Chris Paul Talks Thunder, Rockets, Suns, Olympics
During a wide-ranging conversation with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Suns point guard Chris Paul spoke about the presentation the Thunder made to him back in 2019 when they first acquired him from Houston.
As Paul explains, and as Amick has heard from sources, Oklahoma City presented CP3 with a comprehensive plan for how the team aimed to reduce his minutes and keep him healthy after he had dealt with multiple injuries as a Rocket. Although Paul listened to and appreciated the pitch, he wasn’t on board with the Thunder’s proposed approach, having made his own changes to his body, his routine, and his diet that he hoped would allow him to stay healthy without requiring a “load management” plan.
“At the end of the PowerPoint presentation, I said, ‘You know, I appreciate y’all coming out here, but one thing I just realized is y’all don’t know me. I don’t do premeditated rest and all this,'” Paul told Amick. “… They were looking out for me (because) they probably felt I was injury prone coming from Houston, you know? They were like, ‘You’ve played 56 games the past couple years,’ you know? I had already told them about the changes and all the stuff I made. But I get it. They hadn’t seen it.”
Paul ended up missing just two games during his year with the Thunder and raved about the organization on his way out. According to Amick, when Oklahoma City shopped the All-Star point guard last fall, the club was willing to send him somewhere he wanted to go, even if it meant taking a little less in return. Sources tell The Athletic that the Sixers believed they gained some traction on a possible deal, but Paul didn’t reciprocate Philadelphia’s interest and the Suns ultimately won out.
Here are a few more highlights from Amick’s conversation with Paul, which is worth checking out in full if you’re an Athletic subscriber:
On how his time with the Rockets ended:
“(Then-Rockets general manager) Daryl Morey had just told me a couple weeks before that that he wouldn’t trade me, that he wouldn’t trade me (to Oklahoma City). I think a lot of guys in this league, you play for a while and you feel like the team at least owes you a conversation, you know what I mean? Like, of course they can do whatever they want to. You’re under contract, but just to have a conversation with you is respectful enough, I feel. So when that didn’t happen in Houston, it was what it was.”
On potential offseason free agency and whether he might finish his career with the Suns:
“I mean first and foremost, I love it here. I don’t know how many years I’ve got left. I don’t really think about that either. I feel too good.
“Seriously, this summer, I have no clue. As much as I’m involved in the union and stuff like that, I don’t know what anybody’s teams are, (what their) caps are, I don’t know none of that stuff. I just play.”
On possibly playing for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics:
“Yeah, I’m thinking about it. I’m thinking about it. I don’t know yet. I told (Team USA director) Jerry (Colangelo) I would get with him soon. I’d seen him the other day out here in Phoenix.”
Donta Hall Signs Second 10-Day Deal With Magic
The Magic have signed forward Donta Hall to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Hall’s first 10-day deal with Orlando expired on Thursday night.
Orlando is Hall’s fourth NBA team February 2020, when he signed a 10-day contract with Detroit. He later joined the Nets for the summer restart in Walt Disney World, played for the G League Ignite in this season’s NBAGL bubble at Disney, then inked a 10-day deal with the Raptors.
Hall got the chance to play regular minutes during his first 10 days in Orlando, averaging 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in four contests (14.0 MPG). His best game came last Wednesday in Chicago, when he put up seven points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes, posting a plus-eight rating and helping the Magic beat the Bulls.
Hall’s new 10-day pact will cover Orlando’s next five games before expiring next Sunday night. At that point, the Magic will have to either let him go or sign him to a rest-of-season contract.
Like his last 10-day deal, Hall’s new contract will be worth $99,020, so he’ll earn $198,040 for his 20 days with the Magic. That number would increase if the team re-signs him to a rest-of-season deal in May.
Pacers Sign Amida Brimah, Waive Brian Bowen
11:57am: Brimah has officially signed his two-way deal with the Pacers, the team announced in a press release. He won’t have to go through a quarantine period and will be available for the team’s game on Saturday vs. Detroit, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic.
As first reported by J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (via Twitter) and confirmed by the Pacers, Bowen has been waived to open up a spot for Brimah. The 22-year-old forward, who has spent the last two seasons on a two-way deal with Indiana, logged a total of just 46 minutes in 12 games for the team since the start of 2019/20.
9:37am: Following a series of injuries to their frontcourt players, the Pacers are adding some depth. Free agent center Amida Brimah is signing a two-way contract with Indiana, agent Daniel Hazan tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Brimah, who went undrafted out of UConn in 2017, has never appeared in an NBA regular season game despite signing Exhibit 10 contracts with NBA teams for four consecutive years — two with the Spurs (2017 and 2018) and two with the Pacers (2019 and 2020).
