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Marquese Chriss

Marquese Chriss ‘Cooling Off,’ Will Miss Sunday’s Game

February 3rd, 2018 at 5:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

He’s not officially suspended, but Suns forward Marquese Chriss will sit out Sunday’s game for a “cooling off” period, writes Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.

Chriss had a verbal altercation with strength and conditioning coach Jeff Fish after Friday’s loss to the Jazz, according to ESPN. Neither head coach Jay Triano or GM Ryan McDonough would discuss the incident, but McDonough called it a “rules violation.” He also refused to answer questions about a possible fine for Chriss, saying, “We’re handling all of that internally.”

Chriss played just 13 minutes Friday night, posting three points and three rebounds. He is averaging 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and has been a fixture in the starting rotation since Triano replaced Earl Watson in October.

“He’s a good kid who had a bad moment,” McDonough said. “We look forward to seeing him Monday morning and turning the page.” 

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Pacific Notes: Hill, Giles, Chriss, Ball

January 20th, 2018 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

If the trade rumors surrounding George Hill are true, the Kings would be parting with a valuable mentor for first-round pick De’Aaron Fox, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Hill’s playing time has been sporadic lately as coach Dave Joerger tries to commit more minutes to his younger guys. Hill is averaging 27.2 minutes and 10.5 points per game, both down significantly from last season in Utah.

“If it’s me with my leadership skills, if it’s me on the court, if it’s me in the weight room or the locker room,” Hill said. “Whatever, just try to do the best I can, stay professional in every situation and have fun doing it. There’s a reason why I’m here. God put me in this situation for a reason that I don’t know. So I’ve got to stay the course, trust the process and keep being a pro about it and figure it out on the fly.”

There’s more tonight from the Pacific Division:

  • The Kings used an analytic approach to the Harry Giles situation before opting to shut down the rookie for the season, relays Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. A franchise that has disdained analytics in the past researched Giles’ condition thoroughly before arriving at the decision. “We trusted modern sports medicine,” said assistant GM Brandon Williams. “That was the start of it. We knew we had to be careful because his ceiling is so high. Until you get to know Harry, you treat him as a fragile being. ‘Banged up. Went to Duke.’ We decided to wait for January, which is two years since his last [ACL] injury, and figure it out from there. What we learned these last few weeks was that the ACL is healed. Then the question became, ‘Do we push it?’”
  • An injury to Suns forward Marquese Chriss appears worse than the team originally thought, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Chriss has missed four games with a right hip flexor strain and may need a second MRI. “I don’t really know what’s going on with it,” he said. “Some days it feels good, some days it doesn’t. I’ve been able to get on the floor to shoot. Running is the hardest thing to do right now. It’s frustrating that I’m not able to play.”
  • Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball is making progress from a knee injury that has sidelined him for the past three games, but he still isn’t close to returning, tweets Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. Coach Luke Walton said Ball is several steps away from playing again.
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Pacific Notes: Ball, Chriss, Len

December 22nd, 2017 at 6:31pm CST by Austin Kent

While Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball has upped his shooting percentages over the course of the last few weeks, his inability to score consistently could prevent him from ever becoming a superstar, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN writes.

For a number of reasons, ranging from the wonky left-eye-dominant shooting stroke to his instinctive pass-first mentality, Ball may never develop into the scorer that he’d likely need to be in order to have his jersey raised in the Staples Center, as Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson so kindly requested at his introduction press conference.

Arnovitz suggests that while there may be hurdles for Ball to become the next Stephen Curry, he could still have an instrumental impact on the Lakers by becoming their Draymond Green. His feel for the game and style could inspire the team to play the right way, in line with head coach Luke Walton‘s vision, even if he never becomes a dominant offensive weapon.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

 

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Pacific Notes: Rivers, Booker, Hill

December 14th, 2017 at 11:45am CST by Austin Kent

Injury woes continue to plague the Clippers and the most recent victim of the team’s misfortune is guard Austin Rivers. Per an ESPN report, Rivers suffered a concussion in the second quarter of Los Angeles’ Wednesday night win.

Rivers took an elbow to the head in the waning seconds of the first half and did not return for the Clippers. He has already been ruled out for Friday’s contest.

Rivers has been enjoying a career year with the Clippers, averaging 14.5 points and 3.4 assists through 26 games. The 25-year-old has stepped up as an offensive weapon on the short-staffed team, cracking the 20-point plateau five times already this season.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division today:

  • The Suns are hoping to get Devin Booker back in the lineup before December 29, Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic tweets. That means he could be in the lineup on Boxing Day. Earlier this month, Booker strained his left adductor and was expected to miss two-to-three weeks.
  • Recently added Kings guard George Hill understands that his role with his new team will fluctuate over the course of the season. While he’s scored 16 or more points six times in 24 games this season he’s scored six or fewer nine times. “That’s the rotation coach wants to go with,” Hill told Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “You’ve got to respect that he’s trying put the young guys in situations where they can learn and things like that. Whatever he asks me to do, I’ve been trying to do it to the best of my ability.“
  • Second-year Suns forward Marquese Chriss returned to his hometown of Sacramento for a contest against the team that drafted him. Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic writes that the forward preferred to not play for the Kings and was happy when Phoenix acquired him on draft day. “I’m the type of person I want to do stuff on my own,” Chriss said. “Just kind of expand what I’m learning instead of staying in the same environment. I’m grateful that they did trade me. I think I’m in a better situation for myself and my career.“
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Pacific Notes: Chriss, Bodganovic, Griffin

December 1st, 2017 at 9:37pm CST by Austin Kent

After gaining an undisclosed but noticeable amount of weight over the summer, Suns sophomore Marquese Chriss is intent on getting back into the same impressive shape he was in last year as a rookie, Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic writes.

