Hoops Rumors Commenting Policy
We strongly encourage commenting at Hoops Rumors, but we do have basic rules of civility. Comments of this nature are not allowed at Hoops Rumors:
- Attacks or insults toward other commenters, the post author, journalists, players, or agents.
- Inappropriate language, including swearing and related censor bypass attempts, lewdness, insults, and crude terms for body parts, bodily functions, and physical acts. In essence, we don’t want any language that parents would not want their kids to see.
- Juvenile comments or extensive use of text message-type spelling.
- Writing comments in all or mostly caps.
- Spam-type links or self-promotion.
- Comments about how you’re sick of this topic or it’s not newsworthy.
- Inappropriate avatars or images.
- Anything else we deem bad for business.
If you see comments that fit the above criteria, please flag them and/or contact us. Bans may be handed out liberally by our moderators, without second chances. Remaining civil is not that difficult, and most commenters have no problems doing so, nor with helping rein each other in. We are grateful for long-time commenters and readers, though this policy applies equally regardless of tenure.
This policy is always available at the bottom of the site, and will be re-posted monthly.
59 Of 60 Two-Way Contract Slots Filled
Twenty-nine of the NBA’s 30 teams have filled both of their two-way contract slots early in the 2017/18 season, as our two-way tracker shows. The Hawks were the latest team to sign their second two-way player, inking Tyler Cavanaugh to a new deal over the weekend. Currently, the Timberwolves are the only club without two players on two-way contracts — former Lakers guard Anthony Brown is their only two-way signee.
It’s not clear why the Timberwolves have held off on filling their second two-way slot, but it may be about maintaining flexibility. Because two-way players are eligible to be on the active NBA roster for up to 45 days, a player who signs a two-way contract can immediately contribute to the NBA team if needed.
The Hawks’ addition of Cavanaugh on Sunday was a good example of this — shortly after signing with Atlanta, Cavanaugh made his NBA debut, helping to provide some frontcourt depth for a team that was missing Ersan Ilyasova, Miles Plumlee, and Mike Muscala. The Wolves have a healthier roster, but if they get hit hard by the injury bug at a certain position, having that open two-way slot will allow the club to add immediate help without making changes to its NBA roster.
Two-way contracts are still in the infancy stages, so it has been interesting to monitor how teams are using them so far. While some clubs opted to immediately send their two-way players to the G League for further development and seasoning, other teams have had to lean heavily on their two-way players. Mike James, for instance, doesn’t even have a standard NBA contract yet, despite the fact that he has been the Suns‘ starting point guard since Eric Bledsoe was sent home.
James is rapidly using up the 45 days he’s allowed to be with the NBA team. Assuming he’s not transferred to the G League, the Suns will be forced to make a decision on him right around the end of November. Two-way contracts can be converted to standard NBA deals, but Phoenix would have to trade or cut someone to create room. While Bledsoe would, of course, be the obvious candidate, things could get more complicated if the Suns end up trading Bledsoe for a package that returns two or three players.
Rockets point guard Demetrius Jackson (eight games), Mavericks guard Gian Clavell (six games), Pacers forward Alex Poythress (five games), and Hawks guard Josh Magette (five games) are among the other players on two-way contracts who have already appeared in several NBA games and are progressing toward their 45-day limit.
It will be worth watching over the course of the season to see the approach teams take with their two-way players. Will players whose 45-day clocks start running out be converted to standard NBA contracts, or will they simply be sent back to the G League to retain them on the current deals? And now that the G League season is underway, will teams begin turning over their two-way slots more frequently if they don’t like what they see from their two-way players in starring G League roles? Stay tuned.
Community Shootaround: Regrading Offseason Deals
The solid play of Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis has had many a sportswriter publishing stories about how the Pacers may have actually handled the Paul George saga pretty well, after all.
So far this season, the former has averaged 25.6 points per game while the latter has added an impressive 13.2 and 10.6 boards of his own.
Add in the fact that Oladipo is still just 25 years old and that Sabonis is merely 21 and it looks as though Indian’s president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard drew a more than reasonable yield for his disgruntled star.
