Central Notes: Maker, Evans, Pistons, Osman
Thon Maker has given the Pistons an energetic boost since he was acquired from the Bucks in a three-team swap at the trade deadline, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes.
The 7-footer fell out of Milwaukee’s rotation, but has proven to be a solid backup for Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin. The Pistons outscored Phoenix by 20 points when Maker was on the court Thursday, as he scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots in 28 minutes.
“He’s been great,” Griffin said of his Pistons teammate. “Just his energy, man. He’s just always everywhere. And if he’s not blocking shots, he’s swinging for the fences. It’s making people think and it’s making people be aware of where he is.”
Maker will make a guaranteed $3.57MM next season and will be eligible for a rookie scale extension with the Pistons prior to opening night.
We have more from around the Central Division:
- Pacers swingman Tyreke Evans admits it’s been a roller-coaster season for him, Scott Agness of The Athletic reports. Evans has battled injuries, a bout with food poisoning and the tragic death of a nephew during the course of the season. Evans’ playing time has dropped dramatically from last season, when he averaged 19.4 PPG for Memphis in 52 games. He’ll return to the free agent market after signing a one-year, $12.4MM contract from Indiana. “Yeah, it’s tough,” he told Agness. “Everybody knows what type of player I am. (Since) I got drafted, I’m better with the ball in my hands. I’m a team player and just want to win this late in my career.”
- D’Angelo Russell‘s breakthrough season with the Nets after the Lakers gave up on him illustrates why the Pistons explored trades for young point guards Dennis Smith Jr. and Markelle Fultz prior to the trade deadline, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The Pistons will likely continue to pursue a young point guard during the offseason, since starter Reggie Jackson has one more season left on his contract and reserves Ish Smith and Jose Calderon will be unrestricted free agents, Ellis adds.
- Forward Cedi Osman is considered part of the Cavaliers’ future core, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports in his latest mailbag. The team could sign Osman to an extension this summer but there hasn’t been any talk of doing that yet, Fedor continues. However, he’s a front-office favorite and has made positive strides in recent months. He’s shown signs of being more than just a bench rotation player and his 3-point shooting has improved, Fedor adds.
Bucks' Tax Situation Eased As Pelicans Claim Wood
- The Bucks get a little more breathing room under the luxury tax with Christian Wood being claimed off waivers by the Pelicans, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. With Wood’s $1,512,601 salary removed from its books, Milwaukee is now about $1.76MM away from tax territory, providing more cushion for late-season moves.
Pelicans Claim Christian Wood, Waive Jason Smith
5:37pm: The move is official, according to a tweet from the Pelicans.
4:10pm: The Pelicans picked up former Bucks forward Christian Wood on waivers, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Jason Smith has been waived to create a roster opening, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Milwaukee parted with Wood on Monday to make room for Tim Frazier, who was signed to bolster the backcourt after an injury to Malcolm Brogdon. There was speculation that Wood might draw interest on the waiver wire because of the promise he showed in the G League and a $1,645,357 salary for next season that is non-guaranteed. He will receive $822,679 if he’s not waived before opening night, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. With the waiver claim, New Orleans inherits Wood’s $1,512,601 cap charge for this year, which is removed from the Bucks’ books.
Wood, 23, got into just 13 games during his time in Milwaukee, playing less than five minutes per night. He made a huge impact in the G League, averaging 29.3 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 2.4 APG and 2.2 BPG on 55.9% shooting in 28 games (35.3 MPG) for the Wisconsin Herd. He has previous NBA experience with the Sixers and Hornets.
Wood may get a greater chance to prove himself with the Pelicans, who are playing Anthony Davis on a limited schedule and are thinking about shutting down Jrue Holiday and E’Twaun Moore for the rest of the season.
Smith finds himself on waivers after playing just two games for New Orleans following a trade from the Bucks last month. The 33-year-old was on his third team this season, playing six games for Milwaukee and 12 for Washington.
