Nets Waive Gordon, McCall, Scott
The Nets got down to the roster limit by waiving forward Drew Gordon and guards Tahjere McCall and Shannon Scott, the team announced today in a press release.
Gordon will join Brooklyn’s G League affiliate in Long Island and is expected to be called up during the season after turning down offers to play overseas. The older brother of Aaron Gordon, most of his professional experience has come in Europe. He has played nine NBA games, all for the Sixers in 2014/15.
McCall and Scott both signed Exhibit 10 contracts yesterday and appear headed back to the G League. Both played for Brooklyn’s affiliate in Long Island last season.
Nets Sign Gordon, Waive Creek
The Nets have signed forward Drew Gordon and waived forward Mitch Creek, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.
The older brother of Magic star Aaron Gordon, Drew Gordon went undrafted out of New Mexico in 2012. He has bounced around various professional leagues since that point, primarily playing overseas. In addition to a brief stint with the Sixers during the 2014/15 season, the 6’9″ power forward has also spent time with clubs in Serbia, Italy, Turkey, France, Lithuania, and Russia.
Gordon will be making up for lost time. He was expected to sign with Brooklyn prior to camp but that deal didn’t come to fruition.
Most recently, Gordon played for Zenit St. Petersburg during the 2017/18 season. The 28-year-old recorded 11.1 PPG and 6.7 RPG in 21 VTB League games, along with 12.4 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 17 EuroCup contests.
Creek has spent most of his professional career with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia before signing with the Nets in August. In 31 games in Australia last season, Creek averaged 14.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 2.5 APG. He was named to the All-NBL Second Team. He also played for the Mavericks’ summer league team, recording 6.8 PPG and 5.2 RPG in five games in Las Vegas.
Nets Sign Tahjere McCall, Shannon Scott
The Nets have signed a pair of guards, Tahjere McCall and Shannon Scott, the team announced today in a press release. Both players received Exhibit 10 contracts, per Keith Smith of RealGM.com (Twitter link).
McCall, 24, spent last season with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, averaging 9.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG in 37 games. Scott, a strong defender out of Ohio State, was also a regular starter for Long Island last season, recording 7.9 PPG, 4.7 APG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.2 SPG in 49 games.
Both players figure to be waived within the next couple days, but will likely return to Long Island for the 2018/19 season. Having signed Exhibit 10 deals, they’ll now be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K, which won’t count against Brooklyn’s cap and should exceed the full-year salaries they’d earn on standard G League contracts.
The Nets’ roster is back up to 20 players for now. The team will make three cuts by Monday.
Nets Waive McLaughlin, Omot; Pinson To Get Two-Way Deal
The Nets are making a series of roster moves, announcing in a press release that they’ve waived guard Jordan McLaughlin and forward Nuni Omot. Additionally, Brooklyn is converting Theo Pinson‘s Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
The news on Pinson comes as no surprise, since general manager Sean Marks all but confirmed last month that the Nets would eventually make the former UNC guard their second two-way player. Alan Williams currently fills Brooklyn’s other two-way contract slot.
As for McLaughlin and Omot, the two camp invitees were always considered likely to be waived at some point before the regular season begun. They’re both candidates to end up on Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, and will be eligible for bonuses worth up to $50K if they play for the Nets’ NBAGL team for at least two months.
The Nets now have 18 players under contract, so they’ll have to make one more roster move to reach the regular season limit even after converting Pinson. Mitch Creek, the only other player on a non-guaranteed contract, is the most likely casualty of the roster crunch.
Jimmy Butler Returns To Timberwolves’ Practice
Three weeks after his trade request went public, Jimmy Butler returned to the Timberwolves‘ facility and practiced with the team today, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
While Butler’s participation in practice doesn’t necessarily mean a trade won’t happen, it’s another indication that he won’t sit out once the regular season begins next week. Of course, that was never really a realistic option for Butler, since – as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets – the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement features language that makes a holdout impractical.
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Butler was vocal during today’s practice, verbally challenging coaches, teammates, and the front office, including Tom Thibodeau, Scott Layden, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Andrew Wiggins. Woj describes the 29-year-old as “vociferous and emotional at times,” adding in a second tweet that at one point, Butler screamed at Layden, “You (bleeping) need me. You can’t win without me.”
