Suns Sign Quincy Acy To 10-Day Deal
JANUARY 7: The signing is official, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
JANUARY 5: With 10-day contracts now permissible, the Suns will sign veteran forward Quincy Acy to the first one of the season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The 28-year-old played 70 games for the Nets last season, but hasn’t been in the league since Brooklyn renounced his rights to generate extra cap space over the summer. Acy spent a year and a half with the Nets after joining the team in January of 2017. He has also played for the Raptors, Kings, Knicks and Mavericks since coming into the league in 2012, but has never spent two full seasons with any team.
Phoenix waived forward/center Eric Moreland on Thursday, giving the team two roster openings. The Suns have until January 17 to get back to the league minimum of 14 players, but they’ve decided not to wait. Moreland cleared waivers today and became a free agent, according to Real GM.
Teams Interested In Patrick McCaw
“About four” teams are interested in acquiring Patrick McCaw, who was waived by the Cavaliers yesterday, a source tells Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News. Cleveland is believed to be among that group, although some playoff contenders have expressed interest as well.
The source isn’t clear on whether any team intends to claim McCaw off waivers or if they will all wait for him to become an unrestricted free agent. Anyone who claims McCaw would inherit the two-year, $6MM contract he signed with Cleveland last week, but the current season would become fully guaranteed.
The Cavs’ deal with McCaw turned out to be a way to get him out of his commitment to Golden State. As the final remaining restricted free agent, any offer that McCaw received could have been matched by the Warriors. By signing him to a non-guaranteed deal, Cleveland gave him a path to unrestricted free agency with a minimal financial commitment.
McCaw played just three games for Cleveland, averaging 1.3 PPG in 17.7 minutes per night. In addition to doing McCaw a favor, the Cavs wanted to open a roster spot to add point guard Cameron Payne, who signed a 10-day deal with the team yesterday.
Raptors Waive Lorenzo Brown
The Raptors have placed guard Lorenzo Brown on waivers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Like other players who were waived today, Brown had a contract that would have become fully guaranteed by 5pm Eastern.
The reigning G League MVP, Brown was a two-way player for Toronto last season before signing a standard contract over the summer. He appeared in 26 games this year, averaging just 2.1 PPG in 8.2 minutes per night. The 28-year-old has also played for the Sixers, Timberwolves and Suns.
If Brown decides to return to the G League, his rights are held by the Pistons’ affiliate in Grand Rapids, notes Adam Johnson of 2 Ways and 10 Days (Twitter link).
The move leaves Toronto with 13 players, one below the league minimum. The team will have two weeks to add to its roster.
The Raptors’ luxury tax projection falls from $34.5MM to $32.2MM, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Brown received $800K in guaranteed money on his deal.
Wizards Waive Ron Baker
Ron Baker‘s stay in Washington turned out to be a short one as the Wizards waived him today, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. His contract would have become fully guaranteed if he had remained on the roster past 5pm Eastern today.
It’s the second trip to the waiver wire in less than a month for Baker, who was waived by the Knicks on December 13. He joined the Wizards eight days later. Baker played four games for Washington, but didn’t score a point despite averaging 11.3 minutes per night.
The move leaves Washington with just 13 players on its roster. At least one more will have to be added by January 21 to get the team back to the NBA’s 14-player limit.
The Wizards will have a $170,915 cap hit on Baker’s salary and now face an $8.66MM luxury tax bill, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). However, the tax number will increase when an extra player is added.
Latest On Tom Thibodeau, Wolves
Contrary to a report that emerged last night in the wake of Tom Thibodeau’s firing in Minnesota, former Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg is not an “immediate candidate” to become the team’s next coach or president, a source tells Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
Interim coach Ryan Saunders will be given an opportunity to earn the job on a permanent basis, Krawczynski adds, and he has strong support from his players, who respect his work ethic and welcome his approachable nature as a change from Thibodeau. The organization will consider hiring an assistant who has experience as a head coach to help Saunders with the challenges of his new position.
