Central Notes: C. Jones, Dragic, Stevens, Pistons
When they promoted him to their 15-man roster, the Bulls used a portion of their mid-level exception to sign Carlik Jones to a contract that covers two seasons beyond this one, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Jones’ rest-of-season salary ($357,717) is his minimum, but if the Bulls had relied on the minimum salary exception to convert Jones to a standard contract, they would only have been able to tack on one extra year. The mid-level exception allowed them to complete a three-year deal that includes a non-guaranteed minimum salary for 2024/25 ($2,092,344) in addition to a non-guaranteed minimum salary for ’23/24 ($1,927,896).
Jones will receive a partial guarantee of $250K on his 2023/24 salary if he remains under contract through the first day of the regular season this fall. The Bulls guard would have his full salary for next season guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before January 7, 2024.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Veteran point guard Goran Dragic officially signed with the Bucks on Saturday, but will have his debut with his new team delayed a little due to left knee soreness, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscriber story). Once he’s cleared to play, Dragic won’t be expecting to get a certain amount of minutes per game. “I didn’t talk nothing about the role because I understand those guys are the main guys,” Dragic said, referring to his new teammates. “I’m here just to help. So, you know, I’m at that point of my career. I want to win, so I came here and whatever they want me to do I’m going to do it and hopefully we get that ring.”
- Lamar Stevens‘ minutes haven’t been as consistent in recent weeks as they were when he was starting at small forward earlier in the season, but he played a critical role in the fourth quarter and overtime of the Cavaliers’ overtime win over Boston on Monday, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game that he “can’t say enough about how proud I am” of Stevens. The Cavs hold a minimum-salary team option on the 25-year-old for next season, which looks like a lock to be exercised.
- Even though the Pistons have lost eight games in a row and 20 of their last 24, morale in the locker room remains high due to the team’s focus on development and growth, according to Mike Curtis of The Detroit News (subscription required). “I know our fans are probably frustrated — which I understand — but we’re in a growth mentality,” head coach Dwane Casey said. “Every day for us is a teaching (moment). Every film session, we hold guys accountable, but we’re positive. We’re teaching and I wish there was a magic wand that says, ‘These guys gotta grow up.’ It doesn’t happen in this league.”
Nets Sign Nerlens Noel To 10-Day Contract
MARCH 6, 9:32am: Noel’s signing is official, the Nets announced (via Twitter).
MARCH 4, 9:38am: Noel is expected to receive a 10-day contract from the Nets, Wojnarowski writes in his full story on the agreement.
Brooklyn may wait until Sunday to officially complete the signing to ensure that Noel is available for the team’s next six games instead of five. Noel would earn $151,821 on a 10-day deal, with $105,522 counting against the Nets’ cap.
MARCH 4, 7:18am: Veteran center Nerlens Noel has reached an agreement to sign with the Nets, agent George Langberg tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Brooklyn has had an open spot on its 15-man roster since the trade deadline, so no corresponding move will be needed to create an opening for Noel, who became a free agent on Wednesday after clearing waivers. He finalized a buyout agreement with the Pistons earlier in the week.
The sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Noel has established a reputation as a talented, versatile defender with a limited offensive game.
After beginning his career with the Sixers, Mavericks, and Thunder, Noel thrived in New York in 2020/21, averaging 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in just 24.2 minutes per game for the league’s fourth-best defense. That performance helped earn him a three-year, $28MM contract from the Knicks, but he was slowed by injuries in ’21/22, appearing in just 25 games.
The Knicks sent Noel to Detroit in a salary-dump trade last offseason and he played sparingly for his new team as the Pistons evaluated younger players. Before agreeing to a buyout, the 28-year-old only appeared in 14 contests, averaging 2.3 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 10.9 MPG.
The Nets have been on the lookout for months for a reliable frontcourt player to back up starting center Nic Claxton — Noel is as good as an option as they’ll find on the buyout market.
Following last month’s trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn no longer looks like a team with championship potential, but the club remains firmly in the playoff race and still appears invested in upgrading this year’s roster. The Nets’ 35-28 record currently gives them a 2.5-game lead over Atlanta for the sixth seed in the East.
