Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Trail Blazers Signing Kris Dunn To 10-Day Hardship Deal

March 13th, 2022 at 10:39am CST by Arthur Hill

Kris Dunn will sign a 10-day hardship contract with the Trail Blazers, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The 27-year-old guard has been out of the NBA since being waived by the Grizzlies in October after one preseason game. He joined the Agua Caliente Clippers in the G League in January and is averaging 11.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 14 games.

The fifth selection in the 2016 draft, Dunn spent his first NBA season with the Timberwolves and then three years with the Bulls. He signed with the Hawks prior to the start of the 2020/21 season, but was only able to play four games before undergoing ankle surgery. Atlanta shipped him to Boston in a three-team trade in August, and the Celtics rerouted him to Memphis in a September deal.

Dunn will provide backcourt depth for the injury-riddled Blazers, who recently lost Anfernee Simons for the next week or two with mild patellar tendinopathy in his left knee.

Portland has a full roster, but can add players through hardship contracts because Damian Lillard, Didi Louzada, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Joe Ingles and Eric Bledsoe are all sidelined with long-term injuries. Drew Eubanks is also on a 10-day hardship deal.

Dunn’s signing will likely take place on Monday, making him eligible to play in six games during the 10-day contract.

Trail Blazers Signing Drew Eubanks To Third 10-Day Deal

March 13th, 2022 at 9:26am CST by Arthur Hill

Drew Eubanks will sign a third 10-day contract with the Trail Blazers, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Eubanks, whose second 10-day deal expires tonight, has been productive during his short time in Portland, averaging 9.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in 10 games. The fourth-year big man turned in one of the best games of his career Saturday night with 20 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the Wizards.

Players are normally limited to two 10-day contracts with the same team in a single season, but the rules were relaxed this year in light of the COVID-19 outbreak that swept through the league. The Blazers, who are missing several players due to long-term injuries, completed Eubanks’ first two 10-day deals using an injury-related hardship exception, so he can continue to play under 10-day agreements.

The Trail Blazers’ next game is Monday, so if he signs his new contract tomorrow, Eubanks will be eligible for six games over the next 10 days.

Young Trail Blazers Are Often Overmatched

March 12th, 2022 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

A depleted roster is a mixed blessing for several young Trail Blazers players, who are getting a chance to prove themselves at the NBA level but are also dealing with the embarrassment of frequent blowouts, notes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Portland has eight players who are 22 or younger, including two-way player Brandon Williams, who moved into the starting lineup this week after an injury to Anfernee Simons. “When times get low, even when times get high, you can’t be nonchalant in this league because you have another game around the corner,” Williams said.

Anfernee Simons Out At Least 1-2 Weeks

March 11th, 2022 at 6:13pm CST by Rory Maher

Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons has been diagnosed with mild patellar tendinopathy in his left knee after an MRI on Thursday, the team announced. He’s set to be reevaluated in one-to-two weeks.

Simons has missed Portland’s last two games while dealing with the injury. Through 57 games this season, the 22-year-old is averaging career-highs of 17.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 29.5 minutes. He sports an efficient shooting slash line of .443/.405/.888 (.583 true).

Simons was the No. 24 overall pick of the 2018 draft. He’s a candidate for the Most Improved Player award after seeing his numbers increase across the board. His emergence this season is a primary reason why the team opted to trade CJ McCollum to the Pelicans last month.

The combo guard will be a restricted free agent this summer and will receive a significant raise on the $3,938,818 he’s making this season. Simons said a few weeks ago that he plans to re-sign with the Blazers.

“I 100% want to stay in Portland,” Simons said, per Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated. “And I think everybody wants me to stay as well. I think it’s a perfect fit for me.”

After losing six straight games, the Blazers are currently 25-40, the No. 11 seed in the West. They trail New Orleans by one-and-a-half games for the final spot in the play-in tournament.

Joe Ingles: “Very Mixed Emotions” About Trade From Jazz To Blazers

March 10th, 2022 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

In the days leading up to the February 10 trade deadline, veteran forward Joe Ingles confirmed he was prepared for the possibility that the Jazz could trade him. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, however, he admitted he was still “a little shocked” when he learned of the trade sending him to the Trail Blazers.

Still, after spending a month with the franchise, Ingles said it has been a “very, very good experience so far,” as Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com relays.

