DeMar DeRozan Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Notes: Playoffs, Rest, LaVine, Ball

April 5th, 2022 at 11:02pm CST by Rory Maher

After the Cavs lost to the Magic on Tuesday, the Bulls clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2017, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

“I’m happy for our guys, I’m happy for our organization,” coach Billy Donovan said of the playoff berth. “You want to be playing at that time of the year. A lot of these guys haven’t experienced this.”

However, Chicago lost to Milwaukee 127-106, raising more questions than answers about the team’s chances as the playoffs loom, according to Cowley. The Bulls were swept by both the Bucks and Sixers this season, and there’s a good chance they’ll face one of them in the first round.

Here’s more on the Bulls:

Donovan said that resting players who feel like they need it over the last three games will take precedence, although he believes that playing would help them stay sharp ahead of the playoffs (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago).
That could be particularly important for Zach LaVine, who missed the team’s practice on Monday and shootaround on Tuesday in addition to the Bucks game. Donovan said LaVine’s left knee was bothering him Tuesday morning, but the team’s medical staff indicated that it likely wouldn’t be a multiple-game absence, per Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). LaVine’s status for Wednesday’s game against Boston is unknown, and he’s considered day-to-day going forward — obviously that could change with the team clinching a playoff berth.
DeMar DeRozan said Lonzo Ball‘s impact on the team will be sorely missed, as Schaefer relays (via Twitter). “He brings a different type of swagger to us when he plays…From his passing, his IQ, his capability to knock down shots…The whole dynamic of the game changes with ‘Zo out there,” DeRozan said. Ball is expected to be shut down for the rest of the season after experiencing more discomfort in his knee.

Lakers Notes: Davis, James, Injuries, DeRozan

April 4th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers aren’t technically out of playoff contention yet, but after falling two games (and a tiebreaker) behind San Antonio in the Western Conference standings on Sunday, their odds of claiming a spot in the play-in tournament are increasingly slim — in fact, the Lakers could be officially eliminated as soon as Tuesday if they lose in Phoenix and the Spurs win in Denver.

Following Sunday’s loss, Anthony Davis sounded like someone who recognized that L.A.’s season is all but over, as he reflected on “what could have been” if the team had been healthier.

“I think the biggest thing that I think about personally is what we could have been, had we stayed healthy all year,” Davis said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “What could we have been. … Guys feel like, ‘OK, what could we have been if I was healthy all year, [LeBron James] was healthy, [Kendrick] Nunn was healthy.’ You think about those things. We put this team together and it looked good on paper, but we haven’t had a chance to reach that potential with guys in and out of the lineup.”

Davis, who has only played in half of the Lakers’ 78 games so far this season, has been bothered throughout his career by injuries, but he bristled at the perception that he’s fragile, telling Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times that he hasn’t been sidelined due to “little ticky-tack injuries.”

“This is what I’ve learned about injuries,” Davis said. “Last year when I wasn’t playing, people were saying, ‘AD’s giving up on his team. It’s the playoffs. AD has to play. He’s got to play.’ And when I went out there to play, got hurt again, they said, ‘Who was his trainer? Who let him play?’

“So, what the [expletive] do you want me to do? When I play, it’s a problem. It’s a problem when I don’t play. At the end of the day, I’ve got to do what’s best for me and how my body feels. And we go from there. I’m not worried about who’s saying what or who thinks this about me because none of them have stepped on the floor and played. And the ones that did play, they should understand.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

A source familiar with James’ status told Dave McMenamin of ESPN that the star forward is “unlikely” to play on Tuesday vs. Phoenix. However, according to McMenamin, the source said there’s still a chance that could change if LeBron’s ankle improves more than expected by tomorrow night.
Jovan Buha of The Athletic and his colleague John Hollinger both pushed back against the idea that injuries have been the primary cause of the Lakers’ disappointing season. Buha observed that even in games when Davis and James played, the team was just 11-11, while Hollinger said the team’s offseason plan needs to be better than simply running it back and hoping its two superstars stay healthy in 2022/23.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up and First Take on Monday, former Lakers president Magic Johnson criticized the club for not acquiring DeMar DeRozan last offseason instead of Russell Westbrook (link via Jenna Lemoncelli of The New York Post). While that’s not an unreasonable take, given that DeRozan had interest in playing for his hometown team, Johnson’s assertion that the Lakers could’ve had DeRozan, Buddy Hield, Alex Caruso, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope instead of Westbrook is a fantasy that doesn’t pass muster. Unless DeRozan had been willing to sign for the taxpayer mid-level exception (which wasn’t viewed as a viable option at the time), L.A. would’ve become hard-capped by acquiring him and would have had no way of carrying all those contracts in addition to James’ and Davis’ maximum salaries. Acquiring both DeRozan and Hield without giving up Caldwell-Pope also likely wouldn’t have been possible due to salary-matching rules.

