Damian Jones Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Schröder, Lakers, Suns, Warriors, Kings

December 17th, 2020 at 9:12am CST by Luke Adams

New Lakers point guard Dennis Schröder left Wednesday’s preseason game with what was referred to after the game by head coach Frank Vogel as a “mild” ankle sprain, tweets Kyle Goon of The South California News Group (Twitter link).

While the Lakers will continue to check on Schröder’s ankle today and tomorrow, he told reporters that the injury is “nothing to worry about,” per Bill Oram of The Athletic (Twitter link). It sounds like he should be ready to go for L.A.’s regular season opener next week and may even be available for the team’s preseason finale on Friday.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

John Hollinger of The Athletic generally liked the offseason moves made by the Lakers and Suns, but questioned each team’s approach to its center spot. He isn’t sure Montrezl Harrell is a great fit in a lineup with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, given his defensive shortcomings and his inability to stretch the floor. Hollinger also wondered if Jalen Smith was a bit of a reach at No. 10 and didn’t love Phoenix’s signing of Damian Jones, calling him one of the NBA’s worst rotation players last season.
With Klay Thompson out for the season, the Warriors will need to consider how to add extra shooting to their lineup, writes Ethan Strauss of The Athletic. Strauss suggests that keeping Mychal Mulder on the roster and playing some three-guard lineups would help, and notes that Golden State also still has a disabled player exception worth $9.3MM that could be used to add a shooter at some point.
The Kings have promoted Rico Hines, announcing in a press release that they’ve named him an assistant coach and the club’s director of player development. Hines was the head coach of the G League’s Stockton Kings before joining Sacramento’s staff as a player development coach a year ago.

Suns Sign Damian Jones

November 22nd, 2020 at 1:31pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 29: Jones’ signing is official, according to the RealGM Transactions Page. He only has a $350K partial guarantee in year one, with a non-guaranteed second season, per Dave King of The Bright Side (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 22: The Suns have agreed to a two-year deal with free agent center Damian Jones, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Jones will earn the veteran’s minimum, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.

Jones, 25, spent last season with the Hawks and was acquired in July of 2018 from Golden State. He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Warriors, having been drafted by the team at No. 30 in 2016.

Jones played 55 games with Atlanta last season, averaging 5.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 16.1 minutes per contest. He’s expected to provide depth behind starting center Deandre Ayton in the frontcourt, with Phoenix seeking their first playoff berth since the 2009-10 season.

Over the past week, the Suns also traded for Chris Paul (in a deal that sent out Kelly Oubre Jr. and Ricky Rubio), agreed to sign Jae Crowder, and reached a deal to bring back Jevon Carter.

Hawks Notes: Okongwu, Trade Offers, Labissiere, QOs

November 19th, 2020 at 2:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk never got to see Onyeka Okongwu play in person, but he was convinced the USC center was the right choice with the No. 6 pick, according to Chris Kirschner and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Atlanta’s scouts were promoting Okongwu during the season and urged Schlenk to watch him, but that fell through when the Pac-12 Tournament was canceled.

Okongwu also didn’t work out for the Hawks because of a stress fracture in his sesamoid bone, which is located underneath his big toe. However, Schlenk knows what his new center can provide without seeing him in action.

“He’s going to be a plus rebounder defensively,” the Atlanta GM said. “He’s going to be a rim protector, and the other thing he does is he moves his feet very, very well in pick-and-roll coverages, and as you guys know, that’s extremely important for big guys to be able to guard in pick-and-rolls. Those are his strengths coming in. He’s got great instincts. Improving defensively is important for our group. The foundation of your defense is your big guy. They’re kind of the quarterback of the defense. They’re on the back line. They see everything. … That’s his strength, and that’s a very valuable strength in the NBA.”

