Warriors Notes: Wiseman, Mannion, Anderson, Jessup
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said he already had approval from management to use the team’s $17MM trade exception before Klay Thompson‘s injury yesterday, tweets Marc J. Speers of The Undefeated. Myers was hoping to add wing depth even before the news about Thompson broke. Thompson will have an MRI today to determine the severity of his Achilles injury.
Myers told reporters that Thompson’s injury didn’t affect the team’s plan to draft former Memphis center James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick, according to a story on Warriors.com.
“We had him No. 1 on our board when all the dust settled,” Myers said of Wiseman. “Certainly the Klay thing made you think for a second, but it was just a short amount of time and we decided we’re staying the course of what we always felt, but you have to take pause and think about things for a second. … We got the guy we wanted and excited like I said to get going and get him in our practice facility and get to work.”
There’s more Warriors news this morning:
- In the same story, Myers admits being surprised that Arizona guard Nico Mannion was still available with the No. 48 pick. Executives around the league were shocked to see Mannion fall so far, adds Jonathan Givony of Draft Express (Twitter link). “(Stephen Curry) said we had to draft guys that went to his Under Armour camp, so we had to take Wiseman and Nico to keep our point guard happy,” Myers joked. “It is funny, though. Those guys both did go. He remembers them. I think it might have been in Walnut Creek. But I think he knows, it’s funny, he got to know James and got to know Nico, I don’t know if it was last year or the year before, but I was surprised. We had him higher than 48 for sure.”
- Grizzlies forward Kyle Anderson may be an option to provide wing depth for the Warriors using their traded player exception, tweets Jabari Young of CNBC. A six-year veteran, Anderson spent the past two seasons in Memphis.
- Justinian Jessup, Golden State’s selection with the 51st pick last night, will be a draft-and-stash player, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jessup is already playing for the Illawarra Hawks in Australia.
Kelly Olynyk Exercises 2020/21 Player Option
NOVEMBER 19: Olynyk’s move is official, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who adds that the Heat are now roughly $45MM below the tax line and are expected to move forward as an over-the-cap team. That will enable them to exceed the salary cap to bring back free agents Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder and possibly Meyers Leonard and Derrick Jones Jr.
NOVEMBER 18: Heat big man Kelly Olynyk is exercising his player option for 2020/21, as expected, a league source tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The move will guarantee Olynyk’s $13.2MM salary for next season and put him in line to reach unrestricted free agency in 2021.
Olynyk, 29, came off the bench for most of last season in Miami, averaging 8.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG with a solid shooting line of .462/.406/.860 in 67 games (19.4 MPG). Assuming Olynyk returns to the Heat for next season, he should once again be a regular part of the rotation, especially if center Meyers Leonard departs in free agency.
It’s also worth noting that once he opts into his contract, Olynyk will also be eligible to be traded, and his expiring contract could make a good salary-matching piece for the Heat as they explore their options this fall and perhaps during the season.
Since Olynyk was expected to opt in, the move doesn’t affect the Heat’s cap outlook. Miami still has he opportunity to open up some room, though the team is considered more likely to stay over the cap, attempting to re-sign players like Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder, and potentially using the mid-level exception.
Pistons Notes: Draft, Hayes, Kennard, Lee, More
The Pistons, who at one point held only the No. 7 pick in the Wednesday night’s draft, came away with three of the top 19 selections after a series of trades that saw them secure Killian Hayes (No. 7), Isaiah Stewart (No. 16), and Saddiq Bey (No. 19). For good measure, they also picked up the 38th overall pick in another deal and drafted Saben Lee.
The moves were a reflection of the aggressiveness that new general manager Troy Weaver hopes to bring to the job, as Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press writes.
“We’re going to attack the draft, we’re going to attack free agency, we’re going to attack everything,” Weaver said. “I said coming in, this was going to be a restoring of two interactions of the great Pistons teams. That was their mentality. They were aggressive, they were on the attack and we want to follow suit. That’s the mantra and we’ll hopefully continue to be aggressive. But we wanted to set the tone.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- The Pistons view Killian Hayes as having the most upside of anyone in this draft class, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic. While it’s easy to make that claim after drafting him, it sounds like Hayes was aware that the team was high on him. “I was confident (that Detroit would pick me), but you never know until it happens,” he said after the draft, per Edwards.
