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Injury Updates: Nowitzki, Markkanen, Leonard, Harkless

November 21st, 2018 at 7:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki is targeting next month for his season debut, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Nowitzki provided an update today on his condition as he continues rehab work after having surgery on his left ankle in April. “Hopefully somewhere in December, I’ll be ready,” he said, although he hasn’t been able to participate in a full practice since the operation.

Nowitzki saw some action in a “staff game” today, playing against interns and younger members of the coaching staff. “I wasn’t the best player out there, so I have some work to do,” he said.

Nowitzki, who turned 40 over the summer, remained effective last season, playing 77 games and averaging 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per night. He has indicated that this may be his final NBA season, although he hasn’t made a formal announcement.

There’s more injury-related news to pass along:

Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen continues to make progress in his return from a right elbow injury and could start practicing with contact next week, according to the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). Coach Fred Hoiberg said Markkanen has made major improvements with his conditioning. He suffered a high-grade lateral elbow sprain during training camp.
Hoiberg added that Kris Dunn is ahead of Bobby Portis in recovering from knee injuries that they suffered within days of each other (Twitter link).
The Raptors are moving closer to using Kawhi Leonard in back-to-back games, coach Nick Nurse told Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Nurse added that the team’s strategy with Leonard over the first quarter of the season has been successful, and there have been no problems when he has been asked to play a lot of minutes. “He feels good,” Nurse added of Leonard, who was limited to nine games with the Spurs last season because of a quad injury.
The Raptors‘ C.J. Miles missed his fifth straight game tonight with a groin strain, but he should be back soon, Wolstat adds (Twitter link).
Maurice Harkless is returning to the Trail Blazers‘ lineup tonight after missing 13 games with a sore left knee, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.

Injury Notes: Markkanen, Howard, Dragic, More

November 19th, 2018 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Pelicans point guard Elfrid Payton is expected to be sidelined for about six weeks as he recovers from finger surgery, as we relayed earlier today. While the news on Payton is today’s most notable injury update so far, there are items to pass along on several other health issues that could affect teams’ lineups and rotations. Let’s dive in and round up a few…

Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen, who has yet to make his season debut, participated in the non-contact portion of the Bulls’ practice today, head coach Fred Hoiberg confirmed (Twitter link). A return isn’t imminent for Markkanen, but it sounds like the injury-ravaged Bulls are moving closer to getting him back on the court. We heard last week that the youngster’s injury recovery was taking longer than initially anticipated.
The Wizards‘ weekend, which featured a pair of home losses, went from bad to worse, as the team’s big offseason acquisition, Dwight Howard, re-aggravated his glute injury and left Sunday’s game early. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington has the story on Howard, who didn’t participate in Monday’s practice (Twitter link).
Heat guard Goran Dragic had his right knee drained this morning and will miss at least the next two games, the team announced today (via Twitter). The hope is that the inflammation in Dragic’s knee will subside and it won’t be a long-term issue.
James Johnson returned to action for the Heat on Sunday, appearing in his first game of the 2018/19 season. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel relays, head coach Erik Spolestra said that Johnson, who picked up five fouls in 15 minutes, “needs game minutes to get into rhythm.”
Pacers guard Victor Oladipo will miss the team’s next game, but doesn’t view his right knee injury as serious, per J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). “A little sore, but I’m good,” Oladipo said.

Lauri Markkanen’s Injury Recovery Taking Longer Than Expected

November 12th, 2018 at 10:55pm CST by marksuleymanov

Bulls big man Lauri Markkanen‘s elbow injury will keep him sidelined longer than originally expected, according to The Associated Press. Markkanen was originally expected to miss six to eight weeks with a high-grade lateral elbow sprain he suffered at the start of training camp.

The Finnish center’s return will likely occur nine to 11 weeks after the initial injury, per Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg. Markkanen is reportedly still in pain and not shooting from long range and will not return until he’s “100%.”

Entering his sophomore season, Markkanen was looking to build off a solid rookie campaign in which he averaged 15.2 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 29.7 MPG while appearing in 68 games. The 7-footer was the seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft.

After his initial diagnosis, Markkanen expressed optimism about his return and improving his game even while he’s sidelined.

“It’s a minor setback,” he said. “I’m just ready to get back to work. Hopefully, I can be even a little better than I am right now. You can always improve other things. I know my shot is going to be there. I’m not worried about that. Now I can work on my lefty a little bit.”

Without Markkanen and several others, the Bulls are a disappointing 4-10 after Monday’s loss to the Mavericks.

Bulls Exercise Options On Markkanen, Dunn, Valentine

October 30th, 2018 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have exercised their 2019/20 team options on three players, announcing today in a press release that Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, and Denzel Valentine have all had their salaries guaranteed for next season.

Dunn and Valentine were 2016 draft picks, so their options for 2019/20 are for the fourth and final year of their respective rookie scale contracts. Dunn’s will have a cap charge of $5,348,007, while Valentine’s is worth $3,377,569. Both players will be eligible for rookie scale extensions during the 2019 offseason before entering the last year of their rookie deals. If they don’t sign extensions, they’ll remain on track for restricted free agency in 2020.