Of course George isn’t the only star who was traded this offseason, we also saw Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler change teams.
Are there any other situations where the first three weeks of the NBA season have fans and writers reconsidering their hot takes from the summer? Do we, for example, give John Paxson and Gar Forman more credit for landing Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine for Butler than we did when the deal first went down?
Does the current state of the Cavs (or the Nets, for that matter) impact how we grade the Irving swap?
It’s important not to get carried away with the small sample size but the early returns are intriguing to say the least. What offseason transactions have you changed your tune about since the season began? Weigh in below!
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/5/17
Here are this weekend’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
10:08pm:
- The Pistons recalled Luke Kennard and Henry Ellenson from the Grand Rapids Drive this evening, a team-issued press release says. This, after assigning them just earlier today. The two played in the G League affiliate’s season opener, Ellenson scoring 28 points and adding nine rebounds, Kennard adding 26 points of his own.
2:16pm:
- The Pistons assigned rookie shooting guard Luke Kennard and second-year power forward Henry Ellenson to the G League today, the team announced in a press release. The duo helped lead the Grand Rapids Drive to an afternoon win over the Raptors 905, combining for 54 points.
- The Spurs assigned Davis Bertans and Derrick White to the G League on Saturday, according to the club. Bertans poured in a team-high 27 points for the Austin Spurs on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough to top the Texas Legends, who won 123-119.
- The Clippers recalled rookie guard Jawun Evans from the G League on Saturday, per the team. The 2017 second-rounder struggled in his debut with the Agua Caliente Clippers on Friday night, scoring just four points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Central Notes: Portis, Love, Pistons
Having served his team-mandated eight-game suspension, Bulls forward Bobby Portis will make his return to action on Tuesday night. As Nick Friedell of ESPN writes, however, it’s not yet clear how he’ll fit into the club’s rotation.
“I think he’s handled it as well as he could have,” Bulls center Robin Lopez said of Portis. “I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen going forward with rotations or anything, but I know he’s mentally prepared for it, and we’re excited to have him back.”
Portis came on strong for the Bulls toward the end of last season but the franchise is in a much different spot now than they were just a few months ago. There’s no guarantee that the big man’s spot on the depth chart will look the same in 2017/18.
Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen has thrived at the four, averaging 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in his first campaign.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- After exiting Sunday’s afternoon tilt with the Hawks, Cavaliers forward Kevin Love was sent to the hospital as a precautionary measure because of an illness, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. Details are not yet known.
- After a busy offseason, the Pistons are off to their best start since 2008/09. It’s not because of recently acquired starter Avery Bradley alone, however. “I’ve said this several times, I think [Bradley] has changed the demeanor of our team,” head coach Stan Van Gundy told the media, Ansar Khan of MLive among them. “I would give him a good part of the credit, but then I think Stanley Johnson being in the starting lineup has helped with that. But I don’t want to take away from the other guys – Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, some of those other guys have made a more concerted effort talking.”
- As of Saturday evening, the Cavaliers had allowed a league-worst 111.9 points per 100 possessions. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes that the teams offensive woes could be having an impact on their performance on the other side of the ball. “When we’re not making shots and not scoring I think it becomes mental,” head coach Tyronn Lue said. “That’s for a lot of teams. If you’re not scoring, your defense drops. So, I think a lot of guys are frustrated that we’re not making shots and we’re not scoring.“
Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Beasley, Thunder
The new Nuggets frontcourt has gotten off to a slow start this season but that doesn’t mean Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap won’t figure it out eventually. As Buddy Grizzard of Basketball Insiders writes in a feature exploring the duo’s production thus far, the club is committed to building something special.
It initially seemed inevitable that Jokic’s passing abilities would make Millsap’s life easier scoring in the post. A boost in efficiency down low, however, hasn’t yet materialized.
