Landry Shamet Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Stein’s Latest: Beal, Heat, Suns, Zion, Harden, Rosas, Bucks

June 17th, 2023 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards may be motivated to move Bradley Beal sooner rather than later, Marc Stein writes at Substack, observing that the team’s leverage in trade negotiations could take a hit if Damian Lillard asks the Trail Blazers for a trade while Beal is still in D.C.

As Stein writes, the Heat are currently one of Beal’s prime suitors, but if Lillard were available, Miami would be at the top of his wish list too. The Heat are believed to prefer Lillard to Beal, but may not have the luxury of waiting to see if the Blazers guard will request a trade, says Stein. Miami theoretically has the assets to make a play for both stars, but the Wizards probably don’t want to risk having the Heat pivot to Lillard and away from Beal.

As we noted within our initial story on Beal this afternoon, the Wizards seem to be prioritizing cap relief rather than players on long-term contracts, which means Kyle Lowry and Chris Paul would be at the center of offers put forth by the Heat and Suns, respectively. Stein and Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) confirm that Paul is expected to be part of any Phoenix offer, with Haynes adding that Landry Shamet would likely be included too.

Stein and Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald suggest that Paul’s partially guaranteed contract could appeal to the Wizards, since they could waive him by June 28 and only owe him his $15.8MM partial guarantee instead of his full $30.8MM salary for 2023/24. However, Paul’s outgoing salary for matching purposes in a trade would be equivalent to his guarantee for ’23/24, not his full cap hit, so the Suns may need to increase that guarantee in order to adhere to the NBA’s trade rules.

Here’s more from Stein:

While it remains to be seen whether the Pelicans will seriously consider moving Zion Williamson this offseason, Stein hears that they “quietly” held some exploratory talks a year ago before signing him to a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension. Stein also reiterates a point he made previously, writing that the “rising level of exasperation” within the organization about Williamson’s availability and approach will have to be addressed if Zion remains in New Orleans.
Star guard James Harden is believed to be giving “renewed consideration” to the idea of remaining with the Sixers rather than leaving for the Rockets in free agency, Stein reports.
More than one rival team expects the Knicks to make Gersson Rosas their new general manager under president of basketball operations Leon Rose following Scott Perry‘s exit from the franchise, Stein writes. Rosas is currently a senior basketball advisor for the Knicks.
Before hiring Adrian Griffin as their new head coach, the Bucks expressed “strong” interest in University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, along with Monty Williams, according to Stein, who notes that star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted a former NBA player to get the job.

Suns’ Ayton Out For Game 6; Nuggets’ Murray Questionable

May 11th, 2023 at 2:52pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns have ruled out center Deandre Ayton for Thursday’s pivotal Game 6 against Denver due to the rib contusion he sustained in Game 5, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

On Wednesday, Phoenix ruled out point guard Chris Paul, who is battling a left groin strain, while Ayton was listed as questionable. Something troublesome must have been discovered during his medical evaluation, as the big man has been downgraded to out.

The team will now be playing without two starters in an elimination game, as the Suns trail the Nuggets 3-2 in their second-round series.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (Twitter link) hears that guard Landry Shamet will enter the starting lineup tonight — I’m assuming that will be in place of Cameron Payne, who has been filling in for Paul, and not for Ayton. Backup centers Jock Landale and Bismack Biyombo figure to see extended playing time in the middle with Ayton out.

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report argued before the news broke that the Suns would be better off giving the majority of Ayton’s minutes to Landale. Phoenix is minus-59 in Ayton’s 149 minutes in the series, but plus-27 in Landale’s 74 minutes.

The Nuggets might be shorthanded as well. Guard Jamal Murray is questionable with a non-COVID illness that has been traveling through the team, according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter links).

Murray was unable to participate in Thursday’s shootaround, which was cut short due to the illness that’s going around, but Denver is hopeful he’ll be able to suit up, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Head coach Michael Malone and a “handful of players” are among those who have been affected, Youngmisuk adds.

