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Southwest Notes: Spurs, Ingram, Rockets, Gabriel

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:58pm CST by JD Shaw

The Spurs have started the season with a 2-3 record, but the franchise believes the best is still yet to come, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News writes.

Although San Antonio finished with just a 32-39 record last season, the club is recognized as a world-class organization with a proven track record. Before the 2019/20 campaign, the Spurs had reached the playoffs 23 straight seasons.

“It’s about learning now and not later,” DeMar DeRozan said. “As long as you get the heartaches and the learning curve out of the way the first 10 games of the season, it can take a big turn in the next 60 games. We are leaning toward that.”

The Spurs competed with the defending champion Lakers on Friday, ultimately losing 109-103. The team has a healthy mix of veterans and young players that could propel it to the play-in tournament or possibly beyond, with four of those veterans (DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Patty Mills and Rudy Gay) set to reach free agency next summer.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division tonight:

  • Pelicans star Brandon Ingram continued to build on his impressive campaign last game, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez writes. Ingram has been the team’s leading scorer in four of six games so far, and had a season-best 31 points on Saturday. “Brandon has been playing great overall,” teammate Zion Williamson said of Ingram, who recently was named the Western Conference Player of the Week. “He always steps up for us. When we need him, he’s there for us.”
  • The Rockets are still searching for answers when it comes to their rotation, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Houston has a talented roster led by former Most Valuable Player James Harden, but health issues and COVID-19 protocols have prevented Houston from establishing a consistent rotation so far.
  • Pelicans big man Wenyen Gabriel (right knee/quadriceps tendinosis) recently participated in some three-on-three work and hopes to play in Monday’s game against Indiana, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link). The team is currently listing his status as questionable.
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White Available Against Lakers

December 31st, 2020 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
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Becky Hammon Becomes First Woman To Coach NBA Game

December 31st, 2020 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

When Becky Hammon took over the head coaching reins for the Spurs on Wednesday night following Gregg Popovich‘s ejection, she was focused on trying to “win the game” rather than the historical significance of the moment, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes. However, after the game, she was able to appreciate the fact that she had become the first woman to act as head coach during an NBA game.

“Obviously, it’s a big deal,” Hammon said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “It’s a substantial moment. I’ve been a part of this organization, I got traded here (as a WNBA player) in 2007, so I’ve been in San Antonio and part of the Spurs and sports organization with the Stars and everything for 13 years. So I have a lot of time invested, and they have a lot of time invested in me, in building me and getting me better.”

The Spurs weren’t able to come back and knock off the defending champion Lakers in Hammon’s unexpected head coaching debut, but San Antonio players were happy to see her get a chance to run the show in Popovich’s absence.

“Any player who knows the history of women’s basketball knows what she meant to the sport,” Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan said. “You don’t think twice about it. She’s one of us. When she speaks, we are all ears.”

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Spurs Will Continue to Not Allow Fans In AT&T Center

December 29th, 2020 at 7:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
  • The Spurs have announced in a press release that they will keep fans out of the AT&T Center for the foreseeable future this season. “While we are confident in the plans and protocols we have in place, we are uncomfortable hosting fans at this moment as the COVID-19 numbers and data in our community continue to trend in the wrong direction,” team president R.C. Buford said in the statement.
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Popovich: Derrick White "Should Return Soon"

December 26th, 2020 at 7:40pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters tonight that guard Derrick White is making progress with rehab work and “should return soon” after having offseason toe surgery, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). White signed a four-year extension earlier this week.
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Details On Derrick White's Extension

December 24th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Derrick White‘s four-year extension with the Spurs has a guaranteed base value of $70MM and is structured as an increasing deal with annual 8% raises, tweets Smith. There are $1.25MM per year in incentives, according to Hollinger: $500K for appearing in 70 games, $500K for making 185 three-pointers, and $250K for making an All-Defense team. White has only made 135 career three-pointers in three seasons, including 79 in 2019/20.
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Latest Details On NBA G League Bubble

December 24th, 2020 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Seventeen teams have indicated that they plan to participate in the NBA G League bubble, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who notes that the G League Ignite select team will be the 18th squad.

While we don’t yet have a full, official list of the teams participating in the G League bubble, Ridiculous Upside has done a good job passing along reports (including some of ours) and providing new details on which clubs are in and out. Their list includes 13 teams believed to be in, not counting the Ignite, as follows:

  • Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
  • Austin Spurs (Spurs)
  • Canton Charge (Cavaliers)
  • Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers)
  • Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers)
  • Lakeland Magic (Magic)
  • Long Island Nets (Nets)
  • Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
  • Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
  • Raptors 905 (Raptors)
  • Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz)
  • Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors)
  • Westchester Knicks (Knicks)

G League expert Adam Johnson says the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets), Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves), and Erie BayHawks (Pelicans) are also expected to take part (Twitter link).

