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Jazz Notes: Conley, Mitchell, Gobert, Clarkson

June 11th, 2021 at 8:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mike Conley is listed as questionable for Saturday’s Game 3 of the Jazz’s second-round series against the Clippers, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. Conley suffered a right hamstring strain in the series finale against the Grizzlies on June 2nd. The Jazz have used a three-guard rotation of Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson in his absence while winning the first two games of the series.

We have more on the Jazz:

  • Mitchell tweaked his right ankle in the closing seconds of Game 2 but he says he’ll be ready to go on Saturday, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes. Mitchell missed Utah’s playoff opener with a right ankle sprain, the only game the Jazz have lost in this postseason. “I got hit and it hurt, but I’m fine now,” Mitchell said. “I walked in here (to the interview room). If you want me to sprint for you, I can. I’m good.”
  • Rudy Gobert won his third Defensive Player of the Year award and he says that being an elite defender requires plenty of dedication, according to Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. “It takes relentless dedication every day,” Gobert said. “In this league, we have so many games, being able to stay healthy and being able to stay strong, being able to try to bring it every single night for my team, it’s a challenge. It’s a lot of hard work and dedication and things that people don’t see.”
  • Clarkson is averaging 21 points in the series and he’s victimizing his former mentor, Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was Clarkson’s coach in Cleveland during the 2017/18 season. “He talked to me about all of this, how to carry yourself in the playoffs, how to move in the playoffs, what to do, finding a routine,” Clarkson said of Lue. “It’s strictly competing, but seeing him over there, that’s somebody you care about before he was doing that. Ty Lue has always been talking to me, texting me, he’s been in my ear even before he was in Cleveland.”
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Northwest Notes: Rubio, Micic, Clarkson, Nuggets

May 26th, 2021 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

When Ricky Rubio was acquired by the Timberwolves during the 2020 offseason, it was billed as a homecoming for a veteran point guard who began his NBA career in Minnesota. However, speaking to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Rubio admitted that the unusual circumstances surrounding the 2020/21 season prevented him from really reconnecting with Wolves fans.

“It didn’t feel like I came back to Minnesota,” Rubio said. “That’s one of the things that hurts the most, being at Target Center and not being able to see real fans and feel the love they have had for me. It’s something that I missed.”

While Rubio should get the opportunity to be around fans in Minnesota next season, he’s entering a contract year and could be a candidate to be traded again this offseason if the Wolves want to shake up their roster. For his part, the Spaniard told Krawczynski that he’d love to remain with the team — as long as it keeps taking positive steps toward contention.

“I don’t want to be on a team where there is no direction, there is no hope we can really take the next step,” he said. “I believe we can take the next step and really be a solid playoff team. That’s why when I got traded to Minnesota I was excited. I thought this was the year. We wasted a year, but there is no more years to waste. If not, the rebuilding process is gonna start over again and I don’t think that’s a fun part to be a part of.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • Thunder draft-and-stash prospect Vasilije Micic has been voted the EuroLeague’s 2020/21 Most Valuable Player, the league announced on Wednesday. Micic, who averaged 16.3 PPG and 4.8 APG in 38 EuroLeague games for Anadolu Efes is a candidate to come stateside for the 2021/22 season.
  • As Sarah Todd of The Deseret News details, Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson was always reluctant to accept a bench role earlier in his NBA career, viewing it as a slight when he was removed from the starting lineup during his days with the Lakers. However, Clarkson has embraced his reserve role over the years and it paid off in a big way in 2020/21 with a Sixth Man of the Year award.
  • The Nuggets are increasing the capacity at Ball Arena to 10,500 fans, the team announced in a press release. Denver had previously been allowing an attendance of up to 7,750.
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Jordan Clarkson Captures Sixth Man Award

May 24th, 2021 at 6:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson has won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, according to a league press release.

This is the first time Clarkson has won the award. He’s also the first Jazz player to be given the honor.

Clarkson, who re-signed with Utah last offseason for four years and $51MM, received 65 first-place votes and earned 407 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. His teammate, forward Joe Ingles, finished in second place with 272 points (34 first-place votes). Knicks guard Derrick Rose finished third with 77 points (one first-place vote).

