Celtics Notes: Walker, Hayward, Williams, Thompson
Kemba Walker, who will miss the start of the season as he rehabs an injured left knee, won’t attempt to return until he’s confident that the knee is 100%, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The Celtics support that decision and don’t plan to give any updates on Walker’s availability until the first week in January. Coach Brad Stevens said he will gradually increase Walker’s playing time when he does return, similar to how he was handled during the restart in Orlando.
Walker visited two specialists after the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs. They decided to give him a stem cell injection in the knee and set up a 12-week strengthening program that Walker began in early October and will finish in January.
“There’s no rush. There’s no rush on my end,” he said. “I’m coming back when I need to come back and when I’m feeling good to play. So that’s it. … I want to be at my best. The last time in the playoffs, I wasn’t at my best, and that sucked. I don’t want to be that way no more.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Walker understands that Gordon Hayward‘s decision to sign with the Hornets is part of the business side of the game and he’s not upset about losing a teammate, Bontemps adds in the same piece. Hayward opted out of his contract with the Celtics for the upcoming season and got $120MM over four years to join Walker’s former team. “I spoke to him during the process, and I’m happy for him,” Walker said. “… He’s going to have a great time in Charlotte. It’s a great place to be. It’s a great city, great fans. They love basketball. They’re going to love Gordon. He’s a great player. He’s going to bring joy to that organization.”
- Among the Celtics’ young players, Grant Williams has the best chance to make an impact this season, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Boston was 21-5 last season when Williams played at least 17 minutes, and he provided an encouraging shooting display in Orlando, making 10 of 17 from three-point range. With Hayward gone, Williams could be in contention for a starting role, Forsberg adds.
- Tristan Thompson believes his performance against Boston over the years prompted the team’s interest, tweets Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. “Coach always told me, usually the team that you have a lot of success against or beat up against a lot of years in the playoffs, they usually want you to join their side when you’re available or when you become a free agent,” Thompson said.
- Jeff Teague‘s new contract with Boston is for the veteran’s minimum, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
New York Notes: Rivers, Burks, Chiozza, Allen, Johnson
New Knicks guard Austin Rivers drew interest from multiple suitors in free agency, including many who are closer to championship contention than New York. However, Rivers said this week that he jumped at the opportunity to play in the “mecca of basketball” and to try to build “something special” with his new club.
“It’s easy to go somewhere where everything already is set up and they’ve been to the playoffs four, five years in a row,” Rivers said, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. “I’ve been on those teams. Those are great experiences. But I want to take those experiences and lessons and help this team and this organization as many ways as possible. That era of people not wanting to come here, our job is to change that. We have to make that attractive. And we will.”
Here’s more on the NBA’s two teams based in New York:
- The presence of former Jazz executive Walt Perrin and former Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant in New York helped convince Alec Burks to sign with the Knicks in free agency, as Berman details in a separate New York Post story.
- Chris Chiozza‘s new one-year contract with the Nets is a non-guaranteed training camp contract, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. Brooklyn has 14 players on guaranteed contracts and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot on a partially guaranteed deal, so Chiozza will have an uphill battle to earn a regular season roster spot.
- Jarrett Allen is entering a contract year and has been mentioned in trade rumors throughout the year, creating some uncertainty about his future with the Nets. The fourth-year center is trying to shut out that speculation and focus on what he can control, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “At the end of the day, I just try to put it aside,” Allen said. “I know it’s big decisions, deciding where I’m playing or deciding whatever happens at the end of the day. It’s all basketball at the end of the day, whether I’m happy about what happens or not happy. It’s all basketball and I’m here to play it.”
- Newly re-signed Nets guard Tyler Johnson said there were “definitely other teams and other opportunities” for him in free agency, but that he has appreciated GM Sean Marks‘ transparency and wants to compete for a title in Brooklyn. Chris Milholen of NetsDaily has the story.
Southwest Notes: Burke, Terry, Martin, Spurs, Konchar
The Mavericks used a portion of their mid-level exception to sign both free agent guard Trey Burke and No. 31 pick Tyrell Terry, as Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports details (Twitter links).
