Dyson Daniels Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Joseph, Daniels, Wizards, Hornets

December 20th, 2024 at 6:51pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Well-traveled Magic veteran guard Cory Joseph is evolving into a key locker room presence for a rising young Orlando squad, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.

“The league’s getting younger and they keep me young, too,” Joseph said of his Magic colleagues. “It continues to change and you have to continue to adapt. I’m asking a lot of questions as well, trying to learn from them.”

Rookie forward Tristan Da Silva, the No. 18 pick in this summer’s draft, sang Joseph’s praises.

“He’s a great leader for this team, even though he’s not on the court as much,” Da Silva said. “He still has a huge impact on this team.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

New Hawks guard Dyson Daniels intends to improve his shooting mechanics and up his three-point output this season, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Williams notes Daniels has shot 30.8 percent of his 3.4 triple tries a night overall this year, but also enjoyed more consistent success briefly, between November 18-29, when he nailed 42.9 percent of 3.5 long range looks.
Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena, home to both the Wizards and the NHL’s Capitals, has gotten the green light for a $515MM renovation — ensuring that both clubs will stick around for the long-term, writes David Aldridge of The Athletic.
Following a Thursday loss to lowly Washington, the Hornets have now lost nine of their last 10 contests and fallen to a 7-20 record on the year. Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer wonders how, or if, Charlotte will be able to right the ship this year, even in the Eastern Conference. Three East play-in teams have records below .500. The Hornets’ Core Four of All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, forwards Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges, and center Mark Williams has rarely been able to stay on the court together thus far this season.

Hawks Notes: NBA Cup, Johnson, Young, Daniels

December 14th, 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Poor shooting late in Saturday’s game ended the Hawks‘ surprising run to the NBA Cup semifinals, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta had numerous chances in the fourth quarter with Milwaukee leading by a possession or two, but only managed to go 1-for-7 from the field in the final five minutes. The result was an eight-point loss that sends the Bucks to the finals, but coach Quin Snyder was happy with his team’s effort throughout the tournament.

“I think the story line for me is just how we compete, and that our consistency in that area is the most important thing that I think we have to do to continue to try to build an identity,” Snyder said. “And this was an opportunity this whole tournament, to play in some situations and some games against really good teams, and try to do that. And you find out about yourself. You find out when you’re in a game like this, you’re able to look back and say, we need to do this better. And we did this pretty well.”

Trae Young went on a scoring binge in the third quarter, posting 14 of his 35 points to make the game close. Despite the offensive heroics, Williams states that Young was most proud of his defense, as he repeatedly contested shots whenever Milwaukee tried to target him.

“The defensive end is going to get us where we really want to go, especially when where I want to go,” he said.

There’s more on the Hawks:

Jalen Johnson‘s on-court growth is obvious — as he’s followed last season’s breakout by putting up even better numbers — but he has become a team leader as well, Williams adds in a separate story. Even though Johnson is only 22 and in his fourth NBA season, he has become one of the longest-tenured players on the team and he’s willing to speak up in huddles and provide tips to younger teammates. “I think we’re all a pretty tight-knit group,” he said. “We’re all relatively around the same age. That kind of helps, especially locker room-wise and team chemistry-wise. I think we’re doing a great job of just holding each other accountable. Nobody’s afraid to say anything to each other. We’re all open to constructive criticism. That’s sometimes tough. Everybody has an ego in their own way. We’ve done a great job of just listening to one another, and I think that’s what’s going to help us win at the end of the day.”
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers sees improved chemistry in Atlanta, particularly involving Young, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The star guard has been accused throughout his career of being a poor teammate and a weak defender, but he seems to be outgrowing that reputation. “He’s earned the trust of his players,” Rivers said. “This team likes playing with him. That’s obvious. I couldn’t say that in the past, but now they love playing with him.”
Dyson Daniels had no idea he was a candidate to be traded when he got a message from Pelicans general manager Bryson Graham that he had been sent to Atlanta, Jake Fischer writes in a Substack column. Although Daniels was surprised by the news, which was delivered while he was in Australia preparing for the Summer Olympics, the move to the Hawks seemed to unlock his game, putting him in the conversation for Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year. “I wasn’t happy with how I played my first two years in New Orleans,” he said. “I was playing tense. I wasn’t happy with how I was providing for the team. I was fueled by that. I wanted to get back to being myself and playing free.”