Clarkson averaged a career-high 18.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 2.5 APG in 26.7 MPG while appearing in 68 games. Playing his first full season with Utah and seventh in the NBA, Clarkson recorded two games with at least 40 points, five games with at least 30 points and 23 games with at least 20 points off the bench.

Montrezl Harrell, then with the Clippers, won the award last season. Lou Williams captured the honor with the Clippers the previous two seasons.

Mavericks teammates Jalen Brunson and Tim Hardaway rounded out the top five vote-getters for this year’s Sixth Man award. The full voting results can be found here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Finalists For Major 2020/21 NBA Awards Announced

May 20th, 2021 at 6:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

During a TNT broadcast ahead of tonight’s Wizards-Pacers play-in matchup, the finalists for six big end-of-season 2020/21 awards were announced. Here is the full list, as voted on by reporters.

NBA Most Valuable Player:

NBA Defensive Player of the Year:

NBA Rookie of the Year:

NBA Most Improved Player:

NBA Sixth Man of the Year:

NBA Coach of the Year:

  • Quin Snyder (Jazz)
  • Tom Thibodeau (Knicks)
  • Monty Williams (Suns)

Some of these current contenders are familiar with the hardware they’re up for again. Curry is a two-time MVP, having won the award previously in 2015 and 2016. Gobert and Green have both previously won Defensive Player of the Year awards — Green in 2017 and Gobert in 2018 and 2019. Thibodeau was voted Coach of the Year a decade ago while with the Bulls.

The winners for the awards will be announced during the 2020/21 NBA playoffs.

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Northwest Notes: Wolves, Clarkson, Jokic, Rivers

May 7th, 2021 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked this week during an appearance on The Star Tribune’s Daily Delivery podcast about the trade that sent Andrew Wiggins and a lightly-protected first-round pick to Golden State in exchange for D’Angelo Russell at the 2020 trade deadline, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas expressed no regrets, writes Michael Rand of The Star Tribune.

Even if Rosas – with the Timberwolves in position to give up a possible top-five pick to the Warriors – was having second thoughts about the trade, it’s not as if he’d be inclined to admit as much during a podcast appearance. But Rand said he felt as if the Wolves’ president was being honest and forthright in his assessment of the deal.

“As of now, I think our resurgence has happened with D’Angelo’s return, so that’s paying dividends now,” Rosas said. “We put the protection in the pick that we felt like was critical to keeping the pick. At some point you’re going to give the pick up whether it’s this year or next year. We’re firm believers. We did it for a purpose. We’re seeing the return on that deal now.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • After bouncing from Los Angeles to Cleveland to Utah during his first few NBA seasons, Jordan Clarkson has found an ideal fit with the Jazz, Tony Jones of The Athletic writes in an extensive look at the Sixth Man of the Year candidate. “The organization has let me be myself, and that’s meant a lot,” Clarkson said.
  • When the Nuggets clinched a spot in the first round of the postseason this week, it secured a $500K bonus for Nikola Jokic, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Since that bonus had already been deemed likely entering the season, it’ll have no impact on Denver’s cap.
  • After scoring 25 points on Wednesday against his old team (the Knicks), Austin Rivers had nothing but praise for his new team, the Nuggets, per Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. “This has been a life-saver and (life)-changer for me, coming (to Denver),” Rivers said. “I’ve never experienced a team, an organization, like this, (where it’s) so about ‘we’ instead of ‘me’ …. They just build everybody up here. That’s why (Michael Porter Jr.) plays the way he plays and Jokic and all these guys. They just build everybody up here. So I just feel kind of lucky. Honestly, I’m just lucky to be here and thankful to be here.”
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Northwest Notes: Lillard, Nuggets, Wolves, Jazz

April 26th, 2021 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, who recently missed three games due to right hamstring tendiopathy, hasn’t looked like his usual self in the three games since his return, all Portland losses, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. Lillard has made just 25-of-72 shot attempts in those games, good for 34.7% from the floor.

