Wizards Waive Anžejs Pasečņiks
JANUARY 18: The move is official, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
JANUARY 17: The Wizards will waive center Anžejs Pasečņiks, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. Pasečņiks had a $350K partial guarantee on his minimum-salary contract with the club.
Pasečņiks was initially selected by the Sixers (by way of a trade with the Magic) with the No. 25 pick in the 2017 draft. The seven-footer remained in Europe, where he had been playing for Herbalife Gran Canaria in Spain since 2015, through the 2018/19 season.
The Sixers renounced their rights to Pasečņiks that summer. After he impressed the Wizards in their 2019 summer league, he was eventually signed to a two-way contract for the 2019/20 season and split time between the Wizards and their G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.
Pasečņiks appeared in 27 games for the Wizards during his rookie season, averaging 5.8 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 16.2 MPG. This season, the 25-year-old appeared in just one game for Washington.
The Wizards, who have not played a game since their 128-107 defeat of the Suns on January 11 due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, will now have 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts, with one open spot on their 15-man roster.
Rockets Rumors: Harden, Tucker, TPE, Oladipo
When the Rockets finally moved James Harden last week, multiple reports indicated that it came down to the Nets and Sixers. However, those weren’t the only two teams with legitimate interest in the former MVP during the final days of the Harden sweepstakes.
According to Kelly Iko and Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Celtics remained in the hunt for Harden in the later stages of negotiations. While Danny Ainge publicly said that Boston and Houston hadn’t had any recent discussions, sources tell The Athletic that the Rockets saw the C’s as “part of their process” until the end. Iko and Amick report that Houston also received multiple “big” offers from teams that weren’t on Harden’s wish list.
Still, according to The Athletic, by the time Harden gave his infamous final press conference as a Rocket – during which he criticized the team as “not good enough” – he knew a move to Brooklyn was close. He had been receiving regular updates on the situation, per Iko and Amick, who say that the Sixers’ interest was “very real,” but that the Nets kept upping the ante with their offers.
Here’s more on the Rockets and the Harden saga:
- According to Iko and Amick, Rockets held a team meeting following their second consecutive blowout loss to the Lakers last week, and John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins both spoke, seeking answers about Harden’s level of commitment, buy-in, and accountability. Harden made it clear during that meeting that the newcomers hadn’t been in Houston long enough to understand what was going on, per The Athletic. Jae’Sean Tate would later describe that meeting as the point where the Rockets “drew the line” on the situation.
- A contract extension offer is on the table for P.J. Tucker, but he hasn’t accepted it and appears to have tabled those negotiations for now, sources tell Iko and Amick. While Tucker is prepared to spend the rest of the season with the team, he also wouldn’t necessary be opposed to a trade, according to The Athletic. A separate report indicated that the Rockets are demanding three second-round picks in return for the 35-year-old forward.
- Rockets GM Rafael Stone said over the weekend that the team plans to be aggressive in attempting to use the $10.65MM traded player exception it created in the Harden deal. Iko and Amick suggest that’s not just posturing — the team has also privately indicated it will attempt to use that TPE to land a quality player.
- Stephen Silas‘ high opinion of Victor Oladipo was a factor in Houston’s decision to acquire him, Iko and Amick report. The Rockets want to take a serious look at Oladipo in the coming months and decide whether he fits into their long-term plans. For his part, Oladipo intends to evaluate the fit as well, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. “If things work out, if I’m happy,” Oladipo said, adding that he’s “blessed and fortunate” to be in Houston. “Essentially, it’s like a business plan. You have to go through every aspect of the business plan, kind of figure out if you want to invest in it.”
Cavs Expected To Trade Or Release Porter Following Locker Room Incident
The Cavaliers are expected to either trade or release second-year wing Kevin Porter Jr. following an incident in the team’s locker room on Friday, multiple sources tell Jason Lloyd, Joe Vardon, Kelsey Russo, and Shams Charania of The Athletic.