Hawks Notes: Bogdanovic, Young, Risacher, Daniels, NBA Cup

December 13th, 2024 at 12:10pm CST by Rory Maher

While the Hawks are excited by their young core of Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu and Zaccharie Risacher, they’re also willing to listen to trade offers for their veterans given their place in the standings, sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Insider link). Atlanta is currently 14-12, the No. 7 seed in the East, and in the play-in mix for the fourth consecutive season.

According to Bontemps, one player opposing teams are intrigued by is Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is in his fifth season with the Hawks. The 32-year-old Serbian will earn $17.3MM in 2024/25, followed by $16MM in ’25/26, with a $16MM team option for ’26/27.

Here’s more on the Hawks:

In the same subscriber-only story, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that star guard Trae Young hosted Daniels and Risacher for a “multiday training and bonding session” at his offseason home in Oklahoma after the Olympics concluded over the summer, which his younger teammates “greatly appreciated.” Young can be introverted at times, and the Hawks have been working with him to improve his leadership skills, according to Windhorst. The team has been encouraged by the advancements Young has made in that area, though Windhorst cautions it’s still a “work in progress.”
French wing Risacher says he’s thrilled he was drafted by Atlanta, he tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “The best thing about being the No. 1 pick was to be able to get into this franchise, the Atlanta Hawks,” Risacher said. “That is the best thing that could ever happen. Me in terms of basketball, I’m super super-grateful to be here in this organization.”
The Hawks are pleased with the strides Risacher has made during his rookie campaign, as Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. “He’s the No. 1 pick for a reason,” Young said. “You’re not put in that position or blessed to be in that position if you haven’t been through a lot or seen a lot, or even capable of handling that type of stuff. And you can see that he’s just capable of handling a lot of the things that come his way. He’s taken every night serious the way he approaches the game. He’s been locked in, even though some nights the shots are not falling the way he expects or we expect them to, he still finds other ways to impact our team and help us. And that just shows how good of a player he is.”
Speaking to Tommy Alter on The Young Man and The Three podcast (YouTube link), Daniels says he’s happy he was traded by the Pelicans to the Hawks over the offseason, calling it a “fresh start.” “In New Orleans, I had so much built up in me mentally and physically. I was scared to do anything,” Daniels said, per HoopsHype. “But this year, I’m playing free. I’m being myself, going out there and making plays. I always knew I could do it—it was just about letting it out.”
The Hawks have been playing excellent basketball since they got to full strength, going 7-1 over their past eight games, with victories over Cleveland (twice), Boston and Milwaukee. As Chris Herring of ESPN notes, Atlanta’s latest win over the Knicks gave the Hawks a berth in the semifinals of the NBA Cup. Jared Weiss of The Athletic takes a look at how Atlanta has improved over the past few weeks, with Young and Johnson spearheading a balanced offensive attack.

Hawks Notes: Young, Daniels, Snyder, Johnson

December 7th, 2024 at 6:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trae Young posted a historic line in Friday’s overtime win against the Lakers, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Hawks guard had 31 points, 20 assists and five three-pointers, making him the first player to reach those numbers in a single game since at least 1979/80.

He capped the night with a game-winning three-pointer after being unexpectedly left wide open. Young passed the ball to De’Andre Hunter, who had already made five shots from beyond the arc, and when the defense double-teamed him, nobody rotated to Young.

“I think Trae made a good read,” Hunter said. “He started to attack slightly. They both went with him. When he passed it to me, I saw them both run at me. So it was kind of a simple play. Trae reads space. He was making shots all the night, so I was confident he would make that one, for sure.”

It was a welcome performance by Young, who has been struggling with his shot for most of the season. Williams notes that he’s only connecting at 37.5% from the field and 30.7% from beyond the arc since October 27, as opposing teams have been trapping him or picking him up full court to force the ball out of his hands. With the roster getting healthier, Young expects to get more open looks and more opportunities to create for his teammates.

“If you’ve been watching, we’ve been having a lot of guys in double figures,” he said. “So this wasn’t the first night that it’s been like this. So we just got to continue to keep it going. Even in some of our losses, we had a lot of guys scoring. So, we just got to keep it going. And now we got guys healthy. We found a little rhythm. We got can’t get too high or too low at any moment.”

