Nik Stauskas Signs Two-Year Contract With Celtics
MARCH 4: The Celtics have officially signed Stauskas, the team announced. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
MARCH 3: Nik Stauskas is signing a two-year deal with the Celtics, agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The veteran guard has been lighting it up in the G League, scoring a combined 100 points in his last two games for the Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets’ G League affiliate. Overall, Stauskas is averaging 26 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 4.7 APG in G League competition over 14 games this season.
Stauskas, a lottery pick by Sacramento back in 2014, played two games for the Heat this season under the 10-day hardship exemption. Prior to that, Stauskas had not appeared in an NBA game since the 2018/19 season, when he played in a combined 68 contests for Portland and Cleveland.
In 338 career NBA appearances, Stauskas has averaged 6.8 PPG in 19.8 MPG while making 35.4% of his long-range attempts.
Boston has an open roster spot, plus two players with 10-day contracts (Kelan Martin and Malik Fitts) that are near expiration. Jaylen Brown missed Thursday’s game against Memphis with an ankle injury and Aaron Nesmith left the game early with an ankle sprain.
While the exact terms of Stauskas’ deal aren’t yet known, a minimum-salary contract that isn’t guaranteed for next season seems likely.
Hawks’ John Collins To Return Friday
John Collins is set to return to the Hawks on Friday night after missing the team’s past seven games, according to Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).
Collins has been dealing with a strained right foot and coach Nate McMillan had previously said he’d be a game-time decision, but evidently Collins feels good enough to play after going through a pregame warm-up, as Spencer tweets.
Friday’s matchup is a key one for the Hawks because they’re on the road against the Wizards, the team directly beneath them in the standings. Atlanta currently holds a 30-32 record, 10th in the East, while Washington trails by one-and-a-half games at 28-33.
Collins signed a five-year, $125MM contract during the 2021 offseason after playing an important role in helping the Hawks reach last year’s Eastern Conference finals. He has remained productive this season, averaging 16.8 points and 7.9 rebounds through 50 games while shooting 53.7% from the field and 38.8% from three-point range.
Collins’ return will help bolster a Hawks squad that’s a little short on frontcourt depth at the moment, as second-year big man Onyeka Okongwu is currently in the league’s concussion protocol.
Spurs Sign D.J. Stewart Jr., Robert Woodard II To Two-Way Deals
The Spurs have signed D.J. Stewart Jr. and Robert Woodard II to two-way contracts, our JD Shaw tweets. San Antonio had both of its two-way spots open after promoting Devontae Cacok and Joe Wieskamp to the 15-man roster. The Spurs now have a full 17-man roster.
Stewart, 22, went undrafted in 2021 after a couple of seasons with Mississippi State. He hasn’t made his NBA debut yet, but he’s put up solid numbers in the G League with Miami’s affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Through 33 games (36.2 MPG) with the Skyforce, he’s averaging 18.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.9 APG, and 1.3 SPG on .497/.388/.737 shooting.
Like Stewart, Woodard is a Mississippi native who played two seasons with the Bulldogs in college. The two were teammates during the 2019/20 season, and now will be reunited with the Spurs. Woodard was the 40th overall selection of the 2020 draft. He’s barely played in the NBA, logging a total of 87 minutes across 25 games the past two seasons for the Kings.
Woodard was waived by Sacramento on February 10 to make room for the team’s trade additions. He later signed a G League contract and appeared in six games with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s affiliate. However, he was still technically an NBA free agent, as no team held his rights until the Spurs signed him. Through 11 G League games split between the Blue and the Stockton Kings, Woodard is averaging 15.8 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .473/.346/.611 shooting.
Nets Notes: Simmons, Harris, Irving, Harden
A best-case scenario for Ben Simmons‘ Nets debut would be within about two weeks, writes Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post. General manager Sean Marks said there’s “no real timetable” for Simmons, but indicated the team is hoping to get Simmons more fully involved in practices in about a week.
“Hopefully by the end of next week he’s getting more into the team environment,” Marks said during an appearance on YES Network. “And then we can really ramp up and start him getting into game shape.”
Sanchez suggests that Simmons could participate in a high-intensity workout for the first time next Saturday, noting that the Nets typically require players to go through three of those practices before they’re cleared to play. Sanchez speculates that the March 18 game vs. Portland or March 21 vs. Utah are possibilities for Simmons’ debut.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- The Nets will recoup an estimated $4.5MM in insurance money as a result of Joe Harris‘ season-ending injury, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). While that insurance money will provide a little financial relief for an ownership group projected to spend over $260MM in team salary and tax payments, it won’t affect Brooklyn’s end-of-season tax bill, Marks notes (via Twitter).
