Bucks Sign Chris Johnson To 10-Day Deal
10:47pm: The deal is official, the team has announced.
9:31am: The Bucks plan to sign guard/forward Chris Johnson to a 10-day deal, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Johnson, currently with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, is on his way to Milwaukee.
Johnson, 24, was waived by the Celtics in September and claimed off waivers soon after by the Sixers. After some time in the D-League, Johnson returned to the NBA when he got a 10-day deal from the Jazz. In total, Johnson has seen time in eleven games this season, averaging 6.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 20.5 minutes per contest.
For his career, Johnson has averaged 5.9 PPG and 2.3 PPG across parts of three seasons with the Grizzlies, Celtics, Sixers, and Jazz. Johnson is not to be confused with the three-year NBA veteran center by the same name who recently signed to play in Turkey.
As the Hoops Rumors roster counts show, the Bucks have only 14 players under contract so they will not have to release anyone to make way for Johnson. Johnson is averaging 20.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists for Rio Grande Valley.
Atlantic Notes: Thomas, McGee, Valanciunas
Isaiah Thomas, who has thrived since being acquired by the Celtics in a February trade, will continue to come off the bench because Boston coach Brad Stevens is more concerned with how his team finishes games, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. Thomas, who was named Eastern Conference player of the week last week and who has three years and approximately $19.76MM remaining on his contract after this season, prefers to be a starter but his approach remains the same, Blakely added.
“The biggest thing is, he wants to start because he has a lot of pride and works really hard,” Stevens said. “Starting is not the end-all, be-all. And being a part of a team and being a really important part of a team and for a guy with that talent being on the floor at the end of the game, certainly is important. It [starting] may be something he wishes he would do, but I don’t think there’s any question he knows what we think of him. We’ll go from there.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Free agent JaVale McGee has all the physical tools to succeed, but he’s barely played in two years and it’s never been clear if he understands basketball, opines Zach Lowe of Grantland (via Twitter). McGee was on the verge of a deal with the Celtics on Thursday before a dispute over whether the second year of a deal would be a team option or a player option derailed things.
- Jonas Valanciunas, whom the Raptors reportedly mulled trading before the deadline, should be Toronto’s go-to scorer in the final quarter of games, opines Eric Koreen of the National Post. The franchise needs to begin transitioning toward featuring the big man more if it hopes to advance in the playoffs, Koreen adds.
- Citing the turnaround seasons the Cavs and Hawks are experiencing, Knicks coach Derek Fisher believes his club will be different next season because it will likely have a top-5 draft pick and plenty of cap room, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “Teams that feel like maybe they’re one step away or one piece away, they’ll make a move in the summer,” Fisher said. “We have money to spend and we’re heading for a pretty high [draft] pick so we’re expecting to be different as well.”
Zach Links contributed to this post
Multiple Teams Interested In JaVale McGee
10:06pm: Teams that are still interested in signing McGee also include the Rockets, Raptors, and Heat, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets.
FRIDAY, 8:48pm: The Mavericks are still interested in McGee, but other teams that could offer the big man more playing time could be more appealing, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas is unable to offer McGee more than a minimum salary contract for the remainder of the season, Sefko adds.
11:48am: There’s “no way” the Raptors would cross the $76.829MM tax line to sign McGee in spite of GM Masai Ujiri‘s affection for him, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. The Raptors have a team salary for tax purposes of $76.096MM, as I pointed out earlier. A prorated minimum-salary contract until season’s end for McGee would only cost the team $231,503 if he signed today, after he clears waivers at 4pm Central time, so presumably the club can still bring him in and avoid the tax. So it follows that the Raptors won’t engage in a bidding war, Wolstat adds (on Twitter). However, the Raptors may be closer to the tax line than it appears based on incentive clauses in player contracts, which aren’t always fully reported.
WEDNESDAY, 10:10am: The Raptors are thinking about pursuing McGee, Stein tweets.
5:27pm: The Warriors have expressed major interest in McGee, and view him as an insurance policy for Andrew Bogut, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 3:59pm: The Mavericks are “seriously interested” in JaVale McGee, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com, but the sense is he won’t rush to choose a team should he clear waivers as expected on Wednesday, Stein adds (Twitter links). Plenty of other teams are interested, Stein notes, echoing a Monday report from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports indicating that no less than 10 teams are in the mix. It’s nonetheless somewhat surprising to see Dallas emerge as one of them, since the Mavs earlier today committed their final open roster spot to a contract through season’s end Bernard James.
The teams that are in the mix for McGee reportedly envision him as a third-string center and won’t offer the big man more than the league minimum to sign. The Heat are among those interested in the oft-injured veteran, Stein tweets. While the remainder of the teams considering making a run at McGee are not yet known, the Wizards are not one of them, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post notes.
The 27-year-old appeared in just seven contests for the Sixers after being acquired from Denver, averaging 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per contest. In 382 career games McGee has averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. His career slash line is .540/.200/.587.
