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Northwest Notes: Muscala, MPJ, Lillard, Blazers, Wolves

March 12th, 2021 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward/center Mike Muscala has been a regular, reliable rotation player for the Thunder so far this season, averaging a career-high 9.7 points per game to go along with 3.8 RPG and a .368 3PT% in 34 games (18.6 MPG). However, he received a DNP-CD in the team’s first game of the second half, with youngsters Aleksej Pokusevski and Moses Brown inserted into the rotation following their time in the G League.

“It took Mike out of the rotation, but Mike’s a pro and he’ll stay ready,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “Those conversations with Mike are easy, and he makes it easy because of how professional he is.”

It was just one game, but both Pokusevski (14 points, eight rebounds) and Brown (eight points, 12 rebounds) looked good, and there’s no reason to expect the rebuilding Thunder to dial back their young players’ minutes the rest of the way. A playoff team may have more use for a low-cost bench player like Muscala, so he’ll be worth keeping an eye on as the March 25 trade deadline nears.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. will be eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2021 offseason, and ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Insider link) says he’d be shocked if Porter’s representatives don’t open negotiations with a “max or nothing” stance. That looming payday is one reason why Denver may be wary of taking on much long-term salary in trades, Lowe notes.
  • Despite Damian Lillard‘s repeated insistence that he wants to spend the rest of his career in Portland – and the contract extensions he has signed to back up that stance – it sometimes seems as if everyone wants him to seek a title elsewhere, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who explores why that’s the case and what a title with the Trail Blazers would mean for Lillard and the franchise.
  • In his list of players returning from injuries who could impact the playoff race, Matt Eppers of USA Today has Trail Blazers teammates CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic sharing the top spot. Neither play was active on Thursday, but they’re both believed to be close to returning.
  • After a dismal first half, the Timberwolves got off to a promising start in the second half, with young building blocks Jaden McDaniels and Jaylen Nowell playing key roles in head coach Chris Finch’s first win on Thursday, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
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Wolves Notes: Towns, McDaniels, Nowell, Rosas

February 2nd, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

Star center Karl-Anthony Towns is with the Timberwolves on their current road trip and is a good bet to return to action at some point this week, team owner Glen Taylor told David Shama of Sports Headliners.

Towns, 25, has been limited to just four games so far this season due first to a wrist injury and then to a positive COVID-19 test. He has been in the NBA’s health and safety protocols for more than two weeks and hasn’t played since January 13.

Minnesota won its first two games of the 2020/21 season with Towns in the lineup, but has bottomed out since then, losing 15 of its last 18. Still, Taylor is hopeful that the club can make a push for a playoff spot this season, especially with a health Towns.

“I recognize that it’s going to be difficult, but on the other hand, there’s other teams that aren’t performing up to their expectations, too, and I guess we just gotta catch them,” he told Shama.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

  • When the Wolves selected Jaden McDaniels with the 28th pick in November’s draft, he was viewed as a long-term project who was unlikely to contribute much right away. However, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes, the rookie forward has emerged as part of Minnesota’s regular rotation and has acquitted himself well, blocking three shots on Sunday and scoring 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting on Monday.
  • Wolves guard Jaylen Nowell has also recently entered the rotation and has scored double-digit points in four straight games. The 21-year-old remains a work in progress though, according to Hine, who notes that Nowell hasn’t been able to translate his G League scoring efficiency to the NBA, where he has made just 9-of-48 career three-pointers (18.8%). Nowell is on a non-guaranteed contract.
  • Now that the Wolves are a full 82 games into Gersson Rosas‘ tenure as president of basketball operations, Britt Robson of The Athletic‘s evaluates Rosas’ performance to date. Robson likes what Rosas has done to fill out the front office and to identify low-cost, low-risk players with upside, but identifies the team’s hole at power forward and its mismatched point guard duo as problems, and says the jury is still out on both of Rosas’ lottery picks (Jarrett Culver and Anthony Edwards).
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Injury Updates: Exum, Hayes, Bogdanovic, Okogie, Towns

January 4th, 2021 at 9:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavaliers guard Dante Exum departed Monday’s game against Orlando in the opening minute with a right calf strain, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He went down with a non-contact injury and eventually hobbled to the bench, unable to put weight on his leg. Cleveland players spoke with optimism regarding the injury after the game, Fedor tweets.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

