Magic Sign B.J. Johnson To Exhibit 10 Deal
The Magic have signed free agent guard B.J. Johnson, the team announced today in a press release. According to Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter), it’s an Exhibit 10 contract for Johnson, who inked a similar deal with the club last fall.
After going undrafted out of La Salle in 2018, Johnson was with the Magic for training camp and the preseason, then spent most of his first professional season playing for the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s G League affiliate. He averaged 15.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a shooting line of .476/.444/.841 in 39 NBAGL games.
Johnson also had brief NBA auditions in 2018/19 with the Hawks, who signed him to a pair of 10-day contracts in March, and the Kings, who signed him for the final week of the regular season. The 23-year-old appeared in seven total regular season games for the two clubs, with Sacramento waiving him in July.
The Magic now have a full 20-man offseason roster, including just 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts. Although the team probably won’t carry a 15th man due to tax concerns, the 14th roster spot is up for grabs. Johnson could be in the mix for that spot, but seems more likely to eventually return to Lakeland, where he’d earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $50K if he spends two months with the club.
Nets Notes: Irving, Durant, Jordan, Allen
Speaking today to reporters at the Nets‘ Media Day, Kyrie Irving said he felt as if he let down his teammates in Boston last season and wants to be a better leader for his new team in Brooklyn.
As Malika Andrews of ESPN.com details, Irving opened up about how the death of his grandfather last fall impacted him and why he had a change of heart following his preseason vow to re-sign with the Celtics and ultimately decided to play closer to home.
“A lot of the joy I had from basketball was sucked away from me,” Irving said of the time following his grandfather’s death. “There was a facial expression I carried around with me throughout the year and I didn’t allow anyone to get close to me. It really bothered me. I didn’t take the necessary steps to get counseling or therapy. I had to acknowledge that fact.”
Irving received much of the blame for the Celtics’ disappointing 2018/19 showing, which included chemistry issues and a leadership void in the locker room. In his comments today, he seemed to acknowledge that the criticism was fair.
“A lot of those battles I thought I could battle through (in Boston’s) team environment, I wasn’t ready for,” Irving said, according to Andrews. “And I failed those guys. I didn’t give them everything I could have during that season. In terms of me being a leader and bringing everyone together, I’ve failed.”
Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston provides a more extensive transcript of Irving’s comments, while Rob Perez passes along a video link. The All-Star point guard said he is arriving in Brooklyn with a “fresh mindset” and hopes to avoid the same mistakes he made with the Celtics.
Here’s more from the Nets’ Media Day:
- Asked about why he chose the Nets in free agency and whether he considered teams like the Warriors, Knicks, and Clippers, Kevin Durant said he thought about those other possibilities for “a couple seconds,” but wanted to be in Brooklyn (Twitter links via Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic). “It was really easy to see what these guys brought to the table,” Durant said of the Nets. “It’s not like I had to do any deep analysis of any player here.”
- Durant also offered the following quote on his decision to leave the Warriors (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog): “I felt like it was time for a change and I wanted to play for a new team and simply put I just did it. I didn’t really think about what I was leaving behind. I thought it’s time to think about me.”
- According to Irving, he and Durant would like to finish their careers together with the Nets (video link via Yahoo Sports).
- Irving told reporters about talking to Durant and DeAndre Jordan at “4:16 in the morning” on the day of free agency and deciding they wanted to play together in Brooklyn (video link via Perez).
- Jordan said that he and Jarrett Allen will compete and bring out the best in one another, and that both players will be fine no matter who ends up winning the starting center job (Twitter link via James Herbert of CBS Sports).
Celtics Sign John Bohannon
The Celtics have officially signed center John Bohannon to a contract, per RealGM’s transactions log. It’s almost certainly a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal.
Bohannon, who went undrafted out of UTEP in 2014, has spent much of his professional career playing in the G League. In 2018/19, he appeared in 43 games (20.8 MPG) for the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s affiliate, filling up the box score with averages of 7.7 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.6 BPG.
Boston now has a full 20-man roster, though the team has yet to officially complete reported deals with Kaiser Gates and Yante Maten. There has been no indication that either agreement has fallen through, so Gates and Maten will likely be signed at some point after the Celtics open up roster spots by waiving a player or two.
While Bohannon figures to be one of the players cut by the Celtics, it’s not clear whether or not he’ll get a chance to attend camp with the team first. It looks like his contract is intended to ensure he’ll receive an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $50K when he eventually returns to the G League with the Red Claws.
Injury Updates: Kuzma, Nene, Crabbe, Hawks
After a report earlier this week indicated that Kyle Kuzma wouldn’t be healthy for the start of the Lakers‘ training camp, the team has confirmed as much, announcing in a press release that Kuzma is rehabbing a stress reaction in his left foot.
