Celtics To Sign Xavier Silas To 10-Day Deal
The Celtics will sign G League guard Xavier Silas to a 10-day contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Silas, 30, has not played in the NBA since the 2011/12 season, when he made a two-game cameo with the Sixers. The 6’5″ guard has played 40-plus games for the G League’s Northern Arizona Suns the last two years. In 43 games this season, he averaged 18.4 PPG and 4.1 RPG.
Boston was granted a roster hardship exception to sign another player due to a high volume of injuries. To qualify for the exemption, a team must have at least four players who have missed three consecutive games and are deemed likely to be out for an additional two weeks.
The team is currently without Gordon Hayward (dislocated left ankle), Daniel Theis (torn left meniscus), Marcus Smart (right thumb), and Kyrie Irving (left knee).
The Celtics had agreed to a 10-day deal with Sean Kilpatrick, but he received a better offer from the Bulls, with whom he signed a 10-day deal earlier today.
Isaiah Thomas To Have Hip Evaluated
Lakers point guard Isaiah Thomas is en route to New York to have his ailing hip evaluated, tweets Lakers beat reporter Mike Trudell.
Thomas was ruled out of the Lakers’ last two games on Saturday and Monday due to the hip. He was sidelined for a portion of last year’s postseason due to a right femoral-acetabular impingement with a labral tear in his hip. The injury carried over into 2017/18; after he was traded to the Cavaliers, Thomas did not debut until January 2.
Thomas struggled in 15 games with the Cavaliers, averaging 14.7 PPG and 4.5 APG as the team struggled to mesh. The Cavs went in a different direction at the deadline and traded Thomas to the Lakers.
Thomas has played well in 17 games with Los Angeles, averaging 15.6 APG and 5.0 APG.
It has been a tough past year for Thomas, who finished fifth in NBA Most Valuable Player voting last spring. He is currently on his third team in less than a year, and has not been healthy for most this season. Thomas, who is set to hit free agency after this season, made his desire for a max contract clear in 2017, but that outcome seems very unlikely now.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/26/18
Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- Lakers‘ rookie big man Thomas Bryant has been recalled from the South Bay Lakers, the team announced today. Bryant, 20, has averaged 19.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 37 G League games this season.
- The Pacers assigned center Ike Anigbogu to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team’s G League affiliate, the team announced. Anigbogu has appeared in 10 games with Indiana, averaging 1.3 PPG and 0.9 RPG.
Michael Porter Jr. Declares For NBA Draft
Missouri freshman power forward Michael Porter Jr. has declared for the 2018 NBA Draft, per an announcement from his Instagram.
“Man, it’s been a crazy year but I feel so blessed to be in the position I’m at,” Porter said in the video. “I want to thank Mizzou nation, my coaches and my teammates for the incredible support I’ve received ever since I committed to the university. I wish I could have been on the floor with my brothers every single night. But I’m so thankful to have been part of such a special group. A special thank you goes out to my family, y’all have been there for me through it all and I just want to let you know how much you mean to me. With that being said, after talking it over with my coaches and my family, I would like to announce that I’m declaring for the 2018 NBA Draft.”
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets that Porter will soon hire an agent. Porter is widely expected to be a high lottery selection; some consider him a possible first overall pick, but his back injury could adversely affect his stock.
The 19-year-old entered his freshman year with a lot of hype, but suffered a serious back injury just two minutes into the season. The procedure –a microdiscectomy of the L3-L4 spinal discs — sidelined Porter until the SEC tournament. He played in two games this month, both losses.
In total, Porter appeared in three games with the Tigers, averaging 10.0 PPG and 6.7 RPG.
Markelle Fultz To Be Active For Monday’s Game
Sixers point guard and 2017 first overall pick Markelle Fultz will be available off the bench tonight, head coach Brett Brown told reporters, including Gina Mizell of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
Fultz, 19, is available to play for the first time since October 23, missing 68 games in that span.
“He’s put in a lot of work,” Brown said, per Derek Bodner of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I’m thrilled to be able to offer him the opportunity to come join his teammates at this exciting time of the year.”
Fultz will not have a specific minutes restriction, but the team will monitor his play and the situation of the game, tweets ESPN’s Chris Haynes.
Fultz’s first NBA season has been hampered by injury and shrouded in mystery. Just four games into the year, the No. 1 pick was sidelined with a scapular muscle imbalance in his right shoulder. The ailment forced Fultz to alter his shooting motion, which was causing him discomfort.
In those four games, Fultz posted averages of 6.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.8 APG.
At the time of injury, Fultz was shooting just 33% from the field and did not attempt a single three-pointer. That was out of character for the young guard, whose field goal percentage (47.6%) and three-point shooting (41.3%) was solid as a freshman at Washington.
The Sixers issued a statement in early December that Fultz’s shoulder injury had healed and he was not in pain. However, confusion about his status lingered as he did not play and multiple videos of him shooting showed a hitch in his release.
Fultz will back up Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons at point guard.
76ers Release James Young
The 76ers have released two-way guard James Young, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
Young appeared in six games with Philadelphia, averaging 2.8 PPG in 10.2 minutes per contest. As part of his two-way deal, Young suited up for 39 G League games, averaging 20.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 2.0 APG in 33.4 minutes per game.
The 22-year-old is a former first-round pick (17th overall) of the Celtics from 2014.
Injuries forced Young to shuttle between the Celtics and the G League during his first three professional seasons as he logged between 29 and 31 NBA games in each of those seasons.
