Timberwolves’ Beverley, Vanderbilt Enter Protocols
The Timberwolves‘ COVID-19 outbreak appears to have affected a couple more players, as Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that guard Patrick Beverley and forward Jarred Vanderbilt have entered the health and safety protocols.
Beverley and Vanderbilt join Anthony Edwards, Josh Okogie, and Taurean Prince in the protocols, bringing the total number of Wolves players impacted to five.
If Beverley and Vanderbilt have tested positive for COVID-19, they’ll be out for 10 days or until they return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
The news may be of concern to the Mavericks, since both Beverley and Vanderbilt were in the starting lineup when Minnesota faced Dallas on Sunday night. Beverley played almost 31 minutes, while Vanderbilt logged over 38 minutes.
Southwest Notes: Hayes, Mathews, Mavs, Grizzlies
Third-year center Jaxson Hayes, a lottery pick in 2019, has yet to carve out a role as a reliable part of the Pelicans‘ rotation. Hayes, who has spent some time in the G League this year and has seen his name surface in trade rumors, admitted to Will Guillory of The Athletic that the season has been a “frustrating” one. However, he said he believes his time in the NBAGL was good for him and that he remains confident he can take his game to another level.
“I don’t think I’m there yet, but I think I know what it looks like for the most part,” Hayes said. “I can be an elite pick-and-roll player. I can spread the floor by knocking down shots from farther out. I can bring the energy and the scoring. I can control the paint with my defense. I know what I bring to the table. I think a lot of teams know what I can bring to the table.”
Hayes will be extension-eligible during the summer of 2022 and would be a free agent in 2023 if he doesn’t get a new deal before then. An eventual change of scenery could be in the cards, but he’s still hopeful he can break through in New Orleans.
“If I get the chance, I will. You never know. Right now, I’m not getting the chance,” Hayes told Guillory. “I hope so. I love it here. This has been my home for three years. I’d much rather it happen here than anywhere else. But if it’s not in God’s plan, then it’s not in God’s plan. I’m just staying ready and focusing on myself. I’ll deal with whatever God gives me.”
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Garrison Mathews‘ new four-year contract with the Rockets is worth $8.2MM, with a $2MM guaranteed salary in 2021/22, sources tell Alykhan Bijani and Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), Mathews will have non-guaranteed salaries with trigger dates in years two and three, plus a fourth-year team option.
- A pair of Mavericks assistant coaches have entered the health and safety protocols, per head coach Jason Kidd, who said the team will be without Jared Dudley and Darrell Armstrong for the short term (Twitter link via Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News).
- In his latest ESPN.com mailbag (Insider link), Kevin Pelton explores how the Grizzlies are winning without Ja Morant and whether the Mavericks can count on regression to the mean for several slumping shooters.
NBA, NBPA Agree To Temporarily Adjust Roster Rules
The NBA and the players’ union reached an agreement on Sunday night to adjust roster rules to address the COVID-19 outbreaks occurring across the league, according to Tim Bontemps and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The new rules will go into effect immediately and will remain in place until at least January 19, per ESPN. At that point, the NBA will give teams guidance on how to proceed.
The new rules are as follows:
- A team will be permitted to sign a replacement player for each player on its roster who tests for positive for COVID-19. For instance, a team that has five players test positive would be allowed to sign up to five replacement players.
- As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), the hardship exception generally requires a team to be missing at least four players before a replacement player can be signed, so the new rule is essentially splitting the hardship rule into two parts — it will remain the same for injured players, but will be available immediately (without the four-player minimum) for COVID-related absences.
- A team will be required to sign at least one replacement player if it has two players test positive for COVID-19, at least two replacements if it has three players test positive, and at least three replacements if it has four or more players test positive.
- When a team is required to sign a replacement player, the player must be available for the team’s next game.
- A player signed as a replacement won’t count toward team salary for cap or tax purposes.
- This is a significant win for teams like the Nets, who are so far into the tax that they were on the hook for an extra $500K+ for every replacement signing they were making.
- A player on a two-way contract will no longer be limited to 50 games on his team’s active roster.
- A two-way player who was signed in the preseason and exceeds 50 games will earn a salary of $751,682 (up from $462,629), according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link).
- While the rest of the rules on this list could be reversed later in the season, it’s safe to assume this will cover the rest of 2021/22.
The NBA has been forced to postpone seven games within the last week, including Monday’s Raptors/Magic game and Tuesday’s Nets/Wizards contest.
[RELATED: 2021/22 NBA Health And Safety Protocols Tracker]
The hope is that these new rules will help the league avoid postponements going forward, since teams will have the opportunity to act faster to replace players who test positive for COVID-19 and will essentially be forced to sign replacements if multiple players test positive.
Kings Place Davion Mitchell In Protocols, Sign Justin Robinson
8:45 PM: The Kings have signed Robinson to a 10-day deal using the hardship exception and he will be available to play Friday night, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter links).
