Zion Williamson Recovering From Offseason Foot Surgery
Pelicans star Zion Williamson underwent surgery on his right foot this offseason, executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin told reporters today (video link).
According to Griffin, Williamson fractured his foot while working out prior to Summer League (Twitter links via Andrew Lopez of ESPN). The former No. 1 overall pick broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot.
Griffin added that he doesn’t think it’s “terribly likely” that Williamson will play in preseason games, but said the team has been working closely with him during his recovery and believes he’ll be ready for the regular season next month.
While it’s a bit ominous that Williamson – who has dealt with leg injuries in the past – is on the mend again, and that the Pelicans waited until now to announce it, it may not have a major impact on the team if the prognosis presented by Griffin is accurate and Zion doesn’t miss time during the regular season.
Still, that’s a big “if” and it’s probably safe to assume the Pelicans will be cautious with their franchise player — he may not play both games of back-to-back sets right away, for instance, or he may be eased back into action on a minutes limit. His recovery will be worth watching closely in the coming weeks.
Thunder Sign Rob Edwards, D.J. Wilson
The Thunder have filled out their 20-man training camp roster by signing guard Rob Edwards and forward D.J. Wilson, the club announced in a press release.
Edwards, who went undrafted out of Arizona State in 2020, played for the Oklahoma City Blue – the Thunder’s G League affiliate – as a rookie in 2020/21. The 6’6″ guard averaged 12.5 PPG and 3.5 RPG with a .440 3PT% in 15 NBAGL games (21.3 MPG).
Wilson, the 17th overall pick in the 2017 draft, spent the first three-and-a-half season of his career in Milwaukee before being traded to Houston at last season’s trade deadline. He had fallen out of the Bucks’ rotation, but averaged 6.1 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a shooting line of .416/.339/.696 in 23 games (14.3 MPG) during his stint with the Rockets.
Terms of the deals weren’t disclosed, but it’s safe to assume they’re both non-guaranteed training camp contracts. Oklahoma City now has 13 players with guaranteed salaries, five on non-guaranteed deals, and a pair on two-way pacts.
New York Notes: Irving, Nets, Rose, Kemba, Lessort
Nets guard Kyrie Irving won’t be in attendance at the team’s Media Day on Monday, according to Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Twitter link). However, Lowe and Windhorst say Irving will accompany the team to its training camp in San Diego, and Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link) cites a team spokesperson who says Kyrie will talk to reporters via Zoom later today.
Irving’s status will be an important storyline to follow this preseason. A report last week indicated that Irving remains unvaccinated against COVID-19 — that’s especially problematic in New York, where the city requires individuals to be fully vaccinated in order to gather in indoor venues. Those regulations may prevent Irving from practicing or playing with the Nets in Brooklyn.
As Matt Sullivan of Rolling Stone detailed in a fascinating report over the weekend, Irving has emerged as one of the NBA’s most high-profile anti-vaxxers and seems unlikely to easily budge from his stance. However, his teammate and good friend Kevin Durant didn’t convey any concern during his Media Day appearance on Monday morning, telling reporters that the team trusts in Irving and expects to have the whole roster available “at some point” (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- The Nets‘ new jersey sponsorship agreement with brokerage platform Webull will be the most lucrative such deal in the NBA, according to Jabari Young of CNBC, who hears that it’ll pay the team about $30MM per year. The club put out a press release today announcing its partnership with Webull.
- Derrick Rose isn’t expecting any sort of training camp battle for the Knicks‘ starting point guard job, telling reporters today that newly-added veteran Kemba Walker will enter the season as the starter. “I’m not worried about minutes,” Rose added, per Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link).
- French big man Mathias Lessort, a 2017 second-round pick, has signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Israeli team announced in a press release. The Knicks currently hold Lessort’s NBA rights, having acquired them from Minnesota in a 2020 trade.
Bulls Sign Daniel Oturu
The Bulls have signed free agent center Daniel Oturu to their training camp roster, agent Kevin Bradbury of REP1 Basketball tells Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link).
It’s the third team of the offseason for Oturu, who was selected 33rd overall in the 2020 draft and 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 was waived by Memphis last week.
Although Oturu didn’t make a real impact at the NBA level in his rookie season, he’s still just 22 years old and is only two years removed from a standout sophomore season for the Minnesota Gophers. He put up 20.1 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 2.5 BPG in his final year at college, earning Big Ten All-Defensive honors.
