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Cavs exercise contract options on Darius Garland, Dylan Windler and Isaac Okoro

The Cleveland Cavaliers have exercised the fourth-year (2022-23) contract options on Darius Garland and Dylan Windler and the third-year (2022-23) option on Isaac Okoro.

Garland (6-1, 186) was the No. 5 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by Cleveland and owns career averages of 14.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 0.95 steals in 31.9 minutes over 117 career games (113 starts) with the team. Last season, the Vanderbilt product received three votes for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award after recording career highs in points (17.4), rebounds (2.4), assists (6.1, 18th in NBA), steals (1.22), minutes (33.1), field goal percentage (.451) and three-point percentage (.395). Additionally, Garland was one of only four players in the entire NBA to post at least 17.0 points, 6.0 assists, a .390 clip from three and a .840 mark from the foul line in 2020-21, joining Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving and Kyle Lowry. He became the quickest in franchise history to reach 200 career three-pointers (107 games), achieving that mark with his fourth trey in a win over Chicago on April 21. So far this season, Garland is handing out a career-best 9.0 assists per game, which ranks third in the NBA, while also averaging 14.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per contest.

Windler (6-6, 199) was selected as the 26th overall pick by the Cavaliers during the 2019 NBA Draft after a four-year career at Belmont. He has appeared in 34 career games with the Cavaliers, holding averages of 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15.2 minutes. Last season, he averaged 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 16.5 minutes over 31 games after missing his entire rookie campaign in 2019-20 due to a left lower leg stress reaction. From Dec. 23 to Feb. 24, Windler led the Cavs in three-point percentage at .418 (23-55) and had a stretch of nine consecutive three-pointers made without a miss (Feb. 23-24), becoming the first Cavs rookie to accomplish that feat in 20 years and was the longest by any Cavs player since Kyrie Irving in 2015.

Okoro (6-5, 225), the No. 5 pick by the Cavaliers out of Auburn in the 2020 NBA Draft, is averaging 9.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.90 steals in 32.1 minutes over 71 career games with the team. An NBA All-Rookie Second Team selection last season, Okoro (646 points, 62 three-pointers, 62 steals, 24 blocks) became just the third rookie in franchise history to record at least 500 points, 50 threes, 50 steals and 20 blocks in a single season, joining LeBron James (2003-04) and Kyrie Irving (2011-12). The 20-year-old led all NBA rookies in minutes per game in 2020-21 while also ranking in the Top 10 among rookies in steals per game (sixth), points per game (eighth) and assists per game (10th). His 32.4 minutes averaged was the highest by a Cavs rookie since LeBron James in 2003-04 (39.5) and the most by any NBA rookie since 2017-18 (Ben Simmons 33.7 and Donovan Mitchell 33.4).

Utah Jazz exercise contract option on Udoka Azubuike

The Utah Jazz have exercised their third-year team option on center Udoka Azubuike for the 2022-23 season.

Azubuike (7-0, 260, Kansas) was originally drafted by the Jazz in the first round (27th overall) of the 2020 NBA Draft. The 22-year-old saw action in 15 games last season, owning averages of 1.1 points and 0.9 rebounds in 3.8 minutes per game.

During the 2021 Salt Lake City Summer League, Azubuike played in three games, averaging 13.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, earning a 2021 Salt Lake City Summer League Standout selection. He also posted averages of 13.8 points, 8.8 boards and 2.5 blocks in four contests at the 2021 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

The Lagos, Nigeria native was a four-year collegiate player at Kansas where he garnered 2019-20 Consensus All-America Second Team honors, All-Big 12 First Team accolades and was named Big 12 Player of the Year. He left Kansas as the school’s all-time leader in field goal percentage (.746) and eighth in all-time blocks (172).

Injury update on Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham

It’ll be great to see Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham make his NBA debut. But at this particular minute, there’s no firm date just yet. Via the Detroit Free Press:

Cade Cunningham is nearing his return after suffering a left ankle sprain early in training camp. But nearly a month after the injury, it isn’t clear when the No. 1 pick will return.

Cunningham, the Detroit Pistons’ No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, could make his NBA debut Saturday night at home against the Orlando Magic, but the Pistons haven’t set a firm timeline on when Cunningham will return from his injury. Last week, general manager Troy Weaver said the hope was to see Cunningham play when the Pistons returned home from their three-game road trip.

