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Wizards guard Delon Wright, who is out indefinitely with a grade two strain of his right hamstring, was recently re-evaluated and cleared to begin individual on-court basketball activities. He will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
Wright originally suffered the injury on Oct. 25 in the Wizards’ game vs. Detroit.
Via the Memphis Commercial Appeal:
Ja Morant may be healing at a faster rate than anticipated.
The Memphis Grizzlies updated Morant to questionable ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. Morant was initially listed as doubtful on Monday.
He’ll undergo testing ahead of the game to determine if he will be able to play.
Morant injured his left ankle on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The team announced that he suffered a grade 1 ankle sprain and would be evaluated week-to-week.
ROCKETS TEAM NOTES
KJ Martin joins Toronto’s OG Anunoby and Utah’s Lauri Markkanen as the only players to have recorded at least 18 3-pointers and 30 dunks this season… Martin ranks tied for fifth in the NBA with 32 dunks this season after finishing 15th with 114 in 2021-22.
Tari Eason is averaging 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.47 steals in 18.4 minutes per game… he is on pace to become the first player in NBA history to have averaged at least 8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 1.00 spg in fewer than 19.0 mpg in a single season… Eason is tied for the most games recording multiple steals by a rookie this season with six.
Houston has shot 45.0% or better from the floor in six of the past eight games after doing so once the first nine games of the season… since the start of last season, all but three of the Rockets wins have come when shooting 45.0% or better.
The Rockets have outrebounded their opponent in seven of the past 11 games after doing so once the first six games of the season… Houston ranks fifth in rebounding differential this season (+2.7 per) after finishing last in in each of the previous two seasons.
The Washington Wizards have signed guard Devon Dotson to a two-way contract.
And in a related move, Washington waived forward Jordan Schakel, who appeared in six games with the team after being signed to a two-way contract in March 2022.
Dotson, a 6-1, 185-pound guard from Kansas, has played in seven games this season with the Capital City Go-Go, averaging 12.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. On November 15, Dotson recorded the third triple-double in Capital City history, scoring 17 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Dotson spent 2022 Summer League, preseason and training camp with Washington after spending his first two seasons in the league with Chicago. The Charlotte, N.C. native appeared in 22 total games, averaging 2.4 points per game with the Bulls.
An MRI taken Saturday night postgame vs. Utah on Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard revealed a grade one strain to the soleus muscle in the right lower leg.
Lillard will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks.
The Portland Trail Blazers have signed center Ibou Badji to a two-way contract.
Also today, the team waived center Olivier Sarr.
Badji, 7-1, averaged 7.4 points (61.8% FG, 66.7% FT), 6.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.6 blocks in seven games (all starts) this season with the Wisconsin Herd, the NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks. A native of Senegal, he also played for the country in the 2019 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup and averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks in seven games.
Sarr was signed to a two-way contract on September 7, 2022 and appeared in four preseason games for the Trail Blazers, averaging 4.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.0 minutes.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guard A.J. Lawson to a two-way contract.
In four games (all starts) this season for the College Park Skyhawks, the Atlanta Hawks G League affiliate, Lawson, 22, averaged a team-best 22.3 points on 62.3% shooting, including 52.9% from three, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 36.9 minutes per game.
Lawson played on the Dallas Mavericks entry in the 2022 NBA Summer League where he averaged a team-high 15.6 points on 51.9% from the field including 50.0% from three and 6.0 rebounds per game. Additionally, the 6-6 guard played 10 games (all starts) this past summer for the Guelph Nighthawks of the Canadian Basketball League (CBL) and averaged 16.5 points on 44.3% shooting and 5.4 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per game.
The Toronto native saw action in 33 games (26 starts) for the Skyhawks last season where he averaged 11.8 points on 48.1% shooting and 6.3 rebounds. Lawson played three seasons at the University of South Carolina where he totaled 1,153 points, 325 rebounds and 167 assists in 81 games (80 starts).
Lawson was originally signed to a two-way deal with the Wolves on July 27, 2022 before being waived on Oct. 15, 2022.
He will wear #00 for the Timberwolves.
New Orleans Pelicans guard Kira Lewis Jr. has been assigned to the Birmingham Squadron, the team’s NBA G League affiliate.
Lewis Jr., who was drafted by New Orleans with the 13th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has appeared in 78 games over two seasons and holds careers averages of 6.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
The University of Alabama product sustained a torn ACL and Grade 2 MCL sprain in his right knee during a game against the Denver Nuggets on December 8, 2021.
The Miami Heat have signed center Orlando Robinson to a two-way contract.
Also today, the Heat waived guard Dru Smith from his two-way contract.
Robinson has started in all four games with the HEAT’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, averaging a team-leading 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.25 steals, 1.00 blocks and 31.2 minutes while shooting 53.2 percent from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line. He leads the team in points, rebounds, blocks and field goals made and posted a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double at Iowa on November 5. He was previously signed by Miami on July 7 before being waived on October 13 after appearing in four preseason games.
Robinson played three seasons at Fresno State where he started in all 90 career games. In his final season as a junior, Robinson started all 36 games with the Bulldogs and averaged 19.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.19 blocks, 1.00 steals and 33.2 minutes. He became just one of two players in NCAA history to accumulate at least 700 points, 300 rebounds and 100 assists in a single season. Robinson was named to the All-Mountain West First Team, the NABC All-District 17 First Team and was selected as a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American. He led the team in points, rebounds, blocks, field goals made, free throws made and minutes and finished second on the team in assists and steals. Additionally, he recorded 18 20-point games, including three 30-point performances, and posted 12 double-doubles.
Robinson will wear number 25.
Smith appeared in one game with the HEAT this season, totaling two points, one rebound and a steal in 5:37 minutes of action.
Via the New York Post:
It’s still early for trades in the NBA season, but the Knicks are apparently getting calls on one of their young pieces.
Immanuel Quickley has drawn trade interest, SNY reported on Friday, with multiple teams calling New York about its third-year guard.
Through 12 games, Quickley is averaging 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 21.3 minutes off the bench. He is shooting a career-low 28.3 percent from beyond the arc, though his corner 3 with 40.5 seconds left in Friday’s game against the Pistons helped the Knicks pull away for a win.