As Quick details, Lillard said on Sunday that this is the “worst year physically” he has had in his nine-year playing career, but the All-Star guard said he doesn’t intend to sit out any more games as the Trail Blazers fight for a favorable playoff position. They’ve slipped to seventh, one game back of the sixth-seeded Mavs.

While the Blazers want to avoid being relegated to in a play-in tournament to secure their postseason berth – like they were a year ago – Quick wonders if it might make sense to rest Lillard for a few games before the season ends to make sure he’s in top form. As Quick observes, Portland is 3-2 this season without its leading scorer and has the backcourt depth to get by without him for a few games if a break would benefit Lillard.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

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Northwest Notes: Gordon, Clarkson, Dort, Wolves

April 19th, 2021 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

In a conversation with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon spoke about how he impressed he has been with Nikola Jokic during his first few weeks in Denver, and said his team still has championship aspirations this season, even with Jamal Murray unavailable for the postseason.

Additionally, acknowledging rumors that the Celtics tried hard to acquire him at last month’s deadline, Gordon said he would’ve enjoyed playing in Boston, but stated that he views the Nuggets as an ideal fit for his skill set.

“Obviously Boston has those guys with (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown, and they would have been hell of fun to play with,” Gordon told Amick. “But I feel like Denver was just the best fit to showcase my well-roundedness as a ballplayer, the defensive aspect and the offensive (aspect) — basically just (the) glue that I can bring. The guy who can fill in, do a little bit of everything on the offensive end and then lock up the other team’s best player, or at least make their night hard, make it a frustrating night for them.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is considered the frontrunner for this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award, but he tells Mark Medina of USA Today that his “main goal” is trying to win games and to win a title — but he’d be honored to win the award. “If the Sixth Man of the Year award comes and I don’t get it, I don’t need the validation because my teammates, coaching staff and a lot of my peers gave me that,” Clarkson said. “They’re telling me, ‘I respect what you do’ and all of that. So, I know that goes a long way as well. But it’s definitely something I want to get accomplished one of these years. Hopefully it’s this year.”
  • Thunder wing Luguentz Dort expressed interest in representing Team Canada in the Olympic qualifiers this summer, tweets Steven Loung of Sportsnet. While Dort said he was willing to “try out” for the team, it’s a safe bet that Team Canada would welcome him onto the roster if he wants a spot.
  • As we wait for Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to work out a sale agreement with potential new owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, Lee Schafter of The Star Tribune explains why he thinks Taylor’s pledge to keep the team in Minnesota should be successful, while Chris Hine of The Star Tribune looks at the roadblocks that would be in the way of the new ownership group attempted a move.
  • While the plan is for Rodriguez and Lore to begin as limited partners before they eventually assume majority control of the Timberwolves, sources told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic last week that the new owners will still have a “significant influence” on the team’s basketball and business operations right away. Krawczynski also heard that the Wolves’ financial situation isn’t in bad shape, signaling that the NBA remains viable in the market.
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Northwest Notes: Favors, Thunder, Clarkson, Rubio

March 21st, 2021 at 3:15pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Longtime Jazz reserve big man Derrick Favors spoke extensively with Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune about his past and sunny new future with Utah, noting that he wasn’t surprised when Utah sent him to the Pelicans for future draft equity during the 2019 offseason to clear cap space for incoming point guard Mike Conley‘s contract.

“I wanted to be here,” Favors said. “I wanted to stay. I thought I was going to stay. But it was because of the money, the business side.”

The Jazz could have declined their $18MM team option on Favors for the 2019/20 season, but the Pelicans were happy to pay that sum in full upon making a deal. “If Utah would have waived me, I would have lost a lot of money, but they ended up trading me, and I’m blessed and thankful that New Orleans was willing to pick up that option for me,” Favors noted.

Favors’ Pelicans teammates raved about his fit within the club’s locker room and on the court. “Nothing but respect for D-Fav,” New Orleans guard Lonzo Ball said. “We know he did all the little things that we needed to win games.”

Favors was excited to get another opportunity in the 2020 offseason with the Jazz, who were all business in their recruitment.

