Draymond Green

Pacific Notes: Watanabe, Green, Reddish, Dunleavy

November 2nd, 2023 at 9:04pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Suns were quick to sign Yuta Watanabe in free agency, coming to an agreement to sign him moments after the NBA’s free agent negotiation period opened in June. According to Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina, star forward Kevin Durant was instrumental in recruiting Watanabe, his teammate in Brooklyn last season, to Phoenix.

“He texted me and told me he wants to play with me again,” Watanabe said in an exclusive interview with Medina. “That meant a lot to me. When someone like Kevin Durant reaches out to me and says stuff like that, it means a lot.”

Watanabe is currently a key contributor for the Suns, averaging a career-high 7.3 points per game while shooting 43.8% from deep. According to Medina, head coach Frank Vogel said Watanabe was more than a catch-and-shoot player, able to create his own shot and put the ball on the floor.

“I really appreciate that he said that,” Watanabe said. “Being a 3-point shooter helps me put the ball on the floor and drive because they have to close out. I always try to make a play with not holding the ball too long. Either I catch-and-shoot or I drive. I try to make it simple. I still have to get better with making plays for others, but I think I’m getting better at it.”

Watanabe is on a two-year, minimum-salary contract, the second year of which is a player option.

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The Warriors are displaying better chemistry, compared to last season, through their first five games, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN.com. Draymond Green, who made his season debut on Sunday, agreed with that sentiment. “Last year we had an awful team as far as chemistry goes,” Green said. “It was hard to come to work. Not fun. So this year you see the joy on guys’ faces when they come into the building. You got guys staying over two to three hours just talking. Getting two to three hours early just to be here. You start to see that, and you’re like, ‘OK, this is a group that likes to be together.‘”
Lakers forward Cam Reddish started against the Clippers on Wednesday with Taurean Prince out due to left knee soreness. He put up season highs of eight points and three steals, but his most impressive feat was how he handled the task of guarding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes. “The kid is special. The only thing he needed was consistency,” head coach Darvin Ham said. “Just a program that’s going to put their arms around him and encourage him to constantly get better, simplify things and he’ll respond in the right way, which he did [Wednesday]. He’s been awesome since he’s been an L.A. Laker.“
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. had big shoes to fill when he took over for Bob Myers, who engineered four Golden State championship teams. However, The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami opines Dunleavy might very well be the MVP for the Warriors so far. Dunleavy traded Jordan Poole for Chris Paul, drafted Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis, signed Dario Saric and Cory Joseph, and extended Draymond Green this offseason. The Warriors are 4-1 through their first five games.

Pacific Notes: Paul, Ham, LeBron, Morris

October 30th, 2023 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Chris Paul came off the bench for the first time in his career Sunday night, and it looks like an arrangement that’s going to be successful for the Warriors, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Paul became an immediate starter when he entered the league with New Orleans in 2005, but the possibility of being shifted to a reserve emerged when he was traded to a Golden State team that already had Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in its backcourt. Paul started the season’s first two games with Draymond Green injured, but moved into his new role when Green returned on Sunday.

“It works,” Paul told reporters after the game. “It gives us a bigger lineup. I’ve never been on a team probably with this type of depth. I’ve been on really good teams, don’t get it twisted. But not necessarily where you could say: ‘All these guys can start.’ And I think last year that was the best starting five in the league.”

The Warriors are coming off a season that was disrupted by players who were unhappy about their minutes and changes to their roles, so Steve Kerr sought to get control of the situation right away, Slater adds. Prior to training camp, he called in Paul, Green, Curry, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney for a meeting where they discussed what to do about essentially having six starters.

Although it was decided that starting roles would be influenced by matchups, Kerr seems happy with Paul as the leader of the second unit and it appears that will continue as long as everyone stays healthy. Green is excited about the edge that brings to the team.

“When you’re talking about replacing Steph Curry with Chris Paul, it doesn’t get much better than that,” he said. “You’re taking your starting point guard out and the next point guard is Chris Paul? That’s incredible. We will have that advantage all year.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Lakers coach Darvin Ham said he needs to “tighten up” his rotation after Sunday’s loss in Sacramento, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Ham has been trying to acclimate Gabe Vincent, who missed much of the preseason with tightness in his lower back, while also dealing with the loss of Jarred Vanderbilt, who is sidelined with bursitis in his left heel. “My rotation, we got to really dig into that,” Ham said. “Really take a close look and so guys are in rhythm. We have a great collection of players. And I played in this league. When you know when you’re going in and who you’re playing with, that matters. So buckling down on our rotation, I’ll start there.”
The minutes reduction that Ham planned for LeBron James hasn’t lasted past the season opener, McMenamin adds. James logged 39 minutes in Sunday’s contest, which was the first game of a back-to-back. “Obviously, I don’t want to run Bron into the ground,” Ham said. “I don’t want to run (Anthony Davis) into the ground too early. Obviously, it was an overtime game tonight and they’re playing at a high level, so you want to leave them out there. But just having that balance.”
Clippers forward Marcus Morris missed his third straight game Sunday, with “coach’s decision” being the explanation, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. However, coach Tyronn Lue said Morris is “very involved, and he’s been great, especially with our young guys.”

