Southwest Notes: KPJ, Bane, McCollum, Nance
Rockets point guard Kevin Porter Jr. appears to have earned a long-term look with the franchise. Houston and Porter have had initial discussions about the future of the extension-eligible 22-year-old, prompting Kelly Iko and Danny Leroux of The Athletic take a deep dive into what a new deal might look like for the fourth-year guard.
Leroux projects an annual number in the range of $10-15MM for Porter. Should the Rockets opt to not extend Porter and instead let him reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2023, Leroux notes that the market for the 6’4″ guard’s services could be dampened. Currently, just seven NBA clubs, including the Rockets, project to have cap space available to sign Porter for more than the mid-level exception.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Third-year Grizzlies shooting guard Desmond Bane has evolved into a reliable locker-room leader, despite his relative greenness, writes Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I’ve always been a vet [in terms of personal comportment], but now I’m a vet for real,” Bane said. “I don’t really think that too much has to change. I’ve always been the guy to lead by example, put my best foot in front of the other. That’s half of leadership right there.”
- Pelicans veteran players CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr., new additions to the team at the 2022 trade deadline, are extension-eligible this summer. Will Guillory and Danny Leroux of The Athletic consider potential extension contracts for both New Orleans players. Christian Clark of NOLA.com writes that McCollum contributed as a versatile scorer and consistent ball-handler, while Nance helped the team in the less-glamorous role of flexible bench big. Clark notes that both players have shown interest in sticking around long term with an exciting young Pelicans club hot off its first playoff appearance in four years.
- In case you missed it, the lucrative new extension inked by Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson includes a caveat that requires him to get consistent weigh-ins by New Orleans. Should the total of his body fat percentage and weight exceed 295, the team will be able to reduce the guaranteed portion of his salary.
And-Ones: T. Scott, 2023 Draft, ’23 Cap, Freedom
NBA and G League veteran Tre Scott is headed overseas for the 2022/23 season, having signed with Fos Provence Basket, the French team announced in a press release.
Scott, who went undrafted out of Cincinnati in 2020, has spent most of his first two professional seasons in the NBAGL, playing for the Salt Lake City Stars, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, and the Cleveland Charge.
The 6’8″ forward earned a call-up to the NBA last December during the league’s COVID-19 outbreak, signing a 10-day hardship deal with the Cavaliers. He appeared in two games for the Cavs during his brief NBA stint, scoring six points and grabbing a couple rebounds in 11 total minutes of action.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report shares his first 2023 mock draft, headed by French big man Victor Wembanyama and G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson. Overtime Elite wing Amen Thompson, Duke swingman Dariq Whitehead, and Villanova forward Cam Whitmore round out Wasserman’s initial top five.
- Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype takes a look at the teams currently projected to have the most cap room in 2023, including the Spurs, Rockets, Pistons, and Magic.
- In an interview with Israeli outlet Walla, free agent center Enes Freedom said he hasn’t received any offers from NBA teams this offseason (hat tip to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops). Freedom attributed that lack of NBA interest to the comments he has made denouncing China, though it’s worth noting that his minutes were already on the decline due to his subpar outside shooting and defense.
Rockets Re-Sign Bruno Fernando
1:43pm: Fernando received an Exhibit 10 contract, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The deal could be converted into a two-way contract prior to the season or would entitle Fernando to a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and then joins the Rockets’ G League team.
1:31pm: The Rockets have re-signed free agent big man Bruno Fernando to a new contract, the team announced today in a press release. Houston now has a full 20-man offseason roster.
Fernando, who will turn 24 next month, was the 34th overall pick in the 2019 draft. He began his career in Atlanta, was sent to the Celtics in a 2021 offseason trade, then was flipped to Houston at the 2022 deadline in February.
The former Maryland standout played some of the best basketball of his career down the stretch with the Rockets, albeit in a limited role. He averaged 6.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 0.8 BPG on 70.7% shooting in 10 appearances (9.4 MPG) for Houston.
The terms of Fernando’s new deal are unclear. The Rockets already have 18 players on guaranteed standard contracts, so it seems unlikely they’d want to bring in a 19th without clearing that logjam.
Fernando is technically eligible for a two-way contract, but there’s no indication in Houston’s announcement that he got a two-way deal. That makes a non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed standard contract the likeliest outcome, but we’ll wait for confirmation on the details.
Team, Porter Jr. Seeking Extension
- The Rockets and guard Kevin Porter Jr. have mutual interest in a contract extension before the start of the season, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Last week, Kelly Iko of The Athletic opined in a mailbag post that he’d be surprised if the Rockets gave an early extension to Porter, believing they’d rather stay flexible and allow him to enter restricted free agency.
Examining Rockets' 2023 Free Agency, Coaching Additions, More
- Kelly Iko of The Athletic examines several Rockets topics in his mailbag, including next summer’s free agency, new assistant coaches and more. Houston is coming off a 20-62 season and is continuing a full-scale rebuild. The team has a young nucleus of Kevin Porter Jr. (22), Jalen Green (20), Jabari Smith Jr. (19) and others to build around. Houston also recently added Lionel Hollins, Mike Batiste and Mahmoud Abdelfattah to its coaching staff.
And-Ones: Paschall, J. Young, Egan, History Of Star Trades
Eric Paschall, who spent last season with the Jazz but wasn’t extended a qualifying offer, thus making him an unrestricted free agent, is reportedly drawing interest from Greek club Panathinaikos, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. In reference to a tweet claiming he was “going to Europe,” Paschall said that was “false news” (Twitter link).
Of course, a team being interested in a free agent is different than a player being open to going overseas. The 6’6″ forward had a productive rookie season in 2019/20 with the Warriors as they dealt with major injuries to their stars and finished with just a 15-50 record, but has seen his role reduced significantly the past two years.
In 58 games (12.7 MPG) with Utah last season, Paschall averaged 5.8 PPG and 1.8 RPG on .485/.370/.767 shooting. Tony Jones of The Athletic reported last month that the 25-year-old was expected to draw interest on the open market — apparently that includes EuroLeague teams as well.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Former first-round pick James Young has re-signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv, the Israeli team announced (on Twitter) today (hat tip to Sportando). Young appeared in a total of 95 NBA games with the Celtics and Sixers from 2014-18, but only averaged 8.5 MPG. Last season with the Israeli side he averaged 17.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 1.1 SPG on .451/.318/.750 shooting in 21 games (28.2 MPG).
- Johnny Egan, a former head coach and player for the Rockets, has passed away, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Egan was 83 years old. He played 11 NBA seasons from 1961-1972, averaging 7.8 PPG and 3.0 APG. He then made an immediate transition to coaching, guiding the Rockets for parts of four seasons from 1972-76. “He was a down-to-Earth guy,” said former Rockets player Major Jones, who became a longtime friend of Egan. “He cared a lot about former players and was always willing to help former players. If something needed to be done, he’d be there. He always cared a lot about people. He was just a fantastic person.” Our condolences go out to Egan’s friends and family.
- Tim Bontemps, Kevin Pelton and Matt Williams of ESPN examine some of the biggest star trades in recent NBA history. According to ESPN’s trio, the Pelicans received more trade equity than any other team over the past two decades when they moved Anthony Davis to the Lakers in 2019. I’m sure the Lakers would be happy to make that trade again, however, as they won the title in Davis’ first year in Los Angeles.
Rival Teams Monitoring Martin Jr.
- Assuming Eric Gordon remains on the roster entering training camp, he should be the starting small forward for the Rockets, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Houston’s starting lineup projects to be Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Gordon, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun, according to Iko, with the first five reserves possibly being Daishen Nix, Josh Christopher, Tari Eason, Jae’Sean Tate and Usman Garuba. Iko notes that Tate, who has started 135 of his 148 NBA games to this point, will likely be the team’s sixth man and receive significant playing time. Noticeably absent from the projected 10-man rotation is Kenyon Martin Jr., who requested a trade last month due for that very reason, and Iko says rival teams continue to keep an eye on Martin’s situation with the Rockets.
Thunder, Rockets Among Teams Facing Roster Crunch
We’re approximately three months away from the deadline for NBA teams to finalize their rosters for the 2022/23 regular season, so there’s no urgency for those clubs to get their 15-man squads in order anytime soon.
Still, there are already a small handful of teams that are carrying more than 15 players on guaranteed contracts for ’22/23. Sooner or later, those teams will have to trade or release one or more of those players in order to get down to the regular season limit.
[RELATED: 2022/23 NBA Roster Counts]
Here’s an early look at the teams that will have some decisions to make:
Teams with more than 15 guaranteed contracts:
Oklahoma City Thunder
- 17 guaranteed contracts
- 1 partially guaranteed contract
The Thunder will technically dip to 16 players on fully guaranteed contracts once JaMychal Green‘s reported buyout is completed, but that number will climb back to 17 once Mike Muscala officially re-signs with the team.
