Pistons Sign Kevin Knox
2:59pm: The Pistons have officially signed Knox, the team confirmed today in a press release (Twitter link).
11:50am: The Pistons have reached an agreement to bring back free agent forward Kevin Knox on a one-year deal, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft, Knox spent his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons in New York but has bounced around since then, spending time with Atlanta, Detroit, and Portland from 2022-23.
He signed a two-year, $6MM contract with the Pistons during the 2022 offseason and appeared in 42 games last season for the club before being traded to the Trail Blazers in the four-team deadline deal that sent James Wiseman to Detroit.
Knox averaged 6.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game across 63 total appearances for the Pistons and Blazers in 2022/23, then had his $3MM team option for ’23/24 turned down by Portland in June.
The Blazers re-signed him, but Knox’s contract was non-guaranteed and he didn’t make the regular season roster. He reported to the Rip City Remix – Portland’s G League affiliate – last week for training camp.
Rather than opening the season in the NBAGL, however, Knox is being promoted back to the NBA, where he’ll fill the 15th spot on the Pistons’ roster. As we noted a few days ago when we examined the open roster spots around the NBA, Detroit was one of the few teams with an open 15-man spot and no luxury tax concerns, so we expected that opening to be filled sooner rather than later.
Knox will provide some depth for a club whose roster has been plagued by injuries this fall. Bojan Bogdanovic (calf), Alec Burks (forearm), Joe Harris (shoulder), Jaden Ivey (illness), Isaiah Livers (ankle), and Monte Morris (quad) are all currently on the shelf, while Jalen Duren (ankle) has been in and out of the lineup.
Beyond the fact that it’s a one-year deal, the details of Knox’s agreement with the Pistons have yet to be reported. A non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract is most likely, but we’ll have to wait for confirmation on that.
Nets Notes: Johnson, Claxton, Giles, Simmons, Thomas
Nets wing Cameron Johnson, who has been sidelined since the team’s regular season opener due to a left leg injury, appears to be nearing a return. As Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post writes, Johnson was listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s game vs. the Clippers, the first time he has been upgraded from “out.”
When word broke on October 30 that Johnson had been diagnosed with a strain in his left leg, the plan was for him to be reevaluated in 10 days. That evaluation is due to happen on Thursday, so Johnson’s return could follow shortly thereafter.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- The Nets assigned Johnson, Nic Claxton, and Harry Giles to the G League for Wednesday’s practice with Long Island, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. That bodes well for Johnson and for Claxton, who is also making his way back from an injury sustained on opening night (a left ankle sprain). Head coach Jacque Vaughn referred to the big man earlier this week as “day-to-day,” so it sounds as if he’s getting close to playing.
- Following two injury-plagued seasons, Ben Simmons may be held out for one game of the Nets’ back-to-back sets for the foreseeable future, Lewis writes for The New York Post. “I don’t even know. That’s going to be on them,” Simmons said when asked if that’s the plan. “I believe so. Me, I feel good. I feel ready. I think they’re just being smart about it. So yeah.” While Wednesday’s game isn’t part of a back-to-back, Simmons is being listed as questionable due to left hip soreness.
- Cam Thomas, Brooklyn’s leading scorer so far this season, spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype about several topics, including his hot start, his efforts to improve as a defender, and how the perception of the Nets has changed since the departures of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. “I’d say with KD and Kyrie, we were more under a microscope, while this team is more under the radar,” Thomas said. “We’re coming up trying to prove people wrong and show that we’re really a good team and we can contend with anybody.”
Injury Notes: McCollum, Alvarado, Mann, Vassell
Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, who was diagnosed over the weekend with a small pneumothorax in his right lung was reexamined on Tuesday and medical imaging showed positive healing, the team announced today in a press release.
However, the Pelicans still aren’t prepared to provide any sort of projected recovery timeline for McCollum, simply stating that he’ll be reevaluated at “a later date” and that further updates will be announced once they’re available.