The 27-year-old big man had a brief stint with a Serbian club in 2018 but has otherwise spent his professional career in the G League, most recently averaging 8.0 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 2.6 RPG in 10 games (23.5 MPG) for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in this season’s NBAGL bubble.
Brimah is known for his rim-protecting abilities — he was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 and made the G League All-Defensive team in 2018. And despite never playing an NBA game, he has some championship experience, having won an NCAA title with UConn in ’14 and a G League title with the Austin Spurs in ’18.
The banged-up Pacers are currently missing Myles Turner (toe), Domantas Sabonis (back), and Goga Bitadze (ankle), so there could be a path to immediate minutes for Brimah, depending on when he officially signs and when Sabonis and Bitadze are ready to return.
Indiana will have to waive one of its current two-way players to make room for Brimah. Brian Bowen is probably a likelier release candidate than 2020 second-rounder Cassius Stanley, but we’ll have to see what the Pacers have in mind.
Draft Notes: Edwards, Alatishe, Cunningham, Mobley, More
Pepperdine junior forward Kessler Edwards has decided to enter his name into the 2021 NBA draft pool, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. While Edwards is maintaining his college eligibility for now, he expects to ultimately keep his name in the draft.
“I don’t think there’s a number in particular that I need to stay in the draft,” he told ESPN. “I’m hoping to receive interest from multiple teams and assurances that I would getting a solid deal and not end up being a free agent that no one picks up. I’m planning on going pro, going through this thing. I feel like most of these teams haven’t seen me in person and the work I’m doing getting ready in terms of my body, measurements and how I play on the court.”
Edwards, who is the No. 48 overall prospect on ESPN’s big board, has an intriguing combination of size, defensive versatility, and outside shooting that appeals to NBA teams, says Givony. In 27 games (33.9 MPG) in 2020/21, Edwards averaged 17.2 PPG and 6.8 RPG on .491/.378/.876 shooting.
Let’s round up a few more draft-related items…
- Oregon State junior forward Warith Alatishe has decided to test the draft waters, a source tells Givony (Twitter link). The MVP of this year’s Pac-12 tournament, Alatishe averaged 9.5 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 33 games (27.4 MPG) for the Beavers in 2020/21.
- Even though Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs had more memorable runs in the NCAA tournament, scouts and evaluators still widely view Cade Cunningham as this year’s probable No. 1 pick, writes Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Mobley, Suggs, and Jalen Green are very likely to be the next three players off the board, though there’s still no consensus on the order, according to Wasserman, who says Mobley may have the slight edge at No. 2.
- Within the same story, Wasserman examines the mixed opinions that evaluators have about a handful of draft prospects, including Davion Mitchell, Josh Christopher, and Cameron Thomas. He also suggests that Florida State forward RaiQuan Gray is a potential riser to watch during the pre-draft process, adding that Gray looks like a top-40 pick.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Durant, Dinwiddie, Green, Pelle
Coming off a nice win over Phoenix on Thursday, the Celtics are set to play the Nets in Brooklyn on Friday, and both teams are a little banged up.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said during a radio appearance on Toucher and Rich on Thursday that Jaylen Brown, who is dealing with shoulder bursitis, is sore, but should be good to go “in the next few days” (Twitter link via Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston).
Meanwhile, Evan Fournier (health and safety protocols) is going through a ramping-up process and could return to game action as soon as this weekend, per Ainge. The Celtics’ president also said that Robert Williams (knee) is “not too far away.”
Nets star Kevin Durant, who has missed two games with a left thigh contusion, is listed as questionable on the club’s latest injury report and could be available to play on Friday vs. the Celtics, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. If not tonight, Durant looks like a good bet to be back on Sunday against Phoenix.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who suffered a partially torn ACL early in the 2020/21 season, continues to say that he has a realistic chance of returning during the postseason, as Diamond Leung of The Athletic tweets. While that seemed unlikely at one point, there’s an increasing feeling among league sources that Dinwiddie could return before Brooklyn’s season is over, Lewis writes for The New York Post.
- Danny Green‘s inclusion in a potential deal for Kyle Lowry at last month’s trade deadline didn’t make or break those talks, but the Sixers value Green as far more than just an expiring contract and were only willing to attach so many additional assets to him in their offer for Lowry, Zach Lowe of ESPN writes in a look at what Green brings to Philadelphia.
