Inside Hoops – Page 353 – NBA Blog

LeBron James and Anthony Davis may not rush into NBA preseason

Starting Friday, we’ll have NBA games again. Sure, it’ll just be preseason. But just 11 days after that, the regular season tips off, and that’s real basketball right there.

This Friday, the Lakers are one of the team’s taking court. But some key stars may not participate. Via the OC Register:

While the team is slated for a preseason game against the Clippers on Friday night at Staples Center, they probably won’t be at full strength. And after Tuesday’s training camp session, the team’s third as a group, Coach Frank Vogel said of stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, “it’s probably unlikely that they play.”

It’s not a surprise: The team has pitched patience since returning to the court in the last week, given that the Lakers are just two months removed from winning the 2020 title. Normal offseason rhythms have been interrupted, and team trainers and medical staffers have cautioned coaches about diving too quickly into game-ready play.

While Davis said he’s not normally the kind of player who seeks out pick-up sessions in the offseason, he has a routine of working with trainers in smaller settings. After winning a championship with the Lakers in October then taking much of last month to sort out a new contract, he’s gotten little of his normal offseason plan accomplished – the Lakers’ four-game preseason, with just two weeks until the regular-season opener on Dec. 22, now serves as part of the ramp-up to playing shape.

Normally, all key players participate in preseason, but usually play very limited minute But this season’s training camp and preseason period is very brief, so teams will have to develop chemistry in a hurry.

Fortunately for the Lakers, they just won the NBA championship. So while they did make some offseason changes, they have no reason to rush.

The Atlanta Hawks had a busy NBA offseason

Last season’s Hawks won’t be this season’s Hawks. Things changed over the offseason. Via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Overall, the Hawks added nine new faces as they revamped their roster this offseason with an eye on winning now, as opposed to gathering assets and rebuilding for the future as they’ve done in recent years. Some of the most notable additions include a handful of experienced veterans (Danilo Gallinari, Rajon Rondo, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kris Dunn, Tony Snell, Solomon Hill) who will be expected to contribute from the get-go, but also share what they’ve learned with the Hawks’ young core of players, most of which is still quite young.

Some of that may be X’s and O’s-related, some of that may be more intangible.

Immediately, though, many returning players have noticed an increased amount of team communication, which is a good sign on a team that often struggled to talk enough on the court last season. Some of that came simply from having quieter players on the roster, and some of it was because the Hawks had several rookies and young players getting heavy playing time while still learning the NBA.

The Hawks finished 20-47 in the coronavirus-shortened 2019-20 NBA season. Trae Young put up 29.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game, but there weren’t a lot of bright spots in Atlanta beyond those numbers. But now, on paper, a squad is emerging.

Pelicans sign Naji Marshall to two-way contract

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent Naji Marshall to a two-way contract.

Marshall, listed at 6-foot-7, 220 lbs., most recently played college basketball for Xavier (OH) University. After averaging 16.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the 2019-20 season, he was named to the All-Big East First Team.

Signing a two-way contract with the Pelicans means Marshall will mostly play for the Pelicans’ G League affiliate team, the Erie BayHawks this season.

The Pelicans’ training camp roster now stands at 20 players.

Three members of Raptors organization test positive for COVID-19

During the league-mandated testing period prior to NBA training camp, which began a few days ago, three members of the Toronto Raptors organization tested positive for COVID-19.

From the Raptors: “All three are, and will continue to, self-isolate away from the rest of the organization. Adherence to protocols, follow-up testing and contact tracing has so far revealed no spread to other members of the Raptors organization. We will continue to follow safety protocols, and will update the situation as appropriate.”

And per the Toronto Sun: The team held its first full practice a day earlier and afterward head coach Nick Nurse and point guard Fred VanVleet talked of the challenges of staying safe this season while they are located in Tampa Bay. Florida is, and has been, of course, a COVID hot spot. “My role is to, you know, just constantly be on them and be a reminder constantly of our actions and our behaviour, and how impactful it is not only themselves, their families, our team, the organization, there’s lots on the line if you’re not doing the best you can with the COVID-19 protocols,” Nurse said Sunday.”

