Luka Doncic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: LeBron, Vincent, Daniels, Gobert, Kyrie

March 26th, 2024 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers, looking to make up ground in the Western Conference playoff race, won’t have LeBron James available on Tuesday in Milwaukee for the first game of their six-game road trip, the team announced today (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski). James has been ruled out due to his ongoing left ankle issues.

Elsewhere on the Lakers injury front, while there was a belief that Gabe Vincent may have been able to return by now following left knee surgery, he remains on the shelf and isn’t with the team in Milwaukee, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

According to McMenamin, if Vincent continues to make good progress in his rehab work, there’s a chance he’ll join the Lakers at some point during the current road trip, which runs through next Wednesday (April 3).

Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels, who underwent knee surgery in February after tearing his meniscus, appears to be nearing a return. The team announced today (via Twitter) that Daniels has been assigned to the G League and will be available to play for the Birmingham Squadron on Wednesday. The second-year wing hasn’t been active since February 9.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert played in his 65th game of the season on Sunday and is now eligible for end-of-season awards, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). That benchmark is significant for Gobert, who is the current frontrunner to earn the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year honor this season.
After requesting trades out of Cleveland and Brooklyn and leaving Boston in free agency, Kyrie Irving has had a relatively calm, drama-free stint in Dallas so far. Marc Stein explores why that’s the case, writing at Substack that Irving has been willing to sacrifice, the Mavericks have built him a strong support system, and he and Luka Doncic have a genuine affinity for one another.

Texas Notes: Spurs, Luka, VanVleet, Thompson

March 24th, 2024 at 3:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic appears to be growing as a leader in Dallas, opines Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. After Dallas survived a poor shooting night from its best player to beat the Spurs 113-107 this past Tuesday, Doncic expressed his gratitude to his teammates.

“One of the biggest things after the game is he thanked his teammates in the locker room for picking him up,” head coach Jason Kidd said. “When a leader says that, those are big words. You come into the locker room and you don’t shoot the ball extremely well, but you rely on being the quarterback and other guys picked him up.”

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

Standout Spurs rookie center Victor Wembanyama is relishing his tenure under five-time title-winning head coach Gregg Popovich, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “It’s pretty precious and one of the reasons that make this place the best place,” Wembanyama said.
Veteran Spurs point guard Devonte’ Graham has emerged as a locker room leader with the club this season, despite not seeing much time on the hardwood, Orsborn adds. “Obviously, we are not going to be playing much basketball in late April, but Devonte’ Graham on our team has held us together,” Popovich said. “He comes out every day whether at shootaround or practice or whatever we might be doing and is in the middle of everything, upbeat.”
The league has rescinded a technical foul assessed to Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet during the team’s 127-117 victory over the Bulls on Thursday, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Rockets rookie forward Amen Thompson has been frequently tasked with covering opposing centers defensively, with starting Houston five Alperen Sengun now out for the season, writes Feigen in another piece. Head coach Ime Udoka has been able to mitigate the 6’7″ Thompson’s lack of a jumper by exploiting his athleticism in matchups against bigger, less mobile centers. “Him in the roll, him in the pocket with his passing ability is an asset to have,” Udoka said. “We’ve mentioned guys like Ben Simmons, guys like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) who have done similar things at times in their career. He can learn to implement those things.” Across his last five contests, Thompson has averaged 16.4 PPG on 64.2% shooting from the floor, along with 9.4 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 1.2 SPG. “You’ve seen him improve just with the playing time alone, let alone the role we’re asking him to do,” Udoka continued. “A guy that’s had the ball in his hands his whole career, you put him out there with Fred and Jalen (Green) in the starting lineup now, you kind of have to divide those opportunities, the ball-handling duties. He does impact it in other ways.”

Western Notes: J. Green, Doncic, Warriors, Suns, Jazz

March 17th, 2024 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Josh Green‘s sprained right ankle is expected to sideline him for at least a couple weeks or so, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told reporters, including Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), on Sunday.

