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Latest On DeMarcus Cousins

February 20th, 2021 at 7:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

DeMarcus Cousins‘ diminished mobility, brought on by back-to-back Achilles and ACL injuries, is behind the Rockets‘ decision to cut ties with him in the next few days, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

Cousins had been filling the role the team envisioned when it signed him, Iko adds, serving as a backup to starting center Christian Wood and spacing the offense while playing in short bursts. However, an ankle injury that has kept Wood off the court since February 4 pushed Cousins into a starting role that he wasn’t ready to handle.

Coach Stephen Silas is working to build a defensive identity in his first season in Houston, and Cousins’ inability to cover ground was getting in the way. With Cousins defending, opponents were shooting an incredible 63.4% on shots from six feet and closer.

Silas liked Cousins and the veteran presence he brought to the locker room, Iko writes. Several young players sought advice from him, especially rookie Jae’Sean Tate. But Cousins’ inability to handle more minutes convinced the team that it needs to go in a different direction at center.

There’s more on the Cousins situation:

The Rockets will be forced to re-run last year’s small-ball experiment until Wood is ready to return, Iko notes in the same story. Justin Patton, who signed a two-way deal on Friday, could see some playing time, and Houston will consider the free agent market, with Dewayne Dedmon and Ersan Ilyasova as possibilities.
The Lakers will be among the teams to pursue Cousins, sources tell Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer (Twitter link). He adds that sources expect the market for Cousins to be limited because of his struggles so far, but the 30-year-old offers significant upside for any team that needs depth in the frontcourt. Cousins signed with the Lakers last season, but wasn’t able to play because of an ACL injury.
Cousins would consider joining the Heat if he reaches free agency, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. A source confirms Cousins’ interest.
The Raptors could use help at center, but Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports doesn’t expect them to make a play for Cousins (Twitter link). He notes that Toronto opted to sign Aron Baynes and Alex Len during the offseason when Cousins was available.

McCaw Probable, Lowry Questionable For Friday's Game

February 19th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors guard Patrick McCaw hasn’t suited up at all for the team this season as he recovers from knee surgery, but his returns appears imminent. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca tweets, McCaw is listed on the latest injury report as probable for Friday’s game vs. Minnesota.

Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, meanwhile, is dealing with a thumb injury and is listed as questionable for Friday’s contest, per Lewenberg. Head coach Nick Nurse previously indicated that he expects Lowry to miss at least one more game.

Domestic Assault Charges Against Terence Davis Dismissed

February 19th, 2021 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

11:09am: As Blake Murphy of The Athletic explains (via Twitter), five of the seven charges against Davis were dismissed. The judge in the case technically granted an “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal” for criminal mischief and endangering the welfare of a child, which means those charges will also be dropped as long as the Raptors guard doesn’t run afoul of the law again for the next year.

10:29am: The New York District Attorney’s office has dismissed the domestic assault charges against Raptors guard Terence Davis, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Those charges stemmed from an October 2020 incident at a Manhattan hotel. Davis’ girlfriend, who visited him at the hotel, alleged that he hit her multiple times after a verbal dispute, then grabbed her phone and broke it. Davis was arrested and faced counts of assault, harassment, and criminal mischief, as well as endangering the welfare of a child, as the woman’s young son was allegedly present.

While Davis won’t face any legal ramifications as a result of those allegations, the NBA and NBPA continue to conduct their own investigation into the matter, as Doug Smith of The Toronto Star tweets. Depending on the outcome of that investigation, the league could discipline the second-year guard, but that’s significantly less likely now that the charges have been dismissed.

A member of the NBA’s All-Rookie Second Team in 2019/20, Davis hasn’t played quite as regular a role for the Raptors so far this season. After appearing in all 72 regular season games as a rookie, he has been held out of six contests in 2020/21 and his minutes per game average has dipped from 16.8 to 13.3.

Still, Davis’ offensive numbers (6.5 PPG on .434/.378/.900 shooting) have been respectable, given his limited role, and the team has a slightly better net rating when he plays than when he sits. He’ll be eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end.

VanVleet Proving Effective Sans Lowry; Malachi Flynn Returns To Raptors

February 18th, 2021 at 7:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

In the absence of injured veteran point guard Kyle Lowry, Raptors guard Fred VanVleet has provided Toronto a glimpse of the next era of its core leadership, per Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star. The 34-year-old Lowry has served as the longtime emotional center driving Toronto. He will be an unrestricted free agent when the season ends. The Raptors have posted an encouraging 16-2 record without Lowry over the past two seasons.