Western Notes: Afflalo, Lee, Robinson
Arron Afflalo should fill a lot of the void for the Blazers that was created after soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Wesley Matthews‘s season ending injury, Joe Freeman of the Oregonian writes. Afflalo, who has a player option for next season worth $7.75MM, was acquired in a February deal. His skill-set and unselfishness make him a solid replacement for Matthews, Freeman wrote. “I’ll be me,” Afflalo said. “Even before Wes went down, the goal wasn’t for me to come in here and try to be somebody that I wasn’t. Obviously adjusting to a new role is difficult and takes time, but the way I lead, be it vocally or by example, I’ll continue to do that.”
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Clippers continue to show interest in free agent guard Nate Robinson, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link). It was first reported back in January that the Clippers were Robinson’s preferred team, and Los Angeles possessed some level of interest in the diminutive guard.
- Celtics coach Brad Stevens says that the Spurs have thrived, in part, because of their roster continuity, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com (Twitter links). “Obviously, there’s going to continue to be some change but I think a lot of these guys are going to be in Celtics uniforms for a while coming, and that’s encouraging,” the coach said.
- The Jazz had serious discussions with the Warriors at the trade deadline about acquiring David Lee, according to Spencer Checketts of 1280 The Zone (via Twitter). The Warriors were said to be willing to trade Lee, but they were looking to get assets of value in return.
- David Stockton, son of Hall of Famer John Stockton, in his return to the D-League’s Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s affiliate, scored a season-high 44 points in what Erika Marmolejo of NBA.com called a “statement game.” The Kings previously decided against signing Stockton to another 10-day contract. Stockton was unable to find decent time behind starting guard Ray McCallum and newly acquired veteran Andre Miller, Marmolejo notes.
Zach Links and Eddie Scarito contributed to this post
And-Ones: NBPA, Russell, Childress
An attorney for the NBPA has strongly indicated that the union will want the minimum age requirement to enter the NBA lowered in the next round of collective bargaining, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press writes. NBPA general counsel Gary Kohlman said that it is “quite likely the union will be taking a radically different position” than the NBA on the age issue, Reynolds notes. Under the current CBA rules, players must turn 19 years of age in the draft’s calendar year to be eligible, with American players also required to be one year removed from high school, Reynolds adds.
“If they were white and hockey players they would be out there playing. If they were white and baseball players they would be out there playing,” Kohlman said regarding the age requirement. “Because most of them are actually African-American and are in a sport and precluded from doing it, they have to go into this absurd world of playing [in college] for one year. That’s just total complete hypocrisy.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- D’Angelo Russell, a projected top five pick in the 2015 NBA draft, has surprised himself and Ohio State coach Thad Matta with how quickly he has shot up draft boards this season, Nicole Auerbach of USA Today writes. “Did I think he was going to be this good, this consistent this year? Probably not,” Matta said. “I told people when D’Angelo was coming, I think he’s the second-best guard I’ve brought here, since Mike Conley. I had that thought in my mind, that he had a chance to be really good. To do what he’s done all the way through the season? Probably didn’t see that one coming.” The freshman is currently ranked No. 3 by DraftExpress, No. 4 by ESPN, and Russell checks in at No. 3 in Hoops Rumors’ Draft Prospect Power Rankings.
- Brad Graham of Basketball Insiders interviewed former NBA player Josh Childress about playing overseas, his NBA career, and what the swingman’s future holds. The 31-year-old’s last NBA action came during the 2013/14 campaign when he appeared in four games for the Pelicans.
- Andre Emmett, who currently plays for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, intends to leave the NBA D-League to sign a lucrative offer with a team in the Philippines, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando tweets. In 39 games for Fort Wayne this season Emmett is averaging 22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 33.5 minutes per contest.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Carter-Williams, Jackson, Monroe
Greg Monroe is expected to garner max salary contract offers this summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, but that doesn’t mean the Pistons‘ big man will ink a long-term deal David Mayo of MLive.com writes. With the salary cap expected to jump significantly in 2016, courtesy of the league’s new television deal, Monroe could elect to sign a deal with an opt-out clause for the second year, which would allow him to sign a much more lucrative deal, Mayo notes.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- David Thorpe of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) wonders if newly-acquired Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams has enough upside to turn into a guard similar to his head coach Jason Kidd. Like Kidd, MCW brings a lot to the table, but leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to his shooting. Kidd didn’t have much of a jumper to start his career, but he went on to have 12 seasons of shooting 34% or better from downtown. The Sixers, he writes, clearly didn’t see Carter-Williams figuring out his shot.
- While Pistons coach/exec Stan Van Gundy is certain that having Reggie Jackson for the long haul makes his team better, he’s also optimistic that the February deal will pay dividends in the short term, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. SVG also explained that even though he was high on Jackson, he was prepared to walk away if the bidding got out of hand. “We were aware of (other teams involved), but it didn’t matter to us. We knew what our interest was in him. That’s what mattered. And we knew what the parameters of a deal would be,” Van Gundy explained. “As much as we liked him, we weren’t going to give up a first-round pick – that was our sticking point. As much as we liked him, we wouldn’t have done that.”
