And-Ones: Free Agency, Thibodeau, G League, Storen
Though the headliners of the 2020 free agency class may not be as starry as those of the 2019 class, there are plenty of intriguing non-superstar players, according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. Hollinger takes stock of his 10 favorite such players in a new piece.
Pistons center Christian Wood, who has been averaging 23.2 PPG (while shooting 56.2% from the field) and 9.9 RPG since taking over as a starter for the traded Andre Drummond, is Hollinger’s top such player. Detroit bench big John Henson, Magic guard Michael Carter-Williams, and Heat combo forward Derrick Jones Jr. also make the cut as his names to watch heading into free agency.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- Former Bulls and Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke with Molly Qerim, Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman of ESPN’s First Take about his future coaching prospects. Qerim mentioned the Knicks, Nets and Rockets as being potential landing spots for Thibodeau. Thibodeau downplayed those rumors and noted that as of yet, no jobs are officially open. He deferred to his agent for fielding inquiries about his future employment.
- Despite the G League’s new elite development team now competing directly with the NCAA for post-high school recruits, The Athletic’s David Aldridge cautions that the NCAA will still remain loaded with high-level talent. Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd, and Daishen Nix are among the upper-tier prospects forgoing collegiate athletics in favor of the new G League team’s guaranteed six-figure salaries.
- Mike Storen, the founder and first general manager of the Pacers in 1967 and the father of ESPN reporter Hannah Storm, has passed away at the age of 84, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Storen also served as the commissioner of the ABA, the Continental Basketball Association, the Global Basketball Association and the Indoor Professional Basketball League.
Central Notes: Pistons, Pacers, Giannis, Cavs
While the Pistons‘ salary cap is weighed down by the contract of Blake Griffin for the next few seasons, they also have several decisions to make on possible free agents whenever the 2020 NBA offseason officially kicks off, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Edwards predicts the fates of Detroit’s free agents in a thorough new piece.
Edwards is dubious about the Motown futures of 6’9″ center John Henson, oft-injured point guard Brandon Knight, veteran guard Langston Galloway, and 2016 lottery pick Thon Maker, among others. However, Edwards is bullish on the prospects of the Pistons retaining a few other players, including breakout big Christian Wood and second-year small forward Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- The next phase of development for a solid Pacers squad goes under the microscope courtesy of The Athletic’s Scott Agness and John Hollinger. This season’s team was on pace for a No. 5 seed and a 50-win year before league play was paused on March 11.
- Bucks All-Star forward and reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a major hack today, extending to his social media, email and bank accounts, according to ESPN’s Eric Woodyard. A flurry of vulgar tweets centered around Stephen Curry, the late Kobe Bryant, Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee teammate Khris Middleton, and his pending free agency were quickly deleted. Antetokounmpo’s younger brother Kostas and his longtime girlfriend Mariah Riddlesprigger tweeted that “Giannis’ [T]witter, phone, email and bank accounts were hacked!” Later, Antetokounmpo released a statement on his Twitter account (Twitter link), saying, in part, “The tweets and posts were extremely inappropriate and I am so disappointed and disgusted.” The Bucks are investigating the incident.
- With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to force teams to brainstorm innovative workarounds for internal player development, the Cavaliers are considering using virtual reality to simulate full practices, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. Though Cleveland is reopening its practice facility tomorrow, social distance guidelines dictate that only one coach and one player, shooting at one basket, will be permitted at a time. “This is an opportunity to push the envelope and try to come up with some new and creative things,” Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff noted.
2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.
The Timberwolves were one of the NBA’s worst teams in 2019/20, entering the league’s hiatus with a 19-45 record, ahead of only Golden State in the Western Conference. Still, a healthy Karl-Anthony Towns and a revamped roster should generate some optimism going forward.
