Warriors Re-Sign Gary Payton II
MAY 16: The Warriors have officially announced Payton’s new contract ahead of today’s regular season finale.
MAY 13: The Warriors plan to bring back Gary Payton II on a new deal this weekend, sources tell Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter links). Payton previously inked a pair of 10-day contracts with the team.
Payton, 28, got into 10 games for the Warriors during his 20 days with the organization. He only logged 40 total minutes in those 10 contests, but made the most of them, putting up 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting with 11 rebounds and six steals. Head coach Steve Kerr said at the time that the team wasn’t ruling out re-signing Payton before the end of the season.
“Gary played really well,” Kerr said in April. “He’s somebody who we feel like we’d love to have back. He’s got to consider his own options as well. So, we’ll see how it works out.”
Payton, the son of Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton, earned G League Defensive Player of the Year honors with the Raptors 905 earlier this year. He’ll provide depth in the backcourt for the Warriors as they prepare for the play-in tournament next week.
According to Slater (via Twitter), there’s an expectation that Payton’s new contract will extend beyond this season, though it’s unclear if any of next year’s money will be guaranteed. The terms are still being finalized, Slater adds.
Golden State currently just has 13 players on its standard 15-man roster, but is promoting two-way player Juan Toscano-Anderson to fill one of those spots — Payton would take the other, while Jordan Bell will be signed to a new two-way deal, giving the club a full 17-man squad.
2021 Hall Of Fame Class Announced
As expected, Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace and Chris Webber will be part of the Class of 2021 for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
They will be joined by Chris Bosh, coaches Rick Adelman, Jay Wright and Bill Russell, and WNBA players Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson.
Among former players, Bosh is the only name that hasn’t been reported already. He is best known as part of the Big Three in Miami that made four straight Finals appearances and won two NBA titles early last decade. He played 13 NBA seasons, with the first seven coming in Toronto before getting a chance to join LeBron James and Dwyane Wade with the Heat.
Bosh is an 11-time All-Star and was a second-team All-NBA selection in 2007. A medical condition ended his career early, and he was elected to the Hall in his first year of eligibility.
Adelman made two trips to the NBA Finals and is the ninth-winningest coach in league history with 1,042 career victories. He played seven seasons in the league, but made his greatest impact as a coach, guiding the Trail Blazers, Warriors, Kings, Rockets and Timberwolves.
Wright has been the head coach at Villanova since 2001 and has more than 600 career wins. He has led the Wildcats to three Final Fours and captured NCAA titles in 2016 and 2018.
Russell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975 for his legendary playing career, but he was also a pioneer as a coach. He took over as player-coach of the Celtics in 1966, becoming the first Black head coach in North American professional sports. Russell had a 341-290 coaching record and won a pair of NBA titles.
Griffith is a seven-time WNBA all-star and was captured the league’s MVP, Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player awards in 1999. She was named Finals MVP in 2005 after leading the Sacramento Monarchs to their first WNBA championship.
Jackson was an Australian star who won three silver medals in the Olympics. She’s among the WNBA career leaders in games, minutes, field goals and three-pointers and helped the Seattle Storm win two titles, capturing Finals MVP honors in 2010.
Several other players were also voted into the Hall, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter links):
- International Committee: Toni Kukoc.
- Contributors: Val Ackerman, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Howard Garfinkel.
- Veteran’s Committee: Bob Dandridge.
- Women’s Veteran Committee: Pearl Moore.
- Early African-American Pioneers: Clarence Jenkins.
Photo courtesy of USA Sports Images.
Chris Webber Reportedly Elected To Hall Of Fame
Chris Webber will be part of the Class of 2021 for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame when the formal announcement is made today, sources told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
Webber played 15 NBA seasons and was named to five All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams. He won Rookie of the Year honors in 1994 and holds career averages of 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.
Many consider this a long overdue honor for Webber, who retired in 2008 and has been eligible for the Hall since 2013.
The Warriors made Webber the first pick in the 1993 draft after two outstanding seasons at Michigan as part of the Fab Five. He moved on to Washington and then Sacramento, where he had his best NBA seasons. He later played for Philadelphia and Detroit before finishing his career with Golden State.
Since retiring, Webber has been a broadcaster with TNT, although he recently parted ways with the network. He has also been involved in the music and film industries.
Webber will join Paul Pierce and Ben Wallace, who were reported Saturday as 2021 enshrinees.
Spurs Claim DaQuan Jeffries Off Waivers
The Spurs have claimed DaQuan Jeffries off waivers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
This is the second time this season that the 23-year-old shooting guard has been claimed on waivers. The Rockets claimed him in early April, and he appeared in 13 games, averaging 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per night, before being released Thursday.
Jeffries started the season with the Kings, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 18 games before they waived him April 3. He also played 13 games for Sacramento as a rookie last season.
San Antonio has a roster opening, so another move won’t be necessary to add Jeffries. As was the case when he was claimed off waivers by the Rockets, Jeffries will take his existing contract with him as he joins the Spurs, so he’ll still have a $1.7MM team option for 2021/22.
The Spurs will close out their season Sunday afternoon against the Suns before heading to the play-in tournament.
Jaden Hardy To Play In G League
Five-star Class of 2021 recruit Jaden Hardy plans to sign with the G League’s Ignite team, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Hardy, a 6’4” shooting guard, is ranked No. 2 among his class by ESPN, behind only center Chet Holmgren, who is committed to Gonzaga.
The Henderson, Nevada product, who attends Coronado HS, was named a McDonald’s All-American even though his school did not play this past season due to the pandemic.
As a junior, Hardy averaged 30.4 PPG, 9.1 RPG and 8.4 APG. Hardy had a laundry list of top schools who offered him, including Michigan, Kentucky, LSU, Florida State, Memphis, Oklahoma and Arizona.
