Dyson Daniels Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Hornets, Friedman, Wade

September 12th, 2024 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

After two years in Atlanta, Dejounte Murray was traded to New Orleans in July, leaving an open backcourt spot in the Hawks‘ projected starting lineup next to star point guard Trae Young. Who will fill that opening? Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required) considers the options, suggesting that as many as five players could be in the mix for the job.

Bogdan Bogdanovic and Dyson Daniels look like the top candidates. A Young/Bogdanovic pairing in the backcourt could create some problems on the defensive end, according to Williams, though she notes that Bogdanovic improved on that end of the court last season. Daniels, meanwhile, has the makings of an elite point-of-attack defender, but he has yet to display much of an offensive game at the NBA level and will be new to the Hawks’ system.

Vit Krejci, Garrison Mathews, and Kobe Bufkin are the other shooting guard possibilities Williams looks at, though she acknowledges that not all of them are locks to end up in the regular rotation, let alone to vie for a starting role.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

The Hawks will hold their training camp next month at the University of Georgia in Athens, per Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, while the Hornets will conduct their camp in Durham at Duke University, according to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. It’ll be a familiar setting for Hornets big man Mark Williams, who played his college ball with the Blue Devils.
Assistant coach Nick Friedman, who spent the past five seasons in the Hornets organization, is joining the Capital City Go-Go – the Wizards‘ G League affiliate – under head coach Cody Toppert, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Friedman and Toppert previously worked together with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Northern Arizona Suns, Scotto notes.
The Heat announced on Thursday that they’ll be unveiling a statue of Dwyane Wade outside Kaseya Center on Sunday, October 27, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald relays. Wade will be honored by the team the following night during the Oct. 28 home game vs. Detroit.

Olympic Notes: Holiday, Germany, Canada, Daniels

August 3rd, 2024 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

With its win on Saturday over Puerto Rico, Team USA clinched the top seed entering the quarterfinals of the men’s basketball tournament at the Olympics and will face Brazil in the first game of the single-elimination portion of the event on Tuesday.

According to head coach Steve Kerr, Jrue Holiday will be ready to go on Tuesday after not playing against Puerto Rico on Saturday, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Holiday was ruled out due to an ankle injury, but it sounds like the issue is relatively minor.

At least one or two stars on the U.S. roster were DNP-CDs in each of the club’s first two games, so not having Holiday active allowed all 11 other players to see the floor on Saturday. Anthony Edwards led the way with a team-high 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting, while five other Americans scored in the double-digits.

Here are a few more Olympic notes:

While they’ve been somewhat overshadowed at the Olympics by teams with more NBA players or more recognizable stars, the Germans are the reigning World Cup champs and went undefeated in their three pool-play games, with a point differential (+47) that ranks second behind Team USA. Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com lays out the reasons why Germany remains a serious medal threat, starting with rising star Franz Wagner.
Canada faced a tough lineup of games in pool play, but after registering wins over Australia, Spain, and Greece, head coach Jordi Fernandez believes those challenging first-round matchups better equipped his team for what’s to come. “We’ve played with a Game 7 mentality because we played the toughest pool in the Olympics,” Fernandez said. “We’re more prepared than other teams who probably had big leads. We haven’t had those big leads, and even at times when we had them, these teams were so competitive that came back. I like where we’re at. This ‘group of death’ will help us be more prepared for the quarterfinals.”
Australia went just 1-2 in the so-called group of death, but their point differential was strong enough to earn them a spot in the quarterfinals. Olgun Uluc of ESPN shares his takeaways from the Boomers’ performance through three games and considers what areas they’ll need to improve to have a shot at a medal. On the plus side, Dyson Daniels has been a revelation so far this summer, Uluc writes — in addition to handling the most challenging defensive assignment on the perimeter, the Hawks guard has averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game with a .417 3PT%.

Hawks Notes: Young, Capela, Gueye, Djurisic, Risacher

July 18th, 2024 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Hawks moved one of their two starting guards this offseason, sending Dejounte Murray to New Orleans while hanging onto Trae Young. Veteran center Clint Capela also remains on the trade block, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link).

If the Hawks end up trading Capela, the 25-year-old Young could become the oldest member of a starting lineup that also features Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, and Onyeka Okongwu, Lowe suggests, noting that Daniels’ secondary play-making and elite defense could pair well with Young’s skill set, allowing Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter to lead the second unit. In that scenario, the three-time All-Star could “lead a fun, up-tempo team that might be ready to peak by the middle of his prime,” Lowe writes.

