Mavs Sign Moses Brown To 10-Day Contract
February 20: Brown’s 10-day contract with the Mavericks is now official, the team confirmed in a press release (Twitter link).
February 19: The Mavericks are planning to sign center Moses Brown to a 10-day contract, his agent Ryan Davis tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
NBA insider Marc Stein, who first reported that Dallas intended to sign a center to a 10-day deal and identified Brown as a candidate, says the big man will audition for the team today and could officially sign as soon as this afternoon if all goes according to plan (Twitter links).
The Mavericks are in desperate need of frontcourt depth, with Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, and Daniel Gafford all still facing extended injury absences and Dwight Powell having been sidelined for over a month with a hip strain.
However, the Mavs also facing an extremely restrictive hard-cap situation, so their decision to sign Brown to a 10-day contract now is notable.
As we detailed over the weekend, the Mavs only have $171,120 in breathing room below their hard cap; Brown will carry a cap hit of $119,972. Once Brown’s contract expires, Dallas will only have $51,148 in hard-cap room and will have to wait until April 10 to re-add a 15th man.
Brown, 25, has the ability to step in and provide the Mavs with rotation minutes right away. He has appeared in 159 regular season games for seven NBA teams since making his debut in 2019.
Outside of a brief stint with the Pacers in November and December, the former UCLA standout has spent the current season with the Westchester Knicks in the G League. He has appeared in 26 games for New York’s affiliate, averaging 15.9 points, 14.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 29.2 minutes per contest.
No corresponding roster move will be required for the Mavs, who are currently carrying 14 players on standard contracts.
And-Ones: 2025 FAs, College Jobs, MCW, WNBA, More
A series of contract extensions have depleted the star-level talent in the NBA’s 2025 free agent class, but there will still be some notable names to watch this summer, as Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) detail.
Both Pincus and Marks have longtime NBA stars LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden atop their lists of 2025 free agents, with Marks positing that no player will have more leverage this offseason than Irving, given how badly the Mavericks need to retain the veteran point guard following the trade of Luka Doncic.
After James, Irving, and Harden, who have combined for 41 career All-Star appearances, the next tier of free agents consists of players like Myles Turner, Fred VanVleet, Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey, and Timberwolves power forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid. Interestingly, Pincus has Reid ranked ahead of the three-time All-Star he backs up, placing Reid at No. 5 and Randle at No. 7 in his early FA rankings.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- As is typical at this time of year, a number of NBA coaches and executives are receiving interest for jobs at the college basketball level, notes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Fischer mentions Hornets executive Buzz Peterson and veteran player agent Jim Tanner as possible candidates for UNC’s general manager job and says Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Suns assistant David Fizdale, and Bucks assistant Dave Joerger are among the names to watch for the University of Miami’s head coaching position. Fischer adds that Kings assistant Luke Loucks has been linked to Florida State’s head coaching opening.
- Former NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams is involved in a bid to bring an WNBA expansion franchise to Boston, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. With expansion teams lined up for San Francisco, Portland, Toronto, and Cleveland, the WNBA will have 16 clubs by 2028, so it’s unclear whether or not the league will be looking to expand beyond that number right away.
- Passing along the results of a player poll from All-Star weekend, Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes that the 14 respondents were unanimously against the idea of 10-minute quarters floated last month by commissioner Adam Silver. However, 12 of those 14 players liked the new All-Star tournament format.
- The Lakers‘ and Pistons‘ G League affiliates completed a trade on Wednesday, with the South Bay Lakers acquiring forward Cole Swider from the Motor City Cruise in exchange for Chris Silva‘s returning rights and a 2025 first-round pick, per a press release. Silva is currently playing overseas, but Swider has been active in the G League and will begin suiting up for South Bay.
Southwest Notes: Morant, Powell, Wemby, Castle
Several of the stars who were traded ahead of this month’s deadline – including Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine, and Brandon Ingram – were on the block for a while, while others – such as Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, and De’Aaron Fox – were either total surprises or (as in Fox’s case) weren’t necessarily expected to be on the move this soon.