4:01 PM: The Kings have placed guard Davion Mitchell in the health and safety protocols, according to Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 Sacramento (Twitter link). Mitchell was initially listed as questionable for Friday’s game vs. Memphis – perhaps in the hopes that his COVID-19 test was a false positive – but he has now been ruled out, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Even if a player registers a false positive, he needs to return consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart in order to exit the protocols, so a negative result today wouldn’t have cleared Mitchell, assuming he tested positive earlier in the day.
Sacramento also has five other players in the health and safety protocols and is missing Richaun Holmes due to a right eye injury. On top of that, Tyrese Haliburton (back) and Chimezie Metu (knee) are listed as questionable for Friday’s game. If Haliburton and Metu are ruled out, the club would be down to eight available players, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee notes (via Twitter).
According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the Kings may sign free agent guard Justin Robinson before tonight’s contest to provide further reinforcements, assuming the game takes place as scheduled. Robinson would receive a 10-day contract via a hardship exception in that scenario.
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. However, he was waived at the end of November when the Bucks opted to replace him on the roster with Javonte Smart.
Nets To Allow Kyrie Irving To Return As Part-Time Player
6:08 PM: Nets GM Sean Marks has released a statement regarding Irving’s return:
“After discussions with our coaches, players and staff, the organization has decided to have Kyrie Irving re-join the team for games and practices in which he is eligible to participate. We arrived at this decision with the full support of our players and after careful consideration of our current circumstances, including players missing games due to injuries and health and safety protocols.
“We believe that the addition of Kyrie will not only make us a better team but allow us to more optimally balance the physical demand on the entire roster. We look forward to Kyrie’s return to the lineup, as well as getting our entire roster back together on the court.”
4:10 PM: The Nets have reconsidered their stance to hold Kyrie Irving out of action indefinitely and have begun the process of reintegrating him as a part-time player, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
As Wojnarowski explains, the Nets have been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19 cases and find themselves leaning heavily on their stars, including Kevin Durant, who is averaging 37.0 minutes per game, his highest minutes average in eight seasons. As a result, Brooklyn has decided to allow Irving to play in road games to help ease the burden on the rest of the roster.
The Nets had initially made the decision during the preseason to have Irving remain away from the team, since he was unvaccinated and was ineligible to practice or play games in New York due to the city’s vaccine mandate. Management and ownership deemed it untenable to have Kyrie only active on the road. Two months later, the team is reversing that stance.
Irving is still unvaccinated, so he remains ineligible to play in games in New York, including the Nets’ home games and away games vs. the Knicks. He also won’t be able to travel to Canada to face the Raptors. However, he will be eligible to play in Brooklyn’s other games on the road.
According to Woj (via Twitter), Irving’s return isn’t imminent. He’ll have to pass a series of COVID-19 tests before he’s cleared to return to team workouts, then he may require a little time to get back into game shape.
Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links) first reported that Irving is beginning the ramp-up process toward making his season debut, adding that he’s expected to practice with the Nets in the coming days. Nets owner Joe Tsai, GM Sean Marks, head coach Steve Nash, and key players on the team all support the decision, tweets Wojnarowski.
It remains to be seen what the long-term plan for Irving is. While having him available for about half the Nets’ games should help provide a boost in the short term, it’s hard to imagine the team will be happy only having him available on the road once the playoffs arrive. That’s still a few months away though, so the two sides have some time to figure things out.
Lakers Sign Isaiah Thomas To 10-Day Deal
December 17: Thomas has signed his 10-day deal with the Lakers, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
December 16: Isaiah Thomas is getting an opportunity at the NBA level, according to Marc Stein, who reports (via Twitter) that the veteran guard is signing with the Lakers.
The Lakers have two injured players (Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn) and three more in the health and safety protocols (Dwight Howard, Malik Monk, and Talen Horton-Tucker), so they’re eligible to temporarily add up to two free agents due to the NBA’s hardship provision. Thomas will sign via hardship and will get a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms (Twitter link).
Thomas, who had been unable to secure an NBA opportunity through the season’s first two months, signed a G League contract and joined the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s affiliate. He made his debut on Wednesday and had a massive game, putting up 42 points, eight assists, and six rebounds in 42 minutes. That performance likely helped convince the Lakers to give him a shot.
Thomas has appeared in just 55 total NBA games since the start of the 2018/19 season for the Nuggets, Wizards, and Pelicans, averaging 11.1 PPG and 3.2 APG on .393/.381/.771 shooting in 21.0 minutes per contest during that time. The 32-year-old was bothered for years by hip problems, but has said he’s fully healthy now and recently represented Team USA in a pair of qualifying games for the 2023 World Cup.
NBA can receive permission to carry extra players if they have four or more players affected by the health and safety protocols and/or by longer-term injuries. The Lakers will have to either let Thomas go or create room on the 15-man roster for him once a couple of their unavailable players are ready to return.
Thomas’ 10-day contract will pay him $151,821 and will carry a $95,930 cap hit. The overall cost of the signing will be a little higher for the Lakers, since it’ll also increase their tax bill.
