Nick Young To Play In BIG3
12-year NBA veteran shooting guard Nick Young is returning to the hardwood. He has inked a contract with the Enemies for the 2021 BIG3 season, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
Young will serve as the new team captain for the Enemies, per a BIG3 league press release. The club will be coached by Young’s former Wizards teammate, Gilbert Arenas.
Just last week, the BIG3 formally announced it would officially resume operations for its fourth season this summer, after canceling what would have been its fourth season in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 12-team league, founded by Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz in 2017, has generally served as a platform for longtime NBA veterans. The 2021 season will be broadcast by CBS and its affiliate platform Paramount+, and is set to kick off on July 10 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Scheduled to last for eight weeks, the BIG3 season will also log time at Xavier University of Louisiana. A two-week playoff will culminate in a September 4 title game.
Young was drafted by Washington with the No. 16 pick in 2007 out of USC. The 6’7″ swingman enjoyed eventful stops on the Wizards, Clippers, Sixers, and Lakers. He became a bench contributor for a 2017/8 title-winning Warriors team. His last NBA appearance was a four-game cameo for the Nuggets during the 2018/19 season.
The 35-year-old holds career averages of 11.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.0 RPG, along with a shooting line of .418/.376/.836.
Trey Murphy, Others Declare For 2021 NBA Draft
Virginia junior shooting guard Trey Murphy III has decided to declare for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced today (via Twitter).
Murphy, who began his college career at Rice, transferred to Virginia for the 2020/21 season and started 20 of his 25 games for the club, averaging 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 29.6 minutes per contest.
While those numbers are relatively modest, Murphy has displayed an impressive shooting stroke from beyond the arc throughout his college career — he knocked down 43.3% of his three-point attempts as a junior, increasing his career average to 40.1%. He’s considered one of the best outside shooters in this year’s class.
Murphy currently ranks as the No. 42 prospect on ESPN’s big board, making him a strong candidate to be drafted if he decides to go pro.
Here are a few more updates on early entrants declaring for the draft:
- Marcus Zegarowski, G, Creighton (junior): Zegarowski will enter the draft, he announced on Twitter, and the wording of his statement suggests he intends to go pro. After making the All-Big East Second Team in 2020, he earned a spot on the First Team in 2021, having averaged 15.8 PPG and 4.3 APG on .464/.421/.786 shooting in 29 games (33.6 MPG).
- Dawson Garcia, F, Marquette (freshman): Garcia announced on Instagram that he’ll test the draft waters without hiring an agent. He averaged 13.0 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 27 games (29.7 MPG) in his first college season, making the Big East All-Freshman team.
- Balsa Koprivica, C, Florida State (sophomore): Koprivica’s announcement on Twitter declaring his intent to enter the draft didn’t mention anything about maintaining his eligibility, so he’s likely going pro. As a sophomore in 2020/21, he recorded 9.1 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 24 games (19.5 MPG) as FSU’s primary starting center.
- Kevin Samuel, C, TCU (junior): Samuel, who has averaged 8.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in 95 games (26.1 MPG) across three college seasons, announced on Twitter that he’ll enter the draft while maintaining his NCAA eligibility. Samuel also tested the draft waters two years ago following his freshman season.
- Trevion Williams, F, Purdue (junior): Coming off an All-Big Ten season in which he posted a career-best 15.5 PPG and 9.1 RPG in 28 contests (25.1 MPG), Williams has opted to test the draft waters, he announced on Instagram.
Magic Waive Karim Mané
3:08pm: The Magic have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve waived Mané. It’s the third roster move of the day for Orlando, as the team also ended Cannady’s 10-day contract and signed Hall to a 10-day deal.
8:26am: The Magic are expected to waive rookie guard Karim Mané, who is on a two-way contract with the team, according to Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
Mané, who will turn 21 next month, signed a two-way contract with Orlando in November as an undrafted free agent out of Vanier College in Canada. He has appeared in just 10 games for the Magic, averaging 1.1 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 8.8 minutes per contest.
Mané saw more action in the NBA G League when he was assigned to the Walt Disney World bubble for the NBAGL’s 2020/21 season, but failed to take full advantage of the opportunity. In 15 games (22.3 MPG) with the Lakeland Magic, he recorded 5.5 PPG and 5.1 RPG with a dismal .340/.098/.364 shooting line.
According to Parry, Mané’s impending release is expected to be the first in a series of moves that will lead to Orlando signing Donta Hall to a 10-day contract.