“They literally just said, ‘Hey, you want to come back? We want you, here’s what we’re offering. Do you want to take it or not?’ It kinda felt like that!” Favors noted. “I didn’t want to waste my time or waste an opportunity… and I knew with Utah that they had other guys that they wanted to go after if I didn’t commit, so I didn’t want to waste Utah’s time.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

  • The Thunder will likely receive inquiries on just about every player on their roster, as team president Sam Presti looks to acquire even more future draft picks, but Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman thinks veteran role players like George Hill, Al Horford, and Mike Muscala could be next in line to be dealt.
  • Jazz reserve guard Jordan Clarkson, the current favorite for 2021 Sixth Man of the Year honors at present, has taken a massive stride in his scoring output — but the growth of his passing deserves recognition, too, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “It’s just another growth part of my game that I’m trying to keep improving on,” Clarkson said.
  • After a rough start to the 2020/21 season, Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio has turned things around in the month of March, so much so that the 30-year-old vet has become a potential trade chip for a Minnesota team that now may not want to deal him away as the deadline looms, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. A reinvigorated Rubio seems to have developed great chemistry with No. 1 2020 draft pick Anthony Edwards and (former No. 1 draft pick) Karl-Anthony Towns.
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Northwest Notes: Jazz, Morris, Rosas, Clarkson

January 26th, 2021 at 5:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Year-to-year continuity appears to be rewarding the Jazz early on in the 2020/21 season, according to Ariel Pacheco of Basketball Insiders.

Led by All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the Jazz have benefited from an improved defense and long-range marksmanship. The club ranks in the top ten in both offensive and defensive rating, Pacheco notes. Mitchell, too, appears to have developed his ball-handling abilities.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

  • Newly-extended Nuggets guard Monte Morris has proven himself to be a steal for Denver thus far, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Morris has helped stabilize the team’s bench, posting a career high in scoring (11.5 PPG), and shooting an excellent 51.7% from the floor overall. “I’m going out there focused, playing for other guys, with a clear head,” Morris said. “The contract definitely got me at peace.”
  • Timberwolves team president Gersson Rosas expressed his frustration at the general state of the team, according to Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “This was another growing and developing year,” Rosas told Hine. “But at the same time, we’re not up to our capabilities and that’s to be competitive. … It starts with me and my staff. It starts with coach [Ryan Saunders] and his staff, and it starts with the players.” The Wolves are 4-12 this season, the worst record in the West.
  • After signing a four-year deal in the offseason with Utah, Jazz reserve guard Jordan Clarkson is making an early case for the Sixth Man of the Year award honors with his inspired play of late, per Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “Definitely it was one of my goals going into this year, to go get that and play that role,” Clarkson says.
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Western Notes: Clarkson, Green, Kings, McLaughlin

January 2nd, 2021 at 3:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson has been fined $25K by the league for making contact with a game official, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. The incident occurred during the second quarter of Utah’s loss to the Suns on Thursday. Clarkson, one of the top reserves in the league, re-signed with the Jazz on a four-year deal in November.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • Draymond Green‘s season debut with the Warriors didn’t go smoothly, Nick Friedell of ESPN notes. Green didn’t make a basket in 18 minutes and failed to have a significant impact on the defensive end. He missed most of training camp, all three preseason games and the first four regular-season games due to COVID-19 protocols and a foot injury. “Draymond just looks like he’s getting his wind,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He looked like a guy who missed training camp and has been working his way to get onto the floor. It looked like an exhibition-style game for him; and that’s not a criticism, it’s just where he is physically.”
  • Until rookie Tyrese Haliburton suffered a wrist injury, the Kings had seemingly settled on a closing group of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Haliburton, Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes, according to Jason Jones of The Athletic. “With that group, you know the shot can come from anywhere,” Fox said. “You have multiple guys on the court who can make shots, get in the paint, get to the free throw line and things like that.”
  • Guard Jordan McLaughlin waited until the deadline to sign his qualifying offer from the Timberwolves and he doesn’t regret that decision, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. McLaughlin signed his two-way contract on December 17, which delayed his season debut as he cleared COVID-19 protocols. “It was definitely tough,” McLaughlin said. “I’m a team guy, and I want to be with the team and do everything I can, but me and my agency, we had to figure out what was best for my case and scenario.”
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