Bulls Sign Jarell Eddie To 10-Day Deal
MARCH 1: The Bulls have officially signed Eddie to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.
FEBRUARY 28: The Bulls are expected to call up small forward Jarell Eddie from their G League affiliate, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN, who tweets that Eddie is on track to receive a 10-day contract from the club. Chicago won’t have to make a roster move to accommodate the signing, since the team currently has an opening.
Eddie, who has seen NBA action with the Wizards, Suns, and Celtics, has spent most of the 2017/18 season in the G League with the Windy City Bulls. He has provided excellent outside shooting for Chicago’s affiliate, posting 16.9 PPG with a .475 3PT% in 18 games.
Eddie’s solid play for Windy City earned him a 10-day contract with the Celtics in January, but he didn’t receive a second deal after that first one expired, since Boston needed his roster spot for Greg Monroe. If the Bulls want to keep Eddie around for more than 10 days, they’ll have the opportunity to sign him to a second 10-day pact before deciding on whether to commit to a rest-of-season contract.
The Bulls would take on a cap hit of $83,129 by signing Eddie to a 10-day deal.
Jonathan Isaac Set To Return Friday For Magic
Sidelined for most of his rookie season by an ankle injury, power forward Jonathan Isaac is on track to return for the Magic on Friday night against the Pistons, head coach Frank Vogel said today after practice (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel).
Isaac, 20, was selected sixth overall in the 2017 draft by Orlando and played a part-time role for the club over the season’s first month. However, a sprained ankle sustained on November 11 sidelined him until mid-December. Isaac appeared in three of five games after returning their action, then went back on the shelf indefinitely due to that nagging ankle issue.
In total, Isaac has appeared in just 15 games so far this season, averaging 5.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 19.0 minutes per contest. Viewed as a raw prospect with upside, the former Florida State standout isn’t expected to be an immediate difference-maker for the Magic, which is probably good news for a club currently tied for the league’s worst record. Assuming he’s healthy going forward, Isaac should get a chance to play regular minutes down the stretch without Orlando having to worry that he’ll single-handedly drag the team to a few extra wins.
With Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja already earning plenty of minutes at the four, it remains to be seen how Vogel and the Magic will use Isaac down the stretch. While he figures to be on a minutes limit at first, Isaac may end up playing alongside Gordon or Hezonja in order to get regular playing time during the season’s final few weeks.
Postseason Eligibility And Two-Way Players
As we’ve noted in several stories leading up to today, March 1 is the last day that a player can be waived and retain his playoff eligibility for a new club. Any player released after Thursday night at 11:59pm ET can still sign with another NBA team once he clears waivers, but he wouldn’t be able to participate in the postseason with his new club.
While these rules are fairly clear for players on standard NBA contracts, how exactly do they affect players on two-way contracts? Let’s take a closer look…
Players on two-way contracts aren’t eligible for the postseason.
We’ll start with the simplest rule — a player on a two-way contract can’t play for his team in the postseason, even if he hasn’t used up his full allotment of 45 NBA days. A two-way player can travel and practice with the team during the playoffs, but has to remain on the inactive list during games.
Two-way players waived after March 1 aren’t eligible to play in the postseason for a new team.
The same waiver rules that apply to players on standard NBA contracts apply to players on two-way deals when it comes to playoff eligibility. If a player on a two-way contract isn’t waived by the end of the day today, he won’t be eligible to join another team for the postseason.
While these first two rules significantly restrict the ability of two-way players to participate in the playoffs, it’s still possible for a player who is on a two-way contract through Thursday to play in the postseason.
A player on a two-way contract who has his contract turned into a standard NBA deal by his current team any time up until the last day of the regular season can play in the postseason for that team.
Clippers guard Tyrone Wallace is only on a two-way contract, but he has been a key contributor to the team’s recent success — L.A. is 8-4 in games Wallace has started.
If the Clips want to ensure they’ll have the rookie available in the event they earn a playoff spot, they can convert Wallace’s two-way deal into a standard NBA contract anytime between now and the end of the regular season — it doesn’t need to be done today. Assuming he remains on his two-way deal through today though, he wouldn’t be eligible to play in the postseason for any team besides the Clippers.
Of course, the Clippers would need to have room on their 15-man roster to convert Wallace’s contract, but right now that wouldn’t be a problem, since they’re carrying just 14 players on standard NBA deals.
[RELATED: 2017/18 NBA Roster Counts]
While these eligibility rules for two-way players shouldn’t create problems for most of the league’s 30 teams, there are at least a handful of clubs that will have decisions to make before season’s end. In order to make a player on a two-way contract available for the postseason, a team will have to convert that player to a standard NBA deal by April 11.
