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Atlantic Notes: Celtics, IT, Smart, Durant, Boucher, Carter, Kemba

January 14th, 2022 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

Following 10-day stints with the Lakers and Mavericks, Isaiah Thomas is once again a free agent. Meanwhile, the Celtics have an open spot on their 15-man roster after waiving Jabari Parker. Appearing on the Toucher & Rich radio show in Boston, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was asked whether a reunion with Thomas was possible, and while he didn’t rule it out, Stevens also didn’t suggest it’s something Boston is pursuing.

“I’m a huge Isaiah fan, always have been,” Stevens said, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link). “… Our roster situation right now is complicated enough that we’ve got to get through next month to see where it lands and what it looks like. We’ll make other decisions, whether we have spots or adds or whatever the case may be. Isaiah is everything everyone has made him out to be.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • The Celtics have ruled out Marcus Smart for Friday’s game in Philadelphia due to the health and safety protocols (Twitter link via Marc Stein). Smart had originally been listed as questionable, suggesting perhaps he registered an inconclusive or false positive COVID-19 test, but based on the latest update, it appears he had no luck testing out of the protocols.
  • The NBA announced today that the league has hit Nets star Kevin Durant with a $15K fine for using profane language during a media interview and failing to comply with an NBA Security interview as part of the review process.
  • In his latest rumor roundup, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report identified a pair of under-the-radar Atlantic trade candidates, writing that Raptors big man Chris Boucher is considered available and that the Nets are believed to be exploring the idea of trading guard Jevon Carter.
  • Although Knicks point guard Kemba Walker appears to be nearing a return from his knee soreness, there’s no guarantee that he’ll return to the starting lineup right away, and he may not play both parts of back-to-back sets again this season, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.
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Fischer’s Latest: McCollum, Powell, Simmons, Turner, Hawks, Schroder

January 13th, 2022 at 1:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Anfernee Simons‘ breakout season is leading to speculation that the Trail Blazers may try to trade CJ McCollum or Norman Powell, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Portland entered the season with plans to be a contender, but injuries and some disappointing performances have left the team in a tight race for a play-in spot. With Damian Lillard sidelined after abdominal surgery, the Blazers may opt to unload some of their assets and take advantage of a high draft pick going into next season.

There have been whispers throughout the league that McCollum might be available, though Fischer wonders how much of a return he’ll provide considering that he’s 30 years old, is in the middle of a down season, and has been out of action for six weeks after suffering a collapsed lung. He also has two full years left on his contract at $33.3MM and $35.8MM.

Powell, who signed a five-year, $90MM extension during the offseason, seems like a more surprising name to be included in trade talks. However, about a dozen teams wanted to acquire him before he went to Portland at last season’s deadline and Fischer found that many league executives see his contract as valuable.

There’s a belief that Powell wouldn’t mind being traded again, as sources tell Fischer that there were “several snags” in his contract negotiations with the Blazers. One of the teams he considered in free agency was the Pelicans, according to Fischer, who notes that New Orleans is seeking to upgrade to improve its chances of reaching the play-in tournament.

Fischer shares a few more trade rumors from around the league:

