Canada Likely To Drop Vaccination Requirement
All NBA players could soon be allowed to cross the Canadian border and suit up for road games in Toronto, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status.
Canada’s federal government plans to drop the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for people who enter the country by the end of September, according to Eric Atkins and Robert Fife of The Globe and Mail. An official familiar with the matter confirmed to Rob Gillies of The Associated Press that Canada will likely drop its vaccine requirement by the end of the month.
Unvaccinated travelers who are allowed to enter Canada are currently subject to mandatory arrival tests and a 14-day quarantine.
As recently as last month, NBA teams were informed via a memo that players still need to have either received a primary course of a COVID-19 vaccine, or been given a medical clearance from getting one, in order to play games in Canada this upcoming season. Those requirements would be dropped once the restrictions are lifted.
Last season, there were no exemptions from this rule for NBA players. A vast majority of NBA players are vaccinated against COVID-19 but if Canada indeed drops the vaccination requirement, the few who remain unvaccinated won’t be left behind.
Sharife Cooper Signs Camp Deal With Cavs
SEPTEMBER 20: The Cavaliers have officially signed Cooper, according to RealGM’s NBA transaction log. The team waived Chandler Vaudrin to open up a spot on the 20-man roster for Cooper.
SEPTEMBER 19: Free agent guard Sharife Cooper will sign a training camp contract with the Cavaliers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Cooper has been looking for another NBA opportunity since the Hawks waived him in late July. He recently worked out for the Lakers.
Cooper, 21, was the 48th overall pick in the 2021 draft. The 6’1” point guard appeared in only 13 games at the NBA level, logging 39 total minutes and making just 3-of-14 shots from the field.
The former Auburn standout played regularly in the G League, averaging 17.1 PPG and 6.9 APG on .431/.361/.907 shooting in 22 regular season appearances (30.2 MPG) for the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s NBAGL affiliate.
Since the Cavaliers only have 12 players on fully guaranteed deals, Cooper could earn his way onto the roster with a strong showing. Otherwise, on an Exhibit 10 contract, he’ll be eligible for a $50K bonus if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Cleveland Charge, the team’s G League affiliate.
Bucks Waive Ibou Badji
The Bucks have waived undrafted rookie Ibou Badji, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets.
Badji was signed on Monday to an Exhibit 10 contract. Badji will be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate.
Badji, who turns 20 next month, spent the 2021/22 season with Forca Lleida CE of the LEB Oro, Spain’s second league. In 37 games (19.9 MPG) last season, the Senegalese center averaged 8.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 1.2 BPG, according to his NBA.com draft profile.
Cavaliers Waive Chandler Vaudrin
The Cavaliers have waived forward Chandler Vaudrin, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets.
Vaudrin was signed by Cleveland to a camp deal earlier this month.
The Big South Player of the Year in 2021, Vaudrin had been on track to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cavaliers a year ago after going undrafted out of Winthrop. However, the 25-year-old point guard tore his ACL while playing for Cleveland’s Summer League team and missed his entire rookie entire season.
Vaudrin will likely wind up with the Cleveland Charge, the Cavs’ G League team. He can become an affiliate player, since his G League rights weren’t previously held by another team. He could earn a bonus of up to $50K under the terms of the Exhibit 10 contract if he’s with the Charge for at least 60 days.
Heat Add Guard Dru Smith
The Heat have signed guard Dru Smith, according to a team press release. Terms weren’t disclosed but it’s almost assuredly a training camp deal.
Smith is a familiar face. He appeared in three Summer League games with the Heat and averaged 12.0 points, 3.0 steals and 1.7 assists. He appeared in 10 games (five starts) with Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, last season and averaged 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.20 steals and 27.5 minutes.
Smith went undrafted out of Missouri.
Miami’s roster now includes 20 players, the maximum amount heading into training camp.
Celtics Waive Bruno Caboclo
The Celtics have waived forward Bruno Caboclo, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Boston signed Caboclo to a training camp deal late last month with the expectation he’d compete for a roster spot, so the timing is somewhat surprising. It’s possible the Celtics found a more desirable option, or that Caboclo had a better offer overseas.
His contract included Exhibit 10 language, so it’s also possible he could resurface with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League team.
The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Caboclo appeared in a total of 105 NBA regular season games across seven seasons with the Raptors, Kings, Grizzlies, and Rockets. He averaged 4.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG on .403/.308/.836 shooting in 12.3 MPG.
Caboclo, who turns 27 on Wednesday, finished the 2020/21 season in France, then returned to his home country for the ’21/22 campaign, signing with Sao Paolo FC. Caboclo led the club to a BCL Americas title and earned MVP honors in the Novo Basquete Brasil, which is Brazil’s top basketball league.
Western Notes: Zion, Blazers, Okpala, Thunder
Zion Williamson‘s strength and conditioning coach, Jasper Bibbs, tells William Guillory of The Athletic that the Pelicans forward is “in fantastic shape” with the 2022/23 season around the corner.
“He’s been committed to putting in the work day in and day out,” Bibbs said. “I’m really proud of what he’s been able to accomplish. He’s a better athlete now than he’s ever been.”
Williamson missed the entire ’21/22 season due to a broken foot, so ensuring that he’s healthy and fully recovered from that injury is a crucial first step. The former No. 1 overall pick has also been plagued by questions about his weight throughout his NBA career, and while Bibbs declined to say how much Zion weighs, he expressed optimism about the forward’s physical condition.
“… (His body composition) has improved at an extremely high level,” Bibbs told Guillory. “That’s all I’ll say.”
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- The Trail Blazers have officially announced a series of additions to their basketball operations staff, including Jonah Herscu as an assistant coach, David Adkins as director of player development, and former WNBA star Tina Thompson as a scout. Herscu previously worked for Sacramento, Adkins was with the Clippers, and Thompson was the head coach of Virginia’s women’s basketball team.
