Knicks Sign John Jenkins To 10-Day Deal
FEBRUARY 11: The Knicks have officially signed Jenkins, the team announced today in a press release. Jenkins’ new contract will expire next Wednesday.
FEBRUARY 9: Shooting guard John Jenkins, whose 10-day contract with the Wizards is set to expire, will join the Knicks on a 10-day deal, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Jenkins appeared in four games with Washington, averaging 1.8 points in 3.3 minutes per night. Before his NBA call-up, he was a prolific scorer with the Knicks’ G League affiliate in Westchester, averaging 24.7 PPG and shooting 42.9% from 3-point range.
A first-round pick by the Hawks in 2012, Jenkins spent three years in Atlanta before brief stints with the Mavericks and Suns.
The move leaves the Knicks with two open roster spots. At least one will have to be filled by February 21, which is two weeks after they waived Enes Kanter and Wesley Matthews. Washington will fall back to 14 players and can keep one spot open for the rest of the season.
Cavaliers Re-Sign Nik Stauskas
10:00am: Stauskas has officially signed with the Cavs, the team confirmed today in a press release.
9:14am: Free agent shooting guard Nik Stauskas has reached a rest-of-season deal with the Cavaliers, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. While the Cavs have yet to officially announce the signing of Stauskas, he’ll fill the club’s open roster spot, according to Fedor.
It has been an eventful week for Stauskas, who was initially traded from the Trail Blazers to the Cavaliers last Monday. The former eighth overall pick was rerouted to Houston in a three-team trade on deadline day, then was sent from the Rockets to the Pacers in a separate Thursday deal. Indiana subsequently waived Stauskas, putting him on track to reach unrestricted free agency.
The rules of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibit a team from trading a player, then re-signing him once he’s waived by his new team. However, since the Rockets traded Stauskas again to the Pacers before he was released, Houston was the only team ineligible to re-sign him — Portland and Cleveland faced no such restrictions.
Stauskas, 25, hasn’t developed into the sort of reliable sharpshooter that many league observers expected when he selected in the 2014 draft. However, he has shown enough promise during stints in Sacramento, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Portland to earn a spot on the Cavs’ roster for the rest of the season.
In 44 games (15.3 MPG) for the Blazers this season, Stauskas averaged 6.1 PPG on .419/.344/.889 shooting.
Pacers Sign Edmond Sumner To Two-Year Contract
Pacers guard Edmond Sumner, who has spent the last two seasons on a two-way contract with the team, is receiving a promotion to the 15-man roster, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Charania, Sumner has agreed to a standard contract with Indiana that will cover the rest of 2018/19, with a team option for 2019/20. The Pacers have confirmed the signing in a press release.
Sumner, a Xavier alum, hasn’t played a whole lot for the Pacers since being selected with the 52nd pick in the 2017 draft. Appearing in 18 NBA games, he has averaged 2.4 PPG in just 9.4 minutes per contest.
However, the 6’6″ guard enjoyed a breakout year this season for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G League, averaging 23.9 PPG on .500/.400/.744 shooting in 17 NBAGL games. That performance has earned him a spot in the Pacers’ rotation over the last couple weeks — Sumner has played in Indiana’s last eight games since Victor Oladipo went down, averaging 16.6 minutes per game.
The Pacers, who entered trade deadline week with one open roster spot, shuffled things around by waiving Ike Anigbogu, acquiring and waiving Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin, then signing Wesley Matthews. That series of moves still left Indiana with an opening on its 15-man roster, so Sumner will fill that opening, leaving Davon Reed as the Pacers’ lone two-way player.
As for Sumner’s contract, it will certainly be a minimum salary deal. It’s not clear whether his second year will be an actual team option or simply a non-guaranteed salary — if it’s an option, the Pacers will have to make a decision on it by the end of June, but if it’s a non-guaranteed salary, the club may not need to make a call on Sumner until later in the offseason, or even during the 2019/20 season.
Central Notes: Pistons, Pacers, Bulls, Knight
When they explored the market for Reggie Bullock prior to last week’s trade deadline, the Pistons had options beyond the Lakers’ offer of a second-round pick and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. According to president of basketball operations Ed Stefanski, the Pistons could have instead had two second-round picks in exchange for Bullock, but liked Mykhailiuk enough to take him in place one of those picks.
