Jonathan Isaac Talks USA Select Team, Weight Gain, Upcoming Season
After an improved sophomore season in which the upstart Magic made the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, Jonathan Isaac has spent this summer trying to improve his game to another level as he readies himself for his third season. The 21-year-old forward recently sat down with Josh Robbins of The Athletic to discuss a variety of topics, including his experience with the USA Select Team this summer.
“It was fantastic… USA Basketball, the NBA, they do a fantastic job with all their events,” Isaac said. “I thought the Select Team was just another thing that they do really well. Just to be able to hang out with guys that we played against all year, get to know them a little better, practice with them — it was just fun. It was fun to learn. It was fun to compete.”
Since the end of the 2018/19 season, Isaac has increased the weight on his long, lanky frame from a mere 209 pounds to 234 pounds. It remains unclear whether Isaac will be able to keep 25 pounds of extra weight on during a marathon NBA season, but he liked the way his new body felt while scrimmaging against Team USA.
“Just being able to have a little more size on me down in the paint is going to help a lot,” he said. “I’m going to continue to finish out the summer working hard. I feel good right now. I feel good about where I’m at game-wise, body-wise, everything.”
Isaac also spoke on the expectations he has for the 2019/20 season after a successful 2018/19 campaign in Orlando. The roster remains intact and head coach Steve Clifford is now in his second season at the helm.
“I think we’re going to have a fantastic year… I just want the fans to be excited about it because I know we are,” Isaac said. “Going into our second season with Coach Cliff and everything that happened in that first year, just riding that into the next season, I think, is going to be great. I’m just looking forward to it, looking forward to having fun.”
Clippers Sign Patrick Patterson
7:01pm: The signing is now official, per a release from the team.
4:30pm: As expected, the Clippers are now in agreement with Patrick Patterson on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Wojnarowski first reported two weeks ago when Patterson agreed to a buyout with the Thunder that the veteran forward intended to sign with the Clippers once he cleared waivers. It seems that signing got somewhat delayed, but Woj’s report today confirms that the two sides are still on track to finalize a deal.
Patterson, 30, signed a three-year contract with Oklahoma City in 2017 after serving as a reliable stretch four off the bench for several seasons in Toronto. However, the former lottery pick struggled with injuries and inconsistencies during his two seasons with the Thunder, knocking down just 33.6% of his three-point attempts in 2018/19, well below his career rate of 36.7%.
With Oklahoma City in rebuilding mode and looking to duck under the luxury tax, it made sense for Patterson and the team to work out an agreement that removed his expiring deal from OKC’s books and freed up the veteran to join a contender.
Patterson reportedly gave up $3.5MM of his $5.7MM salary with the Thunder as part of his buyout agreement with the team, though he’ll make back about $2.33MM on a minimum deal with the Clippers. It will count for approximately $1.62MM on L.A.’s cap.
Once Patterson officially signs with the Clippers, the team will have 18 players under contract, including 14 on guaranteed deals and a pair on two-way pacts.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones: Telfair, Georges-Hunt, O’Bryant, Re-Draft
Former high school basketball prodigy and NBA veteran Sebastian Telfair was sentenced on Monday to three and a half years in prison in his New York City gun case, per The Associated Press. Telfair, 34, was convicted earlier this year of carrying a loaded handgun in his pickup truck.
This was not Telfair’s first brush with the law nor his first incident involving a loaded weapon. He and a friend were arrested in 2007 after a traffic stop during which police found a loaded handgun in the vehicle. He pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and was sentenced to three years’ probation.
While he never lived up to the hype from his prep career, Telfair did have a relatively successful NBA career. He played 564 games over 10 seasons and averaged 7.4 PPG and 3.5 APG.
There’s more NBA-related news to pass along this evening:
- Former Magic and Timberwolves guard Marcus Georges-Hunt, now fully healthy, recently worked out for the Nuggets as he looks to work his way back to the NBA. According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, the fully healthy 25-year-old Georgia Tech product also has several other workouts lined up the rest of the month.
