Magic Will Retain Khem Birch
The Magic will retain rookie big man Khem Birch for the remainder of the 2017/18 NBA season, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Birch’s non-guaranteed minimum salary contract of $815.6K will become fully guaranteed tomorrow evening, whereas the Magic would have only had to pay Birch the first $407.8K (or half) of his contract had they chosen to waive him today or tomorrow morning.
Birch, a 25-year-old rookie out of UNLV, has spent most of his rookie season with the Magic’s G League affiliate in Lakeland, FL. In the six games he has played for the Magic, he has averaged only 1.3 points and less than one rebound per game. However, with Nikola Vucevic now injured, the Magic will keep Birch around as a young prospect vying for playing time behind Bismack Biyombo and Marreese Speights.
Hawks To Guarantee Contracts of Cavanaugh, Taylor
Per a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Hawks are expected to guarantee the contracts of Isaiah Taylor and Tyler Cavanaugh before tomorrow’s guarantee deadline. Combined, that adds up to almost $2.0MM in guaranteed money that Atlanta could have saved by waiving the two players.
Taylor, a second-year guard out of Texas, played in seven total games for Houston last season as a rookie before signing with the Hawks in October. He has averaged 5.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in 31 games so far this season primarily as a backup to Dennis Schroder.
Cavanaugh, an undrafted rookie big man out of George Washington, signed a two-way contract with the Hawks in November before ultimately having his contract converted to a standard NBA deal last month. In 26 games played so far this season, he has averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
Jazz To Guarantee Contract of Raul Neto
The Jazz are expected to guarantee the contract of Raul Neto, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The deadline for Neto’s non-guaranteed deal is tomorrow, January 7, but Utah reportedly has every intention to keep him on their roster, despite a recent injury to his left knee.
Neto, a 25-year-old Brazilian who made his professional debut as a teenager in 2008, signed a three-year deal with the Jazz in July, 2015. He started 53 games as a rookie during the 2015/16 season, but has seen his minutes drop over the last two seasons, this season at least in part due to the Jazz’ acquisition of Ricky Rubio.
Neto has averaged 4.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game over 138 career NBA games.
Rockets To Guarantee Green’s Deal, Waive Brown
JANUARY 6, 12:37pm: Per Shams Charania of The Vertical, the Rockets would like to re-sign Brown later in the season for the rest of the year and the playoffs.
JANUARY 5, 12:35pm: The Rockets have officially waived Brown, the team announced today (via Twitter).
JANUARY 4, 9:42pm: The Rockets are expected to guarantee Gerald Green‘s contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The deadline for the veteran’s currently non-guaranteed deal is this Sunday but the franchise has every intention of keeping him.
To free up roster space after committing to the 31-year-old offensive sparkplug, the Rockets will waive point guard Bobby Brown. With Green aboard and Brown released, Houston will have one free regular contract slot open for flexibility.
Brown, a 33-year-old veteran of multiple leagues, has seen action in 20 contests for Houston but has ceded playing time to Briante Weber of late. He could, Wojnarowski writes, end up back with the club on a 10-day deal.
Brown, like Green, had a non-guaranteed contract for 2017/18 and will need to be waived by the Rockets before January 7.
[RELATED: Complete list of players on non-guaranteed contracts]
Green has played five games for the Rockets since signing with the club in late December, averaging 21 points per game over his most recent four. He’s dropped 27 and 29 points in his last two contests.
Lakers Release Andrew Bogut
12:12pm: The Lakers have officially requested waivers on Bogut, the team announced in a press release.
11:51am: The Lakers will release veteran big man Andrew Bogut, giving him a chance to latch on with a playoff contender for the rest of the season, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.
Los Angeles signed Bogut to a one-year, partially guaranteed deal in September to provide a veteran presence to a young Lakers team. Bogut’s deal would have become fully guaranteed on January 10 but teams can avoid that by waiving players on non-guaranteed deals by January 7, allowing them to clear waivers before the deadline.
The 33-year-old appeared in just 24 games (five starts) with the Lakers, averaging 1.5 PPG and 3.3 RPG. However, Bogut still provides defensive value and playoff experience as he was a member of the Warriors’ 2014/15 NBA championship-winning team.
You can follow along with all transactions related to the non-guaranteed contracts at this link.
Rockets Sign Demetrius Jackson To 10-Day Contract
The Rockets have terminated their two-way deal with point guard Demetrius Jackson, tweets Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days. As Johnson notes, Jackson has signed a 10-day contract with the Rockets. However, he does not figure into the team’s plans, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Jackson, 23, will spend time with Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and appear in the G League showcase during his 10-day deal. The second-round pick (45th overall) from the 2016 NBA Draft appeared in 12 games with the Rockets this season, averaging just 0.7 PPG and 0.9 RPG. In 14 games with the Valley Vipers, Jackson has averaged 14.0 PPG and 4.1 APG in 30.9 minutes per game.
After he was waived by the Celtics in the offseason, Jackson signed a two-way deal with the Rockets, becoming the first player in franchise history to sign such a deal. Jackson saw more playing time early in the season when Chris Paul was out with injury but lagged on the depth chart behind Bobby Brown as the backup.
New York Notes: Okafor, Hollis-Jefferson, Beasley
Jahlil Okafor admitted relief after making his home debut with the Nets in Wednesday’s win over the Timberwolves. However, both he and the Nets are still in the beginning stages of their relationship, getting familiar with how both sides operate, Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes.
“It works on both parties, of me having to adjust to the team and the team having to adjust to me,” Okafor said. “I’m open to it and so are they.”