Only two players – Towns and Josh Okogie – who were on the roster when Gersson Rosas assumed control of the front office a year ago are still in Minnesota, as Rosas hasn’t been shy to put his stamp on the franchise. While that trend could continue this offseason, the Wolves’ top priority may be re-signing a couple of their own free agents rather than pursuing another splashy addition.
Here’s where things stand for the Timberwolves financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:
Guaranteed Salary
- Karl-Anthony Towns ($29,467,800)
- D’Angelo Russell ($28,649,250)
- Jarrett Culver ($6,104,280)
- Jake Layman ($3,761,085)
- Josh Okogie ($2,651,040)
- Jacob Evans ($2,017,320)
- Omari Spellman ($1,988,280)
- Cole Aldrich ($685,340) — Waived via stretch provision
- Total: $75,324,395
Player Options
- James Johnson ($16,047,100)
- Total: $16,047,100
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Jarred Vanderbilt ($1,663,861) 1
- Jaylen Nowell ($1,517,981)
- Naz Reid ($1,517,981)
- Total: $4,699,823
Restricted Free Agents
- Juan Hernangomez ($4,642,800 qualifying offer / $9,963,090 cap hold): Bird rights
- Malik Beasley ($3,895,424 qualifying offer / $8,195,142 cap hold): Bird rights
- Kelan Martin (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Jordan McLaughlin (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $21,049,626
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Evan Turner ($27,909,834): Bird rights
- No. 1 overall pick ($9,757,440)
- No. 17 overall pick ($2,964,840)
- Aaron Brooks ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 2
- Total: $42,252,678
Offseason Cap Outlook
The Timberwolves are only carrying about $75MM in guaranteed salaries on their 2020/21 cap so far, but after accounting for James Johnson’s player option and a pair of first-round cap holds, they’re unlikely to have any cap room — especially if they intend to re-sign both Hernangomez and Beasley.
Depending on where their lottery pick lands and how high they have to go to retain those two restricted free agents, the Wolves could find themselves without much further flexibility. Minnesota won’t be a tax team, but could theoretically end up close enough to that line after signing Hernangomez and Beasley that using the full mid-level exception and bi-annual exception wouldn’t be viable.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 3
- Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 3
- Trade exception: $879,813 (expires 2/8/21)
- Trade exception: $500,000 (expires 1/18/21)
- Trade exception: $228,505 (expires 1/18/21)
Footnotes
- Vanderbilt’s new salary guarantee date is unknown.
- The cap hold for Brooks remains on the Timberwolves’ books because he hasn’t been renounced after going unsigned since 2018. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- These are projected values. If team salary gets high enough, it’s possible the Timberwolves would instead be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000).
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
New York Notes: Knicks, Perry, Nets, Levy
A report last month indicated that Knicks management believes the team is well positioned to trade for a disgruntled star if one becomes available, given its surplus of first-round picks and cap flexibility going forward. However, even if the Knicks are right, it’s not clear which star player may be the next to push for a trade — or when that will happen.
Looking to identify a possible target to monitor, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News zeroes in on second-year Hawks guard Trae Young as one option. As Bondy explains, Atlanta has a 49-100 (.329) record since Young entered the league and at least one report has suggested the young star hasn’t always been on the same page as head coach Lloyd Pierce. Bondy also points to some positive comments Young made about the Knicks before the 2018 draft, when the youngster said it would be a “blessing” to be selected by New York.
While Knicks fans may enjoy dreaming about Young lighting up Madison Square Garden, Bondy’s proposal – which earned an “LOL” from Hawks beat writer Chris Kirschner of The Athletic – seems far-fetched at this point.
Young is under contract through at least 2022 and young stars rarely leave their teams at the end of their four-year rookie contracts, since they can’t reach unrestricted free agency unless they’re willing to accept a modest fifth-year qualifying offer instead of a lucrative long-term deal. That’s such a rarity that few teams even take the threat seriously — the Knicks, who dealt Kristaps Porzingis before he reached restricted free agency, are one of the only teams in recent history to trade a fourth-year star amidst rumors he’d sign his QO, and that deal hasn’t worked out especially well for them.