Since Mané has been occupying a two-way contract slot and Hall will join the 15-man roster, it’s not clear what the next step is for the Magic — it’s possible the team is eyeing a two-way deal for one of its two young players currently on 10-day contracts (either Devin Cannady or Robert Franks).
Cuban: Implementing Play-In Tournament During Compressed Season A “Mistake”
Within the last 24 hours, Mavericks star Luka Doncic and team owner Mark Cuban have each criticized the concept of the NBA’s play-in tournament, as Tim MacMahon details in a pair of stories for ESPN.com.
Cuban is part of the NBA’s Board of Governors, which unanimously approved the proposal to implement a play-in tournament for the final two playoff spots in each conference. However, it sounds like the Mavericks owner is having second thoughts about the concept, calling it an “enormous mistake” to introduce the play-in games during a compressed season.
“The worst part of this approach is that it doubles the stress of the compressed schedule,” Cuban told ESPN. “Rather than playing for a playoff spot and being able to rest players as the standings become clearer, teams have to approach every game as a playoff game to either get into or stay in the top six since the consequences, as Luka said, are enormous. So players are playing more games and more minutes in fewer days.”
Cuban’s comments came the day after his franchise player offered his own criticism of the play-in idea.
“I don’t understand the idea of a play-in,” Doncic said on Monday. “You play 72 games to get into the playoffs, then maybe you lose two in a row and you’re out of the playoffs. So I don’t see the point of that.”
The play-in tournament will pit the seventh and eighth teams in each conference against one another, with the winner securing the No. 7 seed. The loser of that game will then face the winner of a game between the ninth and 10th seeds for the final playoff spot.
Cuban’s complaint about implementing the play-in tournament during a compressed schedule is valid, since teams are more concerned than ever about keeping players healthy while playing 72 games in 146 days (instead of the usual 82 in 177) following a shortened offseason.
Still, it’s hard to separate Cuban’s and Doncic’s critiques of the play-in tournament from Dallas’ place in the standings. The Mavericks currently have a 29-24 record, putting them seventh in the West and two games back of the sixth-seeded Trail Blazers. It’s perhaps no coincidence that Cuban offered an alternate solution that would allow the Mavs to avoid a play-in game.
“I get why the NBA is doing it,” Cuban said of the play-in tournament. “But if we are going to be creative because of COVID, we should go straight up 1-20 and let the bottom four (seeds) play in.”
If the league were to seed teams regardless of conference, allowing the top 12 to secure automatic postseason berths while the next eight participated in a play-in, the Mavs would be in better shape — they hold the NBA’s 10th-best record.
Warriors Notes: Wiseman, Center, Oubre, Curry
Asked on Monday about James Wiseman‘s status, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said the team was still getting “multiple opinions” on the rookie’s right knee injury. Reports on Sunday suggested Wiseman may miss the rest of the season due to a torn meniscus, but Kerr suggested last night that no decisions have been made yet.
“He had an MRI and so we’re having multiple experts look at the MRI to determine what’s next,” Kerr said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. “We don’t have any timetable yet. The biggest thing is making sure James is OK. He’s obviously had a lot of adversity this rookie season, with the wrist injury, now the knee injury and of course missing training camp, not having a summer league. He’s really gutted through a lot of difficulty. … And so this is yet another obstacle that’s been put in front of him.”
Here are a few more notes on the Warriors:
- Kevon Looney will replace Wiseman in Golden State’s lineup, and Kerr acknowledged on Monday that the team will consider adding another center to its roster before the end of the season, Friedell writes. “We’re obviously very thin in the frontcourt,” Kerr said. “That’s obviously something that we will be looking at as we go forward and once we get word on what James’ prognosis is.” The Warriors currently have one open spot on their 15-man roster and could create a second if they don’t re-sign Gary Payton II when his 10-day deal expires.
- Within the same ESPN story, Friedell notes that Kelly Oubre remains day-to-day with the wrist injury that sidelined him on Saturday and Monday. “I talked to him (on Monday), he said he’s feeling better,” Kerr said. “So I don’t think this will be a long absence, but we’ll just continue to say day-to-day.”
- Stephen Curry passed Wilt Chamberlain on Monday night to become the all-time leading scorer in Warriors history. With that in mind, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic explores what Curry and Chamberlain have meant to the Warriors and how both stars changed the game of basketball.
