NBA Northwest

The Utah Jazz no longer have Rudy Gobert to anchor their frontcourt, but they reportedly added some depth Tuesday.

According to Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic, the Western Conference team agreed to a deal with free-agent center Cody Zeller.

Zeller is probably still best known for his collegiate career at Indiana that lasted two seasons (2011-13). His collegiate resume includes a consensus All-American selection, Big Ten Rookie of the Year and an All-Big Ten selection as he led the Hoosiers to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances.

That was enough for the Charlotte Bobcats to select him with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2013 NBA draft.

While he was an All-Rookie Second Team selection, he never fully lived up to the expectations that came with such a draft designation. He spent eight seasons with the Bobcats/Hornets and averaged 8.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game.

Zeller spent the 2021-22 season on the Portland Trail Blazers after they signed him to a one-year deal, but he appeared in just 27 games and underwent surgery on his knee in January. His health concerns were part of a disappointing season for Portland, as it finished 27-55 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.

The Indiana product averaged 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game when he was on the floor for the Trail Blazers.

While this figures to be a rebuilding season for a Utah franchise that traded Gobert and Donovan Mitchell this offseason, it still needs frontcourt depth heading into training camp.

Zeller will provide just that and figures to compete for playing time alongside Lauri Markkanen, Udoka Azubuike and Jarred Vanderbilt as a rotational piece.

WNBA legend Tina Thompson has been hired by the Portland Trail Blazers as a team scout.

Thompson spent 17 seasons in the WNBA playing for the Houston Comets, Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm from 1997-2013. She won four WNBA titles, was an All-Star nine times and earned three All-WNBA First Team selections.

The 1997 first overall pick averaged 15.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 41.8 percent from the floor and 37.1 percent from deep in 496 career games. She retired after the 2013 season.

At the time she retired, Thompson was the WNBA's all-time scoring leader. However, Diana Taurasi, who just completed her 18th WNBA season, claimed that record from her in 2017.

The 47-year-old was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 and was also named head coach of the University of Virginia women’s basketball team the same year. She coached the Cavaliers from 2018-22, leading the team to a 30-63 record before being fired.

Thompson also won Olympic gold with Team USA at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been fined by the NBA for his use of anti-gay language in an Instagram story earlier this month.

The league announced a $40,000 fine for Edwards for "using offensive and derogatory language" on social media.

The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/9O4HpZpxlB

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) September 20, 2022

The video was posted on Edwards' Instagram story on Sept. 11. It showed (warning: video contains anti-gay language and a racial slur) a group of shirtless men standing on a sidewalk when a voice is heard calling them "queer-ass n---as."

Shortly after the video came out, Edwards issued an apology on Twitter:

What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry. It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!

— Anthony Edwards (@theantedwards_) September 11, 2022

Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly released a statement about Edwards' comments on Sept. 12.

"We are disappointed in the language and actions Anthony Edwards displayed on social media," Connelly said. "The Timberwolves are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming organization for all and apologize for the offense this has caused to so many."

Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar condemned Edwards' video in a post on his Substack, noting it "perpetuates prejudice against a group and that prejudice often leads to restricting rights and to violence."

Abdul-Jabbar cited a similar situation from 2021 in which Kevin Durant was fined $50,000 by the NBA for using homophobic and misogynistic language in a series of direct messages to actor Michael Rapaport.

"Edwards needs to repair the damage with some voluntary community service with LGBTQ+ organizations, particularly youth groups, to show his support," Abdul-Jabbar wrote.

Edwards was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. He is entering his third season with the T-Wolves.

Don't be surprised if Bojan Bogdanovic is the next Utah Jazz veteran to be moved this offseason after Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were traded.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype: "A lot of executives around the league are expecting Bogdanovic to be the next guy for the Jazz to get moved. They [rival executives] are keeping tabs on guys like Jordan Clarkson and Malik Beasley, but Bogdanovic is the next domino that most people think is going to fall for Utah."

Don't be shocked if the Los Angeles Lakers come calling. By most accounts, those talks have already been happening.

Last week, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that the team has "targeted Bogdanovic, Clarkson and Beasley" in trade talks, which would in theory send back Russell Westbrook and draft capital to the Jazz.

Surely the Jazz would target the two future first-round picks the Lakers could part with in a trade in such a deal.

While Westbrook has proven to be a poor fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis—given his ball-dominant play style clashing with James' playmaking abilities, his lack of perimeter shooting that shrinks the floor and his inconsistent on-ball defense—the Jazz trio would make far more sense in complementary roles.