GM Scott Layden was retained last night and will likely remain in place for the rest of the season, but he may need the team to make the playoffs to keep his job beyond that.
While the Wolves have a disappointing 19-21 record, the decision to part with Thibodeau was based on business as much as basketball, Krawczynski writes. The coach had become unpopular with fans, who routinely booed him every time his name was announced in pre-game introductions. Even worse, they were staying away, as Minnesota has dropped to 29th in home attendance after ranking 21st last season. The organization didn’t want to keep an alienating presence in place with a season ticket drive looming.
It’s no secret that owner Glen Taylor was unhappy with Thibodeau and Layden over how they handled the situation with Jimmy Butler before he was traded to the Sixers. Taylor commented several times that he believed both men were dragging their feet on Butler’s trade request and that they let the volatile star hijack the team during training camp and the early season.
Thibodeau has long had a reputation of giving heavy minutes to his starters, and several players complained about poor communication over their roles. Krawczynski reports that Gorgui Dieng, who has fallen out of the rotation after signing a huge contract, was “openly seething” in the locker room after Friday’s game. Tyus Jones, Anthony Tolliver and Jeff Teague have also expressed frustration over their status on the team.
As one of the few remaining coach/executives left in the league, Thibodeau’s standing was also harmed by several personnel decisions that didn’t work out. He was the driving force behind the decision to send Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and a draft pick that turned out to be Lauri Markkanen to the Bulls to acquire Butler. He also convinced Taylor to part with Ricky Rubio in exchange for Teague. And of course, he was responsible for bringing Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose and Luol Deng, his former players in Chicago, to Minnesota to form the “Timber-Bulls.”
Taylor was in Florida last night as Layden and CEO Ethan Casson delivered the news to Thibodeau. Taylor’s only comment came in an official statement from the organization, saying, “These decisions are never easy to make, but we felt them necessary to move our organization forward.”
Pacific Notes: Green, Ayton, Gilgeous-Alexander
A hot topic during the NBA season so far has been the inconsistent play and effort from the Warriors. Whether it is a result of injuries or struggles from key star players, the Warriors just haven’t played to the best of their abilities during the first half of the regular season. As Monte Poole writes for NBC Sports California, Draymond Green is ultimately the key to the Warriors turning things around and hitting their stride.
Poole writes that Green can look like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate one night, only to produce a pedestrian effort the next game. Green’s offensive struggles are no secret, especially with his inability to hit long-range shots cramping the Warriors’ floor spacing. But Poole believes that Green being fully engaged defensively on a more consistent basis will provide the team with that extra energy to compete at their highest level.
With DeMarcus Cousins set to return in the coming weeks, it will be interesting to see how he fits on the floor and what he provides for a Warriors team clearly searching for their competitive edge.
There’s more from the Pacific division:
- At a recent practice, Suns rookie big man Deandre Ayton discussed the fact that he feels the pressure of expectations, mainly as a result of his competitiveness and desire to win.
- After getting off to a very strong start, Clippers‘ rookie guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has struggled in recent weeks as he has hit the “rookie wall.” However, as Andrew Greif points out for The Los Angeles Times, Doc Rivers continues to be impressed with the young guard’s work ethic and understands that he will need more time to get over the hump this season.
- As the Suns have played better in recent weeks, head coach Igor Kokoskov has enjoyed having the ability to tailor and adjust his rotation on a game-to-game basis depending on the energy from his players and that night’s matchup. Katherine Fitzgerald of The Arizona Republic details how the team’s young players and bench depth have improved in recent weeks.
Timberwolves Waive James Nunnally
In the latest move in a busy day for the Timberwolves, the club is waiving guard James Nunnally, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The transaction will happen in advance of Nunnally’s contract guarantee deadline this week.
After playing in Europe for the past two seasons, Nunnally signed with the Timberwolves during free agency, as Minnesota was looking to add players that could space the floor and provide solid defense. However, Nunnally was not a regular part of the rotation and rarely saw the court during his time with the Wolves.
