Brandon Jennings Signs With Wizards
6:10pm: Jennings will receive $1.2MM for the rest of the season, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. However, because the Knicks will save half of any amount over $875K, Jennings will wind up with a net of about $1MM, notes cap expert Albert Nahmad (Twitter link).
5:45pm: Former Knicks guard Brandon Jennings has cleared waivers and signed with the Wizards, the team announced. As expected, rookie guard Danuel House was waived to clear a roster spot.
Washington is Jennings’ fourth team in the past two seasons. He signed a free agent deal with the Knicks last summer and averaged 8.6 points and 4.9 rebounds over 58 games before agreeing to a buyout on Monday. He is expected to be the new backup to John Wall in Washington.
“Brandon gives us playmaking ability and experience at the guard position while adding another scoring option as well,” said Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld. “His presence, along with the recent acquisition of Bojan Bogdanovic and the continued progression of Ian Mahinmi, will help our team as we continue our push towards the playoffs.”
Hawks Eyeing Jose Calderon, Other Point Guards
The Hawks are looking at several point guards as they search for point guard depth, and Jose Calderon has emerged as one “prime” target for the team, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). Atlanta currently has one open spot on its roster after waiving Lamar Patterson.
Calderon, who was bought out by the Lakers after the trade deadline, cleared waivers today and became an unrestricted free agent, though he may go back on waivers soon. Calderon and the Warriors reached an agreement over the weekend, but after Kevin Durant went down with a knee injury, the team changed course and will instead sign Matt Barnes.
The Warriors reportedly still intend to honor their agreement with Calderon, signing him to a guaranteed rest-of-season contract and then waiving him to sign Barnes. However, if Calderon gets an offer from the Hawks or another team, perhaps he won’t feel compelled to finalize his deal with Golden State after all. (Update: Calderon was later signed and waived by the Warriors, so he’s back on waivers).
As Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported earlier today, the Hawks are considering both 10-day contracts and rest-of-season deals to fill their 15th roster spot. The team is also in the market for more of a pure point guard, after having experimented with adding a combo guard (Gary Neal) earlier in the season.
“We obviously brought in a guy like Gary who is more of a (shooting guard, point guard),” head coach and president of basketball operations Mike Budenholzer said, per Vivlamore. “I think the 15th guy has to have some point guard in him, if not just a stone-cold point guard, which is probably more likely.”
Dennis Schroder has reliably handled the starting point guard position for the Hawks this season, but the club doesn’t have much depth at that spot, with rookie Malcolm Delaney serving as Schroder’s primary backup.
Latest On George Hill, Jazz
The Jazz and point guard George Hill engaged in renegotiation-and-extension discussions prior to Tuesday’s deadline, but were unable to reach an agreement. Shortly after news of those failed talks broke, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reported that Hill had been advised that he’ll be able to land a better deal this summer than what Utah could offer now. MacMahon followed up on that tidbit today with an in-depth piece on Hill, writing that the veteran guard has a chance to receive a maximum-salary offer in free agency.
As MacMahon writes, a four-year max contract for Hill this summer would be worth in the neighborhood of $132MM, which is an extraordinary price for a player who is earning just $8MM this season and has never made an All-Star team. However, sources tell MacMahon that Hill’s camp believes he may able to command such a deal in the offseason.
After being acquired from the Pacers in an offseason trade, Hill has battled injuries this season, appearing in just 35 games for the Jazz. When he has been healthy though, he has been a major part of the club’s success, recording a career-high 17.6 PPG to go along with 4.1 APG and a .403 3PT%. Utah has a 25-10 record when Hill takes the court, compared to a 12-13 mark when he sits, a fact that hasn’t been lost on his teammates.
“I think the statistics for us as a team and for him individually kind of speak for themselves,” Gordon Hayward said of Hill. “He’s obviously come in and been a leader in the locker room, too, [and] a leader out on the court for us. He plays with toughness, plays with poise offensively. He’s a big part of why we’ve been successful this year.”
If the Jazz are unable to lock up Hill during July’s free agent period, Deron Williams may be a fallback option for the team, writes MacMahon. Utah inquired on its former star point guard prior to the trade deadline, when Williams was still a Maverick, and according to MacMahon, D-Will is “definitely intrigued by the possibility of finishing his career in Utah.”
For more on Hill, be sure to check out the latest piece from Michael Lee of The Vertical, who spoke to Hill about the trade that sent him from his hometown Pacers to the Jazz, and the impact he has had in Utah this season.
