- The Spurs are doing a ton of homework to prepare for the possibility of landing Victor Wembanyama in the 2023 draft, including considering how their current players might mesh with him, according to LJ Ellis of SpursTalk.com. The Spurs won’t have more than a 14% chance of winning the No. 1 pick in next year’s lottery, but it seems likely they’ll be among the top contenders for Wembanyama — San Antonio is currently just 6-18, dead last in the West.
- Gregg Popovich may return to the Spurs bench on Thursday when they host Houston, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Popovich underwent a minor medical procedure. “He is fine. That’s what people should hear the loudest,” said Brett Brown, who is filling in as San Antonio’s head coach. “It was just a minor situation, and you’ll have to deal with me for another night, another afternoon. But he is fine.”
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.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is unavailable for Friday’s game against New Orleans after undergoing a minor medical procedure earlier in the day, per Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscriber link). Assistant coach Brett Brown is serving as head coach in his place.
According to McDonald, Popovich met with reporters prior to the game with the intention of coaching, but decided to sit out shortly thereafter. He’s also expected to miss Sunday’s contest versus Phoenix.
Here’s more from the Southwest:
- Pelicans forward Zion Williamson had his most complete two-way performance of the 2022/23 season in Wednesday’s victory over the Raptors, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. Playing without fellow high-scoring starters Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, Williamson finished with 33 points (on 12-of-15 shooting and 9-of-12 from the line), 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks. According to Guillory, none of Toronto’s strong defenders could slow Williamson down on offense, and his defensive energy was contagious. “I told him tonight in the locker room that he was a monster. He carried us. He continued to make the right plays over and over again,” head coach Willie Green said. “He was flying around on both ends of the floor … It’s just impressive. Impressive to see.”
- Second-year forward Herb Jones suffered a left ankle sprain in New Orleans’ victory over Toronto and did not return (Twitter link). X-rays were negative, but Jones and Ingram (left great toe contusion) were both ruled out Friday against the Spurs, the Pelicans announced in a press release. Ingram has now missed three straight games with the injury, which he suffered a week ago.
- 2022 second-round pick Jaden Hardy dominated in his G League stint with the Texas Legends, the Mavericks‘ affiliate, averaging 29.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists on .548/.482/.844 shooting in nine games (34.1 MPG). Prior to Thursday’s loss to Detroit, head coach Jason Kidd said he hoped to find some minutes for the rookie guard after Dallas recalled him. “Hardy’s playing extremely well in the G League. We hope on this road trip we can find some time for him to get on the floor. Hope that presents sooner than later, but he’s with us this week, and we’ll see how the schedule [goes],” Kidd said, according to Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Hardy has only played 10 minutes over three games thus far with the Mavs.
- Point guard Tre Jones and several of his young Spurs teammates aren’t accustomed to losing as much as they have so far this season and don’t want to get used to it, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “A lot of us come from the background of winning — that’s why we are here,” Jones said. “We talk about it in the locker room. We talk about it every single day, trying to figure out how we can turn this thing around and start stacking some wins again.”
- The Spurs were not disappointed with Jordan Hall but they waived him to address their frontcourt depth, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. They signed Alize Johnson in part due to quad injuries to Jakob Poeltl and Jeremy Sochan.
10:19am: The Spurs have officially signed Johnson and waived Hall, the team announced in a press release.
8:07am: The Spurs are making a change to the 15th spot on their roster, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links), who reports that the team is signing forward/center Alize Johnson and waiving guard Jordan Hall. Johnson will receive a one-year deal, agent George Langberg tells Wojnarowski.
A 2018 second-round pick, Johnson is a well-traveled NBA veteran who has appeared in regular season games for the Pacers, Nets, Bulls, Wizards, and Pelicans since entering the league out of Missouri State. He was in camp with the Spurs this fall, but was waived at the end of the preseason and ended up joining the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League affiliate.
Although Johnson’s career NBA numbers – 2.5 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 72 games (7.5 MPG) – are modest, he has excelled at the NBAGL level. In six games for Austin this fall, the 26-year-old put up 22.2 PPG, 10.7 RPG, and 3.0 APG on .598/.407/.800 shooting.
While Wojnarowski’s report doesn’t specify Johnson’s contract terms, it will likely be a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract, like the one Hall was on. That would give the Spurs to make another change to their 15th roster spot before the league-wide salary guarantee date in early January, if they so choose.
