NBA, NBPA Discussing Third Two-Way Contract Slot For Teams
There was significant discussion on the NBA’s call with general managers today about the possibility of giving teams a third two-way contract slot for the rest of the season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Any agreement would have to be worked out with the National Basketball Players Association, Wojnarowski notes, adding that there’s momentum toward it happening. Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the NBA and NBPA are discussing the idea.
Since the NBA regular season began on December 22, the league has had to postpone 12 games, including 11 since this past Sunday. In every one of those instances, games were postponed because one team didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available due to COVID-19 protocols. Expanding rosters by one spot may slightly increase the odds of teams falling below eight available players.
Currently, teams are permitted to carry two players on two-way contracts, which don’t count against a club’s salary cap or luxury tax bill. This season, those players are permitted to be active for up to 50 of their teams’ 72 regular season games. The Suns and Trail Blazers are the only two teams that haven’t filled both their two-way slots.
A player who signs a two-way contract must have fewer than four years of NBA experience. That rule is expected to remain in place if the league and the players’ union agree to add a third slot, sources tell Charania (Twitter link), so a team wouldn’t be able to add a 10-year veteran with its new two-way spot.
As Jeremy Woo of SI.com notes (via Twitter), adding a total of 30 new roster spots for younger players could have a major impact on G League rosters, since many of the top candidates for two-way deals are preparing to play in the NBAGL bubble.
Jusuf Nurkic To Undergo Wrist Surgery, Miss At Least Eight Weeks
After suffering a right wrist fracture on Thursday night, Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic will undergo surgery and will be sidelined for at least the next eight weeks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The injury happened during the third quarter of Thursday’s game vs. the Pacers, apparently occurring when Nurkic swiped at the ball as Malcolm Brogdon drove to the basket. It’s the second major injury in the last two years for the 26-year-old, who missed most of last season due to a significant leg fracture.
The timeline reported by Charania would result in Nurkic missing the rest of the first half of the 2020/21 season, which ends on March 4 — the second half begins on March 11, eight weeks from yesterday. The Trail Blazers have 25 games on their schedule between now and then, so their starting center would miss over a third of the season, assuming all those games can be played without postponements.
Nurkic’s absence will also cost him a $1.25MM bonus, as we outlined earlier today. In order to earn that bonus, he needed to appear in at least 62 games, which won’t happen.
With Nurkic and fellow big man Zach Collins (ankle) on the shelf, Portland figures to lean more heavily on big men Enes Kanter and Harry Giles. The Blazers have an open spot on their 15-man roster, as well as an open two-way contract slot, so they could consider signing another center for depth purposes.
Harden On Rockets Exit: “I Wasn’t Disrespectful To Anyone”
Rockets center DeMarcus Cousins described James Harden‘s comments and behavior during his final days in Houston as “disrespectful.” However, speaking today to reporters for the first time since being traded to the Nets, Harden disagreed with that assessment.
“I wasn’t disrespectful to anyone,” Harden said on Friday, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “Those guys, they just got there, to Houston. I’ve been there a very long time. I’ve been through all the ups and downs with that organization. And I wasn’t disrespectful to anyone.
“I just made a comment that the team as a whole wasn’t good enough to compete for a title. The stage of my career, where I am now, that’s what I would love. So, I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to anybody, especially the organization. I’m excited to be here in Brooklyn, excited for a new start.”
Harden did express some regrets about the way his tenure in Houston ended, noting that there were “some things I feel like were out of my character,” but didn’t identify any specific comments or actions that he regretted, Feigen notes.
Harden’s desire to be traded by the Rockets was reported all the way back in November and dominated headlines for nearly two months, but NBA rules prevented him from publicly discussing his trade request until now — doing so would have resulted in a fine. Asked about it today, the former MVP explained that he became motivated to move on following the Rockets’ playoff loss to the Lakers over the summer.
“After the bubble, after that loss, I wanted to re-evaluate my career, the team, where the organization was going,” Harden said, according to Feigen. “You look from top to bottom, the general manager (Daryl Morey) leaving, (head coach) Mike D’Antoni leaving, to reevaluating our personnel and seeing if we had enough to compete with the best teams in this league, as time went on, as free agency and things like that started to go on, I felt like we didn’t have a chance.”
Having decided that he wanted out of Houston, Harden confirmed today that the Nets were atop his wish list, though he said that list featured a handful of other teams as well. The 31-year-old praised the Rockets for working with him to find an appropriate deal and making sure he ended up in a favorable landing spot.
“They worked with me, as bad as it might’ve looked from the outside, and they made sure I ended up here, so much credit to them and (I’m) very, very appreciative,” Harden said, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes.
Harden issued a farewell to Rockets fans with a post on Instagram earlier today, writing that the organization and the city of Houston “has given me everything I could ask for and more.”