The 20-year-old, averaging just 6.3 points per game in what could have been a breakout campaign with the Suns, said that he felt invincible coming out of college, giving little to no thought about his diet. Chriss realizes now that things change.

“You’re on a limited budget in college but all of a sudden I had nothing but free time and money,” Chriss said, now eager to get to a point where he can play 35 minutes a night if the Suns need it. “I needed to learn how to manage. I needed to grow up in that aspect of my life so I’m grateful that it happened sooner rather than later.”

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

  • The knee injury that Clippers forward Blake Griffin sustained is more commonly seen in football players (think linemen falling into running backs), Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register writes. Fortunately, a doctor that the scribe consulted says things could have been a lot worse than they ended up being. MCL tears, Teaford writes, tend to require less rehabilitation than ACL tears, which control front and back movement.
  • The Lakers may have lost to Golden State in their Wednesday night tilt this week but Sam Amick of USA Today writes that the young team did an excellent job showcasing their appeal to future free agents.
  • Draft-and-stash rookie Bogdan Bogdanovic is getting accustomed to life with the Kings and settling into life in the U.S. The 25-year-old tells Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee that he thinks he can be a better player in the NBA than he was in Europe.
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Suns Exercise Options On Booker, Bender, Chriss

October 17th, 2017 at 5:41pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns have exercised teams options on the contracts of Devin Booker, Dragan Bender, and Marquese Chriss, according to their website. The trio will remain under contract through the 2018/19 season.

Booker, who was the no. 13 overall pick in the 2015 draft, broke out last season, scoring 22.1 points per game in the Suns’ fast-paced offense. The Kentucky product will make approximately $2.32MM this season and as a result of the team picking up his option, he’ll take home $3.31MM next year.

Bender’s 2018/19 team option is worth roughly $4.67MM and Chriss’ will come in at slightly under $3.21MM. The team controls each player for at minimum two additional two seasons beyond the 2018/19 campaign. Each of the big men’s contracts has another team option in it for the 2019/20 season and if exercised, the team can extend a qualifying offer to each player during the following offseason, rendering them restricted free agents.

Booker can become a restricted free agent during the summer of 2019, though I would expect the team to make an attempt at extending the shooting guard next summer. Per the team’s website, among all players with two years of experience under the age of 21, only LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant have scored more than Booker’s 2,774 total points.

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Pacific Notes: Williams, Jones Jr., Richardson

October 1st, 2017 at 9:39pm CST by Austin Kent

The Clippers had their work cut out for them replacing Jamal Crawford this season but fortunately had already landed Lou Williams, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes. Williams has carved out a successful career being one of the league’s best reserves.

Williams came over as part of the massive Chris Paul trade and will take on an even larger share of the Clippers’ offensive load than he may have initially expected now that Crawford has been bought out and signed with the Timberwolves.

“You’ve got a few of us that go out there and we have a short amount of time to go and change the game,” Williams said. “And Jamal was one of those guys who perfected that. I’m one of those guys that you can put right up there. You’ve got a few other guys that you can mention in that same breath. It’s a unique position to have.”

The Clippers guard may not have three Sixth Man of the Year Awards to his name like Crawford does but he does at least have one. So far.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

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Brogdon, Saric Headline 2016/17 NBA All-Rookie Teams

June 26th, 2017 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has announced its All-Rookie teams for the 2016/17 season, with Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon and Sixers forward Dario Saric headlining the First Team. Brogdon and Saric were the only two players who were unanimously named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team.

Here’s the full breakdown of this year’s All-Rookie squads:

First Team:

Second Team:

Brogdon, Saric, and Embiid are the finalists for the 2016/17 NBA Rookie of the Year award, which will be announced later tonight during the league’s TV broadcast on TNT.

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Pacific Rumors: Chriss, Bender, Clips, Bogdanovic

June 21st, 2017 at 11:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have been one of the teams to engage the Knicks in talks regarding a possible Kristaps Porzingis trade, as we heard earlier tonight. Although a Tuesday report indicated Phoenix balked at New York’s initial asking price of Devin Booker and the No. 4 pick, the two sides appear to have continued discussions.

According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, some iterations of potential trades involving Porzingis in recent discussions between the Suns and Knicks have involved Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender. The two bigs were Phoenix’s lottery picks from 2016, and are among the best trade chips the club has to offer if Booker is off the table.

Here’s more from around the Pacific division:

  • The Clippers have been calling teams that have picks in the middle of the second round in an effort to get back into the draft, according to NBA executive who spoke to Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles has $3.27MM left to spend in the 2016/17 league year if the club wants to buy a pick.
  • Bill Oram of The Orange County Register has more details on the Clippers‘ plan to be active on draft night, despite the fact that the team doesn’t currently hold any picks.
  • Kings draft-and-stash prospect Bogdan Bogdanovic is leaning toward making the leap to the NBA for the 2017/18 season, but has not yet informed Fenerbahce – his team in Turkey – what his plans are, sources tell Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
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And-Ones: Russell, Fultz, Chriss

June 16th, 2017 at 9:03pm CST by Austin Kent

Eleven-time NBA champion Bill Russell will be honored with the NBA’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award, an Associated Press report states. The Hall of Fame center will be presented with the award during the NBA’s award show on June 26.

With five NBA MVPs to his name, the Celtics Hall of Famer is a living legend with an endless resume of historic achievements. Not only has Russell remained a visible representative of the Boston franchise and league in general’s sustained success, he lays claim to the title of being the first player to win an NBA title, an NCAA crown and an Olympic gold medal.

Per the Associated Press, Russell was also the first African American to coach a team in one of the major professional sports leagues.

Across 13 NBA seasons as a player, Russell averaged 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.

There’s more from around the NBA:

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