And-Ones: Tanking, Expansion, Ignite, Dumars, Mekel
After Baxter Holmes of ESPN reported on comments Adam Silver made during a Q&A with Suns employees, the NBA commissioner appeared on ESPN’s NBA Today on Monday to further discuss some of the points he made during that session. In addition to clarifying that he wasn’t “deadly serious about relegation” when he broached that subject, Silver explained why he believes the league’s revamped draft lottery system reduces the incentive for teams to tank (link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN).
“You’re dealing with a 14% chance of getting the first pick,” Silver said. “I recognize at the end of the day analytics are what they are and it’s not about superstition. A 14% chance is better than a 1% chance or a no percent chance. But even in terms of straightforward odds, it doesn’t benefit a team to be the absolute worst team in the league, and even if you’re one of the poor-performing teams, you’re still dealing with a 14% chance.
“It’s one of these things where there’s no perfect solution, but we still think a draft is the right way to rebuild your league over time. We still think it makes sense among partner teams, where a decision was made where the worst-performing teams are able to restock with the prospects of the best players coming in. So we haven’t come up with a better system.”
Silver also addressed the topic of expansion. As Marc Stein relays (via Twitter), the commissioner said that Las Vegas would “make a great location from a franchise someday,” but repeated his usual line about the need for patience. Expansion won’t be on the table, according to Silver, until after the league has a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and television deal in place. The current CBA will expires in 2024, while the TV deal runs until 2025.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Senegalese guard Babacar Sane, a graduate of the NBA Academy, has signed with the G League Ignite, according to a press release from the team. Sane, 19, has represented Senegal in World Cup qualifiers and played in the Basketball Africa League. He signed with the Ignite for two years and will be eligible for the 2024 draft. Marc J. Spears of Andscape talked to the young guard about his G League deal and a potential path to the NBA.
- NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars spoke to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today about his new role, explaining how he has adjusted to acting in the best interest of the league instead of any particular team. Dumars, whose position was previously held by Kiki VanDeWeghe, is in charge of player discipline — he was the one who announced, for instance, Grant Williams‘ suspension on Wednesday.
- Veteran Israeli point guard Gal Mekel, who attended Wichita State and played for the Mavericks and Pelicans from 2013-14, has retired, according to agent Misko Raznatovic (Twitter link). Although Mekel’s time in the NBA was brief, he has enjoyed a 14-year professional career, playing in Israel, Italy, Russia, Serbia, and Spain during that time.
Pacific Notes: Fox, Crowder, Booker, Klay, Wiggins
Appearing on The Draymond Green Show, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox recounted his reaction to the news that Sacramento had traded Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana at last season’s deadline, explaining that he viewed the deal as a strong message from his team.
“For me, it’s like yo, they believe in me,” Fox said, per Ajayi Browne of Slam Online. “But two, it’s like motherf—-r, we just traded somebody who could be a franchise point guard either here or somewhere else. So, you better get on your s–t; you better start winning.”
The Kings received plenty of outside criticism for their decision to trade a rising star like Haliburton in his second NBA season, but Fox is determined to prove that the Kings made the right move by handing him the undisputed reins at point guard.
“Does it add pressure? Yeah, a little bit,” Fox said. “But, at the end of the day, I’ve been trying to get us in the playoffs for years, so it’s a little added pressure. It ain’t hurt anybody.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter video link), Suns forward Jae Crowder pushed back against the idea that he demanded a trade because he was told he wouldn’t be a starter. “I do not want to get into the details just yet,” Crowder said, as Haynes relayed during a TNT appearance. “But it’s definitely not true, the narrative being pushed about me not starting or not, I can honestly say that.”
- Asked about his impressions of Devin Booker so far this season, head coach Monty Williams described the Suns‘ star guard as “probably the most complete player in the league right now” (Twitter link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). Booker has averaged 32.5 PPG on .530/.480/.882 shooting through four games (38.8 MPG).
- Williams’ comments on Booker came after a Suns victory over the Warriors in which sharpshooter Klay Thompson was ejected for the first time in his NBA career. Kendra Andrews of ESPN has the story on the chippy game between two Pacific rivals, Thompson’s first ejection, and Booker’s account of what Klay was saying to him before he left the floor: “They have four rings, repeated over and over.”
- In a conversation with Mark Medina of NBA.com, Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins explained that he took a pay cut on his new four-year, $109MM extension with Golden State because he didn’t want to leave a “winning organization” that treats him well. Wiggins’ goal is to eventually join teammates like Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, and Stephen Curry as “Bay Area legends,” he told Medina: “Hopefully by the time I’m done, people will look at me like that. I just have to keep putting in the work and accomplish what they have accomplished.”