Bucks’ Mirotic Fractures Thumb, Expected To Miss At Least 2-4 Weeks
The injury bug continues to plague the Bucks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Nikola Mirotic has sustained a slight fracture of his left thumb. League sources tell Charania that Mirotic is expected to be sidelined for at least two to four weeks.
Mirotic had just entered Milwaukee’s starting lineup within the last few days, replacing Malcolm Brogdon, who is expected to be on the shelf for at least six weeks due to a foot injury. Now the Bucks will have to find another new starter to replace Mirotic, who may be out until the playoffs — the final day of the regular season is three weeks from today.
Acquired by the Bucks at last month’s trade deadline, Mirotic missed his first few games due to a strained right calf, but had settled in nicely since then, averaging 11.6 PPG and 5.4 RPG on .415/.356/.870 in 22.9 minutes per contest for Milwaukee.
With Mirotic sidelined, the Bucks may have to lean a little more heavily on the likes of Ersan Ilyasova and D.J. Wilson in the frontcourt. New addition Pau Gasol could see some action as well, as the club looks to secure the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
How All-NBA Choices Could Impact Contract Situations
Last month, we outlined how the Anthony Davis saga in New Orleans could significantly impact what Karl-Anthony Towns next contract looks like.
Towns’ new extension, signed last fall, will start at 30% of the cap if he earns All-NBA honors in 2019, as opposed to 25% of the cap if he misses out on an All-NBA slot. With Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid expected to claim two All-NBA center spots, Towns is in position to grab the third, in part due to Davis’ trade request — not only will AD’s role in the Pelicans’ dysfunction be considered, but he’s playing limited minutes down the stretch while Towns puts up some of the best numbers of his career.
Assuming Towns does earn an All-NBA nod, it’ll be a $30MM+ decision by award voters, bumping the projected value of his five-year deal from about $158MM to nearly $190MM. However, KAT isn’t the only player who could have his contract situation significantly impacted by this year’s All-NBA selections.
As Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com and Andrew Sharp of SI.com have detailed this week, there’s a lot at stake for a handful of players who are candidates for this year’s All-NBA teams. Let’s break it down, taking a closer look at some players who could become eligible for a super-max contract this year…
The All-NBA locks:
- Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
While there’s some debate over which six guards will get All-NBA nods, Lillard looks like a slam dunk for a spot on the first or second team — Lillard, Stephen Curry and James Harden appear to be the strongest candidates for the two guard spots on that first team.
Assuming he does, in fact, earn All-NBA honors, Lillard will become eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension. His current contract runs through 2020/21, with no options, so he’d be eligible to tack on four extra years to that deal, starting in 2021/22.
For now, i’s impossible to say exactly what the NBA’s salary cap will be in 2021/22, but based on projections for ’19/20 ($109MM) and ’20/21 ($118MM), we can safely assume a max deal for Lillard starting in ’21/22 will be worth a lot more than it would be now. Conservatively, estimating a $120MM cap, Lillard’s super-max extension would start at $42MM and would be worth $188MM+ over four years.
With Lillard in position to gain eligibility for a super-max extension, the big question in Portland this summer could be whether the Trail Blazers will actually put that offer on the table. There have been no indications that either Lillard or the Blazers wants to end their union, but the club might be wary of offering such a massive deal to a player who will be 31 years old when the four-year deal begins — that decision hasn’t worked out well for the Wizards with John Wall.
As for Antetokounmpo, he’s on track to become eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension too, and that decision figures to be a much easier one for the Bucks. However, Milwaukee won’t be able to actually put that super-max offer on the table until the 2020 offseason, once Giannis has seven years of NBA experience under his belt.
The All-NBA guard contenders:
- Bradley Beal, Wizards
- Kemba Walker, Hornets
- Klay Thompson, Warriors
If the season ended today though, I expect Walker and Thompson would be shut out of the All-NBA third team in favor of Beal, who has had his best season as a pro, thriving without Wall in the Wizards‘ lineup. Assuming Beal earns All-NBA honors, he’d be eligible for the same super-max extension as Lillard — a four-year, 35% max deal that starts in 2021/22.Bucks Flirting With Tax Line
- After officially signing Tim Frazier today, the Bucks are now only about $250K below the tax line, tweets cap expert Albert Nahmad. As Nahmad explains, Tony Snell can earn up to $400K in bonus money if Milwaukee wins the Finals, but the team should be on track to stay out of the tax if it falls short of a title — or if Christian Wood is claimed on waivers tomorrow.
