Knicks Rumors: Rose, Robinson, Trade Targets, Attendance
Knicks guard Derrick Rose remains in the NBA’s health and safety protocols and may not join the team on its four-game road trip, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Rose has missed two games since an inconclusive COVID-19 test March 2 in San Antonio. He wasn’t with the team for Wednesday’s practice and won’t play tonight as New York starts the second half of its season.
The league announced Wednesday that two players returned positive results in the latest round of testing, although no one has said if Rose is one of them. Coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters Wednesday that Rose’s status is uncertain.
“To be honest I can’t answer that because I don’t know,’’ Thibodeau responded when asked about the veteran guard rejoining the team for the road trip. “I’m following what Dr. (Lisa) Callahan and what the league says. Once there’s clearance he’ll be available. When we get updated, we’ll update you guys. You’ve seen it throughout the league how it’s been handled. We know it’s serious it is with COVID and we want to take every safety precaution we can.’’
There’s more on the Knicks:
- There’s no timetable for a return by center Mitchell Robinson, who has been sidelined since February 12 with a broken hand, Berman adds in the same story. Robinson was re-evaluated this week, but he’s not expected back soon. “He’s starting to do more,” Thibodeau said. “We’re probably a little ways away. But the conditioning, he’s been very diligent in putting extra work in. so his conditioning is pretty good. The basketball part, he hasn’t been able to scrimmage or anything like that. But he’s handling the ball with his left hand and doing a lot of running. We just have to be patient and let it run its course.’’
- The Knicks need another guard to help with scoring and playmaking, and the Magic’s Evan Fournier and the Rockets’ Victor Oladipo might be the best available options, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. New York figures to be active on the trade market and has numerous assets to offer, with 10 picks in the next three drafts and only four players with guaranteed contracts beyond this season. Vorkunov offers a few other ideas for potential targets, such as Bulls forward Otto Porter Jr., Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica, Thunder guard Kenrich Williams and Pelicans guard J.J. Redick.
- The Knicks have played four home games in front of fans and are hoping to increase the crowd size at Madison Square Garden before the season ends, Berman reports in a separate story. The building is currently permitted to operate at 10% capacity, which is about 2,000 fans, and Knicks officials have contacted state political leaders about relaxing that restriction as more people get vaccinated.
Kyle Lowry Addresses Trade Rumors
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry understands the uncertainties of the trade market, but no matter what happens this month, he vows to remain loyal to the franchise where he has spent most of his NBA career, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Lowry, who will turn 35 when the trade deadline arrives March 25, has been the subject of rumors in recent weeks as Toronto ponders whether to be a buyer or seller. His on-court performance and championship experience make him attractive to contenders, and his expiring $30.5MM contract may make him expendable.
“At the end of the day, myself, my agent, the organization, everyone has to do what’s best for them, right? Everyone has to do what’s best for them, and that situation,” Lowry said. “Who knows what that is, right? Who knows what that’s going to be, who knows what that time is going to tell? For me, I know I’m still playing at a good enough level where I can help a team, I can help us, and get better.”
Lowry continues to produce for Toronto, averaging 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists through 29 games. He expressed an allegiance to the team he has been with for the past nine years, telling reporters, “I will retire as a Toronto Raptor.” However, he stopped short of pledging to re-sign with the organization when he becomes a free agent this summer, noting that retiring as a Raptor could mean eventually signing a ceremonial one-day contract with the franchise.
Lowry also addressed a report that he has been telling people he will be leaving Toronto, insisting to reporters that it isn’t true.
“I don’t really get into that stuff, and it doesn’t bother me because rumors are rumors and they will always be,” he said. “But when something is said that doesn’t verbally come from me and I haven’t said anything, that’s when it gets to the point of, ‘Did you have me on record saying that? I want to know who the source is, because the source is me.’ That stuff is where you kind of defend yourself. I don’t really care about it. It’s just to defend myself for a quick second.”
Lowry could be among the best players on the trade market, Bontemps adds, if the Raptors decide to part with him and teams are willing to take on his salary. Many star players have either been traded or signed extensions in recent months, and Lowry is among the top remaining names with an expiring contract.
“For me, personally, whatever happens, we’ll see,” Lowry said. “I don’t know. We don’t know. Like, honestly, I don’t know. If I could tell you, if I could look at a crystal ball, I would tell you, but I don’t know what the crystal ball says. I don’t what is going to happen. I don’t know what they’re thinking, I’m thinking. We’ll just kind of get to that point and figure it out from there.”
Atlantic Notes: Nurse, Griffin, Durant, Rivers
After being sidelined for nearly two weeks due to health and safety protocols, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was cleared to return today and guided the team through practice, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Nurse expects to be back on the sidelines Thursday as Toronto starts the second half of the season against the Hawks. “I feel really rested, rejuvenated and ready to go,” he said (Twitter link).
Nurse doesn’t expect any of his assistant coaches who were also in the protocols to return tomorrow, although he says a couple of them are close. The team probably won’t have a full staff available until sometime next week. Nurse declined to speculate on when the five Raptors players who are in the protocols will be cleared to return (Twitter link).
He also took issue with rumors that the outbreak was caused by improper mask use among the coaching staff, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. “I don’t think anybody would have any idea what they’re talking about,” Nurse said. “… That is a really unfair, very speculative thing to say.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Blake Griffin has joined the Nets, but he won’t make his season debut Thursday night. He is listed as out due to left knee injury management, tweets Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. Griffin practiced with the team today and said his knee feels fine. However, he hasn’t played in nearly a month, so Brooklyn is trying to work him back into game condition (Twitter link). Coach Steve Nash sees Griffin as a “small-ball five” who can hit open three-pointers and help with playmaking (Twitter link).
- Kevin Durant will also sit out Thursday, marking the 10th straight game he’ll miss since straining his left hamstring last month, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Nash said Durant will have another scan on the hamstring next week (Twitter link). There was bleeding in the last scan, and the team realized that he might miss a month or more (Twitter link). Nash added that the Nets‘ medical staff doesn’t believe the current injury is related to the ruptured Achilles that Durant suffered in 2019 (Twitter link). “He hasn’t played in a month,” Nash said. “So no matter what the scan says, there will still be an appropriate ramp-up time to make sure we put him in a position to finish the season strong.”
- Sixers coach Doc Rivers missed today’s practice because of illness and it’s uncertain if he’ll be able to coach tomorrow, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Rivers’ condition isn’t related to COVID-19.
Sindarius Thornwell Gets Second 10-Day Contract With Pelicans
The Pelicans have signed guard Sindarius Thornwell to a second 10-day contract, the team announced on Twitter.
This is the third contract of the season for Thornwell, even though he has been with New Orleans virtually the entire time. He signed a non-guaranteed deal in training camp, then was waived last month to avoid having his $1.62MM cap hit locked in for the entire season.
Teams can only offer players two 10-day deals, so if the Pelicans want to keep Thornwell after this one expires, they’ll have to sign him for the rest of the season. Thornwell has appeared in 11 games so far, starting one, and averages 1.4 PPG in 4.8 minutes per night.
The former South Carolina star was a second-round pick in 2017 and spent his first two NBA seasons with the Clippers. He joined the Pelicans as a substitute player for the restart last summer, but only played two games in Orlando.
The signing leaves New Orleans with one open roster spot.
Spurs To Part With LaMarcus Aldridge
The Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge have reached an agreement to part ways, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Coach Gregg Popovich broke the news tonight on a pre-game Zoom call with reporters, saying, “We’ve mutually agreed for him to work on some opportunities elsewhere.” (Twitter link from Tim MacMahon of ESPN)
Aldridge’s departure could take the form of a trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that San Antonio is working on trade scenarios for the veteran big man and has been “engaged on several fronts” (Twitter link). The Spurs are confident that they can find a trade partner, possibly within the next week, and no move has been made toward a buyout, sources tell Woj (Twitter link).
Aldridge, 35, lost his starting job last month and was coming off the bench for the first time since his rookie season. He’s averaging 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 36% from three-point range, but the emergence of Jakob Poeltl has made him expendable.
Popovich explained that Aldridge has accepted his new role, but the organization believes he would be better off somewhere else.
“He’s been a great teammate, there’s no problem there,” Popovich said. “We just think this is a win-win for LaMarcus and the club. When an opportunity arises, that will be up to management, his agent and we will all move forward.” (Twitter link from Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News)
Aldridge is making $24MM this season in the final year of his contract, so it won’t be easy for another team to match salaries in a deal.
Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel notes that Heat president Pat Riley tried to lure Aldridge as a free agent in 2015, but didn’t have enough cap room to make a competitive offer (Twitter link). Winderman suggests (via Twitter) that some combination of Meyers Leonard, Kelly Olynyk and Andre Iguodala would work salary-wise, but Miami would likely have to throw in another asset to get the Spurs’ interest.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raptors Sign Henry Ellenson To 10-Day Contract
5:18pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.
10:11am: The Raptors will fill the open spot on their 15-man roster by signing free agent power forward Henry Ellenson to a 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Ellenson, who was in camp with Toronto in December, had been playing for the Raptors 905 in the G League bubble for the last month. Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate was eliminated from the postseason on Tuesday night, and it appears the Raptors are wasting no time in calling up the 24-year-old to the NBA club.
The 18th overall pick in 2016, Ellenson has appeared in a total of 81 NBA regular season contests for the Pistons, Knicks, and Nets, averaging just 4.0 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 9.2 minutes per game.
He has played a more regular role in the G League across 74 career NBAGL games. This season, he recorded 21.2 PPG and 8.1 RPG on .493/.427/.882 shooting in 15 games (30.6 MPG) as a key contributor for a Raptors 905 squad that earned the No. 1 seed heading into the single-elimination playoffs. The team was knocked out in the semifinals.
Ellenson, who received a $50K partial guarantee on his initial preseason deal with the Raptors, will earn approximately $119K on his new 10-day deal, with Toronto taking on a $111K cap hit, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). He’ll fill the roster spot that was vacated when Donta Hall‘s 10-day deal with the club expired over the weekend.
Raptors Remain Short-Handed Due To COVID-19
A week off for the All-Star break didn’t resolve the Raptors‘ coronavirus situation, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw all remain in the league’s health and safety protocols and won’t be available for Thursday’s game with the Hawks.
Toronto’s issues with the virus began in late February when a member of the coaching staff reportedly tested positive, forcing head coach Nick Nurse and most of his assistants into contact tracing. Assistant coach Sergio Scariolo, who was in quarantine at the time after coaching the Spanish national team, has been filling in as head coach ever since. There’s no update on the status of the coaches, but Lewenberg suggests that more information may be available after practice later today (Twitter link).
Siakam, who returned an inconclusive rapid test at the same time, has been in the protocol for 12 days, Lewenburg adds (via Twitter). The other four players have been sidelined for eight days each.
The Raptors’ February 28 game against the Bulls was postponed because Toronto didn’t have enough eligible players, and a game against the Pistons was rescheduled from March 2 to March 3. Currently in eighth place in the East, the Raptors are 1-2 since their COVID-19 problems began.
Sixers Have Reportedly Inquired On Will Barton
Nuggets guard Will Barton is among the players the Sixers have inquired on as they seek another play-making wing, a source tells Jason Dumas of Bleacher Report.
Dumas also names Delon Wright, George Hill, and P.J. Tucker as potential trade targets for Philadelphia. He has previously reported on the 76ers’ inquiries into Wright and Hill, while the club’s interest in Tucker has been mentioned repeatedly elsewhere, including on Tuesday by Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer.
Barton, 30, is a key rotation player in Denver, averaging 11.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.1 APG on .442/.388/.755 shooting in 33 games (29.9 MPG). However, as Dumas observes, the veteran wing has seen his role cut back a little due to the ongoing emergence of Michael Porter Jr. Barton’s 18.3% usage rate is the lowest mark of his career.
Still, it may be hard for two teams in win-now mode to work out a trade that would benefit both clubs in the short term.
While Danny Green‘s expiring $15.4MM contract would match up well with Barton’s $13.7MM deal, it’s not clear if the Nuggets would have any interest in the 33-year-old sharpshooter, since they have no shortage of floor-spacers — nine of their 10 most-used players are shooting 36% or higher on three-pointers with at least one make per game (Gary Harris, at 32.0%, is the lone exception). And while Green is a solid defender, he lacks Barton’s play-making ability.
