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Northwest Notes: Lillard, Conley, Wolves, K. George

November 10th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The final chapter of Damian Lillard‘s fruitful 11-year relationship with the Trail Blazers was a somewhat acrimonious one, with both sides taking criticism for how they handled Lillard’s trade request this offseason. When the star guard asked out of Portland, he demanded to be sent to a specific team (Miami), and the Blazers responded by taking months to make a deal and ultimately sending him somewhere else (Milwaukee).

Still, Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is confident that time will heal any wounds that this summer’s saga created, as he tells Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports.

“Sooner or later, talks will be had,” Billups said. “Emotion will be down and that will heal itself. I really believe that. At the end of the day, what Dame did for the organization has never been done before. He’s gonna go down as the greatest. And also what this organization did for Dame was incredible. They had an incredible two-way relationship for the entire time.”

While there may be some fences in need of mending between Lillard and Portland’s front office – including general manager Joe Cronin – Billups says he stayed out of the team’s trade talks and has remained close with Lillard, who was a friend even before Billups was hired by the Blazers.

“We’ve had several [conversations], even when [the trade discussions] first started,” Billups told Goodwill. “I already knew, even however this goes, it’s not gonna change our relationship, our friendship. We talk about very personal things, we talk about hoop at times. And we’ve talked several times since it’s been over. I’m happy for him.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • Even if Rudy Gobert‘s strong early-season play continues, it’s hard to imagine the trade that sent him from Utah to Minnesota ever looking like a big win for the Timberwolves, given what they gave up to get him. But Wolves fans should feel good about the other trade the team made with Utah last season, according to Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune, who says point guard Mike Conley has been an ideal fit in Minnesota. “If you heard the reports about Mike Conley before he came here, you’d have thought he was broken down and had to be wrapped in bubble plastic everyday,” head coach Chris Finch said. “That has certainly not been the case. I think he’s exceeded our expectations by a long mile — on and off the floor.”
  • Multiple scouts who spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype are confident that the Timberwolves‘ hot start this season is sustainable. “Anthony Edwards is a top-10 player in the NBA right now,” one scout said. “He’s the real deal and plays both sides of the ball. Minnesota has two top-10 NBA defenders: Rudy Gobert, with his rim protection, and Jaden McDaniels, one of the best defenders on the perimeter. People forget they played Denver tough the last few games of their series. I think they can be a real threat in the West.”
  • Keyonte George‘s first career start – which came Wednesday on the day he turned 20 – was “the best birthday present you could ever ask for,” he said this week. It also felt like the start of a new era for Utah’s backcourt, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, who points out that a notable former Jazz point guard, Deron Williams, also made his first start in his ninth career game 18 years ago. Expecting George to emulate Williams’ ascent to stardom is probably unfair, but his teammates were impressed by how the rookie responded to the promotion. “(It) was a really good showing in terms of Keyonte at the point, running the show, playing his role,” Jordan Clarkson said. “He’ll have big games scoring points, big games getting assists, it was our first time having him out there, and it was really big time for him.”
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Northwest Notes: Gobert, Edwards, Brogdon, Giddey

November 9th, 2023 at 5:44pm CST by Rory Maher

It’s only been seven games, but the 5-2 Timberwolves have to be encouraged by what they’ve seen from Rudy Gobert, who has looked much more like the player who earned six straight All-Defensive First Team appearances and won three Defensive Player of the Year awards from 2016-22, as opposed to the player who didn’t receive a single vote for an All-Defensive squad last season.

In fact, Gobert believes he’s playing better than he ever has, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details.

“Not even my old self. I feel better than I’ve ever felt because I feel like I’m stronger than I’ve been,” Gobert said earlier this season. “And I just see the experience that I have now, and you add that to the rest of the abilities that I have, I think that’s the best that I’ve been.”

The Wolves have the league’s top defense thus far in 2023/24 and Gobert has been a major reason why, according to Krawczynski, who writes that the 7’1″ big man has been noticeably more mobile and athletic than he was in ’22/23. Head coach Chris Finch met with Gobert over the summer to stress that the team needed him to be more flexible defensively, and he has been pleased with the 31-year-old’s level of buy-in.

“Being able to keep your mind open and being able to adapt, I think this is the strength of the best teams in the world,” Gobert said, per Krawczynski. “And I feel like right now we are creating our identity. And soon enough, I think people are gonna have to adapt to us and not the opposite.”

