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Texas Notes: White, Kleber, Rockets, Mavericks Arena

February 9th, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After Spurs guard Derrick White returned on January 30 from his second major toe injury since August, he quickly returned to the impressive level he had been displaying during last summer’s restart in Orlando, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News.

The Spurs have been the beneficiaries of White’s improvement. The club is 3-2 since White’s return, as of this writing, and has won three games in a row. At 14-10, San Antonio is the No. 5 seed in a crowded Western Conference field.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

Despite having recovered from a bout with COVID-19, Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber continues to adjust to life on an NBA court, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “I still feel slow,” Kleber said.
The Rockets will be using a strict load management-style maintenance plan for their three core guards for the indefinite future, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston’s starting back court tandem of John Wall and Victor Oladipo, plus sixth man Eric Gordon, will all sit for at least one game in the team’s upcoming back-to-back sets. “It’s something we’ve talked about the last three weeks or so, four weeks maybe,” head coach Stephen Silas said of the plan. “With John and Vic being primary ballhandlers, that makes it a little harder. Now, you add Eric to the mix [of players sitting], it makes it really hard.”
The Mavericks brought 1,500 first responder fans back into their home arena, the American Airlines Center, for the first time this season during a 127-122 victory over the Timberwolves yesterday, according to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “The atmosphere was obviously better,” Dallas wing Tim Hardaway Jr. said. The fans were socially distanced within the 19,200-capacity arena.

Southwest Notes: Bledsoe, Kleber, White, Samanic

January 27th, 2021 at 10:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

After a report Tuesday that the Pelicans are getting trade calls about guards Lonzo Ball and J.J. Redick, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst adds another name to the list. Appearing on “The Jump” today (video link), Windhorst said Eric Bledsoe is also available and that New Orleans is initiating trade talks with other teams.

With a 5-10 record, the Pelicans have been the most disappointing team in the West. Bledsoe has played a role in that as his numbers across the board are down from last season in Milwaukee. Acquired from the Bucks in the Jrue Holiday deal, Bledsoe is averaging 12.8 points per game, his lowest scoring average in eight years.

According to Windhorst, New Orleans wants to clear away its veteran guards to create more playing time for Nickeil Alexander-Walker and rookie Kira Lewis, who was the 13th pick in last year’s draft. Coach Stan Van Gundy talked to Ball and Redick today about the situation, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic, and said the players realize that trade rumors are part of life in the NBA.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Maxi Kleber, one of five Mavericks players who were quarantined, has been cleared and has started individual workouts, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Coach Rick Carlisle said Kleber won’t be available for Friday’s game against the Jazz, but may return this weekend. “His clock is ticking at a different rate because his episode was longer,” Carlisle said. “He certainly won’t play in either of these two games (at Utah). Saturday I suppose could be a possibility, but I don’t know.” (Twitter link)
Spurs guard Derrick White is close to returning from a fractured toe and could be back in the lineup this weekend, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). White, who has played just one game this season, had surgery on the toe in August and reinjured it on New Year’s Day.
The Spurs have sent second-year forward Luka Samanic to the G League bubble in Orlando, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Samanic has seen limited playing time in four games this season.

Texas Notes: Iwundu, Wall, White, Hammon

January 9th, 2021 at 6:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks‘ quarantine issues could give Wesley Iwundu his first real opportunity since joining the team as a free agent last month, writes Eddie Sefko of NBA.com. Dallas is playing without Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson, who are all out of action for at least a week.

Iwundu has gotten into four games so far, but is averaging just 5.0 minutes per night. He spent his first three seasons with the Magic before getting an offer from the Mavericks.

“Coming to Dallas, the focus on winning is higher,” Iwundu said. “You have a better team, better players and it’s just something you got to come in with that mindset that you want to get better each and every day.”

There’s more from the Lone Star State:

John Wall believes the Rockets‘ bench can be among the best in the league, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Wall often plays alongside the reserves, who are shooting 50% from the field, which is the best among NBA bench units. “I know I can score the ball,” Wall said. “At the same time, I can put pressure on the defense pushing the pace, running pick-and-rolls. And I can find my shooters, guys like Eric Gordon, Ben McLemore, DeMarcus (Cousins) out there, Jae’Sean Tate, Sterling Brown, (David) Nwaba. I have guys that can make shots.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich expects guard Derrick White to miss four to six weeks with a fractured toe, tweets Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. White had surgery on the toe in August and was sidelined through the first four games of the regular season. He reinjured it on New Year’s Day.
Popovich confirmed that assistant coach Becky Hammon is one of the Spurs‘ staff members not with the team because of health and safety protocols (Twitter link from Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News). Two staffers and reserve big man Drew Eubanks have been required to quarantine.

Spurs Guard Derrick White Has Toe Fracture

January 4th, 2021 at 7:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spurs guard Derrick White has a minor toe fracture in his left foot, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. White’s return will be based upon his response to rehab, Charania adds.

