Bucks Sign GM Jon Horst To Contract Extension
10:20am: The Bucks have officially announced Horst’s extension.
“Jon’s preparedness, decision-making and leadership have been instrumental in the Bucks’ success during his tenure, and he has earned this extension,” Bucks co-owners Marc Lasry, Wes Edens, and Jamie Dinan said in a statement. “We appreciate Jon’s hard work and creativity and are excited that he will continue to lead our basketball operations for years to come.”
10:09am: The Bucks and general manager Jon Horst have reached an agreement on a long-term contract extension, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
As Wojnarowski writes, Horst had been entering the final year of his existing contract. His new deal, which was finalized on Friday morning, will cover “several” years.
Horst first assumed control of the Bucks’ basketball operations department in 2017, receiving a promotion from his role as director of basketball operations to replace John Hammond as general manager. His original contract was for three years, and he had two more years tacked onto it in 2019.
The Bucks couldn’t have asked for much more from Horst during his first four seasons on the job. The team has a 206-103 record (.667) in the regular season during that time and won its first title in 50 years in 2021. Horst was also named Executive of the Year in 2019.
Milwaukee’s championship core remains in place for the next several seasons, with Giannis Antetokounmpo under contract through at least 2025, Jrue Holiday locked up through 2024, and Khris Middleton secured through 2023. While the Bucks may face tough decisions on role players in the next year or two, the team has now locked up its off-court leaders as well, extending both Horst and head coach Mike Budenholzer this offseason.
Zion Williamson To Be Reevaluated In Two Weeks
The Pelicans will be without star forward Zion Williamson to start the regular season, executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin confirmed today to reporters.
Williamson, who is recovering from offseason foot surgery, underwent imaging on his right foot this week and doctors were happy with what they saw on those scans, per Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter links). However, while the former No. 1 overall pick has been cleared to begin running, he’s still not able to participate in physical activities against other players, Guillory notes.
There’s “no fixed timeline” for Williamson’s return to game action and he’ll undergo more scans in about two weeks, Griffin said (Twitter link via Andrew Lopez of ESPN).
When Griffin first revealed on Media Day last month that Williamson had undergone surgery on his foot in the offseason, he expressed optimism that the 21-year-old would be ready to go by opening night. That doesn’t mean Zion has suffered a setback – the Pelicans may just be exercising caution with their franchise player – but it’s still an ominous sign for a player who has dealt with leg injuries in the past.
Based on today’s announcement, it sounds as if there’s no chance of Williamson returning to action within the next two weeks, which means he’ll miss at least the first five games of New Orleans’ season. In his absence, the team will lean more heavily on forward Brandon Ingram and center Jonas Valanciunas to provide offensive punch in the frontcourt.
Rockets Sign Armoni Brooks To Four-Year Deal
12:21pm: The Rockets have officially signed Brooks to a multiyear contract, the team announced today in a press release. The club also confirmed the previously-reported signing of guard Marcus Foster.
According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), Brooks’ four-year deal can be worth up to $7.2MM. That means it’s a minimum-salary contract, which would have a four-year value of $7,201,486. The second and third years are non-guaranteed with July trigger dates, while the fourth year is a team option, says Iko.
11:10am: The Rockets are signing guard Armoni Brooks to a four-year contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The first-year salary will be guaranteed, with trigger dates for each season after that, Wojnarowski reports.
Brooks, 23, appeared in 20 games for the Rockets in 2020/21, averaging 11.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 1.5 APG with a shooting line of .406/.382/.583 in 26.0 minutes per contest. The former Houston Cougar had previously played in the G League since going undrafted in 2019.
After reaching free agency this offseason, Brooks re-signed with the Rockets on an Exhibit 10 contract, which the team converted to a two-way contract on Wednesday. Houston wouldn’t have been able to turn Brooks’ one-year Exhibit 10 contract into a four-year deal directly, but moving him to a two-way slot opened the door for the two sides to negotiate a new multiyear contract. The club will use part of its mid-level exception to complete the signing.
The move will create a bit of a roster crunch for the Rockets, since they already had 15 players on guaranteed contracts. John Wall, who technically remains with the team but isn’t expected to play in any games, is the most expendable player on the roster, but there hasn’t been any indication that a trade or buyout is close. Dante Exum could also be at risk — half of his $5MM cap hit consists of incentives that the club wouldn’t have to pay if Exum is cut.
Moving Brooks back to the standard roster will also open up a two-way slot for the Rockets. If former two-way player Tyler Bey clears waivers, perhaps he could return on a new deal. Camp invitee Daishen Nix is also a candidate to have his Exhibit 10 deal converted to a two-way pact.
