Raptors’ Trent Reaches Starter Criteria, Qualifying Offer Increases
Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. has reached the starter criteria in his contract, jumping his qualifying offer from $2.1MM to $4.7MM, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. It also increases his cap hold by the same amount.
Trent reached that threshold by starting against Washington on Thursday. The starter criteria requires an RFA-to-be to start at least half of his team’s games in the season leading up to his free agency or in the two seasons preceding his free agency.
Although Trent started only eight of 61 regular-season games with Portland last season, he made 24 starts in 41 games with the Trail Blazers this season before he was traded and has now made 13 starts in 15 games with Toronto, for a total of 36. That’s half of this season’s 72 games.
It would be a shock if the Raptors didn’t extend the QO to Trent or if he accepted it. In all likelihood, Toronto will negotiate a more lucrative multiyear deal or will have to match an offer sheet for him in restricted free agency.
Trent averaged 15.0 PPG with Portland this season on 39.7% shooting on three-point attempts. He has averaged 15.9 PPG on 36.4% shooting from deep in his first 14 games with Toronto.
Oubre Doesn’t Need Surgery, Out 1-2 Weeks
Warriors forward Kelly Oubre Jr. will not need surgery on his ailing left wrist, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. He’s expected to miss one to two weeks of action, Haynes adds.
Oubre was diagnosed last week with a torn ligament in his left wrist and a fracture on the palm of his left hand. He injured the wrist twice this season while falling to the floor after dunks. One happened in practice and the other was in a game against the Wizards on April 9.
Golden State entered Thursday’s action in ninth place in the Western Conference. The timeline gives the Warriors some hope Oubre would be able to suit up for the play-in tournament.
Oubre is averaging 15.4 PPG and 6.0 RPG through 55 games after being acquired from Phoenix in a November trade.
The fact that surgery is not required should preserve Oubre’s value in unrestricted free agency this summer.
G League To Launch Franchise In Mexico Next Season
The NBA G League will launch its new franchise in Mexico City next season, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The team’s nickname is the Capitanes.
Nick Lagios, who has worked for the Lakers‘ South Bay affiliate since 2016, will serve as the team’s GM, Charania adds. Lagios expressed his excitement about running the franchise in an Instagram post.
“It’s an absolute dream to be named the first GM of the Mexico City Capitanes. We will play in the (G League) starting next season,” Lagios wrote. “This is the first Mexican team ever in a USA sports league, which is an honor to be a part of. I hope we can make all of Mexico and Latin America proud and elevate basketball within central and South America. Laker family, I will miss you all but I won’t be leaving LA quite yet!!”
The original announcement that the NBA would add a G League franchise in Mexico City was made in December 2019. The pandemic pushed back the inaugural season by one year.
The Capitanes will play their home games at Gimnasio Juan de la Barrera, an arena that holds about 5,000 fans, and will spend at least the next five years in the G League. They won’t be affiliated with a specific NBA franchise.
By bringing aboard a franchise like Capitanes that has an existing infrastructure – including a home arena and an ownership group – the NBA was able to expedite the process.
Knicks Sign Luca Vildoza To Four-Year Deal
MAY 6: The Knicks have officially signed Vildoza, the team announced in a press release. While the deal has been finalized, it remains unclear exactly when the 25-year-old will be able to report to the team.
New York now has a full 17-man roster.
MAY 5: The Knicks and Argentinian guard Luca Vildoza have reached an agreement on a four-year deal worth $13.6MM, agent Alex Saratsis of Octagon Sports tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
According to Wojnarowski, Vildoza intends to fly to New York once he clears the immigration process, but it remains unclear exactly when he’ll complete his deal or whether he’ll be available for the Knicks at all this season. His exact timeline will depend on how long it takes him to go through the immigration process, to undergo a physical, and to clear the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Wojnarowski reports that only the first year of Vildoza’s contract will be guaranteed. New York will have a chance to evaluate him in the Olympics, Summer League, and training camp before having to commit to a second-year guarantee, Woj notes.