Green had been a key part of Dallas’ rotation in recent weeks, averaging 10.2 points per game on .522/.438/.826 shooting in his past 24 games leading up to Thursday’s contest in Oklahoma City, which he exited after just four minutes when he injured his ankle.

The Mavericks did share some more positive injury news on Sunday, announcing that Luka Doncic will be available vs. Denver this afternoon after missing Thursday’s game due to a hamstring ailment (Twitter link via MacMahon).

Let’s round up a few more items from around the Western Conference:

Moses Moody, Kevon Looney, and Dario Saric were all DNP-CDs on Saturday for the Warriors, while Gary Payton II played just seven minutes as head coach Steve Kerr tightened his rotation, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Payton figures to be “peppered into the mix” going forward, Slater says, but Moody is being pushed out of the rotation and Looney and Saric are on the outside looking in. “It is tough,” Stephen Curry said. “Loon, Moses, Dario, probably in that order — especially Loon and Moses — there’s probably going to be times where they’re going to be needed. They’ll be ready. That’s the challenge they face. But this time of year, building an identity of how we want to play, that (tightened rotation is) huge.”
Kevin Durant said he’s “excited” for Isaiah Thomas to join the Suns and head coach Frank Vogel called the veteran guard a “hell of a player,” per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Vogel noted that adding Thomas will help Phoenix preserve the four active games remaining on Saben Lee‘s two-way contract.
Jazz head coach Will Hardy was upset by how his team played on Saturday vs. Minnesota, telling reporters after the game that there were far too many instances of players attempting to force the issue themselves when teammates were open. “Stats don’t mean s–t. I don’t care about your individual stats,” Hardy said, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. “I don’t care how many points you score. I don’t care what you post on Instagram. It doesn’t matter. It’s a team sport, play to win. And we have to nip this in the bud now because — I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again — there will not be free minutes in this program. So you’re either gonna start learning and you’re going to start playing the right way and you’re gonna start participating with your teammates, or you’re not gonna play.”

Mavs Notes: Doncic, THJ, Gafford, Green

March 15th, 2024 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

MVP candidate Luka Doncic didn’t travel to Oklahoma City with the Mavericks for Thursday’s game against the Thunder, but head coach Jason Kidd shared a positive update on the superstar’s left hamstring injury, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required).

An MRI performed on Doncic’s hamstring “came back clean,” Kidd told reporters, adding that it’s “great news” and that the NBA’s leading scorer will be reevaluated when the team is back in Dallas.

The Mavericks are off Friday and Saturday before hosting the Nuggets on Sunday afternoon. It sounds like there’s at least a chance that Doncic will be able to return for that game.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Dallas’ loss to the Thunder on Thursday dropped the club’s record to 3-6 without Doncic this season, but Kidd suggested prior to the game that there’s a silver lining to not having the star guard available. “There’s not one person who can make up for Luka. This is a great test for us,” Kidd said, per Townsend. “We’ve had injuries before, playing without Luka and (Kyrie Irving). So this gives us another chance others to step up and do their job.” Tim Hardaway Jr. stepped up on Thursday with one of his best games in weeks, posting 21 points and nine rebounds, Townsend notes.
A missed put-back attempt by Daniel Gafford early in Thursday’s game ended the big man’s streak of 33 consecutive made field goal attempts, Townsend observes. It was the second-longest streak in NBA history, behind Wilt Chamberlain‘s 35 straight in 1967. “I’m smiling ear-to-ear on the insides, just because of the simple fact that I had a chance to (break Chamberlain’s record),” said Gafford, who’s shooting an incredible 77.4% (72-of-93) since joining the Mavs at last month’s trade deadline. “And it’s not my only chance. I know for a fact — I don’t know how many games we’ve got left this season — but I’m for sure gonna try to do that before the regular season is over with, no doubt.”
Mavericks wing Josh Green left Thursday’s game in the first quarter due to a right ankle sprain (story via The Dallas Morning News). Kidd told reporters that X-rays on Green’s came back negative, but it remains possible that he’ll have to miss some time as a result of the injury.

