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Jared McCain, Jaylen Wells Named Rookies Of The Month

December 3rd, 2024 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers guard Jared McCain and Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells have been named the NBA’s Rookies of the Month for the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, respectively, the league announced today (via Twitter). The honor technically covers more than a month, since it’s for games played in October as well as November.

The 16th overall pick in the 2024 draft, McCain didn’t initially project to be part of Philadelphia’s regular rotation and played fewer than four minutes in each of his first two games of the season.

However, injuries cleared a path for him to get minutes and he took advantage of that opportunity, averaging 16.0 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.5 rebounds on 25.2 minutes per game across 18 outings (seven starts) to open his NBA career. McCain also posted a solid shooting line of .448/.364/.906.

Wells, who was drafted with the No. 39 pick in June, is an even unlikelier early-season standout than McCain, but also took advantage of his team being affected by the injury bug and capitalized on an opportunity to play rotation minutes right out of the gate.

In 20 games (15 starts) in October and November, Wells averaged 12.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 25.3 MPG. He provided some much-needed outside shooting for the Grizzlies, knocking down 39.4% of 5.0 attempts per night from beyond the arc.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), McCain beat out fellow nominees Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, and Carlton Carrington for Rookie of the Month recognition in the East. The other nominees in the West were Dalton Knecht, Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Ryan Dunn, and Wells’ teammate Zach Edey.

Veteran NBA Forward Paul Millsap Retiring

December 3rd, 2024 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA forward Paul Millsap is retiring from basketball after spending 16 seasons in the league, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 47th overall pick in the 2006 draft out of Louisiana Tech, Millsap spent his first seven seasons with the Jazz before signing as a free agent in 2013 with Atlanta. The 6’7″ big man made four straight All-Star teams with the Hawks before leaving for Denver as a free agent in 2017. He played for the Nuggets for four seasons, then spent his final season in 2021/22 with the Nets and Sixers.

Millsap hasn’t played basketball professionally since 2022, but didn’t formally decide to retire until now, at age 39.

Despite being a late second-round pick, Millsap made the All-Rookie Second team in his first NBA season and immediately established himself as an important rotation player for the Jazz, earning Sixth Man of the Year votes in 2009 and 2010, then taking as Utah’s starting power forward when Carlos Boozer left the team in 2010.

While Millsap had several strong seasons with the Jazz, his best years came with the Hawks under head coach Mike Budenholzer, who led the team to four straight playoff seasons during Millsap’s time in Atlanta, including a 60-win season and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2014/15.

After averaging a career-high 18.1 points per game in his final year with the Hawks, Millsap served as more of a role player than a featured option in Denver, especially after undergoing wrist surgery during his first season with the Nuggets. He started 186 of 215 games he played for the team, but saw his usage rate steadily decline during those four years.

For his career, Millsap averaged 13.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 block in 28.1 minutes per game across 1,085 regular season appearances. According to Charania, he’s one of just eight players in NBA history who accumulated at least 1,000 career steals, 1,000 blocks, and 500 three-pointers.

According to Basketball-Reference, Millsap earned over $195MM in NBA salaries during his 16 years in the league.

Lakers’ Vanderbilt Targeting Early January For Season Debut

December 3rd, 2024 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who is recovering from offseason surgeries on both feet, has experienced a setback in his rehab process, as reported by Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin of ESPN and confirmed by the team (Twitter link via Mike Trudell).

The Lakers say that Vanderbilt developed an effusion in his left knee during his return-to-play progression. As Charania and McMenamin explain, that’s a fluid build-up.

As a result, the 25-year-old will likely be sidelined for at least another month. Vanderbilt and the Lakers are targeting a return in early January, according to both ESPN’s report and the team’s announcement.

Vanderbilt, who isn’t with the club on its current four-game road trip, is expected to be examined by team doctors when the Lakers return home after Friday’s game in Atlanta, per Charania and McMenamin.

A 2023 trade deadline acquisition, Vanderbilt has been an impactful role player for Los Angeles when healthy, providing strong, versatile defense and averaging 6.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 21.9 minutes per game. The Lakers, who had a +0.6 overall net rating last season, posted a +4.2 mark during Vanderbilt’s 581 minutes of action.

However, due to health issues, the forward has been limited to just 55 total appearances since he was traded from Utah to L.A., including 29 last season and zero so far in 2024/25.

Vanderbilt is in the first season of a four-year, $48MM contract extension that he signed with the Lakers in September 2023.

Sixers Sign Pete Nance To Two-Way Deal, Waive Quinones

December 3rd, 2024 at 9:19am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 3: The Sixers have officially signed Nance and waived Quinones, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 2: The Sixers have agreed to a two-way contract with Pete Nance, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets.

Nance is the younger brother of veteran NBA forward Larry Nance Jr. Pete has played eight games this season in the G League’s Showcase Cup for the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ affiliate. He’s averaging 18.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest.