  • Little has changed on the Ben Simmons trade front since the offseason, as Sixers ownership, the front office, coach Doc Rivers, and star center Joel Embiid are all united in the stance that the team needs to get an elite player in return. Fischer states that Philadelphia is willing to wait for someone along the lines of Lillard, Bradley Beal, James Harden or Jaylen Brown to become available. The Sixers have discussed three-team packages with the Kings, Pacers and Timberwolves, but none of those teams can offer a star that Philadelphia sees as equal value for Simmons.
  • The Pacers are seeking multiple first-round picks in exchange for center Myles Turner. The Mavericks, Timberwolves, Knicks, Kings, Hornets and Trail Blazers have all expressed interest, and several league executives told Fischer that the Raptors might be a team to watch. The Cavaliers and Knicks have asked about Caris LeVert, but Indiana also wants multiple first-rounders for him. The Pacers have gauged the trade value of Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and Torrey Craig too, Fischer adds.
  • The Hawks are willing to consider a major upheaval before the deadline, with a rival assistant GM telling Fischer that he believes everyone except Trae Young and Clint Capela are available. Atlanta appears willing to move De’Andre Hunter for veteran help, and there may be a market for Danilo Gallinari, who only has a $5MM guarantee next season on his $20MM contract.
  • The Celtics will try to trade Dennis Schröder, who is unlikely to be re-signed next season because of tax considerations. The Knicks, Cavaliers and Mavericks are all possible destinations. Boston has also targeted Suns center Jalen Smith, who will be a free agent after Phoenix declined his third-year option.
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Koreen Thinks Toronto Needs A Wing Shooter; Boucher Understanding His Role

January 12th, 2022 at 10:13pm CST by Rory Maher
  • Eric Koreen of The Athletic believes the Raptors should be looking at acquiring a wing shooter prior to the trade deadline in order to shore up a weak spot in the roster.
  • Chris Boucher has improved over the course of the season and his strong play has helped the Raptors go 6-1 over their past seven games. Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes that Boucher is learning his role is to provide energy and effort no matter how many minutes he receives. “He’s accepted whatever is there for playing time, whatever the lineup is, he’s accepted it with energy,” coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s played hard. There haven’t been a ton of offensive attempts, and that doesn’t seem to bother him either. He just keeps going and playing. He’s been really impactful.” Boucher is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
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Lakers Notes: Trent, Jordan, Bazemore, Monk, Westbrook

January 12th, 2022 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

As part of their due diligence exploring the trade market, the Lakers have expressed interest in Raptors wing Gary Trent Jr., league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

The Lakers could theoretically put together an offer for Trent, who is earning $16MM, using Talen Horton-Tucker as the primary salary-matching piece. However, there has been no indication that the Raptors want to move on from the former Duke standout, who is one of Toronto’s most-used players (32 starts, 34.0 MPG), most reliable three-point shooters (.368 3PT%), and most active defenders (1.9 steals and 3.5 deflections per game).

Scotto acknowledges that a deal between the two teams appears unlikely for the time being.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

  • Scotto also confirmed on the latest HoopsHype Podcast that the Lakers have made DeAndre Jordan and Kent Bazemore available, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported last week. According to Scotto, the Lakers aren’t interested in attaching a draft pick to move either player, so they’d likely need to use cash to grease the wheels if teams aren’t interested in Jordan or Bazemore on their own. Los Angeles can still trade up to $4,435,000 in cash during the 2021/22 league year.
  • Malik Monk has been a bright spot for an up-and-down Lakers team recently, averaging 20.0 PPG on .523/.475/.900 shooting in his last eight games. However, the better he plays, the more challenging it will be for L.A. to bring him back. As Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report outlines, unless they dip into their mid-level exception, the Lakers will be limited to offering Monk a Non-Bird raise of just 20% more than his minimum salary when he hits free agency.
  • Like teammate Carmelo Anthony has done in recent years, Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook has been asked to accept a lower-usage role this season and is still adjusting to it, writes Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group. Westbrook’s 27.9% usage rate would be high for most players, but it’s the first time since 2009/10 that he’s registered a number below 30%.
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Trade Rumors: Simmons, T. Harris, Magic, Wolves, Cavs

January 11th, 2022 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

After reporting last week that the Sixers‘ preferred outcome would be to have Ben Simmons play for the team this season and then revisit his trade market in the offseason, Marc Stein said in his latest Substack article that teams around the NBA are skeptical about that stance. As Stein notes, it could be a negotiating ploy to try to get potential trade partners to improve their offers, since the odds of Simmons acquiescing to Philadelphia’s wishes and reporting to the team this season still appear extremely slim.