So which stars might emerge as new trade candidates ahead of the 2025 offseason? Howard Beck of The Ringer said during a live episode of The Real Ones podcast over the weekend that one executive he spoke to about that subject offered up an interesting prediction.
“I’m constantly checking in with executives around (the) trade deadline about what we saw, what we didn’t see, what’s next,” Beck said (Twitter audio link). “And in this league, you are always, always, always on the lookout for who’s the next wave of stars that are going to get dealt, right? … And somebody out of the blue said, ‘Keep an eye on Ja [Morant] this summer.’
“… I’m not saying it’s going to happen. I’m not saying it should happen. I’m just saying it’s one of those things I’m just kind of keeping an eye on if they were to flame out (of the playoffs) early.”
At this point, the idea that Morant will emerge as a trade candidate seems more like wishful thinking on the part of an opposing executive than something likely to actually happen. The Grizzlies‘ star point guard is just 25 years old, is still under contract in Memphis for three more years beyond this season, and has stayed out of trouble off the court since being suspended twice in 2023 for wielding a gun in social media videos.
Still, in the wake of Dallas’ decision to deal Doncic, team executives will likely be loath to assume that any rival star is entirely untouchable.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- The Mavericks haven’t shared an official update on Dwight Powell‘s health for over a week, but Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link) hears that the big man has been doing full workouts during the All-Star break. Powell, who has been out since January 17 due to a right hip strain, doesn’t typically play a significant role for the Mavs, but the team would love to have him available with frontcourt regulars Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford, and Anthony Davis all sidelined due to injuries of their own.
- Michael C. Wright of ESPN takes a behind-the-scenes look at Victor Wembanyama‘s first All-Star appearance, noting that the Spurs flew their massage therapist, physical therapist, and performance coach to San Francisco to run the big man through his usual pregame routine, since he wanted to win every event he was involved in. That included Saturday’s skills challenge, in which Wembanyama and teammate Chris Paul attempted to exploit a loophole and were ultimately disqualified. “I don’t regret it,” the first-time All-Star said of the scheme to intentionally miss their required shot attempts as quickly as possible. “I thought it was a good idea.”
- After a busy All-Star weekend, first-year Spurs guard Stephon Castle spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about his experience in San Francisco, what he has learned from Paul, and what it’s like to play with Wembanyama, among other topics. Castle also expressed optimism about his ability to play alongside new San Antonio point guard De’Aaron Fox going forward. “I love playing with D-Fox,” the rookie told Spears. “He plays super-fast. That is how I like to play. Super unselfish. He can go get a bucket whenever you need him to. Yeah, he’s super cool and a great guy off the court, too.”
Mavs Reportedly Never Intended To Offer Luka Doncic Super-Max
When word broke two weekends ago that the Mavericks were trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers, one theory quickly emerged — perhaps Dallas had learned Doncic would hesitate to sign the five-year super-max extension (worth a projected $345MM) that he would’ve been eligible to receive during the 2025 offseason.
Asked about that theory during his introductory press conference as a Laker, Doncic said he had “absolutely not” given the Mavericks any reason to believe he wouldn’t accept such an offer. Agent Bill Duffy echoed that message and said he’d expected to discuss a potential super-max deal with the team this summer.
Based on all that’s been reported in the past two weeks, it seems as if any hesitation over the super-max was on the Mavericks’ side, not Doncic’s. Christian Clark, Mike Vorkunov, and Fred Katz of The Athletic confirm as much within an in-depth feature on Dallas general manager Nico Harrison, reporting that Harrison and the Mavs were “never going to offer” Doncic that record-setting super-max contract.
We’ve seen potential super-max eligibility factor into teams’ decision to trade players in the past, but that typically occurred in instances where a club was concerned about having to pay big money to retain a second- or third-tier star — the Kings traded away DeMarcus Cousins in 2017 after consecutive All-NBA Second Team seasons, for example, rather than hanging onto him and having to make a decision on a super-max extension offer during the following offseason.
