Celtics Have Talked To Sixers About Ben Simmons
10:54am: A league source tells Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter link) that the report of the Celtics discussing a trade for Simmons is “untrue.” This could be a matter of semantics — perhaps Boston checked in on Simmons, but isn’t actively engaged in discussions with Philadelphia.
For what it’s worth, Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link) says the Celtics are “absolutely not” trading Brown for Simmons.
9:36am: The Celtics have expressed interest in Ben Simmons and have engaged in discussions with the Sixers, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania describes those talks as “fluid, with no traction as of yet.”
According to Charania, any Simmons trade between Boston and Philadelphia would have to include Celtics wing Jaylen Brown.
Presumably, that condition is coming from the Sixers, since it’s hard to imagine the C’s are eager to part with a 25-year-old who is posting career highs in PPG (25.6 PPG), RPG (6.1), FG% (.493), and several other categories, despite some early-season chemistry issues. If Philadelphia asks for Brown, I imagine the Celtics would seek other assets in addition to Simmons, assuming they’d still be interested at all.
Daryl Morey‘s asking price for Simmons has remained very high for several months, so it’s perhaps not surprising that the Sixers haven’t yet come close to completing a deal. There’s a belief that the team might have more options after December 15, when more players signed this past offseason become trade-eligible.
Charania’s latest report includes a number of other details on the standoff between Simmons and the Sixers, including the fact that the 25-year-old has provided the team with the names of his mental health professionals, but hasn’t shared any details on his treatment beyond that. Simmons has turned down the resources and professionals Philadelphia has offered, and the club has been frustrated by the lack of information he has provided about his status.
[RELATED: Sixers Resume Fining Ben Simmons]
As Charania outlines, the 76ers aren’t seeking out specific details about Simmons’ sessions, but want to know more about his treatment process and a possible return timeline. It seems that Simmons’ camp and the NBPA disagree with the franchise about how much information the three-time All-Star is obligated to provide to the team.
The Sixers have reportedly resumed fining Simmons for missing games and other team activities, but one NBPA source tells Charania that as long as Simmons has given the team basic information about the mental health professionals he’s working with, the club shouldn’t have grounds to withhold his salary. An arbitration process may ultimately be necessary to sort out the financial details of the dispute.
Pacers Hoping For Late-December Return For T.J. Warren?
The Pacers are hoping that injured forward T.J. Warren will be able to return to action sometime in late December or January, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Warren, who missed all but four games during the 2020/21 season due to a navicular left foot stress fracture, remained sidelined indefinitely this fall, as his recovery progressed a little slower than initially anticipated.
However, the Pacers provided a positive update on the 28-year-old last week — Warren got out of his walking boot and head coach Rick Carlisle expressed optimism that his return date was “weeks, but hopefully not months” away. Charania’s report lines up with that projection. If Warren can get back on the court sometime in late December, it’ll be less than two months since Carlisle made his comments.
Warren was one of the stars of the NBA’s Orlando bubble in 2020, averaging 31.0 PPG in six regular season games at Walt Disney World, boosting his season-long scoring rate to a career-best 19.8 PPG during his first year in Indiana. He put up a scorching-hot .536/.403/.819 shooting line in 67 games in 2020/21.
Getting Warren back would provide a nice boost to a Pacers team that is off to a sluggish start (4-7) in ’21/22.
Cavs Notes: Rubio, Mobley, Sexton, Garland
Ricky Rubio enjoyed perhaps the best game of his NBA career on Sunday in a win over the Knicks, racking up a career-high 37 points and eight 3-pointers to go along with 10 assists. After the game, however, the veteran Cavaliers point guard was eager to praise one of his young teammates, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com details.
“He’s special and he will be special,” Rubio said of rookie big man Evan Mobley. “We don’t even know how (high) his potential can be. … He’s really mature for his age. He knows how to play the game the right way. Scoring 26 points your first game in MSG is hard to do. We’re proud to have a teammate like him. It’s fun.”
While Mobley’s 26 points were a career high, he also contributed to the victory in several other ways, adding nine rebounds and five assists while anchoring the Cavs’ defense, writes Fedor. The 20-year-old was a plus-26 on the night.
Since LeBron James‘ exit from Cleveland in 2018, the team has sought a young star to build around, and Mobley is showing strong signs he’s capable of being that player.
“He’s earned our trust. We can depend on him,” Bickerstaff said. “How many 19- or 20-year-olds can you say that about?”