Kyrie Irving Confirms He’s Unvaccinated, Says He’s Not Retiring
Appearing on Instagram Live on Wednesday night (video link), Nets guard Kyrie Irving publicly confirmed for the first time that he remains unvaccinated against COVID-19.
Due to a New York City mandate that requires individuals to have received at least one vaccine shot in order to enter public indoor venues, Irving is ineligible to play in over half of Brooklyn’s games this season. The Nets announced this week that Irving won’t be permitted to play or practice with the team – even on the road – until he can be a full-time participant.
Repeating many of the same points that were conveyed through sources by Shams Charania of The Athletic on Tuesday, Irving claimed on Wednesday that his decision is “not about being anti-vax,” adding that he’s “being true to what feels good for me” and understands the ramifications of remaining unvaccinated, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN details.
“I am going to just continue to stay in shape, be ready to play, be ready to rock out with my teammates and just be part of this whole thing,” Irving said, though he gave no indication that he plans to receive the vaccine. “This is not a political thing; this is not about the NBA, not about any organization. This is about my life and what I am choosing to do.”
The death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 700,000 in the United States and 4.5 million worldwide, while many others are still dealing with long-term health effects from the virus. Data has shown that the vaccines reduce the risk of infection and drastically lessen the likelihood of an affected individual being hospitalized or dying. NBPA executive director Michele Roberts has stated that about 96% of the NBA’s players are vaccinated.
Irving said on Wednesday he was under the belief entering the fall that he’d be able to receive an exemption that would make him eligible to play in New York this season. It’s unclear whether or not he applied for a medical or religious exemption. Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins attempted to get a religious exemption in the hopes of circumventing a similar mandate in San Francisco, but his request was denied by the NBA and the city stated it wouldn’t have approved such an exemption anyway. Wiggins subsequently agreed to get vaccinated.
Irving, on the other hand, appears to be digging in his heels, telling viewers on his Instagram Live that he’s prepared to face the financial consequences of his decision.
The NBA has indicated that players who are ineligible to play in games due to local vaccine mandates will lose 1/91.6th of their salary for each game they miss. While the NBPA has pushed back against the league’s interpretation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the expectation is that Irving’s stance will cost him $381K per game over the course of 43 games (41 in Brooklyn, plus two at Madison Square Garden), for a total of nearly $16.4MM in lost base salary, plus more in incentives that he’ll be unable to achieve.
Though it remains unclear if we’ll see Irving at all on the court this season, he stressed on Wednesday that he has no intention of walking away from basketball altogether.
“No, I am not retiring. And no, I am not going and leaving this game like this,” Irving said. “There is still so much more work to do.”
Nets general manager Sean Marks previously expressed interest in signing Irving to a contract extension this offseason, but multiple reports have suggested those discussions are no longer taking place, for obvious reasons.
Cavaliers Sign Ed Davis, Justin James
The Cavaliers have announced a pair of signings, stating in a press release that they’ve added big man Ed Davis and guard Justin James to their roster. Cleveland now has a full 20-man squad.
Davis, 32, spent the 2020/21 season with the Timberwolves, playing a limited role in the team’s frontcourt. The center averaged 2.1 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 23 games (13.0 MPG).
Davis, an 11-year veteran who has 691 career regular season games under his belt, isn’t the kind of player who typically gets signed and quickly waived this week for G League purposes, so it will be interesting to see what the Cavs’ plan for him is. The team only has 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so there’s room for Davis to make the 15-man regular season roster.
As for James, he spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings after being selected 40th overall in the 2019 draft out of Wyoming. He didn’t play a regular role for Sacramento, but appeared in 72 games across two seasons, averaging 3.2 PPG and 0.9 RPG with a shooting line of .446/.343/.544 in 7.5 minutes per contest.
The 24-year-old was waived by the Kings earlier this offseason, signed a two-way deal with Utah, and then was released by the Jazz as well. The Cavs may view him as a potential affiliate player for the Cleveland Charge.
Latest On Kyrie Irving
After issuing a press release on Tuesday announcing that Kyrie Irving won’t practice or play for the Nets until he can be a “full participant,” general manager Sean Marks spoke to reporters to provide more details on the team’s decision, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN and Alex Schiffer of The Athletic write.
“We looked at everything. When you make a decision like this, it’s one that you don’t want to do hastily,” Marks said, per Bontemps. “… I think we all know what our objective is this year and how this, a decision like this, may be able to (impact) that ultimate objective. They are never easy decisions, but at the end of the day, I think we are looking at putting a group of people that are going to be able to participate fully and that is what this comes down to. And we’re not looking for partners that are going to be half time.
“I don’t think that would be fair to not only the team and staff and ownership and fans, but to be quite frank, not fair on Kyrie either when you are putting somebody out there that potentially can’t get the right ramp-ups and right buildups and so forth and look as good as he or the team should under a different set of circumstances. That is why this decision was ultimately made.”