Doncic, on the other hand, has five consecutive All-NBA First Team nods under his belt and finished third in the MVP voting last season. Super-max contracts – which allow a player to earn a salary worth 35% of the cap before he has reached the required threshold of 10 years of NBA experience – were designed to reward superstars like Doncic and to put their teams in a better position to hang onto them.
But, as has been reported ad nauseam since word of the blockbuster trade broke, the Mavericks were concerned about making that sort of financial commitment to Doncic due to concerns about his injury history and work ethic. According to Clark, Vorkunov, and Katz, Harrison was worried about the possibility that Doncic’s body would “break down possibly sooner than anyone would suspect.”
If the Mavs had retained Doncic and declined to make him a super-max offer in the offseason, would he have been willing to accept something below the 35% max or would he have balked and looked to join a team that valued him higher? We don’t know for sure, but that uncertainty explains why Harrison said shortly after making the deal that he believes he and the Mavs avoided a “tumultuous” summer by trading Doncic when they did.
“There’s some unique things about his contract that we had to pay attention to,” Harrison said at the time. “There’s other teams that were loading up that he was going to be able to decide, make his own decision at some point of whether he wants to be here or not. Whether we want to super-max him or not, or whether he wants to opt out. So, I think we had to take all that into consideration, and I feel like we got out in front of what could have been a tumultuous summer.”
Harrison hasn’t spoken to the media since Doncic’s introductory presser as a Laker, so reporters haven’t had an opportunity to ask him about Luka’s comments on a potential super-max deal.
Doncic is no longer eligible for a super-max contract this summer with the Lakers as a result of being traded.
Kyrie Irving Considers Playing For Australia In 2028 Olympics
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, who won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2016 Olympics, is interested in representing Australia in the 2028 Games, writes Grant Afseth of Athlon Sports. Irving, who was born in Melbourne and has joint U.S. and Australian citizenship, has already explored the steps that would be necessary to make the change.
“Man, we’re in the process of that right now, just trying to figure out the best route for me to be eligible,” he said at All-Star Weekend. “There’s a lot of paperwork involved. Obviously, USA still has a decision to make, but for me, I’m just trying to do what’s best. Honestly, if I can be an Aussie at one point in my career and play for the Australian team, that would be great.”
Irving first floated the idea of switching teams last fall, Afseth adds. That came after he was passed over for the 2024 U.S. squad that captured gold in Paris, despite expressing his interest in playing to Team USA Managing Director Grant Hill on numerous occasions.
“I had communication with Grant throughout the season, but I think it was more or less a surprise that I wanted to play,” Irving said in an October interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic. “I think it was just a surprise that I wanted to play and [that] I was engaged. I speak on this from a healthy standpoint, like let me make sure that’s clear too. It wasn’t jealousy. It was like, ‘Oh, OK, this means that there’s an extra motivation, just naturally, where, OK, I guess 2028 [is the plan]?’ And maybe it’s not for Team USA. I’m just really proud of the [Team USA] guys, at the end of the day.”
Irving continues to put up elite numbers at age 32, averaging 24.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 44 games. However, Amick notes that he’ll be 36 when Los Angeles hosts the Games in 2028 and will face plenty of competition from younger American players.
His path toward an Olympic spot figures to be easier with Australia, although the Boomers have established themselves as one of the best teams in international basketball. Afseth states that Irving will need clearance from both USA Basketball and FIBA before he could play for Australia.
Mavericks Notes: Doncic, Jokic, Welts, Armstrong
By all accounts, now-Lakers star Luka Doncic was blindsided by his trade away from the Mavericks earlier this month. As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post relays, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, a longtime friend of Doncic’s, spoke about the five-time All-NBA First Teamer’s reaction to the surprising deal during his Saturday presser at All-Star media day.
“He was building something there,” Jokic said. “I think he was hurt… I think as a trade, it’s not such a big thing, but if you trade someone like that, I think it kind of becomes a little bit of a big thing, and maybe players become a little bit serious about it.”