“Instead of getting two seconds, we got Svi and a second,” Stefanski said. “We know he’s a prospect. We know he can flat-out shoot the basketball and we’re excited about seeing if we can develop him. The idea of putting a name to a player and getting a second-round pick was intriguing to us as opposed to bringing in two second-round picks.”
As Langlois relays, one of the Pistons’ goals has been to acquire controllable – and cheap – players on rookie contracts, since the team’s cap is otherwise loaded with pricey veteran deals. The club achieved that goal at the deadline by landing Mykhailiuk and Thon Maker, who is one more year left on his rookie contract after this season.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shares some details on the cash changing hands in a pair of Central trades. According to Pincus (Twitter links), the Pacers sent $110K to the Rockets in the Nik Stauskas/Wade Baldwin trade, and the Bulls received $2,610,464 from the Thunder in their trade involving Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. Chicago, which has now maxed out the cash it can receive in 2018/19 trades, will receive that money from OKC in three installments worth about $870K apiece on the first of March, April, and May, Pincus notes (via Twitter).
- In a podcast discussion with ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Bobby Marks mentioned in passing that Khris Middleton‘s name is one the Pacers have “circled” as a potential offseason target (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic). Re-signing Middleton will be a top priority for the Bucks, who will also see Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon, Brook Lopez, and Nikola Mirotic reach free agency.
- The Pacers‘ style of play and the promise of a starting job were key factors in luring Wesley Matthews to Indiana, as the veteran swingman confirms to J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star.
- Brandon Knight has barely played over the last two seasons, and has seemingly become known more for his contract than his play on the court, after the Rockets dangled him in trade talks for much of the season. Now a member of the Cavaliers, Knight tells Ben Stinar of AmicoHoops that he remains confident he can recapture his previous form. “I had a full year off, but I’m still the same player,” said Knight, who averaged 19.6 PPG as recently as 2015/16.
Timberwolves Sign Isaiah Canaan To Second 10-Day Deal
FEBRUARY 11: The Timberwolves issued a statement on Sunday announcing that Canaan’s second 10-day deal is official.
Ten-day contracts must span at least three games, so Canaan’s new deal will actually span three extra days, through February 22, since it covers the All-Star break.
FEBRUARY 9: The Timberwolves will sign guard Isaiah Canaan to a second 10-day contract, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
In five games (one starts), Canaan averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.6 APG for Minnesota. The Timberwolves inked Canaan to his first 10-day pact at the end of January amid a series of injuries to Tyus Jones, Jeff Teague and Derrick Rose. The Timberwolves will have to decide on whether or not to sign Canaan for the remainder of the season once his second 10-day deal ends.
Before he joined Minnesota, Canaan spent time with the Suns in each of the past two seasons, playing 19 games during the 2017/18 season before he was waived. Canaan appeared in 19 games once again with Phoenix before he was waived earlier this season.
The 27-year-old has appeared in 229 total NBA games in six seasons, averaging 8.3 PPG and 2.0 APG.
Magic Johnson Discusses Trade Deadline, Free Agency
Magic Johnson spoke to the media prior to the Lakers‘ game against the 76ers on Sunday, discussing several topics that ranged from the trade deadline to the team’s upcoming free agency plans. Below are a sample of his comments.
Asked about the trade deadline – and implicitly the negotiations with the Pelicans for Anthony Davis – Johnson said that the Lakers didn’t feel as if they’d entered good-faith negotiations. “At the end of the day, what happened happened,” Johnson said (video link via Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group).
Johnson also downplayed the idea that players would be negatively impacted by having had to deal with the possibility of being traded, suggesting that it’s part of the business. “A lot of people got traded on Thursday and Wednesday,” Johnson said (video link via Bill Oram of The Athletic). “Guess what’s going to happen next year? A lot of players are going to get traded.”
Johnson also indicated that the lack of success negotiating a trade for Davis won’t affect the Lakers’ free agency plans (Twitter link via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com).
Finally, Johnson revealed that Ben Simmons reached out to the Lakers about the possibility of working with Johnson over the summer, as Simmons hopes to learn from the best big guard in league history. Johnson expressed his willingness to work with Simmons, but only if the league approves such an arrangement (video link via Oram).
