Hawks Sign Armoni Brooks To Exhibit 10 Deal
The Hawks have signed free agent guard Armoni Brooks, the team announced in a press release. According to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link), Brooks will receive an Exhibit 10 contract.
The 24-year-old spent last season with the Rockets and Raptors, averaging 5.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 54 games (15.4 minutes per contest). He was waived by Toronto at the end of July before his $50K partial guarantee for 2022/23 increased to $250K.
Known as a long-range marksman, Brooks struggled with his shot in ’21/22, posting a .339/.297/.857 slash line. He fared much better as a rookie in ’20/21 when he signed a two-way deal with the Rockets, averaging 11.2 points and 3.5 rebounds while converting 38.2% of his three-point attempts on high volume (7.9) in 20 games (26.0 minutes).
After going undrafted in 2019 after three years at the University of Houston, Brooks signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Hawks, so he has experience with the organization, having spent the majority of his first professional season with the College Park Skyhawks, the team’s G League affiliate.
Brooks reportedly had recent workouts with the Cavaliers and Lakers, but was unable to find a roster spot on either team. Instead he’ll return to Atlanta with the hope of making the regular season roster.
The Hawks now have a full 20-man roster for training camp. With only 13 players signed to fully guaranteed contracts and second-rounder Tyrese Martin with a $450K partial guarantee, Atlanta might have a camp battle to determine who makes the final spot on the standard 15-man roster, assuming the team carries 15 players.
Brooks’ Exhibit 10 deal, which is non-guaranteed, ensures that he’ll receive a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived before the season starts and spends at least 60 days with the Skyhawks.
Celtics Sign Luka Samanic To Camp Deal
The Celtics have officially signed free agent big man Luka Samanic to a contract, according to the NBA transaction log at RealGM.com. It’s a non-guaranteed training camp deal for Samanic, per Bobby Manning of CLNS Media (Twitter link), who first reported the agreement.
The No. 19 pick in the 2019 draft, Samanic appeared in 36 games with the Spurs during his first two NBA seasons, averaging 3.8 PPG and 2.2 RPG on .430/.294/.576 shooting in 9.9 minutes per contest. He was waived by San Antonio before his third season and spent most of 2021/22 on a two-way deal with the Knicks before being cut in March.
Samanic was affected by plantar fasciitis last season and didn’t play in a single NBA game for New York. He appeared in eight total contests for the Westchester Knicks in the G League and put up big numbers, averaging 27.6 PPG, 10.4 RPG, and 3.4 APG with an impressive shooting line of .545/.367/.870 in 32.3 MPG.
The Celtics now have 19 players officially under contract with training camp around the corner. Samanic will likely be among the camp invitees vying for one of the back-end spots on the team’s regular season roster. Noah Vonleh, Jake Layman, Justin Jackson, and Denzel Valentine are also in that mix.
Boston’s need for reliable frontcourt depth has increased in recent weeks due to Danilo Gallinari‘s torn ACL and Robert Williams‘ recurring knee issues.
Lonzo Ball To Miss At Least 4-6 Weeks Following Procedure on Left Knee
Bulls guard Lonzo Ball will undergo an arthroscopic debridement of his left knee, the team announced on Twitter.
The procedure is scheduled for September 28 in Los Angeles, and Ball’s condition will be reevaluated in four to six weeks. Debridement involves removing foreign objects or damaged/dead tissue from a wound.
A report earlier this month indicated that Ball was likely to miss training camp due to persistent pain in the knee, which was surgically repaired in January. He and the Bulls have decided to address the problem with a surgical procedure, even though his prognosis ensures he will miss the start of the regular season.
Ball’s knee issues date back to a torn meniscus that limited him to just 35 games last season. He was originally projected to return a few weeks after the surgery, but a bone bruise disrupted his rehab process.
ESPN recently reported that Ball has visited “multiple specialists” in an attempt to figure out what’s causing the discomfort in his knee and to explore possible treatments. A source told ESPN that the knee is “structurally sound,” but the pain hasn’t subsided after a summer of rest and rehab.
Before the injury, Ball played an important role in leading the Bulls’ early-season charge. He averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists while providing a strong defensive presence in Chicago’s backcourt.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Out At Least Two Weeks With MCL Sprain
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won’t be available for the start of training camp and the preseason, the team announced today.
