Central Notes: Pistons, Prince, Bulls, Cavaliers
At 19-43, the Pistons currently are tied with the Magic for the third-best lottery odds in the NBA. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic wonders if Detroit is willing to go all-in on playing youngsters – including projects like Deividas Sirvydis – over veterans in its quest to maximize the team’s lottery odds as the season winds down.
Edwards is hopeful that the Pistons will do their darnedest to avoid too many more victories over superior teams, like their Monday 100-86 defeat of the Hawks sans star point guard Trae Young, to maximize their odds of landing a potentially transformative top-four pick.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Though Cavaliers forward Taurean Prince only underwent season-ending ankle surgery this past Tuesday, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets that the issue is relatively long-term. The swingman considered surgery to address the issue even prior to the start of the 2020/21 season, per Fedor.
- Chicago’s United Center, home to the Bulls and the NHL’s Blackhawks, will begin to welcome fans back for in-door game attendance at 25% capacity on May 7, per a team press release. Hundreds of friends and family of players will begin being permitted to attend games on May 7. Among other precautions, fans will be required to take a COVID-19 test 12 hours prior to tip-off.
- With a 21-41 record, the Cavaliers are currently the No. 13 seed in the East and are bound for the 2021 draft lottery in what looks to be a stacked year. Kelsey Russo and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic appraise the various draft scenarios and trade options available to Cleveland as it heads into the offseason. The Athletic’s duo also considers which players among their intriguing roster that includes Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, rookie Isaac Okoro, and Jarrett Allen are keepers and which could be more valuable in trades.
Draft Notes: Carton, Ramey, Culver, International Prospects
Marquette sophomore guard D.J. Carton has decided to enter the 2021 NBA draft and forgo his remaining college eligibility, the program announced in a press release.
Carton, who transferred to Marquette after spending his freshman year at Ohio State, averaged 13.0 points and 3.4 assists per game in 27 contests (31.1 MPG) in 2020/21. However, he struggled with his three-point shot, making just 28.2% of his attempts after knocking down 40.0% as a freshman. He also turned the ball over 3.2 times per game.
Here are a few more draft-related updates:
- Texas junior guard Courtney Ramey announced on Instagram that he’ll test the draft waters. Ramey averaged 12.2 PPG and 3.9 APG in 26 games (33.5 MPG) for the Longhorns in 2020/21.
- As 247Sports.com first reported and as Schuyler Callihan of SI.com further details, West Virginia forward/center Derek Culver has decided to leave school and go pro, forgoing his senior year. He put up 14.3 PPG and 9.4 RPG in 29 games (26.3 MPG) for the Mountaineers as a junior.
- It has been more challenging than ever for NBA teams to scout international prospects in person this year, but there are a handful of players overseas generating buzz as potential first-round picks. Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) and John Hollinger of The Athletic both took a closer look at some of those top international prospects, with a focus on intriguing Turkish big man Alperen Sengun.
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report identifies three realistic targets for each NBA team with a first-round pick, based on their needs and where they’ll likely be drafting.
Nets Notes: Irving, Johnson, James
Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been ruled out for Thursday’s game vs. Indiana due to right groin soreness, the team announced today (via Twitter).
As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Irving’s games-played total will be worth keeping an eye on down the stretch, since a couple of his contract bonuses hinge on him playing in at least 53 games — he’d have to appear in seven of Brooklyn’s nine contests after tonight in order to meet that threshold.
Irving’s contract includes eight separate bonuses, each worth $131,250. Some are out of reach, including playing 62 games and recording a defensive rating below 106 (he’s at 113.9). However, Kyrie is on track to reach some of his incentive benchmarks, including an offensive rating of 114+ (he’s at 119.9) and shooting at least 88.5% from the free throw line (he’s at 92.3%).
As Marks tweets, Irving would also receive three separate $131,250 bonuses for making at least 2.8 three-pointers per game, committing fewer than 2.4 turnovers per game (in 53+ games), and attempting at least 4.6 free throws per game (in 53+ games). His per-game averages in those categories so far are 2.7 threes, 2.5 turnovers, and 4.3 free throw attempts.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- Nets forward Alize Johnson is available to play against Indiana on Thursday night, according to the team (Twitter link). Johnson missed the team’s last three games after being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
- Mike James is making a strong initial impression in Brooklyn, racking up 11 points and eight assists in Tuesday’s win over Toronto and making a case to stick around beyond his current 10-day contract, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “He’s an athletic and skilled player. As long as he plays simple and makes good basketball plays — like he has with us those first few games — he can play a role for us,” head coach Steve Nash said. “He has a burst of pace, he can get into paint, play draw-and-kick.”
- While James’ new coach has been impressed by him so far, it doesn’t sound like two of his old coaches miss him much. As Lewis relays in a separate New York Post story, CSKA Moscow’s Dimitris Itoidis and Olimpia Milano’s Ettore Messina both offered less-than-glowing reviews of James’ locker room presence.
- In case you missed it, we passed along word on Wednesday that Nets star James Harden still isn’t close to returning from his hamstring injury.
Clippers Sign Yogi Ferrell To Multiyear Deal
1:58pm: The Clippers have officially announced their new multiyear deal with Ferrell.
1:20pm: The Clippers will bring back Yogi Ferrell after his 10-day contract with the club expired on Wednesday night, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, Ferrell will sign a rest-of-season deal that includes a non-guaranteed salary for 2021/22.
Ferrell, who will turn 28 in May, signed a 10-day contract with the Clippers on April 29 and appeared in three games with the team over the course of those 10 days. The veteran point guard played well in a limited role, averaging 4.7 points and 3.3 assists with a .400/.500/1.000 shooting line in 9.7 minutes per contest. He didn’t commit a single turnover in those three games.
While Ferrell likely won’t have a role in the postseason, he’ll be an important depth piece down the stretch for the Clippers as long as Patrick Beverley (hand) remains sidelined.
The former Indiana Hoosier, who made his NBA debut in 2016, spent time with the Nets, Mavericks, Kings, and Cavaliers before arriving in Los Angeles. He also played in this year’s G League bubble at Walt Disney World, averaging 15.4 PPG and 4.0 APG in 14 games (28.3 MPG) for the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s NBAGL affiliate.
Once Ferrell’s new deal has been officially completed, the Clippers will have a full 15-man roster, with both two-way slots occupied as well. Unless a player with a guaranteed salary is released between now and the end of the regular season, the current group figures to be the one the team carries into the playoffs.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Early Bird Rights
Bird rights offer teams the chance to sign their own free agents without regard to the salary cap, but they don’t apply to every player. Other salary cap exceptions are available for teams to keep players who don’t qualify for Bird rights. One such exception is the Early Bird, which applies to players formally known as Early Qualifying Veteran Free Agents.
While the Bird exception is for players who have spent three seasons with one club without changing teams as a free agent, Early Bird rights are earned after just two such seasons. Virtually all of the same rules that apply to Bird rights apply to Early Bird rights, with the requirements condensed to two years rather than three. Players still see their Bird clocks restart by changing teams via free agency, being claimed in an expansion draft, or having their rights renounced.
As is the case with Bird rights, a player’s clock stops when he’s released by a team and clears waivers, but it would pick up where it left off if he re-signs with that same team down the road without joining another club in the interim. For instance, if Glenn Robinson III – released by the Kings earlier this season before the end of his one-year contract – were to sign a new one-year deal with Sacramento during the 2021 offseason, the team would have his Early Bird rights in the 2022 offseason.
The crucial difference between Bird rights and Early Bird rights involves the limitations on contract offers. Bird players can receive maximum-salary deals for up to five years, while the most a team can offer an Early Bird free agent without using cap space is 175% of his previous salary (up to the max) or 105% of the league-average salary in the previous season, whichever is greater.
These offers are also capped at four years rather than five, and the new contracts must run for at least two years — the second year can be non-guaranteed, but can’t be a team or player option.