Still, Lowe wonders if that path to eventual contention might progress too slowly for Young’s liking, especially since the team doesn’t control its own first-round picks for the next three years, hindering its ability to continue adding young talent. On the other hand, going all-in by trading their 2029 and 2031 first-round picks for veteran help would probably be too aggressive an approach for the Hawks.

If Atlanta remains stuck in the middle of the Eastern Conference, it could lead to an “inevitable decision point” with Young, Lowe says. The star guard is under contract for at least the next two seasons, with a player option for 2026/27, and trade interest from teams like the Spurs and Lakers has “cooled” in recent months, sources tell ESPN, so it’s a safe bet he’ll open the 2024/25 season with the Hawks. But depending on how the coming year plays out, it may just be a matter of time before Young is once again the subject of trade speculation.

Here’s more on the Hawks:

Atlanta is optimistic about Mouhamed Gueye‘s chances of earning a rotation spot as early as this fall, sources tell Lowe. The 2023 second-round pick was limited to just six games as a rookie, largely due to a lower back stress fracture and a UCL sprain, but the team remains high on his potential.
Agent Misko Raznatovic has provided an update on his client Nikola Djurisic, who sustained a left foot fracture in Summer League play. According to Raznatovic (Twitter link), Djurisic is undergoing surgery this week and the plan is for him to get back on the court by the end of September. That timeline suggests the 2024 second-rounder could be ready for training camp in the fall if he signs an NBA contract, though I’d expect the Hawks to take a patient, cautious approach with his recovery.
Marc J. Spears of Andscape spoke to Zaccharie Risacher and his father Stéphane about the elder Risacher’s long, successful career as a basketball player in Europe and the impact it had on his son. “That was the first player I ever watched,” Zaccharie said. “When I started to grow and I got my first iPad and iPhone, I would go to watch my father’s highlights on YouTube.”

Hawks Trade Dejounte Murray To Pelicans

July 6th, 2024 at 6:37pm CST by Tristan Tucker

JULY 6: The trade sending Murray to the Pelicans is now official, according to press releases from both teams.

“Dejounte is among the best two-way guards in the NBA and adds another dimension to our team, and we could not be more excited to welcome him and his family to New Orleans,” Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin said within New Orleans’ announcement.

Cody Zeller was signed-and-traded to Atlanta as part of the deal for salary-matching purposes. His exact contract details have yet to be reported, but ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) says the veteran center will earn in excess of $3MM in 2024/25. The contract must be for at least three years, though only the first season needs to be guaranteed.

Zeller’s inclusion means Murray can earn his full $12MM trade bonus.

The 2027 pick going to Atlanta, which will be the least favorable of the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ first-rounders, is top-four protected.

JUNE 28: The Hawks are trading guard Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

In exchange for Murray, the Pelicans are sending forward Larry Nance Jr., 2022 No. 8 overall pick Dyson Daniels, and two first-round picks to Atlanta, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter links). Forward E.J. Liddell will also head to the Hawks in the deal, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the picks the Pelicans are sending the Hawks in the deal are the Lakers’ 2025 first-round selection and a 2027 first-rounder, which will be the least favorable of the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ picks.

The Hawks originally acquired Murray from the Spurs in 2022 to pair him with star guard Trae Young. Atlanta sacrificed several draft assets – including its own unprotected 2025 and 2027 first-round picks and an unprotected 2026 first-round swap – to give Young a running mate in the backcourt, but the duo never really thrived as hoped.

While Murray was individually solid — averaging 21.5 points per game across 152 appearances with Atlanta over two seasons — the Hawks floundered as a team. Atlanta went 77-87 in Murray’s two years with the team and made the playoffs just once, losing in the first round to Boston in 2023. The Hawks were eliminated in the first play-in game this spring.

With the Hawks struggling at the midpoint of the 2023/24 season, Murray’s name began to come up in trade conversations ahead of the deadline. The Lakers were among the potential destinations mentioned most frequently, but the Hawks opted to not move him at that time.

For the Pelicans, this trade signals they’re looking to continue to climb the Western Conference standings after making the playoffs this season. Murray will provide added offense for a team that went 2-14 in close games last season, and Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link) says New Orleans believes he and CJ McCollum can coexist. McCollum thrived in an off-ball role last season, Clark notes.

As Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link), the Pelicans are still trying to come to terms on a middle ground with Brandon Ingram on a contract extension. Ingram’s name has frequently come up in trade rumors this offseason, with the expectation being that he’ll end up on the trade block if he and New Orleans don’t agree to an extension. Multiple reports have indicated that the Pelicans don’t intend to offer the forward another maximum-salary deal as he enters the final year of his current max contract.

Once this deal for Murray is completed, the Pelicans will find themselves just $4.7MM under the luxury tax line for 11 players, tweets cap expert Yossi Gozlan. They’ve never paid the luxury tax before and will need frontcourt depth, with just Zion Williamson, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and rookie Yves Missi as options for those spots, so it’s safe to assume more moves are coming, including possibly something involving Ingram.

As for the Hawks, trading Murray is a clear signal they’re willing to hear offers on most of their players. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported this morning that everyone on the roster except for Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher are on the table. That list of trade candidates – which features veterans like Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter – could also include Young, though there was an expectation that Atlanta would likely just trade one of him or Murray — not necessarily both.

Young, like Murray, has been brought up in trade rumors since the start of the offseason and it sounds like the Hawks have at least entertained offers for their three-time All-Star. We’ll likely get more clarity on both Ingram and Young’s situations with the Pelicans and Hawks in the coming days.

Assuming New Orleans and Atlanta complete this deal as reported, with no pieces added and no other teams involved, the Pelicans will be hard-capped at the $178.7MM first apron for the 2024/25, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, since they’re taking back more salary than they’re sending out.

The Pelicans and Hawks will also have to take into account Murray’s trade bonus, which had been the largest in the NBA — it’s worth over $12MM, tweets Marks. It will be spread out across three seasons, starting in 2024/25, increasing the guard’s cap hits by approximately $4MM per season. So instead of counting for $25.27MM toward the cap in 2024/25, he’ll have a cap hit of $29.27MM. The trade bonus bump isn’t applied to his player option year in 2027/28.

While the Pelicans must take on Murray’s larger cap hits, the Hawks will be responsible for paying the bonus, Marks notes. There’s also a possibility that Murray will agree to waive some or all of his trade bonus, which would make salary-matching simpler. If he gets his full bonus, the Pelicans will likely need to add more salary for matching purposes.

After sending AJ Griffin to Houston, the Hawks will save some more money in this deal as they acquire Nance’s expiring $11.21MM deal, Daniels’ rookie scale contract ($6.06MM in 2024/25), and Liddell’s minimum-salary pact ($2.12MM). According to Marks (Twitter link), the team’s salary now projects to be about $5.5MM below the luxury tax line with 14 players under contract.

Atlanta will hold team options on both Daniels and Liddell for the 2025/26 season.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

International Notes: Olympic Qualifiers, Robinson, Australia, Canada, Hayes-Davis

July 4th, 2024 at 9:28pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of NBA superstars will match up this weekend in Greece as they look to keep their home countries’ Olympic hopes alive. The Greek national team, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, will take on Luka Doncic and the Slovenians in the semifinals of one of four ongoing Olympic qualifying tournaments (link via ESPN). The winner of Greece vs. Slovenia will go on to face the winner of Croatia vs. Dominican Republic for a spot in the men’s basketball Olympic tournament in Paris.

In total, four Olympic berths still remain up for grabs. The other semifinal matchups in Olympic qualifying tournaments around the globe are as follows:

Riga, Latvia:
- Latvia vs. Cameroon
- Brazil vs. Philippines
Valencia, Spain:
- Spain vs. Finland
- Bahamas vs. Lebanon
San Juan, Puerto Rico:
- Puerto Rico vs. Mexico
- Lithuania vs. Italy

While none of the other teams fighting for a spot in the Olympics has a perennial MVP candidate like Antetokounmpo or Doncic on its roster, there are many NBA players competing in the qualifying tournaments, including All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis for Lithuania and Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield, and Eric Gordon representing the Bahamas.