According to The Athletic’s report, Porter became angry when he entered the locker room and found that the club had given his old locker to newly-acquired forward Taurean Prince. Sources tell The Athletic that Porter’s locker had been moved to a wall where the “younger, end-of-bench players reside.”
Porter began yelling and at one point threw food, according to The Athletic’s reporters, who say that the 20-year-old remained combative when confronted by general manager Koby Altman. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff also entered the locker room during the outburst, having heard the commotion from his office, and was “shocked and disgusted by what he heard,” per The Athletic.
Cleveland spent the weekend attempting to trade Porter, according to Lloyd, Vardon, Russo, and Charania.
Porter, the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft, had a promising rookie season, averaging 10.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG on .442/.335/.723 shooting in 50 games (23.2 MPG). However, he has yet to play for the Cavs this season for personal reasons.
The former USC swingman was arrested in November after flipping his Mercedes SUV. He was charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a felony, in addition to misdemeanors for driving without a license and marijuana possession. All charges were dropped in December by a grand jury.
Porter is earning $1.72MM this season and $1.78MM in 2021/22, with a $3.22MM team option for ’22/23. If he plays out the contract, he’d be extension-eligible in 2022 and RFA-eligible in 2023.
Rockets Seeking Three Second-Round Picks For Tucker?
After replenishing their stash of first-round picks by acquiring four first-rounders (and four more potential pick swaps) in their deal sending James Harden to Brooklyn, the Rockets are reportedly looking to stockpile second-round picks if they move forward P.J. Tucker.
League sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that the Rockets are currently demanding three second-round picks in return for Tucker, who has been receiving trade interest from teams around the NBA.
[RELATED: Wolves Expected To Re-Engage With Rockets On P.J. Tucker]
Tucker is a strong, versatile defender and a reliable three-point shooter who is making just $8MM this season, making him an ideal fit for any contender. On the other hand, he’s 35 years old and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, so teams may be reluctant to meet Houston’s asking price.
Houston previously traded away its second-round picks in 2022, 2023, and 2027. The team has acquired Golden State’s 2024 second-round selection and has the ability to swap second-round picks with Philadelphia in 2021, but would benefit from landing two or three extra second-rounders for Tucker — those picks could be used to draft cheap young talent in future seasons or could help grease the wheels on future trades.
Within the same Ringer article, O’Connor reports that the Rockets were seeking Ben Simmons, Tyrese Maxey, and three first-round picks from Philadelphia when the two teams discussed Harden last week.
The Sixers were reportedly prepared to surrender Simmons and Matisse Thybulle, but were said to be reluctant to part with Maxey and apparently felt Houston’s final asking price was too high. It’s also unclear how willing Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta was to send Harden to Philadelphia, where former Houston GM Daryl Morey is the Sixers’ new president of basketball operations.
2021 NBA Free Agents By Team
Hoops Rumors’ up-to-date list of 2021 free agents by team is below. These are players who were eligible for restricted or unrestricted free agency after the 2020/21 season. Restricted free agents are marked with (RFA).
This list will continue to be updated throughout the 2021 offseason, so be sure to use it and our list of 2021 free agents by position/type as points of reference.
Both lists can be found anytime under “Hoops Rumors Features” on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Free Agent Lists” section of our mobile menu. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.
Updated 10-16-21 (6:42am CT)
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
- None
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
- Bismack Biyombo
- Nate Darling (two-way UFA)
Southwest Notes: Morant, Mills, Ball, Tillman
Grizzlies star Ja Morant returned to the lineup on Saturday days ahead of his initial timetable, energizing his teammates and leading the club to a 106-104 victory over Philadelphia, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes.
Morant suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain on Dec. 28 and was given a 3-to-5 week timeline, a brutal blow for a team already playing without Jaren Jackson Jr. In nearly 31 minutes against the Sixers, Morant finished with 17 points and six assists, shooting 7-of-14 from the floor.