Grant Williams Suspended One Game By NBA
Celtics forward Grant Williams has been suspended for one game without pay for an incident that took place in Monday’s game, the NBA announced today in a press release.
Williams, upset with a pair of foul calls during the fourth quarter on Monday in Chicago, was ejected from the game for bumping a referee (video link). Following his ejection, he aimed some choice language at the officials before heading to the locker room.
In today’s announcement, the NBA indicates that Williams’ suspension is for “recklessly making contact with and directing inappropriate language toward a game official.” As a result of the one-game ban, the forward will miss Friday’s game vs. Cleveland, further depleting a Boston frontcourt that’s already missing Robert Williams and Danilo Gallinari.
In his first four games this season, Grant Williams is averaging a career-high 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 24.8 inutes per contest, with a scorching shooting line of .706/.667/.857.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter), Williams will lose $29,698 as a result of the suspension. That’s 1/145th of his 2022/23 salary (approximately $4.3MM). The Celtics will also receive a tax variance credit for $14,849, half the amount of Williams’ lost salary, Marks notes.
Knicks Pick Up Options On Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes
As expected, the Knicks have exercised their team options for 2023/24 on guard Immanuel Quickley and wing Quentin Grimes, the team announced today (via Twitter). The Knicks also confirmed that they’ve picked up Obi Toppin‘s ’23/24 option, as was previously reported.
Quickley, 23, was the 25th overall pick in the 2020 draft. He has been a go-to reserve for New York since entering the league, averaging 11.4 PPG as a rookie and 11.3 PPG last season. He has struggled with his shot (.320 FG%, .200 3PT%) through three games in 2022/23, but is filling up the box score with 5.0 APG and 5.3 RPG.
Grimes had a promising rookie season in 2021/22 after being drafted at No. 25 overall in 2021, shooting 38.1% on three-pointers and showing some real defensive upside. He was expected to vie for the starting shooting guard spot this season, but has been hampered by a left foot issue and has yet to make his regular season debut.
Quickley will earn a guaranteed $4,171,548 salary in 2023/24. Grimes’ salary for that season is now a guaranteed $2,385,720.
Quickley will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2023 and for restricted free agency in 2024, while Grimes still has one more option (for ’24/25) on his rookie contract — the Knicks will have until next October 31 to make a decision on that option.
All of this year’s rookie scale option decisions can be found right here.
Bucks, Heat Have NBA’s Oldest Rosters; Thunder Youngest
The Bucks have the NBA’s oldest opening night roster this season, per a 2022/23 roster survey published by the league on Tuesday.
According to the NBA’s data, the average age of a Milwaukee player is 29.47 years old, with 36-year-olds George Hill and Wesley Matthews and 35-year-old Joe Ingles among the veterans contributing to that league-high average. The Heat (average age of 28.13 years old), Suns (28.05), Clippers (27.98), and Mavericks (27.89) have the next-oldest rosters, according to the NBA.
On the other end of the spectrum, no team has a younger roster than the Thunder, whose current group includes just one player older than 27 (Mike Muscala, who is 31). The average age of a Thunder player is just 23.14 years old, putting them ahead of fellow rebuilding teams like the Rockets (23.58), Spurs (23.84), and Magic (23.94). Interestingly, the Grizzlies (24.27) are the league’s fifth-youngest team, despite coming off a 56-win season.
Here are a few other tidbits of note from the NBA’s roster survey for the 2022/23 season:
- The Bucks and Thunder are also the most and least experienced NBA teams, respectively. The average Milwaukee player has 7.24 years of NBA service, while the average Oklahoma City player has just 1.94. That puts the Bucks comfortably ahead of the Clippers (6.56) and Celtics (5.82), while the Thunder are well behind the Rockets (2.29) and Magic (3.00).
- Kentucky (27) and Duke (25) have the most players currently in the NBA of any college program. No other school has more than 12 (UCLA).
- The average NBA player stands at 6-foot-6.74, weighs 217.62 pounds, and is 26.01 years old. The league identifies Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks (6-foot-6.5, 220 pounds, and 26 years old) as the player who most closely resembles the league’s “composite” player in terms of height, weight, and age.
- There are 13 sets of brothers currently in the NBA, including three Antetokounmpos (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Kostas Antetokounmpo) and three Holidays (Jrue Holiday, Justin Holiday, and Aaron Holiday).