- During his YES Network appearance on Thursday, Marks suggested that the Nets are still hoping for some news soon on when New York City might lift its private sector vaccine mandate that prevents Kyrie Irving from playing in home games. “We’re waiting like everybody else to see how these mandates change, how they tweak,” Marks said, per NetsDaily. “Again, over the next 24-48 hours, hopefully, there’s some news for us as to what they may look like. And Kyrie can get back out here. Nobody wants to be on the court more than Kyrie.” As The New York Times outlines, NYC mayor Eric Adams confirmed today that the public Key to NYC vaccine mandate will be lifted on Monday, but that won’t affect Irving’s status.
- A source tells Ian Begley of SNY.tv that the possibility of the Nets facing the Raptors in the postseason was one reason James Harden was concerned earlier this season about Irving’s vaccine status. Toronto is the only other NBA city where Irving is currently ineligible to play due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19.
Spurs Promote Devontae Cacok, Joe Wieskamp To 15-Man Roster
3:41pm: Both deals are for the rest of the season, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. That means Cacok and Wieskamp will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
2:04pm: The Spurs have promoted both of their two-way players, forward/center Devontae Cacok and swingman Joe Wieskamp, to the 15-man roster, signing them to standard contracts, the team announced today (Twitter link via JD Shaw).
Cacok, 25, has appeared in 11 games for San Antonio this season, averaging 3.6 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 8.4 minutes per contest. The former Laker has been a double-double machine at the G League level, averaging 19.2 PPG and 12.9 RPG in 21 NBAGL appearances (31.6 MPG) for the Austin Spurs.
The 22-year-old Wieskamp, meanwhile, has seen limited action in 17 NBA games as a rookie after being selected 41st overall in the 2021 draft. Like Cacok, he has played a larger role in the G League than in the NBA, averaging 15.9 PPG and 3.9 RPG on .439/.315/.800 shooting in 14 games (33.7 MPG) for Austin.
After buying out Goran Dragic and Tomas Satoransky, the Spurs had two openings on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding moves were required to make room for Cacok and Wieskamp. The club now has a pair of two-way slots open.
The exact terms of Cacok’s and Wieskamp’s new contracts haven’t yet been reported. A standard conversion from a two-way deal would just result in a minimum-salary, rest-of-season contract, but most clubs try to negotiate longer-term agreements. The Spurs wouldn’t be able to offer either player more than a two-year deal.
Poll: How Will Lakers’ Season End?
The Lakers made no progress on Thursday night toward turning their season around, suffering a blowout loss to the rival Clippers. It extended their losing streak to four games, dropped their record to 27-35, and left guard Russell Westbrook looking for answers once again.
“My role and what I’m doing has changed every single night,” Westbrook said after the game, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “So I’m just trying to figure that out as I’m playing and to be able to benefit and help my team.
“But my expectations are still the same. I’m not a quitter. It’s not in my genes. I don’t quit, regardless of what the hell is going on. I’m going to fight to the end, and if it don’t work, that’s cool, too. I can live with the results. But I’m never going to give up or give in because of a little struggle that’s happening this time of the year.
While Westbrook’s struggles are hardly the only reason the Lakers have had such a disappointing season, he hasn’t fit in like the team had hoped and has faced criticism for months. Asked on Thursday if the Lakers have discussed the possibility of bringing Westbrook off the bench to change things up, head coach Frank Vogel replied, “We’ve talked about everything.”
Within his report on the Lakers’ situation earlier this week, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report wrote that Vogel’s staff has never “seriously broached” the idea of having Westbrook come off the bench to the former MVP, adding that Westbrook likely wouldn’t entertain the idea. But these are desperate times for the Lakers, and Vogel’s comments on Thursday indicate it hasn’t been ruled out.
With just 20 games left in the Lakers’ season, time is running out to right the ship. With that in mind, we want to know whether you still have any faith left in this L.A. team.
At 27-35, the Lakers hold the No. 9 seed in the West, a full nine games back of the No. 6 Nuggets. They’re one game up on the No. 10 Pelicans and two games ahead of the No. 11 Trail Blazers. The Spurs (3.5 games back) and Kings (4.5 games back) are also lurking, but aren’t serious threats to the Lakers at this point.