There’s more out of Dallas:
- New Mavericks CEO Rick Welts, seen across the league as a financial wizard, is stewarding this new post-Doncic era on the business side, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, who wonders if Welts’ decision-making can help Dallas fans eventually move beyond the front office’s bold recent transactions. “I thought I’d seen everything in my 47 years in the NBA, but clearly this was different,” Welts said. “I probably underestimated the reaction. I think we’ve done the best we can, basically, with the staff and trying to do the right thing with everybody who touches the Mavericks.” Welts had previously led business operations for the Steve Nash-era Suns from 2002-11 and the peak Stephen Curry-era Warriors from 2011-21. As we outlined on Saturday, he played a big part in building out the modern format of the All-Star weekend during his 17-year tenure as an NBA executive.
- Mavericks assistant coach Darrell Armstrong was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning for alleged aggravated assault with a weapon, reports Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. Afseth adds that Dallas has placed Armstrong on administrative leave following the booking. “The preliminary investigation determined the suspect and victim were in an argument when the suspect hit the victim with a gun and threatened to shoot them,” the Dallas police department told Afseth. “The suspect and victim are known to one another. This remains an ongoing investigation.”
- In case you missed it, All-Star Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving appears to have found peace in Dallas following rocky stints in Boston and Brooklyn.
Adam Silver Discusses Doncic Trade, Other Topics In All-Star Press Conference
NBA commissioner Adam Silver was as surprised as anyone when news broke that Luka Doncic had been traded to the Lakers two weeks ago, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. At his annual All-Star Weekend press conference, Silver said he wasn’t given advance notice from anyone about the deal.
He also refused to second guess the Mavericks, who have received an enormous amount of criticism for parting with Doncic, especially from their own fans.
“I can say one thing for sure: Whether or not history will ultimately judge this as a smart trade, they did what they thought was in the best interest of their organization,” Silver said. “I have absolutely no knowledge or belief there were any ulterior motives, no doubt in my mind that the Dumont-Adelson families bought that team to keep it in Dallas. I have no doubt whatsoever that they’re committed to the long-term success of that franchise.”
Silver added that he’s “empathetic” toward Dallas fans who are upset about the deal, which looks even worse since Anthony Davis was injured in his first game with the team.
“Time will tell whether it was a smart trade,” Silver said. “But they should believe in their organization.”
Silver addressed several other topics during his meeting with reporters, according to Reynolds:
- The Hornets contacted the league office after the Lakers rescinded their trade for Mark Williams, but Charlotte hasn’t filed a formal appeal. “Let’s see what Charlotte decides to do here,” Silver said. “But I think either way, it’s gotten our attention. We understand that in the back and forth of teams and trades that the extent we can reduce uncertainty, that’s a positive thing.”
- The league is waiting for a response from Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor after an arbitration panel ruled in favor of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez this week. Silver said he doesn’t see any reason why the sale of the team wouldn’t be approved, but he doesn’t want to speak for the Board of Governors. “I mean, that’s Glen’s decision to make,” Silver said. “I haven’t talked to him directly about that. I think, though, that A-Rod, certainly Marc Lore, are well-known to the league at this point. They’ve already been vetted and approved as minority owners. I think they understood that the league had no role in this arbitration. That was something they had agreed to as part of their purchase agreement.”
- The league decided against a repeat of last year’s All-Star Weekend shooting contest between Stephen Curry and WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu, with Silver explaining, “Last year was so magical, that competition, that it started to feel forced. And I think there was concern from all of us that we just weren’t feeling it.”
- Silver cited progress in the NBA’s television ratings, although he admitted that he’d like to see them higher. He added that the league measures its audience in several ways and is enjoying “record popularity” on social media.
Mavericks Notes: Irving, Exum, All-Star Weekend
His stays in Boston and Brooklyn both ended badly, but Kyrie Irving has found peace during his two years in Dallas, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Irving, who was selected for the All-Star Game after Anthony Davis suffered an injury, has resurrected his career with the Mavericks, Washburn observes, and has stopped talking to the press about topics other than basketball.
