Herbert Jones Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans’ Jones, McCollum Out Multiple Weeks With Injuries

November 1st, 2024 at 1:14pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans announced in a press release (Twitter link) that forward Herbert Jones has sustained a right shoulder strain and small low-grade partial thickness tear in his rotator cuff. Jones will be out at least two-to-four weeks, according to the team.

New Orleans also announced that guard CJ McCollum has been diagnosed with a right adductor strain and is expected to miss approximately two-to-three weeks. Both players were sidelined for Wednesday’s loss to Golden State.

It’s a tough blow for the Pelicans, who are now down three starters and a key reserve a little over a week into the 2024/25 season — Dejounte Murray is out three-to-five more weeks with a broken hand, while fourth-year wing Trey Murphy is recovering from a hamstring strain. Murphy, who suffered his injury in training camp and has yet to make his season debut, will be reevaluated next week.

A former second-round pick (No. 35 overall in 2021), Jones has been a valuable role player for the Pelicans, earning a spot on the All-Defensive First Team in 2023/24. He’s under contract through ’26/27.

McCollum, 33, is one of the team’s best shooters and has averaged at least 20 points per game in each of the past nine seasons. He’ll earn $33.33MM this season, followed by $30.67MM in ’25/26.

The Pelicans have dealt with a litany of injuries to key rotation players in recent seasons, and unfortunately they will be shorthanded once again to open ’24/25. Jordan Hawkins, Jose Alvarado, Javonte Green, Jamal Cain, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Brandon Boston are all candidates for more playing time.

Injury Notes: Bane, Smart, Banchero, LaVine, Towns, More

October 31st, 2024 at 5:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies‘ injury list continues to grow, as the club has ruled out Desmond Bane (right oblique strain) and Marcus Smart (right ankle sprain) for Thursday’s contest vs. Milwaukee after they sustained injuries in the first game of their back-to-back set on Wednesday against Brooklyn (Twitter link).

Head coach Taylor Jenkins told reporters, including Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link), that both players underwent imaging on Thursday, but that the team is still waiting to get the results and to speak to doctors about the severity of the injuries.

As Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes tweets, oblique strains like the one Bane suffered typically cost players multiple games — the average time missed with an oblique strain, according to Stotts’ injury database, is 11.6 days (4.2 games).

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Magic forward Paolo Banchero is off to a hot start this season, averaging 29.0 points and 8.8 rebounds in his first five games, but he may not be able to suit up on Friday in a postseason rematch. According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), Banchero has been diagnosed with a right abdominal strain and is listed as questionable to play vs. Cleveland.
Further testing confirmed that Zach LaVine has sustained a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network, who tweets that the Bulls guard is considered questionable to play against Brooklyn on Friday.
On the heels of his best game of the season, Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns is being listed as questionable for Friday’s game in Detroit due to a sprained left wrist.
Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (right shoulder strain) and guard CJ McCollum (right adductor soreness) will be reevaluated on Friday in New Orleans, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link), but the duo has already been ruled out for tomorrow’s game vs. Indiana, the club announced in a press release.
Thunder forward Kenrich Williams, who underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his knee in September, is making progress toward a return. He was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue on Wednesday to practice with the Thunder’s G League affiliate, according to the team.

Southwest Notes: Wembanyama Vs. Holmgren, Pelicans, McCollum, H. Jones, Huff

October 30th, 2024 at 8:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Two of the league’s best young big men will square off tonight as the Thunder host the Spurs, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Victor Wembanyama was a unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year honors last season, with Chet Holmgren getting all but one second-place vote. Even their teammates are excited about their first meeting of the new season.

“Two big guys going at it,” Zach Collins said. “You don’t really see that too much anymore, so it is fun to watch. Kind of has a very old-school feel to it, two bigs going at it, two heavyweights, and it seems like both of those guys like that matchup and they take it personal.”

The duo faced off three times last season, putting up similar numbers as OKC won twice. Wembanyama averaged 20.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.7 blocks and 1.0 steals in their head-to-head matchups, while Holmgren countered with 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals. San Antonio’s victory came in February on a night when Wembanyama all but locked up the ROY vote, Orsborn notes. He posted 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and two steals, then punctuated the win by screaming an expletive into a house microphone.