There’s more from Atlanta:

A lot of preparation goes into Dyson Daniels‘ disruptive defense, Williams adds in a separate story. The 21-year-old guard is having his best season in his first year with the Hawks, leading the league in steals by a wide margin and being recognized as the first-ever Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month. Daniels explained his intensive study of the players he has to guard. “One thing for me is I know where people have to bring the ball to get power to go up,” he said. “So, a guy like Giannis (Antetokounmpo), for example, he got me a couple times (and) I missed it. But you have to bring the ball across your body to get your power. So usually, if someone gets past me, and there’s a big at the rim, and they try Euro step, they’re always going to bring the ball across their body to the left side. So that’s when I can swipe it.”
The Hawks are on a five-game winning streak as coach Quin Snyder‘s vision for the team is being realized, observes Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype. Putting an emphasis on taking advantage of athleticism to score in transition, Snyder has the Hawks eighth in the league in scoring and 11th in pace.
Jalen Johnson has been added to the Hawks’ injury report with soreness in his right shoulder, Williams tweets. He’s considered questionable for Sunday’s game with Denver.

And-Ones: Woj, Awards, Samanic, Van Exel

December 5th, 2024 at 4:16pm CST by Rory Maher

In mid-September, perhaps the most surprising news of the NBA offseason occurred: Adrian Wojnarowski announced that he was retiring from ESPN and the news industry as a whole. It was later reported that he would become the general manager of the basketball program at St. Bonaventure, with the school confirming the news.

Speaking to his friend and former Yahoo Sports colleague Chris Mannix, who now works for Sports Illustrated, Wojnarowski explained his decision to leave his position at ESPN to work for his alma mater. He took a major pay cut, going from $7.3MM to $75K annually, but he was “burned out” by the always-on nature of his previous job. He was already advising the school on its search for the new position, as well as doing most of the work the job entailed.

“What I was doing, it just wasn’t fulfilling anymore,” Woj said. “I was just done. This is what gets me excited. To learn something new, to be part of something like this. It’s a whole new challenge.”

Wojnarowski, 55, also revealed that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March, which he alluded to in his retirement statement (“time isn’t in endless supply”), but the prognosis is good — he told Mannix he isn’t experiencing any symptoms, having been diagnosed early, and the cancer is “pretty limited in scope.”

Wojnarowski sent out a tweet addressing the diagnosis. “Appreciate all the kind words and concern but I’m going to be fine. My goal in sharing a prostate cancer diagnosis is to encourage screening and testing among men. Early diagnosis will make all the difference for me —- and many others too.”

There are more interesting details on Woj’s decision in Mannix’s story, which is worth reading in full.

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

Josh Robbins, Eric Nehm and Kelly Iko of The Athletic weigh in on the awards races thus far for the 2024/25 season. Interestingly, there’s no consensus choice among the three for any of the major awards. For Most Improved Player, Robbins selected Magic forward Franz Wagner, Nehm picked Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, and Iko chose Nuggets wing Christian Braun.
Former NBA forward Luka Samanic, a 2019 first-round pick, has signed with Croatian club KK Cibona, according to the team (Twitter link). The 24-year-old forward, who spent last season with Utah, was born in Zagreb, where the team is based. Fenerbahce reportedly holds Samanic’s EuroLeague rights for the rest of the season, but the Turkish club doesn’t compete in any of the same leagues as his new Croatian team.
Longtime NBA point guard and veteran assistant Nick Van Exel has decided to exit coaching, having co-founded a new agency called 100x Sports, per Marc Stein (Twitter link). Van Exel worked in various player development, scouting and coaching roles for Milwaukee, Memphis, Dallas, and most recently Atlanta over the past decade-plus.

Southeast Notes: Daniels, Ware, Wizards, Williams

December 4th, 2024 at 10:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, acquired as part of Atlanta’s blockbuster trade that shipped Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, put the defensive clamps on Murray during the former Hawk’s first game against his old team, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Murray was limited to shooting just 2-of-15 from the field against the Hawks on Monday, while Daniels notched 19 points on 50% field goal shooting.

Murray was the subject of frequent boos from the Atlanta home crowd, and couldn’t get much offense cooking against Daniels. Daniels has emerged as the defense-first backcourt partner for Trae Young that the Hawks had hoped Murray would be when they first acquired him from the Spurs in 2022.