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton exited Sunday’s game early due to a left knee injury and will be further evaluated on Monday to determine the severity of the injury, Fedor writes for Cleveland.com. A source tells Fedor that Sexton felt discomfort after bumping knees with teammate Jarrett Allen in the second quarter. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was unable to provide an update after the game.
- Darius Garland is exhibiting growth across the board early in his third NBA season, according to Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. Garland, who has posted career-best rates in APG (7.6), FG% (.476), and 3PT% (.440) so far, is still working on becoming a more vocal on-court leader and finding a balance between making plays for teammates and seeking out his own shot, Russo notes. Garland will be eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2022 offseason.
- For more out of Cleveland, be sure to check out our Cavs team page.
NBA G League Affiliate Players For 2021/22
Throughout the offseason and preseason, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 (plus a pair of two-way players) in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by teams prior to the season can be designated as “affiliate players” and assigned to their G League squads.
As we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, if a player’s NBA team has designated him as an affiliate player and he signs a G League contract, he is automatically assigned to that team’s NBAGL roster.
Of the G League’s 30 teams, 28 are directly affiliated with an NBA club. Only the Mexico City Capitanes and G League Ignite are unaffiliated, while only the Suns and Trail Blazers don’t control a G League team. Here are the affiliate players for those 28 squads to start the 2021/22 season:
Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
Austin Spurs (Spurs)
Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans)
Capital City Go-Go (Wizards)
- Jaime Echenique
- Jordan Goodwin
- Jordan Schakel
- Note: Devontae Shuler was also an affiliate player for Capital City, but was waived before the regular season began.
Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers)
College Park Skyhawks (Hawks)
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers)
- Nate Hinton
- Keifer Sykes
- Terry Taylor
- Note: Derek Culver was also an affiliate player for Fort Wayne, but was waived before the regular season began.
Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets)
Greensboro Swarm (Hornets)
Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves)
Lakeland Magic (Magic)
Long Island Nets (Nets)
Maine Celtics (Celtics)
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
Motor City Cruise (Pistons)
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
Raptors 905 (Raptors)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets)
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz)
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors)
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat)
South Bay Lakers (Lakers)
Stockton Kings (Kings)
Texas Legends (Mavericks)
Westchester Knicks (Knicks)
Windy City Bulls (Bulls)
Wisconsin Herd (Bucks)
Blazers Launch Investigation Into Neil Olshey’s Conduct
1:50pm: Portland has released a statement about the investigation into Olshey, acknowledging that law firm O’Melveny & Myers is working with the organization.
“We are committed to continuing to build an organization that positively impacts our colleagues, communities and the world in which we live in play,” the statement reads, in part (Twitter link).
6:21am: The Trail Blazers and team owner Jody Allen are opening an investigation into the behavior of president of basketball operations Neil Olshey and the work environment under him, according to Shams Charania and Jason Quick of The Athletic.
The Blazers, Allen, and Olshey all declined to comment to The Athletic on the matter, but Charania and Quick hear that at least one team employee reported potential misconduct.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports has more details, reporting that team employees are alleging staffers have been subjected to “intimidation and profanity-laced tirades, among other bullying tactics” under Olshey. The organization has hired the law firm O’Melveny & Myers to conduct an independent investigation.
According to Haynes, the firm started to interview Blazers front office employees this week. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that multiple staffers have expressed relief about getting an investigation into what they describe as a toxic and hostile work environment that has resulted in mental and physical stress.
One of the issues staff members expressed concerns about was the team’s “mishandling” of the aftermath of the death of former video coordinator Zach Cooper in April of 2020, per Haynes.
Olshey, who previously worked in the Clippers’ front office, joined the Blazers in 2010 and has been the club’s head of basketball operations since 2012. He has faced increased pressure to get Portland over the hump in recent years as the club was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.
Olshey also faced criticism this offseason when he declined to provide any specific details about the Blazers’ investigation into sexual assault allegations levied in 1997 against new head coach Chauncey Billups, calling into question how exhaustively the team actually looked into that incident before hiring Billups.
Once O’Melveny & Myers has completed its probe, the firm will submit its findings to Blazers ownership, with a decision on Olshey’s future made shortly thereafter, sources tell Haynes.
Suns Notes: Williams, Booker, Paul, Sarver
Asked on Thursday night about the allegations of racism and misogyny leveled against Suns owner Robert Sarver, several of the team’s on-court leaders acknowledged the severity of those allegations while also stating that they’ll wait for more details to come out before jumping to any conclusions. As Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays, head coach Monty Williams and star guards Devin Booker and Chris Paul were among those who addressed the subject.