Bulls Notes: DeRozan, Williams, Ball, Vucevic

April 1st, 2022 at 7:59am CST by Luke Adams

With Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid putting up monster numbers on a near-nightly basis and the Bulls struggling in recent weeks, DeMar DeRozan isn’t getting the same level of MVP buzz he was earlier in the season. However, his 50-point outburst on Thursday in a win over the Clippers was a reminder of how important he has been to the Bulls this season, writes Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune.

DeRozan said after the game that he was more focused on getting the victory than on becoming the sixth player in team history to score 50 points in a game, since Chicago can’t afford to risk falling into play-in territory.

“The win is more meaningful,” DeRozan said, per Sullivan. “I just wanted to win this game, badly. You see how tight the (Eastern Conference) race is. Every game is extremely important. We have no more room to be dropping any more games.”

The Bulls’ 45-32 record puts them in fifth place in the East, 1.5 games behind the No. 4 Sixers and just a half-game ahead of the No. 6 Raptors. Chicago has a three-game lead on the No. 7 Cavs, so barring a disaster down the stretch, the team should secure a top-six seed and a guaranteed playoff spot.

Here’s more out of Chicago:

Patrick Williams admitted to reporters on Thursday that he was fined by the Bulls after being late to the team’s morning shootaround, as Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Williams, who hadn’t made much of an impact since returning from a wrist injury on March 21, made up for his tardiness with his best game of the season on Thursday, putting up 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.
After having his rehab process paused for 10 days, Lonzo Ball will resume the ramp-up process toward full-speed sprinting and cutting, head coach Billy Donovan said on Thursday (link via Schaefer at NBC Sports Chicago). Time is running out for Ball to return this season, but the Bulls haven’t considered shutting him down. “Certainly every day that goes by and time that passes by, you know, you’re moving closer and closer to the end of the season,” Donovan said. “But I have not gotten anything from the doctors that said to me, like, ‘Listen, there’s just not enough time, we can’t get him back.’ They’re gonna do everything they can to try to get him back. But a lot’s gonna be depending on how he responds to this.”
In his latest mailbag, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago discussed several Bulls-related topics, including Williams’ development and ceiling and Nikola Vucevic‘s future in Chicago.

And-Ones: Jerebko, Canaan, China, Teammate Award, Future Rankings

March 31st, 2022 at 7:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While some former NBA players have left Russian teams following the invasion into Ukraine, Jonas Jerebko is resuming his career there. The ex-NBA big man signed with CSKA Moscow, the team tweets. That didn’t sit well with the Swedish National Team, who suspended him, according to Johnny Askounis of EuroHoops.net. “Unfortunately, we are forced to state that there are no conditions for Jonas Jerebko to play for the Sweden basketball national team,” a Swedish Basketball Federation press release stated in part. Jerebko played for four NBA teams.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Another Russian team, Unics Kazan, has mutually parted ways with guard Isaiah Canaan, according to a EuroHoops.net story. Canaan is joining Turkey’s Galatasaray, EuroHoops tweets. Canaan appeared in 235 NBA games, most recently during the 2018/19 campaign.
Chinese TV has resumed broadcasts of NBA games, Sopan Deb of the New York Times reports. China had boycotted NBA broadcasts since 2019, when former Houston executive Daryl Morey tweeted support for pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. China Central Television, its state-run TV network, broadcasted Tuesday night’s matchup between the Clippers and Jazz, which kicked off a full return of the league to China’s airwaves.
The 12 finalists for the league’s Teammate of the Year award have been announced, the NBA announced (via Twitter). DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Jeff Green , Udonis Haslem, Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Jaren Jackson Jr., Kevin Love, Boban Marjanovic, Chris Paul, Fred VanVleet and Grant Williams are the contenders. The annual honor recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.
The Grizzlies top the list on ESPN’s Future Power Rankings, according to Kevin Pelton, Bobby Marks, Andre’ Snellings, and Tim Bontemps (Insider link). They’re followed by the Heat and Suns. The Kings sit at the bottom of the pile.