There’s nothing wrong with the Knicks keeping an eye on Young, but I imagine they’ll have to look elsewhere if they want to acquire a star in a trade during the next year or two.
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- Having received a one-year extension from the Knicks, GM Scott Perry may only be a short-term solution for the team under new president of basketball operations Leon Rose. Danny Leroux of The Athletic takes a look at how that decision to retain Perry for a bridge year could backfire.
- The Nets parted ways with former CEO David Levy back in November, just two months after hiring him. As Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reports, Levy’s stint with the franchise was short-lived because his contract stated he’d have some influence in the basketball operations department and that didn’t sit well with members of the team’s front office. According to Bondy, the “pushback” Levy received led to the Nets essentially buying him out.
- Neither the Knicks nor Nets will open their practice facilities on Friday, and neither team has specified a target date for when that may happen, per Jeff Zillgitt and Mark Medina of USA Today.
Hawks Notes: Carter, Huerter, Practice Facility
With his retirement right around the corner, Hawks forward Vince Carter hopes to stay connected to the NBA even once he’s no involved in the action on the court, as he told T.I. this week on the rapper’s expediTIously Podcast (video link).
Asked about what’s next for him once he officially hangs up his sneakers, Carter pointed to broadcasting and team ownership as two areas he’s interested in, though he admitted he doesn’t have the kind of net worth to become the majority owner of an NBA franchise like Michael Jordan.
“I want to do some broadcasting. I want to stay around the game,” Carter said, per Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report. “I want to continue to be a mentor in some capacity. I have aspirations of being a part of an ownership group. I don’t make that kind of money to own a team outright like MJ … but at some point, I want to be a part of an ownership group where I can still be that mentor that (players) need, and I want to be the middle man to bridge the gap for the ownership/executive side.”
Here’s more on the Hawks:
- Second-year Hawks guard Kevin Huerter, who was sidelined for 10 games in the fall with a shoulder injury, tells Chris Kirschner of The Athletic that he played through some “nagging” issues the rest of the year and was proud not to miss any more time. “One thing that bothered me, I would go on Twitter, and you get tagged in every little thing. Everyone’s always like, ‘Kevin is always hurt,'” Huerter said. “From December until when our season stopped, I didn’t miss a single game. I was still getting tagged with always being hurt. I just played 40 or 50 games in a row. What do you mean I’m always hurt? That was a big thing for me. I played through a lot to just be on the court.”
- Huerter, who told Kirschner that he’s “so sick of losing,” believes the Hawks’ young core players complement one another and is excited to see what they’re capable of as they continue to grow and commit to improving on defense. “Trae (Young) is a dynamic scorer,” Huerter said. “I think I’m a facilitator, shot-maker and spacer. Cam (Reddish) can do it all on both ends. De’Andre Hunter is a bigger small forward who can move up position-wise on defense. John (Collins) can shoot and rebound and do everything. I think all of our pieces fit.”
- The Hawks have yet to announce a specific target date for when they’ll attempt to reopen their practice facility, and it won’t happen on Friday. However, GM Travis Schlenk said the club is looking at the possibility of moving forward with reopening as early as next week, as Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.
Coronavirus Notes: McCollum, Nance, D’Antoni, More
The Trail Blazers are one of three teams reopening their practice facilities on Friday, and CJ McCollum plans to visit this weekend, writes Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. However, McCollum remains apprehensive about the fact that team facilities are opening at all.
“I am worried like the rest of the world, but I like that it is optional and I’m pleased with the caution, structure, and measures the Blazers organization has put in place to ensure the safest environment possible for all parties involved,” McCollum said. “I get the measures (the NBA is) taking, but you have to think at some point when there are drastic measures that need to be taken, ‘Is it really worth it?’ It’s either safe or it’s not.”
