Andrew Nicholson

International Notes: Powell, Nicholson, Pangos, Ojeleye

Free agent guard Myles Powell and forward Andrew Nicholson are joining the Bay Area Dragons of the new East Asia Super League, according to an announcement from the league (Twitter link). The Dragons are a Hong Kong team, but are temporarily based in Manila in the Philippines due to COVID-19 restrictions in Hong Kong.

The new East Asian league is recruiting some noteworthy U.S. players with significant financial commitments. According to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com, Powell’s deal is worth seven figures. The former Seton Hall guard, who finished 2021/22 on a two-way contract with the Sixers, intends to return stateside when the EASL season ends in February.

“I’ll be back in six months, so the plan is to go over there, make some money, and then I’ll be back in February and hopefully join an NBA team before the playoffs,” Powell told Zagoria. “That’s around the time NBA call-ups start anyway.”

While Powell played in the NBA last season, Nicholson hasn’t suited up for an NBA team since 2017. He appeared in 285 total regular season contests from 2012-17 for Orlando, Washington, and Brooklyn.

Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:

  • Kevin Pangos‘ deal with Olimpia Milano, first reported in April, is now official, the Italian club announced today in a press release. It’s a two-year contract for Pangos, who appeared in 24 games for the Cavaliers last season before being bought out in February.
  • After Orazio Cauchi of BasketNews.com reported that Virtus Bologna is eyeing veteran NBA forward Semi Ojeleye as a possible target, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets that the Italian club has had discussions with Ojeleye. The 27-year-old appeared in 30 total games last season for the Bucks and Clippers before being waived by L.A. in March.
  • We passed along items on a handful of other non-NBA signings today, including Aron Baynes returning to Australia and Cassius Winston reportedly heading to Germany. You can check out our international page for all our latest updates on overseas transactions involving former NBA players.

14 NBA Players On Canada’s Preliminary Olympic Qualifying Roster

Team Canada has yet to secure a place in the men’s basketball event at the Tokyo Olympics, but the club should have a loaded roster as it looks to lock up a spot in a qualifying tournament next month.

Canada Basketball issued a press release today announcing its 21-player preliminary roster for the Olympic qualifier, and the group includes 14 players who finished the season on NBA contracts. Here’s the full list:

Of the seven players who didn’t play in the NBA this season, one (Bennett) is a former first overall pick, another (Nicholson) was also a first-round selection, and a third (Alexander) has NBA experience. Bell-Haynes has played in the G League, while Doornekamp, Ejim, and Nembhard all have extensive experience representing Canada in past international competitions.

Still, a few noteworthy names are missing from the list. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is recovering from a torn ACL and won’t be able to participate. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also dealing with an injury, announcing on Instagram that rehabbing the plantar fasciitis in his right foot will prevent him from representing Team Canada.

Raptors big man Chris Boucher is a third notable omission. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Boucher is focused on rehabbing a knee sprain and wants to make sure he’s 100% healthy heading into 2021/22. He also has a somewhat uncertain contract situation — his $7MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed, though I’d be shocked if he’s not retained.

Even without Murray, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Boucher, Canada Basketball is in position to run out a roster stacked with NBA talent and led by former NBA Coach of the Year Nick Nurse.

While the final roster will depend in part on which players are available, none of the 21 players on the preliminary are on teams expected to still be alive for the conference finals. However, a club like Powell’s Mavericks or Barrett’s Knicks could surprise.

Team Canada will compete against Greece, China, Uruguay, Turkey, and the Czech Republic in a qualifying tournament in Victoria, British Columbia between June 29 and July 4. If the club wins that six-team qualifier, it will be part of the 12-team field in Tokyo and would be a legit contender for a medal.

Andrew Nicholson, Russ Smith Sign With Chinese Team

A pair of former NBA players, Andrew Nicholson and Russ Smith, have both signed with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association, per a report from Sportando. We relayed yesterday that Nicholson was expected to sign with Fujian.