“It was huge, in the fact that he wanted to come back so fast,” teammate Xavier Tillman said, as relayed by Bontemps. “For a guy who .. is a franchise kind-of-guy, they’re usually able to take their time and make sure they are 110 percent before they come back. I’m not saying he wasn’t 110 percent, but he was dying and itching to come back and help us win games.
“To see that from your head guy motivates everybody else, including me, being one of the rookies on the team. It’s like, ‘Hey man, forget nicks and bruises. The dude looked like he broke his ankle and he’s itching to get back. If I have nicks and bruises, I can play, and I can give my heart.'”
Here are some other notes from the Southwest Division tonight:
- Spurs guard Patty Mills confirmed he plans to play for Australia in the Olympics, as relayed by ESPN (hat tip to Sportando). “Everyone who’s a part of that program right now, from the head coach all the way to the equipment manager, everyone’s gotta be locked in and feel the exact same way as we feel: determined, fire burning inside, desire to do everything we possibly can to win this gold medal,” Mills said.
- Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy issued a brief injury update on Lonzo Ball, who’s currently dealing with bilateral knee tendinopathy. Though Ball didn’t practice on Saturday, Van Gundy is hopeful he can return relatively soon. “He says he feels a lot better,” Van Gundy said, as relayed by Jacob Rude of USA Today. “(He’s) really working hard on strengthening the muscles around that knee which seems to really help. I think he’s pretty optimistic about being able to come at full strength and pretty optimistic that’s (his return) is not in the distant, distant future. I think we’re talking more days to a week than we are weeks.”
- Grizzlies forward Xavier Tillman also discussed his increased role with the team (as relayed by Evan Barnes of the Commercial Appeal). The rookie finished with 15 points and four steals off the bench on Saturday, proving his worth on both ends of the floor.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Gallinari, Ball, Heat, Oladipo
The NBA still doesn’t know how the Wizards‘ COVID-19 outbreak started, with six players testing positive and four games recently being postponed, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports writes.
The outbreak, which is considered to be the worst of the season to date, has left the Wizards unable to produce the league-required eight players needed to play. As Hughes notes, the team is still unsure of how it started despite an extensive contract tracing process.
“We have players that are out on the floor unmasked during the games,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said. “That’s an obvious thing. They have exposure to each other. Sometimes on the bench, players will pull their masks down and talk to each other, things like that. The contact tracing is very necessary, but it’s also difficult because it could have been anywhere at any time. The fact it hasn’t jumped the wall and it hasn’t extended past players kind of makes you, at least common sense-wise, would make you believe it’s happening in contact out on the court.”
The Wizards’ games against the Cavaliers on Sunday and Monday have also been postponed because of the virus.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks are listing Danilo Gallinari as doubtful to play in Monday’s game against the Wolves, with the veteran forward last seeing action on Dec. 30 due to a right ankle sprain. Gallinari has progressed to half-court individual activities and is now being re-introduced to contact activity, the team announced (Twitter link).
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines how much the Hornets truly trust LaMelo Ball and what the team is currently missing. Ball, drafted third overall by the team in the fall, is currently averaging 11.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game off the bench.
- Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel explores whether the Rockets could still entice the Heat with a potential trade, only this time with Victor Oladipo. Oladipo and Miami have long been linked to one another, with the 28-year-old set to enter unrestricted free agency at season’s end.
Sixers-Thunder Sunday Game Postponed
The Sixers–Thunder game scheduled for Sunday night has been postponed due to ongoing contract tracing, the 14th postponement of the young season, the NBA announced in a press release.
Philadelphia doesn’t have the league-required eight players available to proceed, the league said. The team was seen warming up prior to the decision.
The cause is connected to the Sixers’ game against the Grizzlies on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds (via Twitter) that the 76ers have no new positive cases to report at this time.