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Okongwu, Fultz, Hornets
The Wizards are promoting Amber Nichols, naming her the general manager of the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League affiliate, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Nichols, who had previously been the Go-Go’s assistant GM, becomes the second female general manager in the NBAGL, joining Tori Miller of the College Park Skyhawks.
The Capital City Go-Go opted out of this season’s G League bubble, so the team won’t be in action again until 2021/22. However, Nichols figures to be keeping a close eye in the coming weeks on the Erie BayHawks, New Orleans’ affiliate. The Wizards are sending four affiliate players and a player development coach to Erie for the upcoming NBAGL season.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Onyeka Okongwu, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 draft, has yet to make his NBA debut as he recovers from a left foot injury. However, he’s not on the Hawks‘ latest injury report, and Sarah Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) says Okongwu is excited to get back on the court. “Now I’m really feeling good,” he said. “Now I’m really feeling like my old self.”
- Magic officials and players have said that Markelle Fultz has remained upbeat as he begins the long process of coming back from a torn ACL, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “I think he’s got a great attitude about the whole thing,” head coach Steve Clifford said. “Let’s put it this way: He’s handling his injury a lot better than his coach is.”
- Hornets assistant Jay Hernandez will be heading to the G League bubble to coach the Greensboro Swarm next month, according to a press release from the team. Hernandez will return to the Hornets when the NBAGL season ends. “This plays to my strengths, and is also something I want and need to do,” Hernandez told Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “… I know all (the Hornets’) teaching points, I know the talking points. I can go in there very confidently, knowing exactly what (Hornets coach James Borrego) wants to do and how he wants to do it.”
NBA Postpones Two Wizards/Cavaliers Games
Two more upcoming Wizards games won’t be played as scheduled, according to the NBA. The league announced today in a press release that the Wizards/Cavaliers games on the schedule for Sunday (January 17) and Monday (January 18) have been postponed due to health and safety protocols.
The games are being pushed back because the Wizards don’t have the required minimum of eight players available. A report this morning indicated that the team has had five players test positive for COVID-19 this week. Others are believed to be self-isolating as well due to the league’s contact tracing protocols.
These are the third and fourth consecutive postponements for the Wizards, who didn’t have enough players available to face the Jazz on Wednesday night or the Pistons tonight.
The next game on the club’s schedule is next Wednesday at Charlotte. It’s possible some players currently in the contact tracing protocols could be cleared by then, giving Washington enough players to avoid a fifth straight postponement. We’ll have to wait to see how the next few days play out though.
The NBA has now had to postpone a dozen games this season, including 11 since Sunday. We’re keeping tabs on the full list of postponements right here.
Nets Notes: Harden, Irving, Open Roster Spots
James Harden has completed his physical with the Nets, but wasn’t able to participate in today’s practice, a team spokesperson tells ESPN’s Malika Andrews (Twitter link). As Andrews explains, every player involved in this week’s blockbuster trade must complete their physicals before Harden can participate in any on-court activity for his new team.
Speaking to reporters today, Nets head coach Steve Nash expressed optimism that Harden will be available to make his Brooklyn debut against Orlando on Saturday night, tweets Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated.
As for Kyrie Irving, the NBA announced today that the star guard is on track to clear a five-day quarantine tomorrow, and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported (via Twitter) that he’s expected to play on Saturday. However, Nash didn’t seem certain about that, telling reporters today that he hasn’t been updated on Irving’s timeline (Twitter link via ESPN’s Rachel Nichols).
Here’s more on the Nets:
- General manager Sean Marks said on Thursday that the Nets were “disappointed” by Irving’s absence, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes. Meanwhile, Wojnarowski said during an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up (video link) that Irving will have to explain to the team “what’s transpired here in the last week” (hat tip to RealGM).
- The Nets have three open spots on their 15-man roster following their acquisition of Harden and will have to fill at least two of them soon. Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype takes a look at a few veteran free agents who could be fits for Brooklyn.
- As Sopan Deb writes for The New York Times, there are some questions about how the Nets’ new Big Three will fit together, given how ball-dominant Harden, Irving, and Kevin Durant are. Nash said today that he thinks Harden and Irving can both comfortably play off the ball, while acknowledging that the three superstars will have to make the necessary adjustments to make it work (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).
2020/21 NBA Game Postponement Tracker
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the protocols the NBA and the NBPA have designed to address it, the league entered the 2020/21 season expecting to have to postpone or cancel a number of games over the course of the year.
The schedule was designed with this complication in mind. The NBA only released the first half of its schedule last fall, announcing at the time that the second half would be released at some point this winter. The goal was to make it simpler to incorporate makeup games for those first-half postponements into the late-season slate.
With the number of postponements beginning to add up, we’re creating a space to track them all. The full list of postponed 2020/21 games is below. Once the NBA announces plans to reschedule these contests, we’ll add those details to our breakdown.
