- Within his latest mailbag, Jason Quick of The Athletic says the Trail Blazers are gaining hope that Zach Collins (ankle surgery) can return by the postseason. Quick also believes LaMarcus Aldridge would be a great fit (and a great reunion story) for Portland if he’s available on the buyout market.
Marvin Bagley III‘s latest injury makes his future with the Kings even cloudier, according to Jason Jones of The Athletic. Bagley is out indefinitely after suffering a fractured left hand on Monday. The career of the 2018 draft’s No. 2 overall pick has been sidetracked by injuries. He missed 20 games as a rookie with knee and back injuries and played just 13 games last season due to a broken right thumb and foot sprain. Bagley’s hand injury will hinder the Kings’ ability of evaluating how he fits long-term but his $11.3MM salary for next season may scare away some teams from dealing for the big man, Jones adds.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- LaMarcus Aldridge would be a better fit with the Suns than the Lakers or Trail Blazers, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic opines. The Spurs are sitting the veteran power forward while seeking to trade him or buy him out. Aldridge would benefit from the Suns’ superior ball movement, Rankin argues, as he will not only get more shot attempts with them but also quality looks from up top and in the lane.
- Cameron Johnson remained out of action on Monday due to the league’s health and safety protocols, Rankin tweets. The second-year Suns small forward hasn’t played since March 2. The 2019 lottery pick is averaging 10.4 PPG.
- The Lakers have a number of major decisions upcoming, beginning with their approach to the trade deadline and buyout market. The Athletic’s Jovan Buha and Danny Leroux explore those issues, as well as a look at free agency this summer and whether to re-sign Dennis Schröder.
Cam Reddish is showing progress, but the Hawks swingman will be sidelined at least two more weeks. Reddish, who has missed the last nine games due to Achilles soreness, has been cleared to remove his walking boot and will now start low-level rehab activities, Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The 2019 lottery pick, who is averaging 11.2 PGG and 4.0 RPG this season, hasn’t played since February 21.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Another key Hawks player, forward De’Andre Hunter, could return to action as soon as Thursday, GM Travis Schlenk told Mike Conti of 92.9 The Game (Twitter link). Hunter, who is averaging 17.2 PPG and 5.4 APG, has not played since January 29 and underwent meniscus surgery on his right knee in early February. Free agent acquisition Kris Dunn, who hasn’t played this season due to an ankle injury, could make his Atlanta debut during the team’s upcoming eight-game road swing.
- Aaron Gordon‘s name has popped up frequently in trade rumors, prompting The Athletic’s Josh Robbins, Jason Quick, and Jon Krawczynski to break down the prospects of a Gordon trade to the Trail Blazers or Timberwolves. The discussion concludes that it’s unlikely the Magic would be offered a sufficient package from either team for the starting forward, whose contract expires after next season.
- Heat guard Avery Bradley was listed as questionable for Tuesday night’s game against the Cavaliers but he did not dress, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. Bradley has missed 19 consecutive games due to a right calf strain.
Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has been cleared to return to action for Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans, Jason Quick of The Athletic tweets.
McCollum suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot on January 16 against the Hawks. McCollum, whose injury was initially diagnosed as a sprain, has missed 25 games with Portland going 14-11 during that span.
The high-scoring guard was off to a hot start prior to the injury, averaging 26.7 PPG and 5.0 APG in 13 games while shooting 44.1% from deep. Damian Lillard‘s backcourt partner averaged 22.2 PPG and 4.4 APG last season.
McCollum signed a three-year, $100MM extension in 2019 that goes through the 2023/24 season.
The Blazers entered the week tied for fifth place in the Western Conference. The return of one of Portland’s key players could increase the chances of the team being a buyer prior to the March 25 trade deadline.
The Lakers announced on Friday that Anthony Davis would miss at least the next two weeks as he continues to recover from his right calf strain and tendinosis. However, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Davis is unlikely to return immediately after the end of that two-week timeline.