VanVleet has averaged 22.0 PPG and 7.1 APG across 15 Raptors games without Lowry during the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, Feschuk goes on to note.

“Any time a guy goes down, it’s that next-man-up mentality that we have always had around here and something that I have tried to continue to do is just increase my level of play when he’s out,” VanVleet said of adjusting to the absence of his current Raptors backcourt mate. “I thought the entire team just picked it up a notch when he went down and that’s what you like to see.”

The Raptors are recalling rookie point guard Malachi Flynn from their G League affiliate, Raptors 905, per Blake Murphy of The Athletic (via Twitter). Murphy adds that Flynn is available to play for the club tonight (Twitter link) in its current contest against the Bucks.

Norvel Pelle Enters G League Bubble As NBA Teams Circle

February 18th, 2021 at 5:27pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent center Norvel Pelle, recently waived by the Nets, is set to enter the Orlando G League “bubble” campus for the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers‘ G League affiliate, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

After going undrafted in 2013, the 6’10” big man had four separate stints with the Sixers’ G League affiliate in Delaware, first while the club was still known as the 87ers, and most recently after the team had rebranded itself as the Blue Coats. Across 83 games (including 38 starts) for parts of four seasons with the Delaware G League affiliate, Pelle holds averages of 8.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 2.2 BPG, all in just 18.1 MPG. He also logged time overseas, playing in Taiwan, Beirut, and Italy.

Pelle finally made his NBA debut at age 26 last year, averaging 9.7 MPG across 24 NBA games with the Sixers during the 2019/20 season. This season, Pelle inked a deal with Brooklyn after the club traded away center Jarrett Allen and forwards Taurean Prince, Caris LeVert and Rodions Kurucs in the deal that netted them All-Star guard James Harden.

Pelle appeared in three games for Brooklyn before the team cut him to make room for defensive-oriented wing Andre Roberson earlier this week.

Bondy adds that several NBA playoff hopefuls have expressed some interest in Pelle as a candidate to shore up their own frontcourt rotations, including the Rockets and two Atlantic Division rivals to the Nets and Sixers, the Knicks and Raptors.

Raptors Notes: Drummond, Deadline Decisions, Anunoby

February 17th, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Failing to retain at least one of Serge Ibaka or Marc Gasol during the 2020 offseason is turning out to be a “rare misplay” by the Raptors‘ front office, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. As Grange points out, Toronto has been one of the NBA’s worst defensive rebounding teams, and the overall team defense has slipped to the middle of the pack after ranking within the top five in each of the last two years.

League sources tell Grange that the Raptors don’t actually have much interest in pursuing Cavaliers center Andre Drummond, but he acknowledges that it makes sense that Drummond was linked to Toronto, given the team’s deficiencies in the middle and on the glass.

As Grange writes, the Raptors will face some tough decisions in the coming weeks and months as they try to determine how to address the center position and figure out whether Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell, who are both eligible for free agency at season’s end, will be a part of their future.

Raptors forward OG Anunoby, who returned on Tuesday after missing 10 games with a calf strain, showed why the team was willing to lock him up to a lucrative long-term extension prior to the season, making an impact on both ends of the court in the team’s win over Milwaukee, writes Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Interestingly, Anunoby replaced Aron Baynes – not Powell – in the starting lineup as Toronto opted for a small starting lineup with Anunoby and Pascal Siakam at the four and five.

Smith: Drummond Not The Answer For Raptors

February 16th, 2021 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

While he acknowledges that including Norman Powell in a trade for a center may be a necessary move, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star contends that Andre Drummond is not the answer for the Raptors. Toronto was said on Monday to be engaged in trade discussions with the Cavaliers about the veteran center.

Cavs Notes: Drummond, Trade Partners, Defense, Love

February 15th, 2021 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers would prefer not to take bad contracts with multiple years remaining in a potential Andre Drummond deal. However, they’re open-minded to that possibility if an asset is included that would justify a restricted future cap, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The front office would otherwise like to protect cap space with extensions for Collin Sexton and Jarrett Allen on the horizon.

Cleveland has received calls on Drummond, as well as Allen and JaVale McGee, but it is not interested in dealing Allen. Fedor explores potential trade partners for Drummond and what those deals could include.