- Although the Pistons liked Luke Kennard, they felt as if his timeline didn’t match up with theirs, according to Edwards. The club viewed him as a productive role player on a team further down the road than Detroit is now.
- The Pistons had a first-round grade on No. 38 pick Saben Lee, sources tell Edwards. Lee is reportedly signing a two-way deal.
- The Pistons are receiving $1.5MM in cash from the Nets in the deal that will send Bruce Brown to Brooklyn, Edwards reports (via Twitter).
Nuggets Are Favorites To Land Facundo Campazzo
The Nuggets are “clear frontrunners” to add Argentinian point guard Facundo Campazzo, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Campazzo currently plays for Real Madrid, but has been indicating for months that he plans to come to the NBA. His current deal includes an NBA escape clause, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando.
Campazzo, 29, has played overseas since 2008 and has been with Real Madrid since 2014. He is also a member of Argentina’s national team and played in the Olympics in 2012 and 2016.
Southwest Notes: Porzingis, Jackson Jr., Winslow, Metu
There’s no timetable for Kristaps Porzingis to return to action following knee surgery, but he’s optimistic about his recovery, tweets Dwain Price of Mavs.com. Porzingis underwent a procedure in October to repair the meniscus in his right knee and won’t be available when the season starts.
“The only thing I know is that I’m recovering well, and that’s the most important thing,” he said. “We’ll see. I would like to start as soon as possible and I’m doing all the things necessary to do that.”
Porzingis hurt his knee in the first game of Dallas’ playoff series against the Clippers and played two more games with the injury. The Mavericks hope he will be cleared to resume on-court activities by January 1.
“I think I’m pretty close to being able to get some shots up,” Porzingis said. “We’re just taking it easy, we’re taking our time, but I’m pretty much there and I can’t wait to start doing more stuff. But I have to be smart, I have to be patient.” (Twitter link)
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- The Mavericks tried to get a higher pick in the first round of last night’s draft, but weren’t able to work out a deal, tweets Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. General manager Donnie Nelson said the team also had opportunities to move down, but didn’t want to pass up Josh Green with the 18th pick.
- The Grizzlies will have to start the new season without Jaren Jackson Jr. and Justise Winslow, writes Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Executive VP of basketball operations Zach Kleiman confirmed that both players aren’t fully recovered from injuries that sidelined them last season. Winslow, who had an injured hip, is expected back before Jackson, who underwent knee surgery in August. “I would say that Justise is going to return early this season. It might not be day one, but no setbacks,” Kleiman said. “He’s been in our facility in Memphis, working out twice a day, doing an awesome job in his rehab and we’ll be excited to have him early in the season.”
- Spurs center Chimezie Metu has changed agents, signing with Wasserman’s Darren Matsubara, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Bulls Notes: Williams, Simonovic, Draft, QO Decisions
Making his first draft pick as the head man in an NBA front office on Wednesday night, new Bulls president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas told reporters – including Sam Smith of Bulls.com – that he was pleased to come away with Florida State forward Patrick Williams at No. 4. Karnisovas praised Williams’ athleticism, versatility, ballhandling, and ability to play multiple positions.
“The more we were digging in his background and we were able to see him, that’s how we came to our decision that that’s our guy,” Karnisovas said of Williams. “We need players in our league that can play multiple positions. He’s an elite athlete. At four we were really happy in that position because we knew we had a chance to pick Patrick and we just stayed there and we got our player.”
Williams was one of two picks the Bulls made on Wednesday, along with Montenegrin center Marko Simonovic at No. 44.
“I think overall tonight we drafted players that we were targeting,” Karnisovas said, per Smith. “And it doesn’t happen very often. I received a ton of texts from executives around the league and they were all telling me, ‘Enjoy your night.’ And that’s what I did. It’s special to me. It’s my first night as a lead exec of the Chicago Bulls. I thought it was a very successful night.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Despite rumors that the Bulls had offered Wendell Carter Jr. and the No. 4 pick to move up to No. 2, Karnisovas told reporters after the draft that the club didn’t consider trading up (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago). While that may be true, it’s also plausible that Karnisovas is saying that publicly so as not to make waves with Carter.