Bulls Notes: Offseason, LaVine, DeRozan, Thompson

March 26th, 2022 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls‘ prolonged slump could affect offseason decisions if they can’t turn things around in time for the playoffs, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago was one of the league’s early-season surprises with new additions DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso meshing immediately and leading the team to the top of the Eastern Conference. But the Bulls have struggled amid a rash of injuries and are currently just one game away from the play-in tournament.

Cowley suggests an early playoff exit would make the front office more willing to part with one of its core pieces, such as center Nikola Vucevic, who will have an expiring $22MM contract next season. Cowley believes Chicago would have interest in Rudy Gobert if the Jazz make him available or Suns center Deandre Ayton, who is headed toward restricted free agency.

Another possibility is parting with free agent guard Zach LaVine, who will be a free agent this summer and is eligible to re-sign for five years at roughly $210MM. LaVine has experienced lingering pain in his left knee through much of the season, and Cowley thinks the Bulls might be open to a sign-and-trade if they decide to break up their core.

There’s more from Chicago:

LaVine is determined to stay in the lineup as he nears the first playoff appearance of his eight-year career, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. LaVine visited a knee specialist just before the All-Star break, and the Bulls are managing his playing time to help him remain productive. “I’m doing everything I can,” he said. “People know I play through injury. I hate missing basketball games. I’m a team-first guy. Even when I’m not 100%, I’m helping the team. Obviously, I have to watch out for myself and do due diligence on my rehab and how I feel. I just have to maintain it and I will.”
It looks like DeRozan will miss just one game with the left adductor strain he suffered Tuesday. DeRozan sat out Thursday’s loss to the Pelicans, but he’s listed as probable for tonight’s contest in Cleveland, tweets K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
Tristan Thompson received a $20K fine for “directing profane language toward a game official,” the league announced (via Twitter). Thompson was ejected after receiving two technical fouls in the closing seconds of Thursday’s game.

Injury Notes: Anunoby, DeRozan, Bucks, Iguodala, Pistons

March 25th, 2022 at 7:32am CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward OG Anunoby returned to action on Thursday after missing 15 games due to a fractured finger. He immediately reentered Toronto’s starting lineup and scored 14 points in an important win over Cleveland.

While a current Raptor returned from an injury on Thursday, a former Raptor headed to the sidelines with an ailment of his own. Bulls star DeMar DeRozan missed the team’s game against New Orleans due to a left groin strain, one that head coach Billy Donovan referred to as “mild,” per Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago.

“I think he was experiencing some tightness (there) for a little bit, but nothing more than tightness,” Donovan said. “And then I think — I don’t know if it was a specific play — but (he) definitely started to feel it a little bit more than just being tight after (Tuesday’s game).

“DeMar knows his body better than anybody else. I think he felt like, ‘OK this could get into something else a little bit more significant if I don’t take care of this.’ That’s why they wanted to do the imaging and they found out it’s a mild strain really all it is right now… We just don’t want it to turn into something bigger.”

As we wait to see if DeRozan will miss any more time, here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Bucks forward Khris Middleton has missed a couple games due to a wrist injury, but head coach Mike Budenholzer expressed optimism that Middleton will be available in Memphis on Saturday, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Budenholzer is less certain about Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s status for Saturday’s game after the Bucks star sat out on Thursday with right knee soreness, but said Antetokounmpo’s injury shouldn’t be “anything long-term or significant” (Twitter link via Nehm).
Andre Iguodala, who has missed the Warriors‘ last 19 games due to a back issue, has been upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game in Atlanta, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Even if Iguodala isn’t able to play tonight, it sounds like he’s very close to returning.
Pistons rookie wing Chris Smith, who has spent the season on a two-way contract recovering from an ACL tear, is undergoing another surgery and won’t make his NBA debut this season, head coach Dwane Casey said on Wednesday (Twitter link via James Edwards III of The Athletic). Smith’s two-way deal runs through 2022/23, but that doesn’t guarantee Detroit will hang onto him for next season.
Pistons rookie forward Isaiah Livers entered the NBA’s concussion protocol and missed Wednesday’s game after bumping heads with Luka Garza in practice, per Casey (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press). While Livers was diagnosed with a concussion and has been ruled out for Friday’s game too, Garza was OK and didn’t have to enter the protocol.