Heat star Jimmy Butler sounds ready for the season

Heat small forward Jimmy Butler has a pretty right-to-the-point summary of what went down in the 2020 NBA playoffs. Via the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

“We play this game to win. We didn’t do that, and that’s all that matters. I think we all have things that we want to be better at, what you could have changed. But, in the end, we get another crack at it now, and that’s what I’ll be locked in on, and that’s what we’ll be locked in on is: How can we be better and not let what happened last year happen again?” …

Coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday it very much mattered the way Butler pushed himself to the limit in his first season with the team.

“The image of Jimmy just emptying the tank and being on the basket stanchion,” he said of the iconic Finals photos of utter exhaustion, “that’s an iconic visual that not only we’ll remember, but I think that will be a teaching point. I’ve already heard from a lot of my coaching peers in college and high school, they talk about that, that if you can push yourself to that point as a competitor, that’s when you can find out really what you’re made of.”

The Heat exceeded all expectations, reached the Finals, put up a good fight but fell in six games to the Lakers.

Sixers sign guard Justin Robinson

The Philadelphia 76ers have signed guard Justin Robinson.

The Sixers’ G League affiliate team, the Delaware Blue Coats, signed Robinson, who is listed at 6-foot-1, 195 lbs., on January 21 off the waiver wire. Now he’s moved on up to the Sixers. It’s reportedly an Exhibit 10 contract.

Last season, his rookie year, Robinson played in 33 G League games (24 starts) with Delaware and the Capital City Go-Go, for an average of 14.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 31.2 minutes per game. Robinson’s 6.2 assists per game was fourth best among rookies. Robinson also played in nine NBA games as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Robinson played four years of college hoops at Virginia Tech. As a college senior in 2018-19, he averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 29.6 minutes per contest and finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in assists (562).

Trail Blazers temporarily close practice facility after three positive COVID tests

Neil Olshey, President of Basketball Operations for the Portland Trail Blazers, issued the following statement today: “Over the past four days, we have had three positive COVID test results within our organization. Out of an abundance of caution, having completed contact tracing, we are closing our practice facility today for deep cleaning while we run confirmatory tests.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean players or coaches have it. It could be anyone in the organization who is presumably around the team or the practice facility. But the team is clearly doing the right thing and focusing on safety.

Pacers hire Calbert Cheaney and Tyler Marsh as assistant coaches

The Indiana Pacers yesterday made six new additions to head coach Nate Bjorkgren’s coaching staff for the 2020-21 season.

Calbert Cheaney and Tyler Marsh were named Assistant Coaches/Player Development, Dylan DeBusk was named Video Coordinator, and Maurice Baker, Earl Barron and Moses Ehambe were hired as Video/Player Development Assistants.

The most interesting story on the Pacers roster these days revolves around shooting guard Victor Oladipo, and his future with the team. He’ll be paid a reported $21 million during the 2020-21 season, but then his contract is up. Indiana faces some tough decisions, and ones that will be tough to make perhaps until they and the rest of the league how well Oladipo plays at the start of this season now that he’ll presumably be at full health.

Lakers re-sign Quinn Cook after waiving him in November

The Los Angeles Lakers waived Quinn Cook a few weeks ago, but have had a change of heart. The team re-signed the guard yesterday.

Last season with the Lakers, Cook played in 44 games, coming off the bench for 43 of them, for an average of 5.1 points (.425 FG%), 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11.5 minutes per outing.

Over the course of his NBA career, playing for the Lakers, Mavericks, Pelicans and Warriors, Cook in 165 games has an average of 6.8 points (.463 FG%, .407 3FG%), 1.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 15.1 minutes.

Huge Lakers news came a few days ago, with the team formally re-signing superstar forwards LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Neither move was a surprise, but big transactions becoming official is always a relief.

Kings exercise 2021-22 option on Marvin Bagley III

The Sacramento Kings have exercised their 2021-22 option on forward Marvin Bagley III.

Per multiple reports, Bagley’s Kings salary for that season is for around $11.3 million.

Selected by the Kings with the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft out of Duke, Bagley has appeared in 75 games (10 starts) in two seasons for the Kings and is averaging 14.8 points (.497 FG%, .288 3pt%, .703 FT%), 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.9 blocks, and 25.3 minutes per game.

The 6-11, 235-pound forward was a member of the 2018-19 NBA All-Rookie First Team and competed on Team USA in the 2019 MTN DEW ICE Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend.