Atlantic Notes: LeVert, Holmes, Hayward
The Nets have been pleased with the progress they’ve seen out of 23-year-old sophomore Caris LeVert. As Alex Squadron of the New York Post writes, the second-year swingman has begun to show what he’s capable of as a playmaker.
“He’s come a long way,” Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I think we had high expectations for him. We kind of knew right off the bat he was going to be pretty good. I’m glad that the high expectations we had — it’s starting to show. It’s starting to come to light that he’s a pretty good player.”
The Nets have relied on LeVert to handle some playmaking duties, something he did during his time in college. Over the course of the past four games, LeVert has averaged 16.5 points and 7.3 assists per game.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Third-year Sixers big man Richaun Holmes has made the most of an increase in playing time of late. The reserve can shift between the four and the five and provide offense off the bench. “It’s just a matter of the playing time, the opportunity,” Holmes told Keith Pompey of The Inquirer. “I know what I can do on the court.“
- Despite the fact that he hasn’t even turned 20 years old, Frank Ntilikina is beginning to show that he could lead an NBA offense, perhaps sooner than later. As Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes, the Knicks rookie continues to develop in a variety of ways as the season progresses.
- Although there remains no timetable for his return, Celtics forward Gordon Hayward has been given the green light to remove his walking boot. “I feel alright I guess, as well as I could,” Hayward told the media, including A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. “I’m out of the boot right now so that’s good, slowly getting better.“
Heat Notes: Waiters, Whiteside, Adebayo
The Heat haven’t publicly expressed an interest in bringing Dion Waiters off the bench but that hasn’t deterred the 26-year-old from advocating for his role as a starter anyway. Tom D’Angelo of the Palm Beach Post writes that Waiters views himself as a starter in the NBA.
“I’m a starter in this league, man, that’s who I am. We’re going to nip that in the bud right now. I’m not coming off no bench,” the guard said.
Waiters argues that he’s never enjoyed a reserve role and only reluctantly accepted it during previous stops in his career. Over the course of his six-year-career, Waiters has started nearly half of his games in the NBA.
There’s more out of Miami this morning:
- The Heat are in a holding pattern with Hassan Whiteside‘s knee injury, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports. “There is no time table, let’s make no assumptions about that,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s doing a lot better. He’s been working out two, sometimes three times a day.”
- A lingering tendon injury in his shooting elbow continues to plague Dion Waiters. As a result, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes, he’ll experiment with a shooting sleeve for the first time in his career.
- The Heat like what they see in Bam Adebayo but aren’t about to hastily ship Hassan Whiteside out of town to facilitate his long-term development. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel discusses the two big men in a question-and-answer feature with readers.
Central Notes: All-Star Game, Frye, Mirotic, Pistons
After today’s announcement that the Pacers will host the 2021 All-Star Game, the Cavaliers have been assured that they will be an all-star host soon afterward, reports Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. “Cleveland is a great basketball city with some of the NBA’s most passionate fans and we look forward to holding our week of NBA All-Star events in Cleveland in the near future,” read a statement from NBA Deputy commissioner Mark Tatum, who promised that the game will be coming to Cleveland “in the near future.”
Quicken Loans Arena is going through a $140MM renovation, and the Cavs were hoping to be named All-Star hosts in 2020 or 2021. David Gilbert, chief executive officer for the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, said up to 14 cities were competing for the 2021 game.
There’s more tonight from the Central Division:
- Cavaliers center/forward Channing Frye is making changes to his game to earn more playing time, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Known primarily as a long-distance shooter, Frye has taken the ball to the basket more often this season. “I said, ‘Well, two Finals and I haven’t played a whole lot so I have to evolve something,'” Frye commented. With free agency approaching next summer, Frye is averaging 4.5 points in 13 minutes per game.
- In four games since returning to the Bulls, Nikola Mirotic has shown why he won a starting job during preseason, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Mirotic had 29 points and nine rebounds tonight as Chicago, which was a league-worst 3-20 in his absence, improved to 4-0 with him in the lineup. “He does a lot of little things that don’t show up in the box score,” said coach Fred Hoiberg. “He’s in the right spot defensively, he’s in a stance, he knows where to be, he understands the game plan.”
- Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy is hoping to shake up the team after a seven-game losing streak has brought Detroit back to the middle of the Eastern Conference, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Van Gundy recently replaced Stanley Johnson with Reggie Bullock in the starting lineup, and he indicated more changes are coming tomorrow, although they may not involve personnel. “It won’t be anything like a new offense, but we will shift our priorities a little bit in terms of play-calling — run some things more, run some things less and not run some things,” he said. “Our offensive approach hasn’t been as good as it could be to help these guys. Nothing different defensively; we just have to play it harder and better.”
Community Shootaround: Trading Paul George
What do you do when your “super team” turns out to be less than super?
That’s the question in Oklahoma City, where the future of Paul George has suddenly become one of the hottest topics in the NBA. Many expected the Thunder to challenge for Western supremacy after dealing for George and Carmelo Anthony over the offseason, but OKC has a losing record at 13-14 a third of the way through the season.
The Thunder knew George wasn’t guaranteed to be a long-term investment when they acquired him from the Pacers. He’s almost certain to opt out of a $20.7MM salary for next season and become an unrestricted free agent. His desire to join his hometown Lakers is well known and was the main reason Indiana chose to part with him.
If the Thunder are somehow able to re-sign George, finances will become a major issue for the team. Russell Westbrook‘s Designated Veteran Extension kicks in next season, boosting his salary to $35.35MM. Financial realities will likely force Anthony to bypass his early termination option and return for another year at nearly $28MM. Add in more than $24MM for Steven Adams, and those four contracts will put the Thunder well over next season’s projected cap of $101MM. Even if George were to opt in, OKC would be far into luxury tax territory with a potential salary topping $137.5MM.
Mitch Lawrence of Forbes believes a deal involving George may be coming before the February 8 trade deadline. He states that George, Westbrook and Anthony are all used to being used in isolation and haven’t been able to develop chemistry as a unit. The problem is that George’s trade value might be lower now than it was during the summer. Sending him to the Lakers may seem like a solution, but an unidentified Eastern Conference GM says L.A. wouldn’t be willing to part with two young players, and the rest of the league views George as a “rental.”
Taking the opposite position are Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, who don’t expect the Thunder to trade George or fire coach Billy Donovan. They report that the “internal dynamic” among the three stars remains strong and there is still hope for a turnaround.
We want to know what you think. Should the Thunder try to move George now so they don’t lose him with no return, or should they wait and try to work out their salary issues next summer? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Texas Notes: Noel, Curry, Gay, Capela
Once Mavericks center Nerlens Noel recovers from thumb surgery, he may see increased playing time in an attempt to build his trade value, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Noel had fallen out of the rotation before the procedure, which was conducted over the weekend. He is expected to be sidelined three to six weeks.
Noel has played just 18 games and is averaging 12.5 minutes per night as Dallas tries to work out playing time for all its big men. Noel’s salary is a little less than $4.19MM on an expiring contract, and Sefko notes that he won’t provide much cap relief for any team that might trade for him. Jean-Jacques Taylor of The Morning-News suggests that the most the Mavericks can hope for in return is a second-round pick.
There;s more NBA news from the Lone Star State:
- Mavericks guard Seth Curry, who hasn’t played yet this season because of a stress fracture in his left leg, could be a long way from returning, Sefko writes in a separate story. Curry called it a “couple week by couple week situation” when he talked to reporters before Tuesday’s game. “The path I’m on right now, the MRI shows it’s gotten a little better,” he said. “But there’s a chance [he could need a procedure]. It’s a tricky situation and hard for me to say. It’s very frustrating. Recovery-wise, I get out there and work out and feel OK, and it’ll bother me the next day.”
- The offseason signing of Rudy Gay helped the Spurs survive the injury to Kawhi Leonard, notes Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports. Gay is the latest in a long line of veterans who have opted to come to San Antonio even though they could have gotten more money elsewhere. Gay is making slightly more than $8.4MM this year and has a player option worth more than $8.826MM for next season. “It’s a situation where, you have to pay a lot of attention to detail and it’s a winning mentality,” Gay explained. “That’s something I was away from, for so long, you kind of create bad habits. I’ve had to re-teach myself. And I’ve had to continue to do it every day.”
- Rockets center Clint Capela is putting together his best season as he heads toward restricted free agency next summer, relays Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Capela is averaging career highs in points [13.7] and rebounds [11.0] and leads the NBA in both field goal percentage [.677] and dunks [75], many as the pick-and-roll partner of James Harden. “I know exactly when to roll,” Capela said. “I know exactly how to make the big go on James and just get behind the big. I know the details of he goes quick. I just love it. I love it.”