Nicholson teamed with former NBA veteran Yi Jianlian and Donald Sloan last year for Guangdong Tigers. He posted 22.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 46 CBA games. The Tigers went to the CBA semifinals before being eliminated by the Liaoning Flying Leopards.

A former Magic first-round pick (19th overall), Nicholson appeared in 285 total NBA regular season games from 2012 to 2017 with Orlando, Washington, and Brooklyn before heading to China last September.

As for Smith, the former second-round pick (47th overall) by the Pelicans spent last season with the Sturgeons. Smith is arguably best known for his 81-point game last July in the Chinese National Basketball League. Smith appeared in 27 NBA games with the Pelicans and Grizzlies from 2014-16, averaging 2.0 PPG.

Scola, Nicholson Expected To Continue Playing In China

Former NBA power forwards Luis Scola and Andrew Nicholson are expected to continue their playing careers in China, according to a pair of reports relayed by Sportando.

Scola, who initially signed with the Shanxi Brave Dragons last July, is signing with the Shanghai Sharks for the 2018/19 Chinese Basketball Association season, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The news comes on the heels of Trevor Booker‘s announcement that he’d be joining Shanxi, presumably taking over Scola’s old role.

In his first CBA season, Scola averaged 27.8 PPG, 13.7 RPG, and 3.4 APG in 37 games for the Brave Dragons, though the team only managed a 16-22 record. Scola, a longtime NBA big man who played for the Rockets, Suns, Pacers, Raptors, and Nets from 2007 to 2017, will be joining a Sharks team that was led by Jimmer Fredette (36.9 PPG) last season.

As for Nicholson, he’s expected to sign with the Fujian Sturgeons after playing for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in 2017/18, according to a Chinese report passed along by Sportando.

Nicholson, who teamed with fellow NBA vets Yi Jianlian and Donald Sloan last season for Guangdong, recorded 22.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 46 CBA contests. The Tigers advanced to the CBA semifinals before being eliminated by the Liaoning Flying Leopards.

A former Magic first-round pick, Nicholson appeared in 285 total NBA regular season games from 2012 to 2017 with Orlando, Washington, and Brooklyn before making the leap to China last September.

Canada Basketball Unveils 18 Training Camp Invites

Canada Basketball has announced its preliminary 18-man roster of players who have been invited to participate in training camp and exhibition play ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers next month, reports Josh Lewenberg of The Sports Network.

Among the 18 named individuals, eight played in the NBA last season – Khem Birch (Magic), Chris Boucher (Warriors), Dillon Brooks (Grizzlies), Cory Joseph (Pacers), Jamal Murray (Nuggets), Kelly Olynyk (Heat), Dwight Powell (Mavericks), and Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers).

The preliminary roster also includes former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, as well as three other G League players – Aaron BestOlivier Hanlan, and Kaza Kajami-Keane.

The remaining six players are former first-round pick of the Magic, Andrew Nicholsonformer college standouts’ Iowa State’s Melvin Ejim, Baylor’s Brady Heslip, and Gonzaga’s Kevin Pangos, as well as brothers Phil Scrubb and Tommy Scrubb.

As also highlighted by Lewenberg, notable absences include Trey Lyles (Nuggets), Nik Stauskas (Nets), and most glaringly, Andrew Wiggins (Timberwolves). Per Lewenberg, multiple sources indicated that one factor in Wiggins’ decision to decline Canada Basketball’s invitation is his strained relationship with national team head coach Jay Triano, who left Wiggins on the bench during the final moments of a qualifying game for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Andrew Nicholson To Play In China

Free agent power forward Andrew Nicholson is headed to China, according to international basketball journalist David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that Nicholson has signed a deal in the $1MM range with the Guangdong Tigers. Nicholson’s agreement with Guangdong was first reported by Chuckie Maggio (Twitter link).

Nicholson, 27, was a beneficiary of the 2016 salary cap spike, having inked a four-year, $26MM contract with the Wizards during free agency last summer. After signing that deal, Nicholson endured his worst season as a pro, appearing in just 28 games for Washington and averaging 2.5 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 8.3 minutes per contest.

