VanVleet, Bembry, Horton-Tucker Receive One-Game Suspensions
The NBA has suspended three players – Raptors guards Fred VanVleet and DeAndre’ Bembry, along with Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker – for one game apiece, the league announced today in a press release.
The three players left the bench area during an on-court altercation during the Raptors/Lakers game on Tuesday (video link). After Dennis Schröder committed a foul on a OG Anunoby shot attempt, the two players got tangled up and Anunoby grabbed Schroder by the leg, flipping him to the ground. Players from both teams entered the fray at that point.
According to today’s announcement, Anunoby received a $30K fine for initiating the incident, while Lakers big man Montrezl Harrell has been docked $20K for aggressively entering the altercation and shoving Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the one-game suspension will be costliest for VanVleet, who will forfeit $146,552 of his salary. Bembry ($11,980) and Horton-Tucker ($10,469) will also each lose one game’s worth of pay.
Horton-Tucker and Bembry will serve their suspensions tonight, while VanVleet will serve his one-game ban once he’s healthy and ready to return from his hip ailment.
Although they’ll be missing Horton-Tucker, and Kyle Kuzma is listed as questionable with calf tightness, the Lakers will get some reinforcements for Thursday’s contest vs. Miami, as head coach Frank Vogel said today that both Ben McLemore (protocols) and Andre Drummond (toe) will be available (Twitter link via Mike Trudell).
Wizards Waive Jerome Robinson, Expected To Re-Sign Jordan Bell
9:29am: The Wizards have officially waived Robinson, the team announced today in a press release.
6:34am: The Wizards are making a change at the back of their 15-man roster, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), who reports that the club is waiving fourth-year wing Jerome Robinson and is expected to fill the newly-opened roster spot soon by re-signing big man Jordan Bell to a 10-day contract.
The 13th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Robinson spent his first season-and-a-half with the Clippers before being sent to Washington in the three-team Marcus Morris/Maurice Harkless trade at the 2020 deadline. In 38 games (21.3 MPG) for the Wizards, he averaged 7.4 PPG and 2.8 RPG with a .361/.320/.776 shooting line.
Back in December, the Wizards opted to pass on Robinson’s fourth-year option for 2021/22, which would’ve been worth $5.34MM. That was a sign that he wasn’t in Washington’s long-term plans, as was a report last month that he was among the players the team was shopping at the trade deadline.
Robinson will become an unrestricted free agent once he clears waivers, free to sign with any team, while the Wizards remain on the hook for the rest of his $3.74MM salary for 2020/21.
As for Bell, the 26-year-old inked a 10-day contract with the Wizards in January, then played for the team’s temporary NBA G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, at the Walt Disney World bubble. He averaged 17.6 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in seven NBAGL contests (27.4 MPG).
A report last month suggested the Wizards were eyeing Bell for a possible two-way deal if Garrison Mathews was promoted to the 15-man roster, but it appears it’ll be Bell who ends up on the 15-man squad, albeit just on a 10-day deal for now.
If and when the Wizards and Bell make it official, the 10-day contract will pay him $114,990, with a cap hit of $110,998. Since it will be Bell’s second 10-day deal with the franchise this season, Washington will have to either let him walk or sign him for the rest of ’20/21 once it expires.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Luke Walton: “No Interest” In Coaching At Arizona
Kings head coach Luke Walton isn’t interested in taking over at Arizona, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Two decades ago, Walton was a star player for the Wildcats, who created a vacancy by firing Sean Miller today.
“No, no interest,” Walton said. “I love Arizona. I think Sean Miller did an amazing job there in his time, but I have a job. I have a job that I love. I have a group I love working with, so I’m very committed to being here in Sacramento and keeping this going in the direction that we want it to go and getting this team back into the playoffs.”
Walton is in his second season running the Kings and still has two years and $11.5MM left on his contract. There was speculation about his future after Sacramento got off to a slow start, but a report last month indicated his job is safe, at least through the end of the season. The Kings have edged back into the race for a spot in a play-in game and are 12th in the West at 22-29.
Walton spent four seasons at Arizona from 1999-2003, playing for legendary coach Lute Olson. He earned First-Team All-Pac 10 honors two times.
Several other Arizona alumni have been mentioned as possible replacements for Miller, Anderson adds, including Lakers assistant coach Miles Simon, who has been with the team since 2017. Other rumored names include former NBA player and current Pacific head coach Damon Stoudamire and Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner.
Steve Nash Hints That Nets Plan To Keep Alize Johnson
It sounds like the Nets will try to re-sign Alize Johnson when his second 10-day contract expires this weekend, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Speaking to reporters before tonight’s game, head coach Steve Nash said the organization has been very happy with the performance of the 24-year-old power forward.
