Heat To Sign Kyle Guy To 10-Day Contract
The Heat are signing guard Kyle Guy to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Guy will be Miami’s second hardship signing, joining Zylan Cheatham.
The 55th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Guy spent his first two NBA seasons on a two-way contract with Sacramento, but played a very limited role with the Kings, appearing in 34 games and averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.0 APG in 7.2 minutes per contest.
Guy has seen more action at the G League level, appearing in 37 games with the Stockton Kings as a rookie and 12 more games this season with the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate. The 24-year-old has averaged 21.1 PPG, 4.6 APG, and 4.3 RPG on .421/.392/.758 shooting in 35.7 MPG over the course of his NBAGL career.
Guy will earn $95,930 on his 10-day deal, which won’t count against Miami’s team salary for cap or tax purposes.
The Heat have three players in the health and safety protocols, so they’re eligible to sign one more player via a hardship exception if they so choose. There’s no indication that’s in the immediate plans though.
Trail Blazers Sign Reggie Perry Via Hardship Exception
DECEMBER 28: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
DECEMBER 27: The Trail Blazers intend to sign big man Reggie Perry to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The 57th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Perry spent his rookie year in ’20/21 on a two-way contract with the Nets, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 26 games (8.1 MPG) at the NBA level and putting up 18.1 PPG and 8.9 RPG in 15 games (28.8 MPG) for the Long Island Nets in the G League.
Perry joined the Raptors for training camp this fall, then joined Toronto’s G League affiliate after failing to secure a spot on the regular season roster. He has averaged a double-double (19.7 PPG, 10.1 RPG) in 11 games (32.0 MPG) for the Raptors 905 this season and has shown an ability to stretch the floor, hitting 2.1 threes per game at a 37.7% clip.
The Blazers, who currently have seven players in the health and safety protocols, have signed three replacement players to 10-day deals so far — Perry will be the fourth.
Pelicans Sign Feron Hunt To 10-Day Deal
DECEMBER 28: The Pelicans have officially signed Hunt, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
DECEMBER 27: The Pelicans plan to sign G League forward Feron Hunt to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Hunt, a 6’8″ forward, went undrafted out of SMU in 2021 after a junior year in which he recorded 11.1 PPG and 7.9 RPG in 16 games (28.2 MPG).
The 22-year-old has spent his rookie season so far playing for the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League affiliate, and has averaged 15.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.1 SPG with a .530 FG% in 12 NBAGL games (32.9 MPG).
New Orleans currently has three players in the health and safety protocols, making the team eligible for three hardship additions. The team has already signed Justin James and Anthony Tolliver to 10-day contracts — Hunt will be the third.
Pistons Sign Justin Robinson, Trayvon Palmer To 10-Day Contracts
The Pistons have signed guard Justin Robinson and wing Trayvon Palmer to 10-day contracts using hardship exceptions, the team announced today in a press release.
Robinson began the season on a two-way contract with Milwaukee and appeared in 17 games for the team, averaging 2.8 PPG and 1.2 APG on .316/.270/1.000 shooting in 11.6 minutes per contest. After being waived by the Bucks, the 24-year-old signed a 10-day hardship deal with Sacramento and logged 15 total minutes across three games with the Kings before his contract expired on Sunday night.
Palmer, 27, is a former Chicago State standout who had been playing for the Motor City Cruise in the G League this season. In 14 NBAGL contests (34.0 MPG), he averaged 11.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 2.3 APG on .496/.418/.800 shooting.
The Pistons, who have eight players in the health and safety protocols, now have six players on 10-day hardship contracts.
COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Billups, Thunder, Hornets, Raptors, More
The Wizards now have five players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to head coach Wes Unseld Jr., who told reporters today that Anthony Gill and Thomas Bryant are the latest players to enter the protocols (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington).
Bryant is coming off an ACL tear and has yet to play this season, so being in the protocols won’t affect his availability. However, Gill will no longer be an option in the short term for the Wizards after appearing in eight of the team’s last 11 games.