The G League reportedly asked for teams to volunteer to opt out, since bringing 29 franchises to the bubble wouldn’t have been logistically possible, so the clubs passing on the bubble aren’t necessarily doing so because they’re not interested in participating.

Teams opting out of the bubble who signed players to Exhibit 10 contracts before the season will be given the option to loan or “flex” those players to another G League team for the bubble and will be responsible for paying all expenses for those players, Givony explains.

The Wizards, for example, aren’t expected to have the Capital City Go-Go play in the bubble, but will likely use the Pelicans’ affiliate – the BayHawks – as their temporary affiliate for their former Exhibit 10 players, such as Caleb Homesley, Marlon Taylor, and Yoeli Childs, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

A G League draft would take place in January, according to Givony, who reports that players whose returning rights are held by non-bubble teams would temporarily be dispersed to other clubs in that draft. If non-bubble teams don’t want to “flex” their former Exhibit 10 players to G League teams participating in the bubble, those players will also enter the draft pool, says Givony.

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that the tentative start date for the G League season is February 8. Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link) shares a more detailed breakdown of the proposed timeline, which would see G League players and staffers begin an “at-home” quarantine period on January 13.

Givony confirms that teams participating in the bubble still expect to play a minimum of 12 games apiece (not including the playoffs), as was reported in November.

Finally, Givony reports that the G League is making adjustments to its roster rules to make it easier for NBA teams to recruit and sign veterans with five or more years of NBA experience. Each team will be able to designate an “NBA Vet Selection” who fits that bill, and won’t have to navigate the NBAGL’s complicated waiver process to add that player, per Givony.

As Johnson tweets, the rule will be a one-off for this season and will allow – for instance – the Warriors to add Jeremy Lin to their Santa Cruz affiliate, like they wanted to.

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NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots To Start Season

December 24th, 2020 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that the regular season is underway, no NBA team is carrying more than 17 players in total — 15 on standard contracts and two on two-way deals. However, not every team is making use of all 17 roster spots available to them.

Currently, 12 of the league’s 30 teams have at least one open roster spot, either on their regular roster or in their two-way slots.

Those dozen teams have different reasons for not carrying a 15th man on their standard roster. For some clubs, the decision is likely financially motivated, since an open roster spot means not having to pay an extra player.

Some teams may want to maintain the roster flexibility that an open roster provides — it can allow a club to act quickly and decisively in the event of an injury or a two-for-one trade opportunity.

A handful of teams actually can’t add a 15th man at this point, since they’re too close to their hard cap and won’t be able to fit another minimum-salary contract below that hard cap until later in the season.

With the G League season not yet underway, a healthy team may simply decide there’s no point in filling the 15th spot with a developmental player who won’t see any game action. That may also be the reason why some teams haven’t yet filled both their two-way contract slots.

Listed below, with the help of our roster counts breakdown, are the teams that aren’t carrying full rosters.

Teams with an open 15-man roster spot:

  • Charlotte Hornets
  • Houston Rockets *
  • Los Angeles Clippers *
  • Los Angeles Lakers *
  • Milwaukee Bucks *
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Utah Jazz

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes that the team can’t currently sign a 15th man due to the hard cap.

Teams with an open two-way slot:

  • Detroit Pistons
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Portland Trail Blazers
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Southwest Notes: Bledsoe, Spurs, Caboclo, Richardson

December 23rd, 2020 at 10:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Though new Pelicans starting point guard Eric Bledsoe faces a tall task in replacing fan favorite guard Jrue Holiday, he still will prove a dependable starter for a New Orleans team with a good chance to at least qualify for a play-in game, as William Guillory of the Athletic details.

“The same role (Holiday) had here, I’m kind of in. But at the same time, I’ve still got to play my game,” Bledsoe said. “(My role is) defense, helping guys get better … trying to be a leader and going out there to help them win games.”

Guillory expects Bledsoe, a two-time All-Defensive Team selection who relies on a killer first step to score, to help lead a supercharged backcourt alongside Lonzo Ball. That tandem scored a combined 34 points on a 10-of-21 shooting from the floor tonight in a 113-99 defeat of the Raptors.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

  • Ahead of the Spurs‘ 2020/21 season, John Hollinger of the Athletic previewed the club’s outlook. Hollinger notes that 30-something veterans LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills and Rudy Gay could control the ball for extended stretches of possessions, though the advanced age and short-term contracts of most of those players are increasingly at odds with the timeline for the team’s younger prospects.
  • Rockets big man Bruno Caboclo agreed to push back the deadline for his 2020/21 salary to become fully guaranteed to February 27, 2021 (the league-wide deadline), according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). It had previously been scheduled to become guaranteed today.
  • Now on his third team in three seasons, new Mavericks swingman Josh Richardson will be expected to guard the opposing team’s toughest perimeter players, according to Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. Richardson has the length and speed to convincingly defend several positions.
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