Richaun Holmes (Kings), Danny Green (Sixers), Derrick Rose (Knicks), T.J. McConnell (Pacers), and Enes Kanter (Trail Blazers) are among the most notable free agents who will have Early Bird rights at the end of the 2020/21 season.
In some instances, teams can benefit from having Early Bird rights instead of full Bird rights if they’re trying to preserve cap space. The cap hold for an Early Bird player is 130% of his previous salary, significantly less than most Bird players, whose cap holds range from 150-300% of their previous salaries.
That could help a team like the Knicks, who project to have cap space in the 2021 offseason. The cap hold for Rose, who is earning $7.68MM this season, will be a shade under $10MM. His starting salary on a new deal could be higher than that.
If the Knicks reach an agreement to re-sign Rose near the start of free agency, they could wait to make it official, keeping his cap hold on the books until they use the rest of their cap room, maximizing that space. Then they could go over the cap to finalize Rose’s deal using the Early Bird exception.
However, having a player’s Early Bird rights instead of his full Bird rights puts a team at a disadvantage in other cases. For instance, when Christian Wood reached free agency last offseason, his Early Bird rights only allowed the Pistons to offer a starting salary of up to about $10.05MM, a figure the Rockets topped in their three-year, $41MM offer.
In order to match or exceed that number, Detroit would have had to use cap room — having Wood’s full Bird rights would’ve allowed the Pistons to make a far more substantial offer without cap space. The Kings could find themselves in a similar dilemma with Holmes this summer.
Meanwhile, some players with limited NBA experience are subject to a special wrinkle involving Early Bird rights, called the Gilbert Arenas Provision, which applies to players who have only been in the league for one or two years. We cover the Arenas Provision in a separate glossary entry, so you can read up on the details there. It would apply this offseason to a player like Lakers wing Talen Horton-Tucker.
Finally, one more distinction between Bird rights and Early Bird rights applies to waivers. Players who are claimed off waivers retain their Early Bird rights, just as they would if they were traded. Those who had Bird rights instead see those reduced to Early Bird rights if they’re claimed off waivers. This rule stems from a 2012 settlement between the league and the union in which J.J. Hickson was given a special exception and retained his full Bird rights for the summer of 2012 even though he had been claimed off waivers that March.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Timberwolves Notes: Lottery Pick, Henry, Russell
The 2021 first-round pick the Timberwolves traded to the Warriors has top-three protection, so you could make a case that it’s in the team’s best interest to lose as much as possible down the stretch, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. However, the Wolves’ actions at the trade deadline and on the court suggest the team is prioritizing building some late-season momentum that could carry over to next season.
Karl-Anthony Towns has dealt with a nagging wrist issue this season and D’Angelo Russell is coming off knee surgery, but the Wolves have shown no interest in resting those players down the stretch, Krawczynski observes. While Minnesota has hardly been dominant lately, the club has won five of its last seven games after starting the season 14-42.
As our reverse standings show, the Wolves still have the NBA’s second-worst record, but a few more wins in the season’s final 18 days could move them anywhere from fourth to sixth in those reverse standings, reducing their odds of securing a top-three pick. Although the franchise could certainly use another impact player, it appears Gersson Rosas‘ group is content to keep its foot on the gas and to let the lottery balls fall where they may, writes Krawczynski.
Here’s more on the Wolves:
- If Minnesota wins a few more games, it could end up hurting the Warriors more than the Timberwolves, contends Michael Rand of The Star Tribune. If the Wolves finish with the NBA’s worst record, Golden State would have a 60% chance of landing either the No. 4 or No. 5 overall pick. But if Minnesota finishes the season fourth in the lottery standings, that pick could slide as far as No. 8. From an optics perspective, giving up a pick in that range would be far better for the Wolves than sending the Warriors a top-five selection, says Rand.
