Donta Hall Signs 10-Day Deal With Pistons
3:59pm: The Pistons have officially announced their new 10-day deal with Hall, issuing a press release to confirm the signing. The contract will run through March 2.
2:00pm: Grand Rapids Drive forward Donta Hall has inked a 10-day contract with that G League club’s NBA affiliate, the Pistons, according to Hoops Rumors reporter JD Shaw (Twitter link).
The Pistons recently freed up roster space when they bought out forward Markieff Morris, who reportedly plans to join the Lakers, and point guard Reggie Jackson, who signed on with the Clippers for the rest of the 2019/20 season.
Hall, a 6’9″, 230-pound 22-year-old undrafted rookie out of Alabama, has averaged 16.4 points per game and 10.5 boards across 36 games for the Drive, according to Austin Kent of SLAM. Hall is connecting on 66.2% of his looks from the floor.
Detroit now has a full roster — 13 players on standard contracts, two on 10-day deals (Hall and Derrick Walton), and two on two-way pacts.
Alex Len To Debut For Kings Tonight
Kings coach Luke Walton said today that new center Alex Len, part of the trade that shipped an unhappy Dewayne Dedmon out of town, will suit up for the first time with his new team tonight, per Sean Cunningham of ABC10 Sacramento (Twitter link).
Len, who had been recovering from a hip flexor injury, is expected to play in small 3-4 minute stints at time today, and just 10-12 minutes overall, according to James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).
After being taken with the No. 5 overall pick by the Suns in 2013, the Ukranian-born Len has proved to be a solid if underwhelming role player in Phoenix and, since 2018, Atlanta. He has started in just 180 of his 452 NBA games played. He will serve as a big body to shore up the injury-depleted Kings’ frontcourt, providing support for current starting Kings center Harry Giles.
Len will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after signing a two-year, $8.5MM contract with the Hawks in 2018. This season, the 250-pound seven-footer holds averages of 8.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 0.8 BPG in just 18.6 minutes a night.
Joe Johnson Returning To BIG3
Seven-time All-Star swingman Joe Johnson will be returning to the BIG3 this summer for a second season with Ice Cube‘s 3-on-3 veteran league, Yahoo’s Chris Haynes reports (Twitter link).
Johnson, 38, is the reigning BIG3 league MVP. His team, the Triplets, won the BIG3 championship last summer, thanks in large part to Johnson’s sharpshooting heroics.
The 6’7″ wing out of Arkansas last saw some NBA heat this fall, where he was signed to the Pistons’ training camp roster after his stellar BIG3 performance. However, power forward Christian Wood beat him out for the team’s 15th and final roster spot heading into the season. Detroit waived Johnson in October.
In his 17 NBA seasons, Iso Joe played for solid playoff squads on the Celtics, Suns, Hawks, Nets, Heat, Jazz and Rockets. He holds a career slash line of 16.0 PPG/4.0 RPG/3.9 APG. He has converted 44.1% of his shots from the field, 37.1% of his 4.2 three-point attempts a night, and 80.2% from the charity stripe.
Community Shootaround: Coach Of The Year Favorites
This season, the Coach of the Year race appears to have plenty of intriguing candidates. With the All-Star break upon us, we at Hoops Rumors deemed it a good time to reflect on where things stand currently.
Mike Budenholzer is leading the 46-8 Bucks towards potentially the NBA’s third-ever 70+ win season. Superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo may win his second consecutive MVP award under Budenholzer’s tutelage, while wing Khris Middleton has made his second straight All-Star team.
In their second year under Nick Nurse, the Raptors are miraculously on pace for a better record than they had during a champion run last year, minus 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Pascal Siakam has blossomed into an All-Star starter. Fellow All-Star Kyle Lowry has remained a steadying presence on the court. Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Norman Powell have all taken notable leaps.
Erik Spoelstra has coached the new-look Heat to a 35-19 record in the East, helped center Bam Adebayo become a first-time All-Star, and made the most out of promising rookies Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn, plus second-year sharpshooter Duncan Robinson.