Stein also reported last week that the Hawks are a team to watch in the Simmons sweepstakes, a subject that ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Marc J. Spears discussed in the latest episode of Windhorst’s Hoop Collective podcast.

As RealGM relays, Windhorst and Spears have both heard the Sixers are exploring the concept of attaching Tobias Harris to Simmons in any deal. Theoretically, those two players could produce a greater trade return than Simmons on his own, but Harris’ shooting numbers are down this year and his contract isn’t exactly team-friendly — he and Simmons are earning a combined $69MM this season, which would create salary-matching complications.

According to Spears, the Hawks were more interested in discussing just Simmons than trying to construct a deal that also included Harris.

Here are a few more trade rumors and notes from across the league:

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G League Updates: Dunn, Ferguson, Meeks, Thornton, Thompson

January 10th, 2022 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former lottery pick Kris Dunn has signed an NBA G League contract, Mark Stein tweets. That puts the combo guard in a position to be acquired by a G League franchise this week.

Dunn appeared in just four games last season with Atlanta after undergoing ankle surgery. Dunn was traded multiple times during the offseason, finally landing in Memphis. The Grizzlies waived him at the end of training camp and he’s been seeking another opportunity since that point.

Several other former NBA players have also gone the G League route:

  • Terrance Ferguson has also signed a G League contract, according to Stein (Twitter link). Ferguson, who played for the Thunder and Sixers over the last four seasons, played three games in Greece this season, then returned to the U.S. to explore another NBA opportunity.
  • Guard Jodie Meeks has joined the Raptors 905, Toronto’s affiliate. Meeks hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since logging 51 seconds of action for the Raptors in Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals, but has over 500 regular season appearances under his belt.
  • Marcus Thornton has been acquired by the Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ affiliate. Thornton has played 483 NBA games, making previous stops with New Orleans, Sacramento, Brooklyn, Boston, Phoenix, Houston and Washington during his career. He last played with the Pistons’ G League affiliate during the 2018/19 season.
  • Jason Thompson‘s G League rights have been acquired by the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks’ affiliate, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Thompson, 35, last played in the NBA during the 2015/16 season, splitting time between Golden State and Toronto.
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COVID-19 Updates: Oubre, Casey, Satoransky, Garuba, More

January 10th, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Hornets forward Kelly Oubre has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the team announced today (via Twitter). Oubre will miss the team’s Monday night game vs. Milwaukee and will likely be sidelined longer than that unless he registered a false positive or inconclusive test. There are now two Charlotte players in the protocols, with Oubre joining Vernon Carey.

Here are more protocol-related updates from around the NBA:

  • Pistons head coach Dwane Casey has entered the protocols and will be replaced in the short term by assistant Rex Kalamian, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. Half of the NBA’s 30 head coaches have now been placed in the protocols at some point this season.
  • Pelicans guard Tomas Satoransky has cleared the health and safety protocols and was back with the team today, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).
  • Rockets rookie Usman Garuba has exited the COVID-19 protocols and is no longer listed on the team’s injury report, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
  • Raptors forward Yuta Watanabe and Heat two-way player Marcus Garrett are among the other players who have cleared the protocols, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, respectively (Twitter links).
  • The Bucks are listing Pat Connaughton as questionable to play on Monday night and he posted an emoji of a plane today on Twitter, strongly signaling that he has exited the protocols and is flying to meet the team in Charlotte, as Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes (via Twitter). Whether or not Connaughton is available tonight, it sounds like he’s no longer in the protocols.
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Ja Morant, Fred VanVleet Named Players Of The Week

January 10th, 2022 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of point guards have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week, with Ja Morant of the Grizzlies winning the Western Conference award and Fred VanVleet of the Raptors earning the honor in the East (Twitter link).