Bogdanovic in particular would provide a bit of perimeter scoring and floor spacing. The 33-year-old averaged 18.1 points and 4.3 rebounds for the Jazz last season, shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three.

For his career, he's shot 39.2 percent from beyond the arc, making him the sort of role player that James has traditionally played well alongside.

Bogdanovic has his weaknesses. His lack of athleticism makes him a suspect defender out on the perimeter, for one. But his catch-and-shoot game would open up a lot in the Lakers' offense after the team had major floor-spacing and shooting issues in last year's disastrous 33-49 campaign.

Of course, that will make him attractive to other contenders around the league looking to improve their roster as well. But while those teams may have trouble matching his $19.5 million salary in deals without giving away valuable players, the Lakers have a $47 million black hole on their roster they could part with in a potential deal.

Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wants to see more than just words from Anthony Edwards after the Minnesota Timberwolves guard made anti-gay comments.

Abdul-Jabbar wrote about Edwards on his Substack (h/t Brad Sullivan of Lakers Daily) and said the best way for the young player to "repair the damage" is through volunteer work instead of just an apology:

"It would be easy to dismiss Edwards' immaturity—he's only 21—if not for the fact that we've seen so many cases of famous athletes and owners in the news spouting racism, misogyny, and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments. This damages sports in general and their teams specifically, and revives the old stereotype of the dumb, bullying jock.

"But more important, it perpetuates prejudice against a group and that prejudice often leads to restricting rights and to violence. I don't think an apology—however heartfelt—is enough. Edwards needs to repair the damage with some voluntary community service with LGBTQ+ organizations, particularly youth groups, to show his support. If he can't do that much to undo the harm he's caused, then his apology is meaningless."

Edwards was heard on a video using anti-gay language to criticize a group of men, which led to plenty of criticism on social media.

He took to Twitter on Sept. 11 and said he was "incredibly sorry" for using such language:

What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry. It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!

— Anthony Edwards (@theantedwards_) September 11, 2022

Abdul-Jabbar is one of the best players in NBA history, but he is known for more than just his basketball ability.

He was a social justice activist during and after his career, and the NBA even created the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy to honor the player who follows in his footsteps when it comes to social justice.

He has also never hesitated to criticize current players, including LeBron James, for what he sees as failures to live up to certain standards, and Edwards is the latest example.

Edwards, who was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft, figures to be a face of the franchise for the Timberwolves for years to come. Abdul-Jabbar believes there is an opportunity to mitigate some of the harm he caused with his words but only through certain actions.

The Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to a deal with free-agent guard P.J. Dozier, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Dozier was limited to 18 games in 2021-22, averaging 5.4 points and shooting 31.3 percent from beyond the arc. He suffered a season-ending torn ACL last November.

Wojnarowski reported in June he was fully cleared for basketball activities, so his availability for Minnesota's training camp won't be in doubt.

Dozier took quite the journey last year.

The Denver Nuggets traded the 25-year-old to the Boston Celtics in January as part of a three-team deal. Boston subsequently shipped him to the Orlando Magic, who quickly waived him amid their ongoing rebuild.

Dozier has averaged 17.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per 100 possessions across his career, according to Basketball Reference.

The 6'6" guard has limited value on offense. He isn't a natural playmaker, and his 31.9 percent career clip from beyond the arc speaks for itself. Defending has been his hallmark to this point.

Because of that, Dozier might be able to carve out a role on a crowded Timberwolves roster.

The Timberwolves signing PJ Dozier makes it 20 players under contract entering training camp.
- 15 rostered
- 2 two-ways: Lawson + Paschall
- 3 exhibit 10s: Elleby + Garza + Dozier pic.twitter.com/GMdesabxpW

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) September 17, 2022

The Wolves added an elite defensive big in Rudy Gobert, but some wonder whether they may experience the same problems that plagued the Jazz with Gobert. It doesn't matter how good the Frenchman is protecting the rim when smaller guards and forwards have an almost unimpeded path to the basket.

A backcourt partnership of D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards leaves something to be desired on defense, and both stand 6'4".

Dozier could add some more length and a higher defensive upside when he's on the floor.

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly targeting a trio of Utah Jazz players in trade conversations amid Utah's rebuild this offseason.

According to Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Lakers covet Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson and Malik Beasley ahead of the start of the 2022-23 NBA regular season next month.

After reaching the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons, but failing to get past the second round, the Jazz decided to tear things down and start from scratch.