There’s more from Atlanta:

The Hawks took a long look at Israeli forward Deni Avdija and Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton, according to Kirschner and Vecenie, but decided Okongwu’s potential was too good to pass up. They also listened to trade-down offers from the Knicks, Wizards and a few teams in the teens, but there were no prospects they especially liked in that range.
Atlanta now has four centers on its roster, but the front office won’t be in a hurry to unload any of them, Kirschner and Vecenie add. The Hawks traded for Clint Capela and Dewayne Dedmon last season. They also have Bruno Fernando, and John Collins plays in the middle sometimes. The addition of Okongwu means there’s no longer room on the roster for Skal Labissiere, who will not receive a qualifying offer. QOs also won’t be coming for DeAndre’ Bembry, Damian Jones and Charlie Brown Jr.
The Hawks aren’t worried that Okongwu’s injury will be a long-term issue, writes Sarah K. Spencer of The Journal-Constitution. Their medical team was able to evaluate his condition during the pre-draft process in October and will check him again soon to see how much he has healed. “The doctors, they weren’t concerned about a long-term injury at all,” Schlenk said. “So hopefully it’s healed from when the MRI was taken probably about four weeks ago, but it’s really hard to say until we get him here and get our doctors to see him. But there was no concern of a long-term injury with it.”

Hawks’ Bembry, Labissiere, Jones To Become UFAs

November 19th, 2020 at 1:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have elected not to extend qualifying offers to DeAndre’ Bembry, Skal Labissiere, Damian Jones, or Charlie Brown Jr., according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (Twitter link). As a result, all four players will be unrestricted free agents rather than restricted.

The decisions don’t come as a major surprise. Bembry was the No. 21 pick in 2016 and has spent the last four seasons in Atlanta, but didn’t have a great year in 2019/20, averaging 5.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .456/.231/.542 shooting in 43 games (21.3 MPG). Labissiere was said to be someone who intrigued Atlanta when he was acquired at the trade deadline, but he was unable to suit up for the Hawks due to health issues.

Jones made 55 appearances for Atlanta in 2019/20 but was unlikely to have a regular role next season with Clint Capela healthy and Onyeka Okongwu joining the Hawks in the draft. Brown, meanwhile, saw limited action in 10 games for the Hawks while on a two-way contract.

While those four players appear unlikely to return to Atlanta, Kirschner says (via Twitter) that the team is expected to guarantee Brandon Goodwin‘s minimum salary for 2020/21. Goodwin would earn a $1.7MM salary before becoming eligible for restricted free agency himself in 2021.

Knicks’ Robinson Among Players Not Participating In Bubble Mini-Camps

September 24th, 2020 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s bottom eight teams are finally participating in group workouts this week as part of the second phase of the league’s in-market bubble plan to get those clubs some organized offseason activities to tide them over to the 2020/21 season. However, those activities are voluntary and not every player on the bottom eight rosters is in attendance.

One of the more notable absences is in New York, where Knicks center Mitchell Robinson isn’t taking part in the team’s mini-camp, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv. As Begley details, Robinson participated in individual workouts last week but will be absent from the group portion of the camp for personal reasons. The big man doesn’t have COVID-19, sources tell Begley.

Robinson’s absence from the mini-camp is unfortunate for the Knicks because he’s under contract for multiple seasons and these sessions are mostly aimed at getting teams’ young, core players some extra reps in practices and scrimmages. Participation from established veteran players is less crucial, so it’s no surprise that Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have been excused from Golden State’s in-market bubble camp for family reasons, as Nick Friedell of ESPN writes.

“A lot of guys are going to get a lot better and really thrive in this environment,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “I’m not worried about Steph and Draymond; I know how hard they work and I know they’ll be prepared for next season.”

Impending free agency is another logical reason why certain players would opt to forgo these offseason team activities. In Atlanta, for example, Jeff Teague, DeAndre’ Bembry, Treveon Graham, and Damian Jones – all of whom are on expired contracts – aren’t with the Hawks in their bubble, according to Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Dewayne Dedmon also isn’t participating in the team’s group activities, Spencer adds.

We’ve previously passed along details on players from the other five teams who aren’t taking part in these in-market camps. That list includes Kris Dunn for the Bulls; Juan Hernangomez, Evan Turner, and Omari Spellman for the Timberwolves; Bismack Biyombo and Nicolas Batum for the Hornets; Andre Drummond, Tristan Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova, and Cedi Osman for the Cavaliers; and Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, Christian Wood, and Langston Galloway for the Pistons.

Southeast Notes: Magic, Hawks, Heat, Jones

May 13th, 2020 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

After initially targeting Tuesday as the date for the potential reopening of their practice facility, the Magic delayed that target date to Wednesday, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

While there’s a chance that the team hits that target date and opens its facility today, Orlando is still waiting on coronavirus test results for some of its asymptomatic players and staffers, according to Robbins, who tweets that the Magic are in a “holding pattern” for the time being.

