Central Notes: Hood, Nance Jr., Hill, Muhammad
Rodney Hood and Larry Nance Jr. were inserted into the Cavs’ starting lineup on Monday and coach Tyronn Lue said those changes will remain for awhile, Joe Vardon of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Nance is replacing Tristan Thompson, who will be out multiple games with an ankle sprain suffered on Saturday. Hood will replace Cedi Osman, who has started nine games since Kevin Love broke his hand. The new-look lineup will be used at least until Thompson returns, Lue added to Vardon and other media members. “Nance is starting and he’s been our boost off the bench defensively and his energy,” Lue said. “Now we need someone like Cedi to come off the bench and give us that same boost and that same energy defensive-wise.”
In other developments around the Central Division:
- George Hill said the Cavs are still early in the process of building chemistry with all the roster changes that were made. Hill is one of those players after getting dealt by the Kings right before the trade deadline. “Once teams start scouting and figuring things out, we’ve just got to figure it out ourselves,” he told Vardon in a separate piece. “Where we’re going as a team and what’s going to be our identity? It’s all new schemes for us defensively for four guys coming into a rotation to play with a playoff team like this is totally different. It’s going to take time.”
- Shabazz Muhammad didn’t play on Sunday after joining the Bucks but he expects to jump into the rotation soon, as he told Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Muhammad signed with Milwaukee after he was bought out by the Timberwolves last week. “I think I’ll probably get some minutes off the bench — that’s why I came here, to help out,” Muhammad told Velazquez.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/5/18
Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Warriors recalled rookie forward Jordan Bell from their Santa Cruz affiliate, according to a team press release. Bell posted 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and a block in Santa Cruz’s victory over the Memphis Hustle Sunday. The second-round pick has appeared in 41 games, averaging 4.9 PPG and 3.8 RPG. Bell has appeared in Golden State’s last three games after recovering from an ankle sprain.
- The Thunder assigned center Dakari Johnson to the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. The NBA team recalled him later in the day, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman tweets. The 2015 second-round pick has appeared in seven games with the Blue, averaging 15.2 PPG and 10.1 RPG. The 7-footer has also played 26 games with the Thunder this season, averaging 2.0 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 5.8 MPG.
Suns Rumors: Head Coach, Draft Picks, Roster
Suns general manager Ryan McDonough participated in a Facebook Live interview on the Suns’ official Facebook page today, addressing several topics of note during that Q&A with fans. Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic rounded up some highlights from the discussion, which we’ll relay below. Let’s dive in…
- The Suns intend to interview several candidates for their permanent head coaching job, per McDonough, who suggested that the team will consider college coaches (Twitter link). Interim head coach Jay Triano will receive an interview for the full-time job too.
- McDonough referenced the possibility of using extra first-round picks from Milwaukee and Miami for “asset consolidation” purposes, per Bordow (Twitter link). In other words, the Suns would be open to packaging one or more of those picks to trade up in the draft or to make a move for an established star.
- According to McDonough, a center is a “slightly higher” priority than a point guard for the Suns this offseason. As Bordow notes (via Twitter), that preference could be good news for fans hoping that Phoenix can land a high lottery pick and draft Arizona center Deandre Ayton.
- The Suns would like to add more veteran players to balance out the age of their roster, says McDonough (Twitter link). Bordow observes that it makes sense to have some veteran depth on the bench so that Phoenix’s head coach has some options if the club’s young players struggle. The Suns entered the 2017/18 campaign with a bit more balance in terms of NBA experience, but Brandon Knight has missed the season with an ACL injury and Eric Bledsoe was traded.
L.A. Notes: Ingram, Lakers, Clippers, Kilpatrick
The Lakers will be without former No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram for at least the next two or three games, the team confirmed today, announcing in a press release that the second-year forward has been diagnosed with a left groin strain. Ingram, who sat out Saturday’s contest vs. San Antonio, will be re-evaluated in about a week, according to the team.
Here are a few more Lakers and Clippers notes from out of Los Angeles:
- While the Lakers‘ playoff chances are extremely slim, the progress they’ve made this season is “undeniable and significant to their future,” says Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. As Oram notes, the team’s growth is important not just for its young players but for its ability to attract free agents in the offseason.
- Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN also examines the growth of the Lakers‘ young players, who have done well pushing through adversity.
- It sounds like the Clippers haven’t entirely ruled out the possibility of signing a two-way player like Tyrone Wallace or C.J. Williams to an NBA contract, but the team didn’t want to wait on those negotiations, opting to fill its open roster spot with Sean Kilpatrick, as Elliott Teaford of The Daily Breeze writes. “We’re trying to make the playoffs here,” head coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re going to try to sign who we think is the best fit for our team. If Sean comes in and earns it, it’ll be his job. Or we’ll go back to the C.J.s or the Tys. We like them all. We just have to figure out who’s the best fit.”