Injury Notes: Mitchell, White, Luka, Green, Curry

March 13th, 2024 at 10:18pm CST by Rory Maher

After previously being listed as questionable, Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday following a seven-game absence, as first reported by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link).

Mitchell has been dealing with a left knee bone bruise that required a PRP injection to promote healing. He would have been in strong contention for an All-NBA team, but he missed his 18th game of the 2023/24 season on Monday, and is no longer eligible for postseason awards.

Led by a strong performance from Darius Garland and excellent team three point shooting (20-45, 44.4%), the Cavs were victorious in Mitchell’s return, defeating New Orleans by 21 points.

Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:

Bulls guard Coby White, one of the frontrunners for the Most Improved Player award, was injured after having his shot blocked by Pascal Siakam with about 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Chicago’s overtime victory over Indiana (Twitter video link). After the game, head coach Billy Donovan called it a hip injury and said White would undergo additional testing, but the fifth-year guard appeared to be in good spirits in the locker room, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago relays (Twitter links).
Mavericks star Luka Doncic exited Wednesday’s victory over Golden State late in the fourth quarter and was later ruled out with left hamstring soreness, the team announced (via Twitter). It’s unclear if the MVP candidate will miss additional time with the injury.
Warriors forward/center Draymond Green was ruled out for Wednesday’s loss due to lower back soreness, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. On a brighter note, two-time MVP Stephen Curry practiced with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors on Wednesday and will join Golden State in Los Angeles for Friday’s practice before determining whether he’ll face the Lakers on Saturday, head coach Steve Kerr told Slater and other media members (Twitter link).

Southwest Notes: Whitmore, Zion, Williams, Luka, Sochan

March 12th, 2024 at 10:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rockets rookie wing Cam Whitmore is expected to be out for approximately three weeks with a sprained right knee, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Whitmore is averaging 12.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game through 38 NBA appearances this season after the Rockets drafted him late in the first round.

“He has a sprained (lateral collateral ligament), the ligament in the knee and outside the knee,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “So, it’s a three-week timetable as well. Felt some tightness in his knee in the game. Got that checked out. Kind of played through that. We’ll wee how he progresses with rehab and treatment, as well. They say three weeks, but it could be a shorter timetable based on how he reacts to it.”

The Rockets lost star center Alperen Sengun over the weekend due to a severe ankle sprain and bone bruise to his knee.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

After injuries marred his first four NBA seasons, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is finishing strong this season, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune notes. He has appeared in 53 games, averaging 22.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and a career-high 5.2 assists per night. Getting in better shape has been the key. “I’m getting there,” Williamson said. “Just stacking my days. Extra conditioning over time. I’m starting to see some of those results. I just have to maintain and keep going.”
Before Grant Williams was dealt to the Hornets, he trash-talked Mavericks star Luka Doncic during practice. In a radio interview relayed by Brian Robb of Masslive.com, Dallas assistant GM Michael Finley said it didn’t go well for the power forward. “He decided he wanted to get under Luka’s skin. He felt Luka didn’t come that day ready to practice,” Finley said. “To make a long story short, they had a scrimmage going and he was talking trash to Luka up and down the court. So finally, Luka says ‘Okay,” and Luka went on a 26-6 run by himself. You can ask anybody, I’m not exaggerating. He showed everything, the threes, the postups, the floaters, everything by himself.”
The Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan is developing a reputation as an agitator and he has an admirer in a player who often gets under opponent’s skin — the Warriors’ Draymond Green, according to Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News. “Not caring what anybody thinks, that’s a skill in this league,” Green said. “Jeremy, he don’t give a (bleep). You can tell.”

DeMar DeRozan, Luka Doncic Named Players Of The Week

March 11th, 2024 at 2:35pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls wing DeMar DeRozan and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week, the league announced on Monday (via Twitter).

DeRozan, the Eastern Conference’s winner, averaged 29.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists on .551/.412/.923 shooting across four games last week (39.4 MPG). Chicago went 3-1 in those contests.

