11/26-11/28 Basketball News
AP Top 25: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll
UNC's drop from #1 to #18 in this week's AP Poll is the biggest single-week drop for a #1 team in the AP Poll era.
Deandre Ayton and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named Players of the Week.
TRANSACTIONS:
The Mavericks waived Facundo Campazzo.
The Mavericks signed free agent Kemba Walker. Dallas acquired Kemba to address the need for another creator in Luka Doncic's supporting cast (according to Tim MacMahon). They had this as an option on the back-burner for at least a couple weeks (according to Brad Townsend).The Heat waived Orlando Robinson and his two-way contract.
The Heat re-signed Dru Smith of their G-League affiliate the Sioux Falls Skyforce to a two-way contract.Ismael Kamagate said that he is in frequent contact with Denver's scouts, coaches, and team president Calvin Booth and he hopes to make the move to the NBA in the summer. He was the 46th pick. H/t Sportando.
2024 5 star SF-SG Trentyn Flowers is down to 13 schools: Oklahoma, Creighton, UNC, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Arkansas, Louisville, Oregon, Georgetown, Georgia State, Kansas, Alabama, and Kentucky. He hopes to trim his list to 5 or 6 by February or March. He could decide any time. H/t Joe Tipton.
INJURIES:
Gordon Hayward has a fracture in his left shoulder and is out indefinitely. He is undergoing further evaluations and the Hornets expect him to miss time (according to Shams).
T.J. Warren (foot surgery) is targeting a return for Friday's game (according to Shams).
LINEUPS:
Juancho Hernangomez started Saturday's game at PF, Thaddeus Young to C, Christian Koloko to the bench. Chris Boucher started the 2nd half of Saturday's game at C, Young to PF, Hernangomez to the bench.
Cam Reddish (groin) played Sunday, came off the bench in his return.
Marcus Bagley speaks out on the reasons for him not playing:
Davonte “Devo” Davis of Arkansas is taking some time away from basketball.
AGENTS:
Myles Turner is leaving agent Bill Duffy and BDA Sports and is expected to sign on with CAA (according to Marc Stein).
Jazz assistant video coordinator Andrew Warren signed on with Elfus Sports Management (according to Guido Guida).
TRADE RUMORS:
De'Aaron Fox on signing on with Klutch Sports Group: “I love being in Sacramento. This move had nothing to do with wanting to be traded or wanting to move on.” H/t Chris Haynes.
Draymond Green responds:Why does hiring Rich Paul has to be viewed as a move to be traded??? Why isn’t it simply the truth… which is Rich is the best in the “BUSINESS”! At some point the disrespect in this industry MUST stop!In exclusive @BleacherReport interview with Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox (@swipathefox) on revamping his career, says hiring Rich Paul is not what everyone thinks: ‘This move had nothing to do with wanting to be traded’: https://t.co/EJPJeNHfybChris Haynes @ChrisBHaynesWhen the Lakers pulled away from trade talks with the Pacers, they reasoned that the same deal (Russell Westbrook and their 2027 and 2029 1st round picks for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner) would still be there down the line should they re-engage (according to Dave McMenamin).
But, the Lakers aren't convinced that Pacers owner Herb Simon, 88, would dismantle a winning team to tank for Victor Wembanyama, preferring to enjoy a competitive group in his autumn years (per McMenamin).
Another factor in the Lakers deciding when they were 0-5 to wait until around Thanksgiving to look to upgrade the team was Rob Pelinka didn't want to come off as desperate with early-season trade talks, knowing teams would take advantage in negotiations. Los Angeles expects more teams to be willing to engage them in trade talks after December 15 (per McMenamin). The 15th is when the Lakers are targeting to begin exploring roster upgrades via trade. The Lakers are evaluating their roster to determine if they'd prefer to make a smaller move or a bigger one to address their need for better perimeter shooting and size (according to Jovan Buha). They are not necessarily motivated right now to do something big unless something big is presented to them - they're waiting for their phone to ring (according to Ramona Shelburne).
There is belief shared by leaders in the Lakers' locker room that they are only a couple of players away from turning the team into a legitimate contender (per McMenamin).
Patrick Beverley is a name to watch for a trade (per Buha).
BUSINESS:
The Suns promoted general manager James Jones to president of basketball operations.
Jerami Grant on his upcoming free agency: “I’m satisfied right now. I’m really happy with what we’re doing. We’ll just talk about it when it comes.” H/t Michael Scotto.
DRAFT:
Scouts are picturing a plug-and-play NBA wing in Kansas freshman SF Gradey Dick (according to Jonathan Wasserman).
Michigan freshman SF-SG Jett Howard has caught scouts' attention with his shot-making and scoring instincts for a 6'8" wing (according to Wasserman).
UCF freshman PF Taylor Hendricks has excited scouts (according to Sam Vecenie).
Houston freshman PF Jarace Walker has generated positive reviews behind the scenes for his coachability (according to Jonathan Wasserman).
NBA scouts have real concerns about Duke sophomore SF-SG Tucker DeVries' ability to hang defensively at the next level despite being 6'7" (according to Sam Vecenie).
Duke freshman PG Tyrese Proctor really impressed NBA personnel in the preseason (according to Vecenie).
STATS:
Mitchell Robinson passed Kurt Thomas for 4th on the franchise blocks list Friday.
Bam Adebayo passed Dwyane Wade for 5th on the franchise double-double list Friday.
Jerami Grant had a career-high 44 points, 2 ast, 1 reb, 1 blk, 10-20 FG (3 3s), and a franchise-record and career-high 21 FT on a franchise-record and career-high 28 FTA in 40 minutes in Friday's OT game.
Ivica Zubac had 31 pts, career-high 29 rebounds, 3 ast, 3 blk, 14-17 FG, 3-3 FT in 36 minutes Sunday.
Ja Morant triple-doubled Sunday, had 27 pts, career-high 14 ast, 10 reb, 1 stl, 9-20 FG, 9-11 FT in 35 minutes.
Dejounte Murray had 39 pts, 3 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl, 14-24 FG (career-high 8 threes) in 36 minutes Friday.
Tyler Herro had his 1st career triple-double Sunday, had 11 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl, 3-13 FG, 5-5 FT in 39 minutes.
Tre Jones had a career-high 23 pts, career-high 13 ast, 8 reb, 2 stl, 9-13 FG (1 3) in 36 minutes Saturday.
Alperen Sengun had 21 pts, career-high 19 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk, 10-17 FG, 1-1 FT in 35 minutes Saturday.
Josh Hart had 10 pts, career-high 19 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl in 42 minutes in Friday's OT game.
Caleb Houstan had a career-high 12 pts, 3 ast, 1 reb, 1 stl in a career-high 26 minutes Sunday.
Trae Young had 44 points, 5 ast, 1 stl, 13-28 FG (4 3s), 14-16 FT in 38 minutes Friday.
Deandre Ayton had 29 pts, 20 rebounds, 3 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl in 34 minutes Saturday.
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