Five Key Stories: 10/7/17 – 10/14/17

Missed this week’s biggest NBA headlines? We’ve got a recap for you. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:

News: The 2017 ESPYSThe Sixers reached an extension agreement with oft-injured center Joel Embiid. The max deal is valued at $146.5M over five years, but it includes protections for the team if Embiid can’t reach benchmarks for games and minutes played. It also contains some incentives for Embiid that could push the value as high as $175.74MM.

Also signing a rookie-scale extension this week was high-scoring Timberwolves star Andrew Wiggins. The fourth-year wing kept the team waiting for a couple of months before agreeing to the five-year, maximum-salary offer that will be pay him roughly $146.5MM. The former No. 1 draft pick fired his agent soon after Minnesota’s offer was finalized.

The Nuggets locked up guard Gary Harris for the next four years with an $84MM extension. The deal gives Harris $74MM in guaranteed money, with another $10MM available through bonuses and incentives. Harris overcame early-season injuries last year to average a career-best 14.9 points per game and shoot 42% from 3-point range.

In a cost-cutting move, the Cavaliers traded Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder to the Hawks. Atlanta also received $3MM in cash and second-round picks in 2019 and 2020 in exchange for the rights to draft-and-stash prospects Dimitrios Agravanis and Sergiy Gladyr. The Hawks subsequently waived Jefferson and Felder, making them unrestricted free agents if they clear waivers.

Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum was suspended for the season opener after leaving the bench during an altercation in a preseason game Wednesday. McCollum will lose roughly $165K in salary for the missed game.

Here are 10 more notable NBA headlines from the last week:

  • A rookie-scale extension for Marcus Smart seems unlikely before Monday’s deadline. The Celtics guard said earlier this week that he has yet to hear from the team.
  • The Knicks signed free agent point guard Trey Burke then waived him three days later. There were rumors that Burke might be a contender for the starting job before his release was announced.
  • Speaking to reporters before a game in China, NBA commissioner Adam Silver discussed the possibility of playoff re-seeding. He said increased travel and an unbalanced schedule are both working against the concept, but the league will continue to study it.
  • Jazz point guard Dante Exum suffered a separated left shoulder that could sideline him for the entire season. Exum, who also had ligament damage, is searching for an alternative to surgery.
  • Wizards guard Sheldon Mac will miss six to eight months with a torn left Achilles. Most of Mac’s salary for this season is non-guaranteed, but the team will have to pay him until he is fully healthy.
  • A specialist told Hornets swingman Nicolas Batum he won’t need surgery on his injured left elbow. Batum suffered a torn ligament and is projected to be out of action for six to eight weeks.
  • Pelicans point guard Rajon Rondo is expected to miss four to six weeks after surgery for a sports hernia. Rondo signed a one-year, $3.3MM deal with New Orleans in July.
  • The Heat will be without swingman Rodney McGruder for three to six months because of a stress fracture in his left tibia.
  • Sixers big man Richaun Holmes will be sidelined for the start of the season with a broken bone in his left wrist. Team doctors plan to re-evaluate him in late October.
  • Mavericks guard Seth Curry is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his left tibia.
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