Here are a few more updates from around the international basketball world:

Former NBA lottery pick Jerome Robinson has signed with Saint-Quentin in France, the team officially announced (via Twitter). Robinson, who was drafted 13th overall in 2018, has appeared in a total of 135 NBA regular season games, including 22 with Golden State last season while on a two-way contract with the Warriors.
The Australian national team has set its 12-man roster for the Olympics, according to Olgun Uluc of ESPN, who notes that eight active NBA players – Josh Giddey, Josh Green, Dante Exum, Jock Landale, Duop Reath, Dyson Daniels, Patty Mills, and Joe Ingles – made the cut, along with former NBA guard Matthew Dellavedova. Trail Blazers forward Matisse Thybulle is the most surprising omission, Uluc adds.
Team Canada hasn’t set its Olympic roster yet, but pared it down a little on Wednesday, with Oshae Brissett among the cuts. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter links), Brissett – who is coming off a championship season as a Celtics reserve – asked to withdraw to focus on his NBA free agency. It looks like there are 10 NBA players who are safe bets to be on the Canadian squad, with two roster spots still up for grabs, as Lewenberg outlines in another tweet.
Nigel Hayes-Davis, the former NBA forward who is part of the U.S. Select Team and was rumored this spring to be drawing NBA interest, has re-upped with Fenerbahce, signing a three-year contract with the Turkish team, according to a press release.

Olympic Notes: France, Australia, Germany, Brazil

May 17th, 2024 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the host nation has announced its preliminary 19-man roster (Twitter link). As Eurohoops relays, the headliners on France’s squad are big men Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, the top two finishers in this year’s Defensive Player of the Year vote.

However, there are several more notable NBA names on the list, including Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Bilal Coulibaly, and Ousmane Dieng. Other recent NBAers who didn’t finish the 2023/24 season on a roster include Killian Hayes, Frank Ntilikina, and Theo Maledon.

One player not on France’s roster is veteran guard Mike James. The 2023/24 EuroLeague MVP is an American, but according to a report from L’Equipe (hat tip to BasketNews.com), the French Basketball Federation explored the possibility of getting a French passport for James, who has played for AS Monaco in France’s LNB Pro A since 2021. That effort didn’t make any real headway, however.

“We do not have the culture of other nations which use naturalized players in a systematic way,” an unnamed executive told L’Equipe. “But we have a duty to explore all possibilities. In this case, we were asked, we looked at it and quickly established that it was not a question.”

The French national team will have to make seven cuts and set a 12-man roster for this July’s event.

Here are a few more updates related to the 2024 Olympics:

The Australian national team has trimmed its preliminary Olympic roster from 22 players to 17, the Boomers announced in a press release. None of the NBA players on the roster – including Josh Giddey, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, Dante Exum, Matisse Thybulle, and Dyson Daniels, among others – were among the cuts, but potential 2024 first-round pick Johnny Furphy was. The plan is for those 17 Australian players to attend training camp this summer before setting the final 12-man roster.
The German national team announced this week that head coach Gordon Herbert won’t continue on in that role after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics (hat tip to Sportando). The two sides are going their separate ways after a fruitful partnership that included a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The Brazilian national team has announced its preliminary roster for this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament in Latvia. The notable names include veteran point guard Raul Neto, former first-round pick Bruno Caboclo, Warriors rookie Gui Santos, and former NBA guard Didi Louzada. The Brazilians will need to win the six-team qualifier to earn a spot in the Olympic men’s basketball tournament.

And-Ones: Australia, McLemore, York, Jerebko, Calipari, Klutch

April 11th, 2024 at 8:15am CST by Luke Adams

The Australian national team has revealed its preliminary roster for the 2024 Olympics, announcing a list of 22 players that are in the mix to play in Paris. That group will have to be cut down to 12 players ahead of this summer’s tournament.

Australia’s preliminary roster includes several NBAers, including Thunder guard Josh Giddey, Mavericks guard Dante Exum, Trail Blazers forward Matisse Thybulle and big man Duop Reath, Mavericks wing Josh Green, Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels, Magic forward Joe Ingles, Heat guard Patty Mills, Rockets center Jock Landale, and Grizzlies forward Jack White.

As Olgun Uluc of ESPN notes, the newest addition to the Boomers’ roster is 19-year-old Johnny Furphy, who played for the Kansas Jayhawks in 2023/24 and is projected by ESPN to be a potential first-round pick in this year’s draft.

The most notable absence is Ben Simmons, as the Nets guard underwent back surgery last month that will sideline him for the Olympics. Simmons doesn’t have much history with the Australian national team, so it’s unclear if he would’ve been part of the Boomers’ roster in Paris even if he’d been healthy.