- The league’s survey also includes some data on the youngest and oldest players, which we previously outlined here.
Rookie Scale Option Decisions Due On Monday
The NBA’s transaction wire has been relatively quiet since the regular season got underway last Tuesday, but we can still expect one last flurry of moves in October. The deadline for teams to exercise their 2023/24 team options on rookie scale contracts arrives next Monday (October 31), and several of those decisions have yet to be reported or announced.
Unlike player or team options on veteran contracts, third- and fourth-year options on rookie scale contracts for former first-round picks must be exercised a year in advance. For instance, when the Bulls picked up Patrick Williams‘ fourth-year option earlier this month, they were locking in his salary for the 2023/24 season — his ’22/23 salary became guaranteed last October when the team exercised his third-year option.
As our tracker shows, a number of teams still have to pick up or turn down options for players who were first-round picks in 2020 and 2021. Some of those option decisions are no-brainers — the Hornets haven’t yet exercised LaMelo Ball‘s $10.9MM option for 2023/24, but there’s no doubt they’ll do so.
Other decisions are less cut-and-dried. For example, the Hornets also must decide whether they want to pick up James Bouknight‘s $4.57MM third-year option for ’23/24. Given Bouknight’s underwhelming rookie season and his recent legal troubles, it’s far from a given that Charlotte will want to lock in that cap hit.
Here’s the list of option decisions that have yet to be announced or reported:
Boston Celtics
- Payton Pritchard (fourth year, $4,037,278)
Charlotte Hornets
LaMelo Ball (fourth year, $10,900,635)- James Bouknight (third year, $4,570,080)
- Kai Jones (third year, $3,047,880)
Golden State Warriors
- James Wiseman (fourth year, $12,119,440)
- Jonathan Kuminga (third year, $6,012,840)
- Moses Moody (third year, $3,918,480)
New Orleans Pelicans
- Kira Lewis (fourth year, $5,722,116)
- Trey Murphy (third year, $3,359,280)
New York Knicks
- Immanuel Quickley (fourth year, $4,171,548)
- Quentin Grimes (third year, $2,385,720)
[UPDATE: The Knicks’ options have been picked up.]
Orlando Magic
- Jalen Suggs (third year, $7,252,080)
- Cole Anthony (fourth year, $5,539,771)
- Franz Wagner (third year, $5,508,720)
- Chuma Okeke (fourth year, $5,266,713)
- R.J. Hampton (fourth year, $4,220,057)
Philadelphia 76ers
- Tyrese Maxey (fourth year, $4,343,920)
- Jaden Springer (third year, $2,226,240)
Utah Jazz
- Udoka Azubuike (fourth year, $3,923,484)
- Leandro Bolmaro (third year, $2,588,400)
Note: The Rockets haven’t technically exercised their 2023/24 options on Jalen Green ($9,891,480), Alperen Sengun ($3,536,280), Usman Garuba ($2,588,400), and Josh Christopher ($2,485,200) yet, but will reportedly do so.
Knicks Exercise 2023/24 Option On Obi Toppin
The Knicks have picked up their team option on forward Obi Toppin for the 2023/24 season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Toppin’s fourth-year option will pay him a guaranteed salary of $6,803,012.
Toppin, the eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft, hasn’t played a significant role so far for the Knicks, averaging just 11.0 minutes per game in 62 appearances as a rookie and 17.1 MPG in 72 games last season. However, he has been increasingly productive in his limited minutes. He’s averaging 9.3 PPG and 3.7 RPG on 57.1% shooting through three games (16.0 MPG) in 2022/23.
Toppin will earn approximately $5.35MM this season before making $6.8MM in the final year of his rookie contract in 2023/24. He’ll be up for a rookie scale extension during the 2023 offseason and would be eligible for restricted free agency in 2024 if he doesn’t sign a new deal before then.
The Knicks have two more rookie scale option decisions to make besides Toppin’s before next Monday’s deadline, though both seem fairly simple. We can presumably count on the team picking up Immanuel Quickley‘s fourth-year option ($4.17MM) and Quentin Grimes‘ third-year option ($2.39MM) for ’23/24.
Injury Notes: Westbrook, Kawhi, D. Wright, Thompson
After struggling during the Lakers‘ 0-3 start, point guard Russell Westbrook is unlikely to play in the team’s fourth game of the season on Wednesday in Denver. As Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes, Westbrook has been listed as doubtful to play vs. the Nuggets due to a hamstring injury, which he sustained during the team’s preseason finale on October 14.
