Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Mavericks transfer Tyler Bey from G League team Long Island Nets to Salt Lake City Stars

The Dallas Mavericks have recalled two-way rookie Tyler Bey from the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League and have transferred Bey to the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League.

Bey (6-7, 216) has appeared in four games for Dallas this season, logging 13 total minutes. He recorded season bests of five points (2-3 FG, 1-2 3FG), two rebounds and one block in his most recent appearance against Houston on Jan. 23. Bey recorded one appearance with the Long Island Nets, logging six minutes and two points (1-3 FG) and three rebounds against the Iowa Wolves.

The 2020-21 NBA G League season tipped off on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and features 18 teams competing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

The Mavericks’ G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, opted not to travel to the NBA G League’s campus. NBA teams without an NBA G League affiliate participating in Orlando have the opportunity to assign roster players and transfer two-way players using the league’s flexible assignment and two-way rules.

No Bradley Beal for Wizards Friday against the Knicks

The Wizards will be without their star shooting guard tomorrow against the Knicks, as Bradley Beal will be out for rest purposes. Via the Washington Post:

Beal, who leads the league with 32.8 points per game and leads the Wizards with 35.3 minutes per game, will miss his first contest in more than a month. He missed Washington’s 128-124 loss to Miami on Jan. 9 because of the league’s coronavirus protocols, but the guard has not missed a game for rest all season.

The timing is understandable: The Wizards (6-16) are in the midst of a 16-game stretch in 27 days this month because of rescheduling in the wake of the team’s two-week coronavirus pause in January. After Friday, Washington faces the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets back-to-back on Sunday and Monday before playing the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. The team then leaves on a West Coast trip with four games in six days.

A fun season-long thing to watch will be chemistry development between Beal and new backcourt-mate Russell Westbrook.

Toronto Raptors will stay based in Tampa, Florida for entire 2020-21 NBA season

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that they will finish the 2020-21 season in Tampa, Florida. Because of ongoing border restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mindful of public safety measures in Canada, the team has decided they will continue to play their home games at Amalie Arena.

“Florida has been really welcoming to us and we’re so grateful for the hospitality we’ve found in Tampa and at Amalie – we’re living in a city of champions, and we intend to carry on the tradition of winning for our new friends and fans here,” Raptors President Masai Ujiri said. “But home is where the heart is, and our hearts are in Toronto. We think often of our fans, of our Scotiabank Arena family, and all those we are missing back home, and we can’t wait until we can all be together again.”

The Raptors initially announced in November that Amalie Arena, in downtown Tampa, would serve as their home court for the first half of the 2020-21 season. A schedule release for the second half of the season is expected in the coming days.

Pacers fall to Nets for 4th straight loss

The Pacers are in a rut lately. Via the Indianapolis Star:

Exactly seven days ago, the Indiana Pacers trailed by 40 to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Wednesday, they had season-lows for first-quarter points (18), points in a half (30) and trailed by 36 in what became a 104-94 loss at the Brooklyn Nets to open a three-game trip.

The difference was Milwaukee, which has had the conference’s best record the previous two seasons, played well. The Nets, one of the league’s worst defensive teams, didn’t. And they didn’t have Kevin Durant.

The Pacers (12-13) were just that bad. Yet again.

They played late into the shot clock, had two violations in the first quarter and there wasn’t anything special that the Nets did to earn those turnovers.

The Pacers have a young star shooting guard in Caris LeVert. But after being traded by the Nets to Indiana, a health issue has prevented him from making his Pacer debut, and it’s unclear when his return to action will be.

But there’s no time to rest. Up next for the 12-13 squad is a game in Detroit tomorrow against the Pistons, who just yesterday handed a Nets squad that was without Kevin Durant a loss.

Patrick Beverley returns to action for Clippers

The Clippers have their scrappy, defensive-minded point guard back. Via the OC Register:

“Super-fired up!” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said before Wednesday’s game in Minneapolis, where Beverley made his return to action after missing eight games with right knee soreness. “That’s what me and the coaches were just talking about – he’s excited to be back, and we’re happy to have him.”

Beverley started in his return Wednesday, joining a lineup that was short superstar Paul George (bone edema right toe) but still featured Reggie Jackson, who’d been starting in Beverley’s place.

Following four days of pain-free on-court workouts, Beverley was cleared to play Wednesday, said Lue, who noted that the 32-year-old would be on a minutes limit, the specifics of which he declined to detail.

Without Beverley these past couple of weeks, the Clippers went 4-4 and their defensive rating in that span slipped to 112.2, a couple of ticks above what it was – 110.1 – before that.

The Clippers have one of the league’s best offenses this season, but have been merely average on defense. Getting Pat Bev back clearly should help there.