Like McCollum, Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado remains sidelined for the foreseeable future, though there’s a more concrete timetable in place for Alvarado, who is recovering from a right ankle sprain. According to the club, he’s making “good progress” and has resumed on-court work. The expectation is that Alvarado will return to full practices within the next week or two.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Neither Pelicans forward Zion Williamson nor Warriors forward/center Draymond Green are injured, but both players have been ruled out for their games on Wednesday for personal reasons, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s worth noting that Golden State’s game vs. Denver is a nationally televised contest and Green is one of the players affected by the NBA’s player participation policy, but absences for personal reasons are permitted under that policy.
- After incorporating P.J. Tucker and James Harden within the last week, the Clippers are expected to get more reinforcements on Wednesday in Brooklyn. Terance Mann (ankle) is on track to make his season debut and will be on a minutes restriction, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
- Spurs swingman Devin Vassell (left adductor strain) is listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s contest vs. the Knicks, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN. While Vassell likely won’t return tonight, he seems to be making good progress, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link), who says the 23-year-old participated in today’s shootaround, as well as a post-practice four-on-four session.
NBA Considering Making Draft Two-Day Event
At a meeting on Wednesday with the league’s general managers, the NBA discussed the possibility of expanding the draft from a single-night event to a two-day affair, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
As Charania explains, the idea has come up more frequently in recent meetings, since team executives believe they would benefit from having more time to make picks in both the first and second rounds.
If the league decides to make a change, it could go into effect as soon as for the 2024 draft, Charania adds.
The annual NBA draft always takes place on a Thursday evening, with teams getting five minutes to make a pick in the first round and then two minutes per selection in the second round. While the second round moves quickly, the event typically wraps up pretty late in the evening. Then, after the draft ends, GMs hold press conferences to discuss their picks, while reports of undrafted free agents reaching contract agreements with NBA teams pour in well past midnight Eastern time.
By contrast, the NFL’s draft takes place across three days, with teams receiving 10 minutes per pick in the first round. Of course, the NFL draft features seven rounds, while the NBA’s is only two.
Still, the NBA likely sees value on multiple levels in extending the event across a second day — besides giving teams more time to consider strategies and to regroup ahead of the second round, it would put the league’s TV partners in better position not to rush their broadcasts, especially in the second round. Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, for instance, was famously drafted while a Taco Bell commercial aired during ESPN’s broadcast of the 2014 draft.
Players Eligible For In-Season Veteran Extensions In 2023/24
As we explain in our glossary entry on veteran contract extensions, rookie scale extensions have historically been the most common form of contract extension in the NBA. However, the league’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement loosened the rules on eligibility for veteran extensions and made them more financially advantageous, especially for players who don’t expect mega-deals.
As a result, we’ve seen a substantial bump in veteran contract extensions in recent seasons. During the 2021/22 league year, 21 players signed them, and that total jumped to 23 players in 2022/23. Many more have already followed suit in ’23/24 and others will join that list before June 30, 2024.
[RELATED: 2023/24 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]
Certain extension-eligible players, such as OG Anunoby, may prefer to wait until free agency to sign a new contract, since the biggest raise Anunoby can receive on an extension would be far less than the maximum contract he’d be eligible to earn on the open market.
The maximum starting salary a player like Anunoby can receive in a veteran extension is up to 140% of his current salary. A player on a more modest contract can receive a maximum starting salary worth up to 140% of the NBA’s estimated average salary.
For this season, 140% of the estimated average salary would work out to a $16,741,200 salary in the first year of a contract extension. A player who signs an extension that fits that bill could get up to four years and approximately $75MM. Zach Collins is an example of a player who has already signed this type of veteran extension, though his deal was for two years instead of the maximum four.
Now that the regular season is underway, the group of veterans eligible for contract extensions has shrunk, since players with more than one year left on their contracts aren’t permitted to sign an in-season extension. But there are still a number of veterans in the final year of their respective contracts who remain eligible for extensions right up until the last day of the current league year (June 30).
Listed below are the players who meet the criteria for a veteran extension. Players who were recently traded can be extended, but they have to wait for six months after the trade to sign a contract longer than three total years (including the current season) with a raise exceeding 5%. If a player below is noted as having “limited” eligibility until a certain date, that’s why.
