Blake Griffin Talks Pistons, Free Agency, Playoffs
Entering his 11th NBA season, Blake Griffin is not just one of the NBA’s most recognizable names — he is also one of the league’s longest-tenured players. The Pistons forward opened up about his future both on and off the court in a recent interview with The New York Times’ Sopan Deb.
Griffin evolved from a human highlight reel as a younger player to a multi-faceted scoring weapon with a consistent three-point shot. However, despite his strong play, no team that Griffin has been part of has reached an NBA conference final. As a veteran on a young, rebuilding team, Griffin may not be in great position to change that, but he’s staying positive, as he tells Deb.
Check out some of the highlights below:
Griffin on the Pistons’ young group of rookies:
“I’ve also just really enjoyed it, especially this group of rookies that we have now. They’re great players, but great kids. They want to learn. They come. They ask you questions.”
Griffin on his goal of a deep playoff run:
“The individual awards and these things are fine, and I’m appreciative of them, but I just want to win. Not making it to a conference final, yeah, it does gnaw at me. Not to the point where I’m losing sleep over it. But that’s the main goal — I want to win.”
Griffin on the possibility of reaching free agency after the current season (he has a player option for 2021/22):
“It’s not a decision that I have to make in the immediate future. And I know, I’m sorry, I’m just kind of running around that question, but it’s just true. Things can change.”
Bulls’ Chandler Hutchison Tests Positive For COVID-19
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan announced that forward Chandler Hutchison has tested positive for COVID-19, ESPN’s Eric Woodyard writes.
Hutchison is currently in Washington, D.C., where Chicago beat the Wizards on Thursday. In addition to Hutchison, the Bulls were without Lauri Markkanen, Ryan Arcidiacono and Tomas Satoransky for Friday’s tilt against the Bucks under the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
“He’s going through the NBA safety and protocols,” Donovan said of Hutchinson.
This is not the Bulls’ first encounter with COVID-19 this season. Noah Vonleh tested positive during the preseason and was subsequently released. Guard Garrett Temple confirmed he tested positive in late November.
Hutchison, 24, has appeared in four games for Chicago this season, averaging 3.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG off the bench. He will have to clear the league’s safety and protocols before returning, which includes a quarantine period and producing several negative COVID-19 tests.
Wizards Sign, Waive Jordan Bell
11:00pm: Bell has been released by the Wizards and figures to play for the club’s G League team in the proposed bubble, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
9:25am: The Wizards have signed veteran big man Jordan Bell, according to RealGM’s official transactions log.
Bell, 25, was waived by the Lakers in late November after L.A. acquired him as part of the JaVale McGee trade to the Cavaliers.
It’s likely that Bell’s deal with Washington is an Exhibit 10 contract, which is a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary pact that allows a player to make a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.
The Capital City Go-Go (the Wizards’ NBAGL affiliate) claimed Bell off waivers in March, so the team holds his returning rights for the upcoming season. He’ll likely report there after being waived by Washington, assuming the Go-Go participate in the proposed G League bubble. The Wizards and Pelicans have reportedly discussed combining NBAGL teams for that event.
The Los Angeles native started his career with the Warriors during the 2017/18 season. Golden State won the NBA championship that season with Bell as a key reserve for the team, averaging 4.6 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 57 games (13 starts).
Bell appeared in 68 games for the Warriors the following season but has since bounced around the league. After signing with the Timberwolves in 2019, Bell was traded as part of the four-team, 12-player trade in February and subsequently released.
Pelicans Waive Four Players
The Pelicans announced on Saturday that they’ve waived guards Rawle Alkins and Tony Carr, forward Jarrod Uthoff, and center Ike Anigbogu.
Given all four of those players were on non-guaranteed deals, the Pelicans’ roster is likely set for the regular season with 12 guaranteed contracts, two partially guaranteed deals (Willy Hernangomez and Sindarius Thornwell), and a pair of two-way pacts.
