And-Ones: Li. Ball, Restricted Free Agency, 2022 Draft, Floyd
LiAngelo Ball, the brother of NBA guards LaMelo Ball and Lonzo Ball, is signing a G League contract and will enter the October 23 NBAGL draft, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
LiAngelo played for the Hornets in the Las Vegas Summer League, and Charania suggests he’s a candidate to be selected by the Greensboro Swarm – Charlotte’s G League affiliate – in the NBAGL draft. However, if the Hornets were prioritizing Ball for a spot on their G League squad, they’d likely sign him to an Exhibit 10 contract in order to make him an affiliate player.
As John Hollinger of The Athletic tweets, the G League draft isn’t expected to be packed with talent, so Ball has a good chance of coming off the board in the top 10 or 20 picks.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) have updated their top-100 list for the 2022 NBA draft. Within the article, Schmitz identifies French center Ismael Kamagate as the international prospect who is “making the most noise” early in the season. Kamagate is the No. 36 player on ESPN’s 2022 big board.
- In an interesting piece for HoopsHype, Michael Scotto spoke with a handful of agents and team executives about how restricted free agency works behind the scenes. One agent suggested that restricted free agency is “not really free agency,” since rival teams are so reluctant to sign players to offer sheets that tie up cap space for several days at the start of the league year and may just end up being matched.
- The Bucks (No. 2), Heat (No. 5), Suns (No. 6), Warriors (No. 7), and Hawks (No. 11) are among the biggest risers in ESPN’s latest installment of “future” power rankings from Kevin Pelton, Bobby Marks, Andre’ Snellings, and Tim Bontemps (Insider link). For a second consecutive year, the Nets rank first and the Cavaliers are dead-last on ESPN’s list, which is essentially designed to be power rankings that cover the next three seasons.
- Free agent guard Jordan Floyd, who was on the Lakers’ Summer League roster, is signing with Kolossos H Hotels in Greece on a deal that includes an NBA out, a source told our JD Shaw (Twitter link).
Hawks Sign Ibi Watson To Exhibit 10 Deal
OCTOBER 12: Nearly two-and-a-half months after the two sides reached an agreement, the Hawks have officially signed Watson to his Exhibit 10 contract, the club announced today in a press release.
JULY 30: The Hawks have agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with undrafted Dayton shooting guard Ibi Watson, a league source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).
Watson, who began his college career at Michigan, transferred to Dayton in advance of his junior year after not seeing much action in two years with the Wolverines. He emerged as a full-time starter for the Flyers as a senior in 2020/21, averaging 15.7 PPG and 4.1 RPG with a .467/.416/.757 shooting line in 24 games (37.1 MPG).
Watson, who will play for the Hawks at the Las Vegas Summer League, can officially sign his contract once the new league year begins next week.
An Exhibit 10 deal can eventually be converted to a standard NBA contract or a two-way pact. It can also put a player on track to join his team’s G League affiliate if he doesn’t make the NBA roster.
Nets Won’t Permit Kyrie Irving To Be Part-Time Player
The Nets have decided that they’re not comfortable with guard Kyrie Irving only playing in half the team’s games due to his vaccination status. Brooklyn issued a press release today announcing that Irving won’t play or practice with the team until he can be a “full participant,” with general manager Sean Marks explaining the organization’s stance.
“Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose,” Marks said in a statement. “Currently the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability.
“It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice. Our championship goals for the season have not changed, and to achieve these goals each member of our organization must pull in the same direction. We are excited for the start of the season and look forward to a successful campaign that will make the borough of Brooklyn proud.”
Irving is the only player on the Nets who remains unvaccinated against COVID-19. A New York City executive order requires individuals who work in the city to have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine in order to enter indoor venues such as Barclays Center.
The Nets appeared to catch a break last week when the city deemed the team’s practice facility, the HSS Center, a private office building, allowing Irving to practice both at home and on the road. However, there was no wiggle room on his ability to play in games in New York.
Taking into account the Nets’ 41 home games and their two games at Madison Square Garden, Irving would be ineligible to play in 43 of 82 regular season contests this season as long as he remains unvaccinated and the city’s executive order remains unchanged.