As McCollum explains to Haynes, he’s unsure how the social-distancing measures in place for individual workouts will work (“They’re talking about (how) you might have to be 12 feet away from your strength coach. How are you going to lift 12 feet away from somebody?”). However, he intends to go into the Blazers’ facility on Saturday to assess whether it’s possible to safely conduct a workout with so many restrictions in place.
McCollum also admitted that it’s difficult to know how intensely to work out, since players have different regiments for the season and offseason. While he continues to prepare as if the season could be back this summer, he doesn’t know what the future holds for the league.
“I’m probably as optimistic as the casual fan,” McCollum told Yahoo Sports. “Some days you feel like there’s a chance, and then some days you’re like, ‘I don’t know.’ But in the meantime, if you go to work out at the facility, I get it. Work out, but we’ve got to figure out a balance between what’s safe and what’s forcing it.”
Here’s more on the coronavirus shutdown and the NBA’s response:
- Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr. tells Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links) that he plans to visit the Cavaliers’ practice facility after it opens on Friday. As Stein explains, that’s significant because Nance deals with Crohn’s disease, which is generally treated with immunosuppressive medication that can make patients more vulnerable to infections. Nance has confidence in Remicade, the drug he takes to combat the disease, per Stein.
- Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is the league’s second-oldest head coach at age 69, which could put him at greater risk if he were to contract the coronavirus. However, sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPN that D’Antoni would feel comfortable being on the sidelines if the NBA resumes the season, since he has confidence that Adam Silver and the league would create as safe an environment as possible.
- Appearing today on CNBC (video link), Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry expressed optimism that all NBA teams will be able to reopen their practice facilities by the end of May and that – if there are enough COVID-19 tests to make it possible – games could start by August (Twitter link via NetsDaily).
Pacific Notes: Klay, Warriors, Fox, Clippers
After appearing in five consecutive NBA Finals and winning three of them, the Warriors fell off hard this season, entering the hiatus with the league’s worst record. Klay Thompson, one of the injured stars whose absence contributed to Golden State’s drop-off, has spent the year recovering from an ACL tear and was frustrated by his inability to help the team.
In a short documentary called ‘Above The Waves,’ which details Thompson’s rehab process, the veteran sharpshooter said he’s looking forward to proving the Warriors’ dynasty isn’t over yet, as Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area relays.
“It just kills me inside when I see these other teams, so many talking heads, and some of my peers saying, ‘The dynasty is over, they had a great run,'” the Warriors star said in the doc. “I have so much more to give this game, but patience definitely builds character. You don’t have to prove anything anymore, you know? You have three championships. Multiple All-Star appearances. … I’ll just be that eager to prove everyone wrong again.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Former fifth overall pick De’Aaron Fox will be eligible for a rookie scale extension when the 2020/21 league year begins. James Ham of NBC Sports California explores how much more room Fox has to improve and whether he’s worth a maximum-salary extension offer, ultimately predicting that a five-year max deal seems likely for the rising Kings star.
- Following the completion of the sale of The Forum to a group led by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, a lengthy legal battle over the team’s plan to build an arena in Inglewood has come to an end, writes Nathan Fenno of The Los Angeles Times. The Madison Square Garden Co., the former owner of The Forum, had filed or backed several lawsuits opposing the arena proposal, but paperwork was filed this week to dismiss those suits as part of the sale agreement, clearing the way for the Clippers to move forward with their Inglewood plans.
- In case you missed it, the Kings are aiming to reopen their practice facility on Monday, May 11, while the Lakers are said to be targeting Saturday, May 16 to reopen their building.
Kings, Heat Plan To Reopen Facilities Next Week
The Kings and Heat are among the NBA teams that intend to reopen their practice facilities for individual, voluntary workouts next week, according to reports.
Sam Amick of The Athletic first tweeted that Sacramento is planning to reopen its facility on Monday, with the City of Sacramento allowing non-contact recreational facilities to open. The Kings issued a press release today confirming that May 11 is their target date and noting that they’ll remain in “constant communication” with the NBA and public health officials during the process.
