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Western Notes: Morant, Clark, Stackhouse, Suns

July 28th, 2024 at 5:38pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant only made nine appearances last season after missing the first 25 games of the year due to a suspension and then his final 48 with a shoulder injury. Speaking to reporters on Thursday (Twitter link via WPSD’s Logan Whaley), Morant asserted he was about 75% healthy ahead of next season and sent a warning to the rest of the league.

“I feel like that’s still scary for whoever’s in front of me,” Morant said.

Memphis suffered a litany of injuries last season, with 33 players seeing playing time for the organization after various hardship signings. Morant, Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart played just 71 combined games and only two Grizzlies players appeared in 60 or more games.

If Morant comes back healthy, the Grizzlies will almost certainly factor into the Western playoff picture. The team won 50 or more games in the two seasons prior to 2023/24 and while last season was disappointing, the openings created by the injuries allowed young players like Vince Williams and GG Jackson to emerge as rotation options.

We have more from around the Western Conference:

  • Timberwolves two-way guard Jaylen Clark missed all of last season with an Achilles injury, but the UCLA product was all smiles even amid a tougher-than-expected first summer league with the team, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. The 53rd overall pick in the 2023 draft, Clark might not see much playing time on a contending Wolves roster, but he’s happy to simply be back on the court. He earned praises from his coaching staff in Las Vegas. “What I like about him is he picks up early and he’s very strong,” Wolves assistant and summer league head coach Chris Hines said. “He stands up guys. For him, it’s just finding how to drive and kick and get back to respace, set his feet and shoot the ball.“
  • Jerry Stackhouse was expecting to sit out a year from coaching after exiting from Vanderbilt, but the Warriors called him and he impressed Steve Kerr, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater details. “I don’t think the timing could’ve been more perfect for me,” Stackhouse said of joining the team as an assistant. The Warriors are reportedly excited to be bringing in a former player and plan on having Stackhouse run the team’s defensive schemes.
  • The Suns‘ ’23/24 season went far from expected, as the team bowed out in the first round of the playoffs following the formation of a “big three” consisting of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. In a subscriber-only story, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic breaks down his predictions and projections for next season. The Suns improved by adding Tyus Jones and generally did well in addressing their depth but as Rankin observes, it will be difficult to climb the standings if the likes of Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Dallas continue on their current trajectories along with mainstays like Denver.
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Northwest Notes: Murray, Hartenstein, Holmgren, Clark, Kessler, Saric

July 8th, 2024 at 10:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jamal Murray and the Nuggets were reportedly progressing toward a four-year max extension agreement in late June. So what’s the holdup?

According to The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando, extension talks between the front office and the Nuggets’ point guard are temporarily on the backburner while Murray preparies for the Paris Olympics with Team Canada. The two sides will likely finalize an agreement after the Olympics are done, Durando adds. The only potential stumbling block could occur if Murray suffers a significant injury prior to signing an extension.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • New Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein is impressed by how the team has methodically been built into a potential powerhouse in the Western Conference, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. “I think they were doing it the right way,” said Hartenstein, who left the Knicks and signed a three-year, $87MM contract with OKC. “I feel like they weren’t trying to rush steps. I think every year you kind of saw them take the next step. I think every time you see them go on the court, there’s a certain competitiveness always to them. They’re very excited for each other, and I think in the NBA you don’t have that a lot where no matter who’s doing good, the whole team is excited for each other.”
  • The Thunder‘s additions of Hartenstein and Alex Caruso should benefit Chet Holmgren, Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustated opines. Holmgren will have more freedom to show off his passing and play-making skills. It also opens up opportunities for Holmgren to play alongside another big man.
  • The Timberwolves’ Jaylen Clark has been cleared to play in the Summer League after recovering last season from a ruptured left Achilles tendon, the team announced in a press release. Minnesota drafted Clark in the second round last year despite Clark’s injury, which he suffered while playing for UCLA. Clark told Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune he can be a defensive factor in the league. “I just want to re-establish myself as the best defender in my class,” he said. “I can guard way bigger than what I am, and I’ve improved my jump shot a whole bunch. I’m going to try to break the steals record like I did at my college.”
  • Given his strong rookie season, Walker Kessler might seem a little out of place on the Jazz‘s Summer League squad. After a disappointing sophomore campaign, the third-year center wants to reestablish himself as a major defensive factor. He told the Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen that improving his body had been his No. 1 overall focus in the two months since the season ended. “I’m going into it with the mentality of, ‘I’m gonna be dominant.’ I’m gonna show what I’ve been working on and I’m looking forward to it,” Kessler said.
  •  The Nuggets viewed Dario Saric as a top-priority target and reached an agreement with the big man on a two-year, $10.6MM deal. Saric was unsure if he wanted to play in the NBA or Europe next season before choosing the Nuggets, according to Durando. Multiple NBA teams showed interest in him, as well as the Greek club Panathinaikos, but the Nuggets felt confident about landing Saric.
  • The Timberwolves are looking toward rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr., 2023 second-round pick Leonard Miller and 2022 second-rounder Josh Minott to compete for rotation spots next season, according to Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “We got some holes right away that need to be plugged and there’s no doubt that they’re going to have to be filled by young players, whether it be these two guys [Dillingham and Shannon] or guys that have already been in the system, in the gym,” coach Chris Finch said. “That’s what we need to do. We’re excited about that challenge and we’re looking forward to these guys stepping up to it.”
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Timberwolves Notes: Gobert, Ingles, Clark, Young Players