Northwest Notes: Gasol, Collins, Hood, Millsap
Even though the Grizzlies are saying they have no intention of trading Marc Gasol, the veteran center could be a perfect fit in Portland if that changes before the February deadline, writes Tim Brown of The Oregonian. Neither Jusuf Nurkic or Zach Collins has been the answer in the middle for the Trail Blazers so far this season, and the addition of addition of Gasol could vault them several spaces in the Western Conference playoff race, Brown contends.
Gasol, 32, is averaging 19.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 27 games. He is signed for a little more than $24MM next season and has a player option worth nearly $25.6MM for 2019/20. However, Portland doesn’t have a significant expiring contract this season or next season to offer Memphis any cap relief, and Brown admits that Damian Lillard or C.J. McCollum might have to be included in a deal to get the Grizzlies to part with Gasol.
There’s more news from the Northwest Division:
- Collins, the 10th pick in this year’s draft, is making his first career start tonight in Miami, tweets Jason Quick of NBC Northwest. Collins has appeared in just 10 games for the Blazers and is playing about eight minutes per night.
- The Jazz welcome back shooting guard Rodney Hood tonight after he missed the past seven games with an ankle problem, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Hood was averaging a career-best 17.7 points through 18 games before the injury, which team doctors are calling tendon soreness (Twitter link). Coach Quin Snyder also offered encouraging news about veteran swingman Joe Johnson, who has been sidelined with a right wrist injury. Snyder said Johnson is close to returning, although he won’t be available tonight (Twitter link). He appeared in just seven games before suffering the injury in late October.
- Nuggets forward Paul Millsap, out for three months after surgery on his left wrist in late November, explained why he didn’t have the procedure done right away, tweets T.J. McBride of Mile High Sports. In an interview with Altitude TV, Millsap said the delay involved finding the right surgeon and staff to perform the operation. Denver’s top free agent addition over the summer, Millsap has played 16 games and is averaging 15.3 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Revisiting The Paul George Trade
Paul George is back in Indiana tonight for the first time since the blockbuster trade that sent him to Oklahoma City. The deal was supposed to signal the start of a rebuilding process for the Pacers and the creation of a title contender in Oklahoma City, but things haven’t worked out that way. Indiana enters tonight’s game 16-11 and in fifth place in the East, while the Thunder are a disappointing 12-14 and stuck in ninth place in the West.
George was shipped to OKC in early July in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, who are both putting up career-best numbers in Indiana. Oladipo is scoring 24.5 points per game, while Sabonis is averaging 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds, both more than double his totals from last season.
Meeting with reporters today, George expressed joy in seeing the Pacers playing so well and said the reason he had his agent tell the team he was unlikely to re-sign after this season is so it could start preparing right away, according to Matthew VanTryon and Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star.
“When we reached out to the front office, to tell them our plans, our future plans, it was to help them along the way,” George said. “And it was bad at first, so to speak, that maybe this trade wasn’t going to pan out. But it obviously did. They got two great, young pieces.”
We rounded up a few more reactions as writers revisited the July deal:
- The Pacers should receive an apology for the initial negative reaction to the trade, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The general feeling was that Indiana didn’t get enough in return for George, with Cavaliers owner Dan Snyder saying, “I will say [the Pacers] could’ve done better,” and the Oklahoma City police department tweeting about the theft of George. Deveney adds that the deal turned out to be better than some other offers the Pacers received, including Gary Harris and draft choices from the Nuggets, and Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and some non-lottery picks from the Celtics.
- The Thunder had to take the gamble when a star like George became available, contends Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. Even if Oladipo turns out to be an All-Star, he wasn’t a good fit with Westbrook during his lone season with the Thunder, Tramel writes, with some observers contending he was out of shape and others saying he couldn’t adjust to Westbrook’s ball dominance. George can be a dominant player on both ends, and his acquisition may have been what inspired Westbrook to agree to a five-year extension in September.
- The Pacers should be elated with the results of the deal, according to a consensus of writers on an NBA.com Blogtable. Indiana could be headed for a playoff spot, while George may be joining the Lakers next summer — if not earlier.
New York Notes: Knicks, Ntilikina, Nets, Stauskas
With the Lakers playing the Knicks on Tuesday, Luke Walton was asked about his old coach, Phil Jackson, and admitted that Jackson’s ouster in New York didn’t sit particularly well with him, per Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
“I don’t know all the details of what was going on here, obviously, but a mentor to me like that and someone that means as much to me as Phil does, I’m not in favor of it happening,” the current Lakers head coach said of Jackson. “There’s people out here that I wanted to see succeed. I love the triangle offense. I wanted to see that work. But for whatever reasons it didn’t.”