Once a player regains his full extension eligibility, he becomes eligible to sign an extension of up to five total years (including the current season) with a 40% first-year raise (or 40% of the estimated average salary).
Additionally, extension-eligible players with a player or team option for 2024/25 would have to eliminate that option year as part of an extension agreement in order to meet the necessary criteria.
Here’s the full list of veterans currently eligible for contract extensions:
Atlanta Hawks
- None
Boston Celtics
- Xavier Tillman
- Limited eligibility.
Brooklyn Nets
- None
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
- None
Dallas Mavericks
- None
Denver Nuggets
- None
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
- None
Indiana Pacers
- Doug McDermott
- Limited eligibility.
- Pascal Siakam
- Limited eligibility.
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
- None
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
- None
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Jordan McLaughlin
- Monte Morris
- Limited eligibility.
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
- OG Anunoby
- Limited eligibility until June 30.
- Alec Burks
- Limited eligibility.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Gordon Hayward
- Limited eligibility.
- Aaron Wiggins
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
- Robert Covington
- Tobias Harris
- Buddy Hield
- Limited eligibility.
- Kenyon Martin Jr.
- De’Anthony Melton
Phoenix Suns
- Royce O’Neale
- Limited eligibility.
Portland Trail Blazers
- None
Sacramento Kings
- None
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
- None
Atlantic Notes: Barnes, O. Porter, Oubre, D. White
While the Raptors have been up and down so far this season, they’ve gotten consistent strong production from third-year forward Scottie Barnes, who has scored at least 17 points and grabbed eight or more rebounds in every game so far.
Through seven contests, Barnes is averaging 22.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.1 steals in 36.5 minutes per night, with an impressive shooting line of .513/.421/.759. It’s a small sample, but the 22-year-old appears to be solidifying his place as the franchise’s long-term cornerstone, says Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
“What stands out? Everything!” one scout said in a text message to Grange when asked about Barnes’ play this season. “He’s a whole different player. He’s bigger and stronger but hasn’t lost any of his mobility or agility. His shot is much, much smoother and in better balance. And most importantly he’s hungrier. He seems to be on some kind of mission.”
If Barnes’ breakout year continues, it will have a major impact on the Raptors’ roster decisions going forward, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
The team will take more time to assess how its potential core pieces fit together, but for what it’s worth, Barnes and OG Anunoby have exhibited strong chemistry in the early going, posting a net rating of +21.6 together, whereas the pairing of Barnes and Pascal Siakam has “felt a bit clunkier,” Lewenberg observes. Both Anunoby and Siakam are eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2024.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Raptors forward Otto Porter Jr. missed all but nine games in his first season with the team in 2022/23, but his contributions in wins over Milwaukee and San Antonio in the last week have made it clear why Toronto wanted him in the first place, Grange writes for Sportsnet.ca. “He helps us so much,” Barnes said of his veteran teammate. “He’s a leader when he’s out there on the floor, talking to us, communicating, seeing those different reads, making those big-time plays on the defensive end, boxing out. He stretches the floor when he’s out there. He has so much IQ and knowledge of the game. He makes an instant impact.”
- When Kelly Oubre moved into the Sixers‘ starting lineup to replace P.J. Tucker, head coach Nick Nurse warned that it may be temporary. However, Philadelphia has won all three games with Oubre as a starter and he has averaged 17.0 PPG on 52.8% shooting in that role, so Nurse appears to be in no rush to change things up. “(It’s) kind of probably silly to just make changes or use somebody else or change the rotation if the information is good, right?” Nurse said on Monday (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “So on we go with evaluating it.”
- Celtics guard Derrick White is listed as probable to play in Wednesday’s showdown vs. Philadelphia after missing a pair of games due to the birth of his son. According to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston, while White’s absence was brief, he was clearly missed — his +28.2 net rating so far this season is the best mark of any NBA player who has averaged at least 20 minutes per game.
