Latest On Chris Paul
OCTOBER 21, 12:47pm: Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni has confirmed that the Rockets are being cautious with Paul, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle details. D’Antoni said that CP3’s return date remains up in the air, as the point guard’s injury could be day-to-day or “week-to-week.”
“We’re going to make sure it’s 100% well,” D’Antoni said. “It’s hard to put a timetable on it. If it is (a month-long absence), it is. We’re equipped to win, anyway. Obviously, we want him back as soon as he can, but we’re not going to bring him back until he’s completely healthy because we don’t want him limping or not feeling it later on.”
OCTOBER 20, 4:15pm: After a less than stellar individual performance in the Rockets’ season opening win over the Warriors, Chris Paul sat out of Houston’s second game of the season earlier this week. Now, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets, concerns about the guard’s knee could potentially sideline the 32-year-old for as much as a month.
While Stein adds that the Rockets will officially consider their offseason trade acquisition “day-to-day” after announcing that he’ll miss the club’s home opener on Saturday with a knee contusion, it’s expected that they’ll be particularly cautious with the guard considering that they have every intention of making a long playoff run.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Rockets are bracing for a “possible 2-to-4 week stretch” without their playmaker and have inquired with various agents about adding potential point guard support in the interim.
At full health, Paul is an undisputed superstar and enough of a shot in the arm to give Houston a serious chance of making noise in the crowded Western Conference, unfortunately, the veteran has already missed over 10 games in five of his 12 NBA seasons and appears to be on pace to make it six out of 13.
Paul averaged 18.1 points and 9.2 assists per game for the Clippers last season and was brought over to the Rockets in a blockbuster offseason deal.
And-Ones: Lottery Ideas, White, BIG3
While the NBA recently voted to approve changes to the league’s draft lottery rules, Mavs owner Mark Cuban had a pair of other ideas to dissuade teams from tanking. Neither gained traction but the details that Cuban shared with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon are admittedly intriguing.
One of Cuban’s proposals would see the NBA draft eliminated outright with teams, instead, getting an allotted budget from the league to sign draft eligible players as free agents. The teams with the worse records would have the biggest budgets but wouldn’t necessarily be a lock to land the top talent if they don’t position themselves as an appealing destination.
“The team with the worst record gets the most money and the team with the best record gets the least money,” Cuban said. “It’s like a free agency. It makes it a lot harder to tank because you don’t know if you get the best players if you’re horrible all the time. Nobody liked that at all, not a single person.”
Cuban pitched the idea to the league’s board of governors but the concept didn’t have much of an impact.
The other idea that Cuban had was to lock the team with the worst record into a single draft position, potentially third or fourth. Doing so, Cuban argues, would give teams incentive to compete down the stretch to ensure that they didn’t finish the regular season with the worst record. By avoiding finishing 30th of all 30 teams, a team would effectively keep their chances of snagging the top pick in the draft alive.
Tuck the two Cuban ideas up on a shelf beside The Wheel for future speculation, however, considering that the league moved quickly and enthusiastically to adopts its relatively modest rejigging of the traditional draft lottery format.
There’s more news from around the league:
- The NBA didn’t set a record for international players on opening day rosters but it came close. A total of 108 international players from 42 countries suited up for Game 1, Michael Yuan of ESPN writes, that’s down from 113 international players from 41 countries in 2016/17.
- The G League returning rights to Heat forward Okaro White were acquired by the Long Island Nets in a trade with the Memphis Hustle, a press release on the Nets’ affiliate’s site reports.
- The BIG3 will expand its rosters ahead of its second season of operation, the league announced. This year teams will have one additional slot for a co-captain… which could come in handy.
Bulls Notes: Pondexter, Portis, Dunn
After a tumultuous two years on the sidelines, Bulls forward Quincy Pondexter made an emotional return to the court in Chicago’s season opener, Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago writes. The 29-year-old missed the last two seasons recovering from a knee injury, as well as a life-threatening MRSA infection.
Just last January one of Pondexter’s knee surgeries went south, resulting in the guard nearly dying in a New York hospital due to the antibiotic-resistant infection. “It wasn’t looking good,” Pondexter said. “It was tough. Being able to play basketball again in less than a year is crazy. This journey has been amazing.”
Pondexter scored eight points in his return but despite a prolific three-point shot, the veteran’s biggest contribution to the young Bulls will likely be his leadership. Pondexter has served as a valued role player for the Pelicans and the Grizzlies and will look to continue where he left off in 2014/15.
There’s more from Chicago:
- Head coach Fred Hoiberg told Nick Friedell of ESPN that Bobby Portis apologized to his teammates in a recent team meeting.
- There are too many variables at play for Bulls President of Basketball Operations John Paxson to put a timeline on the team’s rebuild, Cody Westerlund of 670 The Score tweets.
