Jahlil Okafor On Sixers, Playing Time
Jahlil Okafor has seen just 10 minutes of action over the last four games, a stretch in which he received three DNPs. The big man said he is working hard to improve, adding that he knows he can’t control the situation, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays.
“It’s not ideal to put anybody in [this situation],” Okafor said. “Obviously, it’s a funky situation. Funky for all of us. Right now, I’m the person who’s sitting out.”
There remains no timetable for when Okafor will return to the line-up, though he may play on Saturday against the Wizards since its the second half of a back-to-back and Joel Embiid doesn’t yet play in those because of health concerns. The Duke product understands the Sixers’ frontcourt logjam and isn’t upset with coach Brett Brown for the reduced minutes.
“Obviously, it’s not what I want to be in a position,” Okafor said. “I know I’m not the type of player that’s DNP. But that’s what it is right now. Coach Brown has been phenomenal with communicating with me. I know in the long run, I’ll be fine.”
Rajon Rondo Talks Situation With Bulls
Rajon Rondo, whose status with the team remains unclear, said a member of the Bulls’ coaching staff told him that the team was trying to “save him from himself,” as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune relays (series of Twitter links). Rondo was told that he was playing poorly during a game against the Pacers—the one where he was initially benched—and that was a major reason why the team took action.
“Save me from myself,” Rondo lamented. “I never heard that before in my life. But I guess he was trying to do the best thing for me.”
Rondo added that he didn’t appreciate the team’s comments. Rondo was asked if he and coach Fred Hoiberg have spoken much about the situation. “Um. How can I say this? No,” Rondo said. “We speak. Cordial. Nothing much to say.”
A member of Chicago’s public relation staff attempted to end the media session midway through the interview, but Rondo said he would like to continue, as Johnson passes along (additional series of Twitter links). “I haven’t had this much attention in awhile,” Rondo said.
Rondo added that when he signed with Chicago, he envisioned things going differently and called the situation the most confusing of his career. He’s played in 29 games for the Bulls this season, posting the lowest points and minutes totals since his rookie season.
Rondo is playing tonight for the first time since being benched late last month. The point guard hasn’t seen NBA action in nearly two weeks, but said he’s been trying to stay in shape by playing pick-up games at a local middle school. He’ll be the team’s sixth man while Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler are absent from the lineup.
Wizards Notes: McClellan, Thornton, Wall
Sheldon McClellan, whose contract with the Wizards became fully guaranteed over the weekend, is earning the trust of the team’s coaching staff, J. Michael of Comcast Sportsnet writes. Washington’s bench was an area of concern heading into the season, but it appears McClellan is on his way to solidifying a role in the second unit. “I like what Sheldon has been able to do. He plays hard,” coach Scott Brooks said. “When you play hard it gives you a chance to stay on the court and make good things happen for your team. I think he does that”
Here’s more from Washington:
- If the Wizards decide to open up a roster spot, Marcus Thornton is the player most likely to be waived, Michael writes in a separate piece. McClellan’s success has pushed Thornton to the bench, leaving the 29-year-old without any minutes over the team’s last two games.
- Daniel Ochefu‘s roster spot appears to be safe, Michael contends in the same piece. The Wizards are still waiting for Ian Mahinmi to recover from a pair of knee injuries, which leaves the team in need of frontcourt players.
- Rival executives don’t view John Wall as a franchise player in the same way they view other team’s top players, such as Russell Westbrook and James Harden, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical relays (Twitter video link). Marks also examines the 2011 draft where the Wizards took Jan Vesely with the No. 6 overall pick and wonders what the team would look like had it selected Klay Thompson or Kawhi Leonard.
Kevin Garnett To Work With Clippers, Bucks As Consultant
Kevin Garnett, who visited the Clippers during training camp, was in attendance again today at the team’s facility, having officially joined the club as a consultant, per Bill Oram of The Orange County Register (Twitter link). Garnett is expected to work with the team’s big men this season.
“He’s hired in here as a consultant,” Clippers assistant coach Mike Woodson said of Garnett (link via Andrew Han of ESPN.com). “So I’m sure he’ll be in and out when it presents itself for him to work with our guys. And I think when he’s here, it’s important for our bigs to take advantage of him being out here on the floor. Because he brings so much to the table, has so much to offer for the game of basketball, it’s not even funny.”
During his time with the Clippers today, Garnett worked with DeAndre Jordan individually prior to the club’s practice. The veteran center was enthusiastic about KG’s new role with the team, calling it “amazing,” per Han.
“He’s a great spirit and a great basketball mind, a Hall of Fame guy,” Jordan said. “Someone I looked up to coming up and even playing against. So any pointers he can give me, or tips, it’s great. I just want to be a student when he’s here.”
Although Garnett is acting as a consultant with the Clippers, it seems that Los Angeles isn’t the only team with which he’ll work. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News reports (via Twitter) that Garnett, who has launched an “elite consulting business,” will assists the Bucks as well. Wolfson adds that some members of the Timberwolves would love to see KG help in Minnesta as well.
When Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical first reported in October that Garnett was talking to clubs about a consulting role, he noted that the future Hall-of-Famer may end up being hired by multiple teams. In that scenario, KG would make “periodic stops” into various NBA cities to work with certain players. In Milwaukee, players like John Henson, Greg Monroe, Miles Plumlee, and rookie Thon Maker could benefit from working with Garnett.
Mike Dunleavy Reports To Hawks, Passes Physical
3:07pm: Dunleavy has passed his physical, officially completing the deal between the Cavs and Hawks, tweets Vivlamore.
JANUARY 10, 12:45pm: Dunleavy has formally reported to the Hawks to undergo his physical, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
JANUARY 9, 2:41pm: After a conversation with head coach Mike Budenholzer about his potential role in Atlanta, Mike Dunleavy Jr. has “made peace” with joining his new team, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Dunleavy will report to the Hawks on Tuesday.
Dunlevay, who was a part of the trade between the Hawks and Cavaliers that sent Kyle Korver to Cleveland, had been reluctant to report to Atlanta, preferring to negotiate a buyout that would allow him to join a contending team of his choice. On Thursday and Friday, when the Hawks and Cavs were still finalizing the deal, there were reports that Atlanta was seeking a third team to take on Dunleavy, perhaps signaling to the veteran sharpshooter that the Hawks didn’t really want him.
However, after the trade was announced, Budenholzer spoke enthusiastically about the role he envisioned for Dunleavy in Atlanta, and according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), once the 36-year-old was convinced that Budenholzer and the Hawks wanted him, there was no more talk of a buyout. There is “significant respect” between Dunleavy and Budenholzer, per Wojnarowski.
Although the situation has been resolved for now, there’s no guarantee that Dunleavy will finish out the season in Atlanta. We’re still about a month and a half away from the trade deadline, and if Dunleavy plays well for his new team, it’s possible the Hawks will flip him to another contender. The Warriors and Rockets were among the clubs believed to be keeping an eye on the situation in case Dunleavy hit the open market.
In 23 games for the Cavs this season, Dunleavy averaged career-worst marks in PPG (4.6) and FG% (.400). His current contract will pay him a guaranteed $4.84MM salary this season, with a partial guarantee of $1.66MM on his 2017/18 salary ($5.18MM).
Nets Waive Anthony Bennett, Sign Quincy Acy
JANUARY 10: The Nets have officially signed Acy to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.
JANUARY 9: The Nets have requested waivers on a former first overall pick, announcing today in a press release that they’ve parted ways with Anthony Bennett. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), the team will fill Bennett’s roster spot by signing Quincy Acy, who is currently playing for the D-League’s Texas Legends.
Bennett, who will turn 24 in March, was selected first overall in the 2013 NBA draft, but has failed to develop into a productive NBA player. In four NBA seasons, Bennett has appeared in 151 total games for the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Raptors, and Nets, averaging 4.4 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 12.6 minutes per contest, including 5.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 23 games for Brooklyn this season.
This past offseason, Bennett signed a two-year, minimum-salary deal with the Nets that featured a guaranteed salary for the first year and a non-guaranteed salary in 2017/18. Assuming Bennett goes unclaimed, Brooklyn will be on the hook for his full 2016/17 cap hit, though the club remains well below the salary floor, so that won’t have a real impact on team salary. The former UNLV big man will become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday if he passes through waivers.
As for Acy, the veteran power forward began the season with the Mavericks, but was waived in November when backcourt injuries forced the team to add another guard. Shortly thereafter, Acy joined Dallas’ D-League affiliate. He averaged 17.3 PPG and 8.1 RPG in 12 contests for the Legends, making a strong case for an NBA call-up.
According to Stein (via Twitter), Acy will get a 10-day contract from the Nets.
Hawks Tell Paul Millsap He Won’t Be Traded
The Hawks have informed Paul Millsap that he won’t be dealt before February’s trade deadline, Millsap himself tells Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The news comes on the heels of a Monday report that Atlanta had started telling teams Millsap wasn’t available.
“Now everybody can stop talking about it,” Millsap said on Tuesday. “I can stop thinking about it and just focus on basketball.”
Last week, Millsap expressed a desire to remain in Atlanta with the Hawks, and that’s a stance he reiterated today, according to Youngmisuk. Although the veteran big man can opt out of his contract at season’s end, and there’s no guarantee he’ll remain a Hawk for the next several years, Millsap says he had hoped to stick with the team this season.
“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Millsap said. “For me and my team, for us to really do something, I think that all the rumors (have) got to stop. I think we are at a good place right now during the season and our main focus is basketball and winning and winning big.”
While it’s one thing for the Hawks to tell potential suitors that Millsap isn’t available, it’s another for the team to tell the player himself that he won’t be moved before next month’s deadline. Even after brushing off teams’ trade offers for Millsap, the Hawks could have revisited those discussions sometime in the next few weeks, perhaps leveraging their reluctance to deal their All-Star into a more appealing trade package. Telling Millsap that a trade won’t happen is a stronger signal that he’s not going anywhere.