International Notes: Tubelis, Harrison, Caboclo, Whitehead
After going undrafted out of Arizona earlier this year, Lithuanian power forward Azuolas Tubelis signed a two-way contract with the Sixers and spent training camp and the preseason with the NBA club. However, Philadelphia waived Tubelis during the first week of the regular season and he’s now headed back to his home country.
The Lithuanian team Rytas Vilnius announced in a press release that it has signed Tubelis to a three-year contract and will loan him to Neptunas Klaipeda for the 2023/24 season (hat tip to Eurohoops). Tubelis was in Rytas Vilnius’ system from 2018-20 prior to coming stateside and becoming a Wildcat, so the new deal represents a reunion between the two sides.
Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:
- Shaquille Harrison appears to be headed to Italy for the 2023/24 season, with Fabrizio Lorenzi of La Repubblica reporting that the veteran NBA guard has reached an agreement to join Olimpia Milano (hat tip to Sportando). As we previously relayed, the Italian club had been eyeing guards with NBA experience as of late. Harrison, who has 180 NBA games under his belt, was in camp with the Grizzlies this fall but was cut before the season began.
- After Bruno Caboclo signed with KK Partizan on Tuesday, his agency – Hazan Sports Management – explained to Sportando that the forward had only signed a “preliminary” contract and not an official contract with Reyer Venezia, so FIBA allowed his release from that agreement. Reyer Venezia isn’t happy with that explanation, however — the Italian team released a blistering statement referring to FIBA’s ruling as “unfair” and accusing Caboclo’s representatives and KK Partizan of engaging in “illicit conduct.” Reyer intends to contest the decision through the FIBA Appeals Panel.
- Former NBA guard Isaiah Whitehead, who played 89 games for Brooklyn from 2016-18, spoke to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com about his harrowing exit from Israel last month, which began when he woke up one morning to the sound of “missiles (and) bombs.” Whitehead had been playing for Ironi Ness Ziona but hopes to get his release from that contract in order to join a new team in Europe. “I’m still under contract in Israel so I gotta figure everything out and see what the exit clause would be,” he told Zagoria.
Bulls Notes: Williams, Caruso, White, Offense
The Bulls‘ 2017 lottery pick, Lauri Markkanen, spent his first four NBA seasons with the organization, but didn’t break out until two years later in Utah, well after Chicago signed-and-traded him away for a fairly modest return.
Head coach Billy Donovan doesn’t anticipate the team taking the same route with former No. 4 overall pick Patrick Williams, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (subscription required). While the fourth-year forward has yet to break out and was recently pulled from the starting lineup, the Bulls remain committed to giving him every chance to figure things out.
“I do know that the goal is to have Patrick here for the long term,” Donovan said. “That I would say has been pretty consistent all the way through.
“Do I think Patrick needs a change of scenery? I didn’t think Lauri needed a change of scenery, that was my opinion. I’m not surprised what he evolved into. He kind of went to a couple different places. Sometimes when you go through that you look internally too where, ‘Geez, I’m in Chicago, I’m in Cleveland, now I’m in Utah, like I’ve got to figure some stuff out here.’ And I think Patrick is pretty driven on figuring things out.
“I’ve got nothing at all from him where he’s like, ‘Hey, I need a change of scenery.’ There’s been none of that. He’s really good in determining what he needs to do, instead of point around and saying, ‘I need this, I need that.’ When guys get like that it never goes well.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Williams reciprocates Chicago’s interest in a long-term relationship, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “I love it. I love it here. I love the city, I love the team. I love what we’re about,” he said on Monday. “We’re about winning. There’s no gimmicks. There’s no moral victories over here. Obviously, I love it.” The former No. 4 pick, who didn’t sign a rookie scale extension this offseason, admits he’d like “a big contract” eventually but says that’s not his priority right now. “My main focus now is helping this team get over the next hump and myself over that hump,” Williams said.
- Donovan and the Bulls recently mulled the idea of moving Alex Caruso into the starting five, but decided against it in part because they want to manage his minutes and keep him within the 26-to-28 minute range, Cowley writes for The Sun-Times.