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

Former NBA guard Ben McLemore was arrested and jailed this week in Oregon and faces multiple felony sexual assault charges, reports Baxter Holmes of ESPN. The charges, which include first-degree rape, stem from an alleged incident in 2021, when McLemore was a member of the Trail Blazers.
Former NBA guard Gabe York, who appeared in five games for the Pacers across two seasons from 2021-23, has signed with Basquet Girona, the Spanish team announced this week in a press release. York played for the G League Ignite earlier this season.
Following a two-year hiatus from basketball, Swedish forward Jonas Jerebko is making a comeback, having signed with Puerto Rican team Santeros de Aguada, according to Eurohoops. Jerebko, who turned 37 last month, appeared in 635 NBA regular season games for four teams from 2009-19. He last played professionally for CSKA Moscow in 2022.
Shams Charania and Kyle Tucker of The Athletic take an in-depth look at John Calipari‘s decision to leave Kentucky for Arkansas after 15 years with the Wildcats, detailing how Calipari’s deal with the Razorbacks came about.
One Legacy Sports Management, led by veteran agent Mike George, is becoming part of Klutch Sports, CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Jamal Murray, Dillon Brooks, and Shaedon Sharpe are among George’s clients, per RealGM.

Southwest Notes: Daniels, Ingram, Jones, Whitmore, Wemby

March 30th, 2024 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels, who has been sidelined since February 9 due to knee surgery, has been cleared to return for Saturday’s game vs. Boston, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com.

Daniels wasn’t a major part of the Pelicans’ offensive attack earlier in the season, averaging a modest 5.5 points per game on 43.8% shooting (29.1% on threes). However, he started 15 of his 52 games and played 21.9 minutes per contest, in large part due to his defensive prowess. Assuming he’s not slowed by his knee at all, Daniels figures to reclaim a rotation role down the stretch.

There’s also good news out of New Orleans on injured forward Brandon Ingram, who was able to do some on-court work on Friday in what William Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link) describes as a positive step in his recovery from a knee contusion. Ingram will reportedly remain sidelined until at least Friday, but perhaps by next weekend he’ll be nearing a return.

Meanwhile, the Pelicans will be without guard Jose Alvarado on Saturday for a second straight game due to a right oblique strain, per the NBA’s official injury report. It’s unclear how much more time – if any – Alvarado might miss as a result of that injury.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Christian Clark of NOLA.com makes the case for Herbert Jones to claim a spot on this season’s All-Defensive first team, explaining why the player that Pelicans teammates describe as “our defensive leader” deserves the honor.
After missing the past nine games due to a sprained right knee, Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore believes he’s on the verge of returning to action. According to Whitmore, he’s working on getting his conditioning back to 100% and hopes to be cleared in time to suit up against Dallas on Sunday, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “I feel fine. There’s no pain (in the knee),” he said. “No tweaks, no issues, no nothing. I feel back to normal. I just have to feel better moving around laterally.”
Now that he has appeared in the requisite 65 games, Victor Wembanyama deserves serious consideration for this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award, writes Mike Monroe of The Athletic. “If you just watch the game you see how (Wembanyama) affects the game defensively,” Spurs guard Tre Jones said. “It’s tough because of our record, but I think most people know he’s already the best defender in the league. He’s already leading the league in blocks; leads in blocks and steals combined, more than previous NBA Defensive Player of the Year winners.”
Count Jalen Brunson among Wembanyama’s fans. After the Spurs‘ No. 1 overall pick racked up 40 points and 20 rebounds en route to an overtime win against the Knicks on Friday, Brunson – who scored 61 points in the losing effort – predicted that Wembanyama will be “one of the greatest players this game has seen,” tweets Paul Garcia of Project Spurs. “Just the way he’s built and what he’s been able to do so far,” Brunson said. “Got a lot of respect for him and it’s definitely tough to get a shot up and in over him.”

Western Notes: LeBron, Vincent, Daniels, Gobert, Kyrie

March 26th, 2024 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers, looking to make up ground in the Western Conference playoff race, won’t have LeBron James available on Tuesday in Milwaukee for the first game of their six-game road trip, the team announced today (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski). James has been ruled out due to his ongoing left ankle issues.