- As first reported by Donatas Urbonas (Twitter link), top EuroLeague free agent and former NBA player Johnny O’Bryant has signed with Lokomotiv Krasnodar (Twitter link) of the Russian VTB United League. O’Bryant, a second-round pick in the 2014 NBA draft, played four seasons in the NBA with the Bucks, Nuggets, and Hornets.
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic would draft Bucks forward and 2018/19 MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jazz big man Rudy Gobert, and Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum with the top three picks in a re-draft of the 2013 NBA Draft. None of the three went higher than No. 10 overall six years ago.
Community Shootaround: How Will Cousins’ Injury Impact Lakers?
Today’s news that DeMarcus Cousins has been diagnosed with a torn left ACL is a devastating turn of events for the veteran big man, who had aspirations of returning to full strength in 2019/20.
A strong comeback season at age 29 might have set up Cousins for the sort of big payday that has eluded him over the past couple summers due to Achilles and quad injuries. Instead, he’ll spend most – or all – of the season recovering from yet another major leg injury.
Cousins’ torn ACL is an unfortunate development for his new team too. The Lakers were counting on the four-time All-Star to potentially be their starting center, viewing him as a low-risk, high-reward gamble on a one-year, $3.5MM contract. If he could have come anywhere close to recapturing his old All-Star form, Cousins would have provided offensive firepower alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis and helped the Lakers compete for a championship.
With Cousins no longer expected to be a factor, the Lakers suddenly look pretty thin at center. Last year’s primary starter JaVale McGee will return, but he only played 22.3 minutes per contest in 2018/19, and I wouldn’t expect that number to increase substantially, if at all.
The Lakers will almost certainly have to ask Davis – who prefers to play the power forward position – to spend more time at the five. With James and Kyle Kuzma expected to be among the Lakers’ most-used players, it makes more sense for the team to play AD at center anyway — leaning on lineups that featured Davis, LeBron, and Kuzma plus a center would have been tenuous with or without a healthy Cousins.
Of course, even if Davis is willing to play more center, the club might have to add reinforcements at the position. The Lakers have at least one regular season roster spot available, and could have two if Cousins is ruled out for the season and they’re willing to release him (he’d still receive his full salary). And there are at least a handful of noteworthy big men on the free agent market, as we outlined earlier this week.
In an Insider article, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton names Salah Mejri and Joakim Noah as his preferred free agent targets for the Lakers, noting that Kenneth Faried and Nene are out there too. Amir Johnson, Marcin Gortat, and Marreese Speights, who worked out in front of Frank Vogel last month, also remain unsigned. None of those guys would move the needle in a huge way, but there are a few that could provide 10-15 solid minutes per game if needed.
As the Lakers determine a recovery timeline for Cousins and mull their frontcourt options, we want your two cents. Do you think the Lakers should target a certain free agent big man? Will they be fine with Davis and McGee handling the center minutes?
Regardless of how the Lakers address their newly-created frontcourt hole, do you think Cousins’ injury significantly affects the club’s ceiling for 2019/20? How will his absence impact the Lakers’ title chances?
Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!
DeMarcus Cousins Suffers Torn ACL
3:58pm: Agent Jeff Schwartz has confirmed that Cousins tore his left ACL, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). Cousins’ camp and the Lakers are working on determining a timeline for the surgery and his recovery, Woj adds.
11:57am: Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins has suffered a torn ACL in his knee, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). According to Charania (via Twitter), Cousins will undergo some final tests, but they’re expected to confirm the diagnosis of a torn ACL.
As we noted earlier today when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported that Cousins had sustained a possible knee injury, it’s the latest piece of bad news in what has been a brutal two-year stretch for the four-time All-Star.
Cousins’ 2017/18 season with the Pelicans came to an end when he tore his Achilles tendon. Then, after making it back from that injury for the Warriors in 2018/19, he suffered a torn quad at the start of the postseason. The torn ACL is the third major leg injury Cousins has sustained within the last 19 months.
Cousins’ injury woes have significantly impacted his potential earnings. His torn Achilles occurred just months before he reached unrestricted free agency, costing him a chance at a maximum-salary contract. After settling for a one-year, $5.34MM contract with Golden State last season, he inked another one-year, make-good deal worth $3.5MM with the Lakers this summer.