Pacific Notes: Green, Paul, Huerter, Lyles, Okogie

October 29th, 2023 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors forward Draymond Green, who’s set to make his season debut on Sunday, believes that he and Chris Paul will form a dynamic distributing duo, he told Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

“How I see the challenge is for the other team,” Green said. “They’ll have players on the floor that have to think the game of basketball with us. Good luck. That’s how I see the challenge. You put Bill Gates and Paul Allen in a room and you get Microsoft. That’s how I see it.”

Paul will come off the bench for the first time in his career with Green back in the lineup, Slater tweets. The veteran point guard has started in his previous 1,216 regular-season games.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Kings coach Mike Brown did not rule out the possibility of a lineup change this evening against the Lakers. Shooting guard Kevin Huerter has struggled during the first week of the season. “There are plenty of guys who made mistakes, and when I evaluate the team, I’m not just looking at Kevin and thinking about taking Kevin out of the starting lineup,” Brown told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “There are other changes that can be made, so I always — with the flexibility we feel we have with this team — that’s something that I always have to take a look at.” Huerter went scoreless in Sacramento’s home opener against Golden State on Friday.
Trey Lyles, who remained with the Kings on a two-year contract, will miss Sacramento’s game on Sunday with a left calf strain, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. Lyles has yet to make his season debut.
Forward Josh Okogie, who has started the first three games for the Suns, has already drawn a league fine under the new flopping rules. Okogie believes he’ll likely rack up several more, given the way he plays, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. “When I saw that, the first thing I thought was it’s going to be a long season,” Okogie said. “You call that a flop or if that’s considered a flop worthy of a fine, then it’s going to be a lot of money going into that fine box this year.” He signed a two-year, veteran’s minimum contract this summer with a player option for next season.

Draymond Green Plans To Make Season Debut On Sunday

October 28th, 2023 at 3:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking today to reporters, including ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, Warriors forward Draymond Green said that he intends to suit up in the team’s third game of the season on Sunday in Houston.

Green, who suffered a left lateral ankle sprain in September, missed all of training camp and the preseason. A report at the time of the injury indicated that he would likely be sidelined for four-to-six weeks — that was exactly four weeks ago.

After playing the Rockets on Sunday, the Warriors will travel to New Orleans and face the Pelicans on Monday. Green isn’t sure yet if he’ll get the OK to play in both games of the back-to-back set, but he said he hopes to.

Interestingly, as Andrews relays, the former Defensive Player of the Year referenced the new NBA rules that require players to appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for most end-of-season awards.

“I got goals,” Green said. “Not exactly sure what they are yet, but I got to play in 65 games.”

Green told reporters that he expects to face a minutes restriction upon returning, adding that he isn’t sure whether or not he’ll start.

The 33-year-old has come off the bench just twice in the last nine seasons, but Golden State has six players who are accustomed to starting, so one of them will have to play a reserve role when everyone is healthy. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney have started the team’s first two games of 2023/24.

And-Ones: Extensions, Breakouts, B. Smith, Defenders

October 27th, 2023 at 10:35pm CST by Rory Maher

2023 set a record for rookie scale extensions, with 14 contracts signed before the October 23 deadline. Typically, rookie scale extensions go almost exclusively to stars or at least starters, but that wasn’t the case this year.

John Hollinger of The Athletic classifies it as a “middle-class revolution” with six players signing at or below the projected 2024/25 mid-level exception, and a couple others receiving slightly more than that. Several of those players come off the bench for their respective clubs.

As Hollinger writes, there are several reasons why both teams and players may have been motivated to reach new deals. For players, avoiding restricted free agency was surely a factor — Magic guard Cole Anthony and Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu recently said that was the case for them.

For teams, a salary cap that is projected to rise substantially in the coming years will help “water down” some of the contracts. Mid-sized contracts are also very useful for trade purposes, Hollinger observes, with free agency limitations likely a major consideration for the Celtics (Payton Pritchard) and Nuggets (Zeke Nnaji) due to their payrolls (both project to be over the second apron in ’24/25).