“I’m definitely having a lot more fun and I think it comes from understanding the big picture here while I’m in the league,” Irving said. “As a young player, you struggle with trying to live up to expectations, mentally stay strong, stay tough, follow your predecessors, read about their journeys, ask questions. Until you’re in situations and circumstances going through it yourself, you really have no idea how to handle it and I think that’s what these past few years have been about, obviously keeping my joy of the game but making sure I have a great environment, great support system around me, ready to keep me grounded.”
Irving hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down at age 32, averaging 24.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists through 44 games. He has become the unquestioned leader of the team in the wake of the Luka Doncic trade, and with a $44MM player option for next season, he’ll likely be getting a new long-term contract this summer. Washburn adds that Irving acknowledges he made mistakes in the past, but he has grown throughout his time in the NBA.
“I think I just had to get over the hurt of being let down by not only myself but the people I trusted,” he said. “Just innocence, once you lose your innocence in business, it’s hard to recover back from that, some people don’t recover back from that. That was the place I was in, innocence coming into the league, fresh-eyed, wide-eyed play a few years, end up leaving Cleveland, going to Boston and Brooklyn, my journey has not been perfect but I’ve been able to make sense of it, take accountability for my decisions and move forward with some great people around me and understand that I’m human, too.”
There’s more from Dallas:
- Relying heavily on Irving is the Mavericks’ only hope of salvaging what has turned into a tumultuous season, states Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News. Before sitting out Thursday’s game with a right shoulder issue, Irving logged 42, 40, 42, 44 and 40 minutes in the previous five contests. He’s been forced to adjust his game to look for his own shot more often, including a 42-point performance on Wednesday where he didn’t have any assists. “We joked about the 42 and zero last night, but it wasn’t like he didn’t have (potential) assists or wasn’t looking to pass,’’ coach Jason Kidd said. “The hockey assist (the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the points) has never been part of basketball, but you know it should be on the stat sheet. We keep everything else. But, yes, he’s going to get more shots and Klay (Thompson) has gotten more shots. Everybody will get more shots because (Doncic) was involved in everything.’’
- The Mavericks got 27 points from Dante Exum on Thursday as they were able to defeat Miami despite missing their entire starting lineup, Cowlishaw adds. Exum has been putting up the best numbers of his career since returning from wrist surgery two weeks ago, averaging 11.7 PPG and shooting 56.4% from the field. “We missed him after day one of training camp,” Kidd said. “Not having him for most of the season, that’s a big hole but we never complained. We just waited for him to get back.”
- New Mavericks CEO Rick Welts played a large role in turning the All-Star Game into All-Star Weekend, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Welts was serving as the NBA’s first national promotions director in 1984 when the league introduced the dunk contest and a Legends Game.
Hard Cap Details For Mavs, Warriors, Knicks, Lakers
While 24 of 30 NBA teams are hard-capped at either the first or second tax apron as a result of one or more roster moves they made this season, the hard cap shouldn’t be an issue for the majority of those 24 teams.
Now that the trade deadline has passed, clubs will generally only be increasing their payrolls with 10-day deals or minor free agent signings, and most teams have more than enough breathing room below their hard caps to comfortably accommodate those moves.
There are a few exceptions though, so we’ll take a closer look in the space below at four teams whose hard caps will – or could – come into play down the stretch.
Before we dive into those specific situations, let’s provide some context: The cap hit for a full-season veteran’s minimum contract for 2024/25 is $2,087,519, which means those deals cost a team $11,997 per day over the course of the 174 days in the regular season. That amount is prorated based on how many days are left in the season — a minimum contract signed with 20 days remaining in the season, for example, would count for $239,945 against the cap.