Brooklyn still has a portion of its mid-level exception available, but a rest-of-season, minimum-salary contract is probably the likeliest outcome for Noel. If he were to officially sign a minimum deal on Saturday, the big man would earn about $562K, while the Nets would take on a cap hit of approximately $390K.
Goran Dragic Signs With Bucks
11:03pm: The signing is official, the Bucks announced in a press release.
12:14pm: Free agent guard Goran Dragic is meeting with the Bucks in Milwaukee this afternoon and intends to sign with the team for the rest of the season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Wojnarowski first reported on Thursday that the Bucks were the frontrunners to sign Dragic, and it seems no rival suitors have jumped the line since then. According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), Dragic would have welcomed an offer from the Heat, but Miami isn’t in the market for another point guard.
Dragic, who will turn 37 in May, began this season on a minimum-salary contract with Chicago and was part of the Bulls’ rotation at point guard. However, while he appeared in 51 games, Dragic was only averaging 15.4 minutes per night, his lowest mark since he was a rookie in 2008/09. After the Bulls added Patrick Beverley on the buyout market, Dragic was the odd man out, resulting in his release.
Dragic is no longer the player he was in 2017, when he averaged 20+ points per game, or 2018, when he earned his lone career All-Star berth, but he was somewhat productive in Chicago this season, averaging 6.4 PPG and 2.7 APG on .425/.352/.659 shooting.
He’ll join a Bucks team that starts Jrue Holiday at the point, with Jevon Carter backing him up. As long as Milwaukee is healthy, it seems unlikely that Dragic will have much of a role, especially once the playoffs begin. But he’ll provide some reliable veteran depth at a position that wasn’t especially deep for the Bucks.
If Dragic signs his minimum-salary contract on Saturday, he’ll earn $617,911 the rest of the way, with the Bucks taking on a $390,433 cap charge. Even after re-signing Meyers Leonard to a 10-day contract, Milwaukee has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary.
Nuggets’ Zeke Nnaji Out At Least Two More Weeks
Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji will remain sidelined due to a right shoulder sprain until at least mid-March. The team announced today (via Twitter) that Nnaji will have the injury reevaluated in two weeks.
Nnaji wasn’t a regular part of Denver’s rotation early in the season, but had started to play a little more often in the weeks leading up to his injury, which has kept him on the shelf since February 5. For the season, the 22-year-old has appeared in 44 games, averaging 5.1 points and 2.3 rebounds on .572/.289/.667 shooting in 13.3 minutes per night.
It’s unclear what sort of role Nnaji will have if and when he’s ready to return. Vlatko Cancar and Jeff Green are among the Nuggets forwards who have played increased roles in his absence. Denver also acquired center Thomas Bryant a few days after Nnaji went down, so there may no longer be a path to some of the minutes he was getting as a small-ball five.
Nnaji is in the third year of his rookie contract and will become extension-eligible for the first time this offseason. If he doesn’t get a new deal later this year, he’d be on track for restricted free agency in the summer of 2024.
Grizzlies Say Ja Morant Will Be Away From Team For At Least Two Games
3:31pm: Morant has issued the following statement, via his agency Tandem Sports + Entertainment (Twitter link):
“I take full responsibility for my actions last night. I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis, and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down. I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with my stress and my overall well-being.”
1:05pm: The Grizzlies have announced in a brief press statement that star guard Ja Morant will be away from the team for at least the next two games (Twitter link). He’ll miss Sunday’s contest against the Clippers and Tuesday’s vs. the Lakers.
The Grizzlies haven’t said that Morant is suspended and didn’t offer any specific explanation for his absence. However, their statement comes shortly after the NBA announced it was investigating an Instagram Live video that appeared to show the All-Star guard flashing a gun at a strip club. It seems pretty safe to assume there’s a correlation between that news and this update.
As we outlined in our previous story, Morant has allegedly been involved in a handful of off-court incidents during the last year, with Friday’s video representing the latest.
Morant got into an altercation with a 17-year-old during a pickup game at his house last July and punched the teen several times, claiming later that it was in self-defense. He was also accused of threatening a security guard at a Memphis mall, and was reportedly involved in a confrontation with members of the Pacers’ traveling party after a January game, resulting in some of his associates being banned from the Grizzlies’ home arena.