Fantasy Hoops: Burke, Nets, Cook, Rozier
Whether you’re still alive in the fantasy basketball playoffs (congratulations!) or simply need an edge in daily fantasy, Hoops Rumors has you covered. Here are some basketball nuggets to help you take down the competition down the stretch:
Trey Burke is averaging 14.3 points per game while hitting 55.6% of his shots from the field over the last six contests. He’s a solid streaming option on Monday when the Knicks take on the Hornets — no team is allowing opposing point guards to shoot a higher percentage over the last 10 games.- The Nets are getting eaten alive on the boards by opposing fives, allowing a league-worst 15.1 rebounds to the position over their last 10 games. Brooklyn plays the Magic on Wednesday and Nikola Vucevic should provide nice value in daily fantasy leagues.
- Quinn Cook is a must-own for all those still playing in season-long leagues. Over his last eight games (seven starts), the Duke product is scoring 16.0 points per game while shooting 51.0% from the field and knocking down nearly two shots from behind the arc. He’s also adding 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and nearly a steal per contest over that span for a depleted Warriors team. Cook’s teammate and mentor, Stephen Curry, can be dropped in all leagues, as he’s expected to be sidelined through the end of the regular season.
- Both Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart are out of the lineup for the remainder of the regular season, which means it’s the Terry Rozier show for the Celtics. Rozier went crazy against Sacramento on Sunday, scoring 33 points on 75% shooting. He also added five rebounds and three assists. He should be owned in all season-long leagues, and his usage makes his an attractive option in daily.
- The Raptors are the only team with two games this upcoming week. Every other team plays three or four.
Fantasy questions? Take to the comment section below or tweet me at @CW_Crouse.
Missed an earlier edition of Fantasy Hoops? Check out the entire series here.
Statistics are current through Monday morning. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raptors Open Up Spot On NBA Roster
Nigel Hayes‘ second 10-day contract with the Raptors expired overnight on Sunday, leaving the team facing a decision on whether or not to re-sign him for the rest of the season. According to Eric Koreen of The Athletic (Twitter link), Hayes is “done as a Raptor” for now, suggesting the club has no immediate plans to re-sign him.
Hayes, who also got a brief look from the Lakers on a 10-day contract this season, has accumulated 30 days of NBA service during his rookie season. However, the young forward only appeared in four total games for L.A. and Toronto, playing very limited minutes (4.3 MPG) in those contests.
Assuming he doesn’t receive another NBA deal from the Raptors or any other team, Hayes would likely return to the Westchester Knicks for the G League playoffs. The former Wisconsin standout has averaged 16.1 PPG and 6.7 RPG with a .451/.454/.744 shooting line in 38 games for New York’s NBAGL affiliate this season.
As for the Raptors, they’ll open up a spot on their 15-man roster, since they only have 14 players on guaranteed contracts. There’s no rush for Toronto to fill that open slot, but I’d expect the team to do so before the postseason gets underway. One option for the Raps would be to sign one of their two-way players – likely Malcolm Miller – to an NBA contract before the end of the regular season, making him playoff-eligible.
Pelicans Sign Larry Drew II To Second 10-Day Deal
The Pelicans have signed point guard Larry Drew II to a second 10-day contract, according to the NBA’s official transactions log. Drew’s initial 10-day deal with New Orleans expired overnight on Saturday.
This is Drew’s third 10-day contract of 2017/18. He signed one with the Sixers in January, and has now inked two with the Pelicans. During his first 10 days with New Orleans, Drew appeared in five games, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.2 APG in 10.0 minutes per contest.
For most of the season, Drew once again played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, marking the fifth straight year that he has spent time with the G League club. In 35 games for the Skyforce this season, the UCLA alum averaged 11.8 PPG, 7.4 APG, and 4.6 RPG.
With Drew officially back under contract, the Pelicans are once again carrying a full 15-man NBA roster.
Bulls Sign Sean Kilpatrick To Multiyear Contract
The Bulls have signed veteran guard Sean Kilpatrick to a three-year, $6.2MM contract, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. According to Charania, the deal – signed using the mid-level exception – isn’t guaranteed for the second and third years.
It has been an eventful season for Kilpatrick, who opened 2017/18 with the Nets. Waived by Brooklyn in December, Kilpatrick signed a two-way deal with the Bucks, which was eventually converted into a standard NBA deal in January. The 28-year-old was cut by Milwaukee in March and then signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Clippers. After those deals expired, Kilpatrick appeared poised to sign with the Celtics, but that deal fell through over the weekend when he received a more appealing offer from the Bulls.
Kilpatrick’s nomadic existence this season comes on the heels of his best year as a pro. In 2016/17, he averaged 13.1 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 70 games for the Nets. Perhaps hoping he can repeat that level of production in the right environment, the Bulls are taking a very low-risk flier on Kilpatrick.
Because the Bulls remain below the NBA’s minimum salary floor, the deal essentially won’t cost them anything this season — the gap between a team’s total salary and the league-mandated minimum (90% of the cap) must be paid out at the end of the season to the club’s players, so the money given to Kilpatrick won’t add anything to the team’s year-end bill. The Bulls are believed to still be about $2MM below the salary floor after adding Kilpatrick.
Chicago’s 15-man roster was full after Sunday’s C.J. Fair signing, so Fair – like Jaylen Johnson before him – figures to be the player waived to make room for Kilpatrick.