Rockets Notes: Harden, Dinwiddie, Tucker, Silas
Spencer Dinwiddie‘s partial ACL tear further reduces the odds of the Nets and Rockets working out a trade involving James Harden this season, in the view of Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle, who notes that Dinwiddie and his $11.5MM salary likely would’ve been a key part of any package Brooklyn could put together.
Dinwiddie’s injury doesn’t mean he can’t be traded, but it significantly diminishes his value, since he can reach free agency in 2021 and may not play another game on his current contract. Still, ESPN’s Zach Lowe suggested during his Monday episode of The Lowe Post that the Dinwiddie injury doesn’t really change the Nets’ and Rockets’ outlook for Harden, since the two teams had made no progress toward a deal anyway.
“Spencer Dinwiddie’s health did not make or break the Nets’ ability to get James Harden,” Lowe said, per RealGM. “It’s unclear to me, frankly, if those teams have had anything resembling a serious conversation about James Harden. Let’s make that clear. I don’t sense that there’s been hardly any traction there at all. And maybe the way the Nets started had them thinking ‘Why are we messing with this?'”
Here’s more on Harden and the Rockets:
- Harden, who has averaged 39.0 PPG and 12.5 APG on .595/.500/.920 shooting in his first two games of the season, has provided the Rockets with a reminder of why it doesn’t make sense to trade him for “50 or 60 cents on the dollar,” writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
- The Rockets will remain shorthanded on players until Wednesday and haven’t been able to conduct a full practice in about a week, but P.J. Tucker doesn’t think the team should view that as excuse for a slow start, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “It’s our jobs to play basketball. This happens,” Tucker said. “Guys go down with injuries, guys go down for being sick, guys go down for family issues. You miss guys all the time. It just makes it next man up. It’s an opportunity to go out and play.”
- Stephen Silas reportedly wasn’t Harden’s first choice when the Rockets were searching for a new head coach this offseason, and his hiring may have even contributed to the former MVP’s decision to request a trade. However, Harden likes what he has seen from Silas so far, as Mark Medina of USA Today writes. “He did a great job,” Harden said of his new coach after the team’s first game on Saturday. “Very confident, knew what he was drawing up and knew where to put his guys at.”
Amile Jefferson Signs With Turkish Team
Free agent power forward Amile Jefferson has signed with Galatasaray, the Turkish club announced today in a press release. The contract will cover the remainder of the 2020/21 season.
Jefferson, 27, spent part of the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves after going undrafted out of Duke. He subsequently signed a two-way deal with the Magic for the ’18/19 season and then was promoted to Orlando’s standard roster at the start of the ’19/20 campaign before being waived in February.
Despite spending parts of three seasons on NBA rosters, Jefferson has seen limited playing time, averaging 1.4 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 30 total games (4.7 MPG). He has thrived at the G League level, however, recording 18.5 PPG, 12.2 RPG, and 2.9 APG in 88 NBAGL contests (34.2 MPG) for the Iowa Wolves and Lakeland Magic.
Jefferson was with the Celtics during the preseason after signing an Exhibit 10 contract, but was waived 10 days ago when the club set its regular season roster. He’ll look to help jump-start a Galatasaray squad that is off to a slow start this season, with a 5-9 record in Turkish League play.
Injury/Coronavirus Updates: Craig, Butler, Okongwu, Snell, Caruso, Anthony
Bucks swingman Torrey Craig suffered a nasal fracture on Sunday against the Knicks and won’t play against the Heat on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets. Craig signed with Milwaukee last month after the Nuggets failed to extend a qualifying offer.
We have more injury and COVID-19 news:
- Heat star Jimmy Butler is doubtful to play against the Bucks on Tuesday, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. Butler sprained an ankle during the team’s game on Friday.
- Hawks rookie big man Onyeka Okongwu (left foot inflammation) and guard Tony Snell (right foot inflammation) have been cleared to progress to live contact workouts, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets.
- Alex Caruso became the first Lakers player to miss a game due to COVID-19 protocols. Caruso sat out against Portland on Monday. Coach Frank Vogel said no other players or staff members were held out due to contact tracing, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony wasn’t with his team due to the same reason, as Casey Holdahl tweets.
