Northwest Notes: Peterson, Bagley, Topic, Wolves

The Jazz viewed Darryn Peterson as a future franchise player when they selected him with the second pick in this year’s draft, but they didn’t expect him to be in that position so soon, writes Shreyas Laddha of The Salt Lake Tribune. Lauri Markkanen’s hand fractures and Jaren Jackson Jr.’s torn MCL have the team asking Peterson to take on more responsibility during his first month in the NBA.

The 19-year-old guard has been a bright spot in a rough season for Utah, starting all 13 games he’s played and averaging 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 31.2 minutes per night. He has strung together five straight 20-point games, but coach Will Hardy said there are plenty of areas where he can improve.

“We’re a long way from stamping DP that he has arrived, or this is something that we should be able to expect every single night,” Hardy said after Peterson’s 25-point night in Tuesday’s loss to Miami. “He’s handling himself really, really well. I think last game gives you a lot of, sort of, glimmers of what could be. But we’ve got to stay on the foundational parts of it to make sure that we build the habits correctly.”

Peterson had to leave Friday’s game at Houston in the final minute because of pain in his left knee, but it’s not believed to be a long-term concern, Laddha adds in a separate story. The rookie isn’t listed on the injury report for Sunday’s contest against San Antonio.

“It’s fine. Just got to shootaround, feeling good,” Peterson said today. “Playing tomorrow. It was bothering me for a little bit, but I’m fine.” 

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

• The stigma of being selected ahead of Luka Doncic in the 2018 draft has followed Marvin Bagley III throughout his NBA career, but he has learned to live with it, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Bagley has been an effective backup big man in his first season with the Nuggets, averaging 17.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per 36 minutes while shooting 60% from the field. “I don’t care,” Bagley said of his connection with Doncic. “I mean, a lot of times, people try to compare and put a lot of comparisons on you as players, things that you’re not even really thinking about. So I think a lot of that comes from other people. For me, I don’t worry about it. I just do what I’ve gotta do to be better and worry about my path, my process to continue to grow as a player. That’s all I care about.”
• Thunder guard Nikola Topic made his season debut on Friday night after recovering from offseason back surgery, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. Topic’s career has been derailed by injuries, but coach Mark Daigneault talked before the game about what he brings to the team. “Amidst all of this other stuff that has put a focus on his character as a person and a worker, the guy can really play,” Daigneault said. “He’s got a great sense for the game. He’s got a high IQ. He gets guys shots. Defensively, he’s got size and anticipation skills. So we’re excited to get him.”
• The Timberwolves have been successful without Anthony Edwards because they haven’t changed their identity, Sarah Todd of The Star-Tribune states in a subscriber-only story. Coach Chris Finch kept his players in their regular roles after Edwards underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. “Everyone’s got an opportunity to grow their role,” Finch said. “… But we didn’t necessarily want everyone to kind of just step up and try to fill the scoring void.”