Vildoza, 25, has been playing basketball professionally since 2012, having started his career with Quilmes in Argentina. He joined Baskonia in 2017 and has spent the last four seasons in Spain, playing a key role in the club’s backcourt. In 31 EuroLeague games in 2020/21, he averaged 10.1 points and 3.4 assists in 25.2 minutes per contest, posting a shooting line of .410/.376/.761.
Reports last week indicated that the Knicks were eyeing a deal with Vildoza, who had reportedly agreed to a buyout with Baskonia. The club still has cap room available, which will be used to accommodate a long-term contract worth more than the veteran’s minimum. The signing will push the Knicks above the minimum salary floor for 2020/21, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
Once Jared Harper‘s 10-day contract expired on Sunday night, the Knicks had one open spot on their 15-man roster and one open two-way contract slot. The team announced that Harper received a second 10-day deal, but the league’s official transactions log showed that he was actually re-signed to a two-way contract, which Hoops Rumors has confirmed. As such, there’s an open spot on the 15-man squad for Vildoza.
Nets Expected To Sign Mike James To Rest-Of-Season Deal
Mike James‘ second 10-day contract with Brooklyn will run through next Wednesday, but there’s already an expectation that the Nets intend to sign him for the rest of the season when that deal expires, according to a report from Dionysis Aravantinos of Eurohoops.com.
James, 30, has appeared in seven games for the Nets so far, averaging 6.7 points and 3.6 assists in 16.1 minutes per contest. He had 11 points and eight assists in a win over Toronto last Tuesday, and put up 15 points in a loss to Portland on Friday.
Since there’s still nearly a full week before James will be eligible to sign a rest-of-season contract, it’s possible the Nets’ plans could change between now and next Thursday. However, the veteran guard has produced as expected so far, providing backcourt depth and knocking down 35.7% of his three-point attempts.
As Aravantinos notes, James is only in the NBA temporarily, as his rights will belong to CSKA Moscow in Europe for the next two seasons after 2020/21. So if and when Brooklyn re-signs him, he won’t be able to get a multiyear deal.
Pacers Suspend Greg Foster One Game, Fine Goga Bitadze
12:55pm: The Pacers have issued a press release officially confirming Foster’s suspension and the fine for Bitadze.
11:32am: The Pacers are suspending assistant coach Greg Foster for one game and fining center Goga Bitadze for a heated altercation during Wednesday’s home loss to Sacramento, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Foster, who had to be held back by Myles Turner, was believed to be upset by Bitadze’s lack of resistance on a Maurice Harkless dunk, as Matthew VanTryon of The Indianapolis Star details. Following that Harkless dunk, Bitadze responded by hitting a three-pointer and appeared to tell Foster to “sit the f— down,” which led to the altercation on the sidelines (video link via J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star).
The incident was the latest indication that the struggling Pacers are frustrated and feeling a little frayed at the edges. In the wake of multiple reports suggesting his job could be in jeopardy, Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren spoke before last night’s game about the importance of communicating with his players and sticking together during a rough stretch, per VanTryon. After the game, Bjorkgren – who said he had talked to both Foster and Bitadze – downplayed the incident but hinted he wasn’t quite ready to close the book on it.
“I’m going to find out exactly what was said and in what way,” Bjorkgren told reporters on Wednesday night. “They’re both trying so hard. They’re both competitive. They both want what’s best for the team, and it didn’t happen that way. It boiled over a little bit.”
According to Wojnarowski, Foster and Bitadze have had a “strong working relationship” this season, and the Pacers expect that to continue going forward.
James Harden “Very Confident” He’ll Return Before Playoffs
A hamstring injury has sidelined James Harden since April 5, but the Nets star remains “very confident” that he’ll be back before the postseason gets underway later this month, he said today (Twitter link via Malika Andrews of ESPN).
Harden spoke today about his injury rehab, telling reporters that he’s working on his conditioning, changing speeds, and changing directions, and adding that he feels “really good” (Twitter link via Andrews).
Harden’s plan for now is to play a couple games for Brooklyn before the regular season ends, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The club currently has six games left on its schedule, including a pair of back-to-backs on May 11-12 and May 15-16 to close the season. It’s unclear if the Nets would allow Harden to play both halves of a back-to-back set, even if he returns by May 15.