For more information on how two-way contracts work, be sure to check out our full glossary entry.
Mirza Teletovic Denies That His Career Is Over
For most of the season, the Bucks have been without power forward Mirza Teletovic, who was diagnosed with pulmonary emboli in both of his lungs. Teletovic wasn’t given a recovery timetable when he was shut down in December, and there’s still no timeline on his potential return to the court, but the 32-year-old is adamant that his career isn’t coming to an end yet.
During a radio appearance on 105.7 The Fan (Twitter link), Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times cited sources who told him that Teletovic’s career is over. Responding to that report, Teletovic tweeted, “It’s not over ’till I say it’s over… recovery is going great.” He later followed up that tweet with an Instagram video in which he reiterated that his recovery is “going great” and said he’s not retiring.
As Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, the idea that pulmonary emboli could end an NBA player’s career is not far-fetched. Chris Bosh was ruled medically ineligible to return after a similar health issue, and Teletovic would require medical clearance of his own before he’s able to return to the court.
While Teletovic’s future remains uncertain, he has been spending time at the Bucks’ training facility during his on-court absence, participating in supervised workouts. Interim head coach Joe Prunty said on Wednesday that he has kept up with Teletovic’s progress, per Velazquez.
A stretch four who enjoyed some solid seasons in Brooklyn and Phoenix, Teletovic struggled a little during his first full season in Milwaukee in 2016/17, averaging 6.4 PPG on a career-worst .373 FG%. However, he got off to a hot start this season, shooting 46.7% on three-pointers in his first 10 games, before being sidelined with a knee injury.
After this season, Teletovic has one more year on his contract at a rate of $10.5MM. If his health issues are ultimately deemed to be career-ending, the Bucks could eventually explore removing that money from their cap during the 2018/19 season, as the Heat did with Bosh’s cap hits.
Atlantic Notes: LeBron, Ilyasova, Raptors, Russell
LeBron James shot down a rumor that he spent part of the All-Star break in Philadelphia checking out possible schools for his children, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The report, which James called “disgusting,” started with Sixers TV analyst Alaa Abdelnaby, who said his brother told him a Philly-area superintendent relayed that James was looking at private schools in the region.
“Pennsylvania? Nah. What are you talking about?” James said. “Over the All-Star break, I was on vacation and then went to Los Angeles.”
There has been speculation that Philadelphia is one of the destinations James will consider in free agency this summer, with a company from the city buying billboards near Quicken Loans Arena urging him to join the Sixers.
There’s more today from the Atlantic Division:
- Ersan Ilyasova held his first workout with the Sixers today since returning to Philadelphia following a buyout with the Hawks, and his ex-teammates were thrilled to see him again, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I’m happy that we got him back,” Joel Embiid said. “I thought we should have kept him last year and re-signed him this summer. But I’m glad that he’s back and I’m excited.” Ilyasova played 53 games for the Sixers last season before being dealt to Atlanta.
- The Raptors don’t expect to pick up anybody on the buyout market, tweets Michael Grange of Rogers Sportsnet. He adds that the team doesn’t see any players who would be good fits for the limited roles it has available. Toronto saved about $1MM by trading Bruno Caboclo‘s expiring contract to the Kings last month for Malachi Richardson and was hoping to use that money on a buyout, adds Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun (via Twitter). The Raptors may wind up with a slightly larger tax bill for next season due to Richardson’s $1.57MM salary for 2018/19.
- Fully recovered from knee surgery, D’Angelo Russell is showing why the Nets traded for him over the summer, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. It took a while for Russell to return to form following the operation, but he is averaging 14.5 points and 5.3 assists over the past 11 games. “Oh man, it was only a matter of time,” said teammate Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. “That’s D’Angelo’s game. He can score, he can pass, play-make. There isn’t much he can’t do. “It just feels good to have him back.”
Derrick Rose Hoping For Long-Term Offer
Derrick Rose has received a couple of 10-day offers, but nothing more substantial since being waived by the Jazz, according to Ken Berger of Bleacher Report.
Multiple team executives indicated to Berger that Rose may not return to the NBA until next season. An online video last week showed him working out at Cleveland State University, but it appears the type of offer he’s seeking may not emerge by the end of the season.
The former MVP is hoping to join a contender that could accommodate him for more than just a short-term stop. Rose’s representatives thought there might be interest from the Thunder, who need a guard to replace the injured Andre Roberson, but there was no traction as of Wednesday, according to Berger. Oklahoma City will sign former Lakers swingman Corey Brewer once he clears waivers on Friday.