In the space below, we’ll be referring to how many “days” of minimum deals each team can accommodate. For instance, a team that’s $100K away from its hard cap would be able to squeeze in eight days of a veteran minimum contract (which works out to $95,978), but not nine days (which would be $107,975). That club couldn’t sign a player to a minimum-salary contract until there are just eight days left in the season.
The cap hit for a rookie or a player with one year of NBA service comes in a little lower than the veteran’s minimum, but if the player is a free agent, it still counts as if it’s a veteran’s minimum deal for tax and apron purposes due to the tax variance rule. So a team up against a hard cap won’t be able to sign a rookie free agent any earlier than it could sign a veteran free agent.
The one exception is if the team holds the draft rights to the player — for instance, when the Knicks converted Ariel Hukporti from his two-way contract to a standard NBA deal back in November after drafting him 58th overall last June, Hukporti’s rookie minimum cap hit was equivalent to his tax and apron charge, since he wasn’t signed as a free agent. If one of the teams we’re examining below has the option to take this route, we’ll make note of it.
Let’s dive in…
Dallas Mavericks
- Open roster spots: 1
- Room below hard cap: $171,120
- Veteran minimum days available: 14 ($167,961)
The Mavericks currently have four injured big men (Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford, and Dwight Powell) and would likely welcome the opportunity to sign a free agent center using their open 15-man roster spot. However, their hard cap restrictions seriously complicate matters.
Since they can only accommodate 14 more days of a veteran minimum salary for the rest of the season, the Mavericks essentially have two options:
- Wait until March 31 to sign a free agent.
- Sign a free agent to a 10-day contract at any time, then wait until April 10 to either re-sign that player or add a new free agent.
If they had a good candidate among their draft-rights-held players to fill that 15th roster spot, the Mavericks could accommodate a rookie minimum deal for up to 25 days.
But none of their two-way players fit the bill, and their only draft-and-stash possibility is 20-year-old forward Melvin Ajinca, who is currently playing for ASVEL in France. Bringing Ajinca stateside isn’t a practical solution, so they’ll have to stay patient.
Golden State Warriors
- Open roster spots: 3
- Room below hard cap: $1,372,306
- Veteran minimum days available: 114 ($1,367,685)
On the surface, the Warriors’ restrictions don’t look too bad — 114 days is a lot!
But Golden State is currently carrying just 12 players on standard contracts and must get back to 14 by February 20, since teams can dip below that roster minimum for no more than two weeks at a time (or 28 total days in a season).
A rest-of-season contract signed on Feb. 20 would cover 53 days, which means two rest-of-season deals would total 106 days. If the Warriors go that route, they wouldn’t be able to squeeze in a 15th man until there are just eight days left in the season.
It sounds like the Warriors are more likely to sign a pair of players to 10-day contracts on Feb. 20 — they’ve already reportedly reached a 10-day deal with G League standout Kevin Knox, and I expect a similar agreement with a second player will be reported in the coming days.
Those 10-day contracts would eat up 20 of the club’s remaining 114 days (leaving 94) and would allow Golden State to go another two weeks from March 2-15 with fewer than 14 players under contract. At that point, there would be just 29 days left in the season, so the Warriors could fill all three of their remaining roster spots and stay below the hard cap.
There are other variations in play for the Warriors here. For instance, if they sign a pair of players to back-to-back 10-day contracts on Feb. 20 and Mar. 2, they could dip back down to 12 players for the second half of March before filling their remaining three roster openings with just a couple weeks left in the season. Of course, there’s also no obligation for them to fill that 15th roster spot as soon as they’re eligible to.
It looks like the Warriors will have to go the free agent route. Their two-way players were signed as undrafted free agents and they have no good candidates among their draft-and-stash players to sign to rookie minimum deals unless they want to try to get 2020 second-rounder Justinian Jessup out of his contract in Germany. I don’t see that happening.
New York Knicks
- Open roster spots: 1
- Room below hard cap: $540,127
- Veteran minimum days available: 45 ($539,876)
The Knicks have been unable to sign a 15th man for much of the season and a relatively quiet trade deadline didn’t materially change their situation. The one minor change? Having reduced their team salary by $4,825 in their Jericho Sims/Delon Wright swap, the Knicks can now sign a free agent to a rest-of-season contract on February 28 rather than March 1.