According to the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee and will be reevaluated in two weeks. Oklahoma City’s preseason schedule will tip off in 12 days.
Gilgeous-Alexander, 24, has been the Thunder’s leading scorer over the last two seasons, averaging 23.7 points per game in 2020/21 and 24.5 PPG in ’21/22. However, he has missed 63 games due to injuries over those two years and is now battling another health issue this fall. A right ankle ailment ended Gilgeous-Alexander’s season early in the spring.
Given that the Thunder have been firmly in rebuilding mode since 2020, it’s fair to wonder if the team is being overly cautious when it comes to Gilgeous-Alexander’s injuries and whether he would’ve played in more than 91 games over the last two seasons if the club was vying for a playoff spot. Still, with 2022/23 expected to be another lottery-bound year in Oklahoma City, it seems safe to assume that cautious approach will continue.
Robert Sarver To Seek Buyer For Suns
Suns owner Robert Sarver has begun the process of seeking a buyer for his NBA franchise, as well as the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, he announced today in a statement.
Following the recent conclusion of an investigation into allegations made by current and former Suns employees, Sarver received a one-year suspension and was fined $10MM for workplace misconduct, including racist and misogynistic comments.
In today’s statement, Sarver said that his remarks and actions, as described in that investigation, now overshadow the work he has done with the Suns, the Mercury, and professional basketball in Phoenix.
“I do not want to be a distraction to these two teams and the fine people who work so hard to bring the joy and excitement of basketball to fans around the world,” Sarver said. “I want what’s best for these two organizations, the players, the employees, the fans, the community, my fellow owners, the NBA and the WNBA. This is the best course of action for everyone.”
While Sarver claimed that he “deeply” regrets the comments he made to employees and plans to “work on becoming a better person,” the statement also paints him as a victim — he expressed disappointment that he wouldn’t be able to “make amends” and return to the Suns following his one-year ban.
“In our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible – that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past,” Sarver said. “For those reasons, I am beginning the process of seeking buyers for the Suns and Mercury.”
The one-year suspension and $10MM fine levied against Sarver by the NBA was widely viewed as insufficient, with stars like LeBron James and Suns guard Chris Paul among those who expressed a belief that the league’s sanctions fell short. NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio subsequently stated that the players’ union felt as if Sarver should be banned from the league for life.
There was concern that imposing an indefinite ban on Sarver or attempting to force him out as the Suns’ owner would open the door to an ugly legal battle for the NBA. Sarver’s decision to willingly sell the franchise should bail out the league and his fellow owners, who would have had to vote to remove him if the NBA attempted to force him to sell.
Even if Sarver feels has no other choice but to sell, he stands to financially benefit in a major way. He bought the Suns for $401MM in 2004. Recent estimates from Forbes and Sportico projected the current value of the franchise at approximately $1.8-1.9 billion.
Those valuations have historically undershot a team’s true value, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Suns ultimately sell for $2 billion or more. As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets, league executives have long felt that Phoenix – a warm-weather destination not far from the West Coast – could become a “monster” free agent destination with the right ownership group in place.
Frank Jackson Signs With Suns
SEPTEMBER 21: Jackson officially signed with the Suns on Tuesday, per RealGM’s NBA transaction log.
SEPTEMBER 20: The Suns are signing free agent guard Frank Jackson to a non-guaranteed contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Jackson, 24, has five years of NBA experience, though he missed his entire rookie season due to a foot injury. He was an early second-round pick in 2017 and spent his first three NBA seasons with the Pelicans. He played the last two seasons with the Pistons.
Jackson averaged 9.8 PPG in 40 games during his first season in Detroit and made 40.7% of his 3-point tries. He averaged a career-best 10.6 PPG in 53 games last season but his 3-point shooting cratered to 30.8%.
He became a free agent in late June when Detroit declined its $3.15MM option on Jackson’s contract. He’ll now get a chance to make the Suns’ roster.
The Suns only had 16 players under contract, including a pair of two-way players, so they can be expected to make more roster moves before training camp with camp rosters maxing out at 20.
Canada Likely To Drop Vaccination Requirement
All NBA players could soon be allowed to cross the Canadian border and suit up for road games in Toronto, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status.