Here are more COVID-19 updates from around the NBA:
- Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has entered the COVID-19 protocols, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), who reports that assistant Scott Brooks is expected to become Portland’s acting head coach as long as Billups is unavailable.
- Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl of the Thunder have entered the health and safety protocols, according to the team (Twitter link via Wojnarowski). Aaron Wiggins also briefly entered the protocols, but has since been listed as available, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City now has four players in the protocols.
- The Hornets announced some good news and some bad news on Monday. While Cody Martin has exited the protocols and has been cleared to play on Monday vs. Houston, rookie Scottie Lewis is now in the protocols, according to the team (Twitter link).
- Three Raptors players – Pascal Siakam, Khem Birch, and Gary Trent Jr. – have exited the protocols and are listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. Philadelphia as they go through a reconditioning period, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Toronto still has seven players in the protocols, but may finally be trending in the right direction.
- Celtics forward Grant Williams boarded a flight to Minnesota earlier today and expects to play tonight vs. the Wolves, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Williams has been in the health and safety protocols since December 17.
- Although Ziaire Williams remains on the shelf due to an ankle sprain, he’s no longer listed in the protocols in the Grizzlies‘ latest injury report, suggesting he has been cleared.
Magic Re-Sign Hassani Gravett, Admiral Schofield
Four Magic players on 10-day contracts had those deals expire overnight on Sunday. Two of those players – guard Hassani Gravett and big man Admiral Schofield – signed new 10-day pacts on Monday using hardship exceptions, the team announced in a press release. The other two – Aleem Ford and B.J. Johnson – are now free agents.
Gravett and Schofield were both thrust into rotation roles immediately for a Magic team hit hard by injuries and COVID-related absences.
In his first 10 days with the club, Gravett started two of five games, averaging 7.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 24.8 minutes per game. The 6’2″ guard posted an impressive .450 3PT% during that time. Schofield, meanwhile, averaged 17.2 MPG in his five contests, putting up 5.8 PPG and 2.6 RPG.
Orlando still has six players in the health and safety protocols, so the team is eligible to carry several hardship additions. Freddie Gillespie and Tim Frazier are also currently on 10-day deals with the Magic.
NBA, NBPA Agree To Reduce Quarantine Period For COVID-Positive Players
DECEMBER 27: The NBA and NBPA have agreed to adjust the minimum required quarantine period for a vaccinated COVID-positive player to six days, reports Wojnarowski (Twitter links). A player who continues to test positive can be cleared after six days in quarantine if testing data shows he’s no longer at risk of being infectious.
According to Wojnarowski, the new rule – which also applies to coaches – is expected to immediately impact many players currently in the health and safety protocols. That suggests we could see a significant number of players cleared within the next day or two.
DECEMBER 23: The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are nearing an agreement to reduce the minimum quarantine period for COVID-positive players, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter) initially reported today that the two sides were engaged in discussions on the subject after commissioner Adam Silver mentioned the possibility during an interview with ESPN earlier in the week.
Currently, the quarantine period for a player who tests positive for COVID-19 is 10 days. However, the league and the players’ union could agree to lower it to as few as six days in certain cases, per Charania and Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The NBA and NBPA are consulting with their own infectious disease specialists and are studying research models from around the world before finalizing a decision, Wojnarowski explains.
Silver stated in his ESPN appearance on Tuesday that the viral load of a COVID-positive player can be ascertained during the testing process and suggested that it might be safe for such a player to return to action if his viral load drops below a certain threshold, since the risk of transmitting the virus would drop significantly. A player’s vaccination status may also be a factor in determining his required quarantine period.
“I think (medical experts are) already realizing that you can move away from the 10-day protocol when you have players who are vaccinated and boosted,” Silver told ESPN’s Malika Andrews on Tuesday. “It seems that the virus runs through their systems faster. They become not just asymptomatic but – more importantly – they’re not shedding the virus anymore.”