  • Pistons lottery pick Killian Hayes left Monday’s game against Milwaukee during the third quarter with a right hip injury, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets. Hayes has started regularly during his rookie season. He’ll have an MRI on Tuesday, coach Dwane Casey said after the game.
  • Jazz swingman Bojan Bogdanovic has continually experienced soreness in his surgically repaired right wrist, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News writes. Bogdanovic put on a brace during Sunday’s game against San Antonio and it helped dramatically, as he scored 28 points. “I really hate to play with anything on my body, any tape, any brace, anything,” he said. “But I really needed it because my wrist is kind od sore whenever I follow through when I’m shooting.”
  • Josh Okogie is closer to returning than Karl-Anthony Towns for the Timberwolves, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Okogie has missed the last four games with a left hamstring strain. Towns has only played two games due to a dislocated left wrist. Meanwhile, Jaylen Nowell is ramping up in practice and is close to making his season debut. He’s been sidelined with a left ankle injury.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/4/20

February 4th, 2020 at 10:53pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/29/20

January 29th, 2020 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Wednesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/25/20

January 25th, 2020 at 8:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the league:

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/3/20

January 3rd, 2020 at 7:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Friday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Timberwolves assigned rookie guard Jaylen Nowell to the Iowa Wolves, according to a team press release. In 15 games with Iowa, the second-round pick has averaged 21.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 3.4 APG.
  • The Bucks assigned forward Dragan Bender to the Wisconsin Herd for their game against the Windy City Bulls, the team tweets. In seven starts with the Herd, Bender is averaging 19.7 PPG and 9.1 RPG while shooting 50.0% from the field.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/1/20

January 1st, 2020 at 7:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Here are Wednesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Timberwolves have recalled rookie shooting guard Jaylen Nowell from their G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, according to a team press release. Nowell was drafted by the Wolves with the No. 43 pick this summer. The 6’4″ guard out of Washington has appeared in five games for Minnesota. In 15 games for Iowa, Nowell is logging impressive averages of 21.3 PPG on 50% shooting from the floor, 5.3 RPG and 3.4 APG.
  • The Bucks have sent forward Dragan Bender to their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, according to the NBA G League’s website. The forward, drafted No. 4 in 2016 by Phoenix, has played just three games for Milwaukee this season.
  • The Bulls have recalled second-year small forward Chandler Hutchison from their G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, according to the team’s Twitter. Drafted with the No. 22 pick in 2018, Hutchison has only appeared in nine games for Chicago due to injury. With Otto Porter‘s extended absence dragging into 2020, odds are good Hutchison will see significant time in Chicago this year.
  • The NBA G League website notes that the Jazz have assigned rookie guards Nigel Williams-Goss and Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, their G League affiliate. Williams-Goss has appeared in eight games for the major league club, Oni has logged time in three.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/20/19

December 20th, 2019 at 6:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Magic recalled forward Amile Jefferson and swingman Melvin Frazier from Lakeland, the team’s PR department tweets. Jefferson has played three games for Lakeland, averaging 23.7 PPG and 13.0 RPG in 34.0 MPG. Frazier has also played three games for Lakeland this season, averaging 13.7 PPG in 32.3 MPG.
  • The Timberwolves recalled guard Jaylen Nowell from the Iowa Wolves, the team’s PR department tweets. He’s averaged 21.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 3.4 APG in 33.1 MPG through 15 games in the G League this season.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/16/19

December 16th, 2019 at 7:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Pacers have assigned JaKarr Sampson, Alize Johnson and Edmond Sumner to their G League affiliate, the team announced on Twitter. All three players are available for the Mad Ants’ contest tonight.
  • The Celtics have recalled Romeo Langford from the Maine Red Claws, as the team relays on Twitter. Langford was the No. 14 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
  • The Wolves have recalled Naz Reid and Jaylen Nowell, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic relays (Twitter link). Krawczynski notes that Reid looked quick and explosive during Minnesota’s practice earlier today.
  • The Kings have assigned Caleb Swanigan to the Stockton Kings, per Sacramento’s Twitter feed. The power forward has appeared in five NBA contests this season, seeing a total of 13 minutes.
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