- Following up on a report that Baskonia guard Pierria Henry is considering an offer from the Timberwolves, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News notes (via Twitter) that a buyout with Henry’s Spanish club would need to be worked out. According to Wolfson, who suggests Rosas and the Wolves have long been interested in Henry, there should be resolution one way or the other by the end of the week.
- He still hasn’t been inserted back into the starting lineup following his return from knee surgery, but D’Angelo Russell is showing now why the Timberwolves were willing to give up a lightly-protected first-round pick to acquire him at the 2020 trade deadline, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The newly-healthy point guard is averaging 19.6 points and 5.5 assists per game on .468/.419/.870 shooting in 13 games (25.9 MPG) this month. “My body feeling the way it feels has a lot to do with my individual success,” Russell said.
Pro Football Rumors Has Your NFL Draft Coverage
After weeks of build-up, the 2021 NFL draft is just hours away, and our friends at Pro Football Rumors have you covered, providing all the latest draft- and trade-related rumors.
Check out the site for up-to-the-second updates and follow @pfrumors on Twitter!
Southwest Notes: Gay, Wood, Louzada, Burke
Spurs forward Rudy Gay has secured a $500K bonus after appearing in his 53rd game of the season on Wednesday night, reports Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).
Gay’s contract with the Spurs includes a $500K annual incentive if he plays in at least 60 games. However, that 60-game threshold applies to a typical 82-game season. Prorated across just 72 games this season, that worked out to 52.7, meaning Gay had to play in 53 games to earn his bonus.
Because Gay received the bonus last season as well, it was deemed “likely” entering this year and was already baked into his $14.5MM cap hit for 2020/21, Marks notes. As such, the Spurs won’t have to account for a higher cap charge than expected at season’s end.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Christian Wood, who signed a three-year, $41MM deal with the Rockets just five months ago, is out to prove that he’s deserving of an even bigger payday when that contract expires. “I just want to show fans that by the time this contract’s up I think I’m gonna be a max (contract) player,” Wood said this week, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link).
- While Didi Louzada‘s offensive game remains a work in progress, there’s optimism that he can be a positive contributor on the defensive end soon, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. The 22-year-old wing, a second-round pick in 2019, signed his first NBA contract with the Pelicans on Tuesday.
- Mavericks guard Trey Burke, who signed a three-year contract last offseason, began the season as a regular contributor, but saw his role cut back starting in February, then fell out of the rotation when J.J. Redick arrived earlier this month. Over the last two games, he has once again been a factor, averaging nearly 30 minutes per game, as Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News details. “It could go from you being DNPs to you playing 15 to 20 minutes a night,” Burke said. “You just never know, always got to stay ready. For me, this year has been tough. It’s been something that I’ve kind of battled with myself.”
Pacers’ Pritchard Talks Holiday, McMillan, Small Market, More
It’s fair to say the Pacers have underachieved relative to expectations this season. After going 45-28 and finishing fourth in the East a year ago, the team is currently just 29-32 and will likely have to win one – if not two – play-in games to earn a postseason berth next month.
Still, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard isn’t disappointed with his team’s play, telling Bob Kravitz of The Athletic that it’s hard to properly evaluate the roster, given the outsized impact the coronavirus has had on the season, as well as all the injuries Indiana has endured.
“This season has been unlike any I’ve been a part of, and it’s proven to be challenging on many fronts. I’ve got a lot of scar tissue from this season; we all do,” Pritchard said. “In some ways, it’s been less about basketball than a lot of other things. But look at it, we’re a few games within fourth, and to go through what we’ve gone through as far as injuries, I want to see how this one plays out. We could have shut it down, but we’re playing hard; we’re just severely undermanned right now.
“We’re not that far away,” Pritchard added, “but because of all these injuries now, it feels like we’re miles away.”
T.J. Warren has been sidelined for nearly the entire season, while Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, and Caris LeVert are among the others who have missed time due to injuries.
As a result, Pritchard tells Kravitz that he still isn’t sure whether the roster will require a major overhaul or just a few tweaks this offseason. He’s also not ready to draw any conclusions about the long-term viability of the Turner/Sabonis frontcourt pairing.
