Nerlens Noel Rumors | Hoops Rumors

New York Notes: Claxton, Irving, Noel, Walker

November 20th, 2021 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

An undisclosed illness has sidelined Nets center Nicolas Claxton for about three weeks, and he tells Brian Lewis of The New York Post that he hopes to return soon. Claxton missed more than two weeks with COVID-19 late last season, but was asymptomatic and said he’s not dealing with any long-term effects. He said he lost a lot of weight from the most recent ailment, but is now in the “ramp-up stage” and is preparing to play again.

“I was sick. That’s the extent I want to go with,” Claxton said. “I was sick. But I’m feeling better now. I’m getting back to where I need to be so I can get out there and play. I’m excited to get back out there with my teammates.”

Claxton was one of Brooklyn’s best defenders last season, Lewis notes, and would be a welcome addition for a team that needs help in the middle. The Nets are starting Blake Griffin as an undersized center with LaMarcus Aldridge as the backup.

There’s more from New York City:

The Nets‘ offense has stagnated and Kevin Durant admitted this week that the absence of Kyrie Irving is part of the problem, Lewis adds in a separate story. Brooklyn set an NBA record for offensive rating last season at 117.3, but currently ranks 25th in the league at 101.0. “Yeah, we do miss Kyrie. We do,” Durant said. “He’s a part of our team. But for the most part, we’ve been generating great shots, we’ve been getting into the paint. It’s just a matter of us knocking them down. I think they’ll come.”
Knicks center Nerlens Noel was thrilled to be back on the court this afternoon following a 12-day absence, per Barbara Barker of Newsday. Noel, who has been dealing with a knee injury, had played only four games and taken just nine shots from the field before today. “Just having the rim protection that Nerlens provides is a big asset for us,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “… Taj (Gibson) did a good job when he was in there. But it’s good to have Nerlens back.”
Kemba Walker sat out the first game of the Knicks‘ last back-to-back, but he played today and may be in the lineup again tomorrow, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. The coaching staff plans to see how Walker feels Sunday morning before making a decision. “If he feels good, he’ll go,” Thibodeau said. “…You trust Kemba.”

Knicks Notes: Center Rotation, Kemba, Toppin, Standings

November 9th, 2021 at 7:20pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Now that Knicks center Nerlens Noel has joined starter Mitchell Robinson on the sidelines due to a knee injury, New York is struggling with some serious depth problems at the five spot, per Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Robinson is dealing with a hip flexor injury and fatigue. In addition to knee and hamstring soreness, Noel is also battling a sore back. Deep-bench reserves Taj Gibson and rookie Jericho Sims have been pressed into service much more than had been expected prior to the 2021/22 season. Head coach Tom Thibodeau has also experimented with small-ball lineups featuring nominal power forward Obi Toppin at center.

There’s more out of the Big Apple:

Starting Knicks point guard Kemba Walker is taking a cautious approach to his health this season, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. This extends to establishing his own rest day schedule and paying attention to his body. The 31-year-old, who has struggled with knee issues for years, sat out Sunday’s game, then helped the Knicks defeat Philadelphia 103-96 on Monday. “It’s a long year,” Walker said. “I’m not gonna play every game, so I just thought that was probably when I should sit out. And it worked out.”
Second-year Knicks power forward Obi Toppin appears to be outplaying his current minutes, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic in a new mailbag. Toppin has been limited to just 14.3 MPG this season, despite looking intriguing in small-ball frontcourt lineups next to starting power forward Julius Randle. Katz opines that Thibodeau does not appear ready to increase Toppin’s minutes load.
Elsewhere in Katz’s mailbag, he predicts that the Knicks as currently comprised should be good for a top-eight finish in the Eastern Conference, with the Celtics and Bulls among the threats to push them down into play-in territory (i.e. the 7-10 seeds).

Atlantic Notes: Thybulle, Walker, Noel, Dekker, Birch, Trent

November 6th, 2021 at 9:29am CST by Dana Gauruder

Matisse Thybulle is the latest Sixers player placed under the league’s health and safety protocols, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey. Tobias Harris was placed under the protocols on Monday and Isaiah Joe was added to the list on Thursday. The entire team was tested for the virus before Thursday’s game against the Pistons and everyone else produced a negative test.

