Tag: Mason Plumlee

Grayson Allen, two other former Duke basketball stars attended Arizona game

A trio of former Duke basketball stars, including Grayson Allen, attended Friday night’s game against the Arizona Wildcats together.

[autotag]Grayson Allen[/autotag], Tyus Jones, and Mason Plumlee attended Duke’s victory over the Arizona Wildcats together on Friday night.

The Blue Devils shared a photo of the trio, now teammates on the Phoenix Suns in the NBA.

All three of them won a national title during their time in Durham. Plumlee, the oldest of the three, played 14.1 minutes per game as a freshman on the 2010 championship team. He became a more productive scorer with each successive season, peaking with a 2012-13 senior campaign that included 17.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per night.

Jones and Allen played together on the 2014-15 team, the last Duke roster to hang a banner. Jones only spent one season with the team, averaging 11.8 points and 5.6 assists before getting drafted with the 24th overall pick. Allen, on the other hand, stayed for four seasons. His 1,996 career points are the most by any Blue Devil since 2010.

With all three champions together once again, the Phoenix Suns sport a 9-7 record so far this NBA season. Jones leads the team with 6.9 assists per night, and he and Allen both produce at least 10 points per game.

Mason Plumlee set to join Grayson Allen on the Phoenix Suns with new contract

Mason Plumlee and Grayson Allen never played together at Duke, but after Plumlee signed a deal with the Phoenix Suns, they will in the NBA.

The Phoenix Suns will feature two of the best Blue Devils from the last 15 years during this upcoming NBA season.

On Sunday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that [autotag]Mason Plumlee[/autotag] signed a one-year deal with the Suns. There, he’ll play alongside notable NBA stars like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, but he’ll also be teammates with [autotag]Grayson Allen[/autotag].

Allen spent his first season with the Suns last year and had a career year while helping guide Phoenix to the playoffs. Duke’s leading scorer since 2010 led the NBA with a 46.1% 3-point percentage and averaged a career-high 13.5 points per game.

Plumlee played for the Blue Devils from 2009-13 while Allen joined the program from 2014-18.

Plumlee played more than 140 games with the Blue Devils and steadily increased his scoring production by a larger margin each season. He started as a 3.7-point scorer as a freshman before finishing his senior year with 17.1 points and 10,0 rebounds.

Allen broke out as a freshman during the 2015 national championship game, the last time Duke cut down the nets, when he scored 16 points against Wisconsin off the bench. He averaged 21.6 points per game as a sophomore, one of the most productive seasons in recent program history, and averaged at least three assists per game in each of his last three seasons.

Plumlee becomes the first big Duke free agent domino after former Blue Devils Wendell Moore Jr. and AJ Griffin both got traded during the draft.

Five Boston Celtics buyout candidates for the 2023 NBA postseason

With the $3.2 million disabled player exception available to be used to sign a player in the last year of his deal or a free agent, the Boston Celtics will be able to offer more salary than most other teams.

“Boston is going to pick off whoever they want on the buyout market,” said an anonymous source to Celtics Blog’s Keith Smith regarding the team’s plans for team building beyond the 2023 NBA trade deadline. “They have money and minutes. And they’re a title contender. That checks all the boxes.”

With the $3.2 million disabled player exception available to be used to sign a player in the last year of his deal or a free agent, the Boston Celtics will be able to offer more salary than most other teams, as well as being a contender with some real needs to be filled.

The league awaits potential buyout options that could hit the market soon that might be up the Celtics’ alley — let’s dive into some of the better options out there.

Assessing low-cost big and wing trade targets for the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are reportedly on the hunt for some frontcourt depth help on the trade market ahead of the 2023 NBA trade deadline.

The Boston Celtics are reportedly on the hunt for some frontcourt depth help on the trade market ahead of the 2023 NBA trade deadline, and there is no shortage of analysts ready with proposals of who the Celtics should consider going after to such an end.

Boston is reportedly looking for low-cost help as a stipulation, with the team ill-disposed to moving most heavy-minutes players in their rotation. With the best record in the NBA at present, that certainly seems a prudent path, but it can also be said that this team’s depth still needs a bit of an upgrade if the Celtics want to give themselves a real shot at an NBA title. The Athletic’s Jared Weiss and Jay King put together a trade deadline primer in particular with some interesting targets proposed by the duo that could be what Boston might be after.