Anigbogu is the most prominent name among the bunch as the big man was a second-round draft pick (47th overall) of the Pacers in 2017. However, Anigbogu has seen action in just 14 games from 2017-19. The 6’10” center has also seen time in the G League, suiting up for 47 games over the past three seasons.
Uthoff and Alkins have also seen NBA action; Uthoff appeared in three games for the Wizards last season while Alkins played in 10 games for the Bulls in 2017/18.
Carr, 23, was a second-round pick of the Pelicans in 2018 and saw time for the team’s G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, in 2019/20.
New Orleans also signed and waived Justin Wright-Foreman, per RealGM’s transactions log, presumably for G League purposes.
Bucks Request Waivers On Treveon Graham, Nik Stauskas
The Bucks requested waivers on Treveon Graham and Nik Stauskas, the team announced in a press release on Saturday.
Both players saw their only preseason action for Milwaukee on Friday night in a 127-113 loss to the Pelicans. Stauskas grabbed two boards in four minutes of action while Graham did not record any stats in three minutes of play.
Graham, a veteran swingman with 180 games of NBA experience to his credit, joined the Bucks on a training camp contract in late November. His most extensive action came as a reserve with the Hornets in 2017/18 when he averaged 4.3 PPG in 63 games. Graham, 25, split his time between the Timberwolves and Hawks last season and has also seen time with Brooklyn.
Stauskas, 27, is another well-traveled NBA veteran who has seen time with the Kings, Sixers, Nets, Trail Blazers and Cavaliers. The Canadian, who joined the Bucks in early December, averaged almost 10 PPG for the Sixers in 2016/17 but has since seen time as a reserve for several teams. The eighth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft has struggled to develop into a solid rotation piece.
However, Stauskas has hit 35.3% of his career three-point attempts and played fairly well in Spain last season, making 42.2% of his threes in 22 EuroLeague contests.
With these moves, the Bucks’ roster is likely set for the regular season, as the team has 14 guaranteed contracts along with two two-way players. Milwaukee’s hard cap prevents the team from carrying a 15th man for now, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
Heat Convert Max Strus To Two-Way Deal, Waive B.J. Johnson
11:14am: As expected, the Heat have waived Johnson, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
10:50am: The Heat have converted guard/forward Max Strus‘ Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release on Saturday. Miami had an open two-way slot alongside point guard Gabe Vincent.
Strus appeared in two preseason contests with the Heat, averaging a team-best 16.5 PPG along with 5.0 RPG and 2.5 APG while shooting 50% from the field. In Miami’s 117-105 win last night over the Raptors, Strus came off the bench to add 22 points while shooting 6-of-8 from three-point range.
Two-way contracts allow NBA teams to carry two extra players in addition to the 15 on their regular season roster. Those deals will likely be more important than ever this season, since two-way players will be permitted to appear in up to 50 regular season games at the NBA level. With the G League season expected to take place in a bubble, two-way players figure to spend most or all of the season with their respective NBA clubs.
Strus’ converted deal means that he beat out swingman B.J. Johnson, who was signed by the Heat in early December. Johnson appeared in just two preseason games with the Heat, averaging 1.5 PPG. It is a near-lock that he’ll be waived, given his non-guaranteed deal, along with the fact that Miami is carrying 15 players with guaranteed contracts.
Spurs Sign London Perrantes
The Spurs have signed point guard London Perrantes, according to RealGM’s official transactions log.
It’s likely that Perrantes’ deal is an Exhibit 10 contract, which is a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary pact that allows a player to make a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.
The Virginia product has not appeared in the NBA since a cup of coffee with the Cavaliers during the 2017/18 season when he suited up for 14 games as one of Cleveland’s two-way players.
After a series of Summer League stops, Perrantes was picked up by the Wizards’ G League affiliate Capital City Go-Go in January this year. The Go-Go hold Perrantes’ G League rights so the Austin Spurs (Spurs’ NBAGL affiliate) would have to acquire them.