The Hawks have a 21-16 record, good for first in the Southeast division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. Still, the club just traded away former All-Star sharpshooter Kyle Korver, and isn’t viewed as a significant threat to make a deep postseason run. That makes Atlanta’s about-face on Millsap a little surprising, particularly since the club has some recent experience with losing a big-name free agent, having seen Al Horford walk in July. The Hawks’ decision may suggest that the team is more confident about retaining Millsap beyond this season.
Derrick Rose Rejoins Knicks, Fined By Team
Derrick Rose rejoined the Knicks today and was present for the team’s practice. According to the Knicks’ Twitter account, the veteran point guard has been fined by the club. He’s expected to be uniform for New York’s Wednesday game against the Sixers, and also figures to return to the starting lineup, per head coach Jeff Hornacek (Twitter link via Steve Popper of the USA Today Network).
Rose was unexpectedly absent from the Knicks’ Monday game versus New Orleans, and an explanation for the no-show didn’t come until later in the night. According to Rose, his absence was related to a family issue and had nothing to do with basketball. The former Bull said he flew to his hometown of Chicago to be with his family on Monday, and flew back into New York this morning, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Al Iannazzone of Newsday adds (via Twitter) that Rose specified he needed to be with his mother. Asked about his failure to communicate with the Knicks, Rose said he didn’t want to pick up the phone when the team called him because he needed “space” to process his family issue, tweets Begley.
Although Rose acknowledged today that he should have been in touch with the franchise earlier, he said the team accepted his absence, tweets Begley. The Knicks could have chosen to suspend Rose, but levied a fine instead. Bobby Marks of The Vertical observes (via Twitter) that the CBA allows a team to fine a player 1/110th of his base salary for failure to render services. Rose’s 2016/17 cap hit exceeds $21.3MM, which would allow for a pretty substantial fine, though it’s not clear if Rose’s cap hit consists entirely of his base compensation.
In any case, for now, it seems like the Knicks and Rose are ready to move forward, but there are still reasons to be wary. While the veteran point guard remains with the team in the short term, his long-term future in New York is increasingly uncertain. Multiple reports also indicated that the relationship between Rose and Hornacek has frayed, which could create problems going forward — the former MVP denied any such rift, tweets Iannazzone.
This is still very much a situation worth keeping an eye on, despite the apparent resolution following Monday’s absence.
2017 NBA 10-Day Contract Tracker
For the first couple months of the NBA season, most teams maintained full 15-man rosters, with many of those clubs keeping at least one or two players on non-guaranteed deals. As of today, however, all of those non-guaranteed contracts became fully guaranteed. Many clubs cut ties with players before that happened, and there are now several teams with open roster spots.
On January 5, teams became eligible to fill those open roster spots by signing players to 10-day contracts, and the bulk of the signings that take place between now and April will be of the 10-day variety. Hoops Rumors has created a database that allows you to keep on top of those deals, tracking every 10-day signing all season long.
The 10-Day Contract Tracker includes information on all 10-day contracts signed from the 2006/07 season on, giving you a chance to identify trends regarding your favorite teams and players. The search filters in the database make it easy to sort by team, player and year. Just be sure to write a player’s last name first if searching in that field. You can even see whether a player and team signed a second 10-day contract, and if the short-term deals led to an agreement that covered the rest of the season.
For instance, if you want to see how many 10-day deals current Nets guard Sean Kilpatrick has signed over the course of his career, you can find that information here. Similarly, if you want to see all the 10-day contracts that the Cavs, who just opened a roster spot, have signed in recent years, you can do so here.
A link to our 10-Day Contract Tracker can be found at any time in the Tools menu at the top of the page, or in the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” We’ll be keeping it up to date for the rest of the season, so be sure to check back to keep tabs on the latest signings as they become official.
Sixers Sign Chasson Randle To 10-Day Contract
JANUARY 10: The Sixers officially signed Randle today, starting the clock on his 10-day deal, the team announced in a press release.
JANUARY 9: The 76ers have agreed to a deal with Chasson Randle, and will sign him to a 10-day contract on Tuesday, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). We first heard over the weekend that Randle had a workout scheduled with the club.
Randle, who went undrafted in 2015, appeared headed toward a roster spot with the Knicks in October, but was waived after suffering an orbital bone fracture. He joined the Westchester Knicks in the D-League as an affiliate player and has averaged 20.7 PPG through 19 contests. There was some speculation that Randle might return to New York at some point, but Ron Baker, the team’s third point guard, secured a guaranteed contract this weekend, opening the door for another club to land Randle.
According to a Sunday report, Randle was one of a handful of point guards to audition for Philadelphia, along with Briante Weber, Cat Barber, and Yogi Ferrell. Interestingly, international basketball reporter David Pick added today (via Twitter) that the Sixers also worked out Nate Robinson, who has been out of the NBA since 2015.
The Sixers had an open spot on their 15-man roster after cutting Hollis Thompson last week, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary to add Randle. Philadelphia is the third club this month to take advantage of the 10-day deal — the Nuggets re-signed Alonzo Gee to a 10-day contract on Sunday, and the Nets are reportedly bringing in Quincy Acy on a 10-day pact of his own.