- Coby White hasn’t just claimed the Bulls’ starting point guard job by default this fall, Cowley says in another Sun-Times story. White has also shown that he’s capable of being an “on-the-court general who is not afraid to use his voice,” Cowley writes, pointing to the 23-year-old’s evolution into a vocal leader.
- After placing 24th in offensive rating last season, the Bulls brought back a similar roster but hoped to improve that ranking by changing their offensive approach. As NBC Sports Chicago notes, the results have been underwhelming so far. Even after a 130-point outburst on Monday vs. Utah, Chicago is just 19th in offensive rating this season.
Heat Hire Udonis Haslem As VP Of Basketball Development
Udonis Haslem, who spent 20 years with the Heat as a player, is officially back with the franchise — this time in a front office role. According to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, Miami has hired Haslem as the club’s vice president of basketball development.
[RELATED: Udonis Haslem Officially Confirms Retirement]
As Reynolds details, Haslem’s duties will include working with the coaching staff, mentoring players with the Heat and the Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami’s G League affiliate), and representing the franchise in the community and in business endeavors.
Haslem has spent some time at Heat practices in recent weeks, with a report ahead of opening night indicating that he was expected to receive a formal front office title soon.
During his final years as a player, Haslem repeatedly said that he didn’t have much interest in coaching but that he would like to have a post-retirement role with the Heat in the front office or as a minority stakeholder. While an ownership shares hasn’t materialized so far, Haslem’s new position will keep him involved in the organization for the foreseeable future.
As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets, Haslem is the latest in a long line of former Heat players to work for the team after retiring. He joins Alonzo Mourning, Shane Battier, Caron Butler, Malik Allen, Wayne Ellington, Glen Rice, and Chris Quinn in that group.
Western Notes: Kings, Tucker, McCollum, JRE, Thunder
With De’Aaron Fox on the shelf due to a right ankle sprain, the Kings are struggling to establish their identity and display the sort of physicality and stalwart defense that head coach Mike Brown wants to see, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. After suffering back-to-back blowouts to the Rockets in Houston on Saturday and Monday, Brown suggested changes might be coming to the rotation.
“I’ve got to evaluate some things,” Brown said. “In this business, you always have to have a sense of urgency, but you have to believe in what you do whenever you make any type of change or any time you do this instead of that. For me, I’m going to go back and I’m going to watch the film, and if I feel the same way after the film, then I’ve got to try to make sure I keep trying to put five guys out there who are going to do what we ask, which is to play together and play the right way while playing fast and bringing a sense of physicality.
“I always have a 24-hour rule, especially after something like this,” Brown continued. “So, I’m going to sleep on it and I’m going to watch this film, and if you earn a chance to play, I’m going to play you. Nobody’s position on this team is sacred.”
The Kings, winners of 48 games last season, are off to a 2-4 start in 2023/24 and rank 22nd in the NBA in defensive rating (114.0).
Let’s round up a few more notes from around the Western Conference…
- New Clippers forward P.J. Tucker admitted on Monday that, despite the trade rumors that swirled around teammate James Harden all offseason, he hadn’t anticipated being part of a Harden deal. “I wasn’t expecting to get traded, so I didn’t know,” Tucker told Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “It kind of came out of nowhere.”
- Pelicans head coach Willie Green told reporters on Monday that the team doesn’t have any new details on CJ McCollum‘s collapsed right lung, but expressed optimism that the ailment isn’t too serious, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “We don’t think it’s too bad,” Green said. “But we have to run more tests and see where we are after that.” As Clark observes, McCollum dealt with a similar health issue during his time in Portland and it cost him 18 games.
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl‘s two-way contract with the Pelicans is just a rest-of-season deal, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means Robinson-Earl will be eligible for restricted free agency at the end of the 2023/24 season, assuming he plays out his new contract.
- Some rival scouts and executives think the Thunder are capable of being a top-four seed in the West this season, but head of basketball operations Sam Presti is preaching patience and appears in no rush to accelerate his team’s contention timeline, as Tim MacMahon details in an interesting feature for ESPN.com.