Central Notes: Wade, Cavs, Bulls, Anderson

March 20th, 2022 at 4:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Pacers signed swingman Justin Anderson to a 10-day deal on Thursday in part as a response to his efforts with their NBAGL club, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, and to give him a chance to prove he deserves to stick in the NBA going forward, writes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. He certainly has his fans around the league.

“I don’t know what else Justin can do at the G League level to prove to teams he deserves to be back in the NBA,” a source that was not Anderson’s agent informed Agness. The 28-year-old previously inked two 10-day deals this season, one with the Cavaliers and another with Indiana earlier this year.

“He’s been the best player on the [Mad Ants],” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said, “and probably the best player in the entire [G League]. He’s earned this opportunity, he knows our stuff, he’s kept himself ready. And the one thing about him, he’s appreciative of the opportunity and he’s really fought for these chances to be back in the NBA.”

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Cavaliers forward Dean Wade, who has already dealt with some inconclusive imaging on his sore right knee, is set to undergo further testing on the knee this week after missing Cleveland’s last three games, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Fedor notes that there is “growing concern” about a meniscus tear.
The Cavaliers have exhibited strong mental toughness down the stretch of the regular season as they push for their first postseason berth since 2018, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. “For us, it’s a mental thing,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Our guys are pretty confident and pretty sound in our schemes. … And if you’re never in this position, you don’t gain that experience. You never are able to figure it out.”
The Bulls are struggling to find much of a response whenever opposing defenses opt to double-team All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan, opines Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Probably the most [double-teams] I’ve seen in my career, to be honest with you,’’ DeRozan said. “For me, it’s one of those things that we got to figure it out. It’s on me to help the guys figure it out as well… The best way to learn is to be knocked in the mouth like we doing. Now it’s a matter of us responding, letting it click. Once it clicks, we be fine.’’

Central Notes: Warren, Smith, Wade, Bulls

March 19th, 2022 at 1:33pm CST by JD Shaw

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle expressed disappointment that T.J. Warren (foot) won’t be playing this season, James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star writes. Warren has been rehabbing from a stress fracture and recently started playing five-on-five in practice.

The 28-year-old hasn’t played at all in 2021/22 and only appeared in four games last season, but he did average 19.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 67 games in ’19/20. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“He had one of the most challenging years of rehab and trying to bring himself back that I’ve ever seen a player have,” Carlisle said. “He stayed positive. He stayed in the fight the entire time, and he is close. We obviously wish him the very, very best, and we’ll see where it goes from here in terms of when he’ll be back.”

There’s more from the Central Division tonight:

Pacers center Jalen Smith suffered a head contusion in the team’s win over the Rockets on Friday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. Smith, who exited the game with roughly four minutes left in the third quarter, finished with an impressive 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 13 minutes off the bench.
Cavaliers forward Dean Wade will undergo further testing on his sore right knee, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. Wade will miss his fourth straight game on Saturday and underwent tests that came back inconclusive. According to Fedor, there’s growing concern about a possible meniscus injury.
The Bulls have now lost eight of their last 10 games, dropping a 129-102 decision to the Suns on Friday, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic writes. Chicago (41-29) ranks fifth in the Eastern Conference with 12 games left in the season. “It’s just snowballing downhill,” star guard DeMar DeRozan said. The Bulls were first in the conference standings just three weeks ago.

Central Notes: Caruso, DeRozan, LeVert, Bey

March 18th, 2022 at 6:50pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls guard Alex Caruso admits he’s still not 100 percent healthy yet after returning from a fractured right wrist that sidelined him for 22 games, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.

“It just gets hit, banged up a little bit. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just sore. It’s just going to take time,” Caruso said. “We took a very aggressive rehab schedule and ramp-up schedule so I could get back with the team and try to play. It just kind of comes with the territory.

“I’m not 100 percent. I’m not going to lie to you. But it’s moreso just the rhythm of the game. Try not to make excuses, but that seven weeks is tough. I didn’t get any practices or anything. Just right back in the game. I got high standards for how I want to play, how I want the team to play. And I don’t think I’m doing my part as well I can right now, which is frustrating.”