Ten-day signings are also a possibility for New York if the team wants to bring in someone before Feb. 28 or doesn’t want to make a full-season commitment as soon as it legally can.
The Knicks also hold the draft rights to more than a dozen international players and could promote two-way player Kevin McCullar to the 15-man roster on a rookie minimum deal as soon as today, if they want to. But I expect they’ll be looking to add a 15th man who can actually help the team down the stretch or in the playoffs, which means targeting an NBA veteran rather than a rookie.
T.J. Warren, who was with the Knicks in camp in the fall and is putting up big scoring numbers for the Westchester Knicks in the G League, looks like the top candidate to eventually become New York’s 15th man.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Open roster spots: 0
- Room below hard cap: $893,647
- Veteran minimum days available: 74 ($887,795)
Unlike the three teams listed above, the Lakers don’t have an open roster spot to fill and don’t need to wait at all to make another veteran free agent signing. Still, I’m including them here because they’re the only other team within $1MM of a hard cap and there’s a chance they’ll consider another roster move.
For instance, if the Lakers want to bring in another free agent center and waive one of their current players (likely Cam Reddish) next Wednesday, before their post-All-Star schedule begins, a veteran minimum deal would cover 54 days and would carry a cap hit of $647,851. That would leave the team just $245,796 (or 20 days) shy of its hard cap.
Note: Data from Sports Business Classroom was used to confirm team salaries.
Southwest Notes: McCollum, Mavs, Konchar, Jackson, Rockets
CJ McCollum has been a bright spot in an otherwise glum season for the Pelicans. McCollum notched his third 40-plus point night since the start of the New Year on Thursday, leading them to an overtime victory against Sacramento. McCollum’s 43-point night allowed New Orleans to snap a 10-game losing streak.
“CJ is incredible,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green told Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “He’s one of our guys that’s literally holding things together in the locker room with these young guys. He’s been through so much throughout the course of his career. He’s a staple for us. We see it week in and week out that he comes out and gives it everything he has every night.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Overshadowed by the firestorm regarding the Luka Doncic trade is that the Mavericks, despite a wave of injuries, entered the All-Star break having won four of their last five games. That included a five-point victory over Miami in their last outing. “The bumps and bruises go away faster,” coach Jason Kidd said, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal. “As I told the guys, get some rest, enjoy the break, be safe and when we come back, it’s time to push forward and find a way to get as high a seed as we can and win as many games as we can. Sometimes, you want the break. We do need the break, but we are starting to play pretty good basketball.”
- During a Bleacher Report live stream (YouTube link), Jake Fischer identifies Grizzlies guard John Konchar as a potential buyout candidate. Konchar has posted modest stats in 29 appearances this season and isn’t part of the team’s regular rotation. However, he’s also in the first year of a three-year, $18.5MM contract, which is fully guaranteed, so it would seem like a long shot for the two parties to agree on a buyout.
- Jaren Jackson Jr. is aiming for his second Defensive Player of the Year award, though it will be difficult to beat out Victor Wembanyama for that honor going forward. Jackson, who is making his second All-Star appearance, leads the Grizzlies in blocks and steals. “It’s a team award, really. So it would mean the world,” Jackson told Mark Medina of Athlon Sports. “It’s hard to win it two times. You can see that now. It’s not a given. So it would mean the world.”
- The Rockets are clinging to fourth place in the Western Conference standings after losing seven of their last nine contests prior to the All-Star break. They dropped Thursday’s game to Golden State by a score of 105-98 and their head coach said the club needs some time off. The absences of Fred VanVleet (ankle) and Jabari Smith Jr. (hand) have played a major role in their slide. “We could be mentally and physically fried,” coach Ime Udoka told Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “But everybody’s in the situation right now going into the break. Maybe our guys are tired, but … a lack of competitiveness is not an excuse.”