January Dates To Watch On NBA Calendar
Near the start of the 2017/18 campaign, we looked ahead and highlighted several dates and deadlines to watch on the NBA calendar throughout the rest of the season. While that list covered the general highlights, it’s worth taking a closer look at some of those key dates to keep an eye out for in January. Let’s dive in…
Non-guaranteed contracts become guaranteed
January 10 is the date that all non-guaranteed NBA contracts for 2017/18 will officially become guaranteed, but January 7 is really the day to watch. If a team wants to avoid having a salary become guaranteed, the player must clear waivers before January 10, which means he needs to be cut by January 7, at the latest.
Many players without fully guaranteed salaries are in no danger of being waived within the next few days, but some teams will take the opportunity to save a little money and open up a roster spot. Here’s the list of players to watch.
Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts
Around the same time that several NBA clubs will be opening up a roster spot by waiving a player on a non-guaranteed salary, teams will also be able to use those newly-created openings to sign players to 10-day contracts. Those 10-day deals, which can be signed as of January 5, give teams the opportunity to pick up a short-term injury replacement, or perhaps to get a brief look at a standout G League player.
On Tuesday, we extensively outlined the details of 10-day contracts and explained how they work in our updated glossary entry on the subject.
More players become trade-eligible
A huge percentage of the NBA’s offseason signees became eligible to be traded back on December 15, but there are still many players who can’t be dealt. By the end of January, that list of players ineligible to be traded will shrink further, since there are 20 players currently on track to have those restrictions lift this month.
January 15 is the key date, with 16 players becoming trade-eligible as of that Monday. That group includes a number of players who probably aren’t going anywhere, such as Kyle Lowry and Blake Griffin. However, there are a handful of players on that list who could be involved in trade rumors in 2018 — Nikola Mirotic is the most obvious name in that category.
A handful of other offseason signees have unique trade-eligible dates this month, since they were signed sometime after September 15. Those players are DeAndre Liggins (January 10), Isaiah Taylor (January 17), Richard Jefferson (January 19), and Jameer Nelson (January 22).
Two-way contract deadlines
For the first time, NBA teams will face a pair of key deadlines relating to two-way contracts in January. The first of those dates arrives on January 15, which is the last day that a team can sign a player to a two-way contract this season. Most teams have already filled both of their two-way slots, but we could still see a few two-way cuts and signings within the next couple weeks as clubs make sure they’re set for the year.
On January 20, all players on two-way contracts will have their salaries for the season become fully guaranteed.
Other odds and ends
There are a few other dates in January that are worth mentioning, despite the fact that they’ll likely come and go without much fanfare.
On January 7, a pair of Cavaliers trade exceptions will expire, including one worth $4,837,500.
On January 10, mid-level and room exceptions – along with other cap exceptions – will start to pro-rate for the year, meaning a team with its full room exception available would no longer be able to offer the full $4.328MM amount to a free agent. Exceptions will decline in value by 1/177th per day, starting on January 10.
January 15, meanwhile, is the last day that teams can apply for a disabled player exception to replace an injured player who is deemed unlikely to return this season. A disabled player exception can give a club extra cap flexibility, though that team would still have to open up a roster spot to add a player using its DPE. Our glossary entry explaining the disabled player exception can be found right here.
Southwest Notes: Paul, Matthews, Selden, Pelicans
Chris Paul has battled some injuries in his first season with the Rockets, but the team has played exceptionally well when he has been on the court. Houston is 16-2 in games that Paul has started, and has enjoyed one of the NBA’s best backcourts when the veteran plays alongside James Harden.
The Rockets are now eligible to offer Paul, 32, an extension but the All-Star point guard has not given much thought to that possibility, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Paul is set to hit free agency at season’s end, at which point he will face no shortage of suitors. It will be Paul’s decision to either stay in Houston or pursue other options but the team is prepared to make him a part of their future plans.
“Obviously, when we get someone as great as Chris Paul or James Harden, the plan is to keep him here,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said to Feigen. “He’ll have a choice when the season ends. We feel like we set things up well. It should be an easy choice for him.”
The Rockets are just two games back of the Warriors for the best record in the Western Conference and a healthy Paul — along with Harden — would go a long way to making that a strongly contested race.
Check out other Southwest Division notes below:
- Wesley Matthews, who holds a player option for the 2018/19 season, has altered his game for the Mavericks this season, Eddie Sefko of Dallas Morning News writes. Matthews has always been a “3 and D” player, meaning he shoots well from beyond the arc while providing solid defense. However, this season, Matthews has attempted fewer threes in favor of shots closer to the basket.
