things that happened is complaints about the way those people did things are being conflated with us now, even though the only commonality is the Houston Rockets. The players, coaches, front office has changed hugely. That’s my perception.”
Iko teamed up with John Hollinger of The Athletic to take a closer look at the offseason decisions facing the Rockets. As The Athletic’s duo notes, Houston owes its top-four protected 2024 first-round pick to Oklahoma City, so the team may be motivated to use its cap room (approximately $60MM) to add win-now veteran help. In addition to Harden, Hollinger names Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent, Cameron Johnson, and Grant Williams as some of the free agents the Rockets could look into.