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/10/19
Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Thunder assigned rookie wing Hamidou Diallo to their G League affiliate for today’s game, according to a press release from the team. He was recalled later in the day after recording 21 points and eight boards for the Oklahoma City Blue. Diallo has appeared in 44 games for the Thunder this season, averaging 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
- The Spurs announced that they have assigned rookie big man Chimezie Metu to their G League affiliate in Austin. Metu has appeared in 26 games for the Spurs, averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
Raptors Sign Malcolm Miller To Multi-Year Contract
As the Raptors continue to shape up their roster after the trade deadline, Blake Murphy of The Athletic is reporting (via Twitter) that the team is signing Malcolm Miller to a multi-year contract. Miller was originally expected to ink a 10-day contract, but CBA rules required Toronto to sign standard contracts to get to 12 players.
Murphy reports that the deal is expected to be for two seasons, with the 2019/20 season being non-guaranteed. The team has confirmed the signing in a press release.
Miller, 25, spent the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the Raptors, appearing in 15 games for the NBA squad and averaging 12.6 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 34 contests for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate. He was a candidate to stick with the team for 2018/19, but suffered a dislocated shoulder during Summer League play.
Since then, Miller has remained in the organization, rehabbing his injury with the G League squad and recently making his return to the court. In six games with the Raptors 905, Miller averaged only a modest 8.2 PPG and 2.5 RPG, but Toronto apparently saw enough to give him a promotion.
The Raptors still have multiple roster spots to fill as the regular season reaches the stretch run.
Thunder Notes: Ferguson, Felton, Abrines
Despite Andre Roberson missing the entire season to this point, the Thunder have continued to thrive as Paul George has developed into a serious MVP candidate and other role players have stepped up in their respective roles. The main example of such improvement is Terrance Ferguson, who has maintained his hold on a starting role past the halfway point of the season.
As Maddie Lee details for The Oklahoman, the Thunder put the ball in Ferguson’s hands more during Summer League, which he believes has translated to his improvement and confidence so far this season.
While his statistics suffered during the Summer League experiment, Ferguson is finding open teammates more often and is playing with a confidence that has unlocked more components of his game.
There’s more for the Thunder:
- Despite not receiving consistent playing time, Raymond Felton understands his role on the team and is still happy being with the Thunder, as Brett Dawson reveals for The Athletic.
- After the Thunder waived Alex Abrines on Saturday (which was a mutual decision between the two parties), the team reiterated that it will continue to support Abrines as he works through some personal issues.
- While George and Russell Westbrook get most of the attention and praise for the Thunder success this season, Royce Young of ESPN points out that there’s often a role player or two ready to take Oklahoma City to another level on a nightly basis.
Atlantic Notes: Brand, Nets, Atkinson, Irving
After years and years of asset collection and patience being the primary focus of the Sixers‘ plans, Elton Brand has dramatically changed the team’s course of action in a few months. First it was trading for Jimmy Butler. Then this past week, Brand took it to another level by trading several future assets for Tobias Harris, effectively creating a “big four” in Philadelphia.
These moves were made because Brand’s mindset is that the Sixers are in a position to contend for a championship right now. As Brian Seltzer writes for the 76ers’ team website, Brand is acting with a sense of urgency and focus on building a true championship team this season.
Should the 76ers re-sign both Harris and Butler, the team would instantly become one of the more expensive in the league, but Brand should be satisfied with the group of talent he has assembled for the foreseeable future.
There’s more from the Atlantic division:
- The Nets are finally getting healthy. While Spencer Dinwiddie will remain out for several weeks, the team has recently added Allen Crabbe and Caris LeVert back into the mix, which means there are new challenges to figure out when it comes to playing time and opportunities, as Brian Lewis analyzes for The New York Post.
- A key reason for the Nets‘ success this season has been the development of D’Angelo Russell. Brian Lewis of The New York Post details the relationship that Russell has developed with head coach Kenny Atkinson.
- The Celtics received some good news regarding Kyrie Irving, as the team announced (via Twitter) that he is only day-to-day with a strained right knee.