Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 3/3/2022
Click here for a transcript of Hoops Rumors’ live chat on Thursday.
Our next live chat, with Luke Adams, will take place on Tuesday at noon Central time.
Central Notes: Cunningham, Caruso, Boucek, Brogdon
Cade Cunningham got into early foul trouble the past two games and Pistons coach Dwane Casey says his prized rookie has to play smarter, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. “We need him in the game. We don’t need cheap fouls, reaching fouls and fouling just to be fouling,” Casey said. “He’ll learn. We need his offense. We need his playmaking. We don’t need him sitting over there next to the coaches.” Cunningham has picked up four or more fouls in 19 games.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Alex Caruso is not close to coming back from wrist surgery, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Bulls coach Billy Donovan said Caruso is able to do some on-court work but needs to strengthen the affected area. Caruso can barely pass the ball with his right hand at this time and he won’t be cleared for contact for a couple more weeks.
- Pacers assistant coach Jenny Boucek turned down a coaching job with the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, Scott Agness of FieldhouseFiles confirms. Marc Stein was the first to report the news regarding Boucek, a close friend of Becky Hammon, who is leaving the Spurs to become the Aces’ head coach.
- The Pacers should look to trade Malcolm Brogdon this offseason after adding a young point guard in Tyrese Haliburton, Drew Maresca of Basketball News opines. He’ll turn 30 in December, so his timeline doesn’t align with Indiana’s rebuild. Brogdon signed a two-year, $45MM extension last offseason. The Knicks and Wizards are two teams that could have some interest in Brogdon, in Maresca’s view.
Southeast Notes: Heat Buyout Approach, Gafford, Fultz, Porzingis
The Heat have been active in the buyout market in past years and they could fill their open roster spot will a veteran in the coming weeks, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes. Miami could look to add a power forward if Markieff Morris remains out or wait to see if another rotation player gets injured. Winderman doesn’t expect the Heat to fill the spot with a long-term prospect as they did with Kendrick Nunn three years ago or Omer Yurtseven last season, since they’re focused on winning a championship this season.
We have more info on the Southeast Division:
- Daniel Gafford has long-term security after signing an extension that runs through the 2025/26 season. However, the Wizards big man had to be patient to regain a starting role, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes. Following a bout with COVID, he replaced Thomas Bryant in the starting five on Friday and produced 17 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes. “There was a lot of frustration, but at the end of the day, I wanted to be a good teammate. I didn’t want to wear my feelings on my sleeves,” Gafford said. “There was times where I did, but at the end of the day, I can’t bring that negative energy around the team. So I apologized to the team for that, the times that I did do it.”
- Markelle Fultz made his season debut tonight. It’s the end of a long hard road of rehab for the Magic guard, who tore his ACL last season. “It’s been a long time coming,” Fultz told Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s been a long time of just all the hard work I put in. All those tough days, I did it for this moment right here, just to be able to go out there and be able to compete. Just happy. Not many words I can express it.”
- Though Kristaps Porzingis doesn’t appear to be close to making his Wizards debut, coach Wes Unseld Jr. said they’re not thinking about shutting him down for the season, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington reports. “You hope that at some point you don’t see the effects they are concerned with and we can kind of expedite the return. But until that point, we’re going to treat it day-to-day and hope that he responds well,” Unseld said. Porzingis has already been ruled out of Tuesday’s game against Detroit due to knee soreness.
Nets Notes: Curry, Drummond, Simmons, Irving, Nash
While Ben Simmons remains out of action, two other players dealt from the Sixers to the Nets have been productive, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. In five starts with Brooklyn, Seth Curry is averaging 19.2 PPG on 47.4% shooting from deep, while Andre Drummond is posting a double-double (11.2 PPG, 11.0 RPG) in 22 MPG. Curry’s contract runs through next season, while Drummond will be a free agent this summer.