Johnson notes the Bulls were a strong defensive team at the beginning of the season with both Caruso and Lonzo Ball healthy, but have slipped to 18th in the league in defensive rating following their injuries. The Bulls are just 2-7 in their last nine games, including consecutive road losses in Sacramento and Utah, where they gave up 112 and 125 points, respectively.

At 41-28, the Bulls are currently the fifth seed in the East. They have a difficult remaining schedule, with 11 of their last 13 games against teams vying for the play-in or the playoffs.

Here are a few more notes from the Central Division:

DeMar DeRozan‘s influence on the Bulls is similar to the way Chris Paul has impacted winning throughout his career, Johnson writes in a separate article for NBC Sports Chicago. Coach Billy Donovan has coached both players and compared their leadership qualities. “They’re two totally different players, two totally different people,” Donovan said. “But the impact that Chris made that I saw in Oklahoma and now seeing the impact that DeMar made, you can just see how they’ve kind of galvanized the group and they’ve got everybody together. It’s because of how humble they are, how team-oriented they are, how competitive they are and how much they both want to win.” For his part, DeRozan says he’s just focused on the grind. “I try to be the same person every day and carry that over to my teammates and to my work,” DeRozan said. “That’s how I lead.”
Kelsey Russo of The Athletic details how Caris LeVert has been acclimating to the Cavaliers. LeVert, who recently returned from a nine-game absence after suffering a sprained foot, admits it was difficult dealing with the injury, but he’s enjoying his time in Cleveland. “It’s been fun for me, to be honest with you,” LeVert said. “I try to look at it as a positive challenge for me; it’s just getting better. I know we’re playing for something, playing for the playoffs or playing for a championship. So that’s what gets me going in every morning.”
Second-year forward Saddiq Bey helped the Pistons snap a four-game losing streak on Thursday by scoring a career-high 51 points, writes Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Bey became the seventh Piston to score 50-plus in a game and tied Hall of Famer Joe Dumars‘ franchise record with 10 threes made (on 14 attempts), Sankofa notes. Bey finished with an eye-popping 51 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals on 17-of-27 shooting in the team’s 134-120 victory over Orlando.

Pacific Notes: Kennard, Jackson, DeRozan, Horton-Tucker, DiVincenzo

March 12th, 2022 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The chemistry between Luke Kennard and Reggie Jackson formed long before they teamed up on the Clippers, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. They were teammates in Detroit for two and a half seasons after Kennard entered the league in 2017/18.

Their partnership ended briefly when the Pistons waived Jackson in February of 2020, but he signed with L.A. a few days later and Kennard was traded to the Clippers in the fall. They’ll make their only visit of the season to Detroit on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s been a lot of fun playing with him – I mean, I played with him in Detroit, so I know what Reggie is all about,” Kennard said. “He was my vet in Detroit, and we kind of built a connection right away. He helped me a lot throughout my first couple of years there. And just to be back with him now and to play even more of a role with him now than I did in Detroit, it’s fun.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Appearing as a guest on Serge Ibaka‘s “How Hungry Are You?” series on YouTube, DeMar DeRozan admits that he had some interest in joining the Clippers during free agency (hat tip to Adam Glanzman of All Clippers). On the show, which was taped during the offseason, DeRozan said he would have accepted a small pay cut if Kyle Lowry had also come to L.A., but after he met with the Bulls, he didn’t believe the Clippers could match their offer. “Nothing but respect to (president of basketball operations) Lawrence Frank and the whole Clippers organization,” DeRozan said. “Great people. It definitely was an opportunity that presented itself. I think for me, the Chicago thing just took off.”
After Friday’s game, Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker revealed that he’s playing with a Grade 2 ankle sprain, according to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Horton-Tucker was listed as questionable for the game, but wound up playing 30 minutes and scoring 15 points. “I’m just trying to play through it,” he said. “It’s the end of the season so we got to get some wins. So, any way I can help I feel like I need to be out there. So, I’m trying to play through it. It still hurts, but I’m just trying to push.”
Donte DiVincenzo brought a commitment to defense to the Kings when they acquired him in a four-team trade last month, per Alex Kramers of NBA.com. The fourth-year guard specializes in jumping into passing lanes and forcing turnovers. “At the end of the day, it is just locking up and locking in on the defensive end, [recognizing] how to disrupt [opponents] offensively and how to make a difference for a team,” DiVincenzo said.