The 6’10” Nance also played in the NBAGL for most of last season. He made eight NBA appearances with the Cavs but averaged just 3.4 minutes in those games.

Nance participated in camp with the Cavs this fall, but was waived in October. He signed a two-way contract with Cleveland in February but wasn’t offered another one. He went undrafted in 2023.

With centers Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond sidelined by injuries and — in Embiid’s case — personal reasons, the Sixers were seeking another frontcourt option in the short run.

As our two-way contract tracker shows, Philadelphia has three players currently signed to two-ways and will have to drop one of them to make room for Nance. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the odd man out will be guard Lester Quinones.

Quinones, who has appeared in four games with the Sixers this season, signed a two-way contract in September after playing for Golden State last season.

Jalen Brunson, Alperen Sengun Named Players Of The Week

December 2nd, 2024 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has been named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week, while Rockets big man Alperen Sengun has won the award for the Western Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

It’s the first Player of the Week honor for Brunson this season after he won the award four times in 2023/24. In four games from November 25 to December 1, Brunson led the Knicks to a 3-1 record, averaging 26.8 points, 9.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in 34.3 minutes per game against Denver, Dallas, Charlotte, and New Orleans. He posted a red-hot shooting line of .547/.524/.867.

Brunson’s Knicks teammate Karl-Anthony Towns was also nominated for the award in the East, along with Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Nets guard Dennis Schröder, Magic forward Franz Wagner, and Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard (Twitter link).

As for Sengun, it’s his second career Player of the Week award — he also won it in January 2024. Houston just completed a 3-0 week, with its starting center leading the way by averaging a near triple-double (21.3 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 9.0 APG) to go along with 1.7 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. The Rockets were a +29 vs. Minnesota, Philadelphia, and Oklahoma City with Sengun on the floor, compared to -13 when he sat.

Sengun beat out fellow nominees Devin Booker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein, Quentin Grimes, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Jaren Jackson Jr., Ja Morant, and teammate Fred VanVleet for the Western Conference honor.

Hornets Sign Isaiah Wong To Two-Way Contract, Waive Jared Rhoden

December 2nd, 2024 at 12:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 2: Wong has officially signed his two-way contract with the Hornets, the team announced today in a press release. He agreed to a two-year deal that will cover the 2025/26 season as well as the rest of ’24/25, Hoops Rumors has learned.

NOVEMBER 30: Isaiah Wong will join the Hornets on a two-way contract, agent Darrell Comer of Tandem tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Two-way guard Jared Rhoden has been waived to make room on the roster, the team announced in a press release.

Wong, a 23-year-old shooting guard, is currently with the Salt Lake City Stars and ranks seventh in the G League scoring race at 24.1 points per game. He was in training camp with Utah on an Exhibit 10 contract, but was waived before the start of the season.

Wong was selected by Indiana with the 55th pick in the 2023 draft. He only appeared in one NBA game as a rookie, but averaged 14.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 30 regular season games with the G League’s Indiana Mad Ants.

The Hornets are in need of healthy players after being hampered by injuries since the season began. LaMelo Ball, who will miss at least two weeks with a strained left calf, is the latest addition to an injury list that already includes Miles Bridges, Mark Williams, Grant Williams, Tre Mann and DaQuan Jeffries.

KJ Simpson and Moussa Diabate occupy Charlotte’s other two-way spots.

Pacers’ Andrew Nembhard Cleared To Return

December 1st, 2024 at 1:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Starting Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard has been given the green light to return to the floor for Indiana on Sunday against the Grizzlies, the team has announced (Twitter link). The Gonzaga alum has been out since November 6 with knee tendinitis.

Nembhard has only been available for seven games this season. Across those contests (all starts), the he averaged 7.3 points per game on .385/.231/.800 shooting splits. He’s also chipping in 4.7 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 steals per bout.

Nembhard and fellow starter Aaron Nesmith, who remains out with a lingering ankle injury, have been sidelined for most of the 9-11 Pacers’ season. Third-year wing Bennedict Mathurin has been starting in Nesmith’s stead, while two-way guard Quenton Jackson has been starting for Nembhard.

According to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star, head coach Rick Carlisle has indicated that Nembhard will play “a limited number of minutes,” but is set to reclaim his starting role.

Carlisle added that Nesmith and Ben Sheppard (oblique) are still “weeks away” from returning to the hardwood, Dopirak tweets.

NBA Waiver Order Now Based On 2024/25 Records

December 1st, 2024 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

As of December 1, the NBA’s waiver priority order is determined by teams’ current-year records, rather than the previous season’s results.

That means, starting today, the waiver order for this season is based on teams’ 2024/25 records, with the worst teams getting the highest priority. In other words, if two teams place a claim on the same player, the team lower in this season’s NBA standings will be awarded that player.