Here’s more out of New York:
- Kristaps Porzingis and Frank Ntilikina are showing Knicks fans that it’s okay to be optimistic about the club’s future, says ESPN’s Ian Begley. In praising Ntilikina, Begley notes that the rookie point guard is “low maintenance,” adding that there were some in the Knicks organization who had serious concerns before the draft about LaVar Ball’s impact in the event that the team had a chance to pick Lonzo Ball.
- Sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post that the Nets‘ deal to have Joseph Tsai buy a 49% stake in the franchise could be done by the end of the month. Although it’s not finalized yet, controlling owner Mikhail Prokhorov referred to Tsai as “a great partner” who “will help the game and help the NBA.”
- While Jahlil Okafor was the primary piece in last week’s trade between the Nets and the Sixers, the deal also gave Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson another reclamation project to work on. As Lewis writes for The Post, it will be interesting to see what Atkinson – who has a reputation as a “guard whisperer” – can get out of Nik Stauskas.
NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots
Nearly one hundred players who signed new contracts this past offseason will become trade-eligible on Friday, and while that doesn’t mean we’ll immediately see NBA teams make a flurry of trades, it does mean that clubs figure to start looking a little more seriously at making moves.
Up until this point in the 2017/18 season, roster moves have been few and far between. Outside of a pair of trades involved disgruntled players (Eric Bledsoe and Jahlil Okafor), there have only been a handful of signings and cuts, as teams have been mostly content to assess their rosters to determine what they have.
With the regular season’s two-month mark approaching, however, there will likely be a few more transactions completed in the coming weeks — and especially in the new year. In addition to having more of their players become trade-eligible, teams will also be able to start signing players to 10-day contracts early in January. Those 10-day deals are useful tools for teams that want to take a look at players without committing a roster spot and a salary to them for the entire season.
With roster activity expected to pick up in the near future, it’s worth taking a look at which teams have the flexibility to sign a player or to take on an extra player in a two-for-one trade without waiving anyone.
With the help of our roster counts page, here are the teams that currently have an opening on their respective 15-man NBA rosters:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Boston Celtics
- Charlotte Hornets
- Detroit Pistons
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Note: The Timberwolves are also the only team with an open two-way contract slot.
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards
While all of the teams listed above have a single open roster spot, some of those clubs have the flexibility to easily create another opening without waiving a player on a guaranteed contract. For instance, one of the Raptors’ 14 players on NBA contracts is little-used rookie forward Alfonzo McKinnie, who has only played 25 minutes for the team all season. McKinnie’s salary is non-guaranteed, so if Toronto wanted to create an extra roster spot, the team could waive McKinnie without taking on much dead money.
Along those lines, the following teams currently have full 15-man rosters, but are carrying at least one player on a non-guaranteed salary:
- Brooklyn Nets (Spencer Dinwiddie)
- Chicago Bulls (Kay Felder, David Nwaba)
- Dallas Mavericks (Dorian Finney-Smith, Devin Harris, Jeff Withey)
- Los Angeles Lakers (Andrew Bogut)
- Milwaukee Bucks (DeAndre Liggins)
- New York Knicks (Jarrett Jack)
- Orlando Magic (Khem Birch)
- San Antonio Spurs (Bryn Forbes)
- Utah Jazz (Raul Neto)
Indiana To Host 2021 NBA All-Star Game
3:19pm: The NBA has officially confirmed that the Pacers will host the league’s 2021 All-Star Game.
8:17am: The 2021 NBA All-Star Game will take place in Indiana, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the Pacers will host the event. It will be the first time the team has hosted All-Star weekend since 1985.
The Pacers sent out a press release this morning announcing that a press conference will take place this afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, so the club figures to make the news official at that point. Pacers owner Herb Simon, Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver are among those expected to be in attendance for that announcement.
The 2021 All-Star Game update comes on the heels of last month’s confirmation that the Bulls will host the 2020 event. This season’s All-Star Game will take place in Los Angeles, while the Hornets will host 2019’s festivities in Charlotte.
The last time the Pacers hosted the All-Star Game, the team did so at the Hoosier Dome, so 2021 will represent the first time the game has been played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.