And-Ones: Kerr, 2022 Draft, Mitchell, 10-Day Contracts, Kings
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is pushing for fouls committed to prevent fast breaks to be upgraded to technicals, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. That would mirror the FIBA rule regarding transition-stopping take fouls. “It’s terrible,” Kerr said. “It’s terrible for the game. It’s terrible for the fans.”
Kerr added that the NBA is “very serious” about changing its current rule. The league’s competition committee has discussed an increased penalty for take fouls.
We have more from around basketball world:
- The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has posted his latest mock draft and the first player taken doesn’t play for Gonzaga of Duke. He projects Auburn forward Jabari Smith going off the board first due to his superior shooting ability for a big man, giving him a slight edge over Duke’s Paolo Banchero and Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren.
- Smith is also No. 1 on the latest rankings from Chad Ford of NBABigBoard.com. Ford even goes as far to say that’s he’s a consensus No. 1 among scouts and GMs he’s talked to, with Holmgren ranking No. 2.
- Former Pistons forward Tony Mitchell is signing in Uruguay with Club Trouville, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. The 29-year-old last played in Venezuela. He saw action in 21 NBA games with Detroit during the 2013/14 season.
- What has it been like for NBA executives to try to bring in players when members of their 15-man roster enter protocols? ESPN’s Brian Windhorst takes an in-depth look at the frenzy of free agent signings on 10-day deals to fill in for players who test positive.
- The Kings have been fined $50K for violating league rules prohibiting team owners and executives from interacting with scorer’s table personnel during game play, NBA Communications tweets. Assistant GM Wes Wilcox was fined $15K.
Sixers Notes: Roberts, Simmons, Fox, Haliburton, Embiid, Drummond
Outgoing NBPA executive director Michele Roberts blames the Sixers‘ front office for the acrimonious standoff with Ben Simmons, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. Roberts addressed the situation in a SiriusXM Radio interview.
“Candidly, I think a lot of this stuff could be resolved if everyone behaved like a grown-up,” she said. “I think what’s happening in Philadelphia frankly is ridiculous and I don’t know why we’re playing chicken with each other. It just strikes that this is something that could be worked out. It’s difficult.”
We have more on the Sixers:
- Speaking of Simmons, the front office continues to ask for a massive haul in return for the disgruntled playmaker, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports. That is a source of frustration for some opposing team executives. It’s believed that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is still hoping Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal will eventually be made available, perhaps this summer.
- Could Sacramento wind up being Simmons’ destination? Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com explores that possibility with the notion that De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton are no longer considered untouchable.
- The 76ers went with a jumbo look against the Magic this week and outscored Orlando 11-6 during that four-minute stretch, Derek Bodner of DailySix.com notes. Andre Drummond and Joel Embiid shared the court and limited the Magic to one offensive rebound during that time. However, the Twin Towers combination is not something the team should do very much, due to the issues it would create with the perimeter defense, Bodner opines.
Warriors Guarantee Gary Payton II’s Contract
The Warriors are guaranteeing the remainder of Gary Payton II‘s $1.94MM salary this season, coach Steve Kerr told Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link) and other media members.
It’s no surprise Golden State will retain Payton. It was reported two weeks ago that it was likely the Warriors would keep him around.
Payton has been a regular part of the rotation, appearing in 36 games (seven starts) and averaging a career-best 7.9 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 16.9 MPG.
All players still under contract will have their salaries fully guaranteed for the rest of the 2021/22 season on Monday but the true deadline is tomorrow, since waivers must be requested. Damion Lee is the other Warrior without a fully guaranteed salary.
COVID Updates: Gobert, Holiday, Jackson, Moon, Mykhailiuk
Rudy Gobert has entered the league’s health and safety protocols. The Jazz center returned two rapid negative tests on Thursday but his PCR test overnight came back positive, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links). Of course, Gobert’s COVID-19 positive in March 2020 led to postponements and cancellations across the sports world. The big man is having another fine season, averaging 15.5 PPG and 15.1 RPG.
We have more on players entering or exiting the health and safety protocols:
- Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday has entered the protocols, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. Holiday, who was also in protocols last season, joins teammates George Hill, Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton.
- After eight teammates exited protocols this week, Pistons guard Frank Jackson entered the protocols, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. Jackson is currently sidelined with an ankle injury.
- Clippers guard Xavier Moon has entered the protocols, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Moon signed a second 10-day contract under the hardship exception on Tuesday.
- Raptors swingman Svi Mykhailiuk has cleared the protocols and is available for Friday’s game against Utah, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets.
And-Ones: Tolliver, Millsap, Bezhanishvili, Hernandez
Veteran forward Anthony Tolliver signed a 10-day contract with the Pelicans under the hardship exception the day after Christmas. However, Tolliver tested positive for COVID-19 and the contract was voided. He has now cleared protocols and is eligible to be signed immediately, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets. Tolliver played for the Sixers last season.
We have more news from the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Elijah Millsap has signed a NBA G League contract and is expected to join the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ affiliate, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Millsap, the brother of Brooklyn Nets veteran Paul Millsap, played 69 games in the NBA, though his last appearance came during the 2016/17 season.
- Grand Rapids Gold forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili could be on the radar for a 10-day contract, Shaw tweets. He has averaged 16.4 PPG and 8.6 RPG in his last eight contests for the Nuggets’ affiliate.
- Former Raptors center Dewan Hernandez has signed a G League contract and has been acquired by the Westchester Knicks, Shaw adds in another tweet. Hernandez played six NBA games during the 2019/20 season.
Lakers Notes: Johnson, Collison, Rondo, Bradley, Monk
There’s mutual interest between the Lakers and Stanley Johnson to reach a contract agreement, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets.
