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Grizzlies’ Steven Adams Out 3-5 Weeks With Knee Sprain

January 24th, 2023 at 9:39pm CST by Rory Maher

Grizzlies starting center Steven Adams is expected to miss three-to-five weeks after spraining the PCL in his right knee on Sunday against Phoenix, Memphis announced (via Twitter).

According to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link), Adams was injured on the final play of the two-point loss to the Suns.

Considering how physical his game is, you would expect Adams to have a lengthy injury history, but he has actually been quite durable — he has played 76-plus games in six of his nine seasons leading up to 2022/23, missing a career-high 14 games two years ago with New Orleans. Unfortunately, he’s likely to exceed that total over the next handful of weeks.

Adams will be tough to replace while he’s out. Not only is he one of the most fearsome screeners in the NBA and a solid defender, he also leads the league in total offensive rebounds (214), offensive rebounding percentage (19.8%), total rebounding percentage (22.2%), offensive rebounds per game (5.1), and is fourth in rebounds per game with a career-high 11.5 in just 27.0 minutes per contest.

The 29-year-old had been especially great on the boards recently, averaging 14.0 rebounds (5.8 offensive) over his past 15 games (27.6 minutes). The Grizzlies are the top rebounding team in the league in part due to his efforts.

With Adams sidelined, Xavier Tillman and Brandon Clarke should see more frontcourt minutes. Memphis is currently 31-16, the No. 2 seed in the West.

Southwest Notes: Lewis, Morant, Adams, Grizzlies, Kleber

December 14th, 2022 at 7:56pm CST by Rory Maher

Pelicans point guard Kira Lewis played in an NBA game for the first time in a little over a year in Tuesday’s loss to Utah, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. The 21-year-old, who tore the ACL in his right knee last December, finished with four points and one rebound in six minutes.

“It’s been a long year,” Lewis said. “If anything, I have learned patience. With this leg, I couldn’t rush it or nothing. I just had to be patient and take it day by day. Here we are.”

The third-year guard added that the most challenging part of the rehabilitation process wasn’t physical.

“That’s probably the toughest, managing the mental,” he said. “Because you know you can’t play basketball. That’s something you have been doing your whole life. Just take it day by day. Talk to your people. And keep on moving. Use it as motivation.”

The Pelicans picked up Lewis’ fourth-year option for 2023/24, so he’ll earn a guaranteed $5,722,116 next year. Lewis, the No. 13 overall pick of the 2020 draft, will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason.

Here’s more from the Southwest:

Ja Morant and Steven Adams were both sidelined for the Grizzlies in Monday’s blowout victory over the shorthanded Hawks, but they were full participants in Wednesday’s practice and are “trending towards playing” on Thursday against Milwaukee, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Morant is averaging career highs in points (27.7), rebounds (6.6) and assists (7.8), while Adams leads the NBA in offensive rebounds per game (4.8) for the second consecutive season.
The Grizzlies‘ bench has struggled to an extent this season, partly due to injuries, but Monday showed why the second unit has a lot of potential, Cole writes for The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Tyus Jones and Brandon Clarke and had productive games starting in place of Morant and Adams, and some little-used reserves also had strong outings. “We’re deep,” Xavier Tillman said. “It’s a real 15 deep. Nobody’s role is too extreme to where we need them to do more than they’re capable of.” Memphis is currently 18-9, tied with New Orleans for the best record in the West.
Head coach Jason Kidd told reporters on Wednesday that Mavericks big man Maxi Kleber suffered a hyperextended knee in Tuesday’s practice, which is why he was ruled out for Wednesday’s game against Cleveland, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The Mavs are still evaluating Kleber’s condition to determine how much time he might miss.

Injury Notes: Nets, Conley, Prince, Adams

December 10th, 2022 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets will be extremely shorthanded when they visit Indiana on Saturday for the second half of a back-to-back set. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets, Brooklyn has ruled out eight players, including their entire regular starting lineup.

Kevin Durant (right knee injury management), Kyrie Irving (left adductor tightness), Ben Simmons (left knee/calf injury management), Royce O’Neale (personal reasons), Joe Harris (left ankle injury management), Seth Curry (left ankle injury management), Nic Claxton (right hamstring tightness), and T.J. Warren (left foot injury management) will all be unavailable for the Nets.