Although Irving would have been eligible to play in Brooklyn’s other 39 games, it would have been a very stop-and-start process, especially since the Nets have seven home stands this season of three games or more. The team has decided it would be untenable to have the point guard only available on the road, a decision that involved stars Kevin Durant and James Harden in addition to Marks and team owner Joe Tsai, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (link via RealGM).
Now that the Nets have clarified their position, it’ll be fascinating to see what comes next. Irving could immediately end the standoff by agreeing to be vaccinated, but if he digs in his heels, the team will have to determine whether it will indefinitely suspend the seven-time All-Star.
Exploring the trade market is another option the Nets could consider, since Irving would be eligible to play in all 82 games in most other NBA cities. However, the 29-year-old isn’t expected to have a ton of trade value, given his mercurial personality and his expiring contract.
Bucks Sign Jemerrio Jones To Camp Deal
The Bucks have signed free agent forward Jemerrio Jones to a non-guaranteed training camp deal, according to RealGM’s official transactions log.
Jones, 26, played his college ball at Hill College and New Mexico State from 2014-18 before going undrafted. He has primarily played in the G League since going pro, spending time with the South Bay Lakers, Wisconsin Herd, and Delaware Blue Coats from 2018-21. He also had a brief stint at the NBA level with the Lakers, appearing in six games with Los Angeles at the end of the 2018/19 season.
Jones’ best season came in 2019/20, when he averaged a double-double (10.8 PPG, 12.1 RPG) in 42 games (30.4 MPG) for the Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate. He earned a spot on the All-NBAGL Third Team that year.
The Bucks presumably envision Jones returning to the Herd for the 2021/22 season. Assuming his deal contains Exhibit 10 language, he’ll receive a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with Wisconsin after he’s waived by Milwaukee.
The Bucks, who waived Johnny O’Bryant on Monday, once again have a full 20-man preseason roster after signing Jones.
Sixers Surprised By Timing Of Ben Simmons’ Return
Although the Sixers had become increasingly optimistic about the possibility of Ben Simmons reporting to Philadelphia, they’d expected it to happen sometime later this week, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who says the club was surprised to see Simmons return to the arena on Monday to take his mandatory COVID-19 test.
“All of the sudden, near the opening tip tonight of that Brooklyn/Philly preseason game, I’m told that (general manager) Elton Brand gets a text message essentially saying, ‘Hey, Ben’s outside the building, he needs to get in and come take his COVID test,'” Wojnarowski said during an appearance on Sportscenter on Monday night (video link). “And that’s how the Sixers found out that Ben Simmons – after two weeks away in the preseason – had returned to Philadelphia.”
Simmons’ holdout may be over, but it remains to be seen what exactly comes next for him and the team, according to Wojnarowski, who says it’s unclear whether the three-time All-Star plans to “merely report to team or truly rejoin the team.”
A league source recently told Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer that Simmons still doesn’t intend to play in a game for the 76ers, but head coach Doc Rivers remains optimistic about getting the 25-year-old back on the court.
“We’ve said from Day 1 what we wanted,” Rivers said before Monday’s game. “That we would love to get him back. … My guess is if and when he comes, I think he will be ready to play.”
Sources tell Wojnarowski that there’s an expectation Simmons will meet with franchise leadership on Tuesday at the team’s practice facility. The discussions that take place during that meeting should help determine the next steps for the two sides.
Here’s more on the situation:
- Pompey provides a few more interesting details in his report, writing that Simmons has officially put both of his Philadelphia-area residences up for sale and noting that Sixers fans in the nosebleed section on Monday chanted, “(Expletive) Ben Simmons!” late in the game.
- If Simmons is willing to reintegrate with the Sixers, his camp and the club are expected to discuss the possibility of him recouping some of the money he lost when he was fined for missed practices and games over the last couple weeks, per Wojnarowski.
- The 76ers haven’t come close to finding a trade they like for Simmons and don’t have any traction on a deal at this point, sources tell ESPN. However, Wojnarowski acknowledges the trade market could “shift quickly” once the regular season gets underway.