Whether or not they can strike a deal for Barton, the 76ers seem more focused on adding a complementary player than on making a splashier move for a star like Kyle Lowry, according to Dumas, who says that landing the Raptors‘ guard is considered “far-fetched.”
Jazz Sign Ersan Ilyasova
MARCH 10: The Jazz have officially signed Ilyasova, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
MARCH 9: Free agent power forward Ersan Ilyasova has agreed to a sign a rest-of-season, minimum-salary contract with the Jazz, sources tell Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Schultz, Ilyasova is expected to officially sign on Wednesday after completing the COVID-19 protocol.
Ilyasova, who made his NBA debut back in 2006, has appeared in over 800 regular season contests for the Bucks and five other teams. In 2019/20, he averaged 6.6 PPG and 4.8 RPG with a .466/.365/.828 shooting line in 63 games (15.7 MPG) for Milwaukee.
Last season’s 36.5% mark from three-point range matches Ilyasova’s career rate, and his ability to stretch the floor from the power forward spot has been valuable over the years. While he’s not the most switchable or versatile defender, the 33-year-old has shown an uncanny knack over the years for taking charges on the defensive end.
Utah has had plenty of success this season with a forward rotation that includes Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale, and Georges Niang, so it’s unclear if Ilyasova will see action outside of garbage time or if he’ll simply provide some extra frontcourt depth.
The Jazz had been carrying 13 players on standard contracts since waiving Shaquille Harrison on February 24. Since the NBA allows teams to dip below the required 14-player minimum for only two weeks at a time, they needed to add a player before the second half got underway this week, as we detailed on Monday. After signing Ilyasova, Utah will still have an open spot on its 15-man roster, but won’t have to fill it immediately — or at all.
Ilyasova will earn $17,567 per day for the rest of the regular season, with Utah’s cap hit working out to $11,100 per day. The exact rest-of-season figures will depend on when he officially signs — assuming it happens on Wednesday, he’ll earn $1,194,542 with a cap charge of $754,783.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Mid-Sized Expiring Contracts
With the March 25 trade deadline fast approaching, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players around the NBA who are candidates to be moved this month, breaking them down into several categories based on their age, contracts, on-court value, and other categories. Today, we’ll zero in on players with mid-sized expiring contracts who could be useful salary-matching pieces for deadline buyers.
NBA players on expiring contracts are, by definition, nearly all trade candidates. Many of those players aren’t in their teams’ long-term plans, and even the ones that are viewed as keepers could be shopped if a team isn’t fully confident in its ability to re-sign them.
There are a few exceptions, especially among players who have already been recently traded. The Lakers and Cavaliers gave up first-round picks to acquire Dennis Schröder and Jarrett Allen, respectively — given the price they paid, it seems clear they plan to re-sign those players and aren’t expected to shop them this month. That’s especially true for the Bucks and Jrue Holiday, whose price tag via trade was much steeper.
Most players on expiring contracts are at least at a little risk of being dealt though, so many of those players will be the ones we explore in our Trade Candidate series this week and next week.
On Monday, we examined several players who will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer. Today, we’re shifting our focus to a group of players on mid-sized expiring contracts who may be viewed as expendable salary-matching pieces by teams looking to upgrade their rosters.
Let’s dive in…
Regular rotation players who would be available for an upgrade:
- Danny Green, Sixers
- Cody Zeller, Hornets
- Andre Iguodala, Heat
- Kelly Olynyk, Heat
- Will Barton, Nuggets
- Tony Snell, Hawks
- Doug McDermott, Pacers
These players are ones who are earning regular minutes for teams with playoff – or championship – aspirations. Some of them are having pretty nice seasons — Snell, for instance, is shooting an otherworldly 56.5% on three-point shots through 23 games. McDermott is averaging a career-best 13.2 points per game.
However, it’s hard to imagine any of these guys would be off-limits if their teams had the opportunity to include them in a package for an impact player, or even just a rotation upgrade.
Green, Zeller, and Iguodala are three of the most intriguing trade chips here. They all earn right around $15MM, so even without attaching another player, they could be used to acquire anyone earning in the $10-20MM range. All three teams are good bets to pursue deadline upgrades too — the Sixers and Heat will be among the top threats to come out of the East, while the Hornets would like to secure a playoff spot for the first time since 2016.