- Bobby Marks of ESPN has the details on Norvel Pelle‘s new three-year contract with the Knicks, tweeting that Pelle received $500K this season (about double his minimum). The second and third years are non-guaranteed, with a team option on that third year. That option would allow the Knicks to make Pelle a restricted free agent in the summer of 2022 if they so choose.
- In case you missed it, we rounded up a handful of Raptors-related notes on Thursday evening.
Kentucky’s Terrence Clarke Dies Following Car Accident
Kentucky shooting guard Terrence Clarke passed away on Thursday after sustaining fatal injuries during a car accident in Los Angeles, the University of Kentucky confirmed in a statement. Clarke was 19 years old.
WKYT in Kentucky reported that Clarke, who had declared for the 2021 NBA draft and was a potential second-round pick (ranked 72nd on ESPN’s board), had worked out with Wildcats teammate Brandon Boston Jr. before the accident occurred on Thursday afternoon.
The Valley Traffic Division of Los Angeles Police said that Clarke was the only person in the car at the time of the crash, per WKYT. He ran a red light going “at a very high rate of speed,” collided with another vehicle, then ran into a street pole and a block wall, according to police. Clarke was pronounced dead after being transported to Northridge Hospital.
“I am absolutely gutted and sick tonight,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said in a statement. “A young person who we all love has just lost his life too soon, one with all of his dreams and hopes ahead of him. Terrence Clarke was a beautiful kid, someone who owned the room with his personality, smile and joy. People gravitated to him, and to hear we have lost him is just hard for all of us to comprehend right now. We are all in shock.”
Clarke only played in eight games for Kentucky as a freshman in 2020/21, as an ankle injury sidelined him for much of the college season. However, he was prepared to go pro, having signed with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports for representation.
“We are saddened and devastated by the tragic loss of Terrence Clarke,” Paul said in a statement, per ESPN. “Terrence was an incredible, hard-working young man. He was excited for what was ahead of him and ready to fulfill his dreams. Our prayers go out to Terrence and his family, who ask for privacy during this difficult time.”
Clarke grew up in Boston and had established with relationships with a handful of NBA players, including Celtics stars Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown. They were hit hard on Thursday by the news of the 19-year-old’s passing.
“I did (know him), yes,” Walker said (via ESPN). “Yes, I did. Very well. Very well. Very, very, very tough. Very tough news, man. He’s a very, very good kid. Just always smiling, always energetic. And he was about to get his opportunity, too. My condolences to his family.”
We at Hoops Rumors also send our condolences to Clarke’s family and friends.
Checking In On Open NBA Roster Spots
It has been nearly a month since the NBA’s trade deadline passed, but we’ve still seen a flurry of transactional activity during the last four weeks, as teams have signed and waived players ahead of the postseason.
While some clubs have full rosters and seem unlikely to make any changes between now and the end of the regular season, that’s certainly not the case across the board.
With the help of our roster counts tracker, here’s our latest look at open roster spots around the league, as of April 22:
Teams with one or more open 15-man roster spots:
- Golden State Warriors
- Miami Heat
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New Orleans Pelicans (2)
- New York Knicks
- Portland Trail Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs
The Heat, Timberwolves, Knicks, and Spurs each have 14 players on standard contracts and one opening on their 15-man rosters. They’re all good bets to sign a 15th man before the season ends, either for developmental purposes or for added postseason depth.
The Warriors and Trail Blazers have 13 players apiece on standard deals, one on a 10-day contract – Gary Payton II for Golden State and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for Portland – and one open spot. Hollis-Jefferson’s 10-day pact runs through next Tuesday, while Payton’s goes through Wednesday. Once those deals expire, the Warriors and Blazers will each have up to two weeks to get back to 14 players.
Since the NBA only allows teams to dip to 13 or fewer players for up to two weeks at a time, the Pelicans are very much on the clock. They’ve been at 13 players for the last nine days, since Isaiah Thomas‘ 10-day contract expired. The expectation is that New Orleans will sign draft-and-stash prospect Didi Louzada as a 14th man by early next week.
Teams whose 15-man rosters are full due to one or more 10-day contracts:
- Cleveland Cavaliers (Mfiondu Kabengele)
- Denver Nuggets (Austin Rivers)
- Los Angeles Clippers (DeMarcus Cousins; Yogi Ferrell)
- Memphis Grizzlies (Tim Frazier)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (Justin Robinson)
- Orlando Magic (Donta Hall; Robert Franks)
- Philadelphia 76ers (Anthony Tolliver)
- Sacramento Kings (Damian Jones)
- Toronto Raptors (Freddie Gillespie)
- Washington Wizards (Jordan Bell)
These 10 teams have full 15-man rosters as of today, but that might not last long. The dozen 10-day contracts listed here will begin expiring as soon as tonight (Hall), so if those players aren’t re-signed, the clubs will have roster openings.