It’s the same digit — the second toe of his left foot — that was surgically repaired in August. White re-injured the toe during a loose ball scrum against the Lakers on New Year’s Day. White missed training camp, preseason and the team’s first four regular-season games while rehabbing from the surgery, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News notes.

White scored nine points in 23 minutes in his season debut before retreating to the bench.

“This is bad, bad luck for him and for our team,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team departed on a five-game road trip this week.

White signed a four-year rookie scale extension worth $73MM just prior to the start of the regular season. White averaged 11.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 3.5 APG in 24.7 MPG last season, his third year in the league. He started 20 of 68 games after starting 55 of 67 games in his second season.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, White, Silas, Doncic

December 31st, 2020 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With the starting Pelicans backcourt tandem of Eric Bledsoe and Lonzo Ball struggling to score, William Guillory of The Athletic suggests that swapping in sharpshooter J.J. Redick for Bledsoe could help unlock the club’s offense.

Redick could benefit by playing alongside new starting center Steven Adams, the best screener on the New Orleans roster. With Redick starting, All-Star small forward Brandon Ingram could become the club’s primary ball handler.

There’s more out of the NBA’s Southwest Division:

Newly-extended Spurs guard Derrick White has been activated by San Antonio, and thus will be available for the first time since his August surgery on the second toe of his left foot, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. The Spurs host the Lakers tomorrow night.
New Rockets head coach Stephen Silas is continuing to work Houston’s newly-available players into his game planning as they come back from COVID-19 health protocols, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic is hoping to get out of a bumpy offensive start to his third NBA season, according to Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. He had one of worst scoring performances as a pro on Wednesday, scoring just 12 points against the Hornets in a 118-99 loss. “Obviously I’ve got to do way better,” Doncic said. “I can still prove so much, so I’ve got to work on those shots every day and if you work on it, they’re going to fall in eventually, so that’s my point of view.” Doncic has gone cold from long distance this season, connecting on just 9.5% of his 5.3 three-point attempts a night.

Southwest Notes: Harden, Pelicans, Powell, White

December 26th, 2020 at 7:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

Headlines about James Harden in recent weeks have been focused on trade possibilities, COVID-19 protocols, and high-profile partying, but the Rockets star insists he’s focused on the new season, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston will be the last team to start its season tonight after Wednesday’s scheduled opener was postponed because the Rockets didn’t have the NBA minimum of eight available players.

“We got a good opportunity,” Harden said. “Starting my 12th year in this league. I’m excited for it. … To get out here playing, never want to take playing basketball for granted. So, I’m excited for tonight’s game.”

The Rockets haven’t played a game since the preseason ended nine days ago and they haven’t practiced since Tuesday because so many players are sidelined for coronavirus-related reasons. Harden acknowledges the challenge of trying to compete with half a roster.

“We’re missing three players in our rotation that play heavy minutes for our team, that are big pieces for our team,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for guys to step up and play big minutes. We’ve been training for it. We’re ready for it.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Pelicans are just two games into their season and depth already looks like an issue, observes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. New coach Stan Van Gundy used his top seven players for 227 of the 240 minutes in Friday’s loss to Miami. “I haven’t given anybody a chance,” he admitted after the game. “That’s on me.”
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is excited to have center/power forward Dwight Powell available again after he underwent Achilles tendon surgery in January, tweets Dwain Price of Mavs.com. Powell played a combined 41 minutes in Dallas’ first two games. “I just know that for a 6’10” guy that went through that situation he’s done a remarkable job with rehab and all those kinds of things,” Carlisle said. “He’s an amazing guy.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters tonight that guard Derrick White is making progress with rehab work and “should return soon” after having offseason toe surgery, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). White signed a four-year extension earlier this week.

Contract Details: Isaac, Fultz, Kennard, White

December 24th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The terms of Jonathan Isaac‘s four-year extension with the Magic are a little more favorable than initially reported, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic and Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Originally said to be an $80MM deal, Isaac’s new contract actually has a base value of $69.6MM, or $17.4MM per year. It also includes $2.6MM in annual incentives that he’ll receive for each season in which he plays in 70 of 82 games (or the prorated equivalent in a shortened season). So Isaac will earn the full $80MM only if he stays healthy enough to appear in 70 or more games for four consecutive seasons starting in 2021/22.

The Magic further protected themselves by including Exhibit 3 language in the deal, per Hollinger and Marks. While the exact details of that language are unclear, an Exhibit 3 clause allows a team to limit or eliminate a player’s salary protection in the event of a specific injury — presumably, for Isaac, the language will cover any ongoing issues related to his left knee, following this year’s left ACL tear.