- The Clippers are $545K below the luxury tax line after signing Kilpatrick to a 10-day deal, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That gives the team some breathing room to eventually sign someone to a rest-of-season contract without going into the tax.
Kings Eyeing Mario Hezonja As Free Agent Target?
Mario Hezonja, who is playing some of the best basketball of his NBA career as of late, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and he’s beginning to look like an intriguing target. According to various reports, the Kings are one team that’s expected to have interest in Hezonja when he reaches the open market.
Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee recently wrote that Hezonja has “fans in Sacramento’s front office” and figures to be a target for the Kings this offseason. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders has expressed a similar sentiment, tweeting today that the club is a “real and viable threat” to land Hezonja. Kyler later tweeted that he continues to hear the Kings “have eyes” for the third-year forward, who was linked to Sacramento in trade rumors last October.
Hezonja, the fifth overall pick in the 2015 draft, struggled during his first two seasons in Orlando, but has looked better this year, particularly in recent weeks. For the season, the 23-year-old is averaging 9.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG with a shooting line of .463/.348/.826. In his last 15 games, Hezonja has boosted those averages to 14.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG on .473/.412/.868 shooting.
It remains unclear what sort of contract Hezonja will land in free agency. Cap space won’t be plentiful around the NBA, and the Croatian’s career track record will make teams wary of investing significant money. But he’s also just 23 years old, and if he continues to show signs of putting it all together, there should be teams willing to aggressively roll the dice on him.
Orlando’s level of interest in re-signing Hezonja hasn’t been reported, but if the forward finishes the season strong, bringing him back will be tricky for the Magic. Because the team turned down the fourth-year option on Hezonja’s rookie contract last fall, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, and Orlando won’t be able to offer a starting salary of more than $5,167,231, the amount of that declined option.
Grizzlies Sign Xavier Rathan-Mayes To 10-Day Contract
MARCH 5: The Grizzlies have officially signed Rathan-Mayes, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through March 14, next Wednesday.
MARCH 4: The Grizzlies will sign G League guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes to a 10-day contract, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
Undrafted out of Florida State last summer, Rathan-Mayes joined the Knicks for training camp and was one of the team’s final cuts before the season began. He has been playing for Westchester in the G League, where he is averaging 16.6 points, 7.2 assists and 6.4 rebounds in 39 games.
The signing will bring the Grizzlies back to a full 15-player roster. They have been carrying an open spot since February 12 when they bought out Brandan Wright.
Wizards Re-Sign Ramon Sessions
Despite having his initial 10-day contract with the Wizards expire on Sunday night, point guard Ramon Sessions won’t be hitting the free agent market. According to an announcement from the team (Twitter link), Sessions has officially signed a second 10-day deal with Washington that will keep him under contract through next Wednesday.
Sessions, who will turn 32 next month, signed a 10-day contract with the Wizards after the All-Star break, giving the club some depth at point guard with John Wall still recovering from knee surgery. However, with Tomas Satoransky handling starting duties in Wall’s absence and Tim Frazier getting the backup minutes, Sessions didn’t see any action during his first 10 days with Washington.
While it’s not clear if Sessions will receive any playing time during his next 10 days with the Wizards, there’s little downside to the arrangement from the team’s perspective. Without Sessions, the club would only have 13 players on its 15-man NBA roster, one below the NBA-mandated minimum of 14 — so another signing would’ve been required if Sessions wasn’t retained.
A team is permitted to sign a player to two 10-day contracts before making a decision on that player for the rest of the season. After Sessions’ second deal expires next Wednesday night, Washington will either have to lock up the veteran for the season or sign another player to fill that 14th roster slot.
Latest On NBA’s Efforts To Adjust One-And-Done Rules
Since 2005, the NBA has required players entering the league’s draft pool to be at least 19 years old or at least one year removed from high school. However, with commissioner Adam Silver leading the way, the NBA is once again preparing to get involved with elite high school prospects, sources tell ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
According to Windhorst, the league’s plan isn’t simply to revert to the old rules for draft eligibility. Instead, the NBA wants to establish relationships with elite high school prospects early, helping them develop both on and off the court. When those prospects graduate from high school, there would then be a non-NCAA path to earning a salary right away, either from an NBA team or via “an enhanced option” in the G League, sources tell Windhorst. Essentially, the league doesn’t want to open up the draft to 18-year-olds without giving those youngsters more tools to help them succeed.