Markkanen’s $5,300,400 option is for his third year, meaning the Bulls will have one more option decision to make on his rookie contract next October. He won’t be extension-eligible until 2020.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, all three of these young players are currently injured, with Markkanen sidelined by an elbow injury, Dunn recovering from an MCL sprain, and Valentine battling an ankle issue. Barring setbacks, all three players could get back on the court for Chicago within the next four or five weeks.

Latest On Lauri Markkanen

September 29th, 2018 at 11:56am CST by marksuleymanov

The Bulls‘ already slim playoff hopes took a nosedive on Friday night as Finnish big man Lauri Markkanen suffered a high-grade lateral elbow sprain. The injury will sideline Markkanen for six-to-eight weeks, which will sideline him for the entire preseason the several weeks to begin the regular season.

Entering his sophomore season, Markkanen is looking to build off a solid rookie campaign in which he averaged 15.2 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 29.7 MPG while appearing in 68 games. The 7-footer was the seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft.

“Obviously it’s disappointed to be out. It’s been such a long offseason and I’ve worked hard and just ready to play basketball again,” Markkanen told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “It’d disappointing; I don’t know how long it’s going to take but I’m going to be right back.”

Markkanen, 21, said the injury occurred in practice on a “normal basketball play” as several players went for a rebound. He added that his elbow felt worse the next day, which prompted the MRI and the diagnosis. It’s a major blow to a young Chicago team going through a rebuilding stage, but Markkanen maintained a positive outlook during his media session.

“It’s a minor setback,” he said. “I’m just ready to get back to work. Hopefully, I can be even a little better than I am right now. You can always improve other things.

“I know my shot is going to be there. I’m not worried about that. Now I can work on my lefty a little bit.”

Below are more notes on Markkanen’s injury:

New Bulls swingman Jabari Parker, no stranger to season-shortening injuries himself, weighed in on what the loss of Markkanen means for the Bulls. “It’s deflating because that’s one of our key pieces,” Parker said. “And I think that’s just going to put us behind, especially me trying to figure out chemistry. But as long as he is around then we’re going to try to do it another way instead of being on the court.”
Executive vice president John Paxson weighed in on the injury, noting that getting Markkanen healed will take precedence over him returning to the court. “We’re being careful with the timeframe,” Paxson said. “He’s so important to us that we want to make sure he’s healthy. Like we’ve tried to do with all our guys, we won’t rush him back.”
As we noted previously, in Markkanen’s extended absence, Chicago could use Bobby Portis in a starting capacity or shift Parker from small forward to power forward.

Bulls Forward Lauri Markkanen Injured, Out 6-8 Weeks

September 28th, 2018 at 8:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen will be out an estimated 6-to-8 weeks after suffering a high grade lateral elbow sprain, the team tweets.

Markkanen was injured during practice on Thursday and underwent an MRI on his right elbow on Friday.

The first major injury of the preseason could derail any hopes Chicago had of making the playoffs. Without their top player, the Bulls are dangerously thin at the forward spots.

Barring a trade, Chicago could thrust Bobby Portis into a starting role or move Jabari Parker from small forward to the four spot. Rookie training camp invitee Kaiser Gates is the team’s only other power forward, though it could try rookie Wendell Carter Jr. or Cristiano Felicio as a stopgap.

Markkanen had an outstanding rookie campaign, averaging 15.2 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 29.7 MPG while appearing in 68 contests. The 7-footer was the seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft.

Parker Bullish About Young Bulls’ Chemistry

September 26th, 2018 at 9:47pm CST by clarkcrum

Some may look at the signing of Jabari Parker as a bit of a double-edged sword, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, but Parker sees his addition to the Bulls as another weapon for head coach Fred Hoiberg to utilize as opposed to another body who may take shots away from the threesome of Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, and Lauri Markkanen.

“Those days we had in the gym two weeks ago were very central for us and especially for me,” Parker said. “I got a chance to see those guys up front. It’s different playing with them than against them. I finally got a chance to know here I need to be on the floor and my strengths and things I need to work on.”

“It’s going to take time, like anything else. I can’t put a date on it. But once we figure out each other and start to jell, we’ll see results. Chemistry is key with those guys. The ball is going to be in their hands a lot. Hopefully I can feed off them.”

Luckily for the Bulls, Parker, Markkanen, and LaVine all shoot at roughly the same frequency. For his career, Parker has taken 12.6 shot attempts per game, while Markkanen attempted 12.7 shots per game as a rookie and LaVine has averaged 11.7 attempts in the NBA since being drafted in 2014. Meanwhile, Dunn will be tasked with making sure the ball gets distributed as needed.

“Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been playing with these guys, getting a feel of each player,” Dunn said. “I have great chemistry with Lauri. Zach, he’s easy to play with because he’s a knockdown shooter. Jabari, he’s an unselfish player, a slasher. And Wendell (Carter Jr.) is another unselfish player who doesn’t need the ball.”