- If the Bulls were hoping for a quiet 2017/18 season to develop young players and establish a new culture, that vanished the moment Bobby Portis punched Nikola Mirotic, Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Now the club in transition will be viewed under a microscope.
- Second-year guard Kris Dunn could make his season debut as early as next week, NBA writer Sean Highkin tweets. Dunn had been expected to be sidelined 2-to-4 weeks as recently as last week.
2017 Offseason In Review: Chicago Bulls
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2017 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2017/18 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Chicago Bulls.
Signings:
- Cristiano Felicio: Four years, $32MM.
- Nikola Mirotic: Two years, $25MM. Second-year team option.
- Justin Holiday: Two years, $9MM.
- Antonio Blakeney: Two-way contract. Two years, $50K guaranteed for each season.
- Ryan Arcidiacono: Two-way contract. One year. $50K guaranteed.
Camp invitees:
- Diamond Stone: Two years, minimum salary. $50K guarantee. (Waived)
- Bronson Koenig: One year, minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10. (Waived)
- Jaylen Johnson: One year, minimum salary. Summer contract. (Waived)
- Jarell Eddie: One year, minimum salary. Summer contract. (Waived)
Waiver claims:
- Claimed David Nwaba off waivers from the Lakers.
- Claimed Kay Felder off waivers from the Cavaliers.
Trades:
- Acquired Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the draft rights to Lauri Markkanen (No. 7 pick) from the Timberwolves in exchange for Jimmy Butler and the draft rights to Justin Patton (No. 16 pick).
- Acquired cash ($3.5MM) from the Warriors in exchange for the draft rights to Jordan Bell (No. 38 pick).
- Acquired Quincy Pondexter, the Pelicans’ 2018 second-round pick, and cash ($2.5MM) from the Pelicans in exchange for the draft rights to Ater Majok.
Draft picks:
- 1-7: Lauri Markkanen — Signed to rookie contract.
Departing players:
- Jimmy Butler
- Isaiah Canaan (waived)
- Michael Carter-Williams
- Joffrey Lauvergne
- Anthony Morrow
- Rajon Rondo (waived)
- Dwyane Wade (bought out)
Other offseason news:
- Hired Doug Collins as senior advisor of basketball operations.
- As a result of a punch thrown by Bobby Portis, Nikola Mirotic expected to be out until late November with facial injuries; Portis suspended for eight games.
- Cameron Payne out until at least December with a foot injury.
Salary cap situation:
- Operating over the cap, but can create more than $17MM in cap room if necessary. Carrying approximately $81.4MM in guaranteed team salary. Portion of mid-level exception ($3.79MM) and full bi-annual exception ($3.29MM) still available.
Check out the Chicago Bulls’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Story of the summer:
With mounting pressure to commit to an inevitable rebuild, the Bulls finally opted to ship lone star Jimmy Butler westward for a handful of intriguing young building blocks.
To say that Chicago fans have grown skeptical that Gar Forman and John Paxson are the men to lead them into the next great era of Bulls basketball is an understatement. Nevertheless, the executive team has accepted the ambitious task and attempted to make the most of a less-than-stellar chapter in franchise history.
While the Bulls may be a way off from their next postseason appearance, we can give the organization credit for hopping off the treadmill of mediocrity. Baby steps, people.
Bucks Sign Joel Bolomboy To Two-Way Contract
5:16pm: The Bucks have officially announced the signing over Twitter.
5:00pm: The Bucks are signing Joel Bolomboy to a two-way contract, Chris Reichert of 2 Ways, 10 Days tweets. The forward was the last cut by the Jazz in preseason after they selected him in the second-round of the 2016 NBA Draft.
While the Weber State product didn’t spend much time in the NBA during his rookie campaign he was particularly dominant with Utah’s G League affiliate in Salt Lake City. The 23-year-old will look to build upon a solid stat line in his first season with Milwaukee’s G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.
In 22 games with the Stars in 2016/17, Bolomboy averaged 16.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. After his release from the Jazz last week he was expected to be the first-overall pick in the annual G League draft on Saturday.
When Bolomboy does get a chance to suit up for the big league club in Milwaukee, he’ll compete with the likes of Mirza Teletovic and John Henson for reps off the bench.
Knicks Sign Isaiah Hicks To Two-Way Contract
OCTOBER 20: The Knicks have officially signed Hicks to a two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release.
OCTOBER 19: The Knicks are planning to sign forward Isaiah Hicks to a two-way contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The North Carolina alum went through training camp with the Hornets earlier this month.
After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Tar Heel will look to make an impression with the franchise bouncing between the New York squad and the Knicks’ G League affiliate in Westchester.
Once the move becomes official, both of the Knicks’ two-way slots will be filled, with center Luke Kornet occupying the other one.
Blazers Sign Wade Baldwin To Two-Way Contract
OCTOBER 20: The Blazers have officially signed Baldwin to a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release.