Nicholson was included as a salary dump in a deadline deal with the Nets in February, and ultimately finished the 2016/17 season with averages of 2.6 PPG and 1.6 RPG to go along with a .387 FG% in 38 games. Those numbers were all career worsts.

Earlier this offseason, Nicholson was once again included in a trade as a salary dump, making his way from the Nets to the Trail Blazers in the swap that sent Allen Crabbe to Brooklyn. However, Portland opted not to keep Nicholson on its roster, waiving him last week and stretching his remaining salary across seven years.

Nicholson will join a Guangdong squad that finished as the Chinese Basketball Association’s runner-up in 2016/17, having been led by former NBA players Carlos Boozer, Donald Sloan, and Yi Jianlian.

Trail Blazers Waive Andrew Nicholson

As expected, the Trail Blazers have waived Andrew Nicholson from their roster, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. According to Wojnarowski, Portland will use the stretch provision on Nicholson, spreading out his remaining salary across the next seven years. The Blazers confirmed this afternoon that Nicholson has been waived (Twitter link).Andrew Nicholson vertical

Nicholson, 27, was a beneficiary of the 2016 salary cap spike, having inked a four-year, $26MM contract with the Wizards during free agency last summer. After signing that deal, Nicholson endured his worst season as a pro, appearing in just 28 games for Washington and averaging 2.5 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 8.3 minutes per contest.

Nicholson was included as a salary dump in a deadline deal with the Nets in February, and ultimately finished the 2016/17 season with averages of 2.6 PPG and 1.6 RPG to go along with a .387 FG% in 38 games. Those numbers were all career worsts.

Earlier this offseason, Nicholson was once again included in a trade as a salary dump, making his way from the Nets to the Trail Blazers in the swap that sent Allen Crabbe to Brooklyn. Reports at the time indicated that Portland would waive and stretch Nicholson, but the team didn’t make it official for more than a month.

As we detailed earlier today, waiving Nicholson before the end of August allows the Blazers to reduce his 2017/18 cap hit by more than $3.5MM, which also slashes the club’s projected year-end luxury tax bill by more than $5MM. Nicholson will now count against Portland’s cap for about $2.844MM for the next seven seasons.

Once he clears waivers, Nicholson will be free to sign with any NBA team except for the Blazers or Nets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Five Candidates To Be Waived With Stretch Provision

NBA teams have about two more weeks to apply the stretch provision to the 2017/18 cap hits for players they waive. After August 31, teams will no longer be eligible to stretch salaries for the coming season, and the stretch provision will only apply to future seasons on a player’s contract.

The stretch provision is a CBA rule that allows teams to stretch a player’s remaining salary across additional seasons. For July and August, the rule dictates that a team can pay out the player’s salary over twice the number of years remaining on his contract, plus one. So a contract with three years left on it could be stretched out over seven years. After August 31, only the future years on the contract can be stretched in that manner.

In practical terms, here’s what that means for a player who is earning $6MM in each of the next two years ($12MM total):

Year Current contract Stretched by August 31 Stretched after August 31
2017/18 $6,000,000 $2,400,000 $6,000,000
2018/19 $6,000,000 $2,400,000 $2,000,000
2019/20 $2,400,000 $2,000,000
2020/21 $2,400,000 $2,000,000
2021/22 $2,400,000

In some cases, it can be advantageous to wait until September to waive a player and use the stretch provision. If a team isn’t close to the tax line and can’t clear additional cap room by stretching a player’s current-year salary, it may make more sense to be patient, since that extra immediate cap room wouldn’t be useful.