- The two-year, minimum-salary contract KZ Okpala signed with the Kings is virtually identical to the one Chima Moneke received earlier this offseason, as our JD Shaw reports (Twitter links). Okpala has a $250K partial guarantee in 2022/23 that would increase to $500K if he makes the opening night roster. He’d receive a partial guarantee of $250K for 2023/24 if he plays at least 1,000 minutes this season and Sacramento wins 41 or more games. His full ’23/24 salary would become guaranteed if he’s under contract through June 30, 2023.
- If the NBA and NBPA agree to remove the one-and-done rule for prospects, as has been rumored, there will be one super-sized draft class during the year in which players become draft-eligible out of high school. Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman explores what it might mean for the Thunder, who have loaded up on future picks, if that happens in 2024. Oklahoma City holds its own pick, the Clippers’ pick (unprotected), the Rockets’ pick (top-four protected), and the Jazz’s pick (top-10 protected) in the first round of the ’24 draft.
And-Ones: Wembanyama, High School Prospects, EuroBasket, More
Victor Wembanyama is projected to be the top pick in the 2023 draft, but he’s more concerned about landing with the right team than being taken No. 1 overall, writes Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops. Wembanyama, who plays for Metropolitans 92 in France, discussed his prospects during Media Day for his team’s new season, which starts this weekend.
“Sports-wise, the most interesting thing is always to find an organization that will take care of the project and the player,” Wembanyama said, as reported by the French outlet BasketSession. “So it’s better to be second, third, or 20th in the Draft if you have a better career afterward. But I don’t know if it’s pride, I have a part in me that says that there must be no one (drafted) in front of me.”
The 18-year-old center stands 7’4″, but he only weighs a little over 200 pounds, so durability is one of the few questions surrounding him as he prepares for his NBA career. Scouts are nearly unanimous in raving about his talent, and he has been a star in international competitions for the past three years.
“What matters to me this season is above all to consolidate a place as a possible No. 1 pick in the draft,” Wembanyama added. “That’s my goal, rather than trying to put on 15 kilos and take risks. I want to strengthen myself, but above all to move towards a favorable situation for the NBA.”
- With the possibility looming that high school players will be allowed to go straight to the NBA in a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, Jacob Polacheck of ZagsBlog talks to some of the top prospects in the Class of 2024 about how that might affect their decisions. “I think it’s an amazing opportunity for players who have the ability to go out of high school and follow their dream of playing in the NBA,” said Ian Jackson of Cardinal Hayes in New York, who is considered one of the top prospects in the class. “I think it’s great and the best part is that it gives high school athletes more choices.” It’s possible that the one-and-done rule could remain in place beyond 2024 even if the NBA and NBPA aim to eventually get rid of it, as Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday.
- Willy Hernangomez and Juancho Hernangomez stood out while leading Spain to the EuroBasket championship, Michael Scotto said in a HoopsHype podcast. Scotto also believes Finland’s Lauri Markkanen showed that he’s ready for a breakout season with the Jazz and that Italy’s Simone Fontecchio could be productive in Utah as well.
- Raptors representative Larry Tanenbaum was unanimously re-elected as chairman of the NBA Board of Governors, the league announced this morning (Twitter link).
Robert Williams To Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery On Knee
The knee injury that Robert Williams sustained near the end of the 2021/22 season continues to be an issue for the Celtics big man, who will undergo arthroscopic surgery on that troublesome left knee, reports Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links), the procedure is expected to require a recovery period of four-to-six weeks. Williams will miss training camp and the preseason, but the hope is that he’ll be back in the Celtics’ lineup early in the regular season, Woj says, adding that the plan is for him to have the surgery later this week (Twitter link).
Williams initially underwent surgery on the knee in March after tearing his meniscus. He was able to return to the court less than a month later and played a part in the Celtics’ run to the NBA Finals, though he wasn’t at 100% in the postseason. The 24-year-old sat out five games in the second and third rounds of the playoffs and reportedly required extensive treatment as he dealt with fluid build-up.
Williams enjoyed a breakout season in 2021/22, establishing new career highs in PPG (10.0), RPG (9.6), BPG (2.2), games played and started (61), field goal percentage (73.6%), and several other categories. He also helped anchor the NBA’s top defense.
As Deveney writes, the hope was that Williams would be ready to go this fall after resting the knee during the offseason, but it appears that won’t be the case. The procedure will leave the Celtics – already missing Danilo Gallinari due to a torn ACL – shorthanded in the frontcourt to open the season.
Al Horford, Grant Williams, Luke Kornet, camp invitee Noah Vonleh, and two-way player Mfiondu Kabengele are among Boston’s top available big men heading into training camp. As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), we’ll likely see Jayson Tatum play plenty of minutes at power forward in the early going to help fill the gaps in the depth chart.
Anthony Edwards Fined $40K For Social Media Comments
The NBA has fined Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards $40K for his use of “offensive and derogatory language” on social media, per a press release.
The fine is in response to a now-deleted video that Edwards posted to his Instagram account earlier this month. Edwards used homophobic language in the video, disparagingly describing a group of people as “queer.” After removing the video, the former No. 1 overall pick apologized for recording and posting it.
“What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry,” Edwards wrote (Twitter link). “It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!”
The NBA noted in today’s announcement that Edwards “acknowledged that his actions were inappropriate,” suggesting his apology was taken into account as the league weighed potential discipline.
The $40K fine for Edwards is in line with the penalties other stars have faced in recent years for homophobic remarks. Nikola Jokic was fined $25K in 2018 for making such a comment during a post-game interview, while Kevin Durant was fined $50K in 2021 for directing homophobic language toward actor Michael Rapaport on Twitter.