We have more on the Nets:
- Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers is pleased to see Drummond take on an expanded role in Brooklyn, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Rivers was happy the way Drummond accepted a backup role with the Sixers and said the former All-Star is missed from a chemistry standpoint.
- Simmons’ back soreness that caused a delay in his return is a minor issue and he’ll try once again to work his way into playing shape this week, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (video link). “This is the same back issue he had at the beginning of training camp when he returned to Philadelphia,” she said. “This is something he’s had for a couple of years. … The plan is the same this week, ramp it up and see where you’re at.” However, coach Steve Nash has already ruled out Simmons from practicing this week, Lewis tweets.
- As we noted last week, Kyrie Irving is excited by the possibility of vaccine mandates being relaxed in New York City. However, mayor Eric Adams reiterated in a CNBC interview he’s in no rush to do so, according to an ESPN report. “We want to find a way to get Kyrie on the court, but this is a bigger issue,” Adams said. “I can’t have my city closed down again. It would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we’re telling countless number of New York City employees, ‘If you don’t follow the rules, you won’t be able to be employed.'”
- Nash did not coach on Monday after being placed in the league’s health and safety protocols, Lewis tweets. Jacque Vaughn filled in for him.
Lakers To Waive DeAndre Jordan, Sign D.J. Augustin
The Lakers are waiving DeAndre Jordan and are signing free agent guard D.J. Augustin. They also plan to sign forward Wenyen Gabriel to a two-way deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team had been seeking depth at the point behind Russell Westbrook.
Jordan played nine minutes in the blowout loss to New Orleans on Sunday but has seen limited action over the last two months. Overall, Jordan averaged 4.1 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 12.8 MPG in 32 games with the Lakers on a veteran’s minimum contract.
Jordan may not be out of work for long. The Sixers will aggressively pursue Jordan, either via a waiver claim or after he clears waivers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Augustin, meanwhile, was waived by the Rockets at the trade deadline. The 5’11” point guard, a 14-year NBA veteran, averaged 5.4 PPG, 2.2 APG and 1.2 RPG across 15.0 in 34 contests with Houston this season. Augustin, who has logged 955 regular-season games, will be playing for his 11th team.
Gabriel has spent time with the Nets, Clippers and Pelicans in 2021/22. All of his NBA contracts during this season were 10-day deals under the hardship provision.
Gabriel, who was waived by the Bucks during training camp, has played in seven NBA games this season — six for the Clippers and one for the Nets. The 24-year-old didn’t play at all during his most recent 10-day deal with New Orleans, but appeared in 21 games for the Pelicans last season. Overall, he has 58 career NBA appearances.
Los Angeles has Mason Jones and Sekou Doumbouya on two-way deals, so one of those players must be waived to make room for Gabriel.
Tomas Satoransky Signs With Wizards
Veteran guard Tomas Satoransky has officially signed with the Wizards, according to a team press release.
Satoransky was bought out by the Spurs and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported over the weekend he intended to return to Washington once he cleared waivers. That occurred on Monday.
Satoransky, who was in the final season of a three-year, $30MM contract, appeared in 32 games with New Orleans and one game with San Antonio this season. He was involved in two deadline deals — he was traded from the Pelicans to the Trail Blazers in the CJ McCollum blockbuster, then was shipped to the Spurs in a three-team swap.
Satoransky played his first three seasons in the league (2016-19) with the Wizards. During that span, he appeared in 210 games (87 starts), averaging 6.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 3.7 APG.
With Bradley Beal out for the season and Spencer Dinwiddie having been traded to Dallas in the Kristaps Porzingis deal, Satoransky could jump right into the Wizards’ rotation. Washington hosts the Pistons on Tuesday.
Tim Frazier Signs 10-Day Contract With Cavaliers
FEBRUARY 27: Frazier has officially signed his 10-day contract with the Cavaliers, per a team press release.