Okafor has played sparingly this season, both for the Sixers and the Nets since he was traded. Brooklyn indicated that Okafor would start playing regularly after he improved his conditioning, a byproduct of appearing in just two games in Philadelphia. The 22-year-old is set to hit free agency at the end of the season and a strong finish to the 2017/18 could go a long way to helping Okafor revive his career.
“Our guys have got to learn how to play with him,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “It’s the chemistry with the group he’s going to be out there with.”
Check out other news out of the NBA’s New York teams below:
- Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson rarely dealt with losing as a high school and college player but his tenure in Brooklyn has been a different story, Kerber of the New York Post writes in a separate story. However, even with the Nets hovering around the worst record in the NBA during his time in Brooklyn, Hollis-Jefferson said he understands the level of competition in the NBA does not compare with high school or college. “When you get to the NBA, it’s pretty much everyone’s talented, everyone is here because they can do something good so it comes down to the little things,” he said.
- After making some critical comments of his three stints with the Heat, Knicks forward Michael Beasley cleared the air with his former coach, Erik Spoelstra, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Beasley left Friday’s game with an ankle injury but met up with Spoelstra after the game. Both Spoelstra and Beasley wished each other well in their press comments.
Central Notes: Rose, Thomas, LaVine
Cavaliers point guard Derrick Rose could return during the team’s current five-game road trip. When he does, the former NBA Most Valuable Player will take away some playing time from veteran Dwyane Wade, head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters, including Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
“I think playing D Wade on a lot of back to backs has been tough for him,” Lue said. “Some games where he doesn’t feel great, but we don’t really have the extra ball handler to sit him. So when D Rose gets back, he’ll definitely help with that and help with D Wade getting his rest and being able to feel good on the floor.”
Rose, 29, has not played since he went down with an ankle injury on November 7. Shortly after the injury, Rose took an indefinite leave from the team, leading many to believe he was contemplating retirement. However, Rose has since denied he was looking to leave the NBA and expressed excitement to pursue a championship with Cleveland.
In seven games before the injury, Rose averaged 14.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 26.9 minutes per game.
Check out other Central Division news and notes below:
- One night after making his season debut, Isaiah Thomas was forced to sit Cleveland’s road contest against his former team, the Celtics, in Boston. The Cavaliers are being cautious with Thomas’ return from a hip injury that sidelined him for over seven months. As Sean Deveney of Sporting News writes, the difference in Cleveland’s performance without Thomas after just one night was noticeable.
- Zach LaVine has made progress in his recovery from a torn ACL and the Bulls hope to set an exact return date for the two-time Dunk Contest champion next week, per USA TODAY Sports. LaVine, 22, was the Bulls’ significant acquisition as part of the offseason’s Jimmy Butler trade.
Atlantic Notes: Dinwiddie, Porizingis, Powell
It’s been a long road for Spencer Dinwiddie. Now the journeyman guard finds him a critical piece of the Nets after bouncing around the NBA and G League. Brian Lewis of the New York Post wrote about the 24-year-old’s rise to prominence.
“His attention to detail, his approach to the game has really got him where he is, and it’s helped his confidence a lot,” Nets teammate Quincy Acy, no stranger to the journeyman lifestyle said. “He’s playing well. He deserves everything he’s getting right now. He worked for it. I love to see guys like that succeed, guys that really worked for it off the court. It’s really showing.”
Dinwiddie is averaging 12.8 points and 6.8 assists per game for the Nets and has established himself as a reliable option in the clutch.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Is it time to start believing in the Celtics? That’s the question that Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports asks, suggesting that the team has made a case for itself as a legitimate contender for the East crown as soon as this season.
- While there are plenty of NBA personalities who believe in Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis‘s potential to be a franchise player, a pair of European scouts aren’t so sure. Marc Berman of the New York Post features the somewhat bearish outlook on the 22-year-old unicorn in his latest.
- Raptors swingman Norman Powell has seen his role decrease of late thanks to the solid play of other young players in the lineup. “He’s always been up and down, in and out of the lineup,” teammate Kyle Lowry told Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. “I think he consistently stays ready as a professional athlete and does his job. It’s just a tough spot for him to be in right now.“
Poll: Should The Hornets Trade Kemba Walker?
All is not well in Charlotte. The team is handcuffed to a core that isn’t yielding much success, they can’t stay healthy to achieve any semblance of consistency and the cost to finance the underwhelming production is about to get a lot more expensive thanks to the luxury tax.
All told, Tim Bontemps of Washington Post thinks it’s time to flip Kemba Walker.
Like many other NBA teams, the Hornets are on pace to fall above the luxury tax line. That’s a palatable burden if a team is in contention for postseason success but not so much when they’re 14-23 and well out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.
If nothing changes in Charlotte, the Hornets could pay the luxury tax not only this year but next season as well. In fact, for 2018/19 they already have 10 players on guaranteed deals slated to make $116.4MM.
While the Hornets could theoretically make a push if all of a sudden they were blessed with good fortune in the health department but not even that would change the fact that many of their key rotational pieces are in or passed their prime.
Trading Walker, the team’s lone, true, ascendant star may seem counterintuitive but, as Bontemps writes, it would alleviate part of the team’s financial problems while also giving them a jump-start at a rebuild.
A hypothetical swap with the Knicks could potentially yield something along the lines of Frank Ntilikina, Joakim Noah and New York’s 2018 first-round pick. That’s a plausible package that could simultaneously bring two building blocks and save the team money.
In another scenario, Bontemps offers up the notion of packaging Walker with a costly veteran like Marvin Williams to help clear the books while still netting a building block or two.
Should the Hornets trade Kemba Walker?
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Yes, but only if they get a major return 50% (518)
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Yes, they should get any relief they can 27% (277)
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No, keep him and make other moves 24% (248)
Total votes: 1,043
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.