- Wayne Selden has played sparingly this season due to injury but his recent return for the Grizzlies has the team excited, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal writes. “(Selden) brings an athleticism and speed to the game,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “You keep watching how the game is evolving, and that’s where it’s evolving. He also brings a bit of playmaking for you.
- The Pelicans are a win-now team that is struggling to win games, including back-to-back losses to the Mavericks and Knicks in recent days. Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate opines that Pelicans fans deserve better from the organization.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/2/2018
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:
9:33pm:
- The Jazz have recalled Tony Bradley from the team’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, the team announced (via Twitter). Bradley, 19, has appeared in eight games with Utah, averaging 1.0 PPG.
- The Grizzlies assigned forward Ivan Rabb to the team’s G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, per a press release. In four games for the Grizzlies this season, Rabb has averaged 1.5 PPG and 1.0 RPG. In 16 games for the Hustle, Rabb has posted 15.9 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 2.1 APG.
- The Bucks assigned forward D.J. Wilson to their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, according to a press release. This is the third G League assignment for Wilson, who has appeared in 11 games with Milwaukee and two games for the Herd.
3:21pm:
- Former Celtics first-rounder Ante Zizic won’t be in attendance on Wednesday when the Cavaliers play the team that drafted him. The Cavs announced today that Zizic has been sent to the Canton Charge, adding that he’ll be available for tomorrow’s game against the Wisconsin Herd.
1:45pm:
- A day after being assigned to the G League, Jabari Parker has been recalled by the Bucks, the team announced today (via Twitter). Parker, who continues to rehab his ACL injury and remains on track for a February return, practiced with the Wisconsin Herd on Monday.
- The Rockets have re-assigned rookie big man Zhou Qi to the G League, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Zhou figures to suit up for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers when they host the Northern Arizona Suns on Tuesday night.
- Rookie guard Derrick White is headed back to the G League, according to the Spurs, who announced today in a press release that they’ve re-assigned him to Austin. San Antonio’s affiliate is scheduled to visit the Long Island Nets on Tuesday night.
Bulls Notes: LaVine, Dunn, Future
Zach LaVine, the Bulls’ key acquisition in the offseason deal that sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota, is nearing his season debut after a pair of practices with Chicago’s G League affiliate, per NBA.com. LaVine has been rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered with the Timberwolves last season.
LaVine, 22, was averaging a career-high 18.9 PPG last season before his year was cut short due to injury. Despite their poor 13-24 record, the Bulls have looked better recently, behind the return of Nikola Mirotic and strong play from Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen. If LaVine can return to last year’s form — or anything close to it — Chicago will be incorporating an explosive guard who can score and dunk with the best of them. LaVine is a two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner.
However, LaVine’s impending return could alter the Bulls’ lineup and playing time for players such as Dunn.
Check out other news out of the Bulls organization below:
- Speaking of Dunn, he has emerged as a closer for the Bulls, a trusted player who the team wants to have the ball in his hands late in games, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. However, with LaVine’s return on the horizon, head coach Fred Hoiberg realizes the team could be adding the team’s best scoring weapon. “Yeah, he is another guy that can give you that,’’ Hoiberg said. “[LaVine] obviously gives you another really good shot-maker. Probably the best shot-maker on the team.’’
- Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago gives a similar take on the LaVine situation. After Dunn failed to make a potential game-winning shot against the Trail Blazers, it served as a reminder that the Bulls are playing without arguably their best shooter in LaVine.
- After that loss to the Trail Blazers, the once-surging Bulls may need to accept their reality for this season, ESPN.com’s Nick Friedell writes. If the Bulls choose not to break up the roster, the team could reach 30 wins — especially with LaVine due back soon — but the front office’s goal was and is to secure the strongest draft position possible.
Jahlil Okafor Talks Fit In Brooklyn, Offense, Role
Jahlil Okafor believes that Brooklyn is the right place for him to reach his potential.
“I’m pretty confident, just talking with the guys in the locker room, and it’s all been positive feedback with the coaches,” Okafor said (via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).
Okafor was seemingly on the trade block every year since being drafted by Philadelphia with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 draft. Immediately after the big man was dealt to the Nets, D’Angelo Russell, who went one spot ahead of Okafor in 2015, reached out to convince him that the franchise was the right landing spot.
