Knicks, Wizards Among Teams Interested In Jerami Grant
The Knicks and Wizards are among the many teams in pursuit of Pistons forward Jerami Grant, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Charania also reiterates that the Trail Blazers and Lakers have interest in Grant, which he first stated last month when he reported that Detroit was open to the idea of moving the 27-year-old.
Grant has been tasked with more offensive responsibilities in Detroit and has responded by averaging 21.6 PPG in 78 games (33.7 MPG) across his two seasons with the organization. Of course, many teams eyeing him as a trade target may value his defensive ability and versatility even more highly than his contributions on offense.
The Knicks and Wizards are two teams that could use a solid frontcourt defender like Grant. New York ranks 19th in defensive efficiency this season after placing fourth in 2020/21. Washington has been ever worse this season, coming in at 23rd in defensive efficiency.
Attaching draft assets to Knicks swingman Evan Fournier ($17.1MM) or Wizards forward Davis Bertans ($16MM) would perhaps be the most logical way for the two Eastern clubs to construct offers that would match Grant’s $20MM salary. However, both teams have the flexibility to include other players in their respective offers if Detroit doesn’t want to take on long-term money — Bertans and Fournier are both owed guaranteed salaries through 2024.
Charania’s Latest: Collins, Simmons, Celtics, Pacers, Wall, Cavs
Hawks big man John Collins has grown increasingly frustrated with his role in Atlanta, multiple sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Although Collins signed a five-year, $125MM contract with the team in the offseason, his usage rate and scoring average (17.5 PPG) are the lowest they’ve been since he was a rookie in 2017/18.
According to Charania, Collins has challenged his Hawks teammates in the locker room multiple times this season, encouraging them to play team basketball. He has “felt his voice go unheard,” Charania adds.
Although Charania doesn’t explicitly state that Collins is a candidate to be traded before this year’s deadline, he notes that the Hawks are a team to watch in the Ben Simmons sweepstakes, echoing a Friday report from Marc Stein. If Atlanta is willing to make Collins available, it would certainly increase the number of trade possibilities open to the team.
Here’s more from Charania:
- Besides Atlanta, the Kings, Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, and Pacers are among the clubs still in the mix for Simmons, according to Charania, who says the Sixers don’t appear any closer to moving the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up than they were prior to the season. Philadelphia hasn’t been fining Simmons, since he has been participating in training sessions and team meetings and continues to meet with mental health specialists, per Charania.
- The Celtics have continued to convey to rival teams that they want to build around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown rather than trading one of them, sources tell Charania.
- The Pacers are having trade discussions about Myles Turner and Caris LeVert, with Turner drawing interest from the Mavericks, Knicks, Lakers, and Hornets, while the Cavaliers remain interested in LeVert, according to Charania. Rival executives tell The Athletic that Indiana values Domantas Sabonis very highly and seems less likely to move him.
- Teams would be interested in Rockets guard John Wall if he reaches the open market, but a trade remains very unlikely and Houston still doesn’t appear to have interest in a buyout, Charania writes.
- As the Cavaliers consider possible backcourt upgrades, building a deal around Ricky Rubio‘s expiring contract and draft assets is a possibility, says Charania.
Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks To Miss Multiple Weeks
Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks is expected to miss at least three-to-five weeks due to a left ankle sprain, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Brooks could remain sidelined through the All-Star break in mid-February, Wojnarowski notes.
Brooks, 25, suffered the injury in the team’s win over the Clippers on Saturday. He played just under seven minutes, logging two points, one rebound and one steal before exiting the game.
On the season, Brooks has averaged a career-high 18.4 points and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 43% from the floor, 33% from deep and 80% from the free throw line. He’s a key reason why Memphis has a 27-14 record.
Rookie forward Ziaire Williams earned just his second start of the season with Brooks out on Sunday and is a candidate for an increased role going forward. John Konchar should slide up the depth chart on the wing as well.