Up until today, the waiver claim order was based on which teams had the worst records in 2023/24.

Waiver claims are relatively rare in the NBA, but it’s still worth noting which teams will have the first crack at intriguing players who may be cut over the next few weeks or months.

[RELATED: 2024/25 NBA Waiver Claims]

Here’s what the teams at the top of the NBA’s waiver order look like as of today:

Washington Wizards (2-16)
New Orleans Pelicans (4-16)
Utah Jazz (4-15)
Philadelphia 76ers (4-14)
Toronto Raptors (5-15)
Charlotte Hornets (6-14)
Chicago Bulls (8-13)
Portland Trail Blazers (8-12)
Detroit Pistons (9-13)
Brooklyn Nets (9-11) (tie)
Indiana Pacers (9-11) (tie)
Sacramento Kings (9-11) (tie)

In instances where multiple teams have identical records, head-to-head record for the current season is used to break ties — the team with the worst winning percentage in head-to-head games gets the higher priority. If the tied teams have yet to face one another or if they’ve split their head-to-head matchups, a coin flip determines priority for those clubs.

If a waived player can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception, a team must use a mid-level exception (non-taxpayer or room), bi-annual exception, trade exception, a disabled player exception, or cap room to absorb his salary.

Most teams, especially those operating below the tax aprons, have at least one of those exceptions available to place a waiver claim, but it’s worth noting that a club with a top priority won’t be in position to nab just anyone who reaches waivers.

The Hornets, for example, don’t have cap space available to place a waiver claim on any player earning more than the minimum, and the only cap exception they have on hand is a small ($1,157,297) portion of the room exception. So despite their spot near the top of the waiver order, their ability to claim players will be pretty limited.

LaMelo Ball To Miss At Least Two Weeks

November 30th, 2024 at 12:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball has been diagnosed with a left calf strain, the team announced today in a press release. Ball’s injury, which he sustained during Wednesday’s game vs. Miami, was initially listed as left calf soreness before he underwent additional evaluation.

According to the Hornets, their leading scorer will be reevaluated two weeks from the date the injury, which would be December 11.

That means that Ball, who missed his first game of the season on Friday vs. New York, will remain sidelined for at least Charlotte’s next five games – against the Hawks, Sixers, Knicks, Cavaliers, and Pacers – and could be out beyond that.

Ball has been one of the NBA’s most dynamic players so far this season, averaging a career-high 31.3 points per game to go along with 6.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds per night. His shooting percentage is a modest 43.0%, he’s averaging 4.5 turnovers per game, and his defense has been subpar, but the Hornets will certainly miss the 23-year-old on the offensive end of the floor.

The Hornets also announced today that guard Tre Mann, who has missed the past four games due to low back soreness, has been diagnosed with disc irritation. Mann will be reevaluated in two weeks, which would be Dec. 14.

Mann, who is in his fourth NBA season, got off to a solid start this fall, with averages of 14.1 PPG, 3.0 APG, and 2.9 RPG, along with a .400 3PT%, in his first 13 games off the bench (24.5 MPG). He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

The banged-up Hornets will lean heavily on third-string point guard Vasilije Micic with Ball and Mann unavailable — the Serbian played 31 minutes in Friday’s loss to New York. Nick Smith Jr., KJ Simpson, and Seth Curry are among the other candidates for increased roles in the backcourt.

There is some good news on the injury front for Charlotte. Center Nick Richards, who hasn’t played since November 1 due to a broken rib, has been upgraded to questionable for Saturday’s game vs. Atlanta. It sounds like he’s on track to make his return either tonight or on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia.

Lakers’ Jaxson Hayes Out 2-3 Weeks With Ankle Injury

November 30th, 2024 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers center Jaxson Hayes has re-sprained his right ankle and is expected to be out for the next two-to-three weeks, according to Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link).

Hayes initially missed six games earlier this month due to a right ankle sprain. He re-aggravated the issue on Tuesday in his second game back and has been inactive for two more contests since then, undergoing an MRI on Friday to assess the severity of the injury, per head coach J.J. Redick (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).

With Christian Wood still recovering from left knee surgery, Christian Koloko being integrated slowly following his year-long absence due to a blood clot issue, and Anthony Davis preferring not to play all of his minutes at center, Hayes has been a regular part of Los Angeles’ rotation when healthy. The big man has averaged 6.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game across 11 outings.

Without Hayes available for at least the next couple weeks, the Lakers will lean more on Davis and Koloko for those minutes in the middle and figure to occasionally deploy small-ball lineups that feature a forward like LeBron James or Rui Hachimura as the de facto five.

Hayes also remains under investigation by the NBA, as the league reopened its probe into a 2021 domestic incident after new video surfaced. It’s unclear how long that investigation will take, but if it results in a suspension, Hayes would have to serve it once he’s healthy, not while he’s still injured.