The Celtics lost Kyrie Irving and Al Horford to free agency over the summer, and signed Kemba Walker in Irving’s stead. Team chemistry appears to have improved significantly, and coach Brad Stevens has helped Walker return to the All-Star game and Jayson Tatum make his first appearance in the big show, while leading Boston to a 38-16 record (including a recent eight-game win streak).
Though the Lakers missed out on signing priority head coach options Tyronn Lue and Monty Williams over the summer, their supposed “consolation” option Frank Vogel has impressed in his first season with the team. The Lakers have a 41-12 record, tops in the West thus far, and have been able to incorporate several mercurial veterans into an upbeat, defensive-oriented locker room atmosphere.
There are several contenders elsewhere in the NBA. Billy Donovan has helped take the Thunder to a surprisingly robust 33-22 record. Rick Carlisle has brought the Mavericks back to the thick of the playoff hunt with an identical record to the Thunder’s and helped Luka Doncic become a first-time All-Star starter. 35-year-old coach Taylor Jenkins has brought the young Grizzlies back to relevance after the team offloaded former franchise cornerstones Marc Gasol and Mike Conley in 2019.
Who do you think will walk away with Coach of the Year hardware in 2020? Let us know!
Community Shootaround: Will The Grizzlies Make The Playoffs?
Led by stellar seasons from Rookie of the Year frontrunner Ja Morant and second-year big man Jaren Jackson Jr., the 28-26 Grizzlies have a solid lead in the race for the West’s No. 8 seed in the 2020 playoffs.
Burly veteran center Jonas Valančiūnas has proved to be a perfect frontcourt complement to Jackson. Young players like rookie power forward Brandon Clarke, third-year wing Dillon Brooks and second-year point guard De’Anthony Melton have all shown promise too.
Unfortunately, the Grizzlies will also be up against the NBA’s toughest post-All Star break schedule, per Tankathon, as they wrap up what has to this point been an exciting season. Schedule strength is determined by combining the winning percentage for all of a team’s upcoming opponents.
Among Memphis’ most intimidating future combatants down the home stretch are the 46-8 Bucks, the 41-12 Lakers (twice), the 40-15 Raptors (twice), and the 38-16 Celtics.
The No. 11-seeded Pelicans, with a 23-32 record, have the easiest schedule remaining in the league. The No. 9-seeded Trail Blazers (25-31) have the sixth-hardest road ahead. The No. 10-seeded Spurs (23-31) boast the 11th-easiest schedule. Memphis is currently in the No. 8 seed, but maybe these more favorable schedules (and the health of a certain rookie in New Orleans) will give one of the teams breathing down the Grizzlies’ necks an opportunity to snatch the seed.
We want to hear what you think. Can the new-look Grizzlies continue their recent string of success and hold off the Blazers, Spurs and Pelicans to secure a 2020 playoff berth? Or will one of these other teams make a playoff push of their own?
Weigh in with your thoughts below!
Dwight Buycks Agrees To Deal With Greek Team
Dwight Buycks, a former NBA point guard, has agreed to a two-year deal with EuroLeague Greek team Olympiacos that will last through the 2020/21 season, per Nicola Lupo of Sportando.
The 6’3″ Buycks went undrafted out of Marquette in 2011. After several years working at the periphery of the NBA in the Summer League and the then-D-League (now G League), Buycks finally broke through with the Raptors in the 2013/14 season, playing 14 games in Toronto. He signed a 10-day contract with the Lakers and appeared in six games for L.A. in April 2015.
After a stint in the Chinese Basketball Association, Buycks returned to the NBA during the 2017/18 season, when he inked a two-way contract with the Pistons. He appeared in 29 games with Detroit. He has averaged around 20 PPG for the CBA’s Shenzen Leopards over the past two seasons, per Sportando.
DeMarre Carroll, Frustrated In San Antonio, Hopeful For New Opportunity
Spurs forward DeMarre Carroll is making no secret of his frustration with his role in San Antonio, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Carroll has 15 straight DNP-CDs and counting,
Carroll agreed to a three-year, $21MM contract with the club in a sign-and-trade from Brooklyn this summer. The Spurs are only on the hook for $1.35MM in the final season of his deal (2021/22).
