2021 December | Hoops Rumors

Nuggets Sign Davon Reed To Third 10-Day Hardship Deal

December 30th, 2021 at 8:33pm CST by Luke Adams

8:33pm: Reed’s third 10-day deal with the Nuggets is now official, the team announced. With three new Nuggets players entering the protocols today, Reed’s latest contract will again be completed using a COVID-related hardship exception.

10:13am: The Nuggets are signing guard Davon Reed to a third 10-day contract using a hardship exception, reports Mike Singer of The Denver Post. The deal is expected to be finalized on Thursday prior to Denver’s game against Golden State, says Singer.

Reed, the 32nd overall pick in the 2017 draft, had been out of the NBA for the last two seasons, but made a strong impression on the Nuggets during his first two 10-day deals with the team this month. In nine games (17.1 MPG), he averaged 5.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 1.2 SPG with a shooting line of .514/.438/.667.

Typically, a player is limited to no more than two 10-day contracts with the same team in a single season. However, it appears that rule has been adjusted for hardship signings.

It’s also worth noting that the Nuggets no longer have any players in the health and safety protocols, which has generally been what qualifies a team for a hardship signing in recent weeks. However, Denver has four players – Michael Porter, Jamal Murray, PJ Dozier, and Markus Howard – out with long-term injuries, which means the team is eligible for a traditional hardship exception unrelated to COVID-19.

In instances this season where hardship additions have been necessitated by players in the health and safety protocols, the NBA has allowed clubs to not have those 10-day deals count toward team salary for cap and tax purposes. As Singer tweets, it’s unclear whether or not that rule would apply to Reed’s third 10-day contract if he signs via injury hardship rather than COVID hardship.

COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Trail Blazers, Heat, Rockets, Sixers, I. Thomas, More

December 30th, 2021 at 8:22pm CST by Rory Maher

The league continues to be battered by players entering and exiting the health and safety protocols. If any of the players entering the protocols registered a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, they’ll remain sidelined for at least six days or until they can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

Here are the latest updates from around the NBA:

Bradley Beal, Anthony Gill, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have exited the protocols and are active Thursday night for the Wizards, but Spencer Dinwiddie has entered the protocols, as reported by Shams Charania and Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (all four Twitter links).
Anfernee Simons and Brandon Williams have entered the protocols for the Trail Blazers, while Dennis Smith Jr. and Ben McLemore have exited and rejoined the team, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
The Heat‘s outbreak continues, as Duncan Robinson and Marcus Garrett have entered the protocols, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets.
DeJon Jarreau has entered the protocols for the Rockets, as reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Shake Milton has exited the protocols and is active Thursday night for the Sixers, according to Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Head coach Doc Rivers isn’t the only coach affected, as “several coaches,” including Sam Cassell and Brian Adams, are also in the protocols, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets.
Others entering protocols: Isaiah Thomas, who just signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks Wednesday, Ivica Zubac of the Clippers, and Xavier Tillman of the Grizzlies, per the three teams’ PR departments (all Twitter links).
Others exiting protocols: Trevor Ariza for the Lakers, Lou Williams for the Hawks, and Ed Davis for the Cavaliers, according to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter), and Chris Kirschner and Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter links). Neemias Queta has cleared the protocols for the Kings, a source tells Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe has also exited the protocols, Brian Lewis of The New York Post tweets.

Suns Sign M.J. Walker Via Hardship Exception

December 30th, 2021 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

4:57pm: The Suns have officially inked Walker to a 10-day deal, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (via Twitter).

11:55am: The Suns are signing swingman M.J. Walker to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Walker, 23, went undrafted out of Florida State earlier this year after averaging 12.2 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.5 RPG in 24 games (29.0 MPG) as a senior in 2020/21. He posted an impressive three-point shooting percentage of 42.3% and earned a spot on the All-ACC Second Team.

As a rookie this season, Walker has been playing for the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate. In 13 games (29.4 MPG), he has averaged 10.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.2 APG on .405/.411/.833 shooting.

The Suns currently have four players in the health and safety protocols after Elfrid Payton and Abdel Nader entered the protocols on Wednesday. Walker will be the team’s second hardship addition, joining Emanuel Terry.

Wizards Sign Jaime Echenique To 10-Day Deal

December 30th, 2021 at 4:13pm CST by Rory Maher

The Wizards have signed center Jaime Echenique to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception, the team announced.

The 6’11” big man has been playing for the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League affiliate. In 14 games with the club, Echenique has averaged 12.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. He also spent Summer League, preseason and training camp with the Wizards prior to being released.

Echenique spent the 2020/21 season in Spain with Acunsa GBC. In 18 games (20.3 minutes), he averaged 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks. He played his last two seasons of college ball with Wichita State.

As Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington details, Echenique is now the first Colombian-born player in NBA history after receiving his first contract. He’s grateful for the opportunity the Wizards have given him. “It’s just been a dream come true to be in this position,” Echenique said. “I’ve been enjoying it. I’m grateful to God for the opportunity.”

Heat Signing Mario Chalmers To 10-Day Deal

December 30th, 2021 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat are reuniting with an old friend, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who hears from agent Jerry Dianis that Mario Chalmers will return to the team on a 10-day hardship contract.

Chalmers, 35, spent the first seven-plus years of his NBA career in Miami from 2008-15 and won a pair of championships during that time. Across nine total NBA seasons, the veteran guard averaged 8.9 PPG and 3.7 APG on .417/.351/.793 shooting in 646 regular season games (26.7 MPG). He also appeared in 99 postseason contests for the Heat.

