NBA News Blog – Page 292 – NBA Blog

Heat center Bam Adebayo set to return

Star Heat center Bam Adebayo is set to return after playing just one game so far in March. Via the Sun Sentinel:

For Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, the past two weeks have provided the unlikely combination of boredom and joy.

He said Tuesday that is why he is glad to be back in the mix after missing four games with knee tendinitis.

Asked after the morning shootaround at AmericanAirlines Arena what it was like to be reduced to spectator, having not previously missed a game due to injury the past two seasons, he said, “bored as hell.”

But he said the Heat going 4-0 during that span took away some of the edge.

“I mean, obviously seeing my teammates win and have that joy, you want to be part of that,” he said. “So, I was sitting there and I’m bored as hell.”

The 21-18 Heat, after a slow start to the season, are on a roll as of late.

Adebayo this season is averaging 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.0 blocks per game. He last played on March 2, in a loss to the Hawks.

Raptors 905 GM Chad Sanders named 2020-21 G League Basketball Executive of the Year

Raptors 905 General Manager Chad Sanders has been named the 2020-21 NBA G League Basketball Executive of the Year, as selected by his fellow NBA G League team basketball executives.

In his third season as General Manager for the Toronto Raptors’ NBA G League affiliate, Sanders oversaw a team that finished with the best record in the NBA G League (12-3) during single-site play at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla.

Sanders’ key player acquisitions included forwards Henry Ellenson (21.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and Alize Johnson (16.6 ppg and 13.3 rpg) and guard Nik Stauskas (18.1 ppg, 3.6 apg), who helped the team finish with the highest-scoring offense in the league (123.8 ppg). Raptors 905 also led the NBA G League in assists (28.9 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (37.9).

Before the season, Sanders acquired returning player rights to guard Matt Mooney from the Memphis Hustle in exchange for returning player rights to Ben Moore. Sanders also traded for the 15th pick in the first round of the 2020-21 NBA G League Draft, which was used to select Gary Payton II. Mooney (11.6 ppg, 5.7 apg) and Payton II (10.8 ppg, 2.5 spg) were key contributors for the top-seeded Raptors 905.

Prior to being named General Manager for Raptors 905, Sanders worked in the Dominican Republic’s Basketball Program from 2011-2017, becoming General Manager of the National Team in 2015. During his tenure, the club’s world ranking climbed 10 spots from 27th to 17th, highlighted by a 13th place finish in the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Santa Cruz Warriors General Manager Ryan Atkinson and Oklahoma City Blue General Manager Nazr Mohammed finished second and third, respectively, in voting for the 2020-21 NBA G League Basketball Executive of the Year Award.

Lakers forward Jared Dudley suffers knee injury

Veteran Lakers forward Jared Dudley has suffered a serious injury. Via the OC Register:

As of Sunday afternoon, however, it is worth wondering how much longer Dudley’s blue-collar run through the NBA will last after the Lakers revealed that the forward has torn the MCL in his right knee. Already a little-used player who has struggled with injury for much of the season — Dudley has scored just six points in 11 appearances this season — it could be one of the closing drumbeats of a charmed career.

The Lakers said Dudley was still evaluating his treatment options as of Sunday evening and was not yet officially ruled out for the season. Depending on the grade of tear, such injuries can take anywhere from several weeks to several months to heal. The Lakers have 34 regular season games remaining before the playoffs begin in mid-May.

It’s an unwelcome addition to a lengthy injury report: For Monday’s game at Golden State, the Lakers are already without Anthony Davis (right calf strain), Marc Gasol (health and safety protocols), Alex Caruso (mild concussion) and Kostas Antetokounmpo (health and safety protocols). Even though Dudley hasn’t played much this season, he’s gotten recent nods for defensive presence without Davis to man the middle.

The Lakers are 25-13 this season. Dudley, who will turn 36 this summer, barely plays this days and is averaging 0.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 6.9 minutes per game.

Thunder trade Hamidou Diallo to Pistons for Svi Mykhailiuk and draft pick

The Oklahoma City Thunder has acquired guard/forward Svi Mykhailiuk and a 2027 second-round draft pick (via Houston) in a trade with the Detroit Pistons for guard Hamidou Diallo.

Mykhailiuk [mee-HIGH-luke] (6-8, 205) has appeared in 134 career games (32 starts) with the Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons and averaged 6.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 17.5 minutes per game, while shooting 36.9 percent from beyond the arc. This season with the Pistons, he has seen time in 36 games (five starts) and is averaging 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 17.6 minutes per game. He has 16 games with two or more three-point makes this season, including a career-high-tying five makes on March 3 at Toronto.

Last season, Mykhailiuk was selected to play in the 2020 Rising Stars game as a member of Team World during All-Star Weekend.

Diallo, 6-5, 202, has played for the Thunder since he was selected 45th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets and subsequently involved in two trades to Charlotte and then Oklahoma City following the draft. Through 32 games (five starts) this season, Diallo is averaging career highs in scoring (11.9 ppg), rebounding (5.2 rpg), assists (2.4 apg), steals (1.0 spg) and minutes (23.8 mpg). In 129 career NBA games (11 starts), Diallo has posted clips of 6.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.7 steals in 16.9 minutes.

The Queens, N.Y. native won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie at the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte. Diallo played one season collegiately at Kentucky in 2017-18, averaging 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals in 24.8 minutes over 37 games (all starts).