As we relayed earlier today, the Timberwolves reached back out to the Rockets on Tuesday, and the Heat remain interested in rekindling talks with Minnesota, so those trade discussions figure to continue. However, reports throughout the process have indicated that Thibodeau would prefer to see Butler start the season with the Wolves. That scenario appears increasingly plausible now that the All-NBA wing is practicing with his teammates again, though perhaps the obvious tension in practice will make Thibodeau reconsider his stance.
Here are a few more of the latest notes on Butler:
- Besides their discussions with the Heat, the Timberwolves have had no “serious, active talks” with any other team about Butler, league sources tell Wojnarowski.
- According to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, the Nets have been “timid” in their approach toward pursuing Butler, and have made Caris LeVert unavailable. Deveney also confirms that the Clippers are unwilling to include Tobias Harris in any offers, having instead proposed deals headlined by Danilo Gallinari or some combination of other players, such as Patrick Beverley, Milos Teodosic, and others.
- Some league executives who spoke to Deveney expressed reservations about Butler’s potential locker room fit. “As good as Jimmy is, I think you have to be concerned about the impact he is going to have in the locker room, on your younger guys, on your coaching staff, all of that,” one general manager said. “He has gotten the benefit of the doubt, but if you look at his history, he’s had trouble getting along in Chicago and now in Minnesota. Everywhere he goes, it becomes about Jimmy, and if you’re going to bring him in, you have to account for that.”
- Earlier today, we passed along details on the Timberwolves‘ discussions with the Rockets.
New York Notes: Knicks, Butler, Kanter, Nets
Jimmy Butler‘s trade request was made public just two days after Knicks president of basketball operations Steve Mills spoke to fans about building the roster “the right way” and hanging onto the team’s future first-round picks. Since Butler’s initial short list of preferred destinations included the Knicks, there was some initial uncertainty about whether Mills would stick to his public stance or whether the club would get involved in the Butler sweepstakes.
Nearly three weeks later, we appear to have our answer. Within his latest report on the Butler saga, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski wrote that the Knicks “never called” the Timberwolves about the All-Star swingman. Reports have suggested that upwards of 25 teams have at least inquired on Butler, so the fact that the Knicks never even made a call is a clear indication that they’re sticking to their guns on building the team “the right way.”
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- As Trey Burke, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Frank Ntilikina vie for the Knicks‘ starting point guard job, no player has separated himself from his competition during the preseason, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. As a result, head coach David Fizdale has yet to finalize any lineup decisions. “What ends up coming out of it is what fits the best,” Fizdale said. “All these guys are competing and nobody is flying out in front. Ultimately the final decider may be what combinations work the best.”
- Enes Kanter is just 26 years old and has only played in New York for a single season, but the big man is already something of an “elder statesman” in the Knicks‘ locker room, according to Steve Popper of Newsday, who explores Kanter’s role as a leader.
- The Nets‘ odds of landing Kyrie Irving and/or Jimmy Butler in 2019 free agency appear to be dwindling significantly, prompting Brian Lewis of The New York Post to explore the team’s potential Plan B.
- In an interesting piece, NetsDaily outlines the impact that a corporate decision by Spanish club Barcelona had on a pair of Nets draftees.
2018/19 Over/Unders: Atlantic Division
The 2018/19 NBA regular season will get underway in just eight days, which means it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from Bovada and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, to have you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
We’ll kick things off today with the Atlantic division…
Boston Celtics
- 2017/18 record: 55-27
- Over/under for 2018/19: 59.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Robert Williams, Brad Wanamaker
- Lost: Greg Monroe, Shane Larkin, Abdel Nader
How many games will the Celtics win in 2018/19?
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Over 59.5 54% (392)
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Under 59.5 46% (339)
Total votes: 731
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Celtics poll)
Toronto Raptors
- 2017/18 record: 59-23
- Over/under for 2018/19: 55.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Greg Monroe
- Lost: DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, Lucas Nogueira
How many games will the Raptors win in 2018/19?