FEBRUARY 25: The backcourt-depleted Cavaliers are signing veteran point guard Tim Frazier to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The team announced on Thursday that Caris LeVert would miss one to two weeks due to a foot sprain while All-Star Darius Garland is battling lower back soreness. Neither played in the team’s loss to Detroit Thursday night. On Friday, Rajon Rondo was diagnosed with a sprained toe that will sideline him at least two weeks.
Frazier was signed to 10-day contracts with the Magic this season under the hardship exception during the COVID crisis in late December. He wound up playing 10 games for Orlando, including three starts.
Frazier, 31, has also played for Philadelphia, Portland, New Orleans, Washington, Milwaukee, Detroit and Memphis is his journeyman career. He’s averaged 4.9 PPG and 4.0 APG in 17.7 MPG in 287 NBA games.
Cleveland had a roster spot available and won’t have to make a corresponding move.
Haywood Highsmith Signs Second 10-Day Deal With Heat
FEBRUARY 26: The Heat have officially signed Highsmith to a second 10-day contract, the team announced (Twitter link).
FEBRUARY 25: Forward Haywood Highsmith will sign another 10-day contract with the Heat, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Highsmith signed his first standard 10-day contract on February 15. That contract was extended by one day due to the All-Star break and will expire after tonight’s game against the Knicks.
The Heat will not be able to offer Highsmith another 10-day after the next one expires.
Highsmith had an earlier 10-day stint with Miami under the hardship exception in late December and early January. Prior to Friday’s game, he had appeared in six games with Miami this season, averaging 3.7 PPG in 11.8 MPG.
Highsmith had a brief stint with the Sixers in 2018/19, appearing in five games for the club on a two-way contract. The 25-year-old also spent the 2020/21 season in Germany, but has otherwise played mostly for the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League affiliate, since going pro in ’18. He has appeared in 17 games with the Blue Coats this season, averaging 13.6 PPG on 39% shooting from three-point range.
Tomas Satoransky Bought Out By Spurs, Looks To Join Wizards
12:37pm: The Spurs have officially waived Satoransky, the team announced in a press release. He’ll clear waivers on Monday, at which point he’ll be free to sign with Washington.
11:19am: Veteran guard Tomas Satoransky is preparing to sign with the Wizards after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Spurs, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Satoransky is in the final year of a three-year, $30MM contract and it’s safe to say he’ll clear waivers.
Satoransky appeared in 32 games with New Orleans and one game with San Antonio this season. He was involved in two deadline deals — he was traded from the Pelicans to the Trail Blazers in the CJ McCollum blockbuster, then was shipped to the Spurs in a three-team swap.
Satoransky played his first three seasons in the league (2016-19) with Washington. With Bradley Beal out for the season and Spencer Dinwiddie having been traded to Dallas in the Kristaps Porzingis deal, Satoransky should jump right into the Wizards’ rotation.
The Spurs previously bought out another player they acquired at the trade deadline, Goran Dragic. As a result, they’ll have two open spots on their 15-man roster once they officially waive Satoransky — they’ll have two weeks to go back to the NBA-mandated minimum of 14 players.
And-Ones: Mock Draft, King, Napier, Summer League
Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren remains atop ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz’s latest mock draft, with Auburn’s Jabari Smith moving up one notch to No. 2. The G League Ignite’s Dyson Daniels has moved into the lottery while Milwaukee Panthers forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. has dropped from No. 15 to No. 25.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- The G League’s Westchester Knicks are acquiring forward Louis King, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. King had been on a two-way contract with Sacramento but was waived by the Kings on February 17th. In 16 career games with Sacramento, including 10 this year, King averaged 5.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 11.8 MPG.
- Former NBA guard Shabazz Napier has left Russia and Zenit Saint Petersburg, according to EuroHoops.net. Napier, who has been sidelined most of the season with an ankle injury, was already preparing to return to the United States prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because he did not feel he was ready to play.
- The NBA will hold its annual Summer League in Las Vegas on July 7-17, Shaw adds in another tweet.