Burke’s three-year contract with the Mavericks, initially reported as a $10MM deal, actually has a total value of $9.45MM, starting at $3MM in 2020/21, per Smith. However, it does include a third-year player option and a 7.5% trade kicker, which would provide Burke with a modest bonus if he’s dealt before the contract expires.
Terry, meanwhile, will get a first-year salary of about $1.29MM, well above the rookie minimum. The final three years will be all be worth the minimum, with a team option on the final season, according to Smith. In total, Terry’s four-year contract with the Mavericks is worth $6.52MM, with $4.59MM in guaranteed money.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- The Rockets‘ four-year deal with KJ Martin (aka Kenyon Martin Jr.) is worth the minimum and is fully guaranteed in 2020/21 only, tweets Smith. His salaries for the three subsequent seasons will become guaranteed two days before the start of the offseason moratorium of each new league year.
- Derrick White (recovering from toe surgery), Quinndary Weatherspoon (knee surgery), and Keldon Johnson (foot ailment) won’t be available when the Spurs begin practicing in the coming days, head coach Gregg Popovich said this week (link via Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News). “I’m not sure exactly when they are coming back, but they won’t be there in the beginning,” Popovich said.
- After signing a two-way contract as an undrafted rookie last season, Grizzlies guard John Konchar parlayed a strong first-year audition into a four-year deal with the team this fall. As Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes, Konchar got on FaceTime with his mother immediately after agreeing to terms with the club. “It seemed like she was about to cry. I mean, the feeling was just amazing,” Konchar said.
Reactions To John Wall, Russell Westbrook Trade
Just when it seemed like the NBA offseason was winding down, the Rockets and Wizards made a big splash on Wednesday night, swapping star point guards. Russell Westbrook headed to Washington in the blockbuster deal in exchange for John Wall and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick.
While word of the trade agreement came as something of a surprise when it broke last night, it makes perfect sense in at least one respect: Westbrook’s and Wall’s oversized contracts didn’t appeal to most teams around the NBA, so trading them for one another was the logical move.
“The trade seemed inevitable,” one Eastern Conference executive told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “Two players at similar stages of their careers and both having demanded a change of scenery. Brooks gets a force of nature with whom he is well versed. Houston gets a much needed first-round pick as they inch toward a rebuild.”
Another Eastern exec who spoke to Scotto suggested that the Wizards are “for sure” a playoff team after adding Westbrook, while a scout told HoopsHype that he’s bullish on Westbrook in D.C. since head coach Scott Brooks “knows how to use him.” However, not everyone who spoke to Scotto loved the trade for the Wizards.
“Two of the worst contracts flipped for each other should tell you something,” a Western Conference GM told HoopsHype. “Did you see Russ play last year? He slowed down (James) Harden. I feel bad for Beal.”
Here are more reactions to – and analyses of – one of the biggest trades of the 2020 offseason:
- Michael Lee of The Washington Post (Twitter link) hears that D.C. was Westbrook’s preferred destination, and that the former MVP is intrigued by the opportunity to team up with Bradley Beal and to play again for Brooks, his former coach in Oklahoma City.
- The Rockets remain in win-now mode and “wouldn’t accept” trading Westbrook away for a package that signaled a full-scale rebuild, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Iko adds that initial talks between the two teams stalled because they were haggling over draft capital and the possible inclusion of another young player – such as Thomas Bryant – in a deal. Houston and Washington ultimately kept it simple, just adding a single first-round pick to the Westbrook/Wall swap.
- Kurt Helin of NBC Sports poses five big questions related to the trade, including how much Wall has left in the tank after missing nearly two full years due to injury.
- The trade is the right move for the Wizards, but it’s packed with risk, Ben Golliver writes for The Washington Post. Elsewhere at The Washington Post, Jerry Brewer bids farewell to Wall, writing that the former No. 1 pick’s exit “seems both premature and overdue.”
- Wizards owner Ted Leonsis had to make a choice between Wall and Beal and ultimately decided to stick with Beal, says David Aldridge of The Athletic. “At the end of the day, this is a Ted call,” a source told Aldridge.
- The Westbrook/Wall swap is a sign of how the two point guards are valued in today’s NBA, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, who says “the teams that matter aren’t the least bit concerned by this move.”