Joe Johnson Will Work Out For Bucks
Joe Johnson will make another attempt at an NBA comeback, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The 39-year-old swingman has a workout scheduled with the Bucks this week, sources tell Scotto.
Johnson has been out of the league since the 2017/18 season, when he played a combined 55 games for the Jazz and Rockets. He was part of the Team USA squad at the AmericaCup qualifying event in February, averaging 11 points, nine rebounds and 6.5 assists in two games.
He’s also known for his time in the BIG3 League, where he captured MVP honors in 2019 and earned a training camp invitation from the Pistons. He survived until the end of camp, but lost a battle for the final roster spot to Christian Wood.
Johnson played 17 NBA seasons and appeared in seven All-Star Games. Scotto suggests the Bucks are intrigued by his extensive playoff experience, as well as his ability to stretch the floor and score in isolation.
Milwaukee has an open roster spot, so Johnson could be added without making another move.
Blazers Add T.J. Leaf On Two-Way Contract
APRIL 13: The signing is official, the Blazers announced in a press release.
APRIL 5: The Trail Blazers are signing forward T.J. Leaf to a two-way contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Portland had an open two-way slot. Keljin Blevins is the other player signed to a two-way deal.
Leaf was waived by the Thunder prior to the season. He was acquired by Oklahoma City in an offseason trade, with the club receiving Leaf and a future second-round pick in a deal with the Pacers for Jalen Lecque.
Leaf, the 18th overall pick in the 2017 draft, failed to carve out a steady role as a rotation player during three seasons in Indiana. The former UCLA standout averaged just 3.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 28 games (7.9 MPG) for the Pacers in 2019/20.
Leaf had a guaranteed $4.33MM salary this season when he was waived. The 6’10” power forward is unlikely to see much action behind Robert Covington and Carmelo Anthony.
Pelicans Won’t Re-Sign Isaiah Thomas Immediately
The 10-day contract that Isaiah Thomas signed with the Pelicans has expired, and the team doesn’t plan to re-sign him to another deal right away, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN.
No decision has been made on the long-term future for Thomas, Lopez adds, but the team has luxury tax concerns and may use the entire two weeks the league allows to re-add a 14th man (Twitter link). Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) provides some additional details on how the Pelicans could eventually fill their two open roster spots before the end of the season while avoiding the tax.
Thomas made a positive impression on the Pelicans during his 10 days with the club, bringing veteran leadership and mentoring young players. However, recent injuries to Josh Hart and Nickeil Alexander-Walker could affect what New Orleans decides to do with its roster (Twitter link).
Playing for the first time in more than a year, Thomas appeared in three games, averaging 7.7 points and 1.7 assists in 16 minutes per night. If the Pelicans decide to re-sign him, they can offer one more 10-day contract before having to decide whether to keep him for the rest of the season.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 4/13/2021
Our weekly live chat, which takes place each Tuesday at noon central time (1:00pm ET), has now concluded.
If you have questions related to the playoff race, the upcoming offseason, the latest roster moves, the salary cap, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, or anything else NBA-related, be sure to join us on Tuesday, April 13 for our next live chat!
In the meantime, click here for the transcript of today’s chat.
Dennis Schröder On Knicks’ Radar For Offseason
After being linked to a number of point guards leading up to the trade deadline, the Knicks ultimately didn’t address the position. However, they’re expected to revisit the point guard market in the offseason, and Lakers veteran Dennis Schröder is one player on their radar, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
Schröder is in the final year of his current contract and has reportedly turned down a four-year extension offer worth $80MM+ from the Lakers. That’s a strong indication that he’ll be seeking at least $20MM per year in free agency.
As Begley observes, the Knicks should be able to open up in excess of $50MM in cap room this summer, though it remains to be seen how aggressive the team would be with Schröder. The team will be considering other point guard options as well, including Lonzo Ball of the Pelicans, according to both Begley and Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Unlike Ball, who will be a restricted free agent, Schröder will be unrestricted, meaning the Knicks wouldn’t have to worry about their offer being matched if they get a commitment. However, the Lakers will likely be very motivated to re-sign their starting point guard — even if Schröder walks, the Lakers will be over the cap next season, meaning they wouldn’t be able to easily add a comparable replacement.
After a career year in Oklahoma City in 2019/20 (18.9 PPG on .469/.385/.839 shooting), Schröder’s numbers this season are more in line with his career rates. He has averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 3.5 RPG with a .432/.338/.848 shooting line in 50 games (31.7 MPG) for the Lakers.