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

In another article for The Athletic, Hollinger lists 12 players he believes are primed for breakout seasons in 2023/24, with some fairly obvious choices and some under-the-radar picks as well. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, Raptors forward Scottie Barnes and Hornets center Mark Williams are five of the players Hollinger thinks will see “big upticks in production.”
Former Cavaliers forward Bingo Smith has passed away at age 77, according to Tom Withers of The Associated Press. Smith played 10 season for Cleveland from 1970-80. Smith is still sixth in franchise history in points and fourth in games played, among other statistical marks. His No. 7 jersey hangs in the rafters as one of only seven players to have their number retired, Withers adds. “Bingo was always a giving teammate and one of the most fierce competitors I ever played with,” said former Cavs star and current broadcaster Austin Carr. “This is truly a sad moment in our franchise history and my heart goes out to his family.”
Jon Krawczynski and Josh Robbins of The Athletic ran an anonymous poll to see which players coaches identify as the best defenders in the NBA. Celtics guard Jrue Holiday was the only unanimous choice for first-team All-Defense, receiving all 12 votes. The remaining spots were filled by Jaren Jackson Jr. (forward), Brook Lopez (center), Alex Caruso (guard), OG Anunoby, and Draymond Green (the latter two tied for the second forward spot). Holiday was also third in the survey’s Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Jackson and Lopez, who finished first and second for the actual award last season. Evan Mobley, who was third in DPOY media voting last season and named first-team All-Defense, finished sixth in DPOY voting in The Athletic’s coaches poll and was second-team All-Defense.

Warriors Notes: Thompson, Green, CP3, Kuminga

October 27th, 2023 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Klay Thompson and the Warriors can finalize an extension at any time between now and June 30, 2024, so they didn’t need to come to an agreement before the regular season begins. Still, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic notes (via Twitter video), some players view opening night as an artificial deadline and prefer to table those talks until after the season if they don’t agree to terms by then.

Asked if he’s taking that route, Thompson didn’t confirm it one way or the other, but he also didn’t sound like a player who plans to be actively engaged in pursuing a new deal during the season.

“I’m focused on the daily dedication it takes to do this job,” Thompson said. “I’m not worried about an extension right now. That’ll all play itself out.”

Recent reports from ESPN and The Athletic have indicated that the Warriors and Thompson are pretty far apart on years and money, increasing the likelihood that the veteran sharpshooter could reach free agency next summer. It’s very possible the two sides will bridge that gap at some point between now and June 30, but Thompson acknowledged that he intends to savor this season “just in case” it’s his last in Golden State.

“Oh yeah, you never know what’s going to happen,” Thompson said. “I’m going to savor this as much as I can, especially in this uniform. I was here before it sweet, before it was four championships. Twenty-three wins (in 2011/12). I was here building the foundation, so yeah I’m going to savor it. Because everyone around the world thinks it’s sweet when they look at (the) Warriors, but it hasn’t always been like this. So I’m going to savor the heck out of it.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Warriors forward Draymond Green won’t play on Friday vs. Sacramento, but he just needs to regain his proper conditioning and is “close” to returning to action, per head coach Steve Kerr (Twitter link via Kendra Andrews of ESPN).
Regardless of whether or not Chris Paul continues to start for the Warriors once Green returns, his main role will be as the floor general for the team’s second unit, a source tells Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Paul is the “quintessential” player for that role, according to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, who observes that the veteran guard’s playing style represents the counterbalance to Golden State’s “organized chaos.”
Even after Green is back, Kerr expects it to take a few weeks for the Warriors to get fully comfortable with their new lineups and the new additions to their rotation, according to Andrews. “This is just the first glimpse of the regular season,” he said. “It usually takes 20, 25 games to really know your team and feel the actions you need, the combinations you have.”
After rolling with Jonathan Kuminga over Andrew Wiggins – and giving Gary Payton II some playing time – in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, Kerr told reporters that he liked the way Kuminga and Payton were defending, and that he won’t hesitate to go with the hot hand in crunch time this season. “That’s how it’s going to be a lot of nights this year,” Kerr said, per C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle. “Whoever is playing best will finish the game.”

Pacific Notes: Green, Durant, Allen, Booker, Beal, Lakers, Westbrook, Huerter

October 23rd, 2023 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Draymond Green won’t play in the Warriors’ opener on Tuesday, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Green was sidelined prior to training camp by a left lateral ankle sprain. He was cleared for 5-on-5 action on Sunday and participated in Monday’s practice.

“He’s doing really well but we don’t feel like it would be wise to throw him out with so little scrimmage time on the floor,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “We’ll reassess as the days go.”