Suns Notes: Paul, Shamet, Ayton, Jokic, Durant, Williams, Ishbia

May 8th, 2023 at 10:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns have ruled out Chris Paul for Game 5 of the team’s second-round series against the Nuggets on Tuesday, ESPN’s news services relay. Paul has already missed the last two games after suffering a groin injury in Game 2.

Although these types of injuries normally take weeks to heal, there’s a possibility that Paul will return for the Suns in Game 6, Shams Charania said on Fan Duel TV (Twitter link). “I think the window for him to return from that groin strain is Game 6, potentially,” Charania said.

We have more from the Suns:

Guard Landry Shamet and center Deandre Ayton shrugged off criticism and made major contributions in Game 4, Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com notes. Shamet had 19 points in 30 minutes off the bench, more points than the Nuggets’ entire bench produced. Shamet had only 14 points in the first seven playoff games. Ayton’s numbers were modest but he found ways to impact the game. “I thought he came out in that fourth quarter and made some huge defensive plays for us,” Kevin Durant said of Ayton.
How do the Suns feel about Nikola Jokic only getting fined after his sideline incident with new owner Mat Ishbia? Durant is happy that a potential suspension didn’t overshadow a pivotal contest, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “Glad none of that can get in the way,” he said. “We can just focus on basketball.” Coach Monty Williams feels the same way. “I just heard about the decision and that’s that,” he said. “I’m focused on us playing better, making the adjustments that we need to make. Being better at things we need to be better in. That’s my mindset. I don’t want to give energy and time to something that I can’t control. I’m good with it.”
Regarding the same incident, Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler wonders why Ishbia didn’t receive some disciplinary action from the league for holding the ball away from Jokic. Keeler suggests Ishbia should pay Jokic’s fine or that he also should get docked $25K.

Suns Notes: Booker, Durant, Ayton, Shamet, Ishbia

May 8th, 2023 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns have been able to even up their second-round playoff series behind phenomenal shot-making from Devin Booker, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Booker was 14-of-18 from the field in Sunday’s Game 4 victory after hitting 20-of-25 Friday night. MacMahon notes that the 331 points Booker has scored so far in the playoffs are the most by anyone through nine games since Michael Jordan 33 years ago.

“I know the spots where I’m supposed to be aggressive and where I’m supposed to make ’em pay,” Booker said. “I talked about transition earlier and just trying to get out and play fast, so they can’t set their defense and set their double-team. I don’t usually get open shots. So this is a new thing with having (Kevin Durant‘s) gravity on the floor.”

Sunday also marked the best game of the series for Durant, who delivered 36 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Injuries limited him to eight regular season games after he joined the Suns in February, so he’s still adjusting to his new teammates.

“To be honest, we’re still learning each other, learning which plays work for both of us, which plays work for our team as well,” Durant told reporters. “But at the core of it, it’s just all about playing ball and getting to your spots and just playing aggressive. I think we both do that. Book is always comfortable out there in any spot on the floor, and I feel like I’m the same way. The more reps we get, the better we going to get.”

There’s more from Phoenix:

Deandre Ayton tried to put aside the controversy that arose after he was pulled from Game 3 with 4:57 left to play (video link from Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). After being limited to four points Friday night, Ayton responded with eight points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes Sunday. “I know everybody seen me getting checked out late (in Game 3),” he said. “I don’t blame coach (Monty Williams). You’re trying to win.”
Landry Shamet scored 19 points Sunday and played 30 minutes, the most of any Phoenix reserve. He admitted being upset with his limited role in the playoffs and the criticism the team’s bench has received (video link).
Suns owner Mat Ishbia said there’s no need for the league to take further action following a sideline incident with Nikola Jokic in Game 4. “Suspending or fining anyone over last nights incident would not be right,” Ishbia tweeted. “I have a lot of respect for Jokic and don’t want to see anything like that.”