Hall, a 20-year-old rookie out of Saint Joseph’s, appeared in nine games for San Antonio, averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.3 RPG on .321/.200/.778 shooting in 9.2 MPG. Assuming he’s cut today, the Spurs will be on the hook for a $175,479 cap hit for Hall for the 28 days he spent on the roster and the two he’ll spend on waivers. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent, assuming he goes unclaimed.
With the Spurs in the midst of three consecutive off days, it’s unclear whether they expect to have forward Keita Bates-Diop (ankle), center Jakob Poeltl (quad), and forward Jeremy Sochan (quad) available when they resume play on Wednesday. If not, there could be an immediate path for playing time for Johnson.
- Spurs forward Keldon Johnson had a mature approach to being benched last week, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “I was letting myself down, my team down, my coaches down,” he said. “I just knew I had to play better.” Johnson signed a four-year, $74MM rookie scale extension in the offseason that begins in 2023/24. He’s averaging a career-high 20.4 points per night through 19 games.
Pelicans reserve point guard Jose Alvarado has evolved into an important contributor for New Orleans in his second season, writes Will Guillory of The Athletic in an extensive feature. Guillory notes that Alvarado provides the Pelicans with a burst of energy in his minutes off the bench, especially on defense.
“A lot of people told me that the sophomore year is a slump year for some guys,” Alvarado told Guillory in an interview. “I wanted people to say, ‘Oh, he improved. What else can he do?’ … Obviously, the GTAs and playing defense is who I am. I accept that. But I’m also a complete basketball player. I can be a great point guard. I’m a knockdown shooter. I think there are a lot of things I can do on the court to help this team.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Pelicans All-Star small forward Brandon Ingram is considered day-to-day with a left big toe contusion, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link). Lopez adds that imaging indicated the ailing digit had incurred no serious structural damage.
- The 9-9 Mavericks have lost three straight games, but the team is striving to stay focused, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Dallas is currently 1-6 in its road games, and will play an excellent Bucks club in Milwaukee on Sunday in the second game in a back-to-back set. The club has struggled mightily from long range. “We’re able to get into the paint,” head coach Jason Kidd noted. “We’re able to get to the rim and finish. But right now we’re just not shooting the ball straight.”
- Spurs reserve center Zach Collins was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from Saturday’s 143-138 loss to the visiting Lakers after he hit L.A. point guard Russell Westbrook in the head while fighting for a rebound. Per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News, the impact was not deliberate. “I shouldn’t have jumped on the pump fake, but I did,” Collins said. “And then the worst thing you can do is give up an and-one in that situation, so I was just trying to come down and hit his arm so the ball wouldn’t get up to the rim.”
Lonnie Walker expected to remain with the Spurs in free agency, but the move to the Lakers has unlocked his offensive potential, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Walker was drafted by San Antonio in 2018 and spent his first four NBA seasons there. After Friday’s game, he told reporters, “I thought I was going to be a Spur for life.”
When he reached free agency in July, L.A. offered a one-year contract at $6.4MM, the full taxpayer mid-level exception. The Spurs had the resources to match or exceed that offer, but they elected not to. Instead, Walker joined a Lakers team that needed scoring and he’s having a career season so far, becoming a full-time starter and averaging 17.0 PPG through 15 games.
“I love playing in this type of environment, with these types of players,” Walker said. “I’m just trying to show my talents. I’m not sure many people really know my game. It’s finally starting to come.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- LeBron James returned Friday after missing five games with an adductor strain, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to play until after he completed his pre-game workout, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. James committed an uncharacteristic nine turnovers, but he also contributed 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists as L.A. won on the road for the first time this season. “My rhythm, my timing was a little off on a few of my passes,” James said. “I had six in the first half and cut it in half in the second half. But I’ll be a lot better, obviously, as the games go on I’ll get my rhythm back.”
- James has been cleared to play tonight in the second game of a back-to-back, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
- Anthony Davis will miss tonight’s rematch with the Spurs after getting kicked in the calf during Friday’s game, tweets Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Davis has reached at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in his last five games, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “AD was the best player in the league over the last four or five games,” James said Friday. “Just his numbers and productivity on both sides of the floor. It’s not just offensively but defensively he’s been super engaged, and tonight once again he was amazing.”