- The Bucks‘ playoff hopes are in jeopardy after their deadline shakeup, Charles F. Gardner of the Journal-Sentinel writes. Milwaukee went 0-4 on their West Coast trip and they’ll try to get back in the win column against the Wizards on Saturday night.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Knicks Notes: Matthews, Green, Galloway
Wesley Matthews was a prospective free agent target for the Knicks, but his season-ending Achilles tendon injury probably takes him off their list, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News tweets. That might be a tough blow for the Knicks, but it’s definitely a tough break for the Blazers, who currently occupy the top spot in their division. Here’s more out of MSG…
- Keith Schlosser of SNY.tv knows the Knicks are in win-now mode, but he still believes that they can keep the big picture in mind and take advantage of a potentially depressed market for Matthews if he has to miss some time to start the 2015/16 season.
- Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders wonders if the Knicks should make a run at pending restricted free agent Draymond Green. Depending on where the salary cap finally falls, New York may be looking at nearly $28MM in cap space to work with, which could allow for one max deal and another significant contract. Even if the Knicks offer up the max, however, there’s no guarantee that they’ll snag him.
- The Knicks see potential in undrafted rookie guard Langston Galloway, who has a partial guarantee for next season, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. Galloway hasn’t had the smoothest transition going from the D-League to the NBA, but it sounds like the Knicks will give serious thought to keeping him around next season.
Clippers Re-Sign Jordan Hamilton
3:23pm: The deal is official, according to the RealGM Transactions Log.
2:00pm: Jordan Hamilton will get a second 10-day contract from the Clippers, according to Arash Markazi of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Coach Doc Rivers indicated earlier this week that Hamilton would “most likely” get a second deal.
The fourth-year NBA veteran signed his first 10-day pact with the Clips on February 24th. Rivers was targeting players who’ve gone through buyouts around that time, but wound up using Hamilton to fill out one of his empty spots when he came up short on some of the players he was eyeing.
The former 26th overall pick, who’s spent most of his NBA career with the Nuggets, has bounced around quite a bit this season. After some quick stints with the Jazz and Raptors, he initially landed with the affiliate of the Grizzlies after signing with the D-League, but that club traded him to the Kings affiliate in December. His numbers were more impressive since the swap that sent him to the up-tempo Reno Bighorns, as he averaged 18.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game.
In four games (two starts) for the Clippers, he has averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 11.5 minutes per contest.
Southeast Notes: Dragic, Heat, Hornets
There were a flurry of trades at the deadline nearly three weeks ago and a deal that was overlooked by many may prove to be the most impactful, Scott Lauer of Hornets.com writes. There wasn’t a ton of fanfare surrounding the Hornets‘ acquisition of Mo Williams, but in seven games the guard has been playing at a high level, averaging 21.6 PPG and 8.9 APG. Here’s more from the Southeast Division..
- Goran Dragic hasn’t been in Miami for long, but he already knows that he wants to stay long-term. At a shootaround Friday morning, he reiterated his desire to stay with the Heat beyond this season. “That’s my wish,” said Dragic, according to Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. “Right now I’m focused on doing as much as possible this season and make the playoffs, but of course this first 10-15 days here has been a great feeling for me. Unbelievable.” Dragic says he’ll decline his $7.5MM player option no matter what, but he’ll have no need to look elsewhere if Miami gives him a suitable offer.
- The Heat will have to fight to retain Hassan Whiteside when he hits unrestricted free agency in 2016. In today’s mailbag, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel discussed how the Heat can try and sell him on Miami between now and then.
- Hornets coach Steve Clifford has said that Lance Stephenson is the victim of unrealistic expectations and Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated agrees to some extent. Stephenson thrived off of playing in the Pacers’ system, Mannix writes, as he played off of David West and enjoyed the attention paid to Paul George and Roy Hibbert. Now in Charlotte, Stephenson is having to settle for pull up jump shots. Stephenson is in year one of a three-year, $27MM deal and the Hornets were unsuccessful in their attempts to move him in mid-season.
Blazers Called On Ray Allen
You can’t blame the Trail Blazers for trying. Shortly after losing guard Wesley Matthews for the season due to a torn Achilles’ tendon, Portland GM Neil Olshey called agent Jim Tanner to see if Ray Allen might be interested in signing, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. However, Olshey was informed that Allen, 39, remains intent on sitting out the season and wouldn’t consider the possibility of joining Portland – or any other team.
All in all, there were reportedly 14 teams – nearly half the NBA – interested in signing Allen until his announcement earlier this week. The Blazers would have presented Allen with a chance to join a playoff-bound team badly in need of a three-point shooter following Matthews’ injury, but it sounds like his mind is made up for good.
It would almost take less time to list the teams that weren’t after the veteran. The Cavs were linked to Allen more than anyone, but they were informed in late February that Allen was not Cleveland-bound. The Grizzlies, too, were ruled out of the running recently. The Warriors, Wizards, Spurs, Heat and Hawks were keeping in touch with Allen’s camp as of early February, and Clippers coach/exec Doc Rivers spoke to him around that time, but they were all rebuffed. The Blazers might go down as the last team to call on Allen this season, but you never know who might give it the old college try.
If Allen doesn’t play again this year, he’ll walk away as the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made and career earnings in excess of $184.356MM, according to Basketball-Reference.