Suns Notes: Durant, Bench, Paul, Payne, Shamet

May 3rd, 2023 at 8:04am CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant‘s playoff résumé – including 29.4 PPG in 155 games and a pair of Finals MVP trophies – was a major part of why the Suns traded for him in February. Durant performed at his usual postseason level in the first round against the Clippers, but has been a minus-24 in Phoenix’s first two games vs. Denver, making just 3-of-15 three-pointers (20.%) and committing nine turnovers.

As Gerald Bourguet of GoPHNX.com writes, the Suns need more from Durant if they hope to erase their 2-0 deficit and knock off the top-seeded Nuggets. Still, head coach Monty Williams isn’t concerned about his star forward’s production, chalking up Durant’s 10-of-27 showing on Monday to an off night.

“He just missed a ton of shots, but we got a lot of the shots we wanted,” Williams said. “He and Book took most of the shots, we just didn’t shoot a great percentage tonight. And that kind of stuff happens. They only scored 97 points. Our defense was much better tonight, we just couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”

Here’s more out of Phoenix ahead of Friday’s Game 3:

The Suns’ bench production was dismal in Game 2, as Damion Lee, Cameron Payne, Torrey Craig, Bismack Biyombo, Jock Landale, and Ish Wainright combined for just four points on 2-of-16 shooting (0-of-9 on threes). While the team would presumably like to see those numbers improve going forward, Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic notes that Phoenix ranked last in the regular season among playoff teams in bench points, and Williams has said the roster is designed for the starters to do most of the scoring while the reserves contribute in other ways.
After Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that Chris Paul is expected to miss at least one week of action, the Suns officially listed their point guard as day-to-day due to his left groin strain (Twitter link). Although the team’s designation leaves the door open for a quicker return, I’d still be surprised if Paul makes it back before the one-week mark.
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, who also hears that Paul will miss at least a week, examines how the Suns can cope with the veteran’s absence. As Rankin observes, if Phoenix doesn’t want to move Payne into the starting lineup, the club could opt to shift Devin Booker to the point and start a player like Landry Shamet alongside him. Shamet was a DNP-CD in Game 2 after logging 14 minutes in Game 1.

Suns Notes: Durant, Ayton, Booker, Shamet

March 22nd, 2023 at 5:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns won their first three games with Kevin Durant in the lineup, but they’ve gone into a skid since his injury that could put them in danger of falling into the play-in tournament, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix is just 2-4 since Durant sprained his left ankle during warmups two weeks ago. The Suns are still fourth in the Western Conference standings, but they’re just two-and-a-half games away from the seventh spot, which is currently occupied by the Thunder and Mavericks.

Durant will miss his seventh straight game tonight, and although he recently started participating in shootarounds, there’s no indication of when he might be able to return. He’s scheduled for a medical reevaluation later this month, according to Rankin.

“We have some things to clean up,” Devin Booker said of the team’s recent play. “We know roles are going to change when KD comes back, but polishing everything up before he comes back is important, too.”

There’s more on the Suns:

Deandre Ayton will miss his second straight game tonight with a hip contusion he suffered last Thursday, Rankin adds. Bismack Biyombo took over as the starting center in Sunday’s game at Oklahoma City, and coach Monty Williams expressed confidence in his backups’ ability to contribute while the stars are injured. “You obviously need the guys that are important to the program, but all of our guys are,” Williams said. “That’s why player development, being ready to play is important also. That doesn’t diminish what Kevin and DA bring to the table. We all understand that, but we’ve prided ourselves having guys ready to play.”
With 11 games remaining, Booker understands that the Suns need to finish strong to give themselves the best possible chance in the playoffs, Rankin states in another Arizona Republic story. “You want homecourt advantage,” Booker said. “Honestly, if that’s not the case, I’m fine, too. I don’t think you want to be in the play-in. I think them adding the play-in kind of dices things up. It’s a one-game thing, but we just want to be there.”
Landry Shamet provides a balance of offense and defense that could lead to an important role for the rest of the season, observes Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. Bourguet assesses the strengths and weaknesses of all the Suns’ wing options and notes that Durant’s injury has prevented Williams from establishing a set rotation around his top four players.