Thybulle, whose locker is next to Joe’s, was placed in protocols for contact tracing. That could leave the Sixers will just eight available players for Saturday’s game against Chicago due to protocols, injuries and Ben Simmons‘ situation.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks point guard Kemba Walker has scored a total of nine points over the last two games and admits he needs to step up his play, particularly at the start of games, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Walker has shot 4-for-19 from the field in those games. “I have to get my guys going. I take ownership of that,” he said. “That’s who I can be. I have to do a better job at that. I have to be ready to start the game better.’’
With Nerlens Noel back in action for the Knicks, he notes that there’s always a shot-blocking presence when he shares the center spot with Mitchell Robinson, Berman relays in a separate story. “Me and Mitch do similar things but we do it different ways,” Noel said. “So I bring what I bring — being aggressive on the pick-and-rolls, hedging out and getting guys uncomfortable, as well as protecting the rim. Mitch brings what he brings with his size and physicality. … We want to get to the level of having two Twin Towers back and holding down the paint.’’ Noel returned this week after recovering from knee and hamstring injuries.
The Raptors decided to waive Sam Dekker before his $1.7MM contract became fully guaranteed on Saturday. That leaves the club $618,540 below the luxury tax, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. That has an added benefit, since tax distribution for teams below the line projects to be $13MM, Marks adds. That estimate figures to change by the end of the season as more projected taxpayers look to duck below the tax line or reduce their bills.
During the offseason, the Raptors re-signed Khem Birch on a three-year contract and did the same with Gary Trent. Thus far, both players are living up their deals, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports writes. “I always told myself if I ever got the opportunity, I would take advantage of it,” Birch said. “So now that I got a contract, I don’t think it’s time to rest. I think it’s time to take advantage of that and also prove myself.”

New York Notes: Randle, Knicks, Noel, Claxton, Nets

November 5th, 2021 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks will be looking to pick up a win in Milwaukee on Friday night, but Julius Randle views the Bucks as a success story worth emulating, as Fred Katz of The Athletic details. Milwaukee won a title in Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s eighth season, having patiently built a championship-caliber roster around its star player without making any major splashes on the free agent market.

“It was beautiful to watch simply because the aspect of, they built it from the ground up,” Randle said. “They didn’t put a super team together or whatever it was. These guys were in the mud every day grinding the thing out. They took some lumps along the way there trying to figure it out.”

While the Knicks lack a bona fide superstar on the level of Antetokounmpo, Randle likes the idea of building the roster “organically” and believes that it an eventual breakthrough would be more rewarding.

“(The Bucks) did something that’s very unique, especially in today’s league, as far as building something like that and not putting a bunch of players together,” he said. “They really built it.”

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Responding to news that Owen Phillips is joining the Knicks‘ coaching analytics team, Seth Partnow of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that the franchise has gone from one of the league’s smallest analytics departments to one of the largest under president of basketball operations Leon Rose.
Knicks center Nerlens Noel missed the first six games of the season with what was termed “knee soreness,” but he told reporters today that it was more of a hamstring issue, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
The Nets have assigned Nicolas Claxton to the G League as he works his way back from an illness. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), Claxton still isn’t ready to play and will just be training and ramping up during his time with Long Island.
While Claxton probably won’t play in any games for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, a handful of the team’s rookies are expected to be regulars for the Long Island Nets this season. Chris Milholen of NetsDaily takes a closer look at the Nets‘ developmental plans for Cameron Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe, Kessler Edwards, and David Duke.

Atlantic Notes: Noel, Korkmaz, Harris, Achiuwa

November 4th, 2021 at 6:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks center Nerlens Noel made his season debut on Wednesday and drew some praise from his coach, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Noel had been sidelined by knee and hamstring soreness. He had two points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. “For the first game I thought he gave us some really good minutes,” Tom Thibodeau said. “Good activity. Rim protection. Effort plays. A lot of good things.” Noel re-signed with New York this summer on a three-year, $32MM contract.

We have more on the Atlantic Division:

Furkan Korkmaz has changed agents, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. The Sixers wing will now by represented by Jason Glushon and Dan Tobin. Korkmaz re-signed with the team on a three-year, $15MM contract this summer.
Sixers forward Tobias Harris was placed under the league’s health and safety protocols on Wednesday and he’s experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “He’s doing OK, but not great, honestly,” coach Doc Rivers said. “That’s the most I’m gonna say about it. But it hit him, for sure. A lot of guys have had this and they are mad like, ‘What the hell? I’m fine.’ Tobias is not in that category right now.”
Raptors coach Nick Nurse said that Precious Achiuwa earned the starting nod at center and doesn’t plan on making a change despite inconsistent play, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. “We don’t expect (the young guys) to play great every night,” Nurse said. “It doesn’t mean we’ve got to change the starting lineup. I think we just stick with it and see how it goes.” Achiuwa has gone 5-for-27 from the field in his last three games.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks Centers, Thibodeau, Stevens, Durant