- Having covered Westbrook in Oklahoma City, Fred Katz of The Athletic tells Wizards fans what they can expect from their new point guard.
Wolves Sign Ade Murkey To Exhibit 10 Deal
University of Denver guard Ade Murkey has signed a one-year deal with the Timberwolves, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.
Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype first reported early in free agency that Murkey would be joining the Wolves for training camp. He received an Exhibit 10 contract, per Kalbrosky. That will make the 22-year-old a good candidate to join the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate, if and when he’s cut by the NBA squad.
Murkey, who spent his full four-year college career with Denver, averaged 18.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 2019/20 while making 40% of his attempts from three-point range. It was a major breakout performance for the young shooting guard, who had recorded just 7.8 PPG in his first three college seasons.
Minnesota now officially has 17 players under contract. The team also reportedly has a deal in place with free agent forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and guard Jordan McLaughlin remains a restricted free agent. If the Wolves finalize the signing of Hollis-Jefferson and bring back McLaughlin, they’d still have one opening on their 20-man camp roster.
Thunder Sign Antonius Cleveland
The Thunder have signed free agent guard Antonius Cleveland to a one-year contract, according to RealGM’s transactions log. It’s a safe bet that it will be a non-guaranteed training camp deal.
Cleveland, 26, spent the 2019/20 league year on a two-way contract with the Mavericks. He wasn’t great in his limited action for Dallas, racking up nearly as many fouls (8) as points (11) in 46 total minutes across 11 games.
However, Cleveland was a full-time starter for the Texas Legends, the Mavs’ G League affiliate. In 36 NBAGL contests, he averaged 14.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 1.6 SPG.
By our count, Oklahoma City now has 19 players under contract, though a number of the team’s reported deals – including a trade for Al Horford and agreements with five free agents – aren’t yet official, so many moves are yet to come.
Rockets Trade Westbrook To Wizards For Wall, First-Round Pick
8:04pm: The trade is now official, the Rockets announced in a press release.
6:58pm: The Rockets and Wizards have agreed to swap star point guards, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who reports that John Wall is headed to Houston in exchange for Russell Westbrook.
The Rockets will also receive a first-round pick, per Woj. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that it’ll be Washington’s protected 2023 first-rounder and will be lottery-protected. Those protections will gradually decrease each year, and if it hasn’t changed hands by 2026, it’ll become two second-rounders, says Charania.
The deal involves two players on super-max extensions, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Westbrook will make $41.4MM and $44.2MM over the next two seasons with a player option in 2022/23 for $47.1MM. Wall is due $41.3MM and $44.3MM in the next two years, followed by a $47.4MM player option. His contract also includes a 15% trade bonus that will be voided because his salary is more than the league maximum for the upcoming season, Marks adds (Twitter link).
Both players issued trade requests to their respective teams in the past month. Westbrook’s was reported November 11 after he told Rockets officials he has been “uneasy about the team’s accountability and culture.” He expressed a desire to join an organization where he will once again be the lead playmaker, which presumably will happen in Washington.
Wall’s request came a little more than a week later, after news leaked that the Wizards had spoken to the Rockets about a possible swap for Westbrook. General manager Tommy Sheppard responded by saying the team had no plans to trade Wall.
Up until today, Sheppard and Rockets general manager Rafael Stone hadn’t discussed a potential Westbrook/Wall trade since October, sources tell Wojnarowski. However, the two GMs revisited the idea and had worked out a deal within hours, according to Woj.
In Washington, Westbrook will be reunited with Scott Brooks, who was his head coach with the Thunder from his rookie season until 2015. Brooks has always been a huge fan of Westbrook and they remain close friends, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. Westbrook is also close with Wizards assistant Robert Pack from their time together in OKC, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link).
Westbrook, 32, spent one season in Houston after being traded there last summer. He averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 57 games, but his poor outside shooting was an issue for a team that places a heavy emphasis on the three-pointer. Westbrook shot just 25.8% from long range during the season and 24.2% in the playoffs.
In Houston, Wall will join forces with former college teammate DeMarcus Cousins, who officially signed with the Rockets on Tuesday. Wall was sidelined last season with an Achilles tear and hasn’t played at all since December of 2018. The 30-year-old was the top pick in the 2010 draft and has spent the past 10 seasons in Washington.