July 5th, 2024 at 1:26pm CST by Rory Maher

Chris Hine of The Star Tribune recently asked president of basketball operations Tim Connelly if the Timberwolves have discussed a veteran contract extension with center Rudy Gobert (Twitter link).

“We’d love Rudy to be here for a very long time,” Connelly replied. “We’re still in the middle of free agency. We haven’t jumped in deeper beyond that. Obviously we’re not here without Rudy … and we hope this is Rudy’s last stop.”

Gobert, 32, claimed his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023/24. He’ll earn $43.8MM in ’24/25 and holds a $46.7MM player option for ’25/26.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

  • Veteran forward Joe Ingles spoke to Olgun Uluc of ESPN about agreeing to a one-year deal with Minnesota. Ingles, who previously played with Mike Conley and Gobert in Utah, said the Wolves recruited him last year as well. “It’s exciting. It’s obviously a really good team,” said Ingles, who will play in his fifth Olympic games later this month with Australia. “Western Conference finals this year. Just going in there fully understanding the role they have for me. Trying to help Rudy, trying to help Ant (Anthony Edwards), trying to help all these guys get better and hopefully go further. When the opportunity came up and you speak more in depth about the basketball side, especially with the stuff I’m saying – you still wanna play, you still wanna compete – it’s a basketball opportunity that was too good to give up.”
  • The Wolves have a number of young players — including second-year guard Jaylen Clark — who will by vying for rotation minutes next season, writes Patrick Reusse of The Star Tribune (subscriber link). 2024 first-round picks Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr., former second-rounders Clark, Josh Minott, and Leonard Miller, and fourth-year center Luka Garza are among the names to watch. Clark missed the entire 2023/24 season after tearing his Achilles tendon at UCLA, but he’s fully healthy now and was technically active by the end of Minnesota’s second-round playoff series with Denver, Reusse adds.
  • Minnesota appears to be in a strong position in the West entering the ’24/25 season, according to Michael Rand of The Star Tribune (subscription required), who praises Connelly for acquiring Dillingham, Shannon and Ingles, particularly given the limitations of being over the second tax apron.
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Contract Details: Sabonis, Middleton, VanVleet, Russell, Clark

July 10th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings’ renegotiation and extension of Domantas Sabonis‘ contract includes $203.6MM in guaranteed money, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype tweets. The five-year deal also includes $13MM in incentives, raising its potential value to $216.6MM.

Sacramento used $8.6MM in cap room to give Sabonis a raise on next season’s salary – from $22MM to $30.6MM — then added four more years via the extension.