Those are eight of Brooklyn’s top nine players in terms of minutes per game, so we could see some wonky lineups from the team tonight. The ninth player on that list, Yuta Watanabe, is set to make his return after missing 10 games due to a hamstring injury, so the Nets will likely be hesitant to push him too hard in his first game back.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

After returning from a nine-game injury absence on Friday, Jazz guard Mike Conley will sit out Saturday’s game vs. Denver, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Conley didn’t suffer a setback on Friday — this is a planned rest game to ease him back into things following his knee injury, Jones explains.
Having already missed seven games due to a right shoulder subluxation, Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince is expected to be out for at least one more week, head coach Chris Finch said on Friday. As Dane Moore of Blue Wire Pods tweets, Prince is doing on-court work and making progress, but still has a ways to go.
Grizzlies center Steven Adams had a Pistons player roll into his ankle while he was trying to corral a defensive rebound in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game, writes Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Adams, who limped off the court and didn’t return, will be reevaluated this weekend, but said after the game that he felt OK, per Barnes. Memphis isn’t back in action until Monday, so Adams will have at least a couple days off to rest the ankle.

Southwest Notes: Branham, Adams, Brunson

December 4th, 2022 at 1:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Spurs rookie small forward Malaki Branham, the No. 20 pick in the 2022 draft out of Ohio State, is finding other ways to contribute to San Antonio while mired in a scoring slump, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News.

“He’s going to be really good,” San Antonio guard Devin Vassell said. “I played with him a lot during the summer. I’ve seen the way he can play… As long as we instill confidence in him, he’s going to be fine.”

The 6’5″ swingman, 19, is averaging 5.0 PPG on .327/.250/.750 shooting splits, 1.8 APG, and 1.5 RPG across 16.3 MPG for the Spurs.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

The 13-9 Grizzlies are reaping the benefits of defensive enforcer Steven Adams, recently inked to an extension with the club, as he does battle against top opposing centers, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I feel like that’s what makes (Adams) so great for us all around,” All-Star Memphis point guard Ja Morant said of the 6’11” vet. “Him taking on that challenge to guard the best bigs—being able to limit them and make their shots tough as possible… He’s a big piece to our team, and we’re definitely thankful for him.”
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd suggests that Dallas players have felt the absence of now-Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson off the court as much as on it, per Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “You can ask Josh [Green] and [Dwight Powell] and Maxi [Kleber], those guys in that locker room, when things weren’t going well, he was always someone that’s a calming voice to be positive and try to help you out of a slump,” Kidd said.
In case you missed it, Mavericks president Nico Harrison recently discussed the addition of Kemba Walker, the departure of Brunson, and more.

Western Notes: Leonard, Wiseman, Vassell, Adams

November 7th, 2022 at 8:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There’s no timetable for Kawhi Leonard‘s return to action, though coach Tyronn Lue says things are moving in the right direction, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN reports.

Leonard will miss his eighth straight game when the Clippers host Cleveland on Monday. He was sidelined all of last season while rehabbing from a knee injury and has only appeared in two games this season.

“There’s really not a time frame of when he is going to be back,” Lue said. “The biggest thing is just the testing that he has to go through with the medical and the slow progression of just getting better every single day. And so we’re just taking it day by day right now, not really a timetable.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

James Wiseman has made a minimal impact off the Warriors bench, but coach Steve Kerr says the former No. 2 overall pick can handle the stress of his slow start, Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News tweets. “He knows how to overcome adversity,” Kerr said. “We have to help him because modern life is unforgiving and people don’t take into account organic growth. Everyone wants results right now. It’s not going to be that way.”
Spurs swingman Devin Vassell is hopeful that his minutes limit will soon be lifted, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News. Vassell played 25 minutes apiece in two weekend games after missing four games due to a sore knee. “I was itching to get back out there,” Vassell said. “I’ve been sitting the past couple of games, and I was sitting there watching long enough, so I wanted to be out there.”
The Grizzlies signed Steven Adams to a two-year extension because he’s the anchor of their interior defense. His toughness and strength continues to marvel his teammates, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. “He makes me feel like I shouldn’t be out here,” said forward Brandon Clarke, who often matches up against Adams in practice. “It’s like I’m trying to get the board and he’s not moving. He’s the strongest person I’ve ever played against.” Adams was out of the lineup on Monday due to ankle soreness, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets.

Grizzlies Notes: Adams, Jackson, Brooks

October 10th, 2022 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

While young cornerstones like Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. rightly received much of the credit for the Grizzlies‘ impressive 56-win season in 2021/22, the work that veteran center Steven Adams did for the team on and off the court shouldn’t be overlooked.

As Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes, Adams is comfortable doing the “dirty work” like setting screens on offense and boxing out on defense, and teammates praised his vocal leadership even when he played a limited role in the postseason last spring.

“Culturally, just his personality is a perfect fit,” head coach Taylor Jenkins said. “He’s just a positive impact: on the floor, off the floor.”

The Grizzlies liked what Adams brought to the team enough to offer him a two-year, $25MM+ extension, which he accepted. As Cole relays, the veteran center explained why he chose to sign that deal rather than waiting to become a free agent next summer.

“I never thought that I would be in the league this long,” Adams said. “One of the good things is that it’s with an organization that’s doing something that I believe in. That’s what makes it really enjoyable. The guys, the culture. It’s not really like work.”