“I’d like to answer that after the playoffs because that’s when it really counts,” Pritchard said of the two centers. “Hopefully, Myles will be back in time.”
Here are a few more highlights from Kravitz’s Q&A with the Pacers’ president, which covers plenty of ground and is worth checking out in full if you’re an Athletic subscriber:
On Aaron Holiday‘s down year:
“We still believe in Aaron. Sometimes in a year, for whatever reason, you prepare but you have some guys playing very well at his position. I know (head coach) Nate (Bjorkgren) wants to reward the guys who played well this year, and Aaron simply hasn’t played as well. We’ll need him at some point in time, believe me. Players who stay prepared almost invariably get another shot, and he’ll get another shot, but he’ll have to hit shots and play within our system.”
On whether there are any regrets about firing Nate McMillan, who is thriving in Atlanta:
“Look, Nate is a great friend; we worked together for more than a decade. I want him to do well. He’s got a really good team, good chemistry, and they’re going to be a tough team in the playoffs. But no animosity and no regret at all. This is a transitory business. If we were dismayed by people leaving us and having success elsewhere, what would that say about us? I’m happy for Nate, just the way I’m happy for Frank Vogel.”
On Paul George and Victor Oladipo both pushing their way out of Indiana, and whether there’s concern about a perception that stars don’t want to play for the Pacers:
“I think they’re all independent situations, first of all. We obsess with making this a great place for players. … Great training facility, the best doctors in the world. And look, Malcolm (Brogdon) chose us, the Rookie of the Year chose us, and he’s had a great experience.
“We get it; we’re not for everybody. We don’t have the beach and the big city, but it’s a great place to play basketball in front of people who truly appreciate when you play the right way. Great fans, educated fans, great facilities, and I always say this now: Players get marketed all around the world. Social media could be the great equalizer. You can be in a smaller market and still have a national profile.”
On how to deal with the challenge of being a small-market team:
“We’ve done some things well and haven’t done some things well, but for us, it almost feels like you have to play a perfect game to be hyper-competitive. There are teams who can make personnel mistakes; we really can’t. Our biggest source of players is trades, and that’s really tough. Trades are challenging. I feel good about the ones we’ve made, and we have to draft better, and we will, but I still have a ton of confidence in our scouting staff. It’s just, yes, it’s a major challenge given the fact that the bifurcation of the top teams seems to be getting greater in comparison with the mid- and small-market teams. That’s something we’re always going to have to deal with.”
Injury Notes: Hornets, Huerter, Warren, DSJ, Bagley
The Hornets will see if LaMelo Ball and Malik Monk are ready for game action during their off days Thursday and Friday, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Ball had surgery March 23 on his fractured right wrist, while Monk has been sidelined since April 1 with a sprained ankle. Both players will take part in 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 scrimmages over the next two days.
The news isn’t as encouraging for Gordon Hayward, Bonnell adds. He’s still wearing a protective boot on his injured right foot and there’s no timetable for him to start working out. “Gordon is not there yet,” coach James Borrego said.
Here are some more injury-related notes and updates:
- The Hawks are getting a second opinion on Kevin Huerter‘s sprained left shoulder, tweets Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Huerter underwent an MRI this week, but the results haven’t been announced.
- Pacers forward T.J. Warren, who will miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot, began jogging today on a treadmill, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link). Coach Nate Bjorkgren called it “a big step” for the 27-year-old forward.
- Dennis Smith Jr. hasn’t been able to practice lately and the Pistons don’t have a timeline for him to return from left knee soreness, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “That’s why it’s so important that Killian (Hayes) came back,” said coach Dwane Casey. “… It’s unfortunate that he’s been hurt, but injury is something you have to deal with.”
- Marvin Bagley III could return soon from his hand injury, Kings coach Luke Walton tells James Ham of NBC Sports (Twitter link). Bagley has participated in some 3-on-3 games and may be ready to start playing in the next few days.