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Suns star forward Kevin Durant will play in Golden State on Tuesday for the first time since he left the franchise and signed with Brooklyn. Durant says he’s looking forward to it. “I’m excited to play in front of those fans,” Durant told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “I had some incredible moments there and we built a bond that doesn’t really have to be spoken about, me and the fans in the Bay Area. Feel like they’ve been supporting me way before I came there, actually. Then once I became a part of the Warriors, they just went even harder in support of myself and my teammates.”
Durant believes a recent addition to the Suns, wing Grayson Allen, will thrive with so many offensive threats around him, according to Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com. “When he gets the opportunity to play with myself, (Devin Booker) and (Bradley Beal), I think the floor opens up even more for him, and we could play off him a little bit more as well,” Durant said. “He’s just a guy that can fit in. You see how many teams he’s played on and how well he’s played at each stop, so we’re expecting him to have a solid year this year.”
Speaking of Booker and Beal, they’re listed as questionable to play on Tuesday. Booker is dealing with left big toe soreness, while Beal has experienced lower back tightness. “We’re hopeful that they both play,” coach Frank Vogel told Rankin.
Jarred Vanderbilt and Jalen Hood-Schifino won’t play in the Lakers’ opener, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register tweets. Vanderbilt is dealing with left heel soreness while Hood-Schifino has a right patella contusion. Hood-Schifino will be reevaluated by team doctors on Nov. 3.
Russell Westbrook says he’s striving to be a positive force with the Clippers and won’t mind taking criticism if it eases the pressure off of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. “When I’m playing, let me make sure I can make the game as easy as possible,” Westbrook said. “I take all the bullets for anybody. I take all the heat. I don’t really give a (darn) because I know what’s important to my teammates and to me that’s the most important part.”
Kings coach Mike Brown has challenged Kevin Huerter to be tougher defensively and he’s accepted the message, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes. “I just think it’s early,” Huerter said. “For me, I’m not worried about the offensive side of the court right now. I think, like you guys have heard throughout this preseason, for us as a team and individually, it’s (about) being better on the other side of the court. We know what we’re capable of — really with anybody on the court — offensively. We’ve just got to continue to buy in and play the right way and do the things we’re supposed to on the other side.”

Pacific Notes: Mann, Little, Jones, Green

October 21st, 2023 at 9:24am CST by Tristan Tucker

Clippers forward Terance Mann earned the fifth spot in L.A.’s starting rotation, impressing with his versatility and ability to guard multiple positions, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. Mann joins Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac in the starting five.

Even though the Clippers held a training camp battle for that starting forward spot, their valuation of the fifth-year guard/forward has been sky-high all summer. As noted by Youngmisuk, the Clippers and Sixers continue to hold trade talks surrounding James Harden, but the hold-up between the two teams has long been the potential inclusion of Mann.

Mann said that being involved in speculation all summer was taxing at first, but his veteran teammates helped him learn to shut down the outside noise, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. Being wanted by two teams isn’t all that surprising to Mann, who went from being a second-round pick to a rotation staple, Greif writes.

“[It’s] flattering, but it’s what I worked for,” Mann said. “I’m in the gym every day to make myself better, to make myself a piece in this league that people want and that’s what I strive to just be. I’m not surprised by it.”

Mann’s teammates and coaches are all high on his ability to contribute to winning basketball and the Clippers see keeping Mann and adding Harden as their best route to a championship, Greif writes.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

After developing into a rotation player over the past four seasons with the Trail Blazers, new Suns forward Nassir Little is acclimating to a new environment. “Just getting accustomed to everything in the organization,” Little said, via Duane Rankin of the The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). “As the preseason went on, I got more and more comfortable and I feel like I’m in a good spot right now.” Little holds career averages of 6.0 points and 3.2 rebounds after being selected with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Kings rookie guard Colby Jones came off the bench in the team’s Thursday preseason finale and posted 19 points in a 116-113 victory over the Jazz. According to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee, the Kings felt they were getting a first-round talent in Jones when they picked him No. 32 overall in the 2023 draft. Now, he has a shot at seeing real action soon at the NBA level “We have a lot of guys we can play,” head coach Mike Brown said. “The neat thing about that is the competition, the real competition. If you’re not getting it done, obviously, there’s somebody else who can come take your spot, and that’s not a threat at all. That’s just what my job is. My job is to put the best five out on the floor based on that situation whenever I can, and if Colby keeps doing what he’s doing, it’s going to be hard to keep him on that bench.“
After spraining his ankle ahead of training camp, Warriors forward Draymond Green missed all of Golden State’s preseason action. However, ESPN’s Kendra Andrews (Twitter link) reports Green is ramping up his on-court work, participating in 3-on-3 action on Friday for the first time since the injury. Andrews adds that head coach Steve Kerr said Green did well, but there’s more work to be done before he takes the court, including participating in 5-on-5 settings. The Warriors open the regular season on October 24 against the Suns.