Harden was putting up his usual MVP-type numbers for the Nets before his injury, averaging 25.4 points, 11.0 assists, and 8.7 rebounds per game in 34 contests (37.3 MPG) with the team.
Assuming Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving stay healthy, Harden’s return will get the Nets as close to full strength as they’ve been in months. The three stars have only appeared in seven games together.
Magic To Sign Admiral Schofield Via Hardship Exception
The Magic intend to sign free agent forward Admiral Schofield, according to Josh Robbins and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Orlando has been granted a hardship exception, so the team won’t have to waive anyone to open up a spot on its 15-man roster for Schofield.
A team can receive a hardship exception when it has at least four players who have missed three or more games due to injury/illness and those players are expected to remain sidelined for another two weeks (or, in this case, through the end of the regular season). Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz have long been ruled out for the season, and the Magic have five other players who have missed at least three games and may not return before season’s end.
Schofield, 24, was selected with the 42nd overall pick in the 2019 draft, but lasted just one year with the Wizards. He was traded during the 2020 offseason to the Thunder, who subsequently waived him.
The former Tennessee standout signed a G League contract and was the first player selected in January’s NBAGL draft. He averaged a modest 10.1 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 14 games (26.2 MPG) for the Greensboro Swarm – Charlotte’s G League affiliate – and struggled with his shot, making only 38.2% of his attempts from the floor and 22.7% from beyond the three-point line.
Despite his inconsistent play at the Walt Disney World bubble, the Magic will take a flier on Schofield down the stretch. Robbins and Charania indicate he”ll receive a 10-day contract, which suggests the deal will be completed today — as of tomorrow, there will only be 10 days left in the regular season, so any standard contract signed after today would just be a rest-of-season arrangement.
Knicks, Julius Randle Plan To Discuss Extension In Offseason
The Knicks and standout forward Julius Randle plan to talk during the offseason to see if they can come to an agreement on a contract extension, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
As Windhorst writes, the fact that Randle’s $19.8MM salary for 2021/22 is only partially guaranteed for $4MM made him – coming into this season – a possible trade candidate or even an eventual release candidate. However, the 26-year-old’s performance in 2020/21 has changed the equation considerably.
In 65 games, Randle has averaged 24.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 5.9 RPG with a .461/.420/.809 shooting line in a league-high 37.3 minutes per contest. He earned his first All-Star nod and has led the Knicks to a top-four seed in the East with just six games left in the regular season.
Since Randle signed a three-year contract in July of 2019, he’ll become eligible for a veteran extension this summer, two years after his initial signing date. A new deal could tack on up to four extra years, beginning in 2022/23, though the starting salary would be limited to 120% of his ’21/22 cap figure. A “maximum” four-year extension for Randle would have a base value of $106.44MM.
As Windhorst notes, that would be a nice payday for Randle, but it’s significantly less than his maximum salary as a free agent — he might be in line for an even more lucrative contract in 2022’s free agent period if he has another All-Star caliber season next year.
A shorter-term extension for Randle that gives him some additional financial security while still putting him on track to reach the open market during his prime years would also be an option for the two sides, Windhorst notes.
Sources tell ESPN that extension talks between Randle and the Knicks this summer may ultimately come down to how badly the former lottery pick wants to remain in New York. Right now, Windhorst says, that desire is strong.
League Fines Kyrie, Nets $35K Apiece
The NBA (Twitter link) has announced that it is fining both All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and his team, the Nets, for violating league rules surrounding postgame interview availability, due to Irving’s continuing resistance against partaking in media conversations after games.
Irving and Brooklyn have each been dinged to the tune of a $35K fine.
The 43-23 Nets have clinched a playoff berth and will finish the season as one of the top seeds in the East. Irving and fellow All-Stars Kevin Durant and James Harden have only appeared together for seven games thus far this season, due to a combination of injuries, COVID-19 protocols, and several personal absences on the part of Irving.
If healthy and engaged, the star-studded (and surprisingly deep) Nets appear to be one of the favorites to win the 2021 NBA title. But it remains to be seen whether or not they’ll get healthy at the right time.