“It’s fun to be a part of and it’s good to see Vic have that motivation going against (Holmgren) and trying to get that upper hand,” Collins added.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Coach Willie Green wants the Pelicans to shoot at least 40 three-pointers per game, but the team isn’t coming close to that mark, per Christian Clark of NOLA. New Orleans was just 9-of-22 from beyond the arc in Tuesday’s loss at Golden State, with the absence of Trey Murphy contributing to the shortage of three-point attempts. Clark observes that the offense hasn’t really lived up to expectations since CJ McCollum was acquired to team with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. The Pelicans added another play-maker by trading for Dejounte Murray this summer, but he suffered a fracture in his left hand in the season opener.
McCollum will undergo an MRI tonight to determine what’s causing right adductor/hip soreness, according to Andrew Lopez (Twitter link). The Pelicans expect to have an update on Thursday. Herbert Jones had medical imaging done on his right shoulder Tuesday night, Lopez adds. The results were negative and he’s considered day-to-day.
Jay Huff‘s new four-year contract with the Grizzlies includes a prorated minimum salary for the rest of the season, a source tells cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Huff is set to receive $2.4MM in 2025/26 and $2.7MM with a $379,382 guarantee in 2026/27. Memphis will have a $3MM team option with a $427,323 guarantee for 2027/28. Gozlan notes that the Grizzlies are now $1.8MM below the tax line and have $8.6MM left in their non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Pelicans Eyeing Herbert Jones As Probable Starting Center

October 10th, 2024 at 10:44pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After starting center Jonas Valanciunas departed the Pelicans for Washington in free agency and Larry Nance Jr. was included in the trade package for Dejounte Murray, New Orleans was left shorthanded in the middle heading into training camp, with minimum-salary free agent addition Daniel Theis representing the only experienced traditional center on the roster.

Rather than starting Theis, the Pelicans are eyeing versatile forward Herbert Jones as Valanciunas’ replacement heading into the 2024/25 season, ESPN’s Shams Charania told his colleagues on “The Pat McAfee Show” (YouTube video link).

“I’m told Herb Jones is essentially going to serve as the starting center for the Pelicans,” Charania said. “You look at CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones and Zion Williamson, a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, Zion Williamson‘s playing the five.'”

However the team opts to configure its intended frontcourt of Ingram, Jones and Williamson, New Orleans will have a lot of intriguing optionality on offense.

“[Head coach] Willie Green came out the other day and said, ‘[Zion’s] not the five… We’re not talking about fives, we’re talking about [playing] position-less,'” Charania said. “I do think there’s some credence to that, but at the end of the day someone’s going to have to guard the other centers, and it’s going to be Herb Jones a lot of the time.”

Jones, 26, was an All-Defensive First Teamer during his third season in 2023/24. The 6’7″ swingman was the lone player to make the First Team who was not a center. It sounds like if he earns the distinction again this year, that may not be the case.

As for Williamson, Charania asserts that the All-Star forward – who played in a career-high 70 games last year after missing significant time due to injuries in his first four seasons – appears healthy and focused this preseason.

“Everyone around the Pelicans believes he’s primed for a big season,” Charania said. “In past years, at this point in training camp or early in the season, there’s always been an injury… I think now, he’s not playing himself into conditioning, he already is in great shape.”

Southwest Notes: J. Smith, H. Jones, Grizzlies, Edey

September 24th, 2024 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award in 2023, while the No. 2 pick in the ’22 class, Chet Holmgren, would have claimed the award in 2024 if not for Victor Wembanyama‘s historic season.

However, Rockets forward Jabari Smith – the third overall pick in 2022 – struggled in his first professional season, and while he improved his shooting percentages in year two, he hasn’t yet shown the kind of All-NBA potential that Banchero and Holmgren have displayed.

As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes in a subscriber-only story, Smith just turned 21 in May and has intriguing tools to go along with a strong work ethic, seemingly making him a strong candidate for a breakout season in 2024/25.

Still, as Feigen acknowledges, the Rockets will want to make sure players like Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Fred VanVleet, and Amen Thompson have the ball in their hands frequently, which may not leave a ton of opportunities for Smith to create his own scoring chances. He’ll still be relied upon largely as an off-ball floor spacer on offense, Feigen adds, so while a third-year leap is a possibility, it might be more realistic to expect continued steady growth from the former No. 3 overall pick.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Herbert Jones admitted it was a great feeling to make the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team last season, but the Pelicans forward doesn’t want to get complacent after earning that honor for the first time in 2023/24, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com (subscription required). “It felt amazing,” Jones said. “At the same time, you are always trying to reach for more. After I saw the news, my initial thought was, ‘You have to do it again.'”
Will any of the Grizzlies players currently on Exhibit 10 contracts – Miye Oni, Yuki Kawamura, Maozinha Pereira, and Armando Bacot – stick with the team into the regular season? Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal explores that question, suggesting that the team’s relative lack of depth in the frontcourt could make Bacot the best bet to make the 18-man roster. If the Grizzlies were to promote a two-way player like Scotty Pippen Jr. to the standard roster, it could open up a two-way slot for a camp invitee such as Bacot, Cole notes.
In a separate story for The Commercial Appeal, Cole spoke to Purdue assistant coach Brandon Brantley about what to expect from former Boilermakers star Zach Edey, whom the Grizzlies selected with the ninth overall pick in this year’s draft. While there are questions about how some aspects of Edey’s game will translate to the NBA, the big man’s rebounding definitely won’t be an issue at the next level, according to Brantley. “Memphis is going to have a dude in that paint that’s going to hold that paint down,” Brantley said. “Usually guys that size will try to rebound their area. He rebounds outside of his area. It means something to him.”