The most notable moves have been trading All-Star center Rudy Gobert and All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively, for huge packages of first-round draft picks and players.

Utah now has something of a franken-roster made up of holdovers from last year's team and players acquired in the Gobert and Mitchell trades, and it seems likely that they would be willing to ship out more players for future assets.

The Lakers and Jazz have already done business once this offseason, as L.A. sent Utah both Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson for veteran guard Patrick Beverley last month after Beverley was picked up in the Gobert trade.

L.A. missed the playoffs last season with a disappointing 33-49 record due largely to the fact that LeBron James and Anthony Davis missed significant time due to injury.

The Lakers likely don't have a championship roster even if LeBron and AD remain healthy this season, though, and that is primarily because Russell Westbrook opted into the final year of his contract in 2022-23 and made it difficult for Los Angeles to free up the money needed to make any other notable moves.

Landing a third star to play alongside James and Davis likely isn't possible right now, but bringing in a significant amount of depth would still be helpful to the Lakers' playoff and championship chances.

The 33-year-old Bogdanovic has spent the past three seasons in Utah, and he has played at the highest level of his career during that time.

Bogdanovic averaged a career-best 20.2 points per game in 2019-20, and last season he put up 18.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 three-pointers made and 1.7 assists per contest, while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Clarkson, 30, broke into the league with the Lakers in 2014 and spent parts of four seasons in L.A., but like Bogdanovic, he has been at his best in Utah over the past three seasons.

He won the 2020-21 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, and last season, he averaged 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 three-pointers made.

The 25-year-old Beasley, who was part of the Gobert trade, has spent six seasons in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets and Timberwolves.

Beasley averaged a career-high 19.6 points per game in 2020-21 and followed that up last season with 12.1 points, 3.0 three-pointers made, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

Bogdanovic, Clarkson and Beasley are all offensively gifted players who would give the Lakers some much-needed offensive punch in support of James and Davis.

It is unclear if the Lakers are aiming to land one, two or all three of those players, but if they can find a way to bring in all of them without giving up too many current assets in return, they would have the look of a far more complete team than they are right now.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Gary Payton II had offseason surgery to repair a core muscle injury.

Per an official statement from the team, Payton had the procedure in July and is expected to make a full recovery before the regular season begins.

The Blazers made several moves during the offseason as they look to get back to the playoffs this season.

Payton was Portland's biggest free-agent signing. He signed a three-year, $28 million deal in July. The 29-year-old had a breakout 2021-22 season with the Golden State Warriors that culminated with the team winning an NBA championship.

In addition to signing Payton, the Blazers acquired Jerami Grant in a trade with the Detroit Pistons. They also re-signed Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkić.

Lillard's two-year max extension put an end to any speculation the six-time All-Star could pursue a trade, at least for now.

Bringing in high-end role players like Payton and Grant was a message that the Blazers believe they can be contenders in 2022-23. Lillard's health will be the biggest key for the team this season. He appeared in only 29 games during the 2021-22 campaign due to an abdominal injury.

Payton spent the first five seasons of his career bouncing around the NBA, trying to carve out a role. He spent time with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards before landing with the Warriors on a 10-day contract late in the 2020-21 season.

The Warriors waived Payton before the start of last season but re-signed him when he cleared waivers. The Oregon State alum appeared in a career-high 71 games and averaged 7.1 points with a 61.6 field-goal percentage.

Payton's hallmark is his ability on the defensive end of the court. He ranked sixth in defensive rating (102.3) among players with at least 10 appearances in 2021-22. He was even better during Golden State's playoff run, ranking fifth overall with a 100.0 mark in 12 games.

The Blazers will be counting on Payton to improve a defense that ranked 27th in points allowed per game (115.1) and last in defensive rating (116.9) last season.

Damian Lillard has said he's staying with the Portland Trail Blazers over and over—and then he's said it over again, in case you didn't hear it the first two times.

Well, let him once again put any speculation to bed: He plans to finish his career in Portland.

“Yes, I do,” Lillard said on the Dave Pasch Podcast. “I’ve had my share of people saying ‘Man, you got to get out of there! You’ve got to do this, you’ve got do to that.’ But I’m the type of person that I’m never going to be marching to the beat of nobody else’s drum. I’m gonna always do what I feel like is in my best interest and that I really feel in my heart.