If Cousins’ torn ACL sidelines him for most or all of the 2019/20 campaign, another one-year contract seems likely next year as he prepares for his age-30 season. At this point, it seems extremely unlikely that he’ll ever be able to recapture his old All-NBA form.
As for the Lakers, they’ll need to lean more heavily on center JaVale McGee and may also ask Anthony Davis to play more minutes at the five than the four.
Los Angeles currently has 14 players on guaranteed contracts, so adding a center as a 15th man might also make some sense. We recently highlighted a few more of the more notable free agent big men still on the market, including Nene, Amir Johnson, Kenneth Faried, Marcin Gortat, and Joakim Noah.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southwest Notes: Westbrook, Vasquez, Grizzlies
Following up on his recent report that Russell Westbrook amended the payment schedule on his contract upon being traded to the Rockets, Marc Stein of The New York Times provided some additional details in his newsletter this week.
According to Stein, Westbrook’s contract previously called for 25% of his $38.5MM salary to be paid on August 1 and again on October 1. As part of his trade to the Rockets, those installments were adjusted downward to 12.5% of his salary, meaning they’re now worth $4.8MM apiece instead of $9.6MM, Stein writes.
The changes will allow Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta to avoid paying half of Westbrook’s $38.5MM salary by October 1. Under Fertitta, the club has been averse to making significant upfront payments in a variety of transactions — when Houston traded cash in three separate deals during the 2018/19 league year, it always sent that cash in many installments, rather than in a single lump sum.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Former NBA point guard Greivis Vasquez, who played for six teams over the course of seven seasons from 2010-17, has been named the associate head coach of the Pelicans‘ new G League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Vasquez will work under Ryan Pannone, the head coach of the expansion Erie BayHawks.
- New Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins spoke to Peter Edmiston of The Athletic about how he filled out his coaching staff and what traits he and the front office prioritized as they hired assistants. According to Jenkins, Brad Jones will be his lead assistant.
- Boban Marjanovic had his best NBA season in 2018/19, averaging 7.3 PPG and 4.6 RPG in 58 games (11.7 MPG) for the Clippers and Sixers. Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News looks at what sort of role Marjanovic might have with the Mavericks after signing a two-year contract with the club.
Wizards Waive Tarik Phillip
The Wizards have made a minor roster move, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve waived guard Tarik Phillip.
Phillip, who turned 26 on Sunday, was signed to the Wizards’ roster at the very end of the 2018/19 season after he spent most of the year with the Memphis Hustle in the G League. He averaged 13.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 3.8 APG with a .469/.401/.783 shooting line in 48 games (29.1 MPG) for the Grizzlies’ NBAGL affiliate.
The Wizards signed Phillip to a multiyear deal that paid him an NBA salary for two days in April and included a non-guaranteed $1,416,852 minimum salary for the 2019/20 season. That salary wouldn’t have become guaranteed until January 10, 2020, so Washington won’t be on the hook for any dead money after releasing him.
Another NBA team could claim Phillip off waivers without guaranteeing his salary, though it’s more likely that he goes unclaimed and becomes an unrestricted free agent this weekend.
The Wizards now have 18 players under contract — 13 on guaranteed deals, one on a two-way contract, and four on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed pacts.
Shabazz Muhammad, Zhou Qi Sign With Chinese Teams
A pair of former NBA players are returning to China for the 2019/20 season, according to Dario Skerletic of Sportando, who writes that Shabazz Muhammad has signed with Shenzen and Zhou Qi has rejoined Xinjiang.
Muhammad, the 14th overall pick in the 2013 draft, spent five seasons in the NBA with the Timberwolves and Bucks. However, after being waived by Milwaukee last October, he opted to continue his career in China, joining the Shanxi Brave Dragons for the 2018/19 season.
The 26-year-old averaged 29.8 PPG and 11.2 RPG in 41 games for Shanxi, and will now continue playing in the Chinese Basketball Association, albeit with a new team.
As for Zhou, the Chinese big man was the 43rd overall pick in the 2016 draft, but remained with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers for one more year before joining the Rockets for the 2017/18 season.