This tracker will continue to be updated throughout the ’20/21 league year, and can be found anytime in the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” menu on our mobile site.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Houston Rockets
- Original date: December 23, 2020
- Reason for postponement: The Rockets didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: March 21, 2021
- Original date: January 10, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Heat didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: May 11, 2021
New Orleans Pelicans at Dallas Mavericks
- Original date: January 11, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Mavericks didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: May 12, 2021
Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls
- Original date: January 12, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Celtics didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: May 7, 2021
Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics
- Original date: January 13, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Celtics didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: March 21, 2021
Utah Jazz at Washington Wizards
- Original date: January 13, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Wizards didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: March 18, 2021
- Original date: January 13, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Suns didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: March 30, 2021
Washington Wizards at Detroit Pistons
- Original date: January 15, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Wizards didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: April 1, 2021
Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns
- Original date: January 15, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Suns didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: March 4, 2021
Memphis Grizzlies at Minnesota Timberwolves
- Original date: January 15, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Timberwolves didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: May 5, 2021
Indiana Pacers at Phoenix Suns
- Original date: January 16, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Suns didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: March 13, 2021
Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards
- Original date: January 17, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Wizards didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: April 25, 2021
Philadelphia 76ers at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Original date: January 17, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Sixers didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: April 10, 2021
Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards
- Original date: January 18, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Wizards didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: May 14, 2021
Washington Wizards at Charlotte Hornets
- Original date: January 20, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Wizards didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: February 7, 2021
Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
- Original date: January 20, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Grizzlies didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: April 23, 2021
Washington Wizards at Milwaukee Bucks
- Original date: January 22, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Wizards were short on players and hadn’t been able to practice for a week.
- New date: May 5, 2021
Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
- Original date: January 22, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Grizzlies were affected by contact tracing and had many unavailable players.
- New date: April 25, 2021
Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies
- Original date: January 24, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Grizzlies were affected by contact tracing and had many unavailable players.
- New date: May 13, 2021
Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies
- Original date: January 25, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Grizzlies were affected by contact tracing and had many unavailable players.
- New date: May 14, 2021
San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans
- Original date: January 25, 2021
- Reason for postponement: Neither the Spurs nor the Pelicans had the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: April 24, 2021
Chicago Bulls at Memphis Grizzlies
- Original date: January 27, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Grizzlies were affected by contact tracing and had many unavailable players.
- New date: April 12, 2021
Detroit Pistons at Denver Nuggets
- Original date: February 1, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Pistons didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: April 6, 2021
San Antonio Spurs at Detroit Pistons
- Original date: February 16, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Spurs didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: March 15, 2021
San Antonio Spurs at Cleveland Cavaliers
- Original date: February 17, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Spurs didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: March 19, 2021
Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets
- Original date: February 17, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Hornets were affected by contact tracing and had many unavailable players.
- New date: May 6, 2021
Detroit Pistons at Dallas Mavericks
- Original date: February 17, 2021
- Reason for postponement: A weather-related state of emergency affected the Dallas area.
- New date: April 21, 2021
Denver Nuggets at Charlotte Hornets
- Original date: February 19, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Hornets were affected by contact tracing and had many unavailable players.
- New date: May 11, 2021
Dallas Mavericks at Houston Rockets
- Original date: February 19, 2021
- Reason for postponement: A weather-related state of emergency resulted in a government shutdown of Houston’s Toyota Center.
- New date: April 7, 2021
San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks
- Original date: February 20, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Spurs didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: May 13, 2021
Indiana Pacers at Houston Rockets
- Original date: February 20, 2021
- Reason for postponement: A weather-related state of emergency resulted in a government shutdown of Houston’s Toyota Center.
- New date: April 14, 2021
San Antonio Spurs at Indiana Pacers
- Original date: February 22, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Spurs didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: April 19, 2021
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
- Original date: February 28, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Raptors didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: April 8, 2021
Detroit Pistons at Toronto Raptors
- Original date: March 2, 2021
- Reason for postponement: The Raptors didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
- New date: March 3, 2021
Brooklyn Nets at Minnesota Timberwolves
- Original date: April 12, 2021
- Reason for postponement: Unrest in Minneapolis in the wake of a police shooting.
- New date: April 13, 2021
Note: This list doesn’t include games that were intentionally postponed well in advance for scheduling purposes, such as the Trail Blazers/Hornets game that was originally set to be played on February 7.
Northwest Notes: Nurkic, Jokic, Green, Rubio, Conley
A fractured right wrist may prevent Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic from earning a $1.25MM bonus this season, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter). Nurkic would earn that bonus if he plays in at least 62 games and Portland wins at least 44 games. Those thresholds are prorated downward from 70 and 50, respectively, to account for the 72-game season.
