Channing Frye To Retire At Season’s End
5:06pm: Frye confirmed today in a tweet that he intends to retire at the end of the 2018/19 season.
“Yes, I am really retiring,” he wrote. “It’s been a amazing ride. I’ve had the chance to have some amazing teammates and play for some great coaches. I’m gonna miss it but I’m super excited to see the other side of the fence!”
12:58pm: Veteran forward Channing Frye hinted at retirement last night with an Instagram post stating that he had played his final game at Madison Square Garden, tweets Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Frye confirmed that sentiment in exchanges with former Cavaliers teammates Jeff Green and Isaiah Thomas (Twitter link).
Frye, 35, is in his 13th NBA season. He has seen limited playing time since returning to the Cavaliers over the summer, appearing in 29 games and averaging 3.3 PPG in 9.5 minutes per night. His veteran’s minimum deal expires at the end of the season.
The eighth pick in the 2005 draft, Frye put together a productive career as a stretch four, sinking 1,041 career 3-pointers and shooting at a .387 clip from downtown. His best season came in 2010/11 with the Suns when he averaged 12.7 PPG.
Frye played for six teams in his career and was able to bounce back after missing the 2012/13 season because of an enlarged heart. He’s one of four remaining Cavaliers who were part of the 2016 championship team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southwest Notes: Faried, Grizzlies, Caboclo, White
After being phased out of Denver’s rotation in 2017/18 and then becoming an afterthought in Brooklyn for the first half of this season, Kenneth Faried has experienced a career resurgence with the Rockets in recent weeks.
As Kelly Iko of The Athletic details, part of that resurgence can be attributed to Faried’s newfound three-point shot — after making three shots from beyond the arc in his first 453 NBA games, the big man has made six of 13 since arriving in Houston. As Faried tells it, he always had the ability to expand his shooting range, but wasn’t encouraged to do so until he signed with the Rockets.
“People always said I couldn’t shoot the three, and it wasn’t that. I just never took them,” Faried said. “Now that I’m taking them, people go, ‘Whoa, your shot is nice actually. Wow. You have a soft shot.’ I always had this, I just never did it. It was a respect thing — I knew how to get on the floor for my coaches.”
While Faried is currently day-to-day with a hip issue, he looks like a potential fixture in the Rockets’ rotation moving forward. In 16 games with the club (27.9 MPG), he has posted 14.9 PPG and 9.4 RPG on 60.2% shooting, and has even earned some playing time alongside center Clint Capela.
Here’s more out of the Southwest:
- The Grizzlies will send their first-round pick to the Celtics if it falls outside of the top eight this spring, and have indicated they’d prefer to surrender it in 2019 rather than in a future year. David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal explains why, and lays out the various scenarios for that pick.
- Bruno Caboclo‘s new two-year deal with the Grizzlies doesn’t include any guaranteed money for next season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders confirms (via Twitter). However, according to Pincus, Caboclo will get a partial guarantee worth $300K if he remains under contract through July 10.
- After missing six games for the Spurs in February, second-year guard Derrick White is back in the team’s lineup. San Antonio will need White to stay healthy down the stretch as the team pushes to secure a spot in the postseason, as Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “Derrick is important because he keeps everything a little bit more together,” head coach Gregg Popovich said. “Everybody understands where to be with Derrick out there. He has a great pace about him.”
New York Notes: Dinwiddie, LeVert, Knox, Ntilikina
The Nets are looking forward to having three of their most productive players together for the stretch run, writes Mike Mazzeo of The New York Post. Spencer Dinwiddie will return to action tonight after thumb surgery sidelined him for about a month. The trio of Dinwiddie, D’Angelo Russell and Caris LeVert, who recently came back after missing three months with a dislocated right foot, have only been on the court together for 90 minutes all season.
“D’Lo is obviously playing at a high level. Caris is working his way back into form,” Dinwiddie said. “They’re going to do what they do, and our focus and our sights are set on the playoffs and trying to win as many games as possible, trying to be that team that not only makes it but strikes a little fear into some of those top seeds’ heart.”
Dinwiddie will be available for back-to-back games, coach Kenny Atkinson said, but his minutes will be limited at first and will gradually increase. The Nets were 6-8 while he was injured.
There’s more NBA news out of New York:
- LeVert doesn’t want to blame the injury for the struggles he has encountered since returning, Mazzeo relays in a separate story. The Nets guard was off to a career-best start before getting hurt, averaging 18.4 PPG in his first 14 games. In the seven games since coming back, his scoring has dropped to 8.9 PPG. “Three months is a long time to be out, but I don’t want to put it all on the injury,” LeVert said. “I feel like I could have had better energy and defensively and maybe sparked something offensively. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it was.”
- Knicks rookies Mitchell Robinson and Allonzo Trier continue to exceed expectations, but first-round pick Kevin Knox‘s shooting woes are concerning, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Knox has hit just 5-of-28 shots in his last two games, continuing a problem that caused him to lose a starting job in the preseason. “I want him to stay aggressive,” coach David Fizdale said. “We’re not going to get caught up in the percentages right now. He’s taking shots he can make. So keep taking them.’’