Zhou appeared in 18 games for Houston in his rookie year, then played in just one game in 2018/19. The 23-year-old got a longer look in the G League during his time under contract with the Rockets, averaging 11.2 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 31 total games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He was released by the club last December and will now resume his career with his old team in Xinjiang.
DeMarcus Cousins Undergoing Tests On Possible Knee Injury
DeMarcus Cousins‘ time as a Laker is off to a worrisome start. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Cousins has suffered a possible knee injury and will undergo tests today in Los Angeles to diagnose the issue. He’s also expected to meet with Lakers team doctors, Woj adds.
Sources tell Wojnarowski that Cousins was working out in Las Vegas on Monday when he had to leave the court after what one source described as “bumping knees” with another player. Woj’s report is otherwise light on details, so it’s unclear whether Cousins’ camp and/or the Lakers are concerned that the big man’s injury is significant.
Cousins has been hit with some terrible injury luck in recent years, starting with the torn Achilles tendon he suffered with the Pelicans during the 2017/18 season.
After signing a one-year contract with the Warriors for 2018/19, he made it back on the court during the second half of the season, but tore his quadriceps muscle early in his playoff run with Golden State. Although Cousins managed to get healthy enough to return to the Warriors’ lineup by the NBA Finals, he didn’t look at all like his old explosive self during that series.
There was optimism that a full offseason of rest and rehab would put Cousins in position to bounce back in 2019/20 on a one-year deal with the Lakers. However, it sounds like his latest leg issue – this time a knee injury – could represent another setback.
Before we speculate too much about Cousins’ outlook though, we’ll have to wait for further details on what the test reveal — hopefully it’s not a serious injury.
[UPDATE: DeMarcus Cousins suffers torn ACL]
NBA Players With Trade Kickers In 2019/20
A trade kicker is a contractual clause that pays an NBA player a bonus when he’s traded. They’re one of the tools teams have at their disposal to differentiate their free agent offers from the ones put on the table by competing clubs.
Sometimes the kicker is worth a fixed amount, but usually it’s based on a percentage of the remaining value of the contract. So, a player who has a 10% trade kicker is eligible for a bonus worth 10% of the amount of money he has yet to collect on his deal.
Regardless of whether a trade kicker is set at a fixed amount or a percentage, the bonus can’t exceed 15% of the remaining value of the contract. Most trade kickers are worth 15%, the highest percentage allowed.
A trade bonus must be paid by the team that trades the player, rather than the team acquiring him. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement also allows a player to waive his trade kicker as part of a deal, if he so chooses.
If you want a more detailed explanation of how trade kickers work, check out the Hoops Rumors Glossary entry on the subject.
With the help of contract information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN’s Bobby Marks, here’s a list of the NBA players who have active trade kickers for 2019/20, listed alphabetically, along with the details of those trade bonuses:
- Steven Adams, Thunder (7.5%)
- LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs (15%)
- Kyle Anderson, Grizzlies (15%)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lakers (15%)
- Andre Drummond, Pistons (8%): Traded
- Gordon Hayward, Celtics (15%)
- Kyrie Irving, Nets (15%)
- LeBron James, Lakers (15%)
- Enes Kanter, Celtics (15%)
- Kelly Olynyk, Heat (lesser of 5% or $2MM)
The following players have trade bonuses on their contracts, but those bonuses would be voided if they were to be traded during the 2019/20 league year, since they’re already earning this season’s maximum salary:
- Jimmy Butler, Heat (15%)
- Stephen Curry, Warriors (15%)
- Kevin Durant, Nets (15%)
- James Harden, Rockets (15%)
- Tobias Harris, Sixers (lesser of 5% or $5MM)
- Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (15%)
- Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks (5%)
- Klay Thompson, Warriors (15%)
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves (5%)
- Kemba Walker, Celtics (15%)
- John Wall, Wizards (15%)
The following players have signed contract extensions that will include trade kickers, but those extensions won’t go into effect until the 2020/21 season:
- Draymond Green, Warriors (15%)
- Ben Simmons, Sixers (15%)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.