“As someone who is the caretaker of a program, I find all these things that are being said serious in nature,” Williams said, noting that the incidents described in the ESPN report occurred before he arrived in Phoenix. “It takes courage to come out and express yourself. But at the same time, I’m aware there are two sides to this equation. … We still have to wait to see how clear the facts can appear.
“… If any of that stuff happened while I was here, I wouldn’t be in this seat. The league is doing an investigation, and we’ll know more obviously once that is settled.”
[RELATED: NBA, WNBA To Launch Investigation Into Sarver’s Conduct]
Booker said that he hasn’t noticed any racist or misogynistic behavior from Sarver since joining the team in 2014, but he also disagreed with the team owner’s portrayal of former Suns head coach Earl Watson as an unreliable source. Watson was one of the individuals who went on the record with allegations against Sarver. Asked if he considered his former coach credible, Booker replied, “Earl? Yeah. That’s my guy.”
Watson, who is currently an assistant for the Raptors, issued a statement of his own on Thursday stating that he’s “not interested in engaging in an ongoing battle of fact” and that he doesn’t want to spend every day reliving what was a “traumatic experience” for him.
Here’s more on the Suns and the investigation into the Sarver allegations:
- Paul and Booker said the team is trying to keep its focus on the court and to “control what we can control,” per Bontemps. Booker suggested that Williams is the “perfect person” to help the club navigate the situation. “He’s the best at that, at managing situations, controlling the room and keeping people focused forward,” Booker said of his coach, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “That’s what he’s done with our team, we’ve talked about it as a team. You can feel everything he says. We’re sticking behind him and we’re going to keep playing hard for him and winning basketball games.”
- The Suns continue to publish statements in support of Sarver on their official website. Today, they issued one signed by 12 members of the team’s ownership group, including longtime NFL star Larry Fitzgerald. “To a person, we dispute the characterization of Mr. Sarver and the organization as racist and sexist,” the statement reads. “We support Mr. Sarver’s leadership and stand with him.” It’s unclear exactly how many of the team’s minority shareholders didn’t sign the statement — Baxter Holmes’ ESPN report suggested the ownership group consists of approximately 20 members.
- One of the team’s minority stakeholders, vice chairman Andy Kohlberg, issued a separate statement of his own in addition to signing the aforementioned letter. Kohlberg said he has been business partners with Sarver for more than 17 years and has “never seen nor heard Robert make any statements that I experienced as racist, sexist or misogynistic.”
New York Notes: Randle, Knicks, Noel, Claxton, Nets
The Knicks will be looking to pick up a win in Milwaukee on Friday night, but Julius Randle views the Bucks as a success story worth emulating, as Fred Katz of The Athletic details. Milwaukee won a title in Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s eighth season, having patiently built a championship-caliber roster around its star player without making any major splashes on the free agent market.
“It was beautiful to watch simply because the aspect of, they built it from the ground up,” Randle said. “They didn’t put a super team together or whatever it was. These guys were in the mud every day grinding the thing out. They took some lumps along the way there trying to figure it out.”
While the Knicks lack a bona fide superstar on the level of Antetokounmpo, Randle likes the idea of building the roster “organically” and believes that it an eventual breakthrough would be more rewarding.
“(The Bucks) did something that’s very unique, especially in today’s league, as far as building something like that and not putting a bunch of players together,” he said. “They really built it.”
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- Responding to news that Owen Phillips is joining the Knicks‘ coaching analytics team, Seth Partnow of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that the franchise has gone from one of the league’s smallest analytics departments to one of the largest under president of basketball operations Leon Rose.
- Knicks center Nerlens Noel missed the first six games of the season with what was termed “knee soreness,” but he told reporters today that it was more of a hamstring issue, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
- The Nets have assigned Nicolas Claxton to the G League as he works his way back from an illness. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), Claxton still isn’t ready to play and will just be training and ramping up during his time with Long Island.
- While Claxton probably won’t play in any games for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, a handful of the team’s rookies are expected to be regulars for the Long Island Nets this season. Chris Milholen of NetsDaily takes a closer look at the Nets‘ developmental plans for Cameron Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe, Kessler Edwards, and David Duke.
Sixers Resume Fining Ben Simmons
The Sixers have resumed fining Ben Simmons, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that the three-time All-Star was docked his $360K game check for Thursday’s contest vs. Detroit.
Sources tell Wojnarowski that the team intends to continue fining Simmons until he cooperates with team doctors on his mental health issues and resumes participating in other “basketball-related obligations.”