Wizards To Waive Danuel House
Rookie shooting guard Danuel House will be in the odd man out in D.C. with Brandon Jennings close to finalizing a deal with the Wizards, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the club will waive House to open up a spot on the roster for Jennings.
Earlier today, word broke that Trey Burke didn’t made the trip to Toronto with the rest of the Wizards due to a personal matter, creating speculation about whether Burke would be the roster casualty. As I noted at the time, the former lottery pick has averaged a career-low 12.4 minutes per contest and was reportedly being shopped prior to the deadline. However, the Wizards will hang onto Burke, opting to part ways with House instead.
An undrafted rookie out of Texas A&M, House received a partial guarantee from the Wizards last summer and earned a spot on the club’s regular-season roster. However, after appearing in just one NBA game, House suffered a fractured wrist, which has essentially wiped out his rookie year. In addition to the very brief action he saw with the Wizards, House has also played in seven D-League games for the Delaware 87ers, averaging 13.3 PPG and 5.7 RPG.
House’s contract with the Wizards ran through the 2017/18 season, but next year’s salary was fully non-guaranteed, so the team won’t be on the hook for any money beyond this season after waiving him.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/1/17
Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- Pistons rookies Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije are headed back to the D-League, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Both players should have the opportunity to play significant minutes tonight for the Grand Rapids Drive, Detroit’s NBADL affiliate.
- The Kings sent rookie big man Georgios Papagiannis to the D-League today, per Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Playing for the Reno Bighorns this afternoon, Papagiannis chipped in 19 points and four rebounds in a loss to Windy City.
- The Jazz have recalled rookie forward Joel Bolomboy from the Salt Lake City Stars, according to a press release issued by the team. Although he has barely seen any action for Utah this season, Bolomboy has been a double-double machine in the D-League, averaging 16.1 PPG and 13.3 RPG in 20 games.
Joel Embiid Out For Season
After initially ruling him out indefinitely, the Sixers have issued an update on the status of Joel Embiid, announcing today in a press release that the young center will miss the rest of the 2016/17 season.
“The assessment of Monday’s follow-up MRI of Joel Embiid’s left knee appears to reveal that the area affected by the bone bruise has improved significantly, while the previously identified meniscus tear appears more pronounced in this most recent scan,” Sixers chief medical director Dr. Jonathan Glashow said in a statement. “We will continue to work with leading specialists to gather additional information through clinical examination and sequential testing to determine the best course of action and next steps.”
Embiid, who was selected third overall in the 2014 draft, has now had each of his first three NBA seasons come to a premature end. However, 2016/17 represented a step forward, since it was the first season in which he saw the court at all. In his 31 games this season for the Sixers, Embiid flashed superstar potential, averaging 20.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 2.5 BPG in just 25.4 minutes per contest.
Embiid, who turns 23 later this month, will become extension-eligible for the first time during the 2017 offseason, so the Sixers will face a very difficult decision later this year. If the two sides don’t reach an agreement before the 2017/18 league year, Philadelphia would still have the option to match any offer made to Embiid as a restricted free agent in the summer of 2018.
Embiid is the second young Sixer to be ruled out for the season within the last few days — the club announced last week that 2016’s first overall pick, Ben Simmons, won’t make his NBA debut in 2016/17.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cavaliers Waive Jordan McRae
Andrew Bogut will clear waivers today and is expected to sign with the Cavaliers shortly thereafter, meaning the team has to clear a spot on its 15-man roster. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Cleveland will create that opening by waiving Jordan McRae. The Cavs have since confirmed the transaction in a press release.
McRae, who will turn 26 later this month, appeared in 37 games for the Cavs this season, averaging 4.4 PPG in 10.4 minutes per contest. Although the club guaranteed McRae’s full-season salary by keeping him on the roster through January’s guarantee deadline, the 6’6″ guard was mentioned in multiple trade rumors in recent weeks, suggesting he may not finish the season in Cleveland.
After initially joining the Cavs down the stretch in 2015/16, McRae earned a minimum salary (about $875K) for the team this season. Assuming McRae goes unclaimed on waivers, the Cavs will remain on the hook for that cap hit, but won’t carry any dead money beyond the current league year — the former second-round pick had been on track for restricted free agency this summer.
If McRae does catch on with another NBA team, he’ll retain his playoff eligibility, having been waived before the end of the day on March 1.