Here’s more from the Northwest:

  • Speaking to Shams Charania of Stadium (Twitter video link), Gobert says Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has a chance to be an All-Defensive team member in the future. “The things he can do are incredible,” Gobert said. “He has all the tools to be an All-Defensive type of player. He has the one that you don’t teach, which is the fire, wanting to take every possession personally.” Gobert added that while Edwards is an impressive on-ball defender, he has challenged the former No. 1 overall pick to be better and more alert off the ball.
  • Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon exited Wednesday’s loss to Sacramento due to a left hamstring strain and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest, Portland announced (via Twitter). We’ll have to wait for further updates to see how long the reigning Sixth Man of the Year might be sidelined.
  • Thunder guard/forward Josh Giddey received a technical foul in the second quarter of Monday’s victory over Atlanta, but it has been rescinded, the NBA announced on Thursday (Twitter link). The No. 6 pick of the 2021 draft, Giddey will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason after having his fourth-year option exercised last month.
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Northwest Notes: M. Porter, Gobert, McDaniels, George

October 30th, 2023 at 5:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Michael Porter Jr. had 20 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes against Oklahoma City on Sunday. The Nuggets forward said he’s still recovering from the ankle injury that sidelined him during the preseason.

“My ankle is just starting to feel better. I’m starting to feel more balance in my shot,” Porter told The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando. “And then I didn’t play all preseason. I didn’t really get to finish training camp, so it’s just being out there and getting the feel for it again.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, no stranger to Defensive Player of the Year trophies, says he feels stronger than ever and believes that with the athletes around him, Minnesota can have the best defense in the league, per Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “We have size. We have guys that can move their feet. We have guys that are dogs, competitors,” Gobert said. “Those three things, you put them together, why wouldn’t you want us to be the best defensive team in the league with all those weapons?”
  • Jaden McDaniels will make his debut against Atlanta tonight, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. The Timberwolves forward has been dealing with a left calf injury. He signed a five-year rookie scale extension a week ago.
  • Jazz rookie Keyonte George is getting acclimated to the NBA game, including back-to-backs. He admitted he was “gassed” after playing on consecutive nights, he told Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. “I’m honest with myself and yeah, I was kind of gassed,” George said. “So now that tells me I’ve gotta get more into shape…(Coach Will Hardy) wants us to play extremely hard but the goal is to not be tired. If you’re not tired, you don’t come out of the game and you can impact winning.” The 16th pick of the draft is averaging 19.3 minutes per game.
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Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Hardy, Holiday, Gobert

October 28th, 2023 at 7:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

Last season changed dramatically for Russell Westbrook when he landed with the Clippers, and he’s grateful to the Jazz for the role they played in making it happen, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Westbrook spent 12 days on Utah’s roster in February after a trade that ended his embattled relationship with the Lakers. The veteran guard agreed to a buyout when the opportunity with the Clippers arose, but he said he was willing to stay with the Jazz and help the team in any way he could.

“I would have come in and did whatever they asked me to do,” Westbrook said. “I told them I could be a mentor. Whatever I needed to do to help, I would have done it. Like always I do whatever is best for the team. If that’s to come and sit my ass there in street clothes and make sure I help the young guys, I’ll do that.”

Westbrook never left Los Angeles after the trade, Greif adds, but he talked to members of Utah’s coaching staff and front office, along with former teammates, as he considered the possibility of playing for the Jazz. Greif points out that Westbrook wanted to be with a contender, and Utah couldn’t offer that or a guaranteed spot in the rotation. However, team officials told Westbrook they would welcome him if he decided to finish the season there.

“I just wanted to make sure that he knew how much I respect him as a player,” head coach Will Hardy said. “And that whatever the decision ends up being, that he’s always welcome here with me. I’ve had a lot of respect for him for a long time. I’ve been on staffs in San Antonio in particular where we played Oklahoma City in the playoffs a lot, so I’ve seen Russell up close and personal. You know, his reputation speaks for itself.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • Hardy abandoned his four-guard experiment after just one game, observes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. With an abundance of guards worthy of playing time, Hardy used four of them together with one big man at times on opening night, but he never had more than three guards on the court at one time on Friday as the Jazz defeated the Clippers. “The speed of the smaller lineup feels good and looks good in practice, because there’s times where you’re like, ‘Man, they’re really moving and they’re pressuring the ball!’ And then you get in a game and it’s not quite the same,” Hardy said. “You find out, ‘Man, we didn’t rebound well, and offensively it was just OK.’”
  • There was speculation that Justin Holiday might see rotation minutes with the Nuggets, but it doesn’t appear like it’s going to happen right away, tweets Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “It’s great to have guys like Justin, guys like DeAndre (Jordan), who understand that right now we’re gonna play our young guys,” coach Michael Malone said. “And they’re gonna stay ready and be pros while awaiting their opportunity.”
  • Rudy Gobert claims to be in the best shape of his career as he enters his second season with the Timberwolves, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).
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Wolves’ Connelly Talks Gobert, KAT, Edwards, Milton