The 21-year-old Daniels is in the third season of his rookie-scale deal, and seems to be fitting in nicely with his new squad. So far this year, the 6’8″ guard is averaging a career-best 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3.0 assists per night.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Heat sent rookie center Kel’el Ware to their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, this week for the first time this season, reports Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Ware has played a grand total of 69 minutes across Miami’s first 20 contests this year, so his stint with the Skyforce will give him a chance for increased reps. The seven-footer was selected with the No. 15 pick out of Indiana.
The Wizards‘ epic losing streak has reached 15 games, approaching the team’s franchise record, writes Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. Washington tied that record, 16 straight defeats, just last season. The Wizards could potentially match or even break that tally in the coming days. Washington next plays Dallas (Thursday), Denver (Saturday), and Memphis (Sunday), all Western Conference squads with winning records.
Hornets center Mark Williams suited up for his first game in almost a year, a 110-104 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday. Williams had been sidelined with a lingering strained tendon in his left foot this fall after missing most of last season due to a back issue. Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes that the big moment signified a positive step forward for the young center. Notching just nine minutes of action, the seven-foot big man scored four points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line. He also pulled down three rebounds and blocked one shot.

Spurs’ Wembyanama, Hawks’ Daniels Named Defensive Players Of The Month

December 3rd, 2024 at 2:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has introduced a new monthly award, announcing today that Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (Western Conference) and Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (Eastern Conference) are the first players to earn the Defensive Player of the Month honor (Twitter link). The award applies to games played in October and November

Wembanyama, the reigning Rookie of the Year and last season’s Defensive Player of the Year runner-up, matched his NBA-leading block average from last season by blocking a league-high 3.6 shots per night in his first 16 games this season. According to the NBA, Wembanyama also ranked fourth in the league in contested shots (10.1) and eighth in deflections (3.3) per game during that time.

While the Spurs’ 111.5 defensive rating in October and November ranked outside the NBA’s top 10, that mark improved to 108.5 during Wembanyama’s time on the court, the equivalent of the league’s sixth-best defense.

The other nominees for Defensive Player of the Month in the West, per the NBA (Twitter link), were Anthony Davis, Luguentz Dort, Draymond Green, Jaren Jackson Jr., Toumani Camara, Clippers teammates Ivica Zubac and Kris Dunn, and Rockets reserves Tari Eason and Amen Thompson.

Over in the East, Daniels made a strong first impression with his new team after being traded from New Orleans to Atlanta during the offseason, leading the NBA in steals (3.0), deflections (6.7), and forced turnovers (2.8) per game in 19 outings (all starts) in October and November.

Daniels also contributed 0.9 blocks per contest as he made a strong early-season case for All-Defensive and Defensive Player of the Year consideration.

Daniels beat out fellow Eastern Conference nominees Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, Bam Adebayo, OG Anunoby, Evan Mobley, and Jalen Suggs for the new award, according to the league.

Southeast Notes: Daniels, Young, Poole, Mann

November 27th, 2024 at 6:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dyson Daniels has become this season’s breakout defensive star after the Hawks acquired him in an offseason trade with New Orleans. The 21-year-old guard, who is starting to enter the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year honors, talked to Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda about the work that goes into being a difference-maker on defense.

“For me, it’s just about reading the game,” said Daniels, who leads the NBA with 3.1 steals per contest. “When people turn their back or when they’re about to pass, I try to read their eyes and time it. Defense is all about effort, being active with your hands, and staying engaged. Hopefully, I can keep putting up big steals games.”

The change of scenery and the increased playing time that came with it has unlocked Daniels’ offensive game as well. He’s averaging career highs of 14.4 points and 3.1 assists per night while shooting a career-best 45.1% from the field. He credits his development on that end of the court to intense work with his shooting coaches.

“I got the fundamentals down in New Orleans with Fred Vinson, and then coming here, working with Kyle Korver — one of the best shooters ever — has been huge,” Daniels added. “It’s about getting in the gym, getting reps and shooting with confidence.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Trae Young is available tonight for the Hawks‘ game at Cleveland, the team announced (via Twitter). He had been listed as questionable with right Achilles tendinitis. That was also the issue that led to Young missing the November 12 game in Boston, which resulted in a $100K fine for a violation of the player participation policy.
Wizards guard Jordan Poole had been cleared to return after missing two games with hip soreness, per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network (Twitter link).
Hornets guard Tre Mann will miss his third straight game tonight with low back soreness, according to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). In a pre-game meeting with reporters, coach Charles Lee explained that Mann hasn’t responded to treatment as quickly as the team’s training staff had hoped, and the decision to keep him sidelined was made with concern for his long-term health. Lee added that Mann has shown some “mild” progress, and the team’s doctors will monitor his rehab and be cautious about how they manage him.

And-Ones: H. Brown, All-Star Format, ‘Redrafted’ Players, More

November 21st, 2024 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA color commentator Hubie Brown will call one last game for ESPN this season before retiring, ESPN president Burke Magnus stated during an appearance on the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast (story via SI.com).

