NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
Trail Blazers blog – Portland Trail Blazers basketball blog
Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic has been fined $40,000 for confronting a fan courtside and grabbing the fan’s cell phone and throwing it into the spectator stands, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.
The incident occurred following the Trail Blazers’ 129-98 loss to the Indiana Pacers on March 20 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Trail Blazers have signed guard Kris Dunn and center Drew Eubanks to 10-day contracts. Both contracts are via the NBA’s hardship exception.
Dunn, 27, holds career averages of 8.2 points (42.0% FG, 30.5% 3-PT, 72.7% FT), 3.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.53 steals and 24.1 minutes in 231 games (126 starts) over five seasons with Minnesota, Chicago and Atlanta. He has played in 15 games (eight starts) for the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBA G League in 2021-22, posting averages of 11.8 points (45.6% FG, 25.0% 3-PT, 70.4% FT), 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.87 steals and 27.0 minutes.
A native of New London, Connecticut, Dunn (6-3, 205) was selected by Minnesota with the fifth overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft after four collegiate seasons at Providence.
Eubanks, 25, previously signed two 10-day contracts with Portland on February 22 and March 4. In seven games (all starts) with the Trail Blazers, Eubanks has averaged 9.6 points (58.8% FG, 77.8% FT), 8.1 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 26.0 minutes. For the season, Eubanks is averaging 5.3 points (54.3% FG, 75.0% FT), 4.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 13.9 minutes in 56 games (16 starts) with San Antonio and Portland.
A product of Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon, Eubanks (6-9, 245) played three seasons at Oregon State from 2015-18 before going undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft. He holds career averages of 4.9 points (56.7% FG, 74.7% FT), 4.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.66 blocks in 155 games (22 starts) for the Spurs and Trail Blazers.
Trail Blazers founding broadcaster Bill Schonely has announced his retirement after over 50 years with the Trail Blazers organization as play-by-play broadcaster and team ambassador at the age of 92.
Schonely, who coined many popular catchphrases for the organization including Portland favorite “Rip City”, was hired in 1970 by team founder Harry Glickman and served as play-by-play broadcaster for almost three decades. Schonely has served as a Trail Blazers ambassador since 2003 and has made appearances in the community in support of the team’s outreach mission.
“Bill has been a fixture of the Trail Blazers organization since its inception and will continue to be forever engrained in this city,” said Dewayne Hankins, President of Business Operations for the Trail Blazers. “We thank Bill immensely for his 50+ years of hard work and everything he has given to our organization, the city of Portland and the entire NBA community.”
Schonely was one of the organization’s earliest employees at hire number six. He was tasked with quickly assembling a radio network to introduce Oregon to the Trail Blazers organization. Serving as the team’s play-by-play voice for nearly 30 years, he called over 2,500 games including the team’s incredible championship run in 1977 and the exciting runs in the 1990s. Schonely maintained a streak of calling games throughout his 30-year run that was only interrupted in 1982-83 when he stepped away to recover from heart bypass surgery. Prior to joining the Trail Blazers organization, Schonely served in the United States Marine Corps and worked at radio stations throughout the country.
In 1999, Schonely was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame for broadcasting and in 2012, he was awarded the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his contributions to the game as an outstanding broadcaster.
Schonely will be honored at the last home game of the season on Sunday, April 10 vs. Utah
The Minnesota Timberwolves enjoyed a 43-point win tonight. Here’s the Star Tribune on it:
Two of the Timberwolves three best players, the injured Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell, sat toward the end of the bench Monday night and never bothered to take off their coats.
They probably knew their team wasn’t going to have to sweat this one out. That was the case pretty much from the start as the Wolves downed a severely shorthanded Portland team 124-81.
The Trail Blazers, who were without many players including Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic, were already shorthanded when the teams met Saturday. Then they came into Monday without Anfernee Simons, who scored 38 on Saturday. The Wolves did what they should against a roster better suited for March Madness.
The Wolves didn’t even play particularly well. They shot just 8-for-22 as they built a 31-15 lead after the first quarter. That’s because Portland shot 5-for-25. They didn’t have to focus particularly well, and given their busy schedule of late they could use a night where they could just turn their brains off.
Karl-Anthony Towns made quick work of Portland with 27 points and 13 rebounds while Malik Beasley had 19 as the Wolves won their fifth straight game.
The Trail Blazers have signed center Drew Eubanks to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today.
Eubanks, 25, has averaged 9.3 points (70.6% FG, 66.7% FT), 7.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 22.3 minutes in three games (all starts) since signing his first 10-day contract with Portland on February 22. For the season, Eubanks is averaging 4.9 points (54.5% FG, 74.1% FT), 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 12.7 minutes in 52 games (12 starts) with San Antonio and Portland.
