Wizards Sign Chris Chiozza
The Wizards have finalized their training camp roster, signing free agent point guard Chris Chiozza to the fill the 20th and final spot on the squad, the team announced today in a press release. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington first reported last week that Chiozza would be joining the club for camp. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post.
Chiozza is a familiar face for the Wizards, who initially signed him to their Summer League team and then to their preseason roster in 2018 after he went undrafted out of Florida. The 6’0″ guard subsequently spent most of his rookie season with Washington’s G League affiliate, averaging 13.6 PPG and 6.8 APG on .435/.420/.777 shooting in 43 games (33.5 MPG) for the Capital City Go-Go. He was named to the NBAGL’s All-Rookie team at season’s end.
Chiozza also spent some of his rookie season with the Rockets, signing a 10-day contract with the club in February and then a rest-of-season deal in March. His contract with Houston included a non-guaranteed second year, but he was waived in July after playing limited minutes in seven NBA games as a Rocket.
Since the Wizards only have 13 players with fully guaranteed salaries and one on a two-way contract, it’s possible Chiozza will be among the players to start the regular season in D.C. His odds of making the team may hinge in part on how Isaiah Thomas‘ injury recovery progresses — Thomas underwent surgery on his thumb earlier this month and isn’t expected to return by opening night.
Ty Lawson Returning To China
Veteran NBA point guard Ty Lawson appears set to return to the Chinese Basketball Association for the 2019/20 season, according to a pair of reports from Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. After initially writing that Lawson was close to signing with the Fujian Sturgeons, Carchia said in a follow-up tweet that it’s a done deal.
Lawson, who was said to be drawing interest from the Xinjiang Flying Tigers earlier this month, has spent most of the last two seasons with China’s Shandong Golden Stars. In 2018/19, the 31-year-old averaged 26.5 PPG and 8.7 APG in 24 games with Shandong.
An NBA first-round pick in 2009, Lawson spent eight seasons in the league and enjoyed a productive run with the Nuggets, but hasn’t appeared in an NBA regular season game since the 2016/17 season.
While he did sign with the Wizards on the last day of the 2017/18 campaign and appeared in five playoff games for the club that spring after returning from China, he hasn’t received an NBA contract since then. It’s possible that a successful run with Fujian will put him on NBA teams’ radars again this spring.
Spurs Sign Matt Farrell
After clearing a roster spot by waiving Jeff Ledbetter, the Spurs returned to the 20-player maximum by signing former Notre Dame guard Matt Farrell, per RealGM’s official NBA transactions log.
Farrell, 23, went undrafted in 2018 and spent his first professional season in the G League, playing for the Sixers’ affiliate. In 45 games (27.0 MPG) for the Delaware Blue Coats, the 6’1″ point guard averaged 10.8 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 3.2 RPG with a shooting line of .410/.351/.755.
San Antonio’s NBAGL team, the Austin Spurs, acquired Farrell’s rights in a trade with the Blue Coats earlier this month. Now that he has signed what appears to be an Exhibit 10 contract with San Antonio, Farrell should be in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and spends at least two months with Austin.
Hornets Notes: Salary, Zeller, Bridges, Bacon
Several high-priced veterans appear destined to remain on the Hornets‘ roster, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte has been trying for some time to find a taker for Nicolas Batum ($25.565MM this year with a $27.13MM player option for 2020/21), Marvin Williams ($15MM expiring deal) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($13MM expiring), but other teams have been reluctant to take on any of those salaries.
Bonnell expects that to continue for another year as GM Mitch Kupchak said he doesn’t foresee any significant roster changes. The team tried to move Williams during the offseason, and Bonnell sees him as the most marketable of the three. He speculates that Kidd-Gilchrist might be open to a buyout if he can’t be traded before the February deadline.
There’s more tonight from Charlotte:
- Cody Zeller, who is owed nearly a combined $30MM over the next two seasons, is a good bet to finish that contract in Charlotte, Bonnell states in the same story. Zeller has been the Hornets‘ best center when he is healthy, but injuries have limited him to 33 and 49 games over the last two years. Bonnell notes that Willy Hernangomez hasn’t done enough to convince the front office that he could handle the starter’s role if Zeller were to be traded.