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

According to Cole, the Grizzlies gave Adams a list of things to work on in the offseason — those goals included increasing his scoring average (from last season’s 6.9 PPG) and adjusting his defensive game to be able to stay on the floor more often. “He’s excited about the challenges we have laid out for him to continue to be more aggressive on the offensive end, more versatile on the defense end,” Jenkins said.
Jaren Jackson Jr.‘s recovery from a right foot injury remains on track, Jenkins stated last week. The Grizzlies’ standout defensive big man hasn’t experienced any setbacks and has made progress since training camp got underway. “He’s starting to do a little more on the court,” Jenkins said, according to Cole. “No contact still. Full-court running, individual vitamins. He’s not just stationary; he’s doing a little bit more dynamic. A step in the right direction compared to how camp started.” The Grizzlies expect to have “more of an update” on Jackson – who was given a recovery timeline of four-to-six months at the end of June – around the start of the regular season, Jenkins added.
Despite Dillon Brooks‘ up-and-down shooting numbers in recent years, the Grizzlies have consistently played better when he’s on the floor, according to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (subscriber link), who writes that Brooks remains a puzzle to be solved as he enters a contract year. The veteran forward will be an unrestricted free agent in 2023 if he doesn’t sign a contract extension with Memphis before then.
In case you missed it, the Grizzlies made a series of minor roster moves on Monday morning. We have the full story here.

Contract Details: Fernando, Herro, Nance, Adams

October 4th, 2022 at 7:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets used a portion of their mid-level exception to give Bruno Fernando a four-year deal and a guaranteed salary of $2,717,391 for the 2022/23 season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Fernando’s salary will dip to $2,581,522 for 2023/24 before rising back up to $2,717,391 for ’24/25 and increasing to $2,853,260 for ’25/26. As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets, the second and third years of Fernando’s deal are non-guaranteed, while the fourth year is a team option.

Here are some details on a few more new contracts from around the NBA:

Tyler Herro‘s four-year extension with the Heat will pay him annual salaries of $27MM, $29MM, $31MM, and $33MM beginning in 2023/24, for a base value of exactly $120MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The deal also includes $2.5MM in annual incentives that are currently considered unlikely.
Larry Nance Jr.‘s two-year extension with the Pelicans will pay him $10,375,000 in 2023/24 and $11,205,000 in ’24/25, tweets Anil Gogna of NoTradeClause.com. Because Nance’s second-year raise exceeds 5%, he’ll be ineligible to be traded during the 2022/23 season.
Steven Adams‘ two-year extension with the Grizzlies features a flat base salary of $12.6MM in both 2023/24 and ’24/25, with no options or incentives, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Adams’ new deal doesn’t exceed the extend-and-trade limits, so he’ll remain trade-eligible this season.
As expected, the recent contracts signed by Kaiser Gates (Nets), Brandon Rachal (Nets), and Sacha Killeya-Jones (Thunder) all included Exhibit 10 language.

Grizzlies Sign Steven Adams To Two-Year Extension

October 1st, 2022 at 4:13pm CST by Rory Maher

4:13pm: The Grizzlies have officially confirmed Adams’ extension (via Twitter).

4:07pm: Starting center Steven Adams is signing a two-year, $25.2MM extension with the Grizzlies, his agent Darren Matsubara tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Adams will earn $17.9MM in 2022/23, so he’ll actually receive a $5.3MM decrease in annual pay on his new deal with Memphis, which will kick in starting in ’23/24. Wojnarowski calls Adams “an immense culture piece” for a young Grizzlies squad who won 56 games last season.

Despite playing just 26.3 minutes per night in ’21/22, a relatively low average for a starter, Adams led the league in total offensive rebounds (349) and offensive rebounding percentage (17.9%), pulling down an average of 4.6 offensive boards per contest in his first season with Memphis. He’s also one of the league’s strongest players and a bone-crushing screener.

While injuries have sapped some of Adams’ athleticism in recent years, he has evolved his game to adapt. He averaged career-highs of 10.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last season, the latter an increase of 1.1 over his previous best.

The Grizzlies take advantage of Adams’ passing by running a lot of plays through him in the high post and elbows, using his strength and screening to free the backcourt of Ja Morant and Desmond Bane for open looks. The 29-year-old native of New Zealand is still a solid defender, though not quite as versatile on the perimeter as he once was.

Adams was acquired by Memphis last August as part of the complicated three-team deal that sent Jonas Valanciunas to New Orleans, with multiple draft picks changing hands as well.