September 22nd, 2023 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

As we relayed on Thursday, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly spoke during an appearance on The Jon Krawczynski Show about the team’s desire to keep Jaden McDaniels around for the long term, telling Krawczynski that he’d love to get an extension done with the young forward before the season begins.

Connelly’s comments about McDaniels weren’t the only interesting takeaway from that conversation. As Krawczynski writes for The Athletic, the Wolves’ lead decision-maker also addressed several other topics related to the club’s offseason and expectations for the 2023/24 season, including why Minnesota is more optimistic about the pairing of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns heading into their second year together.

“We don’t have too much video, but we have enough video to understand where we were wrong and where we were right and kind of drill down on those things that were working and say, ‘Maybe we were wrong with this is how things potentially could work,'” Connelly said. “So I just think collectively, knowing all the actors is going to make things a whole lot easier.”

Here are a few more highlights from Connelly during his interview with Krawczynski:

On whether the Wolves viewed 2022/23 as a down year for Gobert:

“I think at times we kind of don’t appreciate how impactful it can be (for a player) to make a big move. And the first one. So I think Rudy was very good last year by NBA standards. I thought by his standards, I don’t think he played up to his standards. I think he’d be the first to tell you. He was coming off a brutal European championship where I think he played until maybe eight days before the season. Nobody works harder than Rudy. Nobody pays more attention and detail to every single aspect of his game, his body, his mental approach. And he’s super, super excited to have a more comfortable season both on and off the court.”

On why he has big expectations for Anthony Edwards this season:

“I think he’s primed to have a monster year. … His work ethic has been insane this offseason. I mean, the guy’s in the best shape of his life. He’s so excited to take the next step, excited with the guys on this team and what they can do as they grow together. But I think with him, anything that’s not sincere or not kind of true to who he is, I think he smells it out quickly. So him forging his path, I think is the challenge that we’ve given him. And how can we help ensure he’s doing it in a way that’s reflective of who he is?”

On the role the Wolves envision for free agent addition Shake Milton:

“We view Shake as a point guard. He’s started enough NBA games at that position where we feel confident that he can handle that load. He’s a guy that, when given the opportunity, he always produced and produced for good teams. Philadelphia has won as many games as anybody in the last three or four years. So we were excited to get him in. I think it gives us a different look with size at that position, his ability to score around the paint and his ability to be a good match for our bigs. He can make some of the passes that, at 6’5″, 6’6″, he’s allowed to make that maybe smaller guards can’t make. So we’re excited about him.”

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Northwest Notes: Lillard, Henderson, Markkanen, Gobert, Towns

September 21st, 2023 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Appearing on the “It Is What It Is” podcast, Damian Lillard said he wasn’t upset when the Trail Blazers used their lottery pick to draft Scoot Henderson. The electrifying point guard is projected to be Lillard’s eventual replacement as the star of Portland’s backcourt, but Lillard won’t mind sharing the court with the rookie until he gets the trade he wants.

“Me and Scoot, we’ve had a few conversations with him coming into the league,” Lillard said. “That wasn’t a deal breaker for me at all. I respect his game. I think in that position he was the best player available, so that’s what you’ve gotta do if you’ve got the pick. But no, I wasn’t offended at all, because at the end of the day, you’ve gotta come in and play. I’ve been doing this for a long time, so to me that wasn’t a knock on me or anything.”