The 33-year-old was not with the Spurs when they started their eight-game rodeo trip on February 2, as the club looked into moving him by the February 6 trade deadline, per Orsborn. Before things had reached this point, Carroll was already vocal about his reduced role.
Carroll, known as a prototypical three-and-D forward who can play either position, holds career averages of 9.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG, while shooting 35.9% from deep on 3.2 attempts a night. Those numbers have cratered this season with the Spurs, where he is averaging just nine minutes a night and has appeared in only 15 games.
“I felt like San Antonio was going to be a great place for me, for my talents,” Carroll said of his frustrating tenure with the Spurs this season. “But it didn’t work out.”
Due to the length of Carroll’s current contract, a buyout that satisfies both sides may be difficult to achieve — an offseason trade may be more realistic. Carroll was noncommittal when asked about the possibility of his buyout, suggesting his agent Mark Bartelstein is at least exploring the idea.
“He is handling that,” Carroll said. “[He] and [Spurs general manager] Brian (Wright) and all of them. I don’t know what direction we are going to go. But at the end of the day, at 33, I don’t want to waste my talents just sitting at the end of the bench, knowing I could help a team produce.”
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Bertans, Adebayo, Young
Hornets head coach James Borrego has a unique way of keeping rookie forwards Caleb Martin and Jalen McDaniels galvanized to give maximum effort in Charlotte, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer relays. If their play is not to the level of their teammates, they will be sent down to develop with the team’s G League affiliate the Greensboro Swam.
“It’s their job to put pressure on me to keep them here,” Borrego said. “For them to stay in our program right now, there is a level of accountability, there is a level of professionalism they need to carry themselves with.” Small forward Martin went undrafted out of Nevada, while power forward McDaniels was selected by the Hornets with the No. 52 pick out of San Diego State.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Wizards big man Davis Bertans, an unrestricted free agent in 2020, credits coach Scott Brooks with letting him develop his shooting stroke, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.
- Newly-minted Heat All-Star Bam Adebayo was confident coming into the season that he could make the All-Star team if he hit certain statistical benchmarks and his team was winning, according to Khobi Price of the Miami Sun-Sentinel. His goal was averaging 16 PPG, 10 RPG and 5 APG in a winning environment. He is currently averaging 15.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the 35-19 Heat, alongside fellow All-Star Jimmy Butler. “I guess my prediction was right,” Adebayo said during media availability Saturday.
- To take the leap from All-Star to MVP, second year Hawks point guard Trae Young must evolve on defense, according to Scott Gleeson of USA Today.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 2/9/20 – 2/15/20
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:
- With the 2020 NBA trade deadline behind us, Luke Adams took a look at the buyout market for candidates that contenders may consider this season.
- Speaking of the buyout market, Adams defined buyouts for this week’s Hoops Rumors Glossary item.
- We broke down which NBA teams must make at least one roster move shortly after this weekend’s All-Star Game.
- Adams gave you the full details on our Trade Rumors phone app.
- JD Shaw interviewed Sixers forward Norvel Pelle, who got his two-way contract converted into a multiyear NBA deal.
- Adams examined several key dates and deadlines to keep an eye out for over the next couple months.
- In the lead-up to the 2020 NBA draft, Adams examined the most valuable traded second-round picks.
- In our Polls this week, we asked:
- In our Community Shootaround discussions this week, we asked:
Samardo Samuels To Play In France
Former Cavaliers and Louisville big man Samardo Samuels has signed a deal with French club Chorale Roanne, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando.
Samuels, 31, played for three seasons in Cleveland from 2010-2013 after going undrafted in 2010. Cleveland waived Samuels in January 2013.
Following a brief 2013 stint with the then-D-League’s Reno Bighorns, Samuels has logged time overseas in Israel, Italy, Spain, China, Serbia and France. Samuels also played in Ice Cube’s Big3 three-on-three basketball league, during the summer of 2019.
Earlier this season, Samuels played 15 games for Panionios in Greece, averaging 17.1 PPG and 6.1 RPG.