The Grizzlies will finish their two-game road trip when they play the Lakers on Sunday night. Winners of eight straight games, they’ll start a four-game homestand against the Warriors on Tuesday after that.
Nuggets Expected To Sign DeMarcus Cousins To 10-Day Contract
JANUARY 9: The Nuggets will meet with Cousins on Sunday and if that meeting goes well, the plan is to sign him to a 10-day contract, tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Singer adds that a deal may not be officially finalized until mid-week.
JANUARY 8: After being waived Thursday by the Bucks, DeMarcus Cousins will sign a 10-day deal with the Nuggets, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Cousins will reunite with Michael Malone, who was formerly his head coach in Sacramento, Charania notes (Twitter link).
Cousins will leave his offseason home in Las Vegas on Sunday and head to Denver for a physical and other tests, a source tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). The Nuggets play on Sunday night in Oklahoma City and then on Tuesday in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
The Mavericks also had interest in signing Cousins, Spears’ source says (Twitter link).
Denver is eligible to add a player to a standard 10-day contract using a non-COVID hardship exception because the team has five players sidelined with long-term injuries, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Vlatko Cancar suffered a fractured right foot this week, joining injured teammates Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., PJ Dozier and Markus Howard.
Cousins was impressive during his stay in Milwaukee, averaging 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in 17 games and making five starts. However, the Bucks decided to release him, opting for the flexibility of an open roster spot heading into the trade deadline. GM Jon Horst hinted that the team might be interested in bringing him back, but it may not be possible if he is successful in Denver.
We heard earlier this week that the Nuggets were perusing the trade market for a backup center. That search may continue, but Cousins should slide into that role for the time being.
China Next Stop For Jahlil Okafor?
Jahlil Okafor is expected to sign with Guangsha in the Chinese Basketball Association, sources tell Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
The 26-year-old center appeared in 27 games for the Pistons last season, averaging 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per night. He was traded in September to the Nets, who waived him five days later. He signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Hawks for training camp, but was released before the season began.
The Sixers selected Okafor with the third pick in the 2015 draft, but he only lasted a little more than two seasons in Philadelphia before being traded to Brooklyn. He also spent two seasons with the Pelicans, but was never able to approach the numbers he put up in his first season when he averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and earned first team All-Rookie honors.
Klay Thompson Announces Sunday Return
Warriors guard Klay Thompson has confirmed rumors that he will return to the court for Sunday’s home game against the Cavaliers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Thompson made the announcement on his Instagram account, along with a clip from the original “Space Jam” movie with Bill Murray saying, “Perhaps I could be of some assistance.” Thompson also wrote, “How I’m pulling up to chase tomorrow, Bill Murray is my spirit animal. IM SO EXCITED TO SEE YALL.”
It will be the first game action for Thompson since he suffered a torn ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals. He also tore his Achilles during the summer of 2020 and missed all of last season. Sunday will mark 941 days since Thompson’s last game, Charania notes.
Thompson has reportedly been ready to return for some time, but the organization was being careful to make sure he was fully 100%. He was also determined to make his season debut in front of Warriors fans, and Golden State played its last two games on the road.
A five-time All-Star, Thompson was part of the foundation of the Warriors teams that won three titles and appeared in five straight NBA Finals. In his last season before the injuries, he averaged 21.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 46.7% from the field and 40.2% from three-point range.
Golden State, which has the league’s second-best record at 29-9, plans to insert Thompson back into the starting lineup right away, although he will be on a minutes restriction for a while.
Grizzlies’ Taylor Jenkins Enters Protocols
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Assistant Brad Jones will coach when the team plays the Clippers on Saturday, Mannix notes.
Jenkins is one of many coaches to enter protocols as the league deals with a surge in COVID-19 cases this season. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd entered said protocols this month, while Lakers coach Frank Vogel, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault all recently exited them.
Jenkins guided Memphis to a 12-4 record in December despite missing Ja Morant for 10 games, receiving Coach of the Month honors for the Western Conference. The Grizzlies own a 26-14 record on the season and have won seven straight games.