Grizzlies’ Ja Morant Sprains Left Ankle
Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant sprained his left ankle during the second quarter of his team’s game against the Nets on Monday, the team’s PR department tweets.
The severity of the injury wasn’t immediately known but Morant hopped around in severe pain after he landed on Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot‘s foot while trying to contest a shot. X-rays revealed no fracture, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets, and the team will await the results of an MRI as soon as Tuesday.
Morant was eventually brought back to the locker room in a wheelchair. He returned to the bench in the second half wearing a walking boot.
If Morant is sidelined for a long stretch, it would have a huge impact on the team’s goal of reaching the playoffs. Tyus Jones would likely be thrust into a starting role in his absence.
Memphis is already a little shorthanded in the backcourt as De’Anthony Melton has missed playing time due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
And-Ones: Wisconsin Herd, Davis, Hall, Tax Teams
The Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, plans to opt out of the proposed G League bubble season in Atlanta, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. They’ll be the 10th NBA franchise to pass on the bubble event. For a list of teams expected to participate, follow this link.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Baron Davis and rapper Percy “Master P” Miller are in negotiations to acquire Reebok, Eric Woodyard of ESPN tweets. According to Forbes, Reebok’s asking price from its parent company Adidas is around $2.4 billion. Master P says they’re “prepared financially” after a couple months of negotiations, Woodard adds.
- Big man Donta Hall is joining the G League Ignite as one of its veteran players, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. The Ignite includes top prospects for next year’s draft who decided against playing in college this season. Hall spent most of last season with the Pistons’ G League team in Grand Rapids. Hall also saw action in four games with Detroit and five games as a substitute player for the Nets during the restart.
- Who were the worst teams in NBA history to pay the luxury tax? Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype takes a deep dive into that subject. Not surprisingly, the Knicks snagged three of top six spots on the list.
Central Notes: Hayes, Bey, Gores, Brogdon, Love
The Pistons are easing their young players into the rotation and that’s to be expected, James Edwards III of The Athletic writes.
Veterans Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose, both of whom sat out Monday’s game at Atlanta, played heavy minutes in the double overtime loss to Cleveland on Saturday. Lottery pick Killian Hayes sat during crunch time, while Saddiq Bey has played only six minutes. The Pistons’ other first-round pick, Isaiah Stewart, didn’t play at all in the first two games.
It’s unrealistic to expect all of the Pistons’ developmental players to log 15-plus minutes a game at this point but their playing time will increase as the season progresses, Edwards adds. Hayes and Bey started against the Hawks.
We have more on the Central Division:
- Pistons owner Tom Gores rubber-stamps new GM Troy Weaver’s roster moves, according to Rod Beard of the Detroit News. Detroit has only four holdovers on its 15-man roster and Weaver engineered trades to draft Bey and Stewart. “To get three first-round picks I think was a win for us,” Gores said. “We have to see how those young men develop, but I’d say the thing Troy did right away was he really owned this. He didn’t sit back and worry about it. He was thoughtfully aggressive, and he owned it.”
- Malcolm Brogdon wasn’t thrilled with the Pacers’ previous coach but he has been quick to praise new coach Nate Bjorkgren, Akeem Glaspie of the Indianapolis Star writes. Bjorkgren drew up the game-winning play on Sunday, a Domantas Sabonis basket against Boston. “It takes a high-IQ coach and a patient coach to draw something like that up there,” said Brogdon, who was reportedly the Indiana player who was most outspoken and displeased with Nate McMillan’s coaching style.
- Kevin Love and lottery pick Isaac Okoro are among a handful of Cavaliers players who will miss Tuesday’s game against the Knicks, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets. Love has a calf strain that kept him out of the team’s opener and limited him to nine minutes against Philadelphia on Sunday. Okoro will sit out for the second straight game with a foot sprain.
Sixers’ Korkmaz To Miss Minimum Of Two Weeks
The Sixers have lost one of their key reserves for at least the next two weeks. Guard Furkan Korkmaz has a left adductor strain and will be reevaluated in approximately two weeks, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
Korkmaz suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game at Cleveland. He had gotten off to a slow start, averaging 6.0 PPG on 25% shooting in 18.3 MPG off the bench during Philadelphia’s first three contests.
Last season, Korkmaz appeared in 72 regular season games, averaging 9.8 PPG in 21.7 MPG while making 40.2% of his 3-point tries.
The Sixers have good depth at the wing positions, and players such as Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey should see an uptick in playing time with Korkmaz sidelined.
Korkmaz had his $1,762,796 salary for this season guaranteed last month. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Timberwolves Pick Up Options On Okogie, Culver
The Timberwolves are picking up their 2021/22 options on Josh Okogie and Jarrett Culver, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets.
Okogie’s fourth-year option is worth approximately $4.09MM. The 20th pick of the 2018 draft has been a rotation player since his rookie campaign.
He has started all three games for Minnesota this season, averaging 8.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 1.7 APG in 25.0 MPG. The shooting guard is making $2.65MM this season.
Culver’s third-year option is worth approximately $6.4MM. The 6th overall pick of the 2019 draft averaged 9.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.7 APG in 23.9 MPG as a rookie while appearing in 63 games.
He’s coming off the bench this season, averaging 10.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 0.7 APG in 23.3 MPG. The swingman out of Texas Tech is pulling in $6.1MM this season.
Dion Waiters Has Contemplated Retirement
After winning a title earlier this year as a member of the Lakers, Dion Waiters has yet to find a new home for the 2020/21 season, either in the NBA or in another league. During a recent Instagram Live session (video link), Waiters admitted that he considered the possibility of retiring (hat tip to Complex.com).
“They think I’m playing. I’ve been contemplating it though—about retiring,” Waiters said. “It’s the politics for me. Game-wise, we know what’s up. I just can’t do the politics, man. We ain’t going over that water. I’ll retire before that.”
Waiters is coming off an up-and-down year in which he was suspended multiple times by the Heat for off-court behavior and experienced a medical episode on a team flight after he consumed a “gummy,” an edible form of marijuana. Waiters was sent away from the Heat and then was traded at the 2020 deadline to the Grizzlies, who quickly waived him.
Although he caught on with the Lakers for the end of the season, Waiters didn’t play much for the eventful champions, appearing in seven regular season games and just five playoff contests. As a result of his health problems and off-court issues, the former No. 4 overall pick hasn’t played more than 46 games in a season since 2015/16, when he was a member of the Thunder.
Waiters just turned 29 years old earlier this month, so it would be a surprise if he decided to call it a career already. His comments on Instagram Live suggest that retirement is just one option he has considered — I’d expect him to remain on the lookout for new opportunities.
Wizards Exercise 2021/22 Options On Troy Brown, Rui Hachimura
2:56pm: Fred Katz of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the Wizards are declining their fourth-year options on Robinson and Wagner.
2:52pm: The Wizards have picked up their fourth-year option on Troy Brown and their third-year option on Rui Hachimura, the team announced today in a press release.
The options apply to the 2021/22 season, fully guaranteeing each player’s salary for next year. Brown will make $5.17MM in the final year of his rookie contract, while Hachimura’s third-year option is worth $4.92MM.
The 15th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Brown emerged as a regular rotation player for Washington in 2019/20, averaging 10.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 2.6 APG with a .439/.341/.784 shooting line in 69 games (25.8 MPG).
Hachimura, the ninth overall pick in the 2019 draft, averaged 13.5 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 48 games (30.1 MPG) last season, earning a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team. He’s currently sidelined due to an eye issue.
Teams typically pick up all of their rookie scale options at once, so it’s worth noting that today’s announcement from the Wizards didn’t mention Jerome Robinson ($5.34MM fourth-year option) or Moritz Wagner ($3.89MM fourth-year option). Assuming those options aren’t exercised by Tuesday’s deadline, Robinson and Wagner will be on track for unrestricted free agency in 2021, and Washington won’t be able to offer them starting salaries higher than the values of their declined options.