According to the Lakers, Kuzma hasn’t been cleared to practice and is scheduled to undergo an MRI next month when the team returns from its trip to China. The second of L.A.’s two international preseason games vs. Brooklyn takes place in Shenzhen on October 12, so Kuzma’s MRI presumably won’t happen until sometime after that contest.
The Lakers provided updates on a couple more players, announcing that rookie Talen Horton-Tucker is receiving treatment for a stress reaction in his right foot and will be a limited participant in camp. Camp invitee Jordan Caroline, meanwhile, is expected to miss 10-12 weeks after undergoing surgery on his left foot earlier this month.
Horton-Tucker has a guaranteed contract and his spot on the Lakers’ roster won’t be affected by his injury, but Caroline is on a non-guaranteed deal and figures to be waived in the coming days or weeks.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- The Rockets announced today that Nene has re-aggravated a chronic adductor injury and won’t be able to participate in training camp, as David Aldridge of The Athletic relays (via Twitter). Based on the incentives in Nene’s deal, it’s unlikely he’ll play much this season anyway, but health problems would further reduce the likelihood of him seeing regular action.
- The Hawks issued a series of injury updates on their players, including John Collins (hip strain), Kevin Huerter (knee pain), Alex Len (low back pain; left ankle sprain), and Allen Crabbe (right knee surgery). Collins, Huerter, and Chandler Parsons (load management) are expected to be somewhat limited in training camp, while Crabbe will likely miss all of camp and the preseason. Len’s status remains up in the air.
- Keith Pompey of Philly.com takes a look at the work Sixers shooting guard Zhaire Smith has put in to get healthy after missing nearly his entire rookie season due to injury and illness.
Josh Jackson Won’t Join Grizzlies For Camp, Will Start Season In G League
Having already reached an agreement with Andre Iguodala that will allow the veteran swingman to skip training camp, the Grizzlies have apparently agreed to a similar arrangement with another one of their offseason trade acquisitions.
According to reports from Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com and Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter), Josh Jackson won’t join the Grizzlies for training camp, and is expected to start the season in the G League.
Jackson’s stock has declined precipitously since he was selected fourth overall in the 2017 draft. In the wake of two up-and-down seasons on the court and some worrisome incidents off the court, the former Kansas forward was shipped from Phoenix to Memphis this offseason in what was essentially a salary dump.
Still, this is an unusual development. If the Grizzlies want to try to develop Jackson and rebuild his value, it seems like having him in camp would be a good first step. However, Wallace writes that Jackson’s camp and the team have agreed to let the 22-year-old rehab his reputation “through an undisclosed set of guidelines.” He’ll spend the next few weeks training and preparing to start the season with the Memphis Hustle.
Although Jackson’s future is cloudy, today’s update seems to point strongly toward the Grizzlies turning down his 2020/21 rookie scale option. The club has until October 31 to officially make a decision on that option, which would be worth $8.93MM.
Raptors Rumors: Siakam, Lowry, Gasol, Ibaka
The Raptors have engaged in “preliminary” discussions with Pascal Siakam‘s representatives about a potential contract extension, sources tell Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Lewenberg cautions that there’s no indication a deal is imminent.
Siakam, who is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie scale contract, is eligible to sign a new deal up until 5:00pm CT on October 21, the day before the regular season begins. If he and the Raptors don’t reach an agreement by that point, he’d be on track for restricted free agency next summer.
After a breakout year in which he earned the NBA’s Most Improved Player award – and helped Toronto win its first championship – Siakam and his camp figure to be seeking a deal worth the max or close to it, Lewenberg notes. Based on the league’s latest cap projections, a four-year, maximum-salary contract for Siakam would be worth just shy of $130MM, while a five-year max would be worth $168.2MM.
With a pretty clean cap sheet for the 2020/21 season, the Raptors can afford such an investment and figure to pull the trigger at some point. However, it remains to be seen whether the two sides will strike a deal in the coming weeks, and exactly how much it’d be worth.
Here’s more on the defending NBA champions:
- Although Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka have expiring contracts that could make them intriguing trade chips, league sources tell Sean Deveney of Heavy.com that the Raptors are happy with their situation and aren’t entertaining trade inquiries on those veterans.
- One source with knowledge of the team’s thinking tells Deveney that the Raptors want to return to the postseason this spring, in part to sell the club to potential free agent targets. “This is where they always wanted to be,” that source said. “[President of basketball operations] Masai [Ujiri] was always going to rebuild things around Siakam and OG (Anunoby) and the other young guys eventually. He’s going to have a ton of cap space. But he’s got to be able to get free agents to go there and it’s still a tough sell, getting guys to go to Canada. So they’ve got the ring, if they can get to the playoffs again, he has something more to sell when that cap space comes available.”
- In a separate article for TSN.ca, Lewenberg examines whether Anunoby is primed for a breakout season, explores what Toronto’s roster and rotation might look like, and touches on a handful of other Raptors-related topics.