Although their plans remain fluid, the Magic appear likely to allow players to conduct individual workouts at their facility soon, something the Hawks did earlier this week.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has questioned the need to reopen his team’s facility, since his players have their own workout equipment and hoops, and the NBA is limiting players to an hour at a time at practice facilities. But Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk sees value in making his team’s facility available to players, as Chris Kirschner of The Athletic writes.

“You can certainly get a lot out of this,” Schlenk said. “You can get individual skill work, form stuff. For us, the focus this week is to really just get the guys back in the building and be able to get out of the house. It’s more the mental side than the physical side of things that we can get out of this. I’ve told the coaches that this isn’t the week to prove you’re the best individual coach in the league. This week is about getting the guys in here, getting their bodies moving.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Outside of the young core building blocks on their roster, it’s not clear how many of the Hawks‘ current complementary pieces might be keepers. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic digs into that subject by examining which of the team’s free-agents-to-be are most (and least) likely to return. In Kirschner’s view, Skal Labissiere and Jeff Teague are at least decent candidates to re-sign, but DeAndre’ Bembry, Treveon Graham, and Damian Jones probably aren’t.
Speaking at a “virtual luncheon” earlier this week, Hawks CEO Steve Koonin said the franchise has committed to paying all of its full-time and part-time employees through at least the end of the fiscal year on June 30, per Tim Tucker of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explores what it would take for the Heat to lose Derrick Jones in free agency this offseason and how the team would replace his minutes in that scenario.
We rounded up a handful of Wizards-related items earlier today.

Hawks Rumors: Pierce, Bembry, FAs, Collins

March 20th, 2020 at 9:05am CST by Luke Adams

In a look at some of the offseason questions that the Hawks will have to address later this year, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic points to head coach Lloyd Pierce‘s job status as one of those unanswered questions. As Kirschner explains, Pierce has done a good job developing Atlanta’s young players, but there are other factors that could impact his job security.

For one, star guard Trae Young hasn’t always been on the same page with Pierce, according to Kirschner, who suggests the All-Star guard has disagreed with some coaching decisions and didn’t love Pierce’s comments about Young not being named a finalist for Team USA’s roster. Sources with knowledge of the Hawks star’s thinking “have confirmed that his relationship with Pierce isn’t strong,” Kirschner writes.

Some Hawks players have also questioned Pierce’s in-game decisions and rotations. According to Kirschner, one player even offered the following assessment when discussing those decisions: “It’s almost as if we actually are tanking on purpose.”

Here are some other subjects that Kirschner touches on in his story for The Athletic:

DeAndre’ Bembry has been a personal favorite of Pierce’s, but he may have played his last game for the Hawks, according to Kirschner, who hears from sources that the RFA-to-be was “readily available” leading up to the trade deadline.
Kirschner is also skeptical that Jeff Teague or Damian Jones, who will be free agents this offseason, will be back with Atlanta in 2020/21. However, he believes Skal Labissiere is a candidate to be re-signed, despite not yet playing a game for the Hawks, since the recently-acquired big man has long been a favorite of GM Travis Schlenk.
If the 2019/20 season doesn’t resume, the Hawks won’t get a chance to evaluate the on-court fit between Clint Capela and John Collins before the latter becomes extension-eligible, and Kirsher thinks it’ll be hard for the team to offer Collins a massive long-term deal without having seen whether that frontcourt pairing works.
Given the lack of a clear-cut hierarchy at the top of this year’s draft, Kirschner speculates that the Hawks would be open to trading down or trying to trade that pick for an impact player, even if they were to land the No. 1 selection. Schlenk showed a willingness to move down in 2018, passing on the chance to select Luka Doncic.

Hawks No Longer Pursuing Andre Drummond Trade

January 16th, 2020 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks traded for one veteran today but are no longer pursuing another, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who reports that Atlanta has ended its negotiations with the Pistons for center Andre Drummond.

While both sides were initially hopeful that they could work out a deal, Atlanta has decided to stay patient, recognizing that there will be chances to improve this summer in the draft and during the free agency period, sources tell Haynes.

According to Haynes, the Hawks and Pistons discussed a swap that would have sent a first-round pick, Damian Jones, and an expiring contract (either Chandler Parsons‘ or Allen Crabbe‘s) to Detroit in exchange for Drummond.