However, there are several teams around the NBA who may be motivated to waive and stretch players prior to that August 31 deadline. Here are five stretch provision candidates to keep an eye on during the next couple weeks:

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Nets Acquire Allen Crabbe From Blazers

A year after aggressively pursuing shooting guard Allen Crabbe as a restricted free agent, the Nets have landed their man. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the Trail Blazers are trading Crabbe to Brooklyn in exchange for forward Andrew Nicholson. Upon acquiring Nicholson, Portland will waive him and stretch his contract, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).Allen Crabbe vertical

When Crabbe reached restricted free agency in 2016, he was one of a handful of players to sign an offer sheet with the Nets. That deal, worth nearly $75MM over four years, looked like an awfully steep price to pay for a player with 17 career starts to his name. However, the Blazers thwarted Brooklyn’s attempts to poach Crabbe, matching the Nets’ offer sheet and bringing him back to Portland.

A year later, that decision to match Crabbe’s deal – while retaining other RFAs and adding Evan Turner – looks like it may have been a mistake. The Trail Blazers were in position to pay a huge tax penalty in 2018 if team salary remained as high as it was, and dumping a contract or two appeared to be an inevitability. By swapping Crabbe for Nicholson and stretching the $19MM+ left on Nicholson’s contract over the next seven seasons, the Blazers will clear approximately $16.5MM from their 2017/18 cap, ending up only about $3MM above the tax threshold.

It remains to be seen if the Blazers have another move up their sleeves — the club has been linked to Carmelo Anthony, despite Carmelo’s apparent unwillingness to waive his no-trade clause and accept a deal to Portland. Even if no second deal is coming though, the Blazers should be happy with this trade from a financial perspective. It will allow the club to shed more than $50MM in total projected salary and tax penalties.

From the Nets’ perspective, the deal will allow them to land a player they loved at a slightly lesser cost, albeit a year after they had hoped to acquire him. Once the Blazers matched Crabbe’s offer sheet last July, he was ineligible to be traded to Brooklyn for a full year, but once those 365 days passed, it made sense for the two teams to engage on trade discussions.

By sending out Nicholson in the swap, the Nets appear to have the cap room necessary to absorb Crabbe’s salary without having to make any corresponding roster moves. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Crabbe also waived his trade kicker, making things a little simpler for both teams. That decision will cost the 25-year-old some money, but he’ll have a chance to assume a larger role in Brooklyn than he had in Portland.

In 79 games last season for the Blazers, Crabbe set new career bests with 10.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, a .468 FG%, and a .444 3PT%. While it remains to be seen how Brooklyn’s starting lineup will shake out, Crabbe figures to see plenty of minutes alongside D’Angelo Russell in a new-look Nets backcourt.

The Blazers will generate a trade exception worth $12,969,502 in the deal. That figures represents the difference between Crabbe’s and Nicholson’s salaries for 2017/18.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: C. Lee, Celtics, Raptors, Nicholson

A year after signing Courtney Lee to a four-year, $48MM contract, the Knicks are “absolutely open” to the idea of dealing him, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who tweets that the club is “moving in a different direction.” Lee didn’t have a great first season in New York, but he’s still a capable three-point shooter, and his contract isn’t as much of an albatross as some of the other deals signed following 2016’s salary cap spike. He’ll be a player worth keeping an eye on if the Knicks delve into the trade market in the coming weeks.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic division:

  • Guerschon Yabusele, who was selected with the No. 16 overall selection in the 2016 draft, appears to be on his way to joining the Celtics, Olivia Healy of WEEI writes. Yabusele will miss this year’s summer league as he recovers from surgery, but Healy believes that the French native could find himself in Boston’s rotation next year due to his size and strength.
  • Gary Tanguay of CSNNE.com makes the case for why the Celtics‘ top – and only – target this summer should be Pelicans big man Anthony Davis, and why Danny Ainge should be willing to deal any pick and/or player to make it happen.
  • The Raptors find themselves at a crossroads this summer, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical, who breaks down many of the crucial personnel decisions facing the team, as well as the increasing “cost of being good.”
  • Andrew Nicholson was a throw-in when the Nets sent Bojan Bogdanovic to Washington at the trade deadline earlier this year. Since Nicholson remains under contract for a few more seasons, Charles Maniego of Nets Daily explores whether Brooklyn can salvage some value out of the former first-round pick.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.