The injury didn’t stop Westbrook from suiting up for the last three games, but if it’s lingering at all, it makes sense for the Lakers to hold him out for a game or two, not only to ensure he gets 100% healthy but also to give him a respite from the criticism he has faced in the early part of the 2022/23 season.
Here are a few more health-related notes from around the NBA:
- Clippers star Kawhi Leonard experienced some stiffness in his surgically repaired right knee and was held out of the team’s loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, who adds that Leonard has also been ruled out for the rematch between the two teams on Thursday. Head coach Tyronn Lue didn’t classify it as a setback for Leonard. “We want to be cautious, make sure we’re doing the right thing by him, even though he wanted to play,” Lue said. We just thought it wasn’t smart. He can be mad at us if he wants to but just not smart right now.”
- Wizards guard Delon Wright left Tuesday’s game with what head coach Wes Unseld Jr. referred to as hamstring tightness, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Unseld wasn’t sure after the game about the severity of the injury or if it would require Wright to miss any additional time.
- After tearing his ACL in 2019 and his Achilles in 2020, Warriors star Klay Thompson entered this season coming off a healthy summer, but he has still required a ramp-up process and a minutes restriction in the early going as he improves his conditioning, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I’m such a perfectionist, I want to be great right now,” Thompson said. “But I got to realize, man, it’s a long season. I’d rather peak come playoff time rather than early November or into January.”
John Wall Discusses Rockets Stint, Joining Clippers
While he has since moved on after reaching a buyout with the Rockets over the summer, John Wall admitted during a conversation with Sam Amick of The Athletic that he was “pissed as hell” at the way his last season in Houston played out.
According to Wall, at the end of his first year in Houston in 2020/21, he had positive exit meetings with head coach Stephen Silas and Rafael Stone, and left those meetings believing that he’d continue to play a significant role for the Rockets the following season. The veteran point guard found out a few months later that was no longer the plan.
“In August, I went back to (Houston to) check on my condo and I was going back to Miami, where I’ll (stay) in the summer,” Wall said. “So they were like, ‘Yo, the thing is, listen, we’ll bring you out for like 10 minutes a game, and sometimes you won’t play at all, or you can just not play at all the whole year and we’ll try to find a trade.’ And I was like, ‘I’m not trying to play 10 minutes a game or not play some games.’ I didn’t want to do that.”
Wall and the Rockets ultimately agreed to have him sit out until the team could find a trade, which didn’t happen. Following his offseason buyout from the Rockets, the 32-year-old landed in Los Angeles, where he’s off to a good start so far this season with the Clippers, averaging 16.0 PPG on 51.9% shooting in 23.0 MPG in his first two games.
Wall spoke to Amick about several topics, including his decision to sign with the Clippers. The conversation is worth checking out in full if you’re an Athletic subscriber, but here are a few of the highlights:
On the silver lining of the Achilles tear that sidelined him for the 2019/20 season:
“I think during the time when I had my Achilles injury, it was perfect timing for me to have that injury, because my mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer and my first son was born. So I got to spend time working through that whole process, taking her to chemo and stuff like that. I got to see my first son being raised every day. Most of the time when you have a kid, we’re midseason (with the team). We don’t get to see them grow every day. We miss the steps because we’ve got to travel. So I think all that (was a blessing).”
On getting the opportunity to join a contender like the Clippers:
“I knew I had so much left in the tank. That’s why it’s great to be with a great organization, a great group of guys, a great coaching staff, because a lot of teams said, ‘Well, we didn’t see you play and we don’t know if you’ve still got it.’ And I’m like, ‘Just give me a chance. I know what I’ve got. Just give me a chance.’ And they gave me a chance.
“Playing with a great team, you’re still trying to figure things out, build things out, and we’ve got a couple of guys on minute restrictions. But I feel like when we get all that down and pat, we’re gonna be something special.”
On how long the Clippers had been on his radar as a possible landing spot:
“Me and P (Paul George) were talking about it the whole time. We were trying to figure it out. I had two years left (on my contract with Houston), and we were trying to wait until I had one year left and try to keep fighting.”
2022/23 NBA Two-Way Contract Conversions
At Hoops Rumors, we track virtually every kind of transaction, including free agent signings, trades, contract extensions, waiver claims, and many more. One form of roster move that has become increasingly common in recent years is the two-way conversion, involving a player either being converted from an Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, or from a two-way deal to the standard roster.
We’re going to track all of the two-way conversions (either to or from the standard roster) in 2022/23 in the space below.