The Nets will also fall into this group once they officially waive LaMarcus Aldridge and sign Mike James to a 10-day deal.
Teams with an open two-way contract slot:
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Phoenix Suns
- Toronto Raptors
The Suns have only carried a single two-way player all season long, so there’s no guarantee they’ll fill their second slot before the end of the regular season.
The other teams listed here are all better candidates to do so — Cleveland (Lamar Stevens) and Toronto (Yuta Watanabe) just recently promoted two-way players to their respective 15-man rosters, while Minnesota was carrying a pair of two-way players until waiving Ashton Hagans in February.
The Cavs reportedly intend to sign Jeremiah Martin to fill their two-way opening.
MRI Reveals Grade 2 Lateral Ankle Sprain For Trae Young
5:59pm: Young has suffered a Grade 2 lateral left ankle sprain, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The Hawks anticipate that the point guard will be able to return to the floor after the swelling ceases.
Chris Kirschner of The Athletic speculates that Young could return in as little as one or two weeks with proper treatment (via Twitter).
9:11am: Hawks star Trae Young left Wednesday’s loss to the Knicks in the third quarter after suffering a sprained left ankle and didn’t return to the game.
As Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, Young appeared to be in a lot of pain when he initially went down, but X-rays on the ankle were negative, and teammate Clint Capela said Young told him the sprain “wasn’t as bad as he thought.”
Still, Young is set to undergo an MRI on his injured left ankle on Thursday, according to Spencer. Even if that MRI doesn’t show any structural damage, Young could miss a little time as he gets healthy.
Although the Hawks have been hit pretty hard by injuries this season, Young has managed to stay relatively healthy, appearing in 54 of the team’s 59 games. He has been Atlanta’s leading scorer and play-maker, averaging 25.3 points and 9.6 assists per contest.
If Young is ruled out for the Hawks’ next game (or longer than that), Lou Williams and Bogdan Bogdanovic would be in line for increased ball-handling responsibilities, with backup point guard Brandon Goodwin also moving up the depth chart.
Taurean Prince Expected To Undergo Season-Ending Ankle Surgery
Cavaliers forward Taurean Prince is expected to undergo surgery on his ankle that would bring his 2020/21 season to an end, reports Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While Prince has been a regular rotation player off Cleveland’s bench for most of the last month, there was always an expectation that he’d address his ankle by undergoing a procedure in the offseason, as we relayed earlier in April. It now appears he’ll get a jump on his rehab process by going under the knife before the season ends. A timeline for his recovery is not yet known.
Prince, who started the season in Brooklyn, was sent to the Cavaliers in the four-team James Harden trade in January. He has appeared in a total of 41 games for the two teams this season, averaging 9.5 PPG and 3.5 RPG with a very solid .400 3PT% in 22.1 minutes per contest.
Prince will be on an expiring $13MM contract in 2021/22, making him a potential trade candidate if he’s not in the Cavs’ plans beyond next season.
Knicks Sign Norvel Pelle To Multiyear Contract
APRIL 22, 1:55pm: Pelle’s new deal with the Knicks is now official, the team announced in a press release.
APRIL 22, 6:36am: The Knicks are signing Pelle to a multiyear deal now that his second 10-day has expired, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
As noted below, New York could offer Pelle up to four years. His new deal is expected to include a small guarantee beyond this season, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post.
APRIL 21: Norvel Pelle‘s second 10-day contract with the Knicks will expire tonight, but the team isn’t expected to let him get away. Sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that the Knicks and Pelle will likely agree to a new contract.
Because teams aren’t permitted to sign a player to more than two 10-day contracts in a season, a new deal for Pelle would have to cover at least the rest of this season. New York has plenty of cap room available and could offer him up to a four-year deal with a 2020/21 salary above the minimum. If the Knicks do go that route, their offer likely wouldn’t include guaranteed money beyond this season.
Pelle, who spent some time with the Nets and Kings earlier in the year, hasn’t played much during his 20 days with the Knicks, but has been effective in his limited minutes. In three appearances (16 minutes), he has scored five points, grabbed six rebounds, and blocked three shots.
As Begley notes, head coach Tom Thibodeau has complimented Pelle’s performance and his attitude during his time with the team.
Assuming they work out a rest-of-season agreement with Pelle, the Knicks will still have one more open spot on their 15-man roster.