"I’ve said this on many different occasions, they call it ‘He’s being loyal!’ and ‘Loyalty this, loyalty that’ and I’m like, I’m naturally a loyal person but I do have a level of loyalty to the organization, but this loyalty that they’re talking about is ultimately to who I am as a person. I’m being loyal to who I am and not getting beside myself because I’m somebody that, I believe what I believe. I think I can get it done. Now, everybody else might say, ‘There’s no way the Blazers will ever win. They need to do this, they need to do that.’ But that’s just not how I feel about the situation. I feel like we’ll have a chance to win, I feel like that moment is going to come, I feel like that opportunity is going to come. And that’s that.”

Lillard signed a two-year, $122 million extension with the Blazers in July that could keep him with the franchise through the 2026-27 season. He will be either 36 or 37 by the time his contract expires, at which point it's almost certain Lillard will have spent the entirety of his prime with the Blazers.

Portland is coming off a miserable 2021-22 campaign, finishing 27-55 as Lillard missed 53 games due to an abdominal injury. It was the first time in Lillard's career that he failed to play at least 66 games.

The Blazers overhauled their roster with their star on the mend, jettisoning several veterans from the roster in moves that seemingly signaled a full-scale rebuild. While the additions of Jerami Grant and Gary Payton II will add some much-needed athleticism on the defensive perimeter, this is perhaps the worst on-paper Blazers roster ever assembled around Lillard.

Even the prize of last year's down season, rookie guard Shaedon Sharpe, is one of the rawest prospects in the lottery and is likely a couple years away from significant contribution.

Lillard says he believes the Blazers can win a championship during his career, but there is no obvious path to reaching that goal in the near future. It's possible Lillard has done the legacy math and decided he would rather be a legend in Portland than a champion. That's his prerogative and is arguably admirable in an era where players rarely have a true relationship with their city.

On the other hand, Lillard may start to change his tune once he reaches training camp and realizes how bare the cupboards are around him.

All-Star point guard Damian Lillard said he remains committed to playing his entire career with the Portland Trail Blazers despite a lot of people questioning that decision.

Lillard discussed his view of the situation Tuesday on The Dave Pasch Podcast (via Casey Holdahl of the Blazers' official website):

Yes, I do [plan on being a Blazer for life]. I've had my share of people saying, 'Man, you got to get out of there! You've got to do this, you've got do to that.' But I'm the type of person that I'm never going to be marching to the beat of nobody else's drum. I'm gonna always do what I feel like is in my best interest and that I really feel in my heart. I've said this on many different occasions, they call it, 'He's being loyal!' and 'Loyalty this, loyalty that,' and I'm like, I'm naturally a loyal person but I do have a level of loyalty to the organization, but this loyalty that they're talking about is ultimately to who I am as a person. I'm being loyal to who I am and not getting beside myself, because I'm somebody that, I believe what I believe. I think I can get it done. Now, everybody else might say, 'There's no way the Blazers will ever win. They need to do this, they need to do that.' But that's just not how I feel about the situation. I feel like we'll have a chance to win, I feel like that moment is going to come, I feel like that opportunity is going to come. And that's that.

The 32-year-old California native was selected by the Blazers with the sixth pick in the 2012 NBA draft. He won Rookie of the Year honors at the end of his debut campaign and has proceeded to make six All-Star appearances.

After a steady growth period, it appeared Portland was on the verge of a breakthrough when it reached the 2019 Western Conference Finals before getting swept by the Golden State Warriors.

The Blazers haven't been able to match that success in subsequent years, getting knocked out of the playoffs in the first round in both 2020 and 2021. They missed the playoffs altogether last season.

A roster shakeup occurred amid the fading results, including the departure of Lillard's longtime backcourt partner, CJ McCollum, in a February trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Lillard has also been the focus of trade rumors at times, but the former Weber State standout told CNBC's Jabari Young in April that he believes there's mutual interest in him staying for the long haul.

"If they came to me and they wanted to trade me—I'm not going to fight them on wanting to trade me," Lillard said. "I don't want to be anywhere I'm not wanted. But I don't think that's the case."

He added: "I have no plans of not being a Portland Trail Blazer. I want to be here, and I think they want me here."

That's been his message every step of the way, and it doesn't appear likely to change despite outside pressure urging him to seek new opportunities elsewhere.

While it's good news for the Blazers, it also puts more pressure on the front office to continue rebuilding the roster around Lillard to push toward a championship run while he's still at or near the peak of his powers.

Portland tips off the 2022-23 season Oct. 19 when it visits the Golden 1 Center to face the Sacramento Kings.