It’s the second time in a row that Morant has won the award. He only appeared in four of the Grizzlies’ five games from January 3-9, but played a key role in spearheading a 5-0 week, averaging 25.0 PPG, 6.8 APG, and 6.3 RPG in 30.8 minutes per contest. He also made a series of highlight plays, including a two-handed block an Avery Bradley shot (video link) that became an immediate contender for play of the year.

Like Morant, VanVleet continued to build his case for an All-Star spot by leading his team to an undefeated week. The 27-year-old put up 30.3 PPG, 6.5 APG, and 4.8 RPG with a .453 3PT% (6.0 made threes per game) in four games (36.5 MPG), all Toronto wins.

The other nominees for Player of the Week were Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, LeBron James, and Anfernee Simons in the West, along with Joel Embiid, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro, Zach LaVine, and Domantas Sabonis in the East (Twitter link).

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Southwest Notes: Valanciunas, Pelicans, Brooks, G. Green

January 8th, 2022 at 8:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Raptors fans may not recognize Jonas Valanciunas‘ game on Sunday when the Pelicans center plays in Toronto for the first time in more than three years, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN. Valanciunas, who was traded midway through the Raptors’ championship season, has improved as an outside shooter since then and has made a career-high 37 three-pointers in less than half a season.

“These days, the NBA has changed and you’ve gotta be versatile and you’ve gotta be able to shoot the ball,” Valanciunas said. “I want to play in this league as long as I can and to help me do that, it’s adding the three-point shot.”

After being traded to New Orleans in the offseason, Valanciunas has become a centerpiece of the team’s offense, averaging a career-best 18.6 points per game along with 11.9 rebounds. He said his improvement as a scorer began when Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, who was an assistant at the time, worked with him during summer visits to Lithuania.

“Honestly, it started with Nick, he helped me develop this,” Valanciunas said. “He was the first guy who pushed me to do that, and I hope I’m going to use that against him on Sunday.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • The Pelicans could use another outside shooter to make a run at the play-in tournament, and William Guillory of The Athletic identifies a few targets ahead of the February 10 trade deadline. He proposes deals involving the Hawks’ Cam Reddish, the Kings’ Buddy Hield, the Magic’s Terrence Ross and the Thunder’s Mike Muscala and Kenrich Williams.
  • Grizzlies swingman Dillon Brooks suffered a left ankle injury in the second quarter of today’s game with the Clippers, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Brooks had to be helped off the court after getting fouled on a drive to the basket and wasn’t able to shoot his free throws before leaving. The team’s second-leading scorer at 19.3 PPG, Brooks just returned Thursday from health and safety protocols. He also missed time at the start of the season with a fractured left hand.
  • Gerald Green, who stepped away from his role as assistant coach with the Rockets to become a player again, has signed with Houston’s G League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26.“It’s a great opportunity,” Green said. “The Vipers being affiliated with the Rockets, me being affiliated with the Rockets, it’s like a perfect match.”
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Raptors Sign D.J. Wilson To Second 10-Day Deal

January 7th, 2022 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward D.J. Wilson is back under contract with the Raptors, according to the team. Toronto stated in a press release that Wilson has signed a second 10-day deal using a hardship exception.

Wilson, who first signed with the Raptors on December 22, played well in two games with the club, averaging 12.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 2.5 SPG in 23.5 minutes per contest and making 8-of-11 shots from the floor. However, he entered the health and safety protocols before his deal expired.

Having presumably been cleared in recent days, Wilson is back with the team as the apparent hardship replacement for Yuta Watanabe, who is the only Raptor currently in the health and safety protocols.

A former first-round pick, Wilson will earn $102,831 during his second 10-day stint with Toronto. That money won’t count toward team salary for cap or tax purposes, since it’s a hardship signing. His contract will run through January 16, covering the team’s next five games.

If the Raptors don’t have any players left in the protocols by the time Wilson’s current deal expires, they could still re-sign him, since they have an open spot on their 15-man roster. In that scenario though, his new salary would count toward the cap and tax.

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