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.
Eastern Rumors: Burke, Wizards, Hawks, J.R. Smith
Wizards guard Trey Burke didn’t travel with the club to Toronto due to a personal matter, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Under normal circumstances, there would be no need to read further into that news, but with Washington needing to clear a roster spot to sign Brandon Jennings, it might be safe to read between the lines, tweets J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com.
The Wizards were said to be shopping Burke prior to the deadline, and the fourth-year guard hasn’t played a major role in Washington this season, averaging a career-low 12.4 minutes per contest. Burke’s role will likely be further reduced with Jennings in the mix, and the former Michigan standout is also an expiring contract, with possible restricted free agency around the corner.
According to Haynes (via Twitter), the Wizards have yet to make a final decision on which player will be released to clear a roster spot, so it’s possible Burke will rejoin the team after its trip to Toronto. However, it looks just as likely that he has played his last game for the club. Stay tuned.
Here are a few more items of interest from around the Eastern Conference:
- Speaking of Jennings, his teammate with the Knicks, Kristaps Porzingis, told reporters on Tuesday that being waived by New York was probably a good thing for Jennings. “He’s a great veteran, great guy,” Porzingis said, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “But he wasn’t, you could tell that he wasn’t himself lately so that’s probably the best thing for him. Because he loves basketball, he loves playing basketball (and) he wasn’t happy here.”
- The Hawks are still considering options for their 15th roster spot, but the team expects to add a “true point guard,” according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution (Twitter link).
- J.R. Smith, who continues to recover from a thumb fracture, has rejoined the Cavaliers, though he’s not expected to play during the club’s current three-game road trip, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
- Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald looks ahead to free agency and wonders if a reunion with Dwyane Wade would be possible for the Heat this summer, exploring whether Wade would be a better fit for the club than Dion Waiters. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel observes, the Heat will have to evaluate Waiters as they would any outside free agent, since the team won’t hold his Bird rights in the offseason and won’t necessarily have a leg up on re-signing him.
Celtics Rumors: Bogut, T. Jones, Sullinger
The Celtics had been in the running to sign veteran center Andrew Bogut, but with the former No. 1 pick opting to sign instead with the rival Cavaliers, Boston doesn’t exactly have a Plan B in place, writes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald.
A source tells Murphy that, while the two sides were reportedly in touch, Terrence Jones doesn’t appear to be a target for the Celtics. However, team management hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a reunion with Jared Sullinger “somewhere down the line if it is needed.” As Murphy suggests, Sullinger has battled conditioning and health issues, and he hasn’t been himself this season, but the Ohio State product – who turns 25 this Saturday – has made the Celtics a better rebounding team in the past.
Here’s more from out of Boston:
- Although the Celtics haven’t closed the door on re-adding Sullinger, a reunion is “highly unlikely,” says A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
- A source tells Murphy that the Celtics may simply decide to rely on in-house options as they try to improve their rebounding, though they’ll keep an eye out for potential upgrades. “There’s nothing imminent; (the Celtics) will continue looking and see what happens,” the source said. Chris Mannix of The Vertical also hears that the C’s are likely to stand pat with their current roster.
- According to a separate source, the Celtics had internally debated the value Bogut would have in the lineup, Murphy writes. Due to concerns about Bogut’s health and uncertainty about whose minutes he would take, members of the Celtics had “mixed reviews” on whether or not the veteran center would be a good addition, Murphy’s source said.
Kevin Durant To Be Re-Evaluated In Four Weeks
9:02am: Durant has suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain and a tibial bone bruise, the Warriors announced today (via Twitter). According to the team’s announcement, the veteran forward will be sidelined indefinitely and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. While there’s no timetable for Durant’s return, the club says he could play again before the end of the regular season.
7:56am: The Warriors are hopeful that the knee injury Kevin Durant suffered on Tuesday night will not be season-ending, according to Mike Wise of The Undefeated (Twitter link). However, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports, Golden State is bracing for the possibility that Durant may be sidelined for the rest of the regular season, or even longer.
Durant, who was initially diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, underwent an MRI on Tuesday night to assess the extend of his injury, per Wojnarowski. Doctors are evaluating the results of that test, and the Warriors are expected to make a formal announcement on Durant’s status later on Wednesday.
As Wojnarowski details, there are some team officials and members of Durant’s camp who fear that the injury will prevent the star forward from returning to the Warriors’ lineup before the playoffs begin in April. Some sources close to Durant are worried that the injury could keep him out of action for longer than that, sources tell Wojnarowski.
With their top scorer likely to miss extended time, the Warriors have reached an agreement to sign Matt Barnes. The former King will help provide depth at both forward positions in Durant’s absence, but Golden State will have to rely on its other All-Stars like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to help shoulder more of the scoring load with Durant on the shelf.
The Warriors’ interior players will face added pressure during Durant’s absence as well, since the 28-year-old had been arguably been the team’s best rim protector this season, averaging a team-high 1.6 blocks per contest.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 2/28/17
Here are the D-League transactions from the day:
- The Nuggets have assigned Malik Beasley to the D-League, the team reports on its official website. Beasley has averaged 17.7 points per game in seven contests with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
- The Cavaliers have assigned Kay Felder to their D-League affiliate, the team writes on its official site. Felder has averaged 30.5 points per game in four games with the Canton Charge.