The Clippers are also rumored to have interest, along with the Timberwolves, coached by Tom Thibodeau, who guided Rose during his MVP season with the Bulls in 2010/11. However, Berger states that Minnesota hadn’t reached out to Rose as of Wednesday night.
Rose tried to revive his career in Cleveland, agreeing to a minimum-salary deal in July. He played just 16 games for the Cavaliers before being shipped to Utah three weeks ago at the trade deadline. Rose added to his long injury history with a sprained ankle in the second game of the season, then took a leave of absence from the team in November to contemplate his basketball future.
His physical woes and perceived unreliability have made teams reluctant to offer him a long-term contract, Berger adds. Rose is only 29 and has played 66 and 64 games the past two seasons, but those issues are casting doubt over his NBA future.
Coaching Notes: Fizdale, Stackhouse, Hornacek, Van Gundy
Former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale has become the prime candidate to take over as the Suns‘ head coach once the season ends, according to Mitch Lawrence of The Sporting News. James Jones, who became VP of basketball operations in Phoenix last summer, spent five seasons as a player with the Heat while Fizdale was the lead assistant under Erik Spoelstra. Earlier today, we passed on Lawrence’s comments that Fizdale hasn’t given up on the Lakers job if the team decides to replace Luke Walton, so the Suns could have some competition for his services. Interim Phoenix coach Jay Triano has expressed a desire to be considered for the job, but it appears the team is looking in a different direction.
Lawrence passes on a few more rumors from NBA coaching circles:
- If the Magic decide to move on from Frank Vogel, longtime player Jerry Stackhouse will be their top choice. Stackhouse, named G League Coach of the Year with Raptors 905 last season, is close to Jeff Weltman, Orlando’s president of basketball operations. Weltman spent four years as GM in Toronto and got an up-close look at Stackhouse’s coaching abilities.
- There’s a growing sense that the Knicks will part with Jeff Hornacek once the season ends. Lawrence admits Hornacek has been in a difficult situation in New York between the front office turmoil, the Carmelo Anthony situation and the recent injury to Kristaps Porzingis, but Hornacek was hired by former team president Phil Jackson, and Steve Mills might prefer to have his own coach in place. There is a strong sentiment to bring in former Knick Doc Rivers, but he still has supporters in the Clippers front office and might be kept for another year after turning in an impressive coaching job with a weakened roster.
- Stan Van Gundy may need to get the Pistons into the playoffs to keep his job. Van Gundy has one season left on his five-year, $35MM contract and is back on thin ice after the team’s recent slump. Even if he does return next season, the feeling is Van Gundy will be replaced at team president, with former agent and current Pistons VP Arn Tellem next in line to run the team’s basketball operations.
L.A. Notes: Bradley, Wallace, Randle, Fizdale
Avery Bradley, part of the return the Clippers got in the Blake Griffin trade, isn’t sure if he’ll play again this season, relays Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Bradley discussed the sports hernia injury that has sidelined him for the past four games, saying surgery before the end of the season is a possibility.
“We’re just … day by day and trying to strengthen up all the muscles around the injury,” Bradley said. “After that, we’re going to make the best decision, if that’s me playing or me getting surgery.” He added that rest has only made the injury worse, saying there’s no way to gauge when he might return.
The news could mean Bradley has played his last game as a Clipper. One of the NBA’s top wing defenders, he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and will be seeking a hefty raise from his $8.8MM salary.
There’s more this morning out of Los Angeles:
- Clippers guard Tyrone Wallace will remain in the G League after reaching the 45-day NBA limit on his two-way contract, according to Elliot Teaford of The Orange County Register. Wallace was transferred to the team’s Agua Caliente affiliate after playing in Tuesday’s game and cannot return until the G League season is over unless the Clippers give him a 10-day deal or sign him for the rest of the season. The rookie has averaged 10.1 points in 21 games for L.A.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report examines whether the Lakers can achieve their dream of adding two elite free agents without giving up Julius Randle. Though he is making less than $4.15MM this season, Randle will enter restricted free agency with a cap hold of $12.4MM. That leaves the team short of the cap room needed to offer two maximum deals unless it can find a taker for Luol Deng, who still has two years and $36.81MM left on his contract. Pincus identifies the Mavericks as the greatest threat to sign Randle this summer.
- Even though rumors about Luke Walton’s job security have calmed down, former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale still has his eyes on the Lakers job, according to Mitch Lawrence of the Sporting News. As a former assistant in Miami, Fizdale has a close relationship with LeBron James, and the front office might consider a coaching change if it believes Fizdale could deliver James to L.A.