The Blazers have made it clear they weren’t just trading for Ingles’ expiring contract, indicating they have interest in him once he recovers from his ACL surgery. And while Ingles – who is still recovering in Utah for now – has previously talked about the possibility of returning to the Jazz after he becomes a free agent this summer, he’s not ruling out the possibility of a longer-term stay in Portland.

“Just talking to Renae, my wife, over the last few weeks about it, I almost feel like I owe Portland my best,” Ingles said on Wednesday. “They’ve bought in on me, obviously, being here now with everything off the court they’ve set up and helped with, head athletic trainer Jess (Cohen) coming to Chicago to do my surgery with me, make sure everything was good and spending a few days to make sure I got out.

“From top to bottom, I haven’t been around much, I’ve obviously been (in Salt Lake City) but I honestly feel like I’ve got to give them a chance. It would be very unfair of me, I think, for them to kind of buy in on me for now and then for me to walk away at the end of the year like ‘Thanks for getting my surgery and my (physical therapy) sorted, I’m going to leave you here!'”

Here are a few more of the most noteworthy comments Ingles made during his media session:

On his first impressions of the Blazers’ roster and situation:

“Just an exciting, young group that they’ve got now. But obviously a lot of flexibility in the summer as well. Excited to kind of see how it plays out.”

On his plan to eventually move his rehab from Utah to Portland:

“My rehab this whole summer is going to be in Portland. … I’ll head out to Portland for that home stretch of five or six games, whatever it is, at the end of March, I think it is. So I’ll go out there then, spend some time with everybody in Portland, which I think will be good for me, I think it will be good for them. … Excited about the future, I haven’t been a free agent since my second year really.”

On being traded after spending his first seven-and-a-half NBA seasons in Utah:

“I understand the business side of it, I understand the relationships. Eight years is a long time and I’ve built some pretty strong relationships here. And not even just (with the team), in the community, with my wife and what she does as well.

“… Regardless of if I’m injured or not, I still think I could have been an asset down there to help these guys. Knowing (Jazz head coach) Quin (Snyder), knowing the players, knowing what their goals are, I think I definitely could have still been important.

I have mixed emotions about it, obviously. … Very mixed emotions. I still get mad and frustrated some days with it. I’m living like 10 minutes up the road, so it’s annoying that I can’t go hang out — I guess I can hang out with the guys — go to the facility and do all that. It is what it is, like I said, I understand it. Do I necessarily agree with it or not? That could be up for debate… Just an interesting few months for me.”

Trail Blazers Sign Drew Eubanks To Second 10-Day Deal

March 4th, 2022 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

1:47pm: Eubanks’ second 10-day contract is now official, the Blazers announced in a press release. Eubanks will earn $99,380 over the course of the deal, which will run through March 13.

8:11am: The Trail Blazers are signing big man Drew Eubanks to a second 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Eubanks’ first 10-day deal with the team expired overnight.

Eubanks appeared in three games during his first 10 days with Portland, averaging 9.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG on 70.6% shooting in 22.3 minutes per contest. He stepped right into the starting lineup at center due to Jusuf Nurkic‘s foot injury and the club’s limited depth at the position.

Eubanks began the season in San Antonio and was traded to Toronto at last month’s deadline in the Thaddeus Young/Goran Dragic deal. The Raptors immediately waived him, opening the door for him to join the Blazers.

Portland doesn’t have an opening on its 15-man roster, but qualifies for an injury-related hardship exception, since so many players on the roster are sidelined with long-term injuries. Damian Lillard (abdominal surgery), Didi Louzada (knee), Nurkic (foot), Nassir Little (shoulder), Joe Ingles (knee), and Eric Bledsoe (Achilles) are among the players unavailable for the Blazers.

A player is typically ineligible to sign more than two 10-day contracts with the same team in a given season. That restriction hasn’t applied to COVID-related hardship deals, but we haven’t gotten clarity on whether injury-related hardship deals are also exempt. If they are, the Blazers could continue signing Eubanks to short-term deals once his next 10-day contract expires. If they’re not, the team would have to sign him for the rest of the season or let him walk once his second 10-day is up.

The Blazers don’t play again until Saturday. If they wait until tomorrow to officially re-sign Eubanks, he’d be under contract for Portland’s next five games before becoming a free agent on March 15.