November 2nd, 2021 at 10:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Though he sat for his seventh straight game to start the season Monday night in a 113-104 loss against the Raptors, reserve Knicks center Nerlens Noel appears poised for a return, and not a moment too soon, as third-string center Taj Gibson sprained his ankle during the game’s first half, writes Greg Joyce of the New York Post. Rookie big man Jericho Sims served as Gibson’s replacement during the second half.

The Knicks re-signed Noel to the tune of a three-year, $28MM contract this summer. Noel has been struggling with a knee/hamstring injury since the preseason. During the 2020/21 season, his first with the Knicks, the former lottery pick averaged 5.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 2.2 BPG, while starting in 41 of his 64 total games.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is reluctant to blame New York’s defensive issues this season on its increased pace, writes Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “It’s probably too early to really tell,” Tom Thibodeau said of a link between the pace and the defense. “You see it in the league all the time, teams that play with an edge usually have an advantage. Oftentimes, it’s teams that have guys that are out, that they play with great intensity. We should understand that better than anyone.” The Knicks are currently ranked 20th in the NBA with a defensive rating of 109.
During an interview with NBC Sports Boston (Twitter video link), Celtics team president Brad Stevens addressed starting point guard Marcus Smart‘s criticism of All-Star teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown following a 128-114 come-from-ahead loss to the Bulls on Monday night. “When you see (Smart) and (Tatum) sitting down eating breakfast together today and talking about how to find our solution for our team… those guys want to win.”
Despite the 4-3 Nets grappling with a variety of on- and off-court problems, All-Star forward Kevin Durant looks as great as ever, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. Durant is averaging 27.7 PPG while shooting 58.3% from the floor and averaging 8.9 RPG. “He’s our guy — he’s The Guy,” new reserve power forward Paul Millsap said. “We feed off of him and what he does. He carries our team a lot. We kind of need him to do that. We need him to be him.”

New York Notes: Nets, Irving, Durant, Noel, Samanic

October 25th, 2021 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets lost for a second time in three games on Sunday, prompting reporters to press Kevin Durant on whether he believes the team has enough firepower to seriously contend without Kyrie Irving available, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN details.

“While we are playing in a game, I am not going to sit there and say … when we get down or it is a tight game, like ‘Damn, we don’t have enough,'” Durant said. “We are not going to be thinking about (that) during the game. We definitely want Kyrie Irving out here on the floor. And he is a huge part of what we do. But it is not happening right now. So we got to figure it out.

“… It’s three games in. Of course we have enough.”

With Irving on the shelf until he agrees to be vaccinated or New York City drops its vaccine mandate for indoor public venues, the Nets will have to make up his scoring elsewhere. The first step will be getting James Harden on track — the former MVP is averaging just 18.3 PPG on 38.8% shooting through three games, both well below his career marks.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Nets head coach Steve Nash said on Sunday that the plan is to have Durant play both games in back-to-back sets most of the time this season, tweets Youngmisuk. However, Durant may sit out the occasional game during back-to-back sets to keep him fresh.
After signing a lucrative new three-year contract with the Knicks in the offseason, Nerlens Noel has yet to make his 2021/22 debut due to a knee injury. However, head coach Tom Thibodeau said today that Noel is “doing more” in practice and has a 50-50 shot at playing on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Thibodeau doesn’t expect Luka Samanic to play for the Knicks anytime soon, suggesting the former first-round pick will begin the season in the G League, as Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “I think it’s for the Westchester team,” Thibodeau said of signing Samanic to a two-way contract. “We’re excited to have him. We’ll get a look at him once they get going.”

Knicks Notes: Grimes, McBride, Robinson, Noel

October 13th, 2021 at 5:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rookie guard Quentin Grimes played less than two minutes in the Knicks‘ last preseason game, but he gave the team a taste of what he can contribute, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. The 25th pick in this year’s draft hit a pair of three-pointers in that short span, showing he may be a good fit with coach Tom Thibodeau’s new approach on offense.

“You have to be ready to come in and knock down shots,’’ Grimes said. “It’s definitely an adjustment — my first time ever coming off the bench or even sitting the first 46 minutes. You got to be locked in and watching the whole game. You can’t worry about if your number’s not called.’’