Let’s dive into the various options they mention we haven’t addressed much elsewhere and their potential fit with the Celtics squad.

Ranking the 20 most interesting NBA players who could get traded and where each may go

A look at the players who could be dealt by Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.

The NBA trade deadline is one week from Thursday, and while it might seem quieter than normal, there could still be a lot of activity.

Even if there isn’t a looming blockbuster move like when the Nets and Sixers swapped James Harden and Ben Simmons last season, there are teams around the league that could have an entirely different roster before the beginning of the All-Star break.

While there are some obvious sellers (e.g. Pistons, Hornets, Spurs, Rockets), others (e.g. Raptors, Pacers, Jazz) have slightly less clear intentions.

Based on the latest rumors and intel provided by insiders around the NBA, these are the players considered most likely to get traded — and where each player is rumored to go.

But remember: The trade deadline is always full of surprises. No one in the league predicted the Kings would have traded Tyrese Haliburton last season! So in addition to these players, expect the unexpected.

ACC players selected in the 2022 NBA draft

Who from the Irish’s conference have made the jump?

For the fourth time since 1999, a Duke player was the first overall selection of the NBA draft. That also made it the ninth consecutive year in which the ACC had one of its players taken within the first four picks. The conference had a decent night overall, but the 2022 NBA Draft particularly was amazing for Duke, like that surprises anyone. Meanwhile, Notre Dame saw one of its own selected in the first round, which had not happened in seven years.

While it would be nice to guarantee that all of these players will hit it big in the NBA, we all know that’s unlikely. Some might be future superstars, and others might not even register a single minute in the league. Time will let all of these careers play out, and it’s not really the time to speculate on who will be good or bad. This is the time for them to celebrate the next chapter of their lives.

Here are the ACC players who were drafted by NBA teams in 2022:

Charlotte Hornets player grades from opening night win over Pacers

Here are the individual player grades as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Indiana Pacers on the road.

Well, that’s one way to open up the regular season.

The Charlotte Hornets hold off the Indiana Pacers at the buzzer, 123-122, as Domantas Sabonis misses a fadeaway jumper over the stretched hands of P.J. Washington.

The Pacers had their hands all over this one, jumping out to a 23-point lead, but a 24-0 run by the Hornets, led by LaMelo, in the third quarter, got Charlotte back in the game.

LaMelo Ball led the way for the Hornets with 31 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals on 11-of-23 shooting and 7-of-9 from 3-point range.

Gordon Hayward got hot in the fourth quarter, finishing with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Miles Bridges added 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block as he filled the stat sheet.

Check out the individual player grades below.

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Mason Plumlee returns to practice, Gordon Hayward remains in protocol

The Hornets will get their starting center for tomorrow’s game against the Mavericks.

The Charlotte Hornets are slowly getting back to full health before the regular season kicks off next week.

Starting center Mason Plumlee has been cleared from health and safety protocols and returned to practice today, per Hornets PR.

Gordon Hayward remains in protocol and will miss his third-straight game on Wednesday when the Hornets take on the Dallas Mavericks.

 

Charlotte will also be without Terry Rozier, who is dealing with a left ankle sprain, while Kelly Oubre Jr. is considered questionable after missing the last two contests.

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Hornets season preview: Is LaMelo Ball ready to become an All-Star?

The Charlotte Hornets are a team that can potentially exceed expectations, especially if LaMelo Ball is able to further improve his game.

The Charlotte Hornets are a team that can potentially exceed expectations, especially if LaMelo Ball is able to further improve his game.

Ball is one of the most exciting young players in basketball and the sky is the limit when it comes to his career. But there are still some questions about if that will translate to winning for the Hornets. For example, will he have enough talent around him to make a splash in the postseason?

Below, check out our preview for the 2021-22 Hornets campaign.

Gordon Hayward, Mason Plumlee placed in health & safety protocol

Being in protocol will force the two Hornets will miss Thursday’s preseason game.

The regular season hasn’t even started yet and the Charlotte Hornets have been bit by the health & safety protocol bug.

The Hornets announced on Wednesday that Gordon Hayward and Mason Plumlee had been placed in health & safety protocol, forcing them to miss Thursday’s preseason game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Head coach James Borrego told the media that he didn’t have much more information regarding Hayward and Plumlee’s status going forward past Thursday’s game, per Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

Stay tuned to Lonzo Wire for all Charlotte Hornets updates.

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