In 664 career games with the Thunder, Pelicans and Grizzlies, including 599 starts, Adams holds averages of 9.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists in 26.8 minutes per night. His career field goal percentage (.587) is the eighth-highest mark in league history, the team notes. Adams also has seven seasons of playoff experience, which is undoubtedly valued by a Memphis team hoping to win its first title.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Williamson, Silas, Adams, Lecque

September 29th, 2022 at 8:15am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have never paid the luxury tax but that could change soon, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Owner Gayle Benson is willing to pay the tax, according to Pelicans executive VP David Griffin, since the team has the ability to become a serious contender.

“We’re not bound by, ‘We won’t pay the tax,'” Griffin said. “We will not frivolously pay the tax. If this team is in a position to be as good as we hope to be, I don’t think resources are going to be the reason we won’t get where we need to go.”

The Pelicans are currently approximately $3.6MM below the NBA’s luxury tax line of $150.3MM.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Following a season in which he rehabbed a foot injury, Pelicans big man Zion Williamson left his coach and teammates awestruck in two practices Tuesday, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “What stood out was his force more than anything,” coach Willie Green said. “He got down the floor quickly. When he caught the ball, he made quick decisions. Whether it was scoring, finding a teammate. It was really impressive to see.” Williamson inked a five-year, max extension this summer.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas wasn’t thrilled by what he saw during Wednesday’s practice, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I saw we have a lot of work to do,” Silas said. “(It’s) day two, obviously. We did a good job of putting things in. We scrimmaged quite a bit today and it’s evident, it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s going to be a process for us. We’re going to have to learn from mistakes and watch film and get better as a result.”
Steven Adams taking 3-pointers this season? It’s not out of the question. “He’s definitely putting in the work over the summer,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins told Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I even told him if you’re open, shoot it. I want him to be aggressive.” However, Adams hopes to keep it a secret weapon. He’s only made one 3-pointer in 14 career attempts.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ G League affiliate, acquired the returning player rights to guard Jalen Lecque from the Raptors 905, the team tweets. The Vipers traded away the returning player rights to Christian Vital. Lecque played four games with the Pacers in 2020/21.

Grizzlies Notes: Crowder, Jackson Jr., PF, Clarke, Brooks, Adams, Green

September 26th, 2022 at 3:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Grizzlies star Ja Morant would like to reunite with former teammate Jae Crowder, who is sitting out training camp as the Suns seek a trade partner for the veteran forward. In reply to Crowder’s tweet about seeking work “where he is wanted..where he is needed,” Morant sent out a “back soon” emoji (Twitter link). In a separate tweet, Morant noted that Crowder hit a game-winning three in overtime to help him get his first NBA win.

Crowder didn’t shoot well in 45 games with Memphis in 2019/20, Morant’s rookie season, but he caught fire with Miami after being dealt away. Crowder has spent the past two seasons with Phoenix after signing a three-year, $29MM deal as a free agent in 2020. He’s making $10.2MM in ’22/23, the final season of his contract.

Here’s more from Memphis:

Starting power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. underwent surgery to repair a right foot stress fracture at the end of June, with the team saying he’d miss four-to-six months at that time. At Monday’s Media Day, executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager Zach Kleiman said that timeline remains accurate. However, Jackson said that while he’s unlikely to suit up for opening night, he believes he’s ahead of the team’s schedule (Twitter links via Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian). Jackson hopes to win Defensive Player of the Year in ’22/23 after coming fifth last season, tweets Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I want it badly,” Jackson said.
With Jackson injured, second-year big man Santi Aldama was the first name to pop up as a possible replacement in the starting lineup from both Kleiman and head coach Taylor Jenkins, but Jenkins said that there are a number of other candidates for the role, including Brandon Clarke, Ziaire Williams, Dillon Brooks, Xavier Tillman, David Roddy and Jake LaRavia, so it sounds like there might be a training camp battle for the job, or even fluctuate depending on matchups (Twitter links from Cole).
Speaking about the contract statuses of Clarke, Brooks and Steven Adams, all of whom are extension-eligible, Kleiman didn’t want to go into specifics of negotiations, but he said the Grizzlies like all three players. “We view them as potential long-term pieces of our group,” Kleiman said, per Cole (via Twitter). Clarke would be a restricted free agent in 2023 if he doesn’t receive an extension, while Brooks and Adams would both be unrestricted. In case you missed, we broke down what an extension for Clarke might look like earlier today.
Despite being injured with a torn ACL, it doesn’t sound like veteran wing Danny Green is in danger of being waived anytime soon. “Danny Green is part of this group,” Kleiman said, adding that Memphis expects Green to return in ’22/23. However, his status as a free agent next summer is “to be determined.” (Twitter link via Cole). Green has a nearly $7MM partial guarantee on his $10MM contract this season, so he could be used as a trade chip for salary-matching purposes, but it also makes it expensive to waive him. If the Grizzlies retain Green, Killian Tillie is probably the odd man out, as the team is facing a roster crunch. Tillie will earn a guaranteed $1.9MM this season.