The 28-year-old wing only played 64 minutes this season, averaging 2.1 points per game while knocking down 38.5 percent of his 3-pointers. The emergence of Josh Okogie and the additions of Robert Covington and Dario Saric pushed Nunnally further out of the rotation.
If Nunnally doesn’t catch on with another NBA team right away, a return to the EuroLeague is a viable possibility, given his past success overseas.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/6/19
Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Hawks recalled rookie big man Omari Spellman ahead of their Sunday night stint against the Miami Heat, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Spellman has appeared in 23 games for the Hawks this season, averaging 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Timberwolves Fire Tom Thibodeau
The Timberwolves have fired Tom Thibodeau as their head coach and president of basketball operations, according to Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (via Twitter). After dealing with the Jimmy Butler fiasco, the Timberwolves currently sit at 19-21 and are on the outside looking in on the Western Conference playoff picture.
Krawczynski is also reporting that Ryan Saunders will take over as head coach on an interim basis while Scott Layden will still serve as the team’s general manager.
Meanwhile, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN is reporting that Fred Hoiberg is a serious candidate to become the team’s GM or coach. Hoiberg previously served as the Timberwolves’ assistant GM before leaving to be the head coach at Iowa State University. Wojnarowski also believes that Monty Williams may emerge as a serious candidate for the coaching position due to previous interest that the Timberwolves had in bringing Williams in as head coach.
Team owner Glen Taylor spoke to the media about the decision to fire Thibodeau, stating that “we’ve gone up through halfway through the season and I don’t think we’re where we thought we would be or where we think we should be.” Taylor also expressed a desire to make the playoffs, believing that making such a change with half the season left may give the Wolves a chance to do so.
In two and a half seasons with the Timberwolves, Thibodeau had a 96-107 regular season record, leading the club to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2004. However, his decision to acquire Butler from his old team in Chicago ultimately led to his downfall. Although the All-NBA swingman helped Minnesota win 47 games in 2017/18, his offseason trade request – and Thibodeau’s initial reluctance to grant that request – created several weeks of drama within the organization and didn’t reflect well on Thibs.
Thibodeau’s firing represents a continuation of a trend in the NBA’s head coaching ranks. Within the last two years, four head coaches who held president of basketball operations titles within their respective organizations have had those responsibilities removed or have been fired altogether. Mike Budenholzer (Hawks), Doc Rivers (Clippers), and Stan Van Gundy (Pistons) were the others. Gregg Popovich of the Spurs is now the only NBA head coach who is also his team’s head of basketball operations.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Carroll, Brown, Rozier, Hezonja
The Nets have been surging in recent weeks, and the team’s hot streak has coincided with strong play from DeMarre Carroll, who is finally gaining comfort after returning from ankle surgery on November 9. As Brian Lewis writes for The New York Post, Carroll has been providing stellar and consistent play off the bench, averaging nearly 17 points and 6 rebounds per game in his last five contests, while knocking down 50% of his 3-pointers.
Carroll’s turnaround couldn’t have come at a better time for the Nets, who are missing Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Allen Crabbe and Caris LeVert due to injuries.
Coming into the season, Carroll was expected to play a key role for the Nets as a small-ball power forward. Due to his injury and early struggles this season, he lost that role and has had to work to regain it. Now he is a key cog on the Nets’ bench unit, which is one of the best in the league.
There’s more from the Atlantic division:
- After getting off to a rough start this season, Jaylen Brown has stepped up his play in recent games for the Celtics. As Sherrod Blakely points out for NBC Sports Boston, Brown has finally started to hit shots in recent games and has resembled the player he was last season on a more consistent basis.
- Speaking of struggling Celtics, Terry Rozier continues to navigate his smaller role now that the team is healthy. As Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald points out, Rozier is struggling with accepting the smaller role for the good of the team versus constricting his career to being a backup point guard.
- In their recent win over the Lakers, the Knicks received strong contributions from Mario Hezonja. However, as Marc Berman writes for The New York Post, Hezonja and Enes Kanter are two parts of the Knicks’ rotation that have seen their roles decrease significantly in recent weeks as their future with the team is in question.