Let’s dive in…
Exhibit 10 contracts to two-way contracts:
When a player signs a contract during the offseason that includes Exhibit 10 language, he gives his new team the ability to unilaterally convert his deal into a two-way contract. The deadline to convert such a deal is the day before the season begins — this year that was Monday, October 17.
A player who signs a training camp contract that doesn’t include Exhibit 10 language could still sign a two-way deal with his club as long as his camp contract doesn’t include a guarantee exceeding $50K. However, he’d have to clear waivers before inking that new two-way contract.
Here are the players who had their Exhibit 10 contracts converted into two-way deals in 2022/23:
- Kostas Antetokounmpo (Bulls) (story)
- Moses Brown (Clippers) (story)
- John Butler (Pelicans) (story)
- Jamal Cain (Heat) (story)
- Darius Days (Rockets) (story)
- Bruno Fernando (Rockets) (story)
- Michael Foster Jr. (Sixers) (story)
- Luka Garza (Timberwolves) (story)
- Jordan Goodwin (Wizards) (story)
- Ty Jerome (Warriors) (story)
- Anthony Lamb (Warriors) (story)
- Olivier Sarr (Trail Blazers) (story)
- Dru Smith (Heat) (story)
- McKinley Wright IV (Mavericks) (story)
Most of these players were invited to training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts and ultimately earned two-way slots based on their performances in camp and the preseason. However, there are a few exceptions.
Butler had his Exhibit 10 contract converted into a two-way deal early in October, then was waived by the Pelicans at the end of the preseason. It’s possible New Orleans was still negotiating with second-rounder E.J. Liddell at that point and only decided to cut Butler after Liddell agreed to accept a two-year, two-way contract.
Days was in camp with the Heat, but was waived by Miami and claimed by the Rockets, who converted his Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal.
Fernando’s conversion from an Exhibit 10 to a two-way was completed for procedural reasons. Doing so allowed the Rockets to negotiate a new standard contract with Fernando (as detailed below) without having to waive him.
Two-way contracts to standard contracts:
A player who is on a two-way contract can have his deal unilaterally converted a one-year, minimum-salary contract by his team (or a two-year, minimum-salary contract if the player’s two-way deal covers two years, but this is rare).
Generally though, the team’s preference is to negotiate a longer-term contract with the player in order to avoid having him reach free agency at season’s end.
When converting a player from a two-way contract to the standard roster, the team can use cap room or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to negotiate a deal of up to four years; the taxpayer mid-level exception for a deal up to three years; or the room exception, bi-annual exception, or minimum salary exception for a two-year deal.
The player must agree to any deal that is worth more than the minimum or exceeds the number of years left on his two-way pact.
Here are the players who have been converted from two-way deals to standard contracts this year, along with the terms of their new contracts, in chronological order:
- Jericho Sims (Knicks): Three years, $5,660,082 (story). First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed ($600K). Third-year team option.
- Bruno Fernando (Rockets): Four years, $10,869,564 (story). First year guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Darius Days (Heat): One year, minimum salary (story). Non-guaranteed. Exhibit 10.
- Note: Days was subsequently waived by the Heat and claimed by the Rockets, who converted him back to a two-way contract (as noted above).
- Eugene Omoruyi (Thunder): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second-year non-guaranteed team option.
- Charles Bassey (Spurs): Four years, $10,200,000 (story). First two years guaranteed. Third and fourth years non-guaranteed.
- Admiral Schofield (Magic): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
- Trevor Keels (Knicks): 10-day contract (story).
- Ish Wainright (Suns): Two years, $2,402,747 (story). First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
- Jordan Goodwin (Wizards): Three years, $4,920,240 (story). First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed. Third-year partially guaranteed team option.
- Bryce McGowens (Hornets): Four years, $7,002,014 (story). First two years guaranteed. Third year partially guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Lindy Waters (Thunder): Two years, $3,855,792 (story). First year guaranteed. Second-year team option.
- Sandro Mamukelashvili (Spurs): One year, minimum salary (story).
- Carlik Jones (Bulls): Three years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second and third years non-guaranteed.
- DaQuan Jeffries (Knicks): 10-day contract (story).
- Anthony Lamb (Warriors): One year, minimum salary (story).
- David Duke (Nets): One year, minimum salary (story).
- Kobi Simmons (Hornets): Two years, minimum salary (story). First year guaranteed. Second year non-guaranteed.
- Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Grizzlies): Four years, $6,927,014 (story). First two years guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year non-guaranteed team option.
Players on two-way contracts can be converted to standard deals until the last day of the regular season, so we expect to add many more players to this second list in the coming months.