Of course, even if the Bulls see some potential in Oturu, that doesn’t necessarily assure him of a regular season roster spot. The team only has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, but competition for the last spot or two on the 15-man roster will be fierce, with NBA veterans Stanley Johnson, Alize Johnson, Tyler Cook, and Matt Thomas also in the mix.
The Bulls now have a full 20-man preseason roster.
Suns Sign Chasson Randle
SEPTEMBER 27: The Suns have officially signed Randle, the team announced in a press release late on Sunday night.
SEPTEMBER 22: Free agent guard Chasson Randle is signing a training camp contract with the Suns, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Randle, 28, has appeared in a total of 119 NBA regular season games for the Sixers, Knicks, Wizards, Warriors, and Magic since making his debut in January 2017. Last season, he signed a two-way contract with Orlando in February and played a regular role for the team in the second half, averaging 6.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .388/.338/.792 shooting in 41 games (20.4 MPG).
Based on Wojnarowski’s report, it sounds like Randle’s contract with Phoenix will be non-guaranteed. However, it won’t include Exhibit 10 language, since the Suns don’t have a G League affiliate and Randle is ineligible to have his contract converted to a two-way deal.
As such, the only path for Randle sticking with the Suns would be to earn the final spot on the regular season roster. Phoenix is currently carrying 14 players on guaranteed deals, and retaining a 15th man wouldn’t push team salary over the tax line, so there’s a viable path to a roster spot for Randle, though the club may bring other players to camp to compete for that spot.
Warriors Sign Avery Bradley
SEPTEMBER 26: Bradley’s one-year, non-guaranteed contract with Golden State is now official, according to RealGM’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 24: The Warriors and free agent guard Avery Bradley have reached an agreement on a contract, according to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While the exact terms of Bradley’s deal aren’t specified, it sounds like it’ll be a non-guaranteed training camp contract. Slater suggests in a follow-up tweet that Bradley will get the opportunity to compete for the 15th spot on Golden State’s regular season roster.
Bradley, who will turn 31 in November, spent the first seven years of his NBA career in Boston, but has bounced around for the last four seasons, spending time with the Pistons, Clippers, Grizzlies, Lakers, Heat, and Rockets. The 6’3″ guard has long been considered a solid three-and-D wing, but his three-point shot has been inconsistent as of late. In 2020/21, he averaged 6.4 PPG and 2.1 RPG on .374/.327/.800 shooting in 27 games (22.3 MPG) for Miami and Houston.
The Warriors had been auditioning guards this month in the hopes of giving Gary Payton II and Mychal Mulder some competition for the final spot on their regular season roster. Bradley and Langston Galloway, who also agreed to a deal with Golden State, are expected to push for that spot.
Once Bradley and Galloway are officially signed, the Warriors will have 19 players on their camp roster. The team still has a two-way slot open.
Western Notes: Ennis, Lakers, Suns, Little, Jazz
Free agent forward James Ennis worked out for the Lakers this week, sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). Ennis, who was linked to Los Angeles earlier in free agency, would make sense as a depth piece on the wing for the Lakers, who only have 13 players on guaranteed contracts.
As we relayed earlier today, the Lakers figure to keep their 15th roster spot open during the regular season to keep their projected tax bill in check, but the 14th spot remains up for grabs.
Here’s more from around the West:
- The Suns issued a press release today announcing some additions to their coaching staff, including Michael Ruffin as an assistant. Ruffin has some experience working under Monty Williams in the past, having served as an assistant on the Pelicans’ staff from 2014-20. The 2014/15 season was Williams’ last as New Orleans’ head coach.
- Nassir Little, the 25th pick in the 2019 draft, hasn’t made a major impact for the Trail Blazers during his first two years in the NBA, but he has turned heads this offseason, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic. Quick says team officials are intrigued by Little and believe he can “contribute in a way that is unique.” While the 21-year-old figures to play mostly a three-and-D role, Little says new head coach Chauncey Billups also wants to see him improve his play-making skills.
- Sarah Todd of The Deseret News examines nine questions the Jazz should answer by the end of training camp next week, including whether their star guards – Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley – are healthy and pain-free after dealing with injuries late last season.
Clippers Sign, Waive Jordan Ford
The Clippers signed free agent guard Jordan Ford to a non-guaranteed contract on Wednesday and then waived him on Thursday, according to the transaction logs at RealGM and NBA.com.
The move was a procedural one. Ford’s deal was likely an Exhibit 10 contract that will ensure he receives a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, L.A.’s G League affiliate.