OCTOBER 19: The Blazers and free agent point guard Wade Baldwin have agreed on a two-way deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The 21-year-old was waived by the Grizzlies earlier in the week.
Baldwin will join a Portland franchise that has done a particularly good job developing guards over the years, most notably their star backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Considering Baldwin’s potential heading into his rookie campaign as a first-round pick last season, it will be interesting to see if the change of scenery serves him well.
Baldwin averaged just 3.2 points per game in limited time on the court last season but spent the summer in competition with Andrew Harrison for a role off the bench in Memphis. In Portland, Baldwin will set out to steal minutes from incumbent backup Shabazz Napier if and when he gets a shot with the NBA club.
While Baldwin’s contract will be a two-way deal, the Blazers currently lack a direct G League affiliate, so it’s not yet clear which G League club he’ll suit up for this season.
Southeast Notes: Schroder, Oubre Jr., Carter-Williams
It wasn’t long ago when Hawks guard Dennis Schroder was regarded as an up-and-coming star. Lately, however, the market has soured on the German export. In a fan mailbag column, Chris Mannix of The Vertical writes that there’s a toxicity surrounding the 24-year-old that has limited his trade value.
Given that newly appointed Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk has been dead set on clearing cap room and maintaining financial flexibility, it seems logical that he would be looking to unload the final four years of Schroder’s contract. In reality, however, it may not be so simple.
While the idea of finding a buyer for Schroder a season or two seemed incredibly easy, concerns around the league about the guard’s maturity – especially after a recent assault charge – have limited what the Hawks could get for him.
In that case, Mannix writes, unless the Hawks want to give the 17.9-point-per-game guard away for next to nothing, they’d be better off sticking with him and hoping that he matures into a player they’re comfortable building around.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Point guard Michael Carter-Williams will have to wait to make his debut with the Hornets. Although the guard was recently cleared for contact, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports that he suffered a setback on Monday that will bump back his timeline.
- If Kelly Oubre can play as he did in Washington’s season opener, he may well find a bigger role than the one he saw with the Wizards last season. As Candace Buckner of the Washington Post writes, Oubre thrived when he subbed in for Jason Smith, making a strong case to earn more minutes in a small ball version of the team’s lineup.
- The Hawks have named Michelle Leftwich their new vice president of salary cap administration, Marc Stein of the New York Times writes. She’ll work alongside general manager Travis Schlenk.
Pacific Notes: Green, Kings, Clippers
The results from Draymond Green‘s MRI have come back negative, Chris Haynes of ESPN writes. The Warriors forward injured his knee in Tuesday’s season opener, missing the entire fourth quarter.
While it’s likely Green misses time as a result of the injury that had him limping in the team’s first game, the good news for the Warriors is that there was no structural damage that would necessitate a longer absence.
In 76 games for the Warriors last season, Green averaged 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists. If Golden State is going to survive an even stronger Western Conference than last year’s they’ll need to do it at full health.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Kings won’t be a playoff team in 2017/18 but that doesn’t mean they can’t still be successful, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. With so many new faces on the roster, the club will be happy to develop their young players and see a true culture shift.
- The Clippers are finally (mostly) healthy and head coach Doc Rivers is eager to see how they perform together under the spotlight of the regular season, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes.
- According to president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, the Clippers view Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan as Clippers for life. The recently promoted executive spoke extensively about his role with Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register.
Knicks Notes: Measuring Success, Height, Hardaway Jr.
The Knicks may not be a likely bet to contend for a playoff spot without Carmelo Anthony but that doesn’t mean that the season can’t still end up being worthwhile. Marc Berman of The New York Post spoke about the state of the franchise with analyst and former New York guard Greg Anthony.
This year, the broadcaster says, the team will need to gain confidence, establish leadership and grow team chemistry, whether they find themselves in the hunt for a postseason bid or not.
Regardless of the team’s win total, however, the organization’s new front office tandem of Steve Mills and Scott Perry will be under the microscope. After the disappointing reign of Phil Jackson, Berman writes that it will be hard for them to be any worse.
There’s more from the Knicks:
- There’s a good chance that Kristaps Porzingis will one day be the face of the Knicks franchise but head coach Jeff Hornacek thinks that his 22-year-old star will need to grow into that role in time, Ian Begley of ESPN writes.
- The Knicks are an unusually tall team at a time when some of the NBA’s most successful franchises are going small, Mike Vorkunov of the New York Times writes.
- When summer signee Tim Hardaway Jr. was shipped off from the Knicks to the Hawks and then demoted to the team’s G League affiliate, it served as a wake up call, the guard told Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “[Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer] putting me down there just made me realize you got to work hard, man. You can’t come here expecting to play. I thought I was going to come in and play. I realized I had veterans in front of me that I had to outwork and compete each and every day. Once I got better he trusted me in that process and it got me to where I am right now.”