Timberwolves Sign Zylan Cheatham, Waive Ade Murkey
The Timberwolves made a pair of roster moves on Saturday, signing forward Zylan Cheatham and waiving forward Ade Murkey, according to RealGM. It’s likely an Exhibit 10 contract for Cheatham, who appears unlikely to make the regular season roster.
Cheatham, 25, was waived by the Thunder on Dec. 2 after he was part of the four-team deal that sent Steven Adams to New Orleans. The Arizona native signed a two-way deal with the Pelicans in July 2019 and subsequently made his NBA debut last season.
During the NBA’s restart in Orlando, Cheatham saw action in three contests for the Pelicans. In total, Cheatham posted averages of 3.0 PPG and 2.3 RPG in four games.
Minnesota signed the undrafted Murkey to an Exhibit 10 deal back in early December. The 22-year-old made one preseason appearance for the Timberwolves after appearing in 118 games across four seasons at the University of Denver. In that time, he posted averages of 10.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 2.0 APG. He was named to the 2020 All-Summit League Second Team.
NBA To Expand Active Rosters, Permanently Adopt Coach’s Challenge
The NBA’s Competition Committee has unanimously recommended increasing the number of players who dress for games from 13 to 15 for the 2020/21 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Additionally, the committee has recommended officially and permanently adopting the coach’s challenge, Charania adds in a separate tweet. An official coach’s challenge has been a long time coming, as it was eyed for the 2019/20 season and then implemented on a one-year trial basis.
The rules regarding coach’s challenges will remain unchanged for the time being. Two suggestions discussion by the Competition Committee included giving teams a second challenge if the first is successful, or allowing teams to get back their timeout after a successful challenge, per Charana.
The NBA’s Board of Governors (all 30 team owners, their representatives, and commissioner Adam Silver) are scheduled to meet on Dec. 17 to approve the changes.
With the season scheduled to begin on Dec. 22, approval of these changes would go into effect less than a week after the governors meet.
Rockets Notes: Tucker, Harden, Morey, Wall, Cousins
Rockets forward P.J. Tucker, after not traveling with the team for this weekend’s preseason games, is expected to join the team for Monday’s practice and could play Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link). Tucker, 35, had reported to camp a day late and had been limited during practices as the team ramps up his activity.
As we previously relayed, Tucker has been upset about not receiving an extension from the Rockets. In fact, Tucker’s desire to remain in Houston long-term dates back to at least June 2019, when he said he would “love” to discuss an extension. However, major turnover has taken place since then, including the departures of longtime head coach Mike D’Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey, the recent trade of Russell Westbrook, and the current uncertainty of James Harden‘s future with the franchise.
Over the past few seasons, Tucker has established himself as a core piece of Houston’s lineup. The 6’7″ Tucker shifted into a center role after Clint Capela was traded, paving the way for the Rockets’ small-ball lineup. Tucker excelled in the role as a defensive stopper for the Rockets, in addition to maintaining a near 37-percent clip shooting beyond the arc.
Check out more news and notes around the Rockets organization below:
- Harden has begun individual workouts with the Rockets as he works toward recording six consecutive negative COVID-19 tests, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. At that point, Harden can begin practicing with the team. The Rockets superstar’s interest in being traded has become a significant talking point in recent weeks, with reports this week indicating that he has expanded his list of preferred destinations beyond the Nets.
- While Morey’s departure from the Rockets seemed abrupt, he reportedly informed the team he would be leaving his role as GM about a month before the news became public, per Henry Abbott of TrueHoop (subscription required).
- New acquisitions John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins looked promising during their preseason debuts as Rockets on Friday. Wall, in his first action in over two years coming off heel and Achillies injuries, recorded 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, five rebounds, nine assists and two steals in the Rockets’ 125-104 win over the Bulls. As for Cousins, he saw 15 minutes of action, tallying 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks. “Tonight was just great to be back in an NBA game, period,” Wall said after the game, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.