We have more contract-related notes:

  • Khris Middleton has a player option in the final season of his new three-year deal with the Bucks, Scotto tweets. As previously reported, his contract includes $93MM in guaranteed money and another $9MM in bonus incentives.
  • Fred VanVleet‘s huge three-year contract with the Rockets includes a 15% trade kicker, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link). The previously reported team option for the third year is valued at $44.89MM.
  • D’Angelo Russell‘s two-year contract with the Lakers is guaranteed for $36MM, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets. The second season is a player option and Russell has $700K in incentives for both seasons. Additionally, Russell has waived his implied no-trade clause.
  • Jaylen Clark‘s two-way contract with the Timberwolves is a two-year deal, Smith tweets.
  • Leonard Miller‘s four-year, $8.3MM contract with the Timberwolves is guaranteed for the first two years, Scotto tweets. The third year is 50% guaranteed, and the fourth year is a team option.
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Timberwolves Sign Jaylen Clark To Two-Way Contract

July 7th, 2023 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Former UCLA wing Jaylen Clark has officially signed his first NBA contract, having inked a two-way deal with the Timberwolves, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

Clark had a big junior year for the Bruins in 2022/23, increasing his scoring average to 13.0 PPG while also contributing 6.0 RPG and 2.6 SPG in 30 contests (30.5 MPG). He was named to the All-Pac-12 team and was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Clark, who injured his Achilles earlier this year and underwent surgery after the season, isn’t expected to be ready for the start of his rookie year. However, Minnesota is optimistic about what he’ll be able to bring to the team once he’s healthy — after selecting him with the No. 53 pick last month, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly referred to Clark as “the best perimeter defender in the draft.”

Luka Garza holds one of the two-way contract slots for the Timberwolves, so they have one opening remaining. The best candidate to fill it is Matt Ryan, who is still a restricted free agent after receiving a two-way qualifying offer in June.

Of the 58 players selected in the 2023 draft, 38 have now officially signed NBA contracts, as our tracker shows.

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Northwest Notes: Wolves, McDaniels, Jazz, K. Johnson

June 24th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Having traded away so many first-round picks a year ago to acquire Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves know they have to get “creative” if they hope to add young talent to their roster, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly told reporters during his post-draft press conference, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Minnesota entered Thursday night with a single second-round pick and acquired a second one that was used to draft Leonard Miller.

“We’re out a bunch of first-round picks, so we’re probably a bit more aggressive trying to find guys that are maybe a year early, or guys that have slipped for an injury, for example, like (No. 53 pick) Jaylen (Clark),” Connelly said. “I don’t think we can just follow too many trends. We’ve got to be creative and kind of cross our fingers.”

Clark, who injured his Achilles earlier this year and underwent surgery after the season, isn’t expected to be ready for the start of his rookie year. However, the Wolves are optimistic about what he’ll be able to bring to the team once he’s healthy, with Connelly referring to him as “the best perimeter defender in the draft,” according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

“We’re going to be very patient with him,” Connelly said. “Prior to the injury we thought the guy was an easy first-round pick.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • The Timberwolves received “a ton” of trade interest in forward Jaden McDaniels this week, league sources tell Krawczynski. Minnesota rebuffed inquiries from teams “all over the draft board,” Krawczynski adds.
  • Armed with first-round picks at No. 9, No. 16, and No. 28, the Jazz were a candidate to make a consolidation trade on Thursday. Instead, they hung onto all three picks and were thrilled to land Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, and Brice Sensabaugh, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. “The way the draft board fell took a really fortunate turn for us,” general manager Justin Zanik said. “We got two of the guys that we had in our top 10 — players that we were, frankly, debating out which one to take at 9, and we ended up getting both of them. And at 28, getting a player that we had in our top 18.”
  • Hendricks, George, and Sensabaugh are all 19 years old, so the fact that the Jazz were willing to add all three to their 2023/24 roster is a reflection that they’re not in any hurry to accelerate their timeline for contention. Still, Tony Jones of The Athletic believes all three first-rounders are capable of playing rotation roles as rookies, noting that none of them are projects. “It’s not like we’re leaning into youth, we’re leaning into talent,” Zanik said, per Walden.
  • The Thunder‘s plan is for former Kansas State forward Keyontae Johnson, the 50th pick in Thursday’s draft, to sign a two-way contract, head of basketball operations Sam Presti said on Saturday (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman).
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Draft Decisions: A. Jackson, Edey, Beekman, More

May 31st, 2023 at 11:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Andre Jackson Jr., who helped lead Connecticut to a national title, has opted to keep his name in the draft rather than return to the Huskies for another season, writes ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Jackson is projected to be taken late in the first round or early in the second round, Wojnarowski adds. The junior shooting guard ranks 32nd on ESPN’s big board and is projected to go to the Pacers with the 32nd pick in the latest mock draft by Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

“My time at UCONN has been filled with ups and downs but through it all I built relationships with my teammates, coaches, friends and fans that will last forever,” Jackson wrote in a Twitter post. “I’ve made so many memories playing in that jersey and I will miss it. But I’ll always be a husky. Thank you.”