Here are a few more details on recently-signed extensions:

Markelle Fultz‘s three-year, $50MM extension with the Magic includes guaranteed $16.5MM salaries in each of the first two seasons, according to Hollinger and Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The $17MM third-year salary is partially guaranteed for just $2MM. Fultz also has $1MM in unlikely annual incentives for winning the Most Improved Player award, says Hollinger.
Luke Kennard‘s four-year, $56MM extension with the Clippers includes a fourth-year team option, so only about $41.2MM is fully guaranteed, tweets Smith. However, Kennard can also easily achieve $1.1MM in annual incentives by playing in at least 66 games or logging 1,772 minutes ($620,454) and by playing in the first round of the playoffs ($477,273), reports Hollinger. Kennard’s other annual incentives include $143,182 apiece for making the Conference Finals and NBA Finals, $190,909 for winning a title, and $334,091 for a defensive rating below 105, according to Hollinger.
Derrick White‘s four-year extension with the Spurs has a guaranteed base value of $70MM and is structured as an increasing deal with annual 8% raises, tweets Smith. There are $1.25MM per year in incentives, according to Hollinger: $500K for appearing in 70 games, $500K for making 185 three-pointers, and $250K for making an All-Defense team. White has only made 135 career three-pointers in three seasons, including 79 in 2019/20.

Southwest Notes: Richardson, White, Harden, Green, McLemore

December 22nd, 2020 at 7:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks guard Josh Richardson plans to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times. Richardson is eligible to sign an extension at any point this season but apparently doesn’t plan to take that path (Twitter links). The Sixers dealt Richardson to Dallas last month along with second-round pick Tyler Bey for Seth Curry. Richardson holds an $11.6MM option for the 2021/22 season, the final year of his current contract.

We have more from around the Southwest Division:

The Spurs signed guard Derrick White to a four-year, $73MM rookie scale extension prior to Monday’s deadline and White is brimming with optimism at the organization’s direction, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News writes. “I’m excited with the direction we’re going,” White said. “I’m excited to keep getting better and improving and getting back to where the Spurs should be. I’m excited to be here for that process.”
James Harden dismissed a question about his future with the Rockets when he met with the media on Monday, Kristie Rieken of The Associated Press writes. Harden also downplayed his late arrival to training camp. “We keep talking about what I missed,” he said. “I think everybody, the entire league is in catch-up mode in a sense of we only had a short time for training camp, so everybody’s trying to get into game shape because obviously the season just ended a few months ago.” There’s reportedly tension between the disgruntled All-Star and his teammates as the season approaches.
The Rockets are hopeful are bringing back Gerald Green as a player or in another role, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Green was placed on waivers over the weekend due to cap constraints after he signed a non-guaranteed contract prior to camp. “He’s still going to be part of the family, obviously,” coach Stephen Silas said. “We’re going to figure out a way if he doesn’t get picked up by somebody else for him to be a Rocket, which he should be.”
Rockets guard Ben McLemore is not with the team because he’s self-isolating, according to the league’s injury report, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. Houston hosts the Thunder on Wednesday.

Spurs Sign Derrick White To Four-Year Extension

December 21st, 2020 at 7:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

7:12pm: It’s official, according to a team press release.

5:08pm: The Spurs have reached an agreement on a four-year extension for guard Derrick White, agent Mike Lindeman tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). It’ll be worth $73MM, per Wojnarowski.

San Antonio’s strong commitment to White comes after a season in which he was just a part-time starter. White averaged 11.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 3.5 APG in 24.7 MPG in his third year in the league. He started 20 of 68 games after starting 55 of 67 games in his second season.

However, the Spurs recently signaled their intentions of retaining the combo guard long term when coach Gregg Popovich remarked, “He’s somebody we plan on for the future.”

White was the 29th pick of the 2017 draft. The Spurs backcourt is now set for years to come as they signed Dejounte Murray to a four-year extension worth up to $70MM last year.

With several veteran players coming off the books after this season, San Antonio will still have plenty of cap flexibility next summer. Factoring in White’s cap hold, the Spurs only sacrificed $6MM in space for the 2021 offseason. San Antonio could still have $50MM in cap room even with White’s extension factored in, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

White is currently sidelined after undergoing left toe surgery this fall.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Spurs Hope To Extend Derrick White

December 17th, 2020 at 6:46pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With the December 21 contract extension deadline looming for players entering the last year of their rookie contracts, the Spurs hope to reach an agreement with guard Derrick White, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). Head coach Gregg Popovich commented on the situation. “He’s somebody we plan on for the future,” Popovich said.

McDonald adds in a separate tweet that the club could also wait for White to reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2021, and then opt to match any offer he may receive from another team.

The Spurs drafted White with the No. 29 pick out of the University of Colorado. Last season, the 6’4″ guard averaged 11.3 PPG, 3.5 APG, and 3.3 RPG across 58 games for San Antonio, all starts. He posted a stat line of .458/.366/.853.

Last season, San Antonio signed White’s backcourt mate, Dejounte Murray, to a four-year deal worth up to $70MM with incentives. White and Murray had similar outputs last season, and White could be in line for an extension in the range of Murray’s deal.