- The Jazz have no shortage of depth at wing, but Joe Ingles‘ strong effort on defense has earned him a role in Utah, and he’ll continue to see plenty of playing time with Rodney Hood sidelined, as Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. Ingles, who is shooting a career-best 46.0% on three-point attempts, will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer.
- George Hill has battled injuries early in his first season with the Jazz, but he has been a key part of the team’s lineup when he’s been healthy and is improving his stock for 2017 free agency. Still, as he tells Jody Genessy of The Deseret News, Hill is critical of his own performance and sees room for improvement.
The Trail Blazers may be considering a Disabled Player Exception for Festus Ezeli, according to Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders. Today is the deadline to apply to the league for a DPE, and NBA officials would have to agree that Ezeli’s injury will keep him out for the rest of the season. The 27-year-old center hasn’t played since signing a two-year, $15MM deal with Portland over the summer. He had offseason surgery on his left knee, but wasn’t able to do more than a couple of practices before it started hurting again. Ezeli said last month that another operation, which would sideline him for the rest of the season, might be necessary to save his career. If the DPE is approved, the Blazers would be granted half of Ezeli’s cap hit to sign a free agent or to use in a trade.
There’s more this morning from the Northwest Division:
- Jazz star Gordon Hayward might be tempted to reunite with former college coach Brad Stevens in Boston, but Utah will be able to make a substantially better offer when he becomes a free agent this summer, writes Randy Hollis of The Deseret News. The Jazz can offer Hayward a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $180MM, while other teams will be limited to $132MM over four seasons. Another option for Hayward is to sign with Utah for one year and hope to make the All-NBA team, which would make him eligible for the new Designated Veteran Player status and a $235MM deal over six seasons. Hollis thinks the Jazz can improve their chances with Hayward by re-signing George Hill, who has become an effective complement to Hayward.
- Rodney Hood will be re-evaluated today after suffering a hyperextended right knee late in Saturday’s game, the Jazz tweeted. He had to be helped off the court after the knee buckled on a drive to the basket. “Hopefully it’s not serious,” coach Quin Snyder said. “It’s serious enough that he had to leave the game, but we don’t know when he’ll be back.”
- The Thunder are urging rookie forward Domantas Sabonis to shoot fewer 3-pointers, relays Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. That was the plan even before a recent shooting slump in which he has missed 18 of his last 19 shots from long distance. “What I don’t want to see him just become is just a stretch four, a guy that’s just shooting 3s,” said coach Billy Donovan. “We’ve got to be able to utilize his ability to handle the ball and pass, his ability to play with his back to the basket. And certainly face up and shoot the basketball when it’s there.”
- At the halfway point of the 2016/17 campaign, Ryan McDonald of the Deseret News evaluates the Jazz. The team was considered a potential playoff contender during the offseason and McDonald concludes that thanks in part to the depth of their roster, Utah is not only on track to make the postseason for the first time since 2012, but to potentially claim home-court advantage in the first round.
- The Jazz recalled guards Alec Burks and Raul Neto from the Salt Lake City Stars and assigned forward Joel Bolomboy to the same team, the team announced in a press release. The guard duo was assigned there on Wednesday to get some playing time against the Grand Rapids Drive and Neto finished one rebound shy of a triple-double. This marks the 10th assignment for Bolomboy.
- The Knicks recalled forward Maurice Ndour and center Marshall Plumlee from their affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, the team’s PR staff tweets. That duo combined for 24 points and 20 rebounds against the Maine Red Claws after being assigned on Tuesday.
- The Nets recalled forward Chris McCullough from their Long Island affiliate and he was available against the Pelicans on Thursday night, the team tweets. McCullough poured in 37 points in Long Island’s 138-133 overtime win over the Greensboro Swarm earlier in the day, his 22nd appearance with the D-League club.
- The Pelicans recalled forward Cheick Diallo, who was also playing for the Long Island Nets, the team’s PR department tweets. He played two games there, averaging 12.0 points in 17.4 minutes after going there on Tuesday under the flexible assignment rule.
- The Thunder assigned guard Semaj Christon to the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a tweet. Christon has appeared in 36 games with the Thunder this season, averaging 3.2 points and 1.4 assists in 15.4 minutes.
- The Trail Blazers assigned guard Tim Quarterman to the Windy City Bulls under the flex rule, they announced in a press release. The rookie has made 12 brief appearances with the Blazers this season.