Over the course of his first 10 games with the Nuggets, Millsap has averaged 15.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest. That’s down from his last year averages of 17.1 and 7.7, respectively, with the Hawks.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Trail Blazers will host the Thunder in a Sunday tilt, the first appearance either Carmelo Anthony and Paul George will make in Portland this season. As Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes, the franchise actively pursued both over the course of the summer, to no avail.
- The Nuggets are starting to incorporate sophomore Malik Beasley into their rotation. Dennis Chambers of Basketball Insiders spoke with the 20-year-old about vying for a consistent role.
- The Thunder have struggled in the clutch, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes, thanks in no small part to the 6.3 rebounds per game the club allows its opponents to pull down in the final five minutes. That mark sits dead last in the league and the club is 29th in opponent’s field-goal percentage during that stretch, too.
Knicks Notes: Noah, Porzingis, Kanter
It seems inevitable that the Knicks will need to make a move before November 13, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. On that day, Joakim Noah will return from the 20-game suspension he’s been serving since last season.
Not only does the addition of Noah give the Knicks a logjam in their frontcourt, it pushes them to 16 players. While Jarrett Jack remains the lone player on a non-guaranteed deal, the veteran has been a welcome presence on the overachieving club, suggesting that they may need to get creative if they hope to continue winning ball games. New York has won five of its last six contests after dropping the first three games of the season.
With Noah back, the Knicks could cut an individual on a guaranteed deal – a dissatisfied Mindaugas Kuzminskas perhaps – or, if they prefer not to eat a contract, trade a player for a draft pick or look to execute a two-for-one deal with a willing participant.
There’s more out of New York:
- Bad news for Knicks fans in Turkey, for the second year in a row, the country has blocked Turkish residents from watching Enes Kanter‘s NBA games. Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that the Thunder were blacked out last season, due to the center’s criticisms of the government there.
- Former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, now enjoying a successful stint with the Rockets, thinks highly of Kristaps Porzingis and wouldn’t mind part of his game rubbing off on Houston project Zhou Qi. “I think he’s unbelievable. I really do,” D’Antoni told Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “He is really good. I told [Qi], ‘Go get your tapes on him. That’s who you need to be right there.’ He shoots threes, runs the floor, long, thin. Everything, that guy’s got it.“
- Expectations are high for 22-year-old Kristaps Porzingis, as former Knicks center Tyson Chandler believes that the 7’3″ forward can one day be the best player in the league. Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that Porzingis himself believes it, too.
Texas Notes: Paul, Mbah a Moute, Mejri, Forbes
As much as they would like to get Chris Paul back in the lineup, the Rockets won’t use their new point guard until he is fully recovered, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. After playing on opening night, Paul has been sidelined by a bruised knee. He has been swimming and boxing to stay in shape and went through shooting drills Saturday.
Coach Mike D’Antoni said he hopes to have Paul back around the middle of this month, but there isn’t a definite date for his return. “Every day that goes by we get a little bit closer,” D’Antoni said. “It can’t be close enough. He’s getting there.”
For his part, Paul is anxious to get back on the court, and agrees with D’Antoni’s timeline, as he tells Sam Amick of USA Today.
There’s more NBA news from the Lone Star State:
- Free agent addition Luc Mbah a Moute has been a huge bargain for the Rockets, Feigen writes in a separate story. Houston pursued the 31-year-old forward for his defensive prowess, but Mbah a Moute has contributed on offense as well. He is averaging 9.3 points per game and scored a season-high 20 Friday against the Hawks. The Rockets were able to sign him to a one-year, minimum-salary deal thanks to aggressive recruiting from Paul, who recognized the value of his former Clippers teammate. “He’s the best-kept secret in the NBA,” D’Antoni said. “… He’s as good as anybody. He’s smart. He can play big minutes. He can shoot 3s. Whatever you want him to do he does it. He’s got playmaking skills. He sees the floor. I don’t know how we all missed it, but we all did.”
- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle continues to tinker with his lineup, starting Salah Mejri at center Saturday night instead of Nerlens Noel, relays Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “He always brings a lot of energy, a lot of fight,” Carlisle said of Mejri, who made his first start of the season. “He brings a certain combative personality to the game, which is something we need right now.” Noel, who is headed toward unrestricted free agency after accepting the team’s qualifying offer this summer, has been in and out of the starting lineup with six starts in 11 games.
- Second-year shooting guard Bryn Forbes had his best night of the season Friday with 22 points off the Spurs‘ bench, notes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Undrafted out of Michigan State last season, Forbes seems to have earned a spot in San Antonio’s rotation. “It’s a (testament) to how well he’s been working behind the scenes,” said teammate Patty Mills. “He’s one of those hard workers who never puts his head down and just keeps grinding. So I’m really proud of him because you see it all pay off in the end.”
Latest On Isaiah Thomas’ Recovery
Cavaliers guard Isaiah Thomas continues to make progress toward a return from the hip injury that has sidelined him this season, and he may be ahead of schedule in his recovery, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
The last concrete update we heard on Thomas’ timetable suggested that the Cavaliers were hoping to have him back on the court by January 1, or perhaps even in time for the club’s Christmas Day game against Golden State. The Cavs haven’t officially updated or changed that target date, but Vardon refers to it as “conservative,” and suggests that IT’s timetable for a return “seems to be accelerating.”
According to Vardon, Thomas’ on-court work before games and during practices has increased, though head coach Tyronn Lue remained noncommittal when asked on Sunday if he still believes the veteran point guard will be out until January.
“I don’t know,” Lue said. “You know, the staff is doing a great job of just, you know, just trying to get him ready, trying to get him right, so, we don’t want to rush him back if he’s not 100 percent.”
With Derrick Rose on a minutes limit and Jose Calderon not currently part of the rotation, the Cavs could use Thomas back to help stabilize the point guard position. However, team defense has been Cleveland’ Achilles heel so far this season, and the ex-Celtic is unlikely to help much on that front.
Weekly Mailbag: 10/30/17 – 11/5/17
We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com.
Do you think the superb performance of Victor Oladipo makes the trade for Paul George seem not so bad and lopsided after all? — Greg Dizon
Not only has Oladipo been a surprise, so has Domantas Sabonis, which has quickly changed the public perception of the deal. It seemed like the Pacers were trying to get anything of value for a departing star when they shipped George to Oklahoma City, but they appear to have landed two promising additions to a young foundation. Oladipo is an early candidate for Most Improved Player, ranking 10th in the scoring race at 24.6 points per game. Sabonis filled in nicely at center while Myles Turner was recovering from a concussion, averaging a double-double with 13.2 points and 10.6 points per night. Give the Pacers’ new management team credit for this one. They were able to make the best of a difficult situation.
The Miami Heat have pieces, all sorts of them. They seem to have the sort of depth that is better suited for a trade than for merely holding onto. What, if any, type of move do you see Pat Riley making? — Rion Golden
Riley has a philosophy of chasing “the big fish,” so there probably won’t be a significant move until one of those becomes available. Eric Bledsoe doesn’t seem like a big enough name, and Jahlil Okafor certainly isn’t, so expect Riley to hold onto his assets until he can pursue someone he really wants, like possibly DeMarcus Cousins if things don’t go well in New Orleans. Miami is far over the cap for next season and doesn’t have any draft picks next summer, so trades are the only way for the Heat to improve quickly. Riley will go after someone, but he will be patient.
I agree he shouldn’t be on the top 20 list [of available free agents for 2018], but will Dante Exum garner much free agency interest? He has lost two years, but is a tall, athletic point guard. — Jimmy Robinson, via Twitter
Because of injuries, we never really found out how good Exum can be. He played a full season for Utah as a rookie in 2014/15, but has only appeared in 66 games since then. He has good size for a point guard at 6’6″, but only averages 2.1 assists per game and is a poor shooter [.385 from the field and .308 from 3-point range]. Plus he’s coming off his second major injury, a separated left shoulder that required season-surgery. Exum should get an opportunity somewhere next season, but he may have to accept a minimum-salary deal and start proving that he can play in the NBA.