Thus far, Ignite has signed one other major recruit, forward Michael Foster Jr., ESPN’s seventh-ranked prospect. China’s top prospect, center Fanbo Zeng, has also committed to Ignite.
Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace Reportedly Part Of 2021 Hall Of Fame Class
Ahead of Sunday’s official announcement, two names of the 2021 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class have been reported: Ben Wallace and Paul Pierce.
Sources told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that the legendary defensive stalwart Wallace will be enshrined, while Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe reported Pierce’s induction.
It’s a well-deserved honor for both men who were crucial pieces of championships teams in the 2000s. Wallace, 46, was a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a key component to the Pistons’ 2004 NBA Finals victory over the Lakers. The four-time All-Star was best known for his stint in Detroit where his No. 3 jersey hangs retired in the rafters.
Wallace was a standout at Virginia Union in the mid-1990s before going undrafted and signing with the then-Washington Bullets. While he had stops with the Bullets/Wizards, Magic, Cavaliers, and Bulls, Wallace spent nine of his 16 NBA seasons with the Pistons.
As for Pierce, he was a 19-year NBA veteran best known for his successful stint as a member of the Celtics. After his junior season at the University of Kansas, Pierce was drafted 10th overall by the Celtics in 1998 and quickly emerged as one of the NBA’s brightest young stars. Pierce’s early success led to Shaquille O’Neal dubbing him as “The Truth,” a moniker he carries to this day.
Pierce made his first NBA All-Star team in his fourth NBA season and would go on to be a 10-time All-Star. He helped lead the Celtics to a 2008 NBA championship alongside fellow stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Boston made another NBA Finals with Pierce in 2010 but lost to the Lakers in seven games.
Pierce’s 15-year run in Boston ended with a high-profile trade to the Nets in 2013, which has become infamous for Brooklyn’s massive overpay for just one disappointing season with Pierce and Garnett. Pierce finished his career with stops in Washington and Los Angeles before retiring following the 2016/17 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
James, Davis, Schröder To Play On Saturday
The Lakers‘ trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Dennis Schröder will play on Saturday for the team’s afternoon tilt against the Pacers, head coach Frank Vogel announced.
Los Angeles has seen the aforementioned threesome all miss extended stretches as James and Davis dealt with injuries while Schröder was recently cleared from the NBA’s health and safety protocols. At 40-30, the Lakers occupy the seventh seed in the Western Conference and will need to win their remaining two games to have a chance to avoid the play-in tournament.
Schröder entered the safety protocols in early May, causing the Lakers to be without their starting point guard during a critical stretch. He has averaged 15.5 PPG and 5.8 APG across 59 contests.
Davis missed the Lakers’ last game against the Rockets on Wednesday but has otherwise been a regular for the Lakers since returning from a two-month absence due to right calf strain and tendinosis. Davis has been limited to just 34 games this season, averaging 21.9 PPG and 8.0 RPG for the defending champions.
As for James, he suffered a high ankle sprain on March 20 and returned on April 30, but then reaggravated the injury just days later on May 2. He has not played since and has seen his return pushed back on several occasions. James was in the midst of an MVP-caliber season before his injury, averaging 25.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 7.8 APG in 43 games.
Miles Bridges Cleared To Return From COVID-19 Protocols
Hornets forward Miles Bridges has been cleared to return from health and safety protocols and is available for Saturday’s contest against the Knicks, the team announced (Twitter link).
Bridges was initially ruled out for 10-14 days due to the protocols on May 4, but head coach James Borrego indicated earlier in the week that the forward could return by this weekend.
In his third season, Bridges, 23, was in the midst of another strong campaign, averaging 12.4 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 29.0 minutes per contest.
Having Bridges back for the final two games will be a major boost for Charlotte as the team looks to secure a favorable play-in seed. The Hornets (33-37) are currently tied with the Pacers for No. 8 and are just a half-game ahead of the 10th-seeded Wizards. Charlotte will face Washington in the regular-season finale on Sunday.
Heat Sign Omer Yurtseven
The Heat have signed free agent center Omer Yurtseven, the team announced in a press release today. Miami’s roster is now full ahead of the playoffs.
“Couldn’t be more proud and excited to be a part of this culture and get to work with the best of the best,” he wrote on social media. “The grind continues.”
The big man joins a Heat roster that already has Precious Achiuwa and Nemanja Bjelica off its bench, along with All-Star Bam Adebayo and veteran big man Udonis Haslem in its frontcourt.
Miami is 39-31 with two games remaining in the 2020/21 season. Yurtseven won’t travel with the team for either game, the club announced (via Twitter). Exact terms of his deal aren’t yet known, but the Heat have already used their full mid-level exception, so they couldn’t have offered more than a two-year deal.
Dennis Schröder Clears Protocols; LeBron James Questionable For Saturday
Lakers guard Dennis Schröder has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Schröder will be eligible to play in the final two games of L.A.’s regular season — Saturday at Indiana and Sunday at New Orleans — but coach Frank Vogel hasn’t decided whether to use him.
Schröder first entered the protocols on May 2, forcing the Lakers to get by without a key backcourt piece during an important stretch of the season. L.A. is currently in seventh place with a 40-30 record and will need to win its final two games to have a chance at avoiding the play-in tournament.
Schröder is averaging 15.5 points and 5.8 assists through 59 games while shooting 44% from the field and 34% from three-point range. He will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Vogel also said “there’s a chance” LeBron James will play Saturday, McMenamin adds. James had hoped to return from his ankle injury on Tuesday or Wednesday, but had to delay it. James is officially listed as questionable. Anthony Davis is listed as probable, although he didn’t practice today.