The Jazz are thriving this season, which is something that could bode well for their chances of re-signing Gordon Hayward this offseason, Brad Rock of the Deseret News writes. Utah owns a record of 24-16 and is within striking range of a top-4 seed. “I think we expected it,” Hayward said of the team’s success. “I think going into [the season] we had high expectations for ourselves. There’s a long way to go … so it’s important not to get too high on the highs, but not too low on the lows.”
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Wolves have hired Dwight Lutz and Nick Restifo as Basketball Operation Analysts, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune passes along via Twitter. Lutz previously worked for the NBA as a Senior Manager of Game Analytics and Strategy. Restifo, who was a contributor to Nylon Calculus, previously worked as an Associate Data Scientist at Darden Restaurants.
- Joel Bolomboy made it through Monday without the Jazz waiving him, which means his salary for next season has become guaranteed, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes on Twitter. The rookie will make $600K this season and slightly over $905K next year.
- Allen Crabbe, who re-signed with the Blazers on a four-year, $75MM deal over the summer, struggled to begin the season, but now he’s starting to find his groove, as Jason Quick of Comcast Sportsnet details. Crabbe’s player efficiency rating sits at 10.8, a figure which is well-below the league average of 15.0.
Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:
10:20pm:
- The Jazz have assigned Alec Burks and Raul Neto to their D-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s website. Both players were in action for tonight’s contest against the Grand Rapids Drive.
- The Blazers have assigned Tim Quarterman to the D-League, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. Portland does not have its own affiliate, so Quarterman will play for the Windy City Bulls on this assignment.
1:41 pm
- The Raptors recalled rookie guard Fred VanVleet from their D-League affiliate following the team’s Tuesday night victory (Twitter link). VanVleet posted a double-double for the Raptors 905 on Tuesday, with 12 points, 11 assists, and four steals.
- The Nets have re-assigned Chris McCullough to the D-League, the club announced today in a press release. The second-year power forward has played sparingly this season for Brooklyn, but has appeared in 21 games for the Long Island Nets, averaging 18.8 PPG and 8.4 RPG.
Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
7:55pm:
- After assigning them to the D-League earlier today to practice with the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz have recalled Alec Burks, Dante Exum, and Raul Neto, the team announced in a press release. None of the three Utah players have seen much playing time recently, so the brief NBADL assignment allowed them to get some practice reps in.
- The Spurs have recalled Dejounte Murray from the D-League, a day after he picked up 31 points and 12 boards for Austin, San Antonio’s affiliate. The club announced the transaction in a press release.
1:17pm:
- The Jazz have assigned Alec Burks, Dante Exum, and Raul Neto to the D-League, according to a press release issued today by the team. It sounds like the trio will participate in practice with the Salt Lake City Stars, but won’t be on assignment for long. Meanwhile, Utah has also recalled Joel Bolomboy from the D-League.
- The Raptors have assigned Delon Wright to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). That’s positive news for the 2015 first-round pick, who is recovering from a major shoulder injury. However, Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic notes (via Twitter) that Wright hasn’t yet been cleared for full practice, so he’s not close to seeing the court in Toronto yet.
- NBADL regulars Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet will join Wright on assignment, having also been sent to the D-League by the Raptors, per the team (Twitter link).
- The Celtics have recalled rookie guard Demetrius Jackson from the Maine Red Claws, according to the team (Twitter link). On his one-day D-League assignment, Jackson scored 26 points to help lead Boston’s affiliate to a Sunday victory over Fort Wayne.
- The Suns have sent Derrick Jones back to the D-League, the club announced today (via Twitter). Jones, who has barely seen the floor for Phoenix, has averaged 14.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 15 NBADL games this season.
- In the midst of a playoff push, the Jazz have little incentive to deal Gordon Hayward, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, and even if they did, the franchise is notoriously tight-lipped. “No one does things more quietly than Utah,” a league source told him. Alas, the Hayward-to-Boston narrative may, for the time being, be more “myth than reality.”
Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:
7:40pm:
- The Kings have sent rookies Skal Labissiere and Georgios Papagiannis to their D-League affiliate in Reno, tweets Jason Jones. The two had most recently played sparingly for Sacramento on New Year’s Eve.
12:27pm:
- Forward Joel Bolomboy is headed back to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to a press release issued by the Jazz. In Bolomboy’s last game for Utah’s D-League affiliate, on Friday, he posted 18 points and 12 boards to help lead the Stars to a double-overtime win.
- The Celtics have recalled a pair of players, Jordan Mickey and Demetrius Jackson, from the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). The duo could be active tomorrow for the C’s, depending on the health of a few Boston players.
- The Spurs have recalled rookie guard Bryn Forbes from Austin, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Forbes has played well for the NBADL Spurs this season, averaging 23.4 PPG in seven games.