Scotto’s Latest: Markkanen, Achiuwa, Knicks, Kessler, Vucevic, Sixers

July 2nd, 2024 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The expectation around the NBA, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, is that the Jazz will only seriously consider trading Lauri Markkanen if they receive a huge offer similar in value to the one Brooklyn got for Mikal Bridges, which included four unprotected first-round picks, an unprotected first-round swap, and one more lightly protected first-rounder.

The decision on Markkanen is viewed as an inflection point for the Jazz, who could accelerate their timeline by trying to find another star to join him in Utah or extend their timeline by moving the star forward and continuing to stockpile assets ahead of a loaded 2025 draft.

In addition to confirming the four teams previously reported to have interest in Markkanen (the Warriors, Spurs, Kings, and Timberwolves), Scotto adds the Pelicans to the list of potential suitors for the star forward. However, he says New Orleans has been reluctant to discuss valuable young role players like Trey Murphy and Herbert Jones.

Brandon Ingram, the most obvious trade candidate on the Pelicans’ roster, wouldn’t be a logical target for Utah in a Markkanen trade. New Orleans is including a pair of first-round picks in its deal for Dejounte Murray but could still offer as many as four first-rounders (2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031) in a package for a player like Markkanen.

Here’s more from Scotto:

Unrestricted free agent Precious Achiuwa – who is drawing interest from multiple contenders, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv – liked playing in New York and remains open to re-signing with the Knicks, Scotto writes. The Knicks’ search for help at center has also involved making trade calls to the Jazz about Walker Kessler and the Hornets about Nick Richards, according to Scotto, who says rival executives think the Jazz are more willing to listen to inquiries on Kessler than they would’ve been a year ago.
With DeMar DeRozan seemingly on the verge of leaving Chicago, there’s a belief around the league that the Bulls may look to trade Nikola Vucevic and make the roster even younger, league sources tell Scotto.
Providing several Sixers-related updates, Scotto says Philadelphia is expected to either trade or waive Paul Reed and his $7.7MM non-guaranteed contract, has exploratory trade interest in Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith, and wants to add more shooting and guard depth, with Lester Quinones and Kyle Lowry among the players on its radar. Additionally, second-round pick Adem Bona is expected to get a standard contract and a place on the 76ers’ 15-man roster, Scotto reports.

NBA Announces 2023/24 All-Defensive Teams

May 21st, 2024 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2023/24 season (Twitter link).

A total of 99 media members voted on the All-Defensive awards, with players receiving two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote. This year’s All-Defensive teams are as follows:

First Team

Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves (198 points)
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs (184)
Bam Adebayo, Heat (168)
Herbert Jones, Pelicans (159)
Anthony Davis, Lakers (151)

Second Team

Alex Caruso, Bulls (130)
Jalen Suggs, Magic (99)
Derrick White, Celtics (98)
Jaden McDaniels, Timberwolves (66)
Jrue Holiday, Celtics (36)

Gobert, who won this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award, was the only unanimous First Team selection, earning all 99 possible First Team votes.

No other players showed up on every ballot, though Wembanyama appeared on 98, receiving 86 First Team nods. Wembanyama is the first rookie in NBA history to claim a spot on an All-Defensive First Team, according to the NBA (Twitter link). Five rookies previously made a Second Team.

All-Defensive voting was positionless for the first time this season, which is why four big men – Gobert, Wembanyama, Adebayo, and Davis – were permitted to be named to the First Team. Jones, a forward, was the only non-center to earn First Team recognition, whereas the Second Team was made up entirely of guards and forwards.