Seth Curry (health and safety protocols), Vincent Poirier (health and safety protocols), Mike Scott (knee) and Joel Embiid (knee) were the only players listed as out on the original injury report. The game was scheduled to commence at 7:00 pm ET on NBA TV.
Philadelphia has upcoming games scheduled against the Celtics on both Wednesday and Friday. The Sixers currently own the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference at 9-5.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Boucher, Quickley, Simmons
Celtics assistant coaches Jay Larranaga and Jerome Allen weren’t with the team for its 124-97 win over the Magic on Friday due to the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (via Twitter).
Matt Vautour of MassLive.com notes that both coaches prepped the team for the contest remotely. “Those guys were still adding as much value as possible while they’re out,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said. “Those guys were on Zoom calls with us all the time, on Zoom calls with their individuals.”
There’s more out of the NBA’s Atlantic Division:
- Raptors big man Chris Boucher has enjoyed a much-needed breakout season for Toronto, and he could get even better defensively, per Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. The versatile 6’9″ forward has played a lot of small ball center, but still needs to prepare to defend perimeter players, according to head coach Nick Nurse. “Got to get him used to all this switching because he’s going to be out there guarding primary ballhandlers a lot because they’re going to go set with their five-man a lot and if we’re switching it, he’ll end up guarding those guys,” Nurse said of Boucher. “And I think he’s got the speed and quickness and length to do it.” In 12 games for the Raptors, Boucher is averaging a career-best 15.7 PPG on 59.6% shooting from the field and 47.7% shooting from long range, to go along with 6.8 RPG and 2.5 BPG.
- Despite Immanuel Quickley‘s strong recent play (including a solid 17-point, 8-assist performance in a blowout 105-75 win against the Celtics today), the Knicks are not yet ready to name the rookie point guard their starter over veteran Elfrid Payton, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. “We’re still evaluating,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So we’ll keep evaluating, we’ll keep working to improve and then we’ll find the best combinations to go forward with. But we’re constantly evaluating and talking about who plays well with whom. And if something can help the team, we’ll do it.’’
- Derek Bodner of The Athletic analyzes the offensive woes of Sixers point guard Ben Simmons thus far in the 2020/21 season. Simmons has limited most of his shooting output to the paint this year, and frequently prioritizes passing over looking for his own shot.
Texas Notes: New Rockets Backcourt, Doncic, McLemore, Stone
With the James Harden drama now in their rearview, the Rockets have a backcourt featuring two former All-Stars in John Wall and Victor Oladipo, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. That guard tandem, plus well-paid reserve Eric Gordon, will need to develop chemistry and coordinate how they divvy up shooting and ball-handling duties.
Feigen notes that Wall and Oladipo could be a better defensive pair than their predecessor duos of Harden and Russell Westbrook and Harden and Chris Paul, though injuries could be an impediment to that. Both Wall and Oladipo have lengthy injury histories, and Wall is currently out with knee issues.
There’s more out of the Lone Star State:
- Mavericks All-Star Luka Doncic and longtime head coach Rick Carlisle will have to move past the former’s noticeable frustration that the latter did not employ an available timeout during a pivotal late-game possession in Dallas’s eventual 112-109 defeat to the Bucks last Friday, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN details.
- Backup Rockets guard Ben McLemore realizes that expectations for Houston may be lower than they were with Harden, but contends that the team has more than enough to compete, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter video link). “We got guys that are gonna fight, that’s gonna compete, that’s dogs,” McLemore said.
- Rockets GM Rafael Stone discussed the new-look club during a virtual media conference call today, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Stone explained his interest in ultimately making a trade with the Nets for James Harden. “What’s super exciting about this deal is that it gives us flexibility,” Stone said. “In the NBA, picks are the best currency. Everybody likes them, everybody values them.” Stone also mentioned that the club “will aggressively be trying to use” the $10.6MM trade exception it acquired in the transaction ahead of the 2020/21 season’s trade deadline in late March.