Given the lack of serious competition outside of the West’s top 10 seeds, it still looks like a reasonably safe bet that the Lakers will qualify for the play-in tournament. But earning a playoff spot outright by finishing as a top-six team will be virtually impossible, and even finishing in the top eight looks increasingly unlikely, since they’re 5.5 games back of the No. 8 Clippers. If they finish ninth or 10th in the West, they’d have to win two play-in games to even make it to the playoffs.
As a reminder, the winner of the play-in game between the seventh and eight teams earns the No. 7 seed, while the loser of that game plays the winner of the matchup between the ninth and tenth teams for the No. 8 seed. That means the Lakers might have to beat, say, the Pelicans and then the Clippers (or Timberwolves) to even claim the No. 8 seed. At that point, they’d be in line for a matchup against a top-seeded Suns team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year.
Based on how the Lakers have looked lately, I’m growing more and more skeptical that we’ll even see them in the playoffs, whether or not they have Anthony Davis back for the play-in tournament. But we want to know what you think.
How do you see the Lakers’ season ending? Do they still have a chance to make a playoff run? Should they already be looking toward 2022/23?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
How will the Lakers' season play out?
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They'll be eliminated in the play-in tournament 42% (575)
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They'll miss the play-in tournament 34% (468)
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They'll make the playoffs and lose in the first round 16% (217)
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They'll win multiple playoff series 5% (62)
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They'll win one playoff series 3% (40)
Total votes: 1,362
Trail Blazers Sign Drew Eubanks To Second 10-Day Deal
1:47pm: Eubanks’ second 10-day contract is now official, the Blazers announced in a press release. Eubanks will earn $99,380 over the course of the deal, which will run through March 13.
8:11am: The Trail Blazers are signing big man Drew Eubanks to a second 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Eubanks’ first 10-day deal with the team expired overnight.
Eubanks appeared in three games during his first 10 days with Portland, averaging 9.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG on 70.6% shooting in 22.3 minutes per contest. He stepped right into the starting lineup at center due to Jusuf Nurkic‘s foot injury and the club’s limited depth at the position.
Eubanks began the season in San Antonio and was traded to Toronto at last month’s deadline in the Thaddeus Young/Goran Dragic deal. The Raptors immediately waived him, opening the door for him to join the Blazers.
Portland doesn’t have an opening on its 15-man roster, but qualifies for an injury-related hardship exception, since so many players on the roster are sidelined with long-term injuries. Damian Lillard (abdominal surgery), Didi Louzada (knee), Nurkic (foot), Nassir Little (shoulder), Joe Ingles (knee), and Eric Bledsoe (Achilles) are among the players unavailable for the Blazers.
A player is typically ineligible to sign more than two 10-day contracts with the same team in a given season. That restriction hasn’t applied to COVID-related hardship deals, but we haven’t gotten clarity on whether injury-related hardship deals are also exempt. If they are, the Blazers could continue signing Eubanks to short-term deals once his next 10-day contract expires. If they’re not, the team would have to sign him for the rest of the season or let him walk once his second 10-day is up.
The Blazers don’t play again until Saturday. If they wait until tomorrow to officially re-sign Eubanks, he’d be under contract for Portland’s next five games before becoming a free agent on March 15.
Mavericks Notes: Dinwiddie, Trent, Porzingis, Kidd
Having appeared in his 50th game of the season on Thursday, Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie has earned a $1.5MM bonus, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Since that bonus was considered unlikely this season and will now be considered likely in 2022/23, Dinwiddie’s cap hit for next season will increase from $18MM to $19.5MM, Marks observes.
Dinwiddie’s ability to reach the 50-game threshold could have additional financial ramifications beyond this season’s $1.5MM bonus. As Marks explains, the point guard’s contract includes language that calls for his third-year salary to become fully guaranteed if he appears in at least 50 games in each of the first two years of the contract.
For now, that 2023/24 salary – which will be worth at least $18.9MM and could get as high as $21.4MM via incentives – is partially guaranteed for $10MM. The remainder would become guaranteed if Dinwiddie plays at least 50 games in 2022/23.
Dinwiddie’s $1.5MM bonus is the second-highest individual incentive to ever be earned, according to Marks (Twitter link), who says Andrew Bogut‘s $1.9MM bonus in 2015 for All-Defense honors holds that record.
Here’s more on the Mavericks:
- Before Dallas traded Kristaps Porzingis to Washington on deadline day last month, there were rumors that the Mavs and Raptors were discussing a possible deal. Appearing on The Lowe Post podcast with ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Tim MacMahon of ESPN shared a little more information on that rumor. “My understanding is their discussions there were (Goran) Dragic and Gary Trent,” MacMahon said (hat tip to RealGM). “Toronto understandably said, ‘We’re not giving up Gary Trent Jr.'”