Elsewhere on the Lakers injury front, while there was a belief that Gabe Vincent may have been able to return by now following left knee surgery, he remains on the shelf and isn’t with the team in Milwaukee, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

According to McMenamin, if Vincent continues to make good progress in his rehab work, there’s a chance he’ll join the Lakers at some point during the current road trip, which runs through next Wednesday (April 3).

Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels, who underwent knee surgery in February after tearing his meniscus, appears to be nearing a return. The team announced today (via Twitter) that Daniels has been assigned to the G League and will be available to play for the Birmingham Squadron on Wednesday. The second-year wing hasn’t been active since February 9.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert played in his 65th game of the season on Sunday and is now eligible for end-of-season awards, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). That benchmark is significant for Gobert, who is the current frontrunner to earn the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year honor this season.
After requesting trades out of Cleveland and Brooklyn and leaving Boston in free agency, Kyrie Irving has had a relatively calm, drama-free stint in Dallas so far. Marc Stein explores why that’s the case, writing at Substack that Irving has been willing to sacrifice, the Mavericks have built him a strong support system, and he and Luka Doncic have a genuine affinity for one another.

Southwest Notes: Zion, Daniels, Pelicans, Rockets, Gabriel

March 18th, 2024 at 1:53pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans have been on a roll lately, going 6-1 since the start of March and 15-5 since January 31. Former No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson has played his best basketball of the season of late, coinciding with the team’s surge up the standings — New Orleans is currently 41-26, the No. 5 seed in the West, one game back of the slumping Clippers.

On his Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said he’s heard from people around the team that Williamson has lost a considerable amount of weight since December, when the Pelicans were embarrassed by the Lakers in the semifinal of the in-season tournament.

“I’ve got people in New Orleans telling me that since December when the in-season tournament happened, that Zion Williamson has lost 25 or more pounds, and his performance has been excellent,” Windhorst said (hat tip to Doric Sam of Bleacher Report). “He’s playing fewer minutes and I think that helps as well, but I’ve got people telling me he’s lost 25 pounds. And I don’t mean like in the past where they say, ‘Oh, he’s added muscle’ and it’s like, ‘Has he?’”

Windhorst’s ESPN colleague Andrew Lopez has heard the same from his own sources, noting that Williamson “looks completely different,” both physically and as a player.

While Williamson has mostly been known for his offensive ability to this point in his career, he played impressive defense on Kawhi Leonard late in Friday’s victory over the Clippers, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Leonard finished with just two points on 1-of-3 shooting in seven minutes in the final period.

“At the end of the game, I was like, ‘I got Kawhi,’” Trey Murphy said. “He was like, ‘Nah, I got it.’ I was like, ‘You got it then. I’m not going to fight you then.’ That’s what you want out of your stars. You want them to take on the challenge.”

Here’s more from the Southwest:

Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels, who is recovering from a torn meniscus in his left knee, was a full participant in Monday’s practice, head coach Willie Green told reporters, including Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link). Daniels was doing 3-on-3 work post-practice as well, Guillory relays (via Twitter), which is another positive sign for the second-year guard, though Green said the 21-year-old still has to check a few more boxes before being cleared to return. Herbert Jones (back) and Larry Nance Jr. (non-COVID illness) were also full practice participants after missing Saturday’s game, Guillory adds.
The Rockets have gone 7-1 over their last eight games and now trail the Warriors and Lakers by 3.5 games for the final spot in the play-in tournament. It’s a stark contrast from the past few seasons, when the team was stuck at the bottom of the standings. As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscriber link) writes, the Rockets know playing in high-pressure games is the next step in their development. “I’ve been on teams myself where you knew you were done by December, January,” head coach Ime Udoka said. “That’s not the best feeling. To have something to play for, but also change the mindset and mentality around here, was one of the main objectives this year. I think we did that from the start. To have a chance to play for something still at this point in the season but also finish on a strong note, guys are continuing to grow. It’s year one with me, and I think we’ve seen the progress. Things are starting to round out a little bit here and there. We’d like to have that momentum going into next year regardless of where we land.”
Wenyen Gabriel‘s 10-day contract with the Grizzlies expired overnight, notes Keith Smith of Spotrac (via Twitter). The Sudanese forward/center is now an NBA free agent, though Puerto Rico’s Vaqueros de Bayamon announced last week that Gabriel had signed a contract with the team for the coming season. The 26-year-old averaged 3.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in five games with Memphis.