There are a number of directions Oklahoma City could go with its final roster spots, but at least three players (besides Green) will have to be traded or released. The best candidates appear to be Derrick Favors, Ty Jerome, Theo Maledon, Darius Bazley, and Vit Krejci (who has the lone partially guaranteed contract).
None of those five players is owed guaranteed money beyond this season — Favors, Jerome, and Bazley are on expiring contracts, while Maledon and Krejci have non-guaranteed salaries beyond 2022/23.
By reaching a buyout agreement with Green, the Thunder signaled they’re not necessarily prioritizing keeping bigger expiring deals around for potential trades later in the offseason or during the season, so Favors ($10.2MM), Bazley ($4.3MM), and Jerome ($4.2MM) certainly aren’t locks to make it to opening night.
Houston Rockets
- 18 guaranteed contracts
The Rockets’ roster surplus is largely a result of the four-for-one trade they made with Dallas for Christian Wood. Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss, and Boban Marjanovic came to Houston in that deal, but reports have suggested that at least two or three of those players probably won’t be on the team’s opening night roster.
Marjanovic is said to be the most likely of the four to remain in Houston. Trading or waiving the other three would get the Rockets down to the 15-man regular season limit.
The club could also explore other moves to pare down its roster count. Eric Gordon and Kenyon Martin Jr. are among the players who have frequently been mentioned as potential trade candidates.
Teams with more than 15 players on standard contracts:
Note: Exhibit 10 deals aren’t considered standard contracts for the purpose of this section.
Memphis Grizzlies
- 15 guaranteed contracts
- 1 partially guaranteed contract
Danny Green looks like the probable odd man out in Memphis. His $10MM salary is only partially guaranteed (for $6.96MM) and he’ll likely miss most or all of the 2022/23 season while he recovers from a torn ACL.
Still, I wouldn’t consider that a lock quite yet. Green could be a valuable piece in the postseason if he has recovered by then — and if his recovery does take longer than he anticipates, his $10MM expiring contract could still be a useful asset at the 2023 deadline. Perhaps the Grizzlies will find a small deal involving a player like Santi Aldama, Killian Tillie, or Xavier Tillman before the season begins in order to make room on the 15-man squad for Green.
Toronto Raptors
- 12 guaranteed contracts
- 4 partially guaranteed contracts
- 1 unsigned second-round pick
While second-round picks are often signed to two-way contracts or stashed overseas, that rarely happens for a player selected as high as Christian Koloko was (No. 33). Those players usually receive at least a couple guaranteed seasons, and I’d expect the Raptors to take that route with Koloko.
If they do, that would leave four players on partially guaranteed contracts – Justin Champagnie, Dalano Banton, Armoni Brooks, and D.J. Wilson – vying for the final two roster spots. If the Raptors want to keep more than one of those players, or if they’d like to promote two-way RFA David Johnson to the 15-man roster, Svi Mykhailiuk could be a release candidate, despite having a guaranteed minimum salary.
Philadelphia 76ers
- 12 guaranteed contracts (once James Harden re-signs)
- 2 partially guaranteed contracts
- 2 non-guaranteed contracts
The Sixers don’t have a major crunch, but after Harden re-signs, there will only be three roster spots available for four players without full guarantees.
One of those players is Trevelin Queen, who has a $330K partial guarantee and was just signed this offseason. Those factors will likely give him a leg up on a 15-man roster spot. Charles Bassey also has a small partial guarantee (about $75K), while Isaiah Joe and Paul Reed are on non-guaranteed contracts.
In order to keep all four players, the Sixers would have to make a trade or a cut to reduce their roster count. Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz, and Shake Milton are among the players who have been mentioned in trade rumors this offseason.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- 13 guaranteed contracts
- 2 non-guaranteed contracts
- 1 RFA
At this point in the offseason, restricted free agent guard Collin Sexton looks like a solid bet to end up back in Cleveland. If he returns to the Cavaliers, they’ll have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens on non-guaranteed deals.
If the Cavs want to keep both Wade and Stevens, Dylan Windler could be the odd man out. He’s on an expiring contract and has struggled to find a place in the rotation while battling injuries in his first three NBA seasons.
Detroit Pistons
- 15 guaranteed contracts
- 1 signing to come
The Pistons have yet to formally sign Kevin Knox — they’re likely waiting to determine if and how they’ll use their cap room, since Knox’s reported two-year, $6MM deal could fit into their room exception if it has to.
Knox would be Detroit’s 16th player on a guaranteed contract, but the fix looks pretty simple. Kemba Walker‘s reported buyout agreement with the Pistons isn’t yet official. Once Walker is bought out and Knox signs, the team will be back at 15 guaranteed contracts.