Grimes and fellow rookie guard Miles McBride have both been relegated to the end of the bench during preseason after making strong impressions in Summer League. However, Thibodeau indicated that he has plans for both guards.

“They are going to be good players,” he said. “It started in the Summer League, fall workout and then training camp. When it comes to get in there, get the job done. That’s what I love about both guys. Quentin went in, Miles went in right at the end of the game. Both of them played really well.”

There’s more from New York:

Mitchell Robinson continues to make progress in his return from a broken foot and may be ready for Friday’s preseason finale, Berman adds. Thibodeau considers Robinson to be a practice away from being cleared for full contact, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday.
Nerlens Noel will miss his third straight preseason game tonight, and he tells Berman that he’s more concerned about a hamstring injury than his knee (Twitter link).
After years of being known for turmoil, the Knicks are enjoying a calm preseason, especially compared to their Atlantic Division rivals in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, notes Peter Botte of The New York Post. The new front office has worked to create a drama-free environment, and Thibodeau is happy with the results. “You never come in not looking forward to seeing them, being with them and working together,” he said of his players. “And when you get a group that makes that type of commitment to not only themselves but to each other, it’s special. And we’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s not going to be easy. But I look forward to doing it with these guys. They’re special.”

Atlantic Notes: Celtics Lineup, Clark, Noel, Sixers

September 22nd, 2021 at 7:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams and Marcus Smart seemingly locked into starting spots for the Celtics, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston explores the possibilities for the fifth starter. The most likely candidates are Aaron Nesmith, Josh Richardson, Al Horford and Dennis Schröder — Forsberg takes a closer look at what each player could bring to the starting unit.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Free agent Gary Clark worked out for the Celtics, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. Clark, a 6’6” forward, played 39 games in the league last season, including 35 with the Magic. He also played two games apiece for Denver and Philadelphia.
Knicks center Nerlens Noel has filed an amended complaint against super-agent Rich Paul, which includes an October 2017 letter from the legal counsel for Noel’s prior agent, Happy Walters, stating that the decision to reject the Mavericks’ $70MM offer “placed Noel at serious professional and financial risk,” Darren Heitner of SportsAgentBlog tweets. Noel sued Paul and Klutch Sports last month, claiming that he fired Walters in favor of Paul because Paul told him he could get a max contract. Paul also allegedly told Noel to turn down Dallas’ extension offer.
The Sixers have signed a deal with Crypto.com to be their new jersey patch partner, according to a team press release. According to Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the multiyear deal is worth eight figures annually and is among the top five most lucrative jersey ad deals in the league.

Scotto’s Latest: Cavs, Bulls, J. Smith, D. Jordan, Dudley, More

September 1st, 2021 at 3:29pm CST by Luke Adams

There were some “intense” talks in the Lauri Markkanen sign-and-trade negotiations between the Cavaliers and Bulls for several days leading up to their agreement last week, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype said in his latest podcast with Yossi Gozlan.

According to Scotto, Cleveland originally wanted to include three second-round picks in their offer for Markkanen, but Chicago insisted on receiving a first-rounder, and the Cavs were able to get one from Portland for Larry Nance Jr. and reroute it to the Bulls.

Even after securing that first-round pick, the Bulls held out for a second-rounder on top of that, according to Scotto, who says some of the parties involved in those negotiations were frustrated by what they perceived to be a moving of the goal posts. Eventually though, the Cavs sent a protected second-round selection to Chicago to get the deal done.

Here’s more from Scotto:

Second-year big man Jalen Smith has been made available by the Suns, multiple sources tell Scotto. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report stated last month that Phoenix was gauging interest in Smith, and I speculated earlier this week that the former lottery pick could be in play if the Suns make a trade offer for Spurs forward Thaddeus Young.
Scotto reports that the Nets have offered a first-round pick swap in trade talks involving center DeAndre Jordan, but haven’t found any takers. The two sides are reportedly exploring a buyout.
Jared Dudley told Scotto that he planned to retire if the Lakers didn’t re-sign him, since he didn’t want to play anywhere else. When L.A. chose to move on, Dudley accepted an assistant coaching job with the Mavericks.
The Bulls are among the teams that have shown some interest in free agent wing James Ennis, according to Scotto.
When he re-signed with the Knicks, Nerlens Noel wasn’t assured the starting center job, but he’ll get a chance to compete for that role and will “definitely” play meaningful minutes, says Scotto.