-
Over 55.5 57% (373)
-
Under 55.5 43% (282)
Total votes: 655
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Raptors poll)
Philadelphia 76ers
- 2017/18 record: 52-30
- Over/under for 2018/19: 54.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Sixers win in 2018/19?
-
Under 54.5 51% (323)
-
Over 54.5 49% (308)
Total votes: 631
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Sixers poll)
Brooklyn Nets
- 2017/18 record: 28-54
- Over/under for 2018/19: 31.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Nets win in 2018/19?
-
Under 31.5 56% (311)
-
Over 31.5 44% (244)
Total votes: 555
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Nets poll)
New York Knicks
- 2017/18 record: 29-53
- Over/under for 2018/19: 28.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Mario Hezonja, Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson
- Lost: Michael Beasley, Jarrett Jack, Kyle O’Quinn
How many games will the Knicks win in 2018/19?
-
Under 28.5 54% (328)
-
Over 28.5 46% (278)
Total votes: 606
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Knicks poll)
Rodions Kuruc's Impresses During Preseason
- One of the lone bright spots for the Nets during a preseason loss to the Knicks was the performance of Latvian Rodions Kurucs, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Kurucs posted 13 points, four rebounds and four steals, all of which came in the fourth quarter of a 107-102 loss. “I was very pleased with Rodi,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I love his energy. He’s a talented guy.”
Atlantic Notes: Fultz, Fizdale, Nets, Green
Sixers guard Markelle Fultz will look to establish himself as the team’s third star this season, with the 20-year-old coming off a campaign that saw him play just 14 games.
Fultz, the No. 1 pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, spent a considerable amount of time working on his jumpshot and overall game this offseason with trainer Drew Hanlen. The former Washington prospect believes he can fill the Sixers’ need for a third star throughout the upcoming season.
“I kind of like when people doubt me and say ‘Look for another star,’ “ Fultz said, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I see myself as that player. I just work every day to become better.
“I really don’t look at other people’s goals [for him], but I definitely look at it to see myself as that next player that can step up in that role.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks coach David Fizdale invited legend Walt Frazier to the practice facility on Tuesday, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Frazier spoke to the team’s guards and was invited to review film with Fizdale, who’s in his first season as head coach.
- The Nets have a variety of options to use as a “stretch five,” contends Chris Milholen of SB Nation’s NetsDaily.
- Danny Green could be an underlying asset in the Spurs–Raptors trade that featured Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan, Basketball Insiders’ Jordan Hicks writes.
Wolves Tell Teams To Improve Their Offers For Jimmy Butler
The Timberwolves continue to focus on the Heat in Jimmy Butler trade talks and have informed other interested teams over the past 24 hours that their offers aren’t good enough, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Minnesota plans to hold onto Butler until it gets a deal it likes.
Miami has been close to working out a trade for Butler over the past several days and pushed the Wolves’ front office for a decision on its latest offer today, sources tell Wojnarowski. Butler reportedly wants to join the Heat and would be willing to re-sign with the organization when he opts out of his current deal next summer. He has also expressed interest in the Clippers, Nets and Knicks, who should all have enough money next year to offer a maximum deal to another free agent.
Minnesota has focused on Bam Adebayo, Josh Richardson and a protected first-rounder for 2019 in trade talks, Wojnarowski adds. The Wolves would also like to shed the contract of Gorgui Dieng, who is owed more than $48MM over the next three seasons. A larger deal involving more players or additional teams may be necessary to make the trade work.
The Rockets remain aggressive in their pursuit of Butler, even though they are already well into luxury tax territory. Like Miami, Houston won’t have cap room next summer and has no hope of acquiring Butler without a trade.
Butler hasn’t joined the Wolves for training camp, but coach/executive Tom Thibodeau plans to appeal for him to return when the team returns from its West Coast trip tomorrow, according to Wojnarowski. Butler still has soreness in his wrist following offseason surgery and hasn’t made a decision about when he might rejoin the team if no deal gets done. Sources told ESPN he won’t miss regular season games if he is healthy enough to play.
Butler has been working out at Minnesota’s practice facility and has remained in contact with several of his teammates.