The plan is still in development, and Silver likely won’t formally put a proposal on the table until after the Commission on College Basketball presents a report this spring, Windhorst writes. Still, with LeBron James, Stan Van Gundy, and former president Barack Obama among the noteworthy voices taking aim recently at the NCAA, the NBA wants to find a way to adjust its one-and-done rules to benefit future NBA players — and the league would like to implement some changes before the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is up in 2024.
“We are looking at changing the relationship we have with players before they reach the NBA,” a high-ranking league official told Windhorst. “This is a complex challenge, and there’s still a lot of discussion about how it’s going to happen, but we all see the need to step in.”
According to Windhorst, there has been some discussion about the idea of establishing basketball academies within the United States to house and train some of the country’s best high school basketball players. However, the NBA prefers not to go that route, instead exploring ways to get in touch with those prospects while they’re playing in high school — that way, the league could bring in experts to teach high-level prospects about “training methods, recovery, nutrition and life skills,” in addition to preparing them for the on-court aspect of the professional game.
Be sure to check out Windhorst’s report in full, as it include more details and quotes on potential routes for the NBA.
Bulls Will Discuss Offseason Extension For Portis
Bulls forward Bobby Portis will become eligible for a contract extension for the first time on July 1, and the team will discuss the possibility of locking up Portis to a long-term deal, a front office source tells Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago.
Portis, 23, has enjoyed a breakout year in his third NBA season, averaging 13.2 PPG and 6.5 RPG in just 21.5 minutes per contest. He has enjoyed that success despite opening the season by serving an eight-game suspension for punching then-teammate Nikola Mirotic during a practice.
At that point, it seemed possible that Portis wouldn’t even finish the season in Chicago — Mirotic’s camp reportedly issued a “him or me” ultimatum in the wake of the altercation. However, the Bulls like Portis and chose to view the incident as a one-time transgression rather than as a possible harbinger of future problems. The team has given Portis a chance to play a key rotation role, ultimately trading Mirotic to New Orleans.
As Goodwill details, the Bulls don’t often give out rookie scale contract extensions to players a year before they reach restricted free agency. Derrick Rose is the only Bull in recent memory to sign such a deal. However, Goodwill also observes that the club is expected to shop Robin Lopez this offseason, and Cristiano Felicio hasn’t developed as hoped, so securing Portis to an extension could add a little more long-term certainty to a frontcourt that also features rookie Lauri Markkanen.
Waiting until 2019’s free agent period to work out a deal with Portis could also result in his cost increasing, so the 2018 offseason may represent the Bulls’ best chance to get a team-friendly price for the big man. According to Goodwill, over 20 teams reached out to Chicago following the Mirotic incident to ask about Portis, so the Bulls know the young forward has plenty of leaguewide value.
While discussing an extension for Portis will be one of the items on the Bulls’ to-do list this offseason, new contracts for RFAs-to-be Zach LaVine and David Nwaba figure to take priority, Goodwill notes.
Sixers Notes: Redick, Hinkie Specials, Embiid
J.J. Redick signed perhaps the most notable one-year contract of 2017’s free agent period, inking a $23MM pact with the Sixers that allowed the team to preserve cap room for 2018. While Redick’s expiring contract gives the 76ers some flexibility to pursue a high-profile free agent this summer, the veteran sharpshooter isn’t necessarily looking to be one-and-done in Philadelphia, as Keith Pompey of Philly.com writes.
“This is something that I’ll reiterate that I said last summer when I signed here,” Redick said on Sunday. “I want this to be a long-term thing. … I love playing here. I love playing with these guys. I love playing for Brett [Brown]. This has been a fantastic experience.”
At age 33, Redick is enjoying one of the best years of his career, posting a career-best 16.7 PPG with a .445/.405/.931 shooting line. However, his future in Philadelphia may hinge on whether the Sixers need to use their projected cap room on another free agent, renouncing Redick’s massive $27MM+ cap hold. In that scenario, the team would only be able to offer Redick the remaining portion of their cap space, or their modest room exception.
Here’s more out of Philadelphia:
- In an interesting piece for The Athletic, Danny Leroux examines the divergent career paths of K.J. McDaniels and Jerami Grant, two players who were offered “[Sam] Hinkie Specials” after being drafted in 2014. As Leroux details, those Hinkie Specials – long-term minimum salary contracts for young players – are still paying dividends for the franchise, since Richaun Holmes and T.J. McConnell are among the current Sixers who received them.
- Following last week’s game against the Cavaliers, Joel Embiid may have engaged in some subtle recruiting of free-agent-to-be LeBron James on Instagram, though he was quick to deny it. Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports recaps the social media fun.
- On Friday, our Chris Crouse passed along some of the highlights from a Sloan Conference panel on “The Process.”