As we noted last night in our story on Nurkic’s injury, the Blazers do have an open spot on their 15-man roster and an open two-way contract slot, so they have options if they want to add depth up front with Nurkic and Zach Collins (ankle) both sidelined.
Portland is currently $1.87MM below the luxury tax line, according to Marks. Since two-way signings don’t count toward the tax and there’s no deadline to sign a player to a two-way deal this season, that option could appeal more to the Blazers.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Nuggets center Nikola Jokic raved about new teammate JaMychal Green after Thursday’s win over Golden State, as Alex Ladibou of Nuggets.com writes. “I’ve always said JaMychal is a guy I’d like to play with for the rest of my life,” Jokic said. “He is amazing.” A source tells Mike Singer of The Denver Post that Jokic expressed a similar sentiment privately to Green after the game.
- Britt Robson of The Athletic feels the Timberwolves made a mistake by bringing Ricky Rubio back to Minnesota during the offseason, since Rubio’s style doesn’t mesh particularly well with D’Angelo Russell‘s. Minnesota has a -22.3 net rating so far this season when the two point guards share the court.
- Mike Conley had a down year in his first season with the Jazz in 2019/20, but is now finding his comfort zone, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Conley, an unrestricted free agent in 2021, is averaging 17.3 PPG and 5.6 APG on .452/.430/.774 shooting in 11 games so far in ’20/21 after putting up just 14.4 PPG and 4.4 APG on .409/.375/.827 shooting last season.
Kyrie Irving Fined, Loses Game Checks For Violating COVID-19 Protocols
Nets star Kyrie Irving has been fined $50K for violating the NBA’s protocols related to the coronavirus, the league announced today in a press release.
According to the announcement, the violation occurred when Irving attended a private indoor party last weekend. Presumably, this was the event – believed to be a family birthday party – captured on the video that surfaced online earlier this week. The league’s protocols prohibit players from attending indoor social gatherings of 15 or more people and from entering bars, lounges, or clubs.
While $50K isn’t a substantial loss for a player earning $33.46MM this season, the NBA also announced that Irving has been subject to a five-day quarantine period this week for his protocol violation, making him eligible to rejoin the Nets on Saturday, assuming he doesn’t record a positive COVID-19 test. He’ll forfeit salary for the games he missed during that quarantine period, according to the league.
Since the Nets’ Tuesday and Wednesday games happened during his quarantine period, Irving will be docked two game checks, Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms (Twitter link). As recently reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), each game missed due to a COVID-19 protocol violation costs a player 1/81.6th of his salary.
In Irving’s case, the result is about $410K per game in forfeited salary. Taking into account his fine and the two games he missed this week, Irving’s violation will cost him a total of approximately $870K.
Prior to this protocol violation, Irving had been away from the Nets for personal reasons, but it sounds like his leave is coming to an end. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Irving is expected to play for Brooklyn on Saturday as long as he’s cleared.
Wolves Expected To Re-Engage With Rockets On P.J. Tucker
Now that the Rockets have moved James Harden, there’s an expectation that the team will be more open to trading P.J. Tucker as well. A report earlier this week indicated that multiple teams are asking about Tucker, and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic says the Timberwolves are among the clubs expected to be in the hunt for the veteran forward.
The Wolves, who reportedly inquired on Tucker during the offseason, have been monitoring his situation in Houston since before the draft and have maintained contact with the Rockets since then, according to Krawczynski.
Minnesota’s president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas worked in Houston’s front office before joining the Wolves in 2019, though it remains to be seen whether his friendly relationship with the Rockets’ top decision-makers will help grease the wheels for a potential deal. As Krawczynski points out, Tucker’s versatility and his $8MM expiring contract will make him a logical trade target for several contenders.
Still, the Wolves look like an especially good fit for Tucker, given their lack of reliable options at the power forward spot. Rosas himself has acknowledged that the team could use an upgrade at the four, as Krawczynski relayed earlier in the week.
“The power forward position is probably one of the areas where we have the most questions right now,” Rosas said. “Part of it is there’s some young guys there and we’re trying to get to a good fit. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if we’re not trying to improve and get better and address our needs.”
Having opted for a Harden package loaded with draft picks and swaps, the Rockets would likely prioritize draft assets again in talks for Tucker and would presumably attempt to land a first-round pick. That may reduce the Wolves’ chances, according to Krawczynski, who points out that Minnesota has already traded away a top-three protected 2021 first-rounder and isn’t in a great position to be selling off more picks for a 35-year-old on an expiring deal.
Even if the Rockets do intend to move Tucker, there’s no rush to do so right away, as the trade deadline isn’t until March 25. While we wait to see which other teams might be in the mix for the former Texas Longhorn, it’s worth noting that the Nuggets weren’t among the teams to inquire as of Wednesday night, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link).