- After missing more than a month with a strained groin, Frank Ntilikina may return during a three-game road trip, Berman adds in another story. Ntilikina could be cleared for practice tomorrow, which would mark the first time he has played alongside Dennis Smith Jr. Ntilikina had taken over the Knicks‘ starting point guard role before being sidelined, but that position now belongs to Smith.
Hawks Sign B.J. Johnson To 10-Day Contract
MARCH 1: The signing is official, the Hawks announced in an email.
FEBRUARY 26: The Hawks will fill the final opening on their 15-man roster by signing G League shooting guard B.J. Johnson to a 10-day contract, reports Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. According to Vivlamore, the club will make the move official later in the week.
Johnson, who went undrafted out of La Salle in 2018, joined the Magic for training camp and the preseason last fall, and then was waived by Orlando before the regular season began. He subsequently headed to the G League and has spent the 2018/19 campaign playing for the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s affiliate.
In 37 games (30 starts) for Lakeland, Johnson has recorded 14.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a shooting line of .464/.426/.837.
Although the Hawks are carrying 14 players for now, Jordan Sibert‘s 10-day contract will expire this Friday night, so the club could open up a roster spot even after signing Johnson. Re-signing Sibert and officially adding Johnson would keep the 15-man squad full for the time being.
Hawks Won’t Keep Jordan Sibert
The Hawks won’t re-sign Jordan Sibert after his 10-day contract expires today, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Sibert appeared in a single game during his time with Atlanta, playing four minutes against the Timberwolves on Wednesday. The 26-year-old went undrafted out of Dayton in 2015 and spent time playing in Greece and Germany.
The move will leave the Hawks with 13 players under contract, but they’ll get back up to 14 when they officially sign B.J. Johnson, whose deal was reported earlier this week.
Jarrett Jack Signs G League Contract
Veteran guard Jarrett Jack will try to resume his career in the G League, tweets Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days. Jack has signed a G League contract and becomes eligible to be claimed off waivers by any team in the league.
The 35-year-old was the Knicks’ starting point guard for most of last season, posting a 7.5/3.1/5.6 line in 62 games. New York was his eighth team in a 13-year NBA career.
Jack joined the Pelicans for training camp this year, but was among the final players waived just before the start of the season.
Bucks Consider Adding Marcin Gortat
The Bucks have talked about signing former Clippers center Marcin Gortat, but no move will be made right away, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Sources tell Stein that Milwaukee’s interest hasn’t progressed past the discussion stage.
L.A. waived Gortat at the trade deadline to open a roster spot so the team could complete a trade with the Grizzlies for JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple. Because he was released before today’s deadline, Gortat would be playoff eligible for anyone who picks him up.
The Clippers acquired Gortat in a trade last summer, hoping he would help make up for the loss of free agent center DeAndre Jordan. However, Gortat got off to a slow start and wound up averaging just 16 minutes per night in a crowded frontcourt.
The Bucks have a full roster with 15 players, so a move would have to be made before they could add Gortat. The most likely odd man out would be Isaiah Canaan, who is on a 10-day contract.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Kaminsky, Magic, Waiters
Even after changing their coach and GM during the offseason, the Hornets haven’t solved the problem with roster depth that has plagued them for years, writes Brendan Marks of The Charlotte Observer. The team is struggling to find points off its bench, especially during a three-game losing streak that has dropped the Hornets to ninth in the playoff race.
“You look at our stat line — our starters vs. their starters — we won that game,” coach Jim Borrego said after Wednesday’s loss to Houston. “Our starters won the game tonight, gave us a chance, and I’ve just got to figure out what to do with the second unit.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Frank Kaminsky accompanied the Hornets on their trip to Brooklyn for tonight’s game as a buyout looks increasingly unlikely, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Today marks the deadline for players to be waived and still have postseason eligibility with another team.
- The Magic have learned how to handle adversity and the players are crediting new coach Steve Clifford for bringing toughness to the team, relays Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Orlando overcame a late deficit to surprise the Warriors last night, moving into the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. “I think it starts at the top, with the toughness of Coach Cliff,” Jonathan Isaac said. “It definitely has trickled down. We definitely feel ourselves as a more resilient, more mentally tough team, because we work for it. We work hard. We come in every day, and we work towards being mentally tough, and it shows out there.”
- Dion Waiters‘ return from injury hasn’t produced the spark the Heat were hoping for, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. He hasn’t bonded with Dwyane Wade, Winderman adds, and still hasn’t gotten his conditioning level where it needs to be.
Mario Chalmers Will Play In Italy
Veteran guard Mario Chalmers will sign with Italian club Virtus Segafredo Bologna for the rest of the season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Chalmers has already agreed to terms, Carchia adds, and the move will become official once he passes his physical.
The 32-year-old played 66 games for the Grizzlies last year after recovering from a torn Achilles that forced him to miss the 2016/17 season. Chalmers appeared in 646 total NBA games and is best known for his role on the Heat teams that went to four straight Finals when LeBron James was there.
Chalmers had been hoping to remain in the NBA this season and reportedly had interest from the Nets, Mavericks and Pelicans prior to training camp. He may be counting on a strong showing in Italy to boost his NBA chances.