Dunn, LaVine, Parker, and Markkanen will likely all start next to veteran Robin Lopez, but Carter’s minutes should increase as the season goes on, with sixth man Bobby Portis rounding out the team’s young core. Parker will also be able to slide to power forward and play alongside Portis or Carter when Markkanen is on the bench.

Eastern Notes: Leonard, Galloway, Johnson, Ntilikina

August 24th, 2018 at 8:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hiring Kawhi Leonard‘s close friend Jeremy Castleberry away from the Spurs as a player development coach was a wise move by the Raptors, in the view of Danny Green, as Steven Loung of SportsNet Canada details.

Green was traded along with Leonard to Toronto and the Raptors are hoping to convince Leonard to re-sign with them next summer. The addition of Castleberry should help the cause, according to Green

“It’s good to have (Castleberry) on board. Hopefully, it helps Kawhi feel more comfortable at home and keeps him in the city that they want to keep him here,” Green said. “Obviously (the Raptors) traded for him for a reason. They think they can sell him. … It’s an amazing city in Toronto. So the city sells itself. … And now you have your best friend with you. What else could you ask for?”

We have more from around the Eastern Conference:

Langston Galloway was a major disappointment in his first season with the Pistons and he’ll have a tough time making the rotation, Ansar Khan of MLive writes. Galloway didn’t fare well when he played the point on occasion and posted career lows in several categories while mostly seeing action at shooting guard, Khan continues. Galloway, who has two years left on his $21MM contract, has plenty of competition at the guard spots in the upcoming season, Khan adds.
Pistons small forward Stanley Johnson could blossom in coach Dwane Casey’s first season, Khan writes in another post. Casey has praised Johnson’s work ethic and feels that Johnson has untapped scoring potential, Khan continues. Johnson became more aggressive going to the basket last season but needs to improve his outside shooting, Khan adds.
Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina (France) and Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen (Finland) will not play for their national teams in FIBA World Cup qualifiers next month, according to a Sportando report. Both players will focus on preparing for their second season in the NBA, the report adds.

Central Draft Notes: Bulls, Bucks, Pistons

June 15th, 2018 at 8:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls have the pieces to move into the Top 5 of the draft but it’s unknown whether they like any prospect enough to do that, according to Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago. The Bulls could package their picks at No. 7 and No. 22 and power forward Bobby Portis to make a deal with the Hawks at No. 3 or the Grizzlies at No. 4. Memphis, though, might want to unload Chandler Parsons‘ contract, in which case the Bulls probably wouldn’t have to include Portis, Strotman continues. With Lauri Markkanen the long-term solution at power forward, the Bulls can afford to deal Portis, who might become a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t receive a contract extension, Strotman adds.

In other draft-related musings involving Central Division clubs:

If the Bulls retain their No. 22 pick, they should avoid Duke sharpshooter Grayson Allen and Villanova big man Omari Spellman, Scott Phillips of NBC Sports Chicago opines. Allen’s temperamental behavior during his college career is something the Bulls don’t need with an already young roster, while Spellman’s skills do not complement Markkanen because he’s not a rim protector, Phillips continues. De’Anthony Melton (USC), Mitchell Robinson (Western Kentucky) and Anfernee Simons are three other late first-round prospects the Bulls should pass on, Phillips adds.
The Bucks could select Michigan big man Moritz Wagner with the No. 17 pick, Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox.com speculates. The Bucks need a physical frontcourt player who can shoot from outside and Wagner would bring that, Woelfel continues. While most draft experts peg Wagner as a late first- or early second-round selection, he could move into the middle of the first round because of his offensive skills, Woelfel adds.
Missouri State forward Alize Johnson and Purdue guard Dakota Mathias are two of the players the Pistons might consider with their second-round pick, according to Ansar Khan of MLive. Both players came in for workouts this week. Detroit traded away its first-round pick in the Blake Griffin deal with the Clippers.

NBA Announces 2017/18 All-Rookie Teams

May 22nd, 2018 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its First and Second All-Rookie Teams for the 2017/18 season. Ben Simmons of the Sixers and Donovan Mitchell of the Jazz – widely viewed as the top two contenders for this season’s Rookie of the Year award – were the only two players to be unanimously selected to the First Team. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum received 99 of 100 potential First Team votes.

Listed below are the NBA’s All-Rookie teams for 2017/18, with the player’s vote total in parentheses. Players received two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

First Team:

Ben Simmons, Sixers (200)
Donovan Mitchell, Jazz (200)
Jayson Tatum, Celtics (199)
Kyle Kuzma, Lakers (193)
Lauri Markkanen, Bulls (173)

Second Team:

Dennis Smith Jr., Mavericks (96)
Lonzo Ball, Lakers (87)
John Collins, Hawks (76)
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kings (75)
Josh Jackson, Suns (45)

Jackson, who received one First Team vote to go along with 43 Second Team votes, narrowly beat out Bam Adebayo of the Heat for the final spot on the Second Team — Adebayo finished with 44 points.

Outside of Adebayo and the 10 players who earned spots on the All-Rookie teams, 14 other players received votes, with De’Aaron Fox (Kings), OG Anunoby (Raptors), and Jarrett Allen (Nets) leading the way among that group.