The 17-year-old from the pickup game told police that Morant went into his house and reemerged with a gun visible in his waistband during their dispute, a claim that the Grizzlies guard’s lawyer and agent have vigorously disputed.
Members of the Pacers’ traveling party, meanwhile, alleged that someone in a slow-moving SUV (in which Morant was riding) trained a red laser on them during that January incident, with some individuals believing that laser was attached to a gun.
Even if both of those allegations were false, Morant had found himself under a harsher spotlight as of late and displayed extremely poor judgment when he brandished a gun on Friday night’s live stream.
Typically, when the league and/or a team is investigating an off-court incident, they’ll work in tandem to determine a appropriate response. It’s unclear in this case whether the NBA will defer to the Grizzlies to handle the matter or whether Morant is simply getting a leave of absence as the league continues to look into Friday’s social media video. I’d assume the latter.
NBA Confirms Dillon Brooks’ One-Game Suspension
Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks has been suspended without pay for one game and will miss Sunday’s contest in Los Angeles against the Clippers, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
Brooks’ suspension was automatically triggered when he picked up his 16th technical foul of the season on Friday vs. Denver.
A player receives a one-game suspension when he compiles 16 technical fouls in a season, and then is suspended for one additional game for every two technicals he gets beyond that. For instance, Brooks would be handed another one-game ban if he gets to 18 techs before the end of the regular season. That total resets at the start of the postseason (playoff suspensions begin once a player gets to seven postseason techs).
If the NBA had decided to rescind Brooks’ 16th technical, he could have avoided a suspension, but that didn’t happen.
It’s Brooks’ second suspension of the season. He was also forced to sit out one game following an altercation with Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.
The Grizzlies suddenly find themselves missing several key rotation players for Sunday’s contest in L.A. In addition to Brooks, Memphis will be without Ja Morant, who is away from the team amid off-court controversy, and Brandon Clarke, whose season ended when he suffered an Achilles tear on Friday.
Grizzlies’ Brandon Clarke Suffers Torn Achilles, Out For Season
Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke will miss the rest of the 2022/23 season after sustaining a torn left Achilles tendon, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The Grizzlies have put out a statement (via Twitter) confirming the diagnosis and announcing that Clarke will be out indefinitely. He’s expected to make a full recovery, per the team.
It’s a brutal blow for Clarke, who exited Friday’s game vs. Denver in the first quarter due to a non-contact lower leg injury that was feared to be serious. It generally takes upwards of a year for an NBA player to return from an Achilles tear, so Clarke is unlikely to be ready to go by the time the ’23/24 season gets underway in the fall.
Clarke, who signed a four-year, $50MM contract extension with the Grizzlies last fall, was having another strong season, averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 56 appearances (19.5 MPG) while shooting a career-high 65.6% from the field.
The 26-year-old has been an important part of Memphis’ frontcourt rotation along with Steven Adams, Jaren Jackson, and Santi Aldama. With Clarke sidelined, the Grizzlies may have to lean more heavily on reserves like David Roddy and Xavier Tillman. The team could look to free agency to fortify its front line, but doesn’t currently have an open spot on its 15-man roster.
It has been a day of bad news in Memphis, as the Clarke update comes shortly on the heels of an announcement that Ja Morant will miss at least the next two games while the NBA investigates a video that appeared to show him brandishing a gun at a strip club.
NBA Investigating Ja Morant Social Media Post
After an Instagram Live stream late on Friday night appeared to show Grizzlies guard Ja Morant flashing a gun while at a strip club (Twitter video link), the NBA has announced that it’s looking into the incident, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
“We are aware of a social media post involving Ja Morant and are investigating,” league spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement.
While he continues to perform at an All-Star level for the 38-24 Grizzlies on the court this season, Morant has been at the center of a number of off-court allegations.
Morant got into an altercation with a 17-year-old during a pickup game at his house last July and punched the teen several times, claiming later that it was in self-defense. Morant was also accused of threatening a security guard at a Memphis mall and was reportedly involved in a confrontation with members of the Pacers’ traveling party after a January game, resulting in some of his associates being banned from the Grizzlies’ home arena.