- Asked on Monday about Simmons’ potential return, star center Joel Embiid, who admitted he hadn’t talked to his All-Star teammate over the offseason, provided the following response, per Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com: “It’s unfortunate the whole situation happened, but we’re a better team with him on the floor. I think there are going to be some adjustments, but it doesn’t need to be awkward. We are professionals, we want to win. I want to win. He gives me the best chance to win, so that’s what I’m going to go with. But as far as coming back and all that, we’ve made a few adjustments, and he’s just got to come in and buy in and we’re going to be fine. Last year we were the No. 1 seed. You just got to buy in and we’re going to be fine.”
2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Denver Nuggets
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2021 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s offseason moves, examine what still needs to be done before opening night, and look ahead to what the 2021/22 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Denver Nuggets.
Free agent signings:
Note: Exhibit 10 deals aren’t included here.
Will Barton: Two years, $30MM. Re-signed using Bird rights.- JaMychal Green: Two years, $16.4MM. Includes second-year player option and unlikely incentives. Re-signed using Non-Bird rights.
- Jeff Green: Two years, $9MM. Includes second-year player option. Signed using mid-level exception.
- Austin Rivers: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
- Markus Howard: Two-way contract. Accepted two-way qualifying offer as restricted free agent.
Trades:
- None
Draft picks:
- 1-26: Bones Hyland
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $10,763,239).
Draft-and-stash signings:
- Petr Cornelie (No. 53 pick; 2016 draft)
- Signed to two-way contract.
Contract extensions:
- Michael Porter Jr.: Five years, maximum salary. Projected value of $172,500,000. Projected value can increase to $207,060,000 if Porter earns All-NBA honors in 2022. Includes partial guarantee ($12MM) in fifth year, with performance incentives that can make the fifth year fully guaranteed. Starts in 2022/23.
- Aaron Gordon: Four years, $86,640,001 (base value). Includes $4.8MM in incentives and a fourth-year player option. Starts in 2022/23.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Jamal Murray continues to recover from an ACL tear and is unlikely to return until at least March.
- Lost lead assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr.; hired Popeye Jones as assistant.
- Established new NBA G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold; Jason Terry will coach the team.
Salary cap situation:
- Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
- Carrying approximately $134.8MM in salary.
- $5,036,000 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($4.5MM used on Jeff Green).
- Two traded player exceptions available, including one worth $2.2MM.
Lingering preseason issues:
- Vlatko Cancar is eligible for a veteran contract extension all season.
The Nuggets’ offseason:
Injuries had a major effect on the Western Conference playoffs in 2021. Some teams, like the Lakers and Jazz, didn’t have key players at full strength when they were eliminated. Others, such as the Clippers, were missing a star altogether.
The Nuggets fell into the latter category, having played the postseason without Jamal Murray, who tore his ACL in April. An injury to Nikola Jokic would’ve been even more damaging to Denver’s hopes of making a deep playoff run, but the loss of Murray was massive — when the team made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2020, it was Murray, not Jokic, that led the team in points, assists, and threes, among other categories.
Without Murray available in the spring of 2021, Denver fell in the Western semifinals to Phoenix, the team that eventually represented the West in the NBA Finals. Would the Nuggets have made the Finals themselves with a healthy Murray in their lineup? Maybe, maybe not. But they certainly would’ve had a better chance.
The Nuggets’ approach to the 2021 offseason suggests they fully believe this team can be a title contender when it’s fully healthy. Rather than doing anything drastic, Denver essentially doubled down on its current core.
That meant re-signing free agents Will Barton and JaMychal Green
, both of whom turned down player options in search of new contracts. The Nuggets gave Barton and Green modest raises and short-term deals, locking in two key pieces of their rotation for at least one year and possibly two (Green got a second-year player option).