Asked if Nets stars James Harden and Kevin Durant had a say in the decision to sideline Irving, Marks said that “everyone” in the organization was kept in the loop about the situation, but stressed that he and team owner Joe Tsai made the final call.
“Ultimately, this decision was Joe Tsai and myself, and this decision came down to what we felt was the right move for the organization at this time,” Marks said.
Irving is the only player on the Nets who remains unvaccinated against COVID-19. A New York City executive order requires individuals who work in the city to have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine in order to enter indoor venues such as Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden.
The NBA has stated that players who are ineligible to play in games due to local vaccine mandates will lose 1/91.6th of their salary for each game they miss. While the NBPA has pushed back against the league’s interpretation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the expectation is that Irving’s stance will cost him $381K per game over the course of 43 games (41 in Brooklyn, plus two at MSG), for a total of nearly $16.4MM in lost salary.
Marks confirmed on Tuesday that Irving will only be docked salary for games in New York. As former Celtics and Suns executive Ryan McDonough explains (via Twitter), the decision to continue paying Irving for road games neutralizes Kyrie’s ability to involve the NBPA and file a grievance.
Here’s more on Irving:
- As of now, Irving has no plans to be vaccinated and there’s no indication New York City’s policy on unvaccinated individuals will change any time soon, writes Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to Charania, rival teams think Brooklyn would be open to a “significant” trade offer for Irving, but that kind of offer probably won’t be on the table, given that it’s unclear how willing Kyrie would be to join another team.
- Executives polled by Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports believe an Irving trade is possible, but only under “special circumstances,” since there are concerns he could retire if he’s dealt. “I don’t know if I’d touch him, but you have to look at it, for the sake of your team,” one exec told Goodwill.
- Head coach Steve Nash told reporters today that he supports the Nets’ decision on Irving, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Nash said he’d love to have Irving back with the team if the situation changes, but believes it would have been a “tenuous situation” to have a player with the team off and on.
- Harden said he respects Irving’s stance and would love to have him back in the lineup, but acknowledged that the Nets will benefit from knowing who will be available on a night-to-night basis (Twitter link via Begley).
Malcolm Brogdon Has Grade 1 Left AC Sprain
OCTOBER 13: Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle downplayed the severity of Brogdon’s injury, referring to it as a “day-to-day” issue and confirming that the guard participated in non-contact work on Wednesday (Twitter link via Agness).
OCTOBER 12: Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon has sustained a Grade 1 left acromioclavicular joint sprain, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (via Twitter).
This is a shoulder separation, typically low-grade enough to not require surgical intervention, and can take a few weeks to fully heal, though the Pacers haven’t confirmed a recovery timeline for Brogdon. Agness says the veteran is a scratch for tonight’s preseason contest against the Grizzlies. The Pacers are set to play their first game of the 2021/22 regular season against the Hornets on October 20.
Brogdon’s name has been a popular one on the trade market this summer, as the Sixers have apparently had conversations with Indiana about including him and/or promising swingman Caris LeVert in a package for Philadelphia’s disgruntled All-Defensive First Teamer Ben Simmons.
Though Brogdon has yet to be named to an All-Star team, he is an above-average starter with two-way ability at one of the most valuable positions in the NBA on a reasonable contract, which makes him a key attribute in a lot of trade chatter. The 28-year-old has one year and $21.7MM left on his current deal. In 56 games last season, Brogdon averaged 21.2 PPG, 5.9 APG and 5.3 RPG, while logging a stellar shooting line of .453/.388/.864.
Ben Simmons Takes Physical, Meets With Sixers’ Brass
After returning to Philadelphia on Monday, Sixers star Ben Simmons took his required physical and met with the team’s brass on Tuesday, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. That meeting included president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and general manager Elton Brand, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, who says sources described it only as “brief.”
Both Pompey and Shelburne indicate that Simmons won’t be cleared to participate in any team-related activities until at least Friday, due to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols. As Brian Windhorst observed during an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up (video link) on Wednesday, that timeline suggests Simmons may not yet be fully vaccinated, since the league requires fully vaccinated players to register just one negative PCR test in order to interact with other players. Players who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated require at least four negative tests upon reporting to the team, according to ESPN.
We don’t know yet whether Simmons actually intends to return to the court and play for the 76ers following his holdout, but for what it’s worth, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report says the 25-year-old’s physical showed no signs that he isn’t healthy. Simmons will be able to begin conducting individual workouts with the assistance of Sixers coaches on Wednesday, Fischer notes.
As we wait to see what the next steps are for the Sixers and Simmons, there’s no indication that the team is anywhere close to making a trade. Both Fischer and Sam Amick of The Athletic have heard that Philadelphia continues to hold out hope that a star like Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal will become dissatisfied with his situation and ask for a trade, but that remains a long shot unless the Trail Blazers or Wizards get off to a really disastrous start this season.