Nets Sign Lance Thomas
Veteran forward Lance Thomas has made the move from one New York team to the other, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, who tweets that the former Knick has signed with the Nets. The team has since confirmed the move in a press release, after a handful of reports this week cited Thomas as a likely target for Brooklyn.
Thomas, 31, has spent his last four and a half seasons with the Knicks, though he gradually saw his minutes and role reduced over that time. In 2018/19, he averaged 4.5 PPG and 2.5 RPG in just 17.0 minutes per contest (46 games). At this point in his career, Thomas’ veteran leadership and locker-room presence may be just as valuable as his on-court contributions.
With Thomas under contract, the Nets are now carrying a full 20-man roster. That doesn’t include 2019 second-round pick Jaylen Hands, who remains unsigned. It’s not clear what Brooklyn’s plans are for the former UCLA guard. Brooklyn’s 20-man squad also doesn’t include Carmelo Anthony, who was frequently linked to the team within the last month.
The Nets have 15 players with guaranteed salaries, so there’s no clear path for Thomas to earn a roster spot to start the regular season. However, the club will be able to add a 16th man to its roster after five regular season contests, when Wilson Chandler becomes eligible for the suspended list. Chandler is serving a 25-game ban, so Brooklyn will have a 20-game window to carry that extra player.
Wizards Signed, Waived Michael Cobbins
Before they officially set their 20-man roster for training camp by signing Chris Chiozza on Thursday, the Wizards briefly carried another newly-added player on their roster. According to RealGM’s transactions log, free agent power forward Michael Cobbins signed a contract with Washington and was waived shortly thereafter.
A former starter at Oklahoma State, Cobbins went undrafted in 2015 and signed his first professional contract with the Thunder that year, but has never appeared in an NBA game. Over the course of the last four seasons, Cobbins has spent time with teams in Greece, Germany, and Croatia, in addition to the the Oklahoma City Blue of the G League.
The Wizards’ deal with Cobbins was almost certainly an Exhibit 10 contract designed to get him a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least two months with Washington’s G League affiliate this season.
Since Cobbins’ last G League stint came with the OKC Blue in 2017/18, the Thunder’s NBAGL team would typically hold the 27-year-old’s returning rights for the coming season. However, the Capital City Go-Go claimed him in their expansion draft last summer, so the Wizards’ affiliate won’t have to make a trade to acquire his rights.
Rockets Sign Jaron Blossomgame To Camp Deal
SEPTEMBER 27: The Rockets have officially signed Blossomgame, the team announced in a press release. Houston’s 20-man camp roster is now set.
SEPTEMBER 24: The Rockets have reached an agreement on a training camp deal for Jaron Blossomgame, agent Andy Shiffman informs Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’ll likely be an Exhibit 10 contract.
Blossomgame, the 59th overall pick in the 2017 draft, spent his rookie season with the Spurs’ G League affiliate, then signed an NBA contract with San Antonio last fall. However, the Spurs opted not to carry him on their regular season roster and he caught on with the Cavaliers, spending most of the 2018/19 season on a two-way deal with Cleveland.
The 26-year-old appeared in 27 games for the Cavs but played a more regular role for the Canton Charge. In 29 games (32.7 MPG) with the Cavs’ G League team, Blossomgame averaged 17.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 2.0 APG.
Houston will have a full 20-man offseason roster once the club makes it official with Blossomgame. The former Clemson standout may get an opportunity to earn one of the team’s open two-way contract slots, assuming he doesn’t make the 15-man regular season roster. If the Rockets intend to eventually have him join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers as an affiliate player, they’ll have to acquire his G League returning rights.
Rockets Sign Ryan Anderson To Partially Guaranteed Contract
SEPTEMBER 27: The Rockets have officially signed Anderson, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 25: Ryan Anderson is returning to Houston, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the free agent forward has agreed to a new contract with the Rockets. The deal will feature a significant partial guarantee, per Charania.
Anderson is still collecting on the four-year, $80MM deal that Houston gave him in the summer of 2016. He spent two years with the team before being traded to Phoenix last August in a salary dump. In February, the Suns shipped him to Miami, which waived him in July under the stretch provision.
Anderson will earn more from the Heat ($5,214,584) than the Rockets this season, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. That number will be slightly reduced once Anderson’s new contract becomes official, providing a measure of relief to the Miami, which is up against a hard salary cap.
Anderson will be given a chance to earn back-up minutes at power forward, adds Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic (via Twitter). He states that Houston reached out to both Anderson and fellow free agent Luc Mbah a Moute this month about possible returns (Twitter link). Anderson averaged 11.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 138 games during his first stint in Houston.
The Rockets are at the 20-man limit after reaching a deal yesterday with Jaron Blossomgame, so a move will have to created before he and Anderson can both be added to the roster.