While Murray’s absence was more significant, it’s worth noting that Barton had an injury of his own late last season that further compromised the Nuggets’ ability to put their best foot forward in the playoffs. Barton missed the last 13 games of the regular season and the first seven of the postseason with a hamstring issue. He didn’t look fully like himself until Denver’s very last game of 2020/21, when he poured in 25 points in Game 4 against the Suns — it wasn’t enough to help the team stave off elimination, but it was a reminder of Barton’s importance on the wing for the club.
As for Green, he’s a versatile big man capable of playing alongside Jokic or handling some minutes at center in smaller lineups. Re-signing him was a top priority for a Nuggets team that lost frontcourt depth when JaVale McGee and Paul Millsap departed in free agency. The price Denver paid for Green (more than $8MM per year) suggests he was the team’s top priority among those three players, since McGee and Millsap signed for considerably less in Phoenix and Brooklyn, respectively.
To help fill the hole in the frontcourt, Denver used a portion of its mid-level exception to sign Jeff Green, another versatile forward who can play multiple positions and handle a variety of defensive assignments. Investing in the two Greens rather than McGee and Millsap indicates the Nuggets are comfortable leaning into more switchable lineups and don’t necessarily feel the need to have a traditional center backing up Jokic.
The Nuggets’ other key addition this offseason was first-round pick Bones Hyland, who will look to carve out a role in the rotation as a rookie. Hyland is an intriguing prospect and has shown real upside in the preseason, but if the team decides he’s not ready for a regular role quite yet, it won’t be a setback — even without Murray, there’s enough depth in the backcourt that Denver can afford to be patient with Hyland, like it has been with other draftees Zeke Nnaji and Bol Bol. For what it’s worth though, I think Hyland has a better chance than those two of making an impact as a rookie.
The Nuggets’ belief that they have a championship-caliber core was also reflected by the contract extensions the team finalized in September. There had been a sense that the franchise might not be comfortable extending both Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon, but that clearly wasn’t the case — Porter signed a new maximum-salary deal that tacked five years onto his expiring contract, while Gordon received a four-year extension worth at least $86MM.
The commitments to Porter and Gordon – combined with the max contracts already on the books for Jokic and Murray – signal that the Nuggets are willing to be a taxpayer in the coming years, which hasn’t been the case since 2010. It’s a sign of how serious the team is about pushing for a championship within the next few years.
We can debate the wisdom of offering Porter a max deal, given the back problems that sidelined him as a rookie, but he’s coming off a season in which he averaged 19.0 PPG on .542/.445/.791 shooting at age 22 (23.5 PPG on .560/.489/.854 shooting following Murray’s injury). Barring a major step backwards in 2021/22, he was going to get a max offer somewhere next season. By putting that offer on the table ahead of his restricted free agency, the Nuggets managed to get a team-friendly partial guarantee in year five of that deal, with no trade kicker or player option.
Gordon’s value is harder to pin down, since he’s a better defensive player than he is a scorer. Still, his athleticism and cutting ability make him an intriguing complementary player on offense for the Nuggets, especially since being the third, fourth, or even fifth option should put him in position to score more efficiently than he did in Orlando, where he attracted more attention from opposing defenses.
The Nuggets’ upcoming season:
The Nuggets are in something of a holding pattern until Murray returns. Without him, the club is talented enough to make the playoffs in the West, but doesn’t have the pieces to seriously compete for a title.
If Murray can make it back in March or April, Denver could be a tantalizing postseason sleeper, but the team should be careful about expecting too much from the standout guard in 2021/22 — players coming off ACL tears often aren’t quite themselves until 18+ months after the injury, even if they make it back onto the court a year later.
A silver lining of Murray’s absence is that it should give some extra opportunities to players who have been further down the pecking order in Denver’s offensive game plan. Porter, in particular, is in position for a breakout year, while Monte Morris should get a chance to prove he can be a full-time starter.
If everything goes right, the Nuggets could make some noise in the 2022 playoffs, but I suspect – given the uncertainty surrounding Murray’s return – that management may be circling 2023 as the team’s best chance to push for a title.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.
Bucks Cut Johnny O’Bryant
The Bucks have waived forward Johnny O’Bryant, the team announced today (via Twitter). Milwaukee now has 19 players on its preseason roster.