Northwest Notes: Nurkic, Wright, MPJ, Arthur

March 1st, 2022 at 6:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, an unrestricted free agent this summer, will be sitting for at least four weeks with a plantar fasciitis injury. John Hollinger of The Athletic reads the tea leaves and examines Nurkic’s potential future in Portland, as well as explaining why the club will likely operate over the cap during the 2022 offseason.

Nurkic is in the final season of a four-year, $48MM deal with the Trail Blazers and has averaged 17.4 PPG, 12.6 RPG and 3.4 APG since the start of 2022. Though the 27-year-old is no longer the shot blocker he was before suffering a compound fracture of his left leg near the end of the 2018/19 NBA season, Hollinger notes that the rest of his game seems more or less to have returned. The 6’11” big man is averaging 15.0 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.1 SPG this year.

As Hollinger writes, the Trail Blazers could sign Nurkic to a contract extension that starts at $14.4MM, a 120% annual increase of his current salary. However, Hollinger believes that Nurkic should be able to net significantly more than that in free agency this summer. If they re-sign Nurkic and retain Josh Hart, the Blazers would likely be an over-the-cap team, allowing them to retain their $20MM+ trade exception.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Injured Timberwolves point guard McKinley Wright IV, currently on a two-way deal with the club, will start taking contact in team practices as he continues to recover from a left UCL issue, per Minnesota’s official PR team (via Twitter). The Timberwolves are set to reassess Wright on Sunday. The 23-year-old rookie out of Colorado has appeared in just three games with Minnesota this year.
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. will soon scrimmage with the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s NBA G League affiliate, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Porter, still working to rehabilitate following a December 1 back surgery, has already resumed one-on-one contact workouts. “You got a 6-foot-10 guy that shoots it like that, and then you start to remind yourself, ‘Man, like, last year, before we had injuries to [guard Jamal Murray], we all felt we had a chance to win it,’” head coach Michael Malone said. “Whenever we get those guys back, this year or next year, we feel the same way. We have a chance to win it when we get fully healthy… As of right now, still in the early steps of trying to re-integrate those guys back slowly, and as they get cleared to do more and more things, then, obviously, we can ramp it up with them.”
The Nuggets have hired former NBA forward Darrell Arthur to serve as a basketball operations associate for the team, Denver announced (Twitter link). Arthur, 33, played for nine NBA seasons, appearing in 503 games. He was with the Nuggets from the 2013/14 season through the 2017/18 season.

Blazers GM Joe Cronin: Josh Hart “A Keeper”

February 28th, 2022 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

When Portland sent CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr. to New Orleans earlier this month in a package headlined by Josh Hart and draft assets, it wasn’t clear if the Trail Blazers actually coveted Hart or if he was a candidate to be flipped to another team by the retooling Blazers.

Speaking to Jason Quick of The Athletic, Blazers interim general manager Joe Cronin made it clear he’s a big fan of Hart and views the veteran wing as a long-term fit with the franchise.

“He’s a keeper,” Cronin said. “Josh embodies what we are trying to build here. The talent level, the skill set, the competitiveness, the IQ, the defensive-minded, guard-anyone approach. His ability to make others better, to make shots, push the ball. … We targeted him, and it’s that type of player who we want. We want to find more Josh Harts at different positions.”

Hart, who will turn 27 on Sunday, has averaged 19.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 4.2 APG on 54.0% shooting in five games (33.6 MPG) since being traded to Portland. He’s under contract for two more years beyond this one, though the structure of his deal is somewhat unusual.

Hart’s $12.96MM salary for 2022/23 is non-guaranteed, so if the Blazers want to maximize their cap room this summer, they could theoretically waive him to create an additional $12MM+ in space, but that appears extremely unlikely. Hart’s $12.96MM salary for 2023/24 is also non-guaranteed. However, he holds a player option for that season, so he could opt out in 2023 to seek a new deal if he has outperformed his current contract.