Crabbe was included in the deal the Hawks completed today with the Timberwolves for Jeff Teague, but Atlanta could’ve acquired Drummond without him, so it doesn’t appear that wasn’t a factor in the club’s decision to end trade talks with Detroit.

While the Hawks are no longer pursuing a trade for Drummond, that doesn’t mean their interest in him has disappeared. The Pistons’ big man will be one of Atlanta’s top targets in free agency if the team is still seeking a long-term answer at center at that point, sources tell Haynes. Thunder center Steven Adams, who has previously been linked to the Hawks, is still on the team’s radar and may be a target at the trade deadline or in free agency, Haynes adds.

According to Basketball Insiders’ data, the Hawks only have about $27MM in guaranteed money on their books for next season. That figure doesn’t include Jabari Parker‘s $6.5MM player option or cap holds for free agents, including potential RFAs DeAndre’ Bembry and Jones. But even after accounting for those costs, Atlanta will have more than enough cap space to aggressively pursue Drummond, Adams, or any other players they like.

The Pistons, meanwhile, continue to actively field inquiries on Drummond, according to Haynes. The Celtics, Mavericks, and Raptors were among the other teams said earlier this month to have interest in the NBA’s leading rebounder, though based on their assets and movable contracts, none of those clubs seemed to be as ideal a trade partner as Atlanta.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Notes: Green, Russell, Spellman, Curry

September 30th, 2019 at 7:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors forward Draymond Green is glad he didn’t have to deal with all the speculation regarding free agency in what would have been his walk year, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Green, who could have been one of the top free agents in a diluted market next summer, averted that issue by signing a four-year extension worth nearly $100MM in August. “I didn’t myself want to come into the season with all that,” he said. “Kind of becomes a headache.”

We have more on the Warriors:

The D’Angelo Russell–Kevin Durant sign-and-trade was nerve-wracking and challenging due to time constraints, GM Bob Myers said in a radio interview with 95.7 The Game (hat tip to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area). “So for that to happen, obviously one thing, Kevin has to leave,” Myers said. “Two, you got to get Brooklyn to cooperate and Kevin to cooperate in a four-hour window of time. You need D’Angelo to say, ‘Yeah, I’ll come.” He had other offers. A lot of times that’s like a three-team trade, they just don’t happen.”
Forward Omari Spellman wasn’t immediately thrilled at the prospect of moving from the Hawks to the Warriors, Slater adds in another tweet. “That was extremely tough for me,” he said. “But on the flip side, an organization that has been, let’s be honest, the best team in the league for like the last four, five years decided to take a chance on me.” Golden State traded center Damian Jones and a second-round pick to acquire Spellman.
Stephen Curry isn’t interested in any load management plans, Logan Murdock of NBCS Authentic tweets. Concerning his workload, Curry quipped, “48 minutes a game for all 82.”

Hawks Notes: Jones, Roster, Parker, Minutes

July 14th, 2019 at 2:56pm CST by clarkcrum

Former first-round pick and newly-acquired Hawks big man Damian Jones is looking to show off his talent in a way he wasn’t able to on a loaded Warriors’ roster, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Jones, who says he is 100 percent recovered from last season’s injury, sees himself being able to provide Atlanta with rim protection, defense and a lob option around the basket.

“I haven’t really gotten a chance to show what I can do,” Jones said Friday at his introductory news conference. “… I still have more to prove.”

There’s more news out of Atlanta this afternoon from Vivlamore:

After waiving point guard Jaylen Adams, the Hawks now have a roster of 13 players and will look to sign another veteran to the roster and a second two-way player alongside Charlie Brown, per Vivlamore (link). Because Trae Young is now the lone point guard on the team, one of those signings will almost certainly be a point guard. As for the final standard roster spot, Atlanta plans to leave that vacant for the start of the season.
One of those 13 players is former No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker. Parker, who saw his $20MM team option declined by the Wizards earlier this summer before signing with the Hawks on a two-year, $13MM deal earlier this week, says one the reasons he signed with Atlanta is because of the team’s medical staff and Parker’s confidence in them working with his twice surgically repaired left knee (Twitter link from Vivlamore).
As we relayed earlier this weekend, Young, big man John Collins , and rookie lottery selections De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish will all see “a lot” of playing time during the 2019/20 season, per general manager Travis Schlenk.