Bucks Sign Tim Frazier, Waive Christian Wood
MARCH 19, 10:22am: The Bucks have officially signed Frazier to a rest-of-season deal, according to a press release from the team.
MARCH 18, 11:05am: The Bucks have officially waived Wood, the team announced today (via Twitter).
MARCH 18, 9:32am: The Bucks are making a change to their 15-man roster in the wake of Malcolm Brogdon‘s foot injury, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will sign free agent guard Tim Frazier. Milwaukee will waive forward Christian Wood to open up a spot for the new addition.
It’s a logical move for the Bucks, who carried Frazier on their roster during training camp and the preseason last fall before releasing him. The 28-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Pelicans at that point, but once New Orleans fell out of playoff contention in February, the club cut Frazier to take a flier on EuroLeague sharpshooter Dairis Bertans.
In 47 games (17 starts) this season with the Pelicans, Frazier averaged 5.0 PPG, 4.4 APG, and 2.9 RPG with a .451/.351/.780 shooting line.
Signing Frazier will allow the Bucks to address an area of need, with Brogdon expected to miss approximately six to eight weeks due to a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot. However, the move will cost the team Wood, who was a “valued member” of the organization, as Haynes tweets.
The 23-year-old played sparingly for Milwaukee this season, but has put up massive G League numbers, averaging 29.3 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 2.1 BPG on 55.9% shooting in 28 games (35.3 MPG) for the Wisconsin Herd. He’s expected to draw interest from other NBA clubs, per Haynes, though he wouldn’t be playoff-eligible this spring.
If Wood goes unclaimed on waivers, the Bucks will remain responsible for his $1,512,601 cap hit for 2018/19, but would be off the hook for $1,645,357 salary for 2019/20, since it’s non-guaranteed. Wood might be an appealing target on waivers though, since his two-year, minimum-salary contract allows any club to place a claim using the minimum salary exception. If he’s claimed, his cap charge would be removed from Milwaukee’s books.
Frazier, meanwhile, would have a $205,098 cap hit for the rest of the season if the Bucks officially sign him today.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls 3/17/19
Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:
- The Thunder have assigned Hamidou Diallo to the Oklahoma City Blue, according to a team press release. Hamidou has appeared in 47 games for the Thunder this season, averaging 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.1 minutes per contest.
- The Clippers have recalled Justin Bibbs and Jerome Robinson from the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
- The Grizzlies have assigned Tyler Dorsey to the Memphis Hustle, per the team’s Twitter feed.
- The Bucks have recalled Christian Wood from the Wisconsin Herd, per the team’s Twitter feed. The latest assignment was Wood’s 15th in the G League this season.
Bucks Optimistic Brogdon Can Return In 6 Weeks
- Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon is projected to miss six to eight weeks with a plantar fascia tear in his right foot, but the team is optimistic his recovery time will be closer to six weeks, according to Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. That would have him back in time for the second round of the playoffs.
Bucks’ Malcolm Brogdon Out Indefinitely
The Bucks may have to go through the stretch run without Malcolm Brogdon, who is out indefinitely with a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Brogdon will likely be sidelined six to eight weeks, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The team confirmed the injury on its website, noting that Brogdon had an MRI and a medical exam today that revealed the tear. The Bucks said his status “will be updated as appropriate.”
Brogdon played just seven minutes Friday night before being pulled from the game because of a sore heel. He has been battling plantar fasciitis recently and had to miss a game earlier this month.
The injury robs Milwaukee of a key starter with the playoffs less than a month away. The former Rookie of the Year is putting up career-best numbers in his third NBA season, averaging 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per night through 64 games. He’s leading the league in free throw percentage at 92.8% and is on pace for the 14th 50/40/90 season in NBA history.