Magic Sign Four Players To 10-Day Contracts
The Magic have called up four players from their G League affiliate, signing swingman B.J. Johnson, guard Hassani Gravett, and forwards Admiral Schofield and Aleem Ford to 10-day contracts, the team announced today in a press release. All four Lakeland Magic players were signed using hardship exceptions.
As we detailed earlier today, the Magic found themselves shorthanded after Ignas Brazdeikis, Terrence Ross, Moritz Wagner, and R.J. Hampton entered the health and safety protocols. Orlando is also missing Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, Michael Carter-Williams, and E’Twaun Moore due to long-term injuries, raising questions about whether the team would have the minimum required eight players available for Friday’s game vs. Miami.
Since then, Mohamed Bamba has also entered the health and safety protocols, according to the Magic (Twitter link). However, with four G League call-ups joining the seven remaining players on the NBA squad, Orlando should be able to move forward with its schedule for the time being.
Of Orlando’s four newly-added players, two – Johnson and Schofield – have NBA experience. Johnson has also been Lakeland’s leading scorer so far this season, putting up 24.7 PPG on .462/.344/.821 shooting in his first 10 games (34.5 MPG).
Schofield has averaged 14.4 PPG and 7.3 RPG in 12 G League games (33.0 MPG), while Gravett has recorded 13.6 PPG, 5.8 APG, and 5.2 RPG in 12 games (34.5 MPG) and Ford has posted 9.6 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 12 games (28.1 MPG).
The hardship provision allows teams with several players unavailable due to injuries or the health and safety protocols to add extra players on a temporary basis.
Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan Exit Protocols
Lakers guard Russell Westbrook has cleared the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols and will be available for Friday’s game vs. Minnesota, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Westbrook just entered the protocols on Thursday, so his quick exit is great news for the Lakers. It sounds as if Westbrook may have registered a false positive and been cleared when he subsequently recorded multiple consecutive negative tests. The Lakers do still have a handful of players in the protocols, Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard, Avery Bradley, and Kendrick Nunn.
Meanwhile, Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan has also exited the health and safety protocols, according to the team (Twitter link via Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago).
DeRozan was initially placed in the protocols back on December 6, so it seems safe to assume he actually contracted COVID-19. He may require a short ramp-up period for conditioning purposes before he clears his cardiac tests and is given the go-ahead to return to game action.
The Bulls, who had two games postponed this week, are scheduled to resume play on Sunday in Chicago vs. the Lakers. They still have seven players in the protocols for the time being.
Windhorst’s Latest: Pacers, LeVert, Blazers, Simmons, Fox
Based on the whispers he has heard around the league, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst views Caris LeVert and Myles Turner as more likely trade candidates for the Pacers than Domantas Sabonis, he said on the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast. Although Sabonis has frequently been mentioned alongside LeVert and Turner in reports on Indiana’s potential trade chips, Windhorst hasn’t heard much chatter about the All-Star center.
During Friday’s episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, Windhorst spoke at length to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon about the report on the Mavericks that MacMahon published earlier this week, which included details on how the relationship between Luka Doncic and Rick Carlisle became frayed. Interestingly, Windhorst suggested that LeVert could perhaps relate to Doncic, stating that the Pacers swingman and Carlisle have not had the “greatest partnership” so far this season.
Here are a few more interesting tidbits shared by Windhorst during his podcast:
- Windhorst heard from one executive who said that the Trail Blazers, since their front office shakeup, have created the impression they’re willing to listen to inquiries on anyone except Damian Lillard.
- According to Windhorst, there are multiple execs around the NBA who believe that when the Sixers eventually trade Ben Simmons, at least one of the Kings, Timberwolves, and/or Rockets will be involved, either as Simmons’ destination or as a third team in the deal. As Windhorst explains, those three teams’ front offices are run by executives who previously worked with Daryl Morey.
- Although reports earlier this year suggested that De’Aaron Fox was expected to be off-limits in any Kings trade talks, MacMahon has gotten the sense that the point guard is no longer considered untouchable. According to Windhorst, Fox came to camp this fall 15 pounds heavier than he was when the season ended last spring.
Celtics’ Hernangomez, Lakers’ Nunn Enter Protocols
The list of players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols continues to grow. Celtics forward Juan Hernangomez and Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn are the two latest players to enter the protocols, according to their respective teams.
Hernangomez is the fourth Celtic currently in the health and safety protocols, while Nunn is the fifth Laker. By our count, there are now more than 50 NBA players in the protocols, though that number is changing constantly.
Hernangomez looked like a candidate to play an increased role with Jabari Parker, Grant Williams, and Al Horford unavailable in the frontcourt, so Boston’s rotation will be impacted by his absence.
Los Angeles won’t have to make any changes as a result of Nunn’s status — he has yet to play at all this season due to a knee injury.
If Hernangomez and Nunn have tested positive for COVID-19, they’ll remain in the protocols for 10 days or until they register two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.