With trade talks between the Blazers and Heat reportedly at a standstill and other teams reluctant to make their best offers because of Lillard’s preference to play in Miami, it appears there’s a good chance that Lillard and Henderson will begin the season as teammates.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • Lauri Markkanen is one of the best values in the NBA, but the Jazz need to consider his future beyond his current contract, writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Markkanen has two seasons left at $17.3MM and $18MM, with only a $6MM guarantee for the final year. Larsen notes that Utah can either let him play out the deal and take advantage of about $41MM in cap space next summer or renegotiate the final year and sign him to an extension. The new CBA places a 140% limit on extensions, so Markkanen would have to get to about $35MM in 2024/25 to be eligible for a max deal of $49MM the following season.
  • The Timberwolves are hoping for improvement in the second year of the Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns pairing, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic states in an overview of Minnesota’s roster. He adds that Gobert was dealing with knee soreness following EuroBasket last fall while Towns missed most of training camp because of an infection, so there’s hope that better health will lead to better results.
  • The Minnesota Board of Medical Practice has fined Timberwolves assistant trainer Jesse Geffon $500 for treating players without a license for part of last season, per Paul Walsh of The Star-Tribune. Geffon joined the team in September, but didn’t apply for his license until February.
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Timberwolves Notes: Payne, Payton, Chandler, Edwards, Towns

September 16th, 2023 at 9:12am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Timberwolves are “kicking the tires” on free agent point guard Cameron Payne, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). However, as of Friday morning, the team hadn’t extended an offer to the veteran guard, per Wolfson.

Payne, 29, averaged 10.3 points and 4.5 assists in 48 games with the Suns last year, becoming a reliable rotation point guard for Phoenix. The 6’1″ guard closed out his Suns tenure with a 31-point game in the playoffs against Denver. Phoenix traded him to San Antonio this offseason in order to open up a roster spot, then he was waived by the Spurs on Monday.

Minnesota has also had a couple point guards – Elfrid Payton and Kennedy Chandler – in for workouts during the last few weeks, according to Wolfson. However, neither guard was offered a contract following their respective workouts.

Payton, 29, holds career averages of 10.1 points and 5.7 assists in 500 NBA games. The 6’3″ guard hasn’t appeared in a game since the 2021/22 season. Chandler, 21, spent last season with Memphis after being drafted with the No. 38 overall pick in the 2022 draft. However, the former Tennessee guard was waived in April. He averaged 2.2 points in 36 appearances in his lone NBA season so far.

We have more from the Timberwolves:

  • Anthony Edwards‘ ascension from young star to potential superstar was obvious during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, though one of his most impressive moments came off the court, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer opines. Fischer writes that Edwards was asked a question about which teammate he’d rather trade: Karl-Anthony Towns or Rudy Gobert. After initially ignoring it, Edwards circled back to the question. “Neither one, man,” Edwards said. “I like all my teammates. I love them. They my brothers. I wouldn’t trade neither one of them.” In his journey to superstardom, Fischer writes, Edwards’ leadership shined this summer.
  • In his annual NBA player tier rankings, The Athletic’s Seth Partnow placed Towns in his Tier 4B, defining him as a “sub-elite” big. The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski joined Partnow to go through his logic for placing Towns between the 55th and 66th-best players in the league in his ranking. Partnow reasons that while Towns’s offensive production is tremendous, his defense and availability leave much to be desired.
  • In case you missed it, the Timberwolves signed guard Vit Krejci to a training camp deal on Thursday.
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International Notes: Sneed, Parker, Gobert, Nembhard, Prospects

September 9th, 2023 at 8:38am CST by Tristan Tucker

Former Hornets wing Xavier Sneed signed with Italian club Happy Casa Brandisi, the team announced in a release. This will be Sneed’s first professional experience in Europe.

Sneed, 25, finished last season with Charlotte on a two-way deal before being waived in early August. He appeared in just four games last year, putting up a total of 17 points during that time. Sneed also spent time with the Grizzlies and the Jazz in 2021/22. In total, he has 13 NBA appearances under his belt.

The Kansas State product has spent more time in the G League, mostly with Charlotte’s affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. In 60 regular season career G League games split between Greensboro and Utah’s affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, Sneed averaged 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds.