Aside from coaches, the NBA has also seen over 200 players enter health and safety protocols this season. As shown in our tracker, nearly 50 players are currently in the league’s protocols.
Suns’ Frank Kaminsky Has Surgery, Out At Least Eight More Weeks
Suns big man Frank Kaminsky had successful surgery for the stress reaction he suffered in his right knee, per our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Kaminsky will be reevaluated in eight weeks, which would be the beginning of March.
Kaminsky was diagnosed with the stress reaction on November 21, nearly seven weeks ago. The Suns are expected to sign Bismack Biyombo for the rest of the season as a replacement to Kaminsky and Dario Saric, who suffered a torn ACL last July, during Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Through nine games, Kaminsky was averaging 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.8 blocks, and just 0.6 turnovers in 20.1 minutes per night. He was also shooting a career high 54.5% from the field and 90.0% from the free throw line (small sample size). Against Portland on Nov. 10, he had a huge game, putting up 31 points, seven rebounds, and three assists on 12-of-18 from the field, 2-of-5 from deep, and 5-for-5 from the line.
Kaminsky will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He re-signed with the Suns on a minimum contract last offseason.
Celtics Release Jabari Parker
3:35pm: The Celtics have officially waived Parker, the team announced (via Twitter).
1:53pm: The Celtics won’t guarantee Jabari Parker‘s full salary for the 2021/22 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Boston plans to waive the forward today.
Parker is the only player on the Celtics’ 15-man roster whose salary isn’t fully guaranteed for ’21/22. Releasing him will open up a roster spot, creating some added flexibility for the club with the trade deadline just over a month away.
Parker, the second overall pick in the 2014 draft, finished the 2020/21 season with Boston, then re-signed with the team at the start of the ’21/22 campaign. In 22 total games with the Celtics across two seasons, the 26-year-old averaged 5.3 PPG and 2.9 RPG on .512/.385/.864 shooting in 11.4 MPG.
The Celtics’ one-year deal with Parker would have paid him $2,239,544 for the full season. Instead, he’ll be owed $1,068,288, which is also the amount that will remain on Boston’s cap unless another team claims the forward off waivers.
Assuming Parker goes unclaimed, he’ll be free to sign with any NBA team. The Celtics, meanwhile, won’t be under any pressure to fill their newly-opened roster spot right away, since they’re still carrying 14 players on standard contracts.
Vlatko Cancar Out At Least 12 Weeks With Foot Injury
JANUARY 7: Cancar underwent surgery to repair a right fifth metatarsal fracture, according to the Nuggets, who stated today in a press release that the forward will be reevaluated in 12 weeks.
JANUARY 4: The hits keep coming in Denver. Nuggets reserve forward Vlatko Cancar has suffered a right foot fracture and will be unavailable for an extended period of time, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (via Twitter). Wind notes that a surgery is possible to treat the break, incurred during the team’s 103-89 loss to the Mavericks on Monday night.
Cancar is just the latest Nugget with a long-term injury. Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., PJ Dozier and Markus Howard have all missed significant time due to severe ailments, with Porter and Dozier not expected to return this season.
Cancar was selected with the No. 49 pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Nuggets. The 24-year-old finally joined the club ahead of the 2019/20 NBA season, but he has thus far seen limited action at the NBA level. He has suited up for 69 games in since the start of the 2019 NBA season, and 11 NBA G League contests with the Erie BayHawks and Grand Rapids Gold.
He appeared in 41 games during the 2020/21 season, averaging 6.9 MPG. This year, across just 14 contests, he is averaging 4.3 PPG and 1.6 RPG during 10.9 MPG.
In addition to the injury absences of Murray, Porter, Dozier, Howard and now Cancar, the Nuggets will continue to miss Jeff Green, Monte Morris, and Zeke Nnaji, all still within the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, Wind adds (Twitter link).