“D’Angelo is somebody I talk with often and he loves it here,” Okafor said. “He had nothing but positive things to say to me even before I stepped foot into the facility, and everything he said is true. They really care about us, the player development has been amazing and just even off the floor it’s been a good time.”
In addition to working on conditioning, Okafor had to adjust his offensive game. Brooklyn’s defense is similar to the scheme Okafor ran in Philadelphia, but the new offense is much different.
“The offense was something that was all new to me, completely different offense, completely different pace,” Okafor said of the Nets’ 3-point-heavy attack. “It’s only been two weeks, so I don’t want to sit there and say I’ve developed an amazing 3-point shot. That’s something we’ve been working on. But in the end of the day, I know what I do; I know what I’m able to do to help this team, and that’s not going to be me shooting 3s.”
How many minutes will the big man receive upon re-entering the rotation? The team didn’t provide specifics, but coach Kenny Atkinson told Okafor that he would be eased into action.
“He didn’t tell me I was limited. He just told me he was going to work me up, build me into playing big minutes,” said Okafor. “From a basketball standpoint, it was difficult, but in the grand scheme of living life, it’s not that bad. I’m in the NBA and I was able to work on my craft every day and get better, so I’m looking forward to playing.”
Paul George Discusses Lakers’ Chatter, Offseason Trade
Paul George, who can hit free agency after the season, has been linked to the Lakers for years and all the chatter over the offseason resulted in Los Angeles absorbing a $500K fine for violating the league’s anti-tampering rules.
George previously described the talk of his desire to play in Los Angeles as “overstated,” while maintaining that winning is the top priority. Today, he told the media that he has no regrets about discussing the Lakers and reiterated that he’s not solely focused on playing in his home state.
“No, no regrets at all. All that was said was that a destination I would love to go to,” George said (via NBA.com). “There wasn’t, you know, a ‘hey, gunpoint to the head, send me here.’ I just stated somewhere that I wanted to go play. You ask 80, 70 percent of the guys in the league if they would love to go back home and play for their city, play for their home, that’s all I stated. I would have loved to go back home and play for my city.”
George also briefly touched upon the deal that sent him to the Thunder during the media session. “I thought this trade that went down was a win-win for both sides,” the small forward added. Oklahoma City sent out Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to the Pacers to bring PG13 to town.
George, who was a huge fan of Los Angeles and Kobe Bryant growing up, will play the Lakers in the Staples Center for the first and only time this season on Wednesday, as the Thunder will not make another trip to the city to take on Magic Johnson’s squad.
Central Notes: Oladipo, Thomas, Contracts
Victor Oladipo will remain out of the lineup for Wednesday’s game against Milwaukee. The Pacers haven’t won a game since the shooting guard injured his knee against the Pistons last week and coach Nate McMillan understands why the team has struggled.
“He was doing a lot for us, as far as scoring and leading transition and bringing a kind of leadership role and energy that our guys feed off of,” McMillan said of Oladipo (via Jim Ayello of the Indianapolis Star. “You know, it’s not only the fans [he engerizes] with his playmaking.”
Oladipo, who’s in the first year of a four-year, $84MM deal, came to Indiana via the Paul George trade and he’s played at an All-Star level, helping the Pacers become playoff contenders. Despite losing the last four games, the franchise remains in the mix, entering the day with sole possession of the eighth seed in the conference with a record of 19-18.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Isaiah Thomas will be a free agent at the end of the season and a front office executive tells Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that his potential earnings are hard to predict. Some teams may overlook his hip injury while others will scratch him off their list entirely because of it. O’Connor notes that a Kyle Lowry-level three-year, $100MM deal may be Thomas’ best case scenario while the worst case would be a lucrative one-year, prove it deal.
- Another executive tells O’Connor (same piece) that Thomas’ best offer could come from a team looking to use the Washington product as a short-term bridge option at the point. The executive adds that the Bulls and Mavs are franchises that fit the mold.
- The Cavaliers are planning on an initial 20-to-22 minute restriction for Thomas and the “flow of his comeback” will determine the amount of court time he will receive going forward, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. Thomas will make his debut for Cleveland tonight against Portland.
2017/18 NBA Reverse Standings
Throughout the 2017/18 NBA season, Hoops Rumors is maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on what the 2018 draft order will look like. Our 2017/18 Reverse Standings tool, which lists the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, will be updated daily to reflect the outcomes of the previous night’s games.