A six-time All-Star, DeRozan is one of the most noteworthy players who can hit free agency this summer. He’s earning $28.6MM in the final year of his contract and is eligible for a veteran extension until June 30.

Doncic earned his third Player of the Week award for the West in 2023/24. He’s also the reigning Player of the Month for the Western Conference. He helped guide Dallas to a 2-1 record last week, averaging 37.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 1.3 steals on .513/.385/.900 shooting (39.7 MPG).

Doncic has recorded a 30-point triple-double in each of the past six games. He’s having an incredible season, posting career-best averages in multiple categories, including leading the NBA in points per game at 34.7.

According to the NBA, Jarrett Allen, Dejounte Murray, Pascal Siakam and DeRozan’s teammate Coby White were the other nominees in the East, while Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trey Murphy, Zion Williamson and Anfernee Simons were nominated in the West (Twitter link).

Southwest Notes: Sengun, Udoka, Rockets, Doncic, Pelicans

March 8th, 2024 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

Alperen Sengun‘s breakout 2023/24 season almost didn’t happen, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who looks back at the Rockets‘ pursuit of Brook Lopez during 2023’s free agent period. Sengun would’ve still played an important role in Houston if the club had landed Lopez, but he likely wouldn’t have been in position to post the same type of numbers he has as the Rockets’ unquestioned starting center.

“You know, of course, when you’re hearing that sh-t, you’re getting nervous, of course,” Sengun said of last summer’s Lopez rumors. “You don’t want to lose your spot. But if (Lopez) was coming, I was ready for a fight.”

While Sengun has increased his offensive output significantly (21.3 points and 5.0 assists per game), he’s just as proud as the improvements he has shown defensively. He told Fischer that his focus on defense this season wasn’t a direct result of Houston’s interest in last season’s Defensive Player of the Year runner-up.

“I didn’t understand that as, ‘Brook was gonna come and I needed to (improve on defense).’ I just know I have to do a better job on defense. If you want to win, if you want to be a ‘winning player,’ you have to do everything on the court,” he said. “I mean, Brook Lopez is a really good player. A really good defensive player, you know? But, I mean, he’s a good shot blocker. I don’t think he’s as good one-on-one player (as me).

“We have different physical bodies. Like, he’s so tall. He’s big. He can block all the shots. I know I can’t block all the shots. I know that. I don’t have long arms. I’m not (that) tall. I just need to be where I have to be and just stay vertical. To jump straight up and just make their job harder.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

Speaking to Fischer, Sengun also had high praise for head coach Ime Udoka and the rest of the Rockets‘ coaching staff. “Ime’s a perfect coach. He’s the best coach I ever had, probably,” Sengun said. “But not just Ime. Our whole coaching staff is amazing. Everybody’s doing a great job. Everybody wants to win. I’ve never seen a coaching staff like this in my life. And when you see, you understand. They’re tough. They’re talking to us. They’re not scared of anything.”
Kelly Iko of The Athletic takes a look at the burgeoning relationship between young Rockets guards Jalen Green and Cam Whitmore, noting that the team – which ranks 24th in offensive rating – has an opportunity to experiment with the duo down the stretch now that a play-in spot is all but out of reach. “They complement each other well, being two wings that attack and are aggressive,” Udoka said. “When they’re both rolling on the wings and guarding at a higher clip, we like to see what they’re doing together. Two dynamic scorers, and we’ve taken a look at that.”
In leading the Mavericks to a win over Miami on Thursday, Luka Doncic helped the team snap a three-game losing streak and became the first player in NBA history to record 35-point triple-doubles in four straight contests. “You’re seeing something as rare as a Picasso,” head coach Jason Kidd said of his All-NBA guard, while recently acquired forward P.J. Washington called his new teammate’s play “insane,” per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Washington said. “I mean, he’s one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen play and just to be on his team, I think it’s special. So just cherish every moment.”
After ranking 27th in Willie Green‘s first season with the team and 15th last season, the Pelicans are up to fifth in the NBA in three-point shooting (38.2%) in 2023/24. As Christian Clark of NOLA.com details, a combination of new additions – including rookie Jordan Hawkins – and internal improvements from players like Herbert Jones have made New Orleans a much more dangerous team from outside.