Pacific Notes: Warriors, Barnes, Lakers, Pelinka
There was a 10- or 15-minute period when the Warriors feared that Kevin Durant‘s knee injury would be much worse than an MCL sprain and bone bruise, GM Bob Myers tells Sam Amick of USA Today. However, after the MCL sprain showed up on an MRI, Golden State was able to diagnosis the bone bruise with a CT scan, alleviating the club’s most serious concerns.
The Warriors are certainly in no danger of losing their playoff spot, but with Durant potentially out until the postseason and the Spurs hot on their tails, the Dubs will be focusing on getting healthy and holding their No. 1 seed over the next several weeks, according to Myers.
“Health is probably the most important (issue), but (playoff) seeding is right up there,” the Warriors GM said. “I know we’re going to try to win as many games as we can. …We will do our best to keep the positioning we have now, but it’s not going to be easy.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific division:
- Matt Barnes‘ contract with the Kings didn’t feature any set-off language, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical (via Twitter). That means that Barnes will continue to earn his full salary on his deal with Sacramento, and will receive a prorated minimum salary from the Warriors on top of that.
- Bill Oram of The Orange County Register spoke to several of Rob Pelinka‘s former clients and contacts around the NBA to get a sense of what sort of job Pelinka will do in his new role as the Lakers‘ general manager.
- Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com also indirectly takes a closer look at the Lakers‘ front office by going in-depth on the Spurs. As Holmes outlines, the Lakers would be wise to follow in the footsteps of the NBA’s most successful, stable, and well-run organization of the last two decades.
Jimmer Fredette Exploring NBA Return
As he nears the end of a successful season in China, former NBA lottery pick Jimmer Fredette is “starting to engage” NBA teams about a possible return stateside, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). As Wojnarowski notes, Fredette is currently playing for the Shanghai Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association’s playoffs.
Fredette, 28, has enjoyed an MVP season in China, averaging an eye-popping 37.4 PPG for Shanghai to go along with 7.9 RPG and 4.3 APG. His play helped the Sharks earn a 30-8 record this season, and he’s currently looking to lead the team to a spot in the CBA semi-finals.
Fredette’s first stint in the NBA, which consisted of 235 total regular season games for the Kings, Bulls, Pelicans, and Knicks, was a bit of a disappointment, given his college résumé. A former 10th overall pick out of BYU, Fredette averaged just 6.0 PPG in his NBA career, but he didn’t lose his shooting touch, making more than 38% of his total long-distance attempts.
Coming off his performance in China, Fredette may draw interest from NBA teams looking to add one more shooter before the postseason. Fredette told Les Carpenter of The Vertical back in January that, while he was enjoying his time in China, he would likely explore a return to the NBA if an opportunity arose.
“Obviously, I’m from the USA and the NBA is the greatest league in the world, and if I have the opportunity to play in the NBA that’s where I would love to play,” Fredette said at the time.
Thunder Sign Norris Cole
MARCH 1: The Thunder have officially signed Cole, the team announced today in a press release.
FEBRUARY 28: The Thunder have reached an agreement on a rest-of-season deal with free agent point guard Norris Cole, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical. Oklahoma City had opened up a spot on its roster at the trade deadline when the club sent three players to Chicago and received just two in return, so no corresponding move will be required.
[RELATED: Thunder acquire Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott from Bulls]
Cole averaged a career-high 10.6 PPG and 3.7 APG last season in 45 games for the Pelicans, but was unable to land a deal with an NBA team as a free agent during the 2016 offseason. The 28-year-old ended up signing with a Chinese team, the Shandong Golden Stars, and averaged 19.1 PPG and 4.3 APG in nine CBA games before being released due to an injury.
A report in January suggested that Cole was nearing a return to full health after battling hamstring problems, so he should be good to go for for the Thunder. According to Charania, Cole recently received clearance from the CBA to sign with an NBA club.
Although there had been some rumblings that the Thunder might use their newly-opener roster spot to bring back former OKC big man Kendrick Perkins, it made more sense for the club to add a point guard. The deal with the Bulls sent Cameron Payne to Chicago, creating some potential depth issues at the position behind Russell Westbrook.
The Thunder could technically create approximately $3MM in cap room by renouncing a trade exception, but a minimum-salary contract for Cole is likely, in which case cap space would be unnecessary. Assuming the veteran guard formally signs a minimum deal with Oklahoma City today, his cap hit for the remainder of the season would be just under $254K.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.