Johnson has been playing on a 10-day contract under the hardship exception but that expired on Monday. The Lakers currently have no players in the protocols but traditional 10-day contracts can be signed as early as Wednesday. Johnson could sign up to two traditional 10-day contracts, since the hardship contract didn’t count against those deals. The team could also bring back Johnson on a standard contract.
Johnson has averaged 6.8 PPG on 45.8% shooting, 2.8 RPG and 1.2 SPG in five games, including three starts. He has also made a strong impact with his defense.
Darren Collison‘s 10-day hardship deal also expired on Monday.
We have more on the Lakers:
- The club has an open roster spot due to the three-team deal that sent Rajon Rondo to Cleveland. That deal was made official on Monday. Los Angeles wasn’t eager to move on from Rondo but needed the roster flexibility, McMenamin writes. “It wasn’t like we wanted to depart from Rondo,” coach Frank Vogel said. “But it’s just one of those front office decisions that you have to make difficult decisions and to lose a guy like Rondo is obviously very difficult.”
- The Lakers could also open up another roster spot if they waive Avery Bradley before Friday, when his veteran’s minimum contract becomes fully guaranteed, McMenamin notes in the same story.
- Malik Monk, who is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, has been making the most of his recent opportunities, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes. Monk, who has averaged 20 PPG over the last five contests, was motivated by other teams’ lack of interest in the free agent market. “It kind of hit me hard when nobody really wanted me besides the Lakers, man,” he said. “So I just put fuel in my tank and just held it in until the time until I get time to play, man, and prove I can play for a long period of time. That’s what I’m doing right now.”
NBA Reschedules 11 Postponed Games
The NBA has announced the rescheduling of the 11 games postponed in December due to COVID-19 issues, listing the changes in a press release.
Additionally, eight other scheduled games have been shifted to accommodate the postponements. A pair of others have been shifted to new starting times.
Most notably, Kyle Lowry‘s return to Toronto will take place two days earlier than anticipated, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN points out.
The Raptors will now host the Bulls on February 3 instead of the Heat. Lowry’s return will occur on Feb. 1 in Miami’s rescheduled visit. The game that Toronto was originally scheduled to play that day against the Hawks will now be played on January 31.
The first two makeups will occur next week — the Nets at the Trail Blazers on Monday, January 10 and the Pistons at the Bulls on Tues, Jan. 11.
“There’s no easy way to do this,” Nets coach Steve Nash said to Bontemps and other media members. “If we were expecting it to be a sweet little add to the schedule, and no blood drawn, that would be foolish.”
The other rescheduled dates are as follows:
- New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ers
- Previous: Dec. 19
- New: Jan. 25
- Denver Nuggets at Brooklyn Nets
- Previous: Dec. 19
- New: Jan. 26
- Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls
- Previous: Dec. 22
- New: Jan. 26
- Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
- Previous: Dec. 16
- New: Feb. 3
- Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs
- Previous: Dec. 29
- New: Feb. 3
- Washington Wizards at Brooklyn Nets
- Previous: Dec. 21
- New: Feb. 17
- Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors
- Previous: Dec. 20
- New: March 4
- Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets
- Previous: Dec. 30
- New: March 7
- Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
- Previous: Dec. 19
- New: March 31
COVID Updates: Towns, Russell, Tucker, Hyland, Robinson, Bryant, Neto
Players around the NBA continue to enter and exit the league’s health and safety protocols. Here’s the latest update:
- Timberwolves stars Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell have exited the protocols but won’t play against the Clippers due to reconditioning, the team’s PR department tweets.
- Heat forward P.J. Tucker has been upgraded to questionable to play on Monday against Golden State after exiting the protocols, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets.
- Nuggets rookie Bones Hyland has exited the protocols and is expected to be available for Monday’s road game against Dallas, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets.
- Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has cleared the protocols, the team’s PR department tweets.
- Wizards center Thomas Bryant and guard Raul Neto have cleared the protocols, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. However, Tremont Waters, who is on a 10-day hardship contract, has entered the protocols, Robbins adds in a separate tweet.
- Bucks forward Jordan Nwora has entered the protocols and will miss Monday’s game against Detroit, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.
- Rockets big man Usman Garuba has entered the protocols, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
Knicks Waive Denzel Valentine
4:56pm: The Knicks have officially waived Valentine, the team tweets.
4:20pm: The Knicks are placing Denzel Valentine on waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Valentine was just acquired from Cleveland in a three-team deal but New York obviously had no plans to retain the five-year veteran guard.
The dead-money cap hit for waiving Valentine is $880,509. However, New York received $1.1MM from the Lakers in the trade, offsetting the move. Wayne Selden was also waived on Monday, so New York will now have an open spot on the 15-man roster.
Valentine appeared in 22 games off the bench for Cleveland, averaging 2.9 PPG in 9.3 MPG. Valentine, who played four seasons for Chicago, will now try to hook onto another team in free agency.
Sixers Sign Charlie Brown Jr. After Maxey Enters Protocols
The Sixers have added Charlie Brown Jr. on a 10-day contract via the hardship exception after another prominent player entered health and safety protocols, Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice tweets. Philadelphia confirmed the signing in a team press release.
Starting guard Tyrese Maxey will miss Monday’s game against Houston due to those restrictions, joining Matisse Thybulle and two others.
Brown was signed to a 10-day contract by the Mavericks but it wasn’t renewed. He made three brief appearances with Dallas.
Brown had been playing with the NBAGL’s Delaware Blue Coats before the wave of COVID positives around the league. He also appeared in a total of 19 games with the Hawks in 2019/20 and the Thunder in 2020/21.
A Philadelphia native, Brown played his college basketball at Saint Joseph’s, where he averaged 19.0 PPG in his final season with the Hawks.