- Simonovic will be stashed overseas for at least one year, Karnisovas said on Wednesday night (Twitter link via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic). He’s currently under contract with Crvena Zvezda in Serbia.
- Explaining the Bulls’ decision not to tender qualifying offers to Kris Dunn and Shaquille Harrison, while Denzel Valentine got one, Karnisovas said that the club’s limited roster space and emphasis on shooting were major factors (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson). The president of basketball operations added that Chicago will be “really picky” in free agency.
Grizzlies Sign Jahlil Tripp To Exhibit 10 Contract
NOVEMBER 28: The Grizzlies have officially announced their deal with Tripp.
NOVEMBER 19: Jahlil Tripp of Pacific will sign an Exhibit 10 deal with the Grizzlies, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The signing was confirmed by Tripp’s agent, Daniel Green.
Tripp, 23, was named Defensive Player of the Year in the West Coast Conference. The 6’5″ forward averaged 16.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game for the Tigers last season.
An Exhibit 10 contract provides players with an invitation to training camp and a guarantee of up to $50K if they are waived and later assigned to the team’s affiliate in the G League.
Clippers Sign Jordan Ford To Exhibit 10 Deal
NOVEMBER 29: Ford’s deal is now official, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.
NOVEMBER 19: The Clippers are signing undrafted free agent guard Jordan Ford to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
A two-time member of the All-WCC team, Ford was the second-leading scorer in the West Coast Conference in 2019/20, averaging 21.9 PPG on .491/.411/.836 shooting in 34 games (38.0 MPG) for Saint Mary’s. ESPN ranked him as the 37th-best undrafted prospect.
An Exhibit 10 deal is essentially a training camp invite that guarantees the player up to $50K if he’s waived and then is assigned to the NBA team’s G League affiliate.
It remains to be seen what form an NBAGL season might take in 2020/21, but presumably if he doesn’t make the Clippers’ regular season roster, Ford will be a candidate to join the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.
Thunder Expected To Sign Omer Yurtseven, Josh Hall
The Thunder have reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 contract for undrafted Georgtown big man Omer Yurtseven, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Yurtseven, 22, began his college career at North Carolina State before transferring to Georgetown. He was the Hoyas’ starting center in 2019/20, averaging 15.5 PPG, 9.8 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in 26 games (27.3 MPG).
Having declared for the draft following his junior season, Yurtseven wasn’t one of the 60 players selected on Wednesday night, but ranked as ESPN’s 31st-best undrafted prospect and didn’t take long to find a home for training camp.
Meanwhile, the Thunder have also reached a deal to sign free agent forward Josh Hall, an undrafted prospect out of Moravian Prep, a source tells Jake Weingarten of StockRisers.com (Twitter link). It’ll be a two-way contract, according to Weingarten (Twitter link).
The No. 5 undrafted prospect on ESPN’s list, Hall has “considerable potential” as both a shooter and ball-handler, according to Mike Schmitz’s scouting report. Schmitz adds that Hall isn’t NBA-ready, but could develop into a rotation wing with some G League seasoning.
Bulls To Sign Devon Dotson To Two-Way Contract
NOVEMBER 19: Dotson will receive a two-way contract from the Bulls, president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas confirmed today, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link).
NOVEMBER 18: Undrafted Kansas guard Devon Dotson has agreed to sign with the Bulls, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The terms of Dotson’s deal aren’t yet known, but it sounds like he’ll be invited to training camp, perhaps with a shot to earn a regular-season roster spot.
A number of draft analysts – including Sam Vecenie and John Hollinger of The Athletic, as well as Jonathan Givony of ESPN – had Dotson listed as the top prospect who wasn’t selected in Wednesday’s draft.
In 30 games as a sophomore for the Jayhawks last season, Dotson averaged 18.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 4.0 APG with 2.1 SPG.
As Wojnarowski notes, Dotson is a Chicago native, so joining the Bulls represents a homecoming for him. Dotson grew up idolizing Derrick Rose, Woj adds.