Here are a few more noteworthy comments from Cronin, via The Athletic:

Cronin tells Quick that he has also been extremely impressed with Justise Winslow, whom the Blazers acquired from the Clippers in their Robert Covington/Norman Powell trade. According to Cronin, Winslow – like Hart – fits “the style and the mentality” the team wants to play with. “Those type of players are not easy to find,” Cronin said. “The Josh Harts of the world, the Justise Winslows of the world, they are not easily attainable. That’s where we are trying to create as many tools and ammunition to be able to go and find those types of players.”
Cronin identified Joe Ingles as a player who “has the unique mix of talent, skillset and mentality we are looking for” and suggested that acquiring him from Utah was “about the player” rather than the expiring contract. I’m a little skeptical of that statement, since I’d be surprised if the Blazers push very hard to re-sign a 34-year-old who will spend a chunk of next season recovering from an ACL tear and who has previously expressed a desire to return to a division rival.
While the Blazers’ deadline deals cleared out a backcourt logjam to a certain extent, Cronin said the team still has to “balance the roster.” However, he’s more concerned about continuing to stockpile talent. “If there is a two guard (in the draft) that is head-and-shoulders above the other positions, we are taking the two guard, then figure it out,” Cronin said. “We can’t dismiss the talent part to be able to compete at the level we want to compete at.”

Damian Lillard Progressing In Abdominal Surgery Rehab

February 27th, 2022 at 5:05pm CST by JD Shaw

Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has progressed through the initial phase of his abdominal surgery rehab without a setback, the team announced today.

Lillard, a five-time All-Star, underwent surgery on January 13 and hasn’t played since. He will begin reconditioning next week and will be reevaluated again in two-to-three weeks.

Lillard has appeared in 29 games this season, averaging 24.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists per contest on a career-low 40% shooting.

Portland has re-shaped its roster in recent weeks, trading away key pieces such as CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and Robert Covington. The team holds a 5-4 record in February and currently sits 10th in the Western Conference standings.

Rival teams have monitored Lillard’s status with the Blazers, who haven’t reached the NBA Finals once in his 10 years with the team. Despite a disappointing season, he recently reiterated his commitment to the team (as relayed by Adam Caparell of Complex Sports).

“I’m loyal to what I believe,” Lillard said. “I do love living in Portland. I do love playing for the Trail Blazers. But I’ve built this. I’ve been part of this for 10 years. I’ve been part of the change here and us being a successful franchise. I know what means something to me in my heart. And that’s winning a championship here.”

Western Notes: Lillard, Blazers, Kings, Lakers, Micić

February 25th, 2022 at 7:37am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on Draymond Green‘s podcast, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard expressed some enthusiasm about the team’s direction, singling out teammates Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, Jusuf Nurkic, and Josh Hart, and suggesting Portland has “got some pieces to the puzzle” and just needs to keep adding to those pieces.

As Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com relays, Lillard also pushed back against the idea that Portland can’t be an appealing free agent destination, arguing that if the Blazers have a chance to seriously contend, they’ll attract talent.

“No offense, but people (are) going to Oklahoma City, people going to Milwaukee, you know what I mean?” Lillard said. “People are going places and Portland ain’t what people think it is, otherwise I wouldn’t have been living here this long. If you just couldn’t live here, I wouldn’t be living here this long.

“I think that’s part of it, but at the end of the day, people are going places that’s like ‘You went there?’ (Carmelo Anthony) went to OKC when we was trying to get ‘Melo to come here. Ask ‘Melo where he would go first. And I’ll say this: not just because of the living situation.”

Here are a few more notes from around the Western Conference:

The Kings‘ trade deadline shake-up create a more positive vibe around the organization, point guard De’Aaron Fox said this week, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “I think the mood is definitely a bit better,” Fox said. “It’s definitely different when guys come into new situations, guys coming from Indiana, guys coming from Detroit and Donte [DiVincenzo] coming from Milwaukee … it’s like a breath of fresh air when you have a change of scenery.”
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel shared a series of injury-related updates on Thursday, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Most notably, Kendrick Nunn (knee) has begun his ramp-up process again following a setback last month, Anthony Davis (foot) is off his crutches, and Carmelo Anthony (hamstring) is probable to return on Friday after missing the team’s last five games.
Speaking to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, veteran international agent Misko Raznatovic expressed dissatisfaction with the rules governing draft-and-stash players like his client Vasilije Micić, whose NBA rights are held by the Thunder. “One team gets your rights and then, (even if) you’re the best player in Europe, they don’t want to trade you and they don’t want to give you (a fair contract) offer,” Raznatovic said. “And then you never play in the NBA, (even if) you’re better than 80% of the guys who are there. I don’t believe this is fair.” Raznatovic did note that Micić has an annual NBA escape clause in his contract with Anadolu Efes, so he’ll talk to the Thunder again this summer to see if they can work something out.