Landry Shamet Cleared To Return For Suns

March 19th, 2023 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Landry Shamet will be available on Sunday for the Suns‘ game in Oklahoma City, the team officially confirmed today (via Twitter).

It will be the first time Shamet has been active for the Suns since January 16. He has missed the last two months due to a right foot injury. Prior to going down, the 26-year-old was averaging 9.5 points and 2.2 assists in 21.4 minutes per night and had made 37.7% of his three-point attempts in in 30 games.

Shamet has previously suffered stress fractures in both of his feet and said that this injury – which the Suns referred to as “right foot soreness” – could have had the same result if he had continued playing.

“Caught things right before a stress fracture,” Shamet said, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “The buildup process of the discomfort and it’s sore, but you can kind of play through it and then it’s sore. Then it gets worse and worse and worse and worse and then it eventually it just breaks. Luckily we caught that early enough, which is a great thing. So that cleared up.”

Even after averting a stress fracture, Shamet dealt with nagging issues in the foot that delayed his return, as he explained on Saturday.

“Soft tissue, inflammation type situations,” Shamet said. “We worked through it. It was frustrating, very frustrating at times. Very gray. Not knowing what exactly the situation was, but our training staff did a good job of trying to identify things and collaborating with me and my team. Trying to figure it out. So we did a good job and here we are.”

According to head coach Monty Williams, Shamet won’t play a “crazy amount of minutes” immediately upon returning. The Suns have other options on the wing, including Terrence Ross and Damion Lee. Determining which of those players will be part of Phoenix’s playoff rotation will be a major consideration during the final three weeks of the regular season, notes Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (via Twitter). In the meantime, Shamet’s teammates are just looking forward to seeing him back in action.

“Hell yeah, we’ve been waiting on it,” Devin Booker said, according to Rankin. “He’s been rehabbing. I always say how tough that can be. We want everybody healthy at the right time and it’s a good time to be coming back and getting ramped up.”

Injury Notes: Nance, Mitchell, Kuzma, LeBron, Suns

March 14th, 2023 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing six games due to a left ankle sprain, Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. returned to action on Sunday vs. Portland. However, Nance logged just eight minutes and acknowledged after the game that he isn’t at full strength yet.

“I think it was pretty clear that I’m not 100%,” Nance said, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “For me, it’s more about if I can play, you’re going to get what I got at all times. We got a win. I did my job.”

Even though Nance – who has averaged 22.0 minutes per game off the bench this season – couldn’t reclaim his usual rotation role in his first game back, head coach Willie Green appreciates the 30-year-old’s willingness to play through pain with New Orleans in the thick of a playoff race.

“Larry is a leader,” Green said. “He wants to be out there on the floor. He has been talking about it the last three, four days. These guys understand that coming down the stretch, it’s going to be a tight race for the playoffs. He’s trying to get himself ready for the last 14 games. It was huge to have him on the floor. His presence was felt.”

Nance isn’t on the Pelicans’ injury report for Tuesday’s game against the Lakers, so he’ll be available for that one, even if his minutes are once again limited.

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

The Cavaliers have ruled out Donovan Mitchell (finger sprain injury management) for Tuesday’s contest vs. Charlotte, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Starting center Jarrett Allen (right eye contusion) is also unavailable for a second straight game.
Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma has been ruled out for Tuesday’s game against Detroit due to a sore right knee, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Washington is currently a half-game back of Chicago for the No. 10 spot in the East.
Lakers star LeBron James, who is making his way back from a right foot injury, did his first on-court activity at a Tuesday shootaround, taking a few free throws after he completed his weight lifting and rehab work, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter links).
Suns head coach Monty Williams called it a “good sign” that GM James Jones said Kevin Durant would probably be available now if the playoffs had begun. “With those kind of injuries, you tend to get better every day, and he’s getting around-the-clock treatment,” Williams said of KD (link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). The Suns’ coach added that Landry Shamet‘s return from a right foot injury isn’t imminent: “He’s just been getting up shots. He’s about the same. He’s just getting more treatment. Just trying to figure it out. How can we get back to a place he can get back to a full practice and then progress from there.”