Bulls forward Patrick Williams reportedly out with serious wrist injury

A talented young Bull will reportedly miss most or all of the 2021-22 NBA season, unfortunately. Via ESPN.com:

Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams will undergo surgery to repair a dislocated left wrist and is expected to miss the rest of the regular season, sources told ESPN.

Williams tumbled out of the air on a flagrant foul by New York’s Mitchell Robinson on Thursday night, landing on his left wrist and suffering a severe perilunate dislocation, the source said.

There’s hope that a timeline on a return could make it possible for Williams to return for the playoffs, a source told ESPN.

Jazz start season 4-0, now begin road trip

The Jazz, who at 4-0 are the NBA’s lone undefeated team through Thursday’s games, are about to hit the road. Here’s the Deseret News:

The Utah Jazz are on their first extended road trip of the young 2021-22 season and the final game of that trip is a looming cloud that could end up being their first loss of the season, but it could also be an opportunity for a big win.

They started out in Houston Thursday night with an easy 122-91 win, and will play their first back-to-back set Saturday and Sunday in Chicago and Milwaukee, respectively.

The Chicago Bulls are having their best start to a season since Michael Jordan was on their roster. Undefeated through four games, the Bulls have shown toughness and an ability to score the ball at a really high rate. With Utah coming into their building, they’ll be ready to put up a fight.

Hornets exercise contract options on LaMelo Ball and PJ Washington

The Charlotte Hornets have exercised their third-year option on guard LaMelo Ball and their fourth-year option on forward PJ Washington.

Ball is in his second season with the Hornets and is averaging 22.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game through Charlotte’s first four games of the season. The reigning Rookie of the Year, Ball averaged 15.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 51 games, including 31 starts during the 2020-21 season to become just the 12th rookie in NBA history to average 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. A Chino Hills, California native, he was selected third overall in the 2020 NBA Draft after spending the 2019-20 season with the Illawarra Hawks.

In 125 career games, including 118 starts, Washington is averaging 12.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting .444% from the field and .377% from 3-point range. The 2019-20 All-Rookie Second Team selection begins his third season in Charlotte and has accrued averages of 6.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in three games. Last season, Washington became the youngest player in franchise history to score 40 points in a game on Feb. 28, 2021, after he scored 42 points in a win at Sacramento.

Sixers exercise contract options for Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey

The Philadelphia 76ers have exercised the fourth-year contract option for Matisse Thybulle and the third-year contract option for Tyrese Maxey, both set to take effect for the 2022-23 season.

Thybulle, who is in his third NBA season, was selected by Boston with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft before Philadelphia acquired his rights in a trade. For his career, Thybulle has appeared in 135 games (22 starts), tallying 4.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 19.9 minutes per game. Thybulle’s 209 career steals rank sixth in the NBA since his rookie season. Over his two-plus NBA seasons, Thybulle has 31 games with at least three steals, a mark that is tied for the third-most in the league during that span. Last season, he was the only player in the NBA to have at least 100 steals and 70 blocks in less than 1,300 minutes played.

A four-year player out of the University of Washington in his home state, Thybulle capped his collegiate career by securing the 2019 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award and earning his second consecutive Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honor. He tallied 331 total steals in his four seasons with the Huskies, breaking the Pac-12 record previously held by Hall of Famer Gary Payton.

Maxey, now in his second season, holds career averages of 8.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 16.7 minutes per contest in 63 games (13 starts). Maxey posted a career-high 39 points, along with seven rebounds and eight assists against Denver last season. At the time, Maxey was the first rookie since 2019 to post a 35-5-5 performance in a single game and became just the second 76er rookie to post such numbers in a game.

The 76ers selected Maxey with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft from the University of Kentucky where he appeared in 31 games (28 starts) and tallied 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in a team-high 34.5 minutes per contest. During his lone collegiate season, he held shooting percentages of .427 from the field and .833 from the free-throw line. These numbers led to Maxey being named to the 2019-20 All-SEC Second Team as well as the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Timberwolves assign McKinley Wright IV to G League

The Minnesota Timberwolves have assigned guard McKinley Wright IV to the Iowa Wolves, the team’s NBA G League affiliate.

In 4:08 of action on Oct. 20 against the Houston Rockets, Wright IV recorded three points, marking his first NBA points. The Minneapolis native played and started in all five games for the Timberwolves entry in the 2021 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 7.2 points on 44.4% shooting, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 26.0 minutes per contest.