Sources tell Haynes that the Lakers’ star forward/center is expected to be out for the next three weeks, and potentially longer than that. Even if Los Angeles slips a little more in the standings without Davis in its lineup, the team wants to be cautious in its handling of one of its two superstars, Haynes writes.
Including the game in which Davis went down, the Lakers have lost seven of their last 11, but they’re still comfortably holding a playoff spot in the West — they’re the No. 3 seed, at 25-13.
Here’s more from Haynes:
- Injured Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (wrist) plans on making his return in about two weeks, sources tell Yahoo Sports. CJ McCollum (foot) said over the weekend that he’s aiming to return this week, so Portland could get two key starters back in its lineup before the end of the month.
- According to Haynes, Celtics center Tristan Thompson is a candidate to be moved prior to next Thursday’s trade deadline, with the Raptors among his possible landing spots. The Toronto native has long been linked to his hometown team, and while nothing has ever come of those rumors, a union would make more sense now that the Raptors are in the market for an upgrade at center.
- Cavaliers center JaVale McGee – who has drawn interest from contenders, including the Nets – isn’t entertaining a buyout, so if he changes teams, it will be via trade, says Haynes. While Brooklyn may prefer his teammate Andre Drummond, McGee’s modest $4.2MM salary will make him easier to move in a deal.
- We passed along a few more items from Haynes earlier today, including notes on DeMar DeRozan, John Wall, and Hassan Whiteside.
The Trail Blazers are among the teams showing interest in Aaron Gordon, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who says the Magic have been open to listening to calls about the veteran forward. The Timberwolves have also been linked to Gordon multiple times since the 2020 offseason, and Charania indicates that Minnesota remains interested.
Gordon is dealing with an ankle sprain that has limited him to just one game since the start of February. He returned to action on Thursday, but logged just 14 minutes and has sat out the last two games due to “injury management.” If he’s healthy, the 25-year-old would be an intriguing fit on a Blazers squad that features star guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, as well as center Jusuf Nurkic.
Presumably, a Blazers offer would start with Rodney Hood‘s expiring $10MM+ contract for salary-matching purposes (Hood’s salary for 2021/22 is non-guaranteed). Portland would need about an additional $3MM in outgoing salary to sufficiently match Gordon’s $18MM+ cap hit, but would probably like to send out even more than that to avoid going into tax territory. That would make Enes Kanter ($5MM) a possible trade candidate, though he has had a nice season.
The Magic, meanwhile, would likely target young players like Gary Trent Jr., Nassir Little, Anfernee Simons, and CJ Elleby — some of those prospects would be more available than others, from Portland’s perspective. The Blazers would also be able to offer any first-rounders starting with their 2023 selection, since they’ve traded away their 2021 pick.
If Portland looks to upgrade its frontcourt without giving up multiple assets, LaMarcus Aldridge would be an option. According to Charania, the Blazers, Heat, and Celtics are considered the top contenders for Aldridge if he receives a buyout, though the Spurs remain focused on finding a trade.
- Blazers star CJ McCollum is hoping to return next week from a broken left foot, Jason Quick of The Athletic writes. “Friday’s workout went well; how I expected it to go,” McCollum said. “I’ll be back soon, as long as everything continues to go the way it’s been going.” McCollum, who has averaged 26.7 points per game in 13 contests this season, has been sidelined since January 16.
- Timberwolves guard Jaylen Nowell received an expanded role in the team’s game against the Blazers on Saturday, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune writes. Nowell scored 17 points and grabbed four rebounds in the loss, playing the final minutes despite starting the contest on the bench. “I’m just focused on being aggressive whenever I catch it, making sure I can make a play,” said Nowell, who recently spoke to our Ben Stinar about his impressive season to date. “The one difference that I might say would be when I’m initiating offense, making sure I get guys in spots, making sure I keep the ball moving, making sure the ball doesn’t get stagnant. That’s probably the only difference when I’m in with that second unit rather than the first.”
- Despite Damian Lillard‘s repeated insistence that he wants to spend the rest of his career in Portland – and the contract extensions he has signed to back up that stance – it sometimes seems as if everyone wants him to seek a title elsewhere, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who explores why that’s the case and what a title with the Trail Blazers would mean for Lillard and the franchise.