While the Rockets have now moved on from Westbrook, they don’t believe that James Harden – who also reportedly wants to be traded – will be moved before opening night, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. According to MacMahon, Houston recognized that the market for Westbrook was limited, but would seek a “king’s ransom” in any Harden deal.
Meanwhile, in D.C., Bradley Beal has been the subject of frequent trade speculation for the last year or two, but the Wizards have insisted both publicly and privately that he won’t be dealt, and Beal hasn’t expressed any interest in a move. That stance seems unlikely to change before he gets a chance to assess his fit alongside Westbrook over the course of the ’20/21 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this story.
Heat Exercise 2021/22 Team Option On Tyler Herro
The Heat have officially exercised their 2021/22 team option on Tyler Herro, per Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
The move locks in the third-year option on Herro’s rookie contract, ensuring that he’ll earn $4MM a year from now. He’s set to earn $3.82MM in 2020/21. Miami will have to make a decision on his $5.72MM fourth-year option for ’22/23 next fall.
Rookie scale team option decisions for ’21/22 are due by December 29. Not every former first-round pick will have his third- or fourth-year option exercised this month, but in cases like Herro’s, picking up that option is a mere formality.
Herro, who will turn 21 in January, earned a spot on the NBA’s All-Rookie Second Team last season, averaging 13.5 PPG on .428/.389/.870 shooting in 55 games (27.4 MPG). He elevated his game to a new level in the postseason, recording 16.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 3.7 APG in 33.6 minutes per contest as the Heat came within two wins of a title.
Pistons Re-Sign Louis King To Two-Way Contract
The Pistons have re-signed free agent forward Louis King to a new two-way contract, according to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
King, who went undrafted out of Oregon in 2019, spent his rookie season on a two-way deal with Detroit. He didn’t see much action at the NBA level, logging limited minutes in 10 games, but averaged 15.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 31 games (28.5 MPG) for the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons’ G League affiliate.
King will occupy one of Detroit’s two-way contract slots alongside second-round pick Saben Lee.
The Pistons also officially finalized their previously–reported training camp deals with LiAngelo Ball and Anthony Lamb, according to Smith (Twitter link). The three signings give Detroit a full 20-man training camp roster.
Knicks Notes: Payton, Smith Jr., Noel, Toppin
Even though he became a free agent when the Knicks turned down his $8MM option, Elfrid Payton was confident he would be returning to New York, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Speaking to reporters today via a Zoom call, Payton indicated that he never seriously considered any other team.
“From the beginning we always had intentions of me coming back, so I wasn’t really I guess worried,’’ he said.
Payton was part of a maligned trio of point guards, along with Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr., who shared time at the position last season. After listening to offseason speculation that the team would find a replacement through the draft or free agency, Payton believes all three will approach the season with something to prove.
“I feel like we’ve been counted out,’’ he said. “So just go out there and compete and show what we can do. That’s definitely something we want to use as motivation, as if we didn’t already have enough. But that’s definitely something we’ve spoken about in the locker room, even in these short days that we’ve been together.”
There’s more Knicks news to pass along:
- Smith is looking forward to a fresh start after a difficult 2019/20 season that began with the death of his stepmother, Berman adds in the same piece. Injuries and poor play limited him to just 34 games and a career-low 15.8 minutes per night. “I would say just understanding that nothing happens to you, it happens for you,’’ Smith said. “And I had to go through a lot of different things mentally — not even physically — mentally I had to go through a lot of different things to kind of understand that. But smooth waters never made (skilled) sailors, so I take it all in stride, and I’m going to keep getting better.’’
- Mitchell Robinson may be the team’s center of the future, but he’ll have to compete with free agent addition Nerlens Noel for the starting spot, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Regardless of how playing time shakes out, Noel expects to adopt a teaching role. “I just want to mentor him any way possible,” he said. “Whatever position we play throughout the season will play itself out. I want to be a big brother to him and give him a lot of advice throughout the season.”
- Lottery pick Obi Toppin is already impressing teammates with his athletic gifts, writes Ian Begley of SNY.TV. The rookie forward has been setting franchise records in agility, conditioning and athleticism drills.