The Timberwolves and Celtics – who ranked first and second, respectively, in regular season defensive rating – were the only teams to have more than one All-Defensive player in 2023/24. McDaniels was a Second Team selection, joining Gobert, while the Celtics’ backcourt duo of White and Holiday also made the Second Team. Both White ($250K) and Holiday ($139,200) earned bonuses as a result of making an All-Defensive team, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

The rookie scale extension McDaniels signed last fall actually includes an All-Defensive bonus as well, Marks tweets, but since that contract doesn’t go into effect until this July, the Timberwolves’ perimeter stopper won’t cash in on that $431,035. That incentive is now considered “likely” instead of “unlikely” for next season though, as Marks notes, increasing McDaniels’ cap hit to $23,017,242.

Outside of the top 10, the players who received the most All-Defensive votes were Thunder wing Luguentz Dort (34 points, including six First Team votes), Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (29 points), Thunder center Chet Holmgren (21 points), Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (20 points), and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (19 points).

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (six), Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown (three), and Kings teammates Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox (one apiece) were the other players who received First Team votes. In total, 34 players earned at least one First Team or Second Team vote.

Players were required to meet the 65-game criteria in order to qualify for All-Defensive honors this season. Knicks forward OG Anunoby, Warriors big man Draymond Green, and Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley – each of whom made an All-Defensive team last spring – were among the standout defenders who didn’t reach that games-played minimum in 2023/24.

Rudy Gobert Named Defensive Player Of Year For Fourth Time

May 7th, 2024 at 5:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rudy Gobert has been named the Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career, the NBA announced on Tuesday (via Twitter).

The Timberwolves center joins Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only four-time winners of the award. Gobert also claimed the award in 2018, 2019, and 2021 when he played for Utah.

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, who was unanimously voted the Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, finished second in the voting, with the Heat‘s Bam Adebayo a distant third.

Gobert was the league’s second-leading rebounder (12.9 per game) and sixth-leading shot-blocker (2.1). More significantly, he anchored a Timberwolves defense that held opponents to a league-low 106.5 points per game during the regular season. Minnesota was also best in defensive field goal percentage, limiting opponents to 39.0 percent shooting.

Gobert received 72 of a possible 99 first-place votes while compiling 433 points. Wembanyama, who was the league’s top shot-blocker at 3.6 per game, received 19 first-place votes and earned 245 points.

Adebayo received three first-place votes and wound up with 91 points, eight more than fourth-place finisher Anthony Davis of the Lakers (four first-place votes).

Pelicans forward Herbert Jones finished fifth and Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, who notched the other first-place vote, was sixth. The full voting results can be found here.

Southwest Notes: Thompson, Sochan, Jones, Mavs

March 31st, 2024 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

While Jalen Green has been the breakout star of the Rockets‘ recent hot streak, the contributions of Amen Thompson during the team’s 11 straight wins shouldn’t be overlooked, Tim MacMahon of ESPN said on the latest Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link).

After spending most of his rookie season coming off the bench, Thompson has started the past nine games and is averaging 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 30.2 minutes per game during that stretch. While he has provided secondary scoring and play-making for the Rockets, it’s Thompson’s defensive ability that excites the team the most, according to MacMahon.

“The Rockets believe – and have data to back up – that he can be the best non-big defender in the NBA really soon,” MacMahon said.

The primary knock against Thompson is that he has yet to develop an outside shot — he has made just 8-of-55 three-point attempts this season, for an ugly conversion rate of 14.5%. If he can eventually add that facet to his game, his ceiling would only grow higher.

“He’s a jump shot away from being an All-Star for sure, and possibly higher than that,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps added.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan suffered a left ankle impingement during Friday’s win over New York, jeopardizing his availability for the rest of this season, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. As Orsborn notes, Sochan hasn’t missed a game this season and had expressed a desire to play in all 82, but he has been ruled out for Sunday’s contest against Golden State and figures to miss more time beyond that.
Pelicans forward Herbert Jones met the 65-game criteria for end-of-season award consideration on Saturday night, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. It was technically Jones’ 68th game of the season, but he played between 15 and 20 minutes in five of them, and only two of those outings could count toward his 65-game minimum. Jones is considered a strong candidate for one of the 10 All-Defensive spots and could earn Defensive Player of the Year consideration as well.
The Mavericks‘ backcourt duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have come a long way over the past 13-plus months, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). As Townsend observes, the two stars first played together against Sacramento last February, so this week’s back-to-back victories over the Kings, which extended Dallas’ win streak to six games, represented an encouraging full-circle moment. “I always said, this training camp, when got some practices in together, it would be way easier for us to function better,” Doncic said. “And I think it shows, especially now. I think we’re both happy and we’re both doing some good things on the floor. And we have great teammates. So I think this team is special.”

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.”