The Clippers already controlled Ford’s NBAGL rights because he played for Agua Caliente in 2020/21 after going undrafted out of St. Mary’s. He appeared in 15 games for the G League squad last season, averaging 13.9 PPG and 3.4 APG with an impressive .471/.439/.923 shooting line in 27.2 minutes per contest.
Pelicans Sign Zylan Cheatham To Camp Roster
The Pelicans officially announced their 20-man training camp roster today, issuing a press release that lists all their players.
The team, which had officially been carrying 18 players, confirmed the previously-reported signing of Jared Harper and also revealed that it has signed free agent forward Zylan Cheatham to fill out the roster.
Cheatham, who spent his rookie season in 2019/20 on a two-way contract with New Orleans, appeared in just four games at the NBA level that year, but he played well in 34 contests for the Erie BayHawks in the G League, averaging 16.2 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 32.6 minutes per contest.
Although Cheatham didn’t play in the NBA at all last season, he technically received a full minimum salary, since he was signed-and-traded from the Pelicans to the Thunder in the Steven Adams trade for salary-matching purposes. After being waived by OKC, Cheatham briefly spent time with Minnesota on an Exhibit 10 contract, then appeared in 15 G League games for the Iowa Wolves.
Two Pelicans signings that were previously reported have not yet been finalized. Our JD Shaw confirms (via Twitter) that the team still plans to sign big man James Banks III to an Exhibit 10 contract at some point, and I’d imagine that’s the case for small forward Malcolm Hill too. NBA teams shuffle roster spots frequently in the weeks leading up to the regular season in order to secure G League rights to certain players or to ensure that others receive bonuses for playing in the NBAGL.
Andrew Wiggins’ Vaccination Status May Jeopardize Availability
SEPTEMBER 24: The city of San Francisco will not permit Wiggins – or any other Warrior – to play home games this season without being vaccinated, reports Eric Ting of SFGate. The Department of Public Health stated on Friday that it wouldn’t matter if the NBA grants Wiggins a religious or medical exemption. For what it’s worth, Wiggins’ request for a religious exemption was denied by the league.
“At large and mega indoor events, all patrons 12 and older must be vaccinated at this time,” the department said in its statement to SFGate. “Under the current order, if unvaccinated, they cannot enter indoor areas regardless of the reason they are unvaccinated and cannot test out of this requirement even if they have a medical or religious exemption. This same rule applies to performers and players employed by the host at large and mega indoor events who are covered by the vaccination requirements of the Health Order.”
When Wiggins first commented on the vaccine in March, he said he didn’t envision himself getting it anytime soon unless he was “forced” to. He may have reached that point, since he’d risk missing the Warriors’ entire 41-game home schedule if he remains unvaccinated.
SEPTEMBER 23: Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, who spoke last season about preferring not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, hasn’t changed his stance and remains unvaccinated, sources tell Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Although the NBA doesn’t intend to mandate the vaccine for its players, the league will abide by local vaccination policies in municipalities where it’s required for indoor events. San Francisco is one of those cities that requires individuals to be vaccinated in order to enter indoor venues such as basketball arenas.
[RELATED: Nets, Knicks, Warriors Affected By Local Vaccination Policies]
Assuming Wiggins remains unvaccinated and San Francisco’s regulations remain unchanged, the veteran forward would require a medical or religious exemption in order to play in the Warriors’ home games in 2021/22.
According to Simmons, league sources believe the NBA will grant Wiggins a religious exemption, but that would just be one step toward making sure he can play. The city of San Francisco would have the power to override any exemption granted by the league. Asked for a statement on the issue, the city’s Department of Public Health told The Chronicle it would provide more clarity if and when Wiggins receives an exemption from the NBA.
“We are actively addressing the matter of requests for religious exemption from vaccinations across many industries and will work with our business and entertainment community on next steps,” the statement read. “We will provide further clarification on this topic.”
It seems likely that the Warriors and Wiggins will be able to resolve the issue somehow – whether that means his exemption is approved and upheld or he agrees to be vaccinated – since it’s hard to imagine him missing half of the team’s ’21/22 games. Still, his situation is an example of the challenges certain teams may face with vaccine-hesitant players.
The two New York teams – the Nets and Knicks – are among the other clubs affected by local restrictions on unvaccinated individuals. Nets GM Sean Marks said this week that he still has “a couple” players who need to be fully vaccinated, but he’s confident it will happen before the regular season begins.