Lakers’ Anthony Davis out at least another two weeks

Anthony Davis, who has been out of action due to a right calf strain, was examined by team doctors this evening. The Lakers say that he is progressing in his recovery and has been cleared to enter the next phase of his return to play process.

Davis will be re-evaluated by team doctors in two weeks.

In 23 games played for the 24-13 Lakers this season, Davis is averaging 22.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.8 blocks in 32.8 minutes per game.

Cavs sign Quinn Cook to 10-day contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Quinn Cook to a 10-day contract.

Cook (6-1, 179) appeared in 16 games for the Los Angeles Lakers this season before being waived on February 24. A two-time NBA champion (2018, 2020), Cook has played in 181 career regular season games (29 starts) over five NBA seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors and Lakers, holding averages of 6.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 14.1 minutes. He has also appeared in 40 postseason games, including six contests in last year’s title run with the Lakers. The Washington, D.C. native went undrafted in 2015 after playing four years at Duke where he won an NCAA Championship during his senior season and left as one of just seven players in school history to record 1,000 points and 500 assists.

Additionally, Cook was a member of Cleveland’s 2015 Training Camp roster and spent nearly two seasons with the Canton Charge (2015-16, 2016-17), the Cavaliers’ exclusively owned and operated NBA G League team. With the Charge, he was a two-time All-Star (2016, 2017) and the G League’s Rookie of the Year (2016).

Cook will wear jersey #4 for the Cavaliers.

Rockets sign guard Mason Jones to 10-day contract

The Houston Rockets have signed guard Mason Jones to a 10-day contract.

Jones (6-5, 200) was an early entry candidate for the 2020 NBA Draft following his junior season at Arkansas and originally signed a two-way contract with Houston on Nov. 26, 2020. He has appeared in 22 games with one start for the Rockets this season. Per 36 minutes played, Jones is averaging 18.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.

The 22-year-old has scored in double-figures four times this season, including a career-best 24 points while shooting 6-of-8 from 3-point range at San Antonio on Jan. 16. Jones shot 9-of-10 from the foul line vs. Memphis on Feb. 28, marking the most free throw attempts by a Rockets rookie since Luis Scola in 2007-08.

Lakers sign center Damian Jones to another 10-day contract

The Los Angeles Lakers signed center Damian Jones to a second 10-day contract today.

Jones has averaged 4.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 10.3 minutes through three games with the Lakers after signing with the team on February 25. In 17 games (one start) with Los Angeles and Phoenix this season, Jones is averaging 2.0 points and 1.4 rebounds in 7.4 minutes.

The Lakers are 24-13 this season, which is the third best record in the Western conference, behind the Jazz and Suns. They’re being led in scoring by LeBron James at 25.8 points per game, Anthony Davis at 22.5 ppg (in just 23 games played), Dennis Schroder at 14.9 ppg, Montrezl Harrell at 13.8 ppg (almost entirely off the bench), and Kyle Kuzma usually off the bench at 11.5 ppg.

Meyers Leonard fined and suspended for using an antisemitic slur

Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard has been fined $50,000 and suspended from all Heat facilities and team activities for one week for an anti-Semitic comment he made Monday, March 8, the NBA announced today.

Leonard will also be required to participate in a cultural diversity program.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released the following statement:

“Meyers Leonard’s comment was inexcusable and hurtful and such an offensive term has no place in the NBA or in our society. Yesterday, he spoke to representatives of the Anti-Defamation League to better understand the impact of his words and we accept that he is genuinely remorseful. We have further communicated to Meyers that derogatory comments like this will not be tolerated and that he will be expected to uphold the core values of our league – equality, tolerance, inclusion and respect – at all times moving forward.”

Jazz sign Ersan Ilyasova, who had not played in NBA yet this season

The Utah Jazz signed forward Ersan Ilyasova today.

Ilyasova (6-9, 235, Turkey) spent the 2019-20 season with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he averaged 6.6 points on 46.6 percent from the field and 4.8 rebounds in 63 games (eight starts). The 33-year-old has had a 12-year NBA career, competing in 808 games (423 starts), owning career averages of 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists with Milwaukee (2006-07, 2009-15, 2018-20), Detroit (2015-16), Orlando (2015-16), Oklahoma City (2016-17), Philadelphia (2016-17, 2017-18) and Atlanta (2017-18). He’s one of just 26 active players to have totaled over 8,000 points and 4,500 rebounds.

Originally drafted with the 36th overall pick (second round) in the 2005 NBA Draft by Milwaukee, Ilyasova has additional playing experience in Europe, competing for Fenerbahce Ulker in 2004-05 and 2011-12 and with FC Barcelona from 2007-09. He’s also represented the Turkish National Team since 2006 in nine different events, averaging 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 52 international contests.

Ilyasova will wear no. 77 for the Jazz.

The Jazz have a 27-9 record, which is the best in the entire NBA. They’re being led in scoring this season by Donovan Mitchell at 24.7 points per game, Jordan Clarkson at 17.9 ppg (coming off the bench for all 36 of his games played), Mike Conley at 16.1 ppg, Bojan Bogdanovic at 15.7 ppg, Rudy Gobert at 14.2 ppg, and Joe Ingles at 11.5 ppg. The team is ranked 4th in the NBA in both offense and defense.