Olynyk ($12.6MM), Barton ($13.7MM), and Snell ($12.2MM) are also interesting salary-matching pieces for their respective teams, though trade partners may be wary of Barton’s $14.7MM player option for 2021/22 — if there’s any expectation he’ll pick up that option, he can’t be viewed as a true expiring contract.
At just $7.3MM, McDermott is a less versatile trade chip than the rest, but he’s still worth mentioning, since he’s the highest-paid Pacer who doesn’t have at least one more guaranteed year left on his deal after 2020/21. He’s also a relative bargain at that price and an excellent shooter whose Bird rights would be valuable. Presumably, he’d only be available in a package for a borderline star.
Players who would primarily be salary ballast:
- Gorgui Dieng, Grizzlies
- James Johnson, Mavericks
- Rodney Hood, Trail Blazers
- Meyers Leonard, Heat
- Cristiano Felicio, Bulls
Dieng ($17.3MM) and Johnson ($16MM) are still certainly capable of playing good minutes, but they’ve been racking up DNP-CDs as of late, and their pricey salaries hurt their value.
While Dieng is a viable trade candidate, Dallas is probably more likely than Memphis to attempt to make a splash at the deadline. If so, Johnson would be more expendable than Tim Hardaway Jr. ($19MM), who is also on an expiring deal but is playing a key role for the Mavericks.
Hood ($10MM) may need more time before he’s fully recovered from the Achilles tear that sidelined him in 2019/20 — he has had his worst season since entering the NBA and his $10.9MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed, so he’ll be the Trail Blazers’ most logical salary-matching candidate as they peruse the trade market.
Leonard ($9.4MM) is one of three Heat veterans on expiring contracts who could be on the move, and has become the most dispensable, due to a season-ending shoulder injury and an off-court incident that involved him uttering an anti-Semitic slur. If he’s dealt, it’s probably safe to assume his new team will cut him pretty quickly.
As for Felicio ($7.5MM), he has been a trade candidate almost since the moment he signed an outsized four-year contract in 2017. It’s not clear yet if the Bulls will be buyers or sellers, but if they seek out a minor upgrade, Felicio would be far easier to move than Otto Porter ($28.5MM).
The wild cards:
- Rudy Gay and Patty Mills, Spurs
- Kelly Oubre, Warriors
- Spencer Dinwiddie, Nets
- Aron Baynes, Raptors
These players don’t comfortably fit into either of the first two categories for a handful of reasons. In the cases of Gay ($14.5MM), Mills ($13.5MM), and Oubre ($14.4MM), it’s simply not clear what the Spurs’ and Warriors’ deadline intentions are.
If San Antonio is ready to hand the reins to its young players, the team could fetch a decent return for veterans like Gay and Mills. But the Spurs are currently 18-14 and don’t generally make major deadline deals, so their vets may just stay put — that applies to LaMarcus Aldridge as well, whose $24MM expiring salary is too large to be considered “mid-sized.”
The Warriors, meanwhile, have the assets necessary to be aggressive and pursue an upgrade at the deadline, perhaps using Oubre and the Timberwolves’ 2021 first-round pick. But Golden State is a No. 9 seed in the West and won’t have Klay Thompson available this season, so going all-in might not make sense. The club could just as easily shop Oubre for an asset or two that could eventually be packaged with the Wolves’ pick in a future package.
I nearly put Dinwiddie ($11.5MM) in the “salary ballast” group above, since he’ll likely miss the rest of 2020/21 due to a knee injury. But he averaged 20.6 PPG a year ago and his Bird rights have value — he may be expendable from the Nets’ point of view, since he won’t play this season and the team has a pair of All-Stars in its backcourt going forward, but he’s more than just a salary throw-in.
As for Baynes ($7MM), he could theoretically be placed in either of the first two sections above. He has started 26 games at center for the Raptors and remains a rotation regular, but he’s having a down year and almost certainly won’t be a part of the club’s future plans. If Toronto makes a deadline deal, whether as a seller or buyer, Baynes seems like a good bet to be part of it.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.