- Among the team’s young core, Miles Bridges and Dwayne Bacon are most likely to have long-term futures in Charlotte, Bonnell adds. He identifies PJ Washington and Devonte’ Graham as two other prospects the organization may decide to hold onto, while Hernangomez and Malik Monk both have something to prove.
- The Hornets will hire an assistant coach with responsibilities in both the NBA and the G League, Bonnell tweets. The new addition will be in charge of player development and will split time between Charlotte and Greensboro.
Joakim Noah’s Workout With Clippers Canceled
Joakim Noah won’t work out for the Clippers this week, two sources tell Sean Deveney of Heavy. L.A. had planned to audition Noah in its search for a backup center. The team is at the maximum of 20 players, but only has 14 guaranteed contracts and appears willing to make a move to add veteran help in the middle.
Noah, 34, tried out for a role with the Lakers last month in the wake of an injury to DeMarcus Cousins. He reportedly had an impressive workout, but the job went to Dwight Howard.
Noah revived his career in Memphis after two disastrous seasons with the Knicks that ended with him getting waived before the start of last season. He signed with the Grizzlies in December and appeared in 42 games, averaging 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds.
Deveney doesn’t indicate whether Noah has ruled out the Clippers entirely or whom the team might turn to as an alternative. L.A. has a deep, experienced roster everywhere but at center, he notes, as Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell have a combined 17 games of playoff experience.
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Thybulle, Thabeet, Irving
Brett Brown knows what the bottom of the Eastern Conference looks like; now he wants to see the top. The Sixers coach declared his lofty goal during a luncheon speech today, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I want to get the No. 1 seed,” Brown told the gathering.
It’s a drastic turnaround for a coach who suffered through the worst of “The Process” and won just 10 games during the 2015/16 season. The Sixers are coming off back-to-back 50-win years and are still stinging from their playoff elimination by the eventual champion Raptors on a Kawhi Leonard shot that bounced on the rim several times before falling in.
Philadelphia enters this season as a co-favorite with the Bucks in the East. The team lost Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick in free agency, but re-signed Tobias Harris and added Al Horford and Josh Richardson.
“We have had back-to-back 50-win teams, we have a 25-year-old All-Star [Joel Embiid] and a 23-year-old All-Star [Ben Simmons],” Brown told Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We have the best team I have had this year. We have the deepest bench, we have veterans, we have men, we got pieces. [General manager] Elton Brand has done a hell of a job.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Matisse Thybulle has been medically cleared to practice when camp opens, Pompey tweets. The rookie guard rolled his ankle earlier this week, but the injury turned out to be minor. The Sixers traded up in this year’s draft to get Thybulle with the 20th pick.
- The Knicks have an opening on their roster heading into camp, but they won’t use it to sign Hasheem Thabeet, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Thabeet worked out for New York and spent time with the team in August and September. The vacancy occurred because Kris Wilkes, who was expected to sign a two-way contract, is still battling an illness that will prevent him from attending camp.
- Kyrie Irving is day to day after suffering a left side facial fracture, the Nets tweeted. The injury happened during a workout Tuesday.
Chris Paul Trade To Miami Remains Unlikely
The Heat aren’t expected to complete a trade for Chris Paul anytime soon because of the different ways they and the Thunder view a potential deal, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
Oklahoma City officials believe they’re giving up a valuable asset in the nine-time All-Star, while Miami sees the trade as a favor to the Thunder and thinks it should be compensated for taking on Paul’s hefty contract. The 34-year-old will make $38.5MM this season and $41.4MM next year, with a $44.2MM player option for 2021/22.
What Miami would like most is the return of its first-round picks for 2021 and 2023, which both belong to OKC. The Thunder have been reluctant to include them in prior trade talks.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Monday that the Heat still have some interest in acquiring Paul, who played the past two years in Houston. Charania added that Miami will wait to see how the early part of the season turns out before deciding whether to resume negotiations.
