Anthony Davis Out For The Season
THURSDAY, 7:37pm: Davis underwent successful surgery today on his left knee, the team announced via press release. The power forward won’t require surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder, the team also relayed. The timetable given for Davis’ return to action is three to four months, per the release.
5:37pm: Davis has been diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and a left knee injury, tweets Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. He will have surgeries on both.
SUNDAY, 3:35pm: The Pelicans will shut down Anthony Davis for the remainder of the season, tweets John Reid of The New Orleans Times Picayune. Coach Alvin Gentry made the announcement this afternoon after reviewing medical information on the injured big man.
New Orleans has been considering the move since Davis banged his left knee while setting a pick in Friday’s game. Add that to a shoulder problem that has been bothering Davis for weeks, and the Pelicans decided it was best to shut him down now, rather than take any chances with his long-term health. New Orleans’ disappointing season may also have factored into the move. At 25-43, the Pelicans are eight and a half games out of the final playoff spot in the West.
Gentry said Davis will undergo surgery that could affect his participation in this summer’s Olympics, tweets Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate. “That I don’t know,” Gentry said, “but if I was a betting man, probably so.” The coach refused to be specific about which procedures Davis might have done on his knee or shoulder (Twitter link).
After earning first-team All-NBA honors last season, Davis signed a maximum extension over the summer worth about $145MM. He has put up virtually identical numbers to a year ago, averaging 24.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per night, but injuries ended his season after just 61 games.
Pelicans, Jazz Held Holiday Talks?; Players Like Gentry
- Zach Lowe of ESPN.com suggests the Pelicans and Jazz held at least cursory trade talks involving Jrue Holiday, though the conversation went nowhere, Lowe writes, with New Orleans setting too high a price for the discussion to advance. Lowe suggests the same about Jeff Teague talks between the Jazz and Hawks, though previous reports indicated that Atlanta and Utah didn’t have contact on the Teague front. The ESPN scribe speculated about Holiday and the Jazz before last month’s trade deadline.
- It’s been a rough season for Alvin Gentry, but players around the league like him, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, who counts it as a plus for the Pelicans‘ recruitment of free agents. The key will be matching free agents with Gentry’s system and vice-versa, contends Deveney, who wonders about the job security of GM Dell Demps.
Orlando Johnson Back In D-League
- Orlando Johnson, whose 10-day contract with the Pelicans expired over the weekend, is back with the Austin Spurs in the D-League, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor.
Anthony Davis Out 4-5 Months, Will Miss Olympics
Pelicans star Anthony Davis expects to be out of action four to five months, tweets Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate. Davis’ recovery time will prevent him from being part of Team USA in the Summer Olympics (Twitter link).
In a press conference this afternoon, Davis said he has been dealing with a torn labrum in his left shoulder since his rookie year, and the knee injury he suffered Friday night convinced him to shut down this season and get the shoulder taken care of. He said the shoulder pain would come and go, being intense on some days, but not hurting every day. Davis didn’t disclose specifics of the knee injury, saying he will find out more when he meets with the doctor who will perform the surgery. He added that there’s a greater emphasis on getting the knee surgically repaired, rather than the shoulder. He said the knee was giving him problems even before the collision Friday.
Davis’ contract includes a bonus for making the All-NBA first, second or third team. However, he said it would have been selfish to keep playing just to pursue that.
The surgery timetable should have Davis fully healthy in time for the Pelicans’ training camp, but he regrets not being able to take part in the Olympics. “I loved playing for Team USA,” Davis said. “It was one of the toughest decisions.”
Injuries Could Cost Davis Big Money
The season-ending injuries that limited Anthony Davis to just 61 games this year could cost the Pelicans‘ star a lot of money, according to Micah Adams and Michael Schwartz of ESPN.com. When Davis agreed to his five-year extension last summer worth an estimated $145MM, he became subject to the “Rose Rule.” That allows players with six years’ experience or fewer, who are normally eligible for a maximum salary worth 25% of the cap, to earn as much as players with seven to nine years’ experience, who can receive up to 30% of the cap. But to reach that standard, they have to either be named league MVP, be voted as an All-Star starter twice or be elected twice to the All-NBA first, second or third team before the best extension kicks in. Davis has virtually no chance of being MVP this season and he didn’t start in the All-Star game, but he does have a shot at making one of the all-league teams. If Davis fails to meet the criteria, his total deal will fall to an estimated $121MM.
- Pelicans teammates are impressed that Davis battled through the pain of the torn labrum in his left shoulder for so long before the combination of it and a knee injury shut down his season, writes John Reid of The New Orleans Times-Picayune. ”He was still banging and defending with an injured shoulder,” said Alonzo Gee. ”It says a lot about him.”
Pelicans Not Expected To Keep Orlando Johnson
- The Pelicans won’t sign Orlando Johnson to another 10-day contract, tweets Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate. New Orleans signed Johnson on March 9th using a hardship exception.