According to Amick, Simmons’ camp hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a trade to the Nets, but sources with knowledge of the situation tell The Athletic that the Sixers have exhibited zero interest in pursuing a deal involving Kyrie Irving.
Fischer names the Cavaliers, Pistons, Rockets, Pacers, Timberwolves, Blazers, Kings, Spurs, and Raptors as the nine teams that have remained at least somewhat engaged with Philadelphia, and adds that a “mystery” 10th club has also had “substantive” discussions with the Sixers as of late. Not even Klutch Sports is certain of the identity of that 10th team, per Fischer, who cautions that the mystery suitor still hasn’t come close to meeting Morey’s asking price.
Here’s more on Simmons:
- Sources tell Fischer that the Sixers have informed potential trade partners whose offers would be heavy on draft picks that their best bet would be a three-team structure in which Philadelphia lands at least one impact player, since Morey and his front office are interested in win-now pieces rather than future assets.
- Although the Timberwolves still have interest in Simmons following their front office shake-up, new head of basketball operations Sachin Gupta isn’t believed to be pursuing the three-time All-Star as aggressively as Gersson Rosas did, according to Fischer.
- The Kings remain unwilling to discuss either De’Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton in a potential Simmons deal, while the Sixers appear unmoved by the idea of acquiring Dejounte Murray and/or Lonnie Walker from the Spurs, sources tell Bleacher Report. Fischer adds that there’s a belief the Pistons would entertain trading Jerami Grant in a deal for Simmons.
- Improving the relationship between Simmons and head coach Doc Rivers is believed to be a priority for the Sixers if Simmons is going to stick around for a little while, according to Fischer, who says the two men never seemed to build a strong rapport last season. Sources tell Bleacher Report that during an offseason meeting at agent Rich Paul‘s home, when the Sixers confirmed they intended to fine Simmons for not complying with the terms of his deal, Rivers shouted, “It’s in your f–king contract” to report to training camp and play for the team.
Raptors Waive Freddie Gillespie, Reggie Perry
The Raptors have made a pair of roster cuts, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived big men Freddie Gillespie and Reggie Perry.
Gillespie, who went undrafted out of Baylor in 2020, averaged a double-double (10.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG) with 2.3 BPG in 15 games (27.8 MPG) for the Memphis Hustle in the G League’s Orlando bubble. That performance earned him a pair of 10-day contracts, then a multiyear deal, with the Raptors. He appeared in 20 games for Toronto down the stretch, recording 5.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 19.6 MPG.
Because Gillespie’s contract wasn’t fully guaranteed beyond the 2020/21 season, the Raptors will only be on the hook for his modest partial guarantee ($50K).
Perry, who was on a non-guaranteed deal, was added to Toronto’s camp roster last month after being let go by Brooklyn earlier in the offseason. Perry spent his rookie year in 2020/21 on a two-way contract with the Nets, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 26 games (8.1 MPG) at the NBA level and putting up 18.1 PPG and 8.9 RPG in 15 games (28.8 MPG) for the Long Island Nets in the G League.
Perry initially received a qualifying offer, but didn’t accept it, and Brooklyn ultimately took it off the table in mid-August, making the forward/center an unrestricted free agent.
The Raptors will still need to make at least one more cut before opening night next week, since four players – Yuta Watanabe, Sam Dekker, Isaac Bonga, and Ishmail Wainright – remain in the mix for three spots on the 15-man roster. Watanabe is considered a good bet to make the team, so the other players three may be competing for two spots, assuming Toronto carries a full 15-man squad into the regular season.
Al Horford Tests Positive For COVID-19
Celtics center Al Horford has tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced today in a press release. Per the NBA’s coronavirus health and safety protocols, Horford is now isolating from players and team personnel.
The Celtics’ first regular season game will be an October 20 tilt against the Knicks in New York. It remains to be seen whether or not Horford will clear league protocols in time to return to the floor by then. Boston has two more preseason games on its slate — one tomorrow against the Magic and one on Friday against the Heat.
Horford was traded to the Celtics from the Thunder as part of the Kemba Walker deal earlier in the 2021 offseason. The 35-year-old big man last suited up for Boston during the 2018/19 season, before joining the Sixers in free agency. Horford will earn $27MM during the 2021/22 season, and is guaranteed to make at least $14.5MM of his $26.5MM salary in 2022/23, the final year of his deal.
In 28 games last season, Horford averaged 14.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 3.4 APG in just 27.9 MPG for the rebuilding Thunder, before Oklahoma City opted to shut him down for the home stretch of the season.
This news arrives on the heels of a recent announcement that All-Star Celtics wing Jaylen Brown also tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.