Although he remains a productive player, injuries and age have slowed Paul, who has been limited to 58 games in each of the past two years. He averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists last season, then posted a 17.0/6.4/5.5 line in the playoffs.
Celtics Notes: Poirier, Hayward, Training Camp, Walker
Vincent Poirier had an awkward first meeting with four of his new Celtics teammates at the World Cup, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Poirier was part of the French team that gave the U.S. their second loss of the tournament and eliminated them from medal contention.
“After the game I think they were a little bit mad, so I don’t come to them and say, ‘Hey, I’m Vincent,” Poirier said. “But they knew who I was, so that was good.”
Poirier took home a bronze medal from the World Cup and talked extensively to his French teammates about life in the NBA. Poirier has spent the past three seasons in Spain and is ready for the NBA challenge at age 25. Celtics scouts have seen him in person at least 10 times over the past two years and were interested in signing him at the end of last season, but he preferred to wait.
“I told a couple people I think this is the best year for me to go to the NBA because I’ve got 100% confidence in myself,” he said. “I trust my basketball and I think it’s a perfect moment.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Gordon Hayward offered a message to fans on his personal blog, promising “the reins are off” for the upcoming season. Hayward was still recovering from a severe ankle injury last summer and said he has benefited from having a full offseason to work on his game. “Last year, I was in my own head a lot, thinking about a lot of different things—hoping that it was going to be okay, hoping that I was going to be right—because I just hadn’t done it. I hadn’t had a chance to put in the reps,” Hayward wrote. “Going into this season, I’ve put in the reps all summer. I know my body is still just as good and feels 100 percent, and certainly, I know the guys on the team a lot better now than I did last year too. All the unknowns are gone. That’s the biggest difference.”
- There will be several interesting battles to focus on when training camp opens, writes Jay King of The Athletic. One will occur at the wing position, where Hayward will be competing with Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown to join Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum in the starting lineup. The other story lines involve who plays center at the end of games and who can earn reserve minutes at power forward and in the backcourt.
- Even though Walker had a full summer with his World Cup responsibilities, coach Brad Stevens said the free agent addition will be “ready to roll” when camp begins, relays A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston.
Celtics Sign Bryce Brown
The Celtics have officially signed free agent guard Bryce Brown to a contract, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Agent Austin Walton first tweeted word of the deal.
Brown, who played his college ball at Auburn, went undrafted earlier this year after averaging 15.9 PPG on .437/.410/.807 in 40 games as a senior. The sharpshooter caught on with Sacramento for Summer League play, appearing in seven total games for the Kings in the California and Las Vegas Summer Leagues.
It sounds like the plan is for Brown to become an affiliate player for the Maine Red Claws, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, who notes (via Twitter) that the team will have to do some “roster gymnastics” to complete all their reported deals.
Boston now has 19 players under contract, but has also agreed to sign Kaiser Gates and Yante Maten, so at least one player will need to be waived at some point to accommodate those signings.
Sixers Re-Sign Haywood Highsmith To Exhibit 10 Deal
After being waived by the team in June, former Sixers two-way player Haywood Highsmith is back under contract with Philadelphia. A league source tells JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link) that Highsmith has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the 76ers.
Highsmith, who went undrafted out of Wheeling Jesuit in 2018, signed a two-way contract with Philadelphia in January and spent the rest of his rookie season with the 76ers and the Delaware Blue Coats, the team’s G League affiliate. Although he appeared in just five games for the Sixers, Highsmith was a solid contributor in Delaware, averaging 12.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 2.5 APG in 46 games (32.3 MPG).
Having been released in the offseason to clear room for new two-way players Norvel Pelle and Marial Shayok, Highsmith appeared set to move on from the Sixers and nearly signed a camp contract with the Suns. However, that deal fell through, clearing the path for the forward to rejoin the 76ers.
The Sixers now have a full 20-man roster, including 14 players with fully guaranteed salaries. Trey Burke, who has a $405K partial guarantee, looks like the leading candidate to fill the 15th spot on the club’s regular season roster.
Austin Krell of The Painted Lines (Twitter link) first reported that Highsmith would be joining the Sixers for camp.