Pacific Notes: Green, Harden, Clippers, Mann, Suns, Durant

October 17th, 2023 at 10:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors forward Draymond Green, who suffered an ankle sprain in an offseason workout, is making good progress, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link). Green has been cleared to do light on-court workouts (shooting drills, etc.) and his return to full practices and scrimmages will depend on his continued progress. He’ll be reevaluated again on Sunday.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Despite some promising signs from their current roster in the preseason, a trade for James Harden stills holds appeal for the Clippers, according to Law Murray of The Athletic. He fits the timeline of the team’s other stars and coach Tyronn Lue often prefers having a more traditional point guard who can run an isolation-heavy offense. The Clippers also realize the roster has not undergone enough change after last season’s postseason flameout.
There’s still a good vibe around the Clippers thanks to the improved health of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register notes. “Last year, it was tough because we felt we had opportunities to do something special and PG goes down and Kawhi goes down after Game 2 (against the Suns),” Lue said. “You never want to see anyone get injured, but a lot of people said, ‘Oh they’re hurt again,’ or whatever, but the biggest thing is they’re messed up mentally because they want to be out there. Seeing them come back 100 percent and being healthy and just the vibe of our team is totally different.”
Following up an earlier reports on the stalled trade discussions between the Clippers and Sixers, a source told Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer (Twitter link) that Los Angeles remains unwilling to part with Terance Mann or additional draft capital. That makes it increasingly likely Harden will be on the Sixers’ roster at the beginning of the regular season.
The fifth starter for the Suns beyond Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic could vary depending matchups, coach Frank Vogel told Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link) and other media members. Josh Okogie has generally been considered the frontrunner for the starting job.
The Suns’ big three are holding each other to a high standard, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. “It’s always good to get work in with some of the best players in the world,” Kevin Durant said. “It’s like iron sharpening iron over there. We hold each other to a high standard. So it’s always good to get some of that post-practice work. The more days we stack together, the better.”

Injury Updates: C. Johnson, DSJ, Green, Marshall, Vincent

October 14th, 2023 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

A hamstring strain that has bothered Nets forward Cameron Johnson since the start of training camp could force him to miss the rest of the preseason, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Coach Jacque Vaughn provided an update on Johnson’s status after the team’s annual public practice on Saturday.

“Cam Johnson. That’s the last piece,” Vaughn said. “I think at some point he’s really progressing. Maybe he joins practice at some point this week. Not sure about the game situation. I’m going to be extremely cautious. I’d rather have him available that first (regular season) game versus Cleveland (on Oct. 25), than to try to speed him along and play him in a preseason game. But (he’s had) no setbacks, which is good, and heading in the right direction.”

Johnson became part of the new foundation in Brooklyn after being acquired in the Kevin Durant trade in February. He averaged 16.6 PPG in 25 games with the Nets and was rewarded with a new four-year, $90MM+ contract this summer.

Vaughn also told reporters that Dennis Smith Jr. will miss “at least a week” after injuring his left ankle in Thursday’s game. Smith wore a walking boot at Saturday’s practice, according to Botte.

“It’s definitely an ankle sprain, and he’s got some bone bruising in there as well,” Vaughn said. “So we’ll see a week from now what he looks like, but luckily I think (there is) no ligament damage. So we’ll take that.”

There’s more injury news to pass along:

Draymond Green participated in an individual workout during the Warriors‘ shootaround on Friday, according to Shayna Rubin of The San Jose Mercury News. Green will have his sprained left ankle reevaluated on Monday, Rubin adds, and there’s a chance he could play during the preseason depending on the results.
Pelicans coach Willie Green believes Naji Marshall suffered a hyperextended right knee during Saturday’s game, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Marshall landed awkwardly after trying to block a shot midway through the second quarter and left the court in a wheelchair. “Looks to be fine,” Green said. “But we’ll get an MRI to see where he is.” Clark notes that New Orleans is already shorthanded as Jose Alvarado and Larry Nance Jr. haven’t played in the preseason because of ankle injuries and Trey Murphy has a torn meniscus.
Lakers guard Gabe Vincent missed Friday’s game because of tightness in his back, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Cam Reddish remains unavailable after spraining his right ankle in a game last week.

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