We have more on the Cavaliers:

Spencer Davies of Basketball News also speculates where Drummond, an impending unrestricted free agent after the season, could be dealt. The Raptors, Mavericks, Knicks and Kings could be among the teams in the mix if a trade is completed, while the Nets would be the front-runner if Drummond winds up on the buyout market.
Drummond didn’t play on Sunday, but that didn’t solve any problems as the Cavaliers lost for the ninth time in 10 games. They were overwhelmed by a Clippers team playing without stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, demonstrating that the team’s issues go far deeper than Drummond, Fedor writes. The Cavs’ overall effort has been lacking, especially at the defensive end. “I think defensively we need to be better,” Cedi Osman said. “I mean, it’s just not enough, especially against these types of teams. We have to play harder.”
Kevin Love has been making progress from the right calf strain that has kept him out since December 27 and coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the team could desperately use his veteran presence and scoring prowess, Fedor notes in a separate story. “There’s times in games when you can see ‘This is where Kevin would help us’ or ‘This is where he would help settle us in. I know right now he’d get a foul because we’re in the bonus.’ There’s those moments where you see,” Bickerstaff said.

Charania’s Latest: Nets, Roberson, Ball, Simons, Faried

February 15th, 2021 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Before they signed veteran swingman Iman Shumpert in an effort to improve their wing defense, the Nets considered longtime Thunder forward Andre Roberson, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), the Nets’ interest in Roberson wasn’t just cursory — the team actually worked him out before signing Shumpert.

Roberson, who is limited on offense but has a reputation as a defensive stopper, returned last August during the NBA’s summer restart after having missed over two full years due to knee issues. However, his contract expired at season’s end and he has yet to catch on with a new NBA team. Given how many of Brooklyn’s end-of-roster players have non-guaranteed salaries, it’s possible the Nets could open up a spot and circle back to Roberson later in the season, as Lewis notes.

Here’s more from Charania:

The Raptors and Nets – who were both mentioned by Charania as possible Andre Drummond suitors via trade or buyout – are viewed as two teams in the market for frontcourt help. Charania suggests the Mavericks, Lakers, and Trail Blazers are among the clubs likely to join that list.
Charania confirms that the Bulls have some interest in Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, but says the two teams haven’t engaged in any dialogue about a possible trade.
Rival teams are keeping an eye on Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons, according to Charania. There’s no indication Portland has interest in moving Simons, but other clubs may envision a larger scoring and play-making role for him than he has in Portland, where he backs up an All-NBA point guard.
Veteran big man Kenneth Faried, 31, is working out in Los Angeles and hopes to make an NBA comeback, per Charania.

Cavs Plan To Sit Andre Drummond As They Pursue Trade

February 15th, 2021 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers are planning to keep Andre Drummond on the bench as they work on finding a trade destination for the veteran center, according to Adrian Wojnarowsi and Brian Windorst of ESPN. As ESPN’s duo explains, Jarrett Allen is considered the Cavs’ center of the future and the team believes it’s unfair to Drummond to limit his minutes as the transition to Allen takes place.

According to Wojnarowski and Windhorst, general manager Koby Altman discussed the decision with Drummond and his agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports. While Schwartz wouldn’t confirm or deny ESPN’s report, he offered the following statement:

“Whichever direction this goes, Andre is 27, in his prime, and I believe strongly that he has a great deal to add to a team building toward a postseason run.”

Drummond was ruled out of Sunday’s game for “rest” purposes, but sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic that the center sat on Sunday in part due to his recent “attitude and play.” Charania adds that head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has had multiple sit-down discussions with the 27-year-old, who has been frustrated by the Cavaliers’ recent slump.

According to Charania, the Raptors and Cavs are engaging in trade discussions about Drummond. However, a deal could take a while to come together as Toronto and Cleveland navigate through cap-related challenges and the possibility of incorporating other teams, so nothing is imminent.

Wojnarowski tweets that, while Cleveland is gauging the Drummond market, there are no “serious” ongoing talks taking place. Addressing the Raptors possibility specifically, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca confirms (via Twitter) that Toronto has interest, but says discussions have only been exploratory and notes that matching Drummond’s $28.75MM salary would be difficult.

Other teams, including the Nets and Mavericks, would have interest in Drummond if he’s bought out, sources tell The Athletic. It’s unclear how many clubs besides Toronto would be interested in pursuing the big man via trade.

Cleveland’s obvious preference would be to avoid a buyout, especially since the team remains in the hunt for an Eastern Conference playoff spot and wouldn’t want to essentially hand Drummond to a conference rival for nothing, Charania writes. No buyout discussions have taken place to this point, sources tell ESPN.

Meanwhile, Drummond may not be the only Cavs center who is traded prior to the March 25 deadline. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports that the club has received trade offers for all of its centers, though only Drummond and JaVale McGee are considered available — Allen isn’t going anywhere.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.