O’Bryant, 28, was selected 36th overall by Milwaukee in the 2014 draft and spent the first two seasons of his professional career with the Bucks. He later spent time with Denver and Charlotte, ultimately appearing in 147 NBA regular season games, averaging 3.5 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 11.5 minutes per contest.
O’Bryant has been out of the league since 2018, having spent the last several seasons playing for teams in Europe. He won an Israeli League championship with Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2019 and a Serbian Cup title with Crvena Zvezda in 2021. He also spent time with clubs in Russia and Turkey.
An earlier report stated that O’Bryant was competing for a spot on Milwaukee’s regular season roster. It appears that effort was unsuccessful, so it’s not clear what his next move will be. His deal with the team included Exhibit 10 language, so joining the Wisconsin Herd in the G League is one possible option — returning overseas is another.
Hawks Release Jahlil Okafor
Veteran center Jahlil Okafor has been cut for the second time this offseason, as the Hawks announced in a press release on Monday that they’ve requested waivers on the big man. Atlanta now has 19 players under contract.
A former third overall pick, Okafor spent last season in Detroit, averaging 5.4 PPG and 2.4 RPG in a very limited role (12.9 MPG) across 27 games. The big man has also spent time with the Sixers, Nets, and Pelicans since entering the NBA out of Duke in 2015. He was traded from Detroit to Brooklyn in September and was subsequently waived by the Nets before catching on with Atlanta for training camp.
Okafor was on a non-guaranteed contract with the Hawks, so he was never a great bet to make the team’s regular season roster. However, Atlanta only has 14 players with fully guaranteed contracts, so someone with a non-guaranteed deal could still make the 15-man squad. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and DaQuan Jeffries are among those in the mix.
Okafor, meanwhile, will be looking for another opportunity if and when he clears waivers on Wednesday.
Spurs Waive Luka Samanic
The Spurs have moved one step closer to setting their 15-man roster for the regular season, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived forward Luka Samanic.
San Antonio’s decision to part ways with Samanic is an acknowledgement that the team swung and missed on the 19th overall pick of the 2019 draft. While the No. 29 pick in that same draft – Keldon Johnson – is emerging as a cornerstone player for the Spurs, Samanic didn’t show in his two NBA seasons that he warranted a regular rotation spot.
The 21-year-old Croatian appeared in 36 total games as a Spur, averaging 3.8 PPG and 2.2 RPG on .430/.294/.576 shooting in 9.9 MPG.
Samanic had a $2.96MM guaranteed cap hit for 2021/22, which San Antonio will be responsible for unless another team claims him on waivers. If he goes unclaimed, his $4.57MM team option for the 2022/23 season will disappear and the Spurs won’t carry any dead money beyond this season.
Even after cutting Samanic, the Spurs will have to trade or release one more player on a guaranteed contract before the start of the regular season, since they still have 16 of those players. Al-Farouq Aminu and Keita Bates-Diop are among those considered to be most in danger.
Bulls Waive Daniel Oturu, Ethan Thompson
The Bulls have waived center Daniel Oturu and shooting guard Ethan Thompson, the team announced today (via Twitter). Both players had been in Chicago on Exhibit 10 contracts.
Oturu, the 33rd overall pick in the 2020 draft, spent his first NBA season with the Clippers, averaging 1.8 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 30 games (5.4 MPG). He was sent to the Grizzlies along with Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo in an August trade, then joined the Bulls after being waived by Memphis.
Thompson, who went undrafted this year, spent his four-year college career with Oregon State, starting all 127 games he played for the team. In 2020/21, he averaged 15.7 PPG to go along with 4.0 RPG and 3.9 APG in 33.6 minutes per contest (33 games). The 22-year-old earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 First Team, then played for the Bulls’ Summer League team in Las Vegas.
With Oturu and Thompson no longer in the mix, the Bulls are carrying 18 players, including one (Devon Dotson) on a two-way deal. The team has 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with Stanley Johnson, Alize Johnson, Tyler Cook, and Matt Thomas vying for the last two spots on the 15-man regular season roster.