Chalmers hasn’t played in the NBA since 2018, but – as we reported earlier this month – he recently signed a G League contract in the hopes of getting back into the league. He appeared in two games for the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G League affiliate, before catching on with the Heat.

Miami has reached a series of 10-day agreements this week after having been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19. The team officially signed Kyle Guy, Aric Holman, and Haywood Highsmith today and also has a deal lined up with Nik Stauskas.

If Stauskas and Chalmers officially sign within the next 24 hours or so, we could see them in action as soon as Friday night in Houston.

NBA Postpones Nuggets/Warriors Game

December 30th, 2021 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is postponing Thursday night’s game in Denver between the Nuggets and Warriors, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Nuggets don’t have the required minimum of eight available players, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

As we outlined earlier today, the Nuggets had three players – Jeff Green, Bones Hyland, and Zeke Nnaji – enter the health and safety protocols. The team also has four players – Jamal Murray, Michael Porter, PJ Dozier, and Markus Howard – out with long-term injuries.

If everyone else had been good to go, Denver would still have 10 players on hand — or even 11, if Davon Reed signed his new 10-day contract prior to tip-off. However, Vlatko Cancar (non-COVID illness), Aaron Gordon (hamstring), Monte Morris (knee), and Austin Rivers (thumb) were all listed as questionable on this afternoon’s injury report — if all of them were deemed unavailable, the Nuggets would have only had six or seven healthy players.

The Nuggets will likely look to complete another hardship deal or two besides Reed’s before their next scheduled game on Saturday in Houston.

This postponement is the 11th of the NBA season, as our tracker shows. All of those postponements have occurred since December 14.

Bulls Sign Jordan Bell To 10-Day Contract

December 30th, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 30: Bell’s 10-day deal with the Bulls is now official, according to the transactions log at NBA.com. It will run through January 8, covering Chicago’s next four games.

DECEMBER 29: The Bulls plan to sign big man Jordan Bell to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will use a hardship exception to complete the move.

Bell technically was a Bull once before, having been drafted by the team with the 38th overall pick in 2017 — his rights were quickly dealt to the Warriors on draft night in exchange for cash.

Since 2017, Bell has appeared in a total of 160 regular season games for Golden State, Minnesota, Memphis, and Washington, averaging 3.7 PPG and 3.1 RPG on 12.1 minutes per contest. He also played in 32 postseason games with the Warriors and won a title in 2018. The 26-year-old had been playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League this season, averaging 10.8 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.6 BPG in nine games (28.6 MPG).

Perhaps no team has been hit harder in the last month by COVID-19 than the Bulls, who placed power forward Marko Simonovic in the health and safety protocols earlier today, per Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link).

Although Chicago only has five players in the protocols for the time being, nearly all the team’s players have been affected by COVID-19 at some point this month. As K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets, Alex Caruso and Tyler Cook are the only players on the team’s standard 17-man roster who haven’t been in the protocols this season.

Frank Jackson Out At Least 7-10 Days With Ankle Sprain

December 30th, 2021 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Pistons guard Frank Jackson has been diagnosed with a lateral ankle sprain after undergoing tests on his right ankle, the team announced today in a press release. Jackson injured the ankle in the second quarter of Detroit’s loss to New York on Wednesday.

According to the Pistons, Jackson will be reevaluated in about seven-to-10 days, at which point an update on his status will be provided.

Jackson is averaging a career-high 10.7 PPG this season for the Pistons in 33 games. His 22.7 minutes per game are also a career high and his role has only increased recently due to a series of COVID-related absences and injuries. He was in the starting lineup for Detroit’s last three games.

The Pistons’ options at the point guard spot will be extremely limited in the short term, with Jackson, Cade Cunningham, Cory Joseph, and Saben Lee all either injured or in the health and safety protocols. Hardship additions Derrick Walton and Justin Robinson figure to take the lead on ball-handling responsibilities until the team starts getting some of its regulars back.

Jordan Crawford Signs G League Contract

December 30th, 2021 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA guard Jordan Crawford has signed a G League contract in advance of the NBAGL’s regular season, agent Darrell Comer tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

The 27th overall pick in the 2010 draft, Crawford appeared in 281 total regular season games between 2010-18 for the Hawks, Wizards, Celtics, Warriors, and Pelicans. He averaged 12.2 PPG, 3.1 APG, and 2.5 RPG on .411/.317/.826 shooting in 24.4 minutes per contest.

Since last appearing in the NBA in 2018, Crawford has played for a handful of international teams, spending time in Israel, China, Germany, Russia, and Turkey. He’s now seeking an NBA comeback.

The G League season is scheduled to get underway next Wednesday, January 5.

Heat Sign Haywood Highsmith To 10-Day Contract

December 30th, 2021 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 30: Highsmith has officially signed his 10-day contract, the Heat announced in a press release. Miami also formally finalized their deals with Guy and Holman today.

DECEMBER 29: The Heat intend to sign forward Haywood Highsmith to a 10-day deal, agent Jerry Dianis tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link). The deal will be completed using a hardship exception.

Miami has been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19 as of late, resulting in a postponement of the team’s game in San Antonio on Wednesday. The Heat, who have already reportedly reached deals with Kyle Guy and Aric Holman, may need to continue adding replacement players to avoid risking any additional postponements.

Highsmith, who turned 25 earlier this month, had a brief stint with the Sixers in 2018/19, appearing in five games for the club on a two-way contract. He also spent the 2020/21 season in Germany, but has otherwise played mostly for the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League affiliate, since going pro in ’18.

In 12 games (27.8 MPG) for Delaware this season, Highsmith averaged 14.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 1.1 SPG with a shooting line of .472/.391/.737. He also played on USA Basketball’s 2023 World Cup qualifying team in November.

Month: April 2024