As for the Heat, after head coach Erik Spoelstra suggested the team is moving closer to being able to resume individual workouts, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reported this morning (via Twitter) that Wednesday, May 13 is the team’s target date for reopening its facility. As Reynolds cautions, that date is “fluid.”
For the Kings, Heat, and the other teams that plan to make their facilities available to players in the coming days, a series of regulations and restrictions will be in place to ensure the safety of players and staff.
No more than four players will be permitted in a facility a time, no group activities will be allowed, rigorous cleaning and disinfecting procedures must be followed, staffers will have to wear face coverings (as will players when not engaged in physical activity), and certain medical and temperature checks will be required for those entering the gym.
Although teams have been asked by the NBA not to conduct coronavirus tests on any players or staffers who aren’t showing any symptoms, an increase in testing will be necessary if and when the league begins to allow group workouts and takes other steps toward resuming its season. For now, some teams are wary of even reopening their facilities without testing procedures in place — Mavericks owner Mark Cuban expressed that concern on Wednesday, as we detailed this morning.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Qualifying Offers
Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. In order to make a player a restricted free agent, a team must extend a qualifying offer to him — a player who doesn’t receive one becomes an unrestricted free agent instead.
The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s service time and previous contract status.
If a player reaches free agency with three or fewer years of NBA service time under his belt, his qualifying offer is worth 125% of his prior salary, or his minimum salary plus $200K, whichever is greater.
For instance, after earning $1,416,852 this season, Grizzlies guard De’Anthony Melton will be eligible for a qualifying offer worth a projected $1,907,576 this offseason, based on a $115MM cap — that’s calculated by adding $200,000 to his projected minimum salary for 2020/21 ($1,707,576).
The exact value of Melton’s qualifying offer will depend on where exactly the ’20/21 salary cap ends up, since minimum salary increase or decrease at the same rate as the cap. If the cap drops significantly, it’s possible he’d instead receive a QO worth $1,771,065 (125% of his previous salary).
Bogdan Bogdanovic is one example of a player whose qualifying offer will be 125% of his previous salary no matter where the cap lands. Bogdanovic is earning $8,529,386 in 2019/20, far above the minimum, so the Kings guard will receive a qualifying offer worth 125% of that figure: $10,661,733.
The qualifying offer for a former first-round pick coming off his rookie scale contract is determined by his draft position. The qualifying offer for a first overall pick is 130% of his fourth-year salary, while for a 30th overall pick it’s 150% of his previous salary — QOs for the rest of the first-rounders fall somewhere in between. The full first-round scale for the draft class of 2016, whose first-rounders will be hitting free agency this summer, can be found here, courtesy of RealGM.
Here are a pair of examples for this offseason: 2016’s second overall pick, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, is coming off a fourth-year salary of $7,265,485, so he must be extended a qualifying offer of $9,481,458 (a 30.5% increase) to become a restricted free agent. Meanwhile, the 19th overall pick, Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley, will be eligible for a qualifying offer of $3,895,424, a 42.6% increase on this season’s $2,731,714 salary.
A wrinkle in the Collective Bargaining Agreement complicates matters for some RFAs-to-be, since a player’s previous usage can impact the amount of his qualifying offer. Certain players who meet – or fail to meet – the “starter criteria,” which we break down in a separate glossary entry, become eligible for higher or lower qualifying offers. Here’s how the starter criteria affects QOs:
- A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter criteria will receive a same qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the 15th overall pick.
- Note: For the summer of 2020, the value of this QO will be $4,642,800.
- A player picked between 10th and 30th who meets the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the ninth overall pick.
- Note: For the summer of 2020, the value of this QO will be $5,087,871.
- A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 100% of the amount applicable to the 21st overall pick.
- Note: For the summer of 2020, the value of this QO will be $3,752,338.
Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl is one example of a player who falls into the first group, since he didn’t meet the starter criteria this year. The No. 9 overall pick in 2016, Poeltl will be eligible this offseason for a QO worth $4,642,800 instead of $5,087,871. Conversely, Suns forward Dario Saric (a former No. 12 overall pick) met the starter criteria and will be eligible for a QO worth $5,087,871 instead of $4,791,213.
A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then receives the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club.
A player can also accept his qualifying offer, if he so chooses. He then plays the following season on a one-year contract worth the amount of the QO, and becomes an unrestricted free agent at season’s end if he has at least four years of NBA experience. A player can go this route if he wants to hit unrestricted free agency as early as possible, or if he feels like the QO is the best offer he’ll receive. Accepting the qualifying offer also gives a player the right to veto trades for the season.
No restricted free agents accepted their qualifying offers during the 2019 offseason, but Rodney Hood did so with the Cavaliers in 2018. When Cleveland agreed to send him to the Trail Blazers prior to the 2019 trade deadline, Hood had to give his consent to be dealt, which he did.
Finally, while the details outlined above apply to players on standard NBA contracts who are eligible for restricted free agency, a different set of rules applies to players coming off two-way contracts. For most of those players, the qualifying offer would be equivalent to a one-year, two-way salary, with $50K guaranteed.
If a player coming off a two-way contract is ineligible to sign another one – either because he’s coming off a two-year, two-way deal, he has already been on two-way deals with his current team for at least two seasons, or he has four years of NBA service – his qualifying offer would be a standard, minimum-salary NBA contract. The guarantee on that QO would have to match or exceed what a two-way player would earn in the G League.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Brunson, Mavs, Pelicans
Before transitioning back into a media role with The Athletic, John Hollinger held a high-level position in the Grizzlies‘ basketball operations department for seven years, providing input on many key roster decisions during that stretch. Although Hollinger says he doesn’t spend much time contemplating “what-if” scenarios, he admits that he still thinks about the possibility of Memphis drafting Nikola Jokic back in 2014.
Looking back on the 2014 draft today at The Athletic, Hollinger concedes the Grizzlies weren’t eyeing Jokic with their No. 22 pick in the first round, but points to the No. 35 selection – which Memphis acquired from Utah – as a spot where Jokic would have made sense.
According to Hollinger, Jokic was ranked atop the Grizzlies’ list of draft-and-stash possibilities when the No. 35 pick arrived, but the team had Jarnell Stokes – who could potentially contribute right away – rated higher on its overall board.
Revisiting the pick now, Hollinger notes that the decision to select Stokes rather than Jokic – who was taken by the Nuggets at No. 41 – created something of a ripple effect of missed opportunities for the Grizzlies. Because Stokes occupied a spot on the 15-man roster, the team ended up waiving Hassan Whiteside that fall, despite an impressive training camp. If Memphis had stashed Jokic instead of drafting Stokes, the club may have kept Whiteside out of camp with that final roster spot.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Appearing recently on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson said his rehab from a shoulder injury is “definitely going well,” but that he’s still a ways off from being able to suit up and play. “As much as I would want to, as much as I would try my hardest to force them to let me play (if the season resumes in June), I don’t think it would be a possibility,” Brunson said, per The Dallas Morning News.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is holding off reopening the team’s practice facility for the time being, suggesting to Brian Dameris and Mark Followill on their 77 Minutes in Heaven podcast that an inability to test players and staffers for COVID-19 is a roadblock (Twitter link via Tim MacMahon of ESPN). “I just don’t think the risk is worth the reward,” Cuban said, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweets that other teams share the Mavs’ concerns about not being able to test asymptomatic players entering their gyms.
- The Pelicans aren’t reopening their facility this week and may not do so next week either, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN. A source tells Lopez that May 18 may be a target date for the club. We heard on Wednesday that the Rockets are also circling May 18 as their reopening date.