Health Updates On Davis, Pondexter
The Pelicans may decide to shut down Anthony Davis for the rest of the season, according to Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com. The center/power forward hurt his left knee Friday when he collided with teammate Jrue Holiday and Portland’s C.J. McCollum. Davis is also dealing with a lingering shoulder problem. Coach Alvin Gentry said the Pelicans are waiting for more medical information before making a decision. “They’re going to talk to doctors this afternoon and we’ll know a lot more then … I just know that [his shoulder has been] bothering him,” Gentry said Saturday after practice. “We’re going to be on a conference call with doctors today. I think it’s something that’s kind of been there.”
New Orleans may decide not to take any chances with Davis’ health after he signed a maximum extension over the summer worth an estimated $145MM. The Pelicans expected to move up in the standings after reaching the playoffs last season, but they’re stuck in 12th place in the West at 25-43. They’re eight and a half games behind Dallas for the final playoff spot with 14 games remaining.
- Pelicans small forward Quincy Pondexter, who has missed the entire season while recovering from knee surgery, vows to be ready by fall, Eichenhofer relays in the same story. “I guarantee I will be 100% by training camp,” Pondexter said, describing his status as “the beginning of a long rehab process, but it’s going really, really well so far.”
2015/16 Salary Cap Update: New Orleans Pelicans
The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 is set at $70MM, which is good for an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. With the February 18th cutoff date for trades and the de facto deadline of March 1st for buyouts now past, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of updating the salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the New Orleans Pelicans, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:
- 2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
- 2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
- Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $81,067,841*
- Remaining Cap Room= -$11,067,841
- Amount Below Luxury Tax Line= $3,672,159
*Note: This amount includes the $44,094 in salary paid to Nate Robinson, the $845,059 owed to Jarnell Stokes and the $71,677 due Jimmer Fredette, all of whom were waived by the team.
Cap Exceptions Available:
- Mid-Level Exception= $488,482
- Bi-Annual Exception= $1,358,894
- Trade Exception= $102,217 (Ish Smith. Expires December 24th, 2016)
Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $3,400,000
Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $2,678,700
Note: Despite the trade deadline having passed, the NBA season technically doesn’t end until June 30th. Teams are able to again make trades upon the completion of the regular season or when/if they are eliminated from the playoffs, whichever comes later. So these cash limits still apply.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Nate Robinson Signs With Israeli Team
THURSDAY, 8:00am: The signing is official, Pick tweets.
MONDAY, 1:51pm: Nate Robinson has agreed to a deal with Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv, reports international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The three-time dunk champion who began the season with the Pelicans had been trying to make a run at the National Football League, but it appears he’s put that effort on the shelf for now. The 31-year-old has remained unsigned since the Pelicans waived him shortly after opening night, failing to hook up with China’s Xinjiang Flying Tigers after reportedly working out for them in January.
The diminutive guard has had a tough time finding NBA work since he did a buyout deal with the Celtics in the middle of last season, after Boston acquired him in a trade with the Nuggets. The Clippers signed him to a pair of 10-day contracts last March, but he suffered a bone bruise in his left knee that prompted the Clippers to turn to Lester Hudson instead.
Robinson was on the opposite end of injury luck this fall, when the banged-up Pelicans signed him to a non-guaranteed contract during the preseason, and when the team made him its opening-night starter at point guard, it appeared Robinson had a place in the NBA for at least a while longer. Instead, New Orleans jumped on Toney Douglas, who’d shaken free from the Pacers, and cut Robinson after only two regular season games.
This would be the first overseas excursion for Robinson, who’s played in parts of 11 NBA seasons, including this one. He’s not far removed from decent production, having averaged 10.4 points in just 19.7 minutes per game for the 2013/14 Nuggets, so a strong closing stretch in Israel is liable to help him back to the game’s highest level.
Do you think we’ll see Nate Robinson in the NBA again? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Pelicans Sign Tim Frazier To 10-Day Contract
WEDNESDAY, 5:20pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.
TUESDAY, 9:10pm: The Pelicans intend to ink point guard Tim Frazier to a 10-day deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). New Orleans currently has 16 players on its roster, including Orlando Johnson, who was signed to a 10-day deal after the Pelicans were granted an extra roster spot via the hardship provision. According to Stein (ESPN Now link), the franchise was granted a 17th slot to accommodate the addition of Frazier.
In order for a team to be granted an extra roster spot, it must have three players who have missed at least three straight games because of injury or illness, plus a fourth player who is also unable to perform. The Pelicans have been pummeled by injuries this season and certainly fit the prerequisite. New Orleans is currently without Eric Gordon, Bryce Dejean-Jones, Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter, all of whom are out for the remainder of the campaign. Adding to the team’s woes, center Alexis Ajinca is expected to be out until the end of this month and Norris Cole is day to day with back issues.
Frazier, 25, saw just 7.8 minutes per game in 35 appearances for the Blazers this season, averaging 1.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists to accompany a slash line of .333/.176/.533. The playmaker rejoined the D-League affiliate of the Celtics last week after clearing waivers from the Trail Blazers, who cut him to accommodate their deadline-day trades.