We have more International Notes:

  • France had a rough go in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, failing to reach the second round despite having NBA players like Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum. France gets an automatic bid for the 2024 Olympics due to being the host country, but was still looking to make an impact in the World Cup. Hall of Famer and French national team legend Tony Parker spoke on the loss, calling it “disappointing,” per Sarah Todd of Deseret News. Parker didn’t specifically call out any players but hinted that big names, including possibly Gobert, could be on the way out, Todd writes. “They are going to have big choices to make,” Parker said. “If you bring back big players like Joel Embiid and [Victor Wembanyama], it has to be complementary with the rest, because it could mean the departure of certain cornerstones, which can make headlines.“
  • RJ Nembhard, who spent the 2021/22 season with the Cavaliers, is signing with Belgium’s Filou Oostende, Eurohoops reports. Nembhard, 24, is being added to offset the loss of fellow former NBAer Patrick McCaw, whose visa issues are preventing him from joining Oostende, according to Eurohoops. Nembhard has 14 games of NBA experience, mostly while playing on a two-way deal with Cleveland, and totaled 15 points and 12 assists in those games.
  • The 2023 World Cup was a great opportunity for younger players across the world to get competitive, meaningful minutes early in their career. HoopsHype’s Alberto De Roa takes a look at some of the top prospects from the event, including NBA draftees Rokas Jokubaitis and Gui Santos. Both Jokubaitis and Santos, whose draft rights are held by the Knicks and Warriors, respectively, looked like future NBA rotation pieces, according to De Roa.
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And-Ones: Ignite, 2024 Draft, Unsuccessful Pairings, Eddy Curry

September 7th, 2023 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The G League Ignite’s impressive collection of talent was on display Wednesday night in Nevada, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. Six players who may be selected in next year’s draft were on the court for the Ignite, and a seventh, Thierry Darlan of France, missed the game against Perth, Australia, with an ankle injury.

The biggest attraction was guard Ron Holland, whom Hollinger considers the “betting favorite” to be the top pick in 2024. Hollinger adds that Holland isn’t a clear-cut No. 1 choice like Victor Wembanyama was this year, but he looked good in his first pro game, using a mix of explosiveness and ferocity to put up 23 points.

“Ron is very, very competitive” Ignite coach Jason Hart said. “So now I’m wanting to channel it to where the opposition doesn’t know if you’re mad or you’re happy. I just told him to relax, calm down … I think he heard me. But that’s going to be a process because he’s so competitive, and I don’t want to take that from him. That’s his thing; he’s just has to learn how to use it.”

Matas Buzelis and Izan Almansa, who are projected to be top-10 picks, also showed off their skills, Hollinger adds, along with Tyler Smith, London Johnson and Perth prospects Alex Sarr and Ben Henshall. The teams will meet again on Friday.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

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Northwest Notes: Lillard, Gobert, Alexander-Walker, Clarkson

September 2nd, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The market for Damian Lillard would have been limited even without his insistence on playing for the Heat, Sean Deveney writes in a Forbes article. Two months have passed since Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, and an unidentified executive tells Deveney that not many teams would have pursued Lillard regardless of his preference.

“I don’t think anyone likes the idea of Dame coming in and forcing the Blazers’ hand like this, forcing them to take a deal from a team that does not have the assets,” the executive said. “That’s a bad precedent, and it is one we are seeing too much of. But if Dame had not said, ‘Miami or nothing,’ where else was Portland really going to go for a deal? Maybe Brooklyn? But where else? There’s not that many teams that are going to give you a bunch of players and picks for a 33-year-old who can’t stay healthy and has a giant contract sitting there.”

Lillard will make about $215MM over the next four years, including a two-year extension he signed last summer that will pay him $58.5MM when he’s 35 and $63MM when he’s 36. There are also injury concerns after Lillard was shut down early the past two seasons.

The Heat are one of the few teams willing to absorb that deal, Deveney adds, and Lillard is a good fit with their other personnel, so Miami would have been a natural destination even if Lillard hadn’t mentioned the city.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • After a disappointing World Cup run with France, Rudy Gobert is looking forward to starting his second season with the Timberwolves, per Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops. Gobert said there were a lot of adjustments to deal with last season, but he saw positive developments, even though it ended with a first-round playoff ouster. “We didn’t go as far as we wanted to go but we were resilient,” he said. “We had a lot of injuries and a lot of things that didn’t go our way. But we kept fighting. I liked the mindset that we had. Especially in the playoffs.”
  • Nickeil Alexander-Walker is looking forward to having stability when he reports to Timberwolves camp, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Alexander-Walker has been traded three times in his four-year career, but he signed a two-year, $9MM contract with Minnesota this summer.
  • After scoring 34 points as the Philippines closed out World Cup play with a win over China, Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson told fans in Manila that he plans to continue playing for the national team, BasketNews relays. “I do not think this was my last performance with this jersey,” Clarkson said. “I have more time, and I still can hoop.”
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