Our Reverse Standings take into account playoff teams in each conference, so they’re essentially a reflection of what 2018’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. In addition to not considering the results of the lottery, our tracker lists teams in random order when they have identical records. At the end of the year, those ties would be broken via random drawings.
Traded first-round picks are included via footnotes. For instance, the note next to Miami’s pick says that the Heat will send their pick to the Suns if it’s not in the top seven. As of today, the Heat are tied for 17th in the lottery standings, meaning their pick would head to Phoenix.
Our Reverse Standings tracker can be found at anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu. It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2018. So be sure to check back often as the season progresses!
Note: Mobile users are advised to turn their phones sideways when viewing the Reverse Standings in order to see team records and lottery odds.
Injury Notes: Sixers, Harden, Kings, Okafor
Joel Embiid is considered doubtful for Wednesday’s game, and Markelle Fultz isn’t quite ready to get back on the court yet, but the Sixers got some positive news on both players this week. As Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philadelphia details, there was some concern on Sunday night that Embiid had suffered a broken right hand, but x-rays were negative and he believes he’s dealing instead with a sprain.
Meanwhile, Fultz hasn’t played since October, but he appears to be inching toward a return. The club announced today that 2017’s first overall pick has been cleared to “begin the final stage of his return-to-play program.” The press release was light on specifics, but barring setbacks, it sounds like it shouldn’t be much longer before we see Fultz back in the Sixers’ lineup.
Here are a few more injury notes and updates from around the NBA:
- We know James Harden will be out for at least two weeks with a hamstring strain, but his exact recovery timetable remains unclear. Speaking today to reporters, including Hunter Atkins of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link), Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni suggested that Harden could miss up to four weeks. In an Insider-only piece for ESPN, Kevin Pelton examines how Harden’s absence will affect the Rockets, the NBA, and the star guard’s MVP chances.
- As one Kings guard gets healthy, another one goes on the shelf. According to a press release from the club, De’Aaron Fox will return on Tuesday after a two-week absence, but Frank Mason will miss at least the next week with a heel contusion.
- Third-year center Jahlil Okafor is expected to make his home debut for the Nets on Wednesday, as head coach Kenny Atkinson confirmed to reporters on Monday (link via Alex Labidou of NBA.com). Okafor, acquired by Brooklyn nearly a month ago, wasn’t initially ready for regular minutes after having barely played for Philadelphia this season. However, the Nets are ready to get him back on the court and to start increasing his workload, says Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
- After missing seven games due to a groin injury, Pistons guard Avery Bradley is set to return to action on Wednesday, writes Ansar Khan of MLive.com. “It was lingering over a few weeks, but now I feel better, I feel like I can go out there and give my all,” Bradley said.
Cavs Notes: Thomas, Altman, Lue, Irving
After missing nearly half of the 2017/18 season while he recovered from a hip injury, Isaiah Thomas is poised to make his debut for the Cavaliers tonight. The Cavs and their fans probably shouldn’t expect much right away from Thomas, who will be on minutes restriction and has already been ruled out for the second half of the club’s back-to-back on Wednesday. Teammate LeBron James acknowledged that the Cavs don’t yet know what to expect from Thomas, but they’re glad to have him back.
“We really don’t know. We know he’s excited to once again grace an NBA floor and actually play. We’re excited for him as teammates as well,” James said, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “We expect him to be gassed. We expect him to just be very emotional about the whole, just his journey, just getting back. As far as his performance, that’s the last thing that we’re thinking about.”
Here’s more on Thomas’ Cavs debut, along with some more notes out of Cleveland:
- Benjamin Hoffman of The New York Times explores the potential impact of Thomas’ return on the Cavaliers.
- According to Thomas, the long process of rehabbing his hip injury has made him a better basketball player and a better person, “mentally and physically.” The former Celtic believes that 2018 holds “something special” for him and the Cavs, as Fedor writes at Cleveland.com.
- In an in-depth feature, Dave McMenamin of ESPN takes a closer look at Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman, who ascended to his new role in the summer of 2017. Altman called that offseason “chaotic and difficult, and at times agonizing,” with Kyrie Irving‘s trade request representing the most noteworthy issue the new GM had to address. According to McMenamin, head coach Tyronn Lue initially advocated for keeping Irving despite the trade request, but the team decided it’d be impossible to move forward with the point guard still on the roster.
- Altman on Lue, from McMenamin’s story: “He’s a big part of our free agent acquisitions. If I have a player that we think is good, we put him on the phone with T-Lue, and there’s an automatic respect level.”