A product of Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon, Eubanks (6-9, 245) played three seasons at Oregon State from 2015-18 before going undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft. He holds career averages of 4.7 points (57.0% FG, 74.3% FT), 3.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.67 blocks in 151 games (18 starts) for the Spurs and Trail Blazers.
Portland Trail Blazers forward Joe Ingles underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery on his left knee this morning.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Brian Cole at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush in Munster, Indiana. Ingles will begin rehabilitation this week and is expected to make a full recovery.
Portland acquired Ingles from Utah on February 9.
In his eighth NBA season, Ingles averaged 7.2 points (40.4% FG, 34.7% 3-PT, 77.3% FT), 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 45 games (15 starts) for the Jazz before suffering a torn ACL in his left knee at Minnesota on January 30.
Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic will be out at least four weeks with left foot plantar fasciitis, the team announced today.
Nurkic has played through symptoms of plantar fasciitis since September. He will continue his treatment and recovery program and will be reevaluated in four weeks.
In 56 games (all starts) this season, Nurkic has averaged 15.0 points (53.5% FG, 26.8% 3-PT, 69.0% FT), 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.11 steals. His field goal percentage and rebounding average are career highs. Nurkic has recorded 30 double-doubles this season, which ranks eighth in the NBA.
The Trail Blazers have signed forward Trendon Watford to a standard NBA contract.
In a related move, Portland has waived guard Dennis Smith Jr.
Watford, 21, has appeared in 33 games for the Trail Blazers this season, averaging 4.5 points (59.0% FG, 68.6% FT), 3.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.45 blocks in 12.6 minutes per game.
A rookie out of LSU, Watford leads all first-year players that have taken at least 100 shots in field goal percentage.
Originally signed to a two-way contract by Portland after going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft, Watford ranked second among all players on two-way contracts this season in blocks (15), third in total rebounds (106), fourth in games played (33), fifth in points (149), and seventh in assists (35).
Smith played in 37 games (four starts) for Portland this season, posting averages of 5.6 points (41.8% FG, 22.2% 3-PT, 65.6% FT), 2.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.22 steals.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Dennis Smith Jr. has been diagnosed with a high-grade partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, per the results of an MRI.
The injury occurred in practice on Friday, February 11.
Smith will be reevaluated in three to four weeks.
In 37 games (four starts) this season, Smith has averaged 5.6 points (41.8% FG, 22.2% 3-PT, 65.6% FT), 2.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.22 steals.
The Utah Jazz have acquired guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the Portland Trail Blazers and forward Juancho Hernangomez from the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team trade, sending Portland forward Joe Ingles, guard/forward Elijah Hughes and a future second-round draft pick. The Spurs received guard Tomas Satoransky from Portland and a future second-round draft pick from the Jazz.
Ingles, 34, averaged 7.2 points (40.4% FG, 34.7% 3-PT, 77.3%), 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 45 games (15 starts) for the Jazz this season. A veteran forward in his eighth NBA season, Ingles played professionally in his home country of Australia as well as Spain and Israel prior to signing with Utah in 2014. Ingles (6-8, 220) holds career averages of 8.6 points (44.9% FG, 40.8% 3-PT, 76.8% FT), 3.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 0.92 steals in 590 career games (313 starts) for the Jazz. The runner-up for the 2020-21 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, Ingles suffered a torn left ACL on January 30.
Hughes, 23, is averaging career-highs of 3.1 points (41.7% FG, 35.7% 3-PT, 100% FT), 1.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 14 games (one start) for the Jazz this season. The second-year guard out of Syracuse was selected with the 39th pick in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. The New York-native holds career averages of 2.3 points (37.9% FG, 35.3% 3-PT, 85.7% FT), 0.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 32 career games (one start).
Alexander-Walker (6-5, 205, Virginia Tech) is in his third NBA season, averaging 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists (all career-highs) in 26.3 minutes per contest. He’s totaled six games with 20-or-more points, two games with 30-plus points and two double-doubles during the 2021-22 season.
For his career, Alexander-Walker has played in 143 games (33 starts), all for the New Orleans Pelicans, with career averages of 9.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 20.4 minutes per game. The Toronto, Ontario, Canada-native was originally drafted in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft (17th overall) by Brooklyn (traded to New Orleans on draft night).
Hernangomez (6-9, 215, Spain) is in his sixth NBA season, appearing in 23 games in 2021-22 with Boston and San Antonio. For his career, he owns averages of 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 280 games (57 starts) with Denver (2016-20), Minnesota (2019-21), Boston and San Antonio (2021-22). He was originally drafted by Denver in the first round (15th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft).
The 26-year-old has additional professional playing experience in Spain where he began his career with Estudiantes of the ACB in 2013-14. He spent three seasons with Estudiantes (2013-16), and in his final season with the club, averaged 9.7 points on 45.5 percent from the field and 5.7 rebounds in 23.7 minutes per contest.