- MacMahon also provided more details on why the Mavericks were motivated to move Porzingis and why they were satisfied with a return of Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans for Porzingis and a second-round pick. “The Mavericks basically got to the point of ‘Hey, financially it’s a wash, but it’s two smaller contracts that would be easier to move,'” MacMahon told Lowe, per RealGM. “And they felt like K.P. was kind of in the way and those two guys could fill roles off the bench, so they pulled the trigger as soon as they found a deal where they didn’t have to give up a first-round pick. A lot of that was that the fit with K.P. wasn’t there. It doesn’t mean Porzingis necessarily did anything wrong. The Mavericks took a huge swing and a miss on him. It didn’t work out.”
- In a conversation with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said he believes he’s grown since his days of coaching the Nets and Bucks. “I learned a lot from Frank (Vogel),“ said Kidd, who was on Vogel’s staff as a Lakers assistant before being hired by Dallas. “Don’t worry about the small stuff. If there’s something to address, address it.”
Latest On Investigation Into Suns Owner Robert Sarver
Wachtell Lipton, the New York-based firm conducting the independent investigation into Suns owner Robert Sarver, has now interviewed more than 300 people as part of that probe, reports Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
One key figure still hasn’t been interviewed by the lawyers leading the investigation: Sarver himself. That’s expected to happen soon, according to Holmes, who says investigators are preparing to talk to the Suns’ owner.
Back in November, Holmes published a bombshell report in which a number of current and former Suns employees described a toxic workplace culture under Sarver, who was accused of racism and misogyny. The NBA quickly announced that it was launching an independent investigation into those accusations.
According to today’s report from Holmes, employees who have been interviewed by Wachtell Lipton have “confirmed a range of published allegations while introducing others.” Some of the interviewees have spoken to investigators multiple times, and some have provided the law firm with emails supporting their claims, Holmes writes.
It remains unclear when the investigation will conclude. According to Holmes, the lawyers involved have consistently told current and former employees that they’re in the “fact-finding” stage.
Phoenix’s players and coaches certainly haven’t let the ongoing investigation distract them on the court. The Suns’ 50-12 record this season gives them a 7.5-game cushion on the NBA’s second-best team (Golden State, at 43-20).
Warriors Notes: Green, Offense, Wiseman, Moody
Asked by Anthony Slater of The Athletic after Thursday’s loss to Dallas about when he thinks he’ll return to action, Warriors forward Draymond Green said he’s aiming to be back in “a couple weeks.”
Green stated during the All-Star Game in Cleveland last month that he hoped to return within three or four weeks. That was 12 days ago, so it appears his recovery timeline hasn’t changed since then.
As we relayed earlier this week, Green has started doing 3-on-3 work, so 4-on-4 and 5-on-5 reps will likely follow. According to Slater, the next couple weeks may be more about Green getting his conditioning and rhythm back than anything else, since he wasn’t able to run or do much cardio work while he was resting his back injury.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- In an in-depth story for ESPN.com, Kendra Andrews examines what Green means to the Warriors not just on defense, but on offense. Prior to his injury, Green ranked second on the team in touches per game (73.6) and first in assists (7.4). Head coach Steve Kerr believes Green’s absence has had an impact on players like Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, who benefit from his play-making. “Understand that, especially without Draymond for this extended stretch, our offense is a little different,” Stephen Curry said. “There is a lot more responsibility in terms of play-making, being on the ball and handling that attention.”
- One Warriors coach told Andrews that James Wiseman is highly unlikely to be a big part of the Warriors’ regular rotation this season, especially in the playoffs. Golden State believes the young center can help in certain situations, but is more focused on what he can do for the team in future seasons, which Kerr hinted at when he discussed Wiseman’s status on Thursday. “This guy needs reps. He needs a thousand reps,” Kerr said (Twitter link via Slater). “He needs a Summer League, he needs a training camp. So let’s temper the expectations, but be excited about his future, because as he gets those reps, he’s got the potential to be a tremendous player.”
- Kerr said after Thursday’s game that he expects rookie Moses Moody to continue getting rotation minutes going forward, according to Slater. Moody’s playing time has been inconsistent this year, but he has appeared in 11 of the Warriors’ last 13 games, starting five of them, and has acquitted himself well. On Thursday, he scored 13 fourth-quarter points on 5-of-5 shooting.