It’s unclear how quickly the new guidelines might go into effect if and when the NBA and NBPA reach an agreement.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kemba Walker Named Players Of The Week
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week, while Knicks guard Kemba Walker has won the award for the Eastern Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to a 3-1 record during the week of December 20-26, averaging 27.5 PPG, 7.0 APG, 6.3 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in those four games (36.9 MPG). He had a triple-double (27 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds) in Oklahoma City’s victory over Denver last Wednesday.
Walker, meanwhile, is this season’s most unlikely Player of the Week, having fallen out of New York’s rotation entirely for 10 games before being reinserted into the starting lineup on December 18 because so many Knicks players being in the health and safety protocols.
In three games this week, including a pair of wins, Walker put up 25.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 8.3 APG in 41.1 MPG. Like Gilgeous-Alexander, he had a triple-double, recording 10 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds in the Knicks’ Christmas Day win over Atlanta.
Gilgeous-Alexander beat out fellow nominees Stephen Curry, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and Dejounte Murray in the West. The East’s other nominees were Joel Embiid, Darius Garland, Kevin Love, Tyler Herro, Max Strus, Omer Yurtseven, and Jrue Holiday (Twitter link).
Suns Sign Emanuel Terry; Monty Williams In Protocols
2:25pm: The Suns have officially signed Terry, the team announced in a press release. His 10-day contract will run through January 5.
12:14pm: The Suns are set to sign forward Emanuel Terry to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Terry, 25, has played for a handful of international and G League teams since going undrafted out of Lincoln Memorial in 2018. He also got into three NBA games as a rookie back in 2018/19 — two for Phoenix and one for Miami.
This season, Terry has been playing in the G League for the Stockton Kings, averaging 11.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 10 games (25.5 MPG) for Sacramento’s G League affiliate. He also represented Team USA last month in the first two qualifying games for the 2023 World Cup.
For most of the month, Phoenix had avoided the league-wide COVID-19 outbreak that left a number of teams around the NBA shorthanded. However, the Suns placed Jae Crowder and Elfrid Payton in the health and safety protocols on Sunday, making them eligible to sign up to two replacement players via hardship exceptions.
The Suns have also temporarily lost their head coach, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Monty Williams has entered the protocols. Williams will miss Monday’s game vs. Memphis and figures to be sidelined into the new year if he has registered a confirmed positive test. Assistant coach Kevin Young will likely take over as acting head coach in Williams’ absence, tweets Wojnarowski.
Pacers Waive Brad Wanamaker, Sign Keifer Sykes
11:06am: The Pacers have officially signed Sykes and waived Wanamaker, according to a press release from the team.
10:51am: The Pacers intend to waive guard Brad Wanamaker and sign another guard, Keifer Sykes, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Most of the deals being completed around the NBA right now are 10-day hardship contracts, but it doesn’t appear that’ll be the case here, since the Pacers don’t have any players in the health and safety protocols and will be waiving a player from their 15-man roster in order to sign Sykes.
Wanamaker, 32, has appeared in 22 games for Indiana this season, averaging 3.5 PPG and 2.2 APG with a .361/.235/.909 shooting line in 13.3 minutes per contest. His minimum-salary contract isn’t fully guaranteed for 2021/22, so by releasing him before next month’s league-wide guarantee date, the Pacers would only have to pay him $715,538, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
An undrafted free agent out of Green Bay in 2015, Sykes has spent most of the last several years playing in international leagues. He has played for teams in Korea, Turkey, Italy, China, and Greece, and is coming off a one-year stint with the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Australia’s National Basketball League.
Sykes, who hit the game-winning three-point shot for Boeheim’s Army in this summer’s The Basketball Tournament, signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Indiana and then joined the Pacers’ G League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. He has averaged 16.5 PPG and 7.5 APG on .409/.351/.741 shooting in 13 G League games (34.3 MPG) this season.
It’s unclear whether or not Sykes will get a rest-of-season guarantee. If he doesn’t, the Pacers would have until January 7 to decide whether or not to lock in his full-season salary.