Jackson averaged 6.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.3 steals in six tournament games and was believed to have raised his draft stock significantly, although questions remain about his outside shooting. He took part in the draft combine and went through individual workouts with several teams, including the Hawks, Celtics, Nets, Pacers and Trail Blazers, according to Wojnarowski.

Dozens of draft decisions were announced Wednesday ahead of the 11:59 pm EDT deadline to return to school without losing eligibility. Most late deciders opted to pull out of the draft, but a few prominent names will remain in the pool. They are:

National Player of the Year Zach Edey will withdraw from the draft and return to Purdue for another year, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN. The 7’4″ center averaged 22.9 points and 12.9 rebounds as a junior while shooting 60.7% from the field. Even so, his draft status wasn’t certain as he’s No. 47 in the ESPN rankings.

Another prominent player pulling out of the draft is Virginia’s Reece Beekman, the ACC’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Givony reports. Beekman hopes to boost his draft stock for 2024 after coming in at 43rd in ESPN’s rankings. “I’ve decided to go back to UVA to work towards being a first-round draft pick next year and finish my degree,” he said.

Here are some more players who decided late Wednesday to take their names out of the draft:

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NBA Reveals Players Expected At 2023 Draft Combine

May 9th, 2023 at 6:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has announced 78 players that are expected to attend this year’s draft combine, scheduled for May 15-21 at in Chicago, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.

Additionally, a select number of standout players from the G League Elite Camp, which takes place May 13-14 in Chicago, will be invited to participate in the combine.

Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five scrimmages, as well as shooting, strength and agility drills. Some top prospects opt out of the scrimmages.

Victor Wembanyama, the projected top pick, is not on the list. His French League season is still ongoing.

The list of invitees is as follows:

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Draft Notes: Clark, Miles, Cryer, Cook, Wahab, Pullin

March 29th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Following a breakout junior season, UCLA guard Jaylen Clark has decided to declare for the 2023 NBA draft, he announced today on Instagram.

After coming off the bench in 54 of 60 games during his first college seasons, Clark was a full-time starter in 2022/23, averaging 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game in 30 contests (30.5 MPG). More notably, he was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the Pac-12 and was also a member of the All-Pac-12 team.

Clark is currently just outside the top 60 on ESPN’s big board, so he’s no lock to be drafted. He has the option of maintaining his college eligibility while testing the draft waters, but his Instagram statement gives no indication that’s the plan — our assumption for now is that he intends to keep his name in the draft and go pro.

Here are a few more updates on early entrants declaring for the 2023 draft:

  • TCU junior guard Mike Miles, who comes in five spots below Clark on ESPN’s top-100 list, has also declared for the draft, he announced today on Twitter. Miles averaged 17.9 PPG on .497/.362/.749 shooting in 27 games (31.9 MPG) in 2022/23. Like Clark, he doesn’t say anything in his announcement about maintaining his NCAA eligibility through the draft process.
  • Baylor junior guard LJ Cryer will test the draft waters, according to an announcement on Twitter. Cryer won a national title with the Bears in 2021 and became a full-time starter in 2022/23, averaging 15.0 PPG with a .415 3PT% and earning All-Big 12 honors.
  • Tulane junior guard Jalen Cook is entering both the transfer portal and the NBA draft pool, tweets Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Cook is coming off his second consecutive All-AAC season and upped his scoring average to 19.9 PPG.
  • Georgetown senior center Qudus Wahab tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link) that he’s entering the draft while maintaining his final year of NCAA eligibility. Wahab spent his first two college seasons at Georgetown, transferred to Maryland for his junior season, then returned to the Hoyas last year.
  • Zyon Pullin, a senior guard at UC-Riverside, is entering the draft after averaging a team-leading 18.3 PPG in 2022/23, he tells Jeff Borzello of ESPN (Twitter link). Pullin, who also tested the draft waters in 2022, is signing with an NCAA-certified agent, so he’ll have the option of withdrawing later this spring.
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