The Sixers originally put an advance payment for Simmons into escrow and fined him for missing games, practices, and other obligations during the preseason when he didn’t report to camp. After fining Simmons approximately $2MM for his failure to render services, Philadelphia decided to halt those penalties and remove his money from escrow when the 25-year-old told the club that he wasn’t mentally ready to play.
However, the team has reportedly been frustrated by Simmons’ unwillingness to accept off-court resources from the team or to provide any updates on his work with mental health professionals. According to Wojnarowski, 76ers officials believe they’ve been supportive of Simmons’ stated need for mental health assistance and believe they have no choice but to place his future salary back into escrow and continue fining him due to his refusal to share even basic details of his treatment.
The Sixers will also resume fining Simmons for a failure to participate in activities such as strength training, film study, and shootarounds, sources tell ESPN. Simmons has been present at the team’s facility to do some individual work and to have a back ailment treated, but hasn’t been taking part in any team activities.
Simmons had been set to receive the first of 12 upcoming pay checks starting on November 15, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
There’s a provision in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that protects players’ salaries in the event they’re unable to render services “if such failure has been caused by the player’s mental disability.” As such, Simmons’ camp will likely fight back against the new fines he’s facing. If the two sides can’t reach an amicable agreement, it’s possible they’ll have to eventually take the matter to an arbitration hearing.
Despite having to deal with the Simmons drama and a handful of health issues, including Joel Embiid battling knee soreness and Tobias Harris testing positive for COVID-19, the 76ers are off to a strong start this season. They have a 7-2 record so far.
Greg Monroe, Gary Clark, Carsen Edwards Join G League Teams
A handful of NBA veterans have joined G League teams in advance of the start of the NBAGL’s 2021/22 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
As Charania reports, the Capital City Go-Go (Wizards) have added center Greg Monroe, the Mexico City Capitanes have added forward Gary Clark, and the Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) have acquired swingman Carsen Edwards.
Monroe, 31, has nine years of NBA experience under his belt, but hasn’t played in the league since 2018/19, when he appeared in 43 total games for three teams. In 632 career NBA games, the former Georgetown star averaged 13.2 PPG and 8.3 RPG in 27.7 minutes per contest. He has spent time playing in Germany and Russia since 2019.
An undrafted free agent with three years of NBA experience from 2018-21, Clark appeared in 132 total games for four teams. He’s known more for his defense, having put up very modest offensive numbers (3.2 PPG on .346/.311/.889 shooting) in the NBA. Clark, who will turn 27 later this month, has previous G League experience with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Edwards was the 33th overall pick out of Purdue in 2019 and spent his first two professional seasons with the Celtics, but didn’t emerge as a reliable rotation player, posting just 3.6 PPG on .372/.302/.750 shooting in 68 games (9.2 MPG). He was traded to Memphis and subsequently waived during the 2021 offseason.
The G League Ignite have also announced two veteran additions, confirming that center Kosta Koufos and former Jazz guard Kevin Murphy have come aboard. Amir Johnson and Pooh Jeter are among the other veterans on the team.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Affiliate Players
Throughout the offseason and preseason, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 (plus a pair of two-way players) in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by a team prior to the season can be designated as “affiliate players” and assigned to that team’s G League squad.
The players have a say in this decision. If they’d prefer to sign with a team overseas, or if they get an opportunity with another NBA club, they’re under no obligation to become affiliate players. But if the player’s NBA team has designated him as an affiliate player and he signs a G League contract, he is automatically assigned to that team’s NBAGL roster.
Since most NBA and international teams aren’t looking to bring in extra players by the time the NBA regular season begins, the opportunity to continue playing in the same system appeals to many of those preseason cuts — especially since many of them will be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K after having signed Exhibit 10 contracts. Plus, they’ll continue to be NBA free agents while they play in the G League.
A player whose returning rights are held by a G League team can’t become an affiliate player for another club, which is why undrafted rookies typically make up a substantial portion of the annual league-wide list of affiliate players.
Additionally, an affiliate player must have signed with his team during the current league year, which explains why we often see players signed and quickly waived in the days and weeks leading up to the regular season. An affiliate player also can’t have received a partial guarantee worth more than $50K on his standard contract — a larger guarantee would make him ineligible to join his club’s NBAGL affiliate for the rest of that league year.
Finally, not every NBA team has a G League affiliate, so there are two teams – the Suns and Trail Blazers – with no place to send affiliate players.
With the G League season set to get underway today, we’ll be publishing this year’s list of affiliate players soon. By our count, there are 90 of them across 28 teams this season, but we’re still confirming that info.
Earlier version of this post were published in 2015 and 2019 by Chuck Myron and Luke Adams.