Southwest Notes: Sengun, Zion, Mavs, Lawson, Grizzlies

March 6th, 2024 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

He hasn’t gotten the same sort of press this season as Rookie of the Year candidates Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, but going up against Wembanyama on Tuesday, Rockets big man Alperen Sengun provided a reminder that there’s another young center on the rise in the Western Conference.

As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) details, Sengun didn’t just get the best of Wembanyama on Tuesday — he dominated him, pouring in a career-best 45 points to go along with 16 rebounds and five steals, both personal season highs. After the game, he admitted that he was motivated to go up against the Spurs‘ young star, who went scoreless in the second half and had just 10 points on the night.

“I didn’t play that good last game against him, I can say,” Sengun said. “And I didn’t see that much double-teams. They just leave me one-on-one with Wemby. I just did what I do.   When you score, and score and score at some point, you get some emotion. It was great for me. He is so tall, he’s really tall, but he’s not that strong, yet. So, I was going at his chest and put him under the rim.”

Sengun, who is still just 21 years old (and younger than Holmgren), has taken his game to new heights in his third NBA season, averaging 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 32.4 minutes per game across 60 starts. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2024 offseason.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Asked on Tuesday if he could see himself participating in the NBA’s annual slam dunk contest at some point, Pelicans star Zion Williamson didn’t rule out the possibility. “I gotta do my part and make the All-Star game,” Williamson said with a smile (Twitter video link via Pelicans Film Room). “If I’m in the All-Star game, I’ll do the dunk contest. But if I’m not, not doing it.”
On Tuesday, for a third straight time, Luka Doncic had a triple-double and scored 37+ points in a game the Mavericks lost. It’s a troubling trend for the Mavs, who are running out of time to prove they’re better than they’ve shown as of late, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Dallas has – by far – the NBA’s worst defensive rating since the All-Star break, and Doncic isn’t sure how to reverse that trend. “I don’t know, honestly,” he said. “We know we got to fix it.”
Mavericks wing A.J. Lawson had a hard time playing it cool when he found out he was being promoted to the team’s standard roster on a new four-year contract that will guarantee him $1MM for the rest of this season, writes Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “I was trying to keep my emotions down at the gym. I didn’t want anybody to see me super-excited or tear up or anything,” Lawson said. “But I got to the crib and I just said ‘Thank God.’ And I screamed off my balcony. Probably the whole uptown area heard it. It was a great feeling and definitely something I’m going to remember the rest of my life.”
It has been over a year since the Grizzlies announced on the same day (March 4, 2023) that Brandon Clarke had suffered a torn Achilles and that Ja Morant would be away from the team after a video on social media showed him brandishing a firearm in a Colorado nightclub. As Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes, the impact of those events carried over to 2023/24 and were factors in derailing the team’s season before it really got going.

Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum Named Players Of The Month

March 4th, 2024 at 3:27pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for games played in February, the league announced (Twitter link).

Doncic, the Western Conference’s winner, continues to put up eye-popping statistics in 2023/24, averaging 33.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 10.3 assists, and 1.8 steals on .517/.398/.787 shooting in 11 games last month (37.2 MPG).

He helped guide Dallas to an 8-3 record in February, though the Mavs have since lost two straight and currently hold a 34-27 record, good for the No. 8 seed in the West.

Tatum, meanwhile, led the way for a Boston team that was 9-1 in February, averaging 27.2 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 6.7 APG and 1.1 SPG on .480/.351/.887 shooting in 36.0 MPG.

Tatum is the first repeat Player of the Month winner this season, having also earned the honor for October/November. After claiming spots on the All-NBA First Team each of the past two seasons, the 26-year-old appears on track for another all-league spot in 2023/24, with the Celtics currently 48-12, the No. 1 seed in the East (and the NBA).

The other nominees in the West were Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner and Franz Wagner were nominated in the East, per the NBA (Twitter links).