“I don’t mean to be purposely mysterious here, but we’re going to honor Hubie this year during the regular season at some point to be determined and send him off in style,” Magnus said. “I don’t think there’s a single human being who’s ever had a longer association with professional basketball.”

A two-time NBA Coach of the Year, Brown began calling games in the 1980s and has been with ESPN since 2004. He turned 91 years old in September.

We have a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

After reporting last week that the NBA is seriously considering turning the All-Star Game into a four-team tournament this February, Shams Charania of ESPN has provided more details on the format. According to Charania, the expectation is that the two semifinal games will have target scores of 40 points, while the final will have a target of 25 points. The idea is to emulate pickup games, with “quick-burst” contests and the winners advancing to the championship.
Defining a “redrafted” player as one who broke out with a second team rather than the club that drafted him, Mark Deeks of HoopsHype identifies nine of the NBA’s top redrafted players, including Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Raptors wing Ochai Agbaji, and Thunder swingman Isaiah Joe, among others.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report ranks the top 10 non-max contracts in the NBA this season, highlighting a few players who are still on rookie contracts (including recent Rookies of the Year Victor Wembanyama and Paolo Banchero) as well as a handful of veterans (such as Austin Reaves and Derrick White).
NBA insider Jake Fischer, formerly of Yahoo Sports, will be joining Marc Stein’s Substack, Stein confirmed today on Twitter.

Eastern Notes: Giddey, Bridges, Sixers, Daniels, Young

November 16th, 2024 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Fourth-year guard Josh Giddey hasn’t been part of the Bulls‘ closing lineup in any of the team’s last four games and was on the bench to start the second half on Friday vs. Cleveland, with Ayo Dosunmu taking his spot in the lineup.

Head coach Billy Donovan insisted after the game that he’s still “got confidence” in Giddey and said the 22-year-old will close games in certain situations, adding that the decision to have Dosunmu on the floor to start the second half on Friday was about Giddey’s three fouls (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network). However, speaking to reporters after the game, Giddey wasn’t willing to use his foul trouble as an excuse for the decision.

“It was horrible from start to finish,” Giddey said of his performance, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I think defensively it was just — and I’m talking about me — it was a mess from the jump. They put me in action, I have to be way better, whether it’s coverage or sitting down and guarding somebody. I don’t even blame it on the fouls. It was part of it, but everything else was just as bad. I wouldn’t have played myself if I was Billy. I was bad on both sides of the ball.”

Giddey’s subpar defense was one reason why he fell out of Oklahoma City’s starting lineup during the playoffs this past spring. Improving on that end of the court has been a point of emphasis for him this fall, which is one reason why he was so disappointed with his showing on Friday against the undefeated Cavaliers.

“It pisses me off to be on that side of the ball and be like that,” said Giddey, who will be a restricted free agent at season’s end. “I thought I was making steps in the right direction. To have a night like I did tonight kind of kills your confidence.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Hornets announced nine days ago that forward Miles Bridges would be reevaluated in two weeks after hyperextending his knee and being diagnosed with a bone bruise. But Bridges’ recovery progressed quicker than anticipated — he was upgraded to available for Saturday afternoon’s matchup with Milwaukee after missing just three games (Twitter link).
While the Sixers‘ 2-10 start to the season is “obviously frustrating,” according to Paul George, and the sense of urgency in Philadelphia has increased, the club isn’t in panic mode, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN that the 76ers also haven’t altered their long-term plan to manage George’s and Joel Embiid‘s minutes during the season in order to keep the stars as healthy as possible for the playoffs.
The Pelicans tried to keep Dyson Daniels out of the Dejounte Murray trade this past offseason, but the Hawks “badly wanted” a player who could help protect Trae Young on defense and insisted on his inclusion, says Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Insider link). Daniels, who is exceeding expectations in Atlanta, had another huge game on Friday in a win over Washington, racking up 25 points and six steals. According to NBA University (Twitter link), he’s the first player since Alvin Robertson in 1986 to record at least six steals in four consecutive games.
Speaking of Young, the Hawks guard was back in action on Friday following a one-game layoff, but admitted the Achilles tendinitis that sidelined him on Tuesday is an issue he may have to continue to manage. “It has been like a random thing throughout the season,” Young said (Twitter link via Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com). “It just started feeling a little bit more uncomfortable before the last game… (Sitting out) was just more of a precaution thing, and sometimes I’m going to have to play through it.”