Injury Notes: Garland, Powell, Simons, Shamet, Mavs

March 10th, 2023 at 7:34pm CST by Rory Maher

Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland will be sidelined for Friday’s rematch with the Heat in Miami, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Garland was originally listed as questionable with a right quad contusion, but was unable to go through shootaround. The injury is considered relatively minor, sources tell Fedor.

Garland appeared to suffer the contusion early in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s initial matchup with Miami on Wednesday, notes Danny Cunningham of ESPN Cleveland (Twitter video link). He was hit in the leg by Bam Adebayo‘s moving screen, which was called a foul.

The Cavs confirmed (via Twitter) that Garland would be sidelined on Friday, with Caris LeVert taking his place in the starting lineup. Garland is having an outstanding fourth season, averaging 22.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 7.9 APG and 1.3 SPG on an excellent .471/.430/.860 shooting line through 58 games (35.2 MPG).

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

Clippers guard Norman Powell will miss at least one more week, which is when he’ll be reeavaluated, tweets ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. The eight-year veteran continues to receive treatment for his left shoulder subluxation. He is the team’s third-leading scorer at 16.6 PPG, posting a strong shooting line of .475/.410/.803 through 54 games (25.8 MPG), primarily as a reserve.
Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons returned to the starting lineup for Friday’s matchup in Philadelphia, the team announced (via Twitter). He had missed the previous four games after aggravating an ankle sprain.
Backup guard Landry Shamet continues to be hampered by right foot soreness, having last played on January 16. He will be reevaluated in one week, the Suns announced (Twitter link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports).
The Mavericks might be without their two star players on Saturday in Memphis, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Luka Doncic (left thigh strain) has already been ruled out, while Kyrie Irving is questionable with right foot soreness. Irving missed Friday’s practice for personal reasons, per MacMahon, but head coach Jason Kidd was hopeful he might be able to rejoin the team on Saturday. Doncic is considered day-to-day after his MRI results showed no damage, MacMahon adds.

Suns Notes: Durant, KD Ripple Effect, Shamet

March 3rd, 2023 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Suns forward Kevin Durant said he felt “great” after debuting for his new team on Wednesday and will be good to go for Phoenix’s game in Chicago on Friday, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Following a lengthy layoff due to a knee injury, Durant will remain on a minutes limit for the foreseeable future, but he played 27 minutes in his first game as a Sun, which was more than he anticipated.

“I didn’t think I’d play that much, to be honest,” Durant said after the Suns’ win over Charlotte. “I thought I’d be hovering around 19, 20 minutes, but coach (Monty Williams) is a player. He’s been there before, so he understands I needed a couple extra minutes to get some rhythm and he gave me that so I’m grateful for it.”

Williams said the plan is to gradually increase Durant’s workload until he’s comfortable playing 36-to-38 minutes per night.

“You’re not going to do that if you’re scaling it back,” Williams said, according to Rankin. “Then all the sudden you go from 20, 20, 20, 20, then you go 30, that’s where I think you can get yourself in trouble. I’m trying to do my best to build him up.”

Here’s more on the Suns:

Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports identifies five promising signs from Durant’s debut, including the secondary rim protection KD provides and the options the Suns now have for staggering their stars. While Devin Booker (15-of-26) and Deandre Ayton (7-of-10) won’t be that productive or efficient every night, Durant figures to make their lives much easier on offense, Bourguet writes.
Speaking to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports about his Suns debut and how things ended in Brooklyn, Durant said he had no regrets about signing a four-year contract extension with the Nets during the summer of 2021, even if it hurt his leverage when he first requested a trade last offseason.
Suns guard Landry Shamet, who hasn’t played since January 16 due to right foot soreness, said on Wednesday that he feels like he’s getting close to returning. However, he has since headed back to Phoenix for treatment and will be reevaluated next week, Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic. According to Shamet, his foot sometimes feels good for a few days before flaring up again. “We’re just hopeful that he can get some answers as to why it keeps popping back up,” Williams said.