Nets fans can attend home games starting February 23, limited to 10 percent arena capacity

New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced today that Barclays Center has been approved to reopen beginning Tuesday, Feb. 23, when the Nets take on the Sacramento Kings at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Following State guidelines, the venue will be limited to 10 percent capacity until further notice.

Per BSE Global, who manage and operate Barclays Center and the Nets, “Barclays Center will employ robust health and safety protocols that have been developed in coordination with the New York State Department of Health, the National Basketball Association and the Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC). These protocols include: a negative PCR test for all patrons, administered within 72 hours in advance of the game; mandatory temperature checks; social distancing and use of face masks; and thorough cleaning and sanitation procedures. To help further ensure the safety of Barclays Center fans and employees, the venue will also continue to provide COVID-19 testing to all arena employees prior to each game. Barclays Center has achieved GBAC STAR™ accreditation, the gold standard for prepared facilities.”

“Thank you to Governor Cuomo and his team at the Department of Health for collaborating with us in creating a robust health and safety plan that allows fans to return to our arena,” said BSE Global CEO John Abbamondi. “The Governor has played a tremendous role in getting New York businesses back on their feet and we are proud to announce that for the remainder of the season we are donating a portion of ticket proceeds to support vaccination efforts here in Brooklyn. We would also like to thank our fans for their support this season and we are looking forward to bringing their energy back to Barclays Center!”

Pistons center Jahlil Okafor undergoes knee surgery

The Detroit Pistons center Jahlil Okafor has undergone surgery to clean the lateral meniscus in his left knee.

Okafor is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

Per the Detroit News, “Okafor, 25, signed with the Pistons in the offseason as a free agent, looking to become the backup center and to allow rookie [Isaiah] Stewart to grow into the position as he learned.”

Phoenix Suns will increase fan capacity for home games to 3,000

The Phoenix Suns are increasing capacity for fans at the transformed Phoenix Suns Arena beginning with the team’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

After hosting 1,500 fans during games this week in two-person and four-person, socially distanced pods, the organization has decided to increase capacity to 3,000 fans, adding more two-person and four-person pods in the upper level of the arena, along with a limited number of floor seat pods.

In addition, the Suns are offering Party Pods for groups of four to six fans. Located in the private luxury suites at Phoenix Suns Arena, the Party Pods offer a choice of food and beverage packages, one parking pass for the group, a dedicated restroom within the suite, and a private shopping experience exclusively for Party Pod fans. Party Pods within suites represent 25 percent of normal capacity.

Pistons trade Derrick Rose to Knicks for Dennis Smith Jr. and draft pick

The New York Knicks have acquired guard Derrick Rose in a trade with the Detroit Pistons for guard Dennis Smith Jr. and a 2021 second round draft pick (via Charlotte).

Rose, 6-3, 200-pounds, has appeared in 611 NBA games (504 starts) recording 18.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds over 12 seasons with Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minnesota and Detroit. In 15 games with Detroit this season, he is averaging 14.2 points, 4.2 assists and 1.9 rebounds over 22.8 minutes.

The Chicago-native returns to New York, where he previously spent one season with the Knicks, after being acquired from Chicago via trade on Jun. 22, 2016. He averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds over 32.5 minutes in 64 games (all starts) as a Knick.

Career highlights for the first-overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft include: 2011 NBA MVP; 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year; three consecutive NBA All-Star selections (2010, 2011, 2012); 2009 NBA All-Rookie Team; two-time Eastern Conference Player of the Month; five-time Eastern Conference Player of the Week and three-time Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.

Smith Jr., 6-2, 205, was the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks and went to New York as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade on January 31, 2019. In 159 career games (122 starts), the 23-year-old has averaged 12.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals with Dallas and New York. In his rookie season, he averaged a career-high 15.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2017-18. He was also selected to play in the 2018 Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, CA.

“We welcome Dennis Smith Jr. to the Pistons family. Adding another young player who was a high draft pick alongside a draft asset advances our goals in building for the future,” said Troy Weaver, Detroit Pistons General Manager. “We thank Derrick Rose for his contributions on and off the court during his time as a Piston and wish him and his family well as they move forward.”

A native of Fayetteville, NC, Smith Jr. played one collegiate season at North Carolina State University where he was named ACC Freshman of the Year after averaging a school-freshman record 18.1 points and 6.2 assists per game. He also garnered All -ACC Second Team honors.

Cavs forward Larry Nance Jr. undergoes finger surgery

Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. underwent successful surgery today to address a fracture in his left fourth metacarpal that occurred during Saturday night’s home game against Milwaukee at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The surgery was performed by Cleveland Clinic Orthopedic Specialist Dr. Steven Maschke and assisted by Cavaliers Team Physician Dr. James Rosneck at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health.

Nance is expected to remain out approximately six weeks and will undergo a period of rest and rehabilitation.