Orlando Magic
- 15 guaranteed contracts
- 1 non-guaranteed contract
Barring a surprise, Devin Cannady – the only player without a guaranteed contract – will likely be the casualty of Orlando’s roster crunch.
Keegan Murray Named Las Vegas Summer League MVP
Kings forward Keegan Murray has been named the Most Valuable Player of the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League, according to an announcement from the NBA (Twitter link).
Murray, the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, averaged 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals in his four Summer League games. He also made 50% of his shots from the field and knocked down 40% of his 8.8 three-point attempts per contest.
It was a terrific start for a rookie who figures to play a major role for a Kings team that badly wants to end its 16-year playoff drought. The first player selected after the consensus top three prospects were off the board, Murray was rated behind No. 5 pick Jaden Ivey on some experts’ draft boards, so the two youngsters will likely be measured against one another for at least the first year or two of their professional careers.
Murray looks like he’ll be an excellent fit on a Kings roster led by De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, two talented scorers who aren’t elite defenders or reliable outside shooters. The former Iowa standout is capable of stretching the floor and handling a variety of defensive assignments, so he’ll presumably see plenty of action alongside Sacramento’s two stars.
Tari Eason (Rockets), Quentin Grimes (Knicks), Sandro Mamukelashvili (Bucks), and Cam Thomas (Nets) joined Murray on the All-Summer League First Team, according to the league (Twitter links). Thomas and another King, Davion Mitchell, shared the Summer League MVP award in 2021.
This year’s All-Summer League Second Team is made up of Santi Aldama (Grizzlies), Bennedict Mathurin (Pacers), Marko Simonovic (Bulls), Trendon Watford (Trail Blazers), and Lindell Wigginton (Bucks).
Southwest Notes: Wright, Murphy, Tate, Abdelfattah
Power forward Moses Wright is making an impact while playing for the Mavericks‘ Summer League team, writes Dwain Price of Mavs.com.
The 6’8″ big man averaged a fairly pedestrian 8.5 PPG on 5-of-16 shooting and 5.0 RPG across the Mavericks’ first two Summer League contests, missed the team’s Tuesday matchup against the Suns, and then returned reinvigorated to play the Bucks on Thursday. He poured in 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and grabbed 11 rebounds as a reserve.
Wright, signed to a two-way contract during the 2021/22 season with Dallas, is currently an unrestricted free agent.
“I think he was the most impactful player in the game,” Mavericks Summer League head coach George Galanopoulos said. “When he’s playing like that – just high energy and active motor, and with an edge and a disposition about him and that mentality — he’s one of the better players in the gym wherever he goes.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Second-year Pelicans small forward Trey Murphy showed signs of improvement during his 2022 Summer League stint, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. Murphy, the No. 17 pick out of Virginia in 2021, averaged 26.5 PPG across the only two Las Vegas games New Orleans opted to play him. The Pelicans are hoping that Murphy, who evolved into a deep-bench option on a playoff-bound 2021/22 club by the end of his rookie season, will continue to develop this season. “At the end of the day, I know the stuff I’ve been working on,” Murphy said. “Just creating off the bounce and things like that… I’m not too worried about the shot. If my shot’s falling and I’m getting to the basket like I was tonight, that’ll be a pretty good recipe.”
- In an interview with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate discussed how his confidence in his own NBA-caliber abilities helped him while playing abroad. “I’ve always thought I was an NBA player,” Tate said. “There was never a question of if I was good enough. I just knew that I was going to have to be able to put myself in a position to get to my dream. I think [agent] EJ Kusnyer did a good job of just putting me in certain situations that allowed me to be successful, allowed me to show my worth, and allowed me to be me while bringing what I do to a team every step of the way.” After going undrafted out of Ohio State in 2018, the 6’4″ small forward first signed on with Belgian club the Antwerp Giants during the 2018/19 season. He then headed to Australia to play for NBL club the Sydney Kings. He was named to the 2020 All-NBL First Team before joining the Rockets in 2020.
- Rockets assistant coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah credits Houston with updating his thinking about shot selection, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Abdelfattah worked his way through the ranks with the club’s NBAGL affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and eventually joined Houston’s NBA club as an assistant under Stephen Silas. “Offensively, I’m a big believer of shot selection, taking efficient shots,” Abdelfattah said. “It goes back to taking mid-range shots or not taking them, goes back to getting to the rim, getting to the free-throw line… I like to let the guys play with a lot of freedom and maybe take a couple of what some would call questionable shots or moves. “