Morant hasn’t faced any criminal charges as a result of those allegations, but the growing list of stories about his actions off the court is worrisome, given that the 23-year-old is one of the NBA’s most promising and exciting young stars.
The timing of Friday’s social media stream also reflects a lack of judgment from Morant, given that The Washington Post published a new report about those off-court incidents just a few days ago, prompting the 23-year-old’s lawyer and agent to strongly defend him in statements on Twitter.
Jazz Sign Kris Dunn To Second 10-Day Contract
11:07am: Dunn’s second 10-day deal with the Jazz is now official, per NBA.com’s transaction log. It will cover Utah’s next five games.
7:09am: Kris Dunn‘s 10-day contract with the Jazz expired after Friday’s game, but the veteran guard isn’t going anywhere. Utah intends to sign Dunn to a second 10-day deal, sources with knowledge of the situation tell Sarah Todd of The Deseret News (Twitter link).
Dunn, who joined the Jazz following a stint in the G League, immediately claimed a spot in the rotation during his first 10 days with his new team, helping to fill in for injured guards Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson.
The former fifth overall pick averaged 12.0 points, 4.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 22.3 minutes per night across four appearances. A career 42.0% shooter from the floor entering this season, Dunn has scored more efficiently in his first few games in Utah, making 52.5% of his field goal attempts.
A player is permitted to sign up to two 10-day contracts with the same team in a given season, so at the end of his second 10-day deal, Utah will have to decide whether to sign Dunn for the rest of the season or let him walk.
Frank Jackson‘s 10-day contract with the Jazz also expired following Friday’s game, but the team’s plans for him aren’t yet clear. Unlike Dunn, Jackson didn’t play a regular role on his first 10-day deal, logging just five minutes in a single appearance.
Even after re-signing Dunn, Utah will have two openings on its 15-man roster, giving the club plenty of flexibility to audition other players 10 days at a time.
Southwest Notes: Mamukelashvili, Spurs, Clarke, Ingram, Mavs
When a team with a full 15-man roster trades for a new player, it must waive someone to make room for the newcomer — that’s true even if the plan is to immediately cut the newly acquired player, as we saw when the Spurs traded for Noah Vonleh in January.
However, the Spurs were able to claim Sandro Mamukelashvili‘s two-way contract off waivers on Friday despite not making any related moves with Dominick Barlow or Julian Champagnie, their current two-way players.
Teams aren’t permitted to carry more than two players on two-way contracts, but as Bobby Marks of ESPN explains (via Twitter), the Mamukelashvili claim was made possible because the Spurs opened a spot on their standard roster (by waiving Isaiah Roby) and immediately promoted Mamukelashvili to fill that spot by unilaterally converting his deal to a standard rest-of-season contract.
If the Spurs had wanted to keep Mamukelashvili on his two-way deal or to negotiate a standard contract with him that covered two or more seasons, they wouldn’t have had the same roster flexibility and would have been required to waive Barlow or Champagnie when they claimed him, per Marks.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke sustained a lower left leg injury in the first quarter of Friday’s loss to Denver and didn’t return, as Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details. We’ll have to wait for more clarity on Clarke’s prognosis, but the non-contact nature of the injury is concerning (Twitter video link). “I pray that everything is okay,” head coach Taylor Jenkins said after the game (Twitter link via Cole). “… I have no idea what’s going on, so we’ll get more results there.”
- The two months that Brandon Ingram spent rehabbing a toe injury earlier this season felt like the longest two months of his life, the Pelicans forward told William Guillory of The Athletic. “It was hard. There were certain days when it felt like I had to fight just to be there mentally for my teammates and for myself. I had to fight just to keep a smile on my face so they wouldn’t see me down,” Ingram said. “I’m a person that believes everything happens for a reason. So, I just tried to dig deep, real deep down and get myself out of that dark place. I learned a lot about myself during that time.”
- In a mailbag for The Athletic, Tim Cato addresses a handful of Mavericks-related topics, including Luka Doncic‘s questionable on-court body language and the odds of Josh Green signing a rookie scale extension with the team this offseason (Cato believes the chances are “very high”).