Canada’s federal government plans to drop the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for people who enter the country by the end of September, according to Eric Atkins and Robert Fife of The Globe and Mail. An official familiar with the matter confirmed to Rob Gillies of The Associated Press that Canada will likely drop its vaccine requirement by the end of the month.
Unvaccinated travelers who are allowed to enter Canada are currently subject to mandatory arrival tests and a 14-day quarantine.
As recently as last month, NBA teams were informed via a memo that players still need to have either received a primary course of a COVID-19 vaccine, or been given a medical clearance from getting one, in order to play games in Canada this upcoming season. Those requirements would be dropped once the restrictions are lifted.
Last season, there were no exemptions from this rule for NBA players. A vast majority of NBA players are vaccinated against COVID-19 but if Canada indeed drops the vaccination requirement, the few who remain unvaccinated won’t be left behind.
Robert Williams To Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery On Knee
The knee injury that Robert Williams sustained near the end of the 2021/22 season continues to be an issue for the Celtics big man, who will undergo arthroscopic surgery on that troublesome left knee, reports Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links), the procedure is expected to require a recovery period of four-to-six weeks. Williams will miss training camp and the preseason, but the hope is that he’ll be back in the Celtics’ lineup early in the regular season, Woj says, adding that the plan is for him to have the surgery later this week (Twitter link).
Williams initially underwent surgery on the knee in March after tearing his meniscus. He was able to return to the court less than a month later and played a part in the Celtics’ run to the NBA Finals, though he wasn’t at 100% in the postseason. The 24-year-old sat out five games in the second and third rounds of the playoffs and reportedly required extensive treatment as he dealt with fluid build-up.
Williams enjoyed a breakout season in 2021/22, establishing new career highs in PPG (10.0), RPG (9.6), BPG (2.2), games played and started (61), field goal percentage (73.6%), and several other categories. He also helped anchor the NBA’s top defense.
As Deveney writes, the hope was that Williams would be ready to go this fall after resting the knee during the offseason, but it appears that won’t be the case. The procedure will leave the Celtics – already missing Danilo Gallinari due to a torn ACL – shorthanded in the frontcourt to open the season.
Al Horford, Grant Williams, Luke Kornet, camp invitee Noah Vonleh, and two-way player Mfiondu Kabengele are among Boston’s top available big men heading into training camp. As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), we’ll likely see Jayson Tatum play plenty of minutes at power forward in the early going to help fill the gaps in the depth chart.
Anthony Edwards Fined $40K For Social Media Comments
The NBA has fined Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards $40K for his use of “offensive and derogatory language” on social media, per a press release.
The fine is in response to a now-deleted video that Edwards posted to his Instagram account earlier this month. Edwards used homophobic language in the video, disparagingly describing a group of people as “queer.” After removing the video, the former No. 1 overall pick apologized for recording and posting it.
“What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry,” Edwards wrote (Twitter link). “It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!”
The NBA noted in today’s announcement that Edwards “acknowledged that his actions were inappropriate,” suggesting his apology was taken into account as the league weighed potential discipline.
The $40K fine for Edwards is in line with the penalties other stars have faced in recent years for homophobic remarks. Nikola Jokic was fined $25K in 2018 for making such a comment during a post-game interview, while Kevin Durant was fined $50K in 2021 for directing homophobic language toward actor Michael Rapaport on Twitter.
One-And-Done Rule Likely To Remain For Several Years
The NBA’s “one-and-done” rule will likely remain intact for several years, even if changes are made in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports in a Twitter thread.
Lowering the current 19-and-over draft age is a significant part of NBA/NBPA CBA discussions — which have already begun in earnest — but there has been no progress regarding the elimination of the one-and-done rule, says Wojnarowski. Even if changes are made, it wouldn’t be instituted for several years due to commitments already made by teams to trade future draft picks under the current system.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link), 0nly nine teams control all their future first rounders for the next seven years. Many of those traded picks are protected to varying degrees.
Another sticking point in current negotiations is the league’s desire that players provide medical information and physicals to all 30 teams. Many agents have withheld that information from certain teams in order to discourage them from drafting their player. Those particular league and NBPA conversations have yet to begin, Wojnarowski adds, and will be a part of the much larger CBA discussions.
The one-and-done rule was put into place in 2006.