- In his list of players returning from injuries who could impact the playoff race, Matt Eppers of USA Today has Trail Blazers teammates CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic sharing the top spot. Neither play was active on Thursday, but they’re both believed to be close to returning.
The Trail Blazers have held their 15th roster spot open for the entire regular season so far, but hope to fill that spot in the coming weeks via the trade or buyout market, says Jason Quick of The Athletic. According to Quick, Portland will be looking to add a player who will “unquestionably be in the rotation for the remainder of the season.”
Quick cautions that the Blazers likely won’t make a major move like they did in 2017 when they acquired Jusuf Nurkic at the deadline — the goal will simply be to add a player who is more productive and/or reliable than back-of-the-rotation contributors such as Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, and Rodney Hood.
A wing who can shoot would be an ideal addition, according to Quick, who notes that Bulls forward Otto Porter is a player that Blazers president Neil Olshey has liked for a long time. Porter would only be a realistic target if he’s bought out.
If Portland can’t find a wing who can shoot, the club may shift its focus to addressing the backup point guard spot, per Quick. Simons has been handling that role for much of the year and has shot the ball well, but his ball-handling has been a little shaky.
Here’s more on the Blazers:
- The Blazers still haven’t set exact dates for their respective returns, but there’s a sense that CJ McCollum (foot) and Jusuf Nurkic (wrist) are days, not weeks, away from getting back on the court, according to Quick.
- A source tells The Athletic that Portland isn’t considering signing big man DeMarcus Cousins, who reached the free agent market last month.
- In addition to having an opening on their 15-man roster, the Blazers also have an open two-way contract slot. However, the club has no plans to fill that opening, since any two-way player would just be “a warm body” on the bench, says Quick.
- The Blazers are about $1.8MM below the luxury tax line and are “adamant” about not crossing that threshold, which will be a factor in what trades they’re able to make and how much they’re willing to offer to players on the buyout market.
All seven of the 10-day contracts that were signed during the final week of February have now expired. As our 10-day tracker shows, that list included three Nets deals (Tyler Cook, Iman Shumpert, and Andre Roberson), along with contracts signed by the Pelicans (Sindarius Thornwell), Raptors (Donta Hall), Lakers (Damian Jones), and Kings (Norvel Pelle).
None of those players have been re-signed to a second 10-day deal so far, but that comes as no surprise. The five teams that had players on 10-day contracts won’t begin their second-half schedules until Thursday at the earliest (Friday for the Lakers), so it doesn’t make sense to sign someone to a 10-day contract now and waste the first few days of the deal.
That doesn’t mean that all the players listed above will get a second 10-day stint with their respective teams later this week, but some of them seem like good bets to stick around a little longer. Jones, for instance, looked good during his 10 days as a Laker, putting up eight points in eight minutes in his first appearance and earning a start in Sacramento last Wednesday.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that the Lakers and Pelicans are now carrying 13 players on standard contracts, while the Nets are carrying just 12. The NBA requires teams to have a minimum of 14 players under contract (not counting two-ways), but clubs are permitted to dip below that minimum for two weeks at a time.
So even if those three clubs decide not to bring back the same players on 10-day contracts, they’ll have to add a player (two players in Brooklyn’s case, but one will be Blake Griffin) at some point during the next couple weeks.
The Jazz are also in this boat, but will have to add a player even sooner. They dipped to 13 players on standard contracts when they waived Shaquille Harrison on February 24, so we can probably expect them to sign a player to a 10-day deal before the second-half schedule gets underway this week.
The Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Rockets, Clippers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Suns, Trail Blazers, Kings, Spurs, and Raptors also have openings on their 15-man rosters, but aren’t under any pressure to fill them in the near future, since they’re all at the 14-player minimum.
Most teams with open roster spots will fill them before the end of the regular season, but for the time being, it makes sense for those teams to either hold them open or fill them with players on 10-day deals in order to maximize their roster flexibility for the March 25 trade deadline.