“I think we feel pretty comfortable with what we have with Alize,” Nash said. “He’s been outstanding, works hard, plays with incredible energy. … We think he’s a player that can help us.”
Players are limited to two 10-day contracts with a single team during a season, so Brooklyn would have to sign Johnson for the rest of the season to keep him on the roster. The Nets still have their prorated taxpayer mid-level exception available and can use it to sign Johnson for up to three years, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Johnson has appeared in four games since coming to Brooklyn on March 22, averaging 9.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per night. He has scored in double figures in both games where he has received significant playing time, including a 23-point, 15-rebound outburst against the Jazz last month.
A second-round draft pick in 2018, Johnson spent his first two seasons with the Pacers, appearing in 31 total games. He was in training camp with the Raptors before the start of this season, but was waived in December.
Johnson signed his second 10-day deal with the Nets on April 1, so it will expire Saturday night.
NBA May Be Next Stop For Sean Miller
Sean Miller will likely seek a job as an NBA assistant coach after being fired today as head coach at Arizona, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Miller received interest from at least one NBA team during the past offseason, sources tell Wojnarowski.
The Pelicans could be worth watching, according to freelance journalist Adam Zagoria, who points out that Miller and New Orleans head coach Stan Van Gundy have a long friendship (Twitter link).
Miller was dismissed after 12 years at Arizona, which included seven NCAA tournament bids and three appearances in the Elite Eight. His coaching tenure was muddied by scandal as the NCAA accused the school of five Level I violations, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN. They include two allegations of academic misconduct as well as a charge that Miller failed to demonstrate “that he promoted an atmosphere for compliance and monitored his staff.” The school gave itself a one-year postseason ban in response.
Arizona was considering a contract extension for Miller, sources tell Borzello, but didn’t believe it would receive approval from the board of regents because of the troubles with the NCAA.
Miller, 52, has been a head coach in the college ranks since 2004, but has no NBA experience.
Pistons Re-Sign Tyler Cook To Multiyear Contract
APRIL 7: The Pistons have officially announced Cook’s new deal, confirming in a press release that he has signed a multiyear contract with the club.
APRIL 6: Tyler Cook, who is on his second 10-day contract with the Pistons, will be signed for the remainder of the season, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. A source tells Beard the deal will also include a team option for next season.
[RELATED: 10-Day Contract Tracker]
Cook’s contract for 2021/22 is set to become fully guaranteed five days after the free agency moratorium is lifted, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
The second-year forward has appeared in 10 games since coming to Detroit, averaging 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per night. He also got into four games for the Nets earlier this season. Cook had brief stops with the Cavaliers and Nuggets last season after going undrafted out of Iowa.
Cook, 23, signed his second 10-day deal with the Pistons on March 28, so it will expire at the end of Tuesday. Teams can only sign a player to two 10-day contracts in a single season.
Kings Sign Damian Jones To 10-Day Deal
APRIL 7: The signing is now official via the Sacramento Kings official team page
APRIL 3: Free agent center Damian Jones will sign a 10-day contract with the Kings, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Jones will fill the roster spot the team created when it waived DaQuan Jeffries earlier today.
The exact date of Jones’ signing remains uncertain, Anderson adds (via Twitter). He has to clear all the NBA’s testing protocols before he’s eligible for a contract.
The Kings will be the third team of the year for Jones, who started the season with the Suns before being waived in February, then signed a pair of 10-day deals with the Lakers. He played 14 games with Phoenix and eight with L.A., averaging a combined 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per night.
The 25-year-old offers another option in the middle if the Kings decide to part with Hassan Whiteside, who has been rumored as a potential buyout candidate.
Tennessee’s Keon Johnson Enters 2021 NBA Draft
Tennessee shooting guard Keon Johnson is declaring for the draft and will forgo his remaining years of college eligibility, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
“The NBA has always been my goal, but I never expected it to come this soon,” said Johnson, who is coming off his freshman season. “I really don’t care what number I get drafted at. I just want to go somewhere I fit in that organization. Where I can keep developing and find my niche.”
While Johnson may not care where he gets drafted, he looks like a good bet to be a mid-lottery pick. ESPN currently has him ranked as the No. 6 prospect on its big board, right behind Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs.
Givony calls Johnson one of the best athletes in college basketball and says he “maximizes his tools on both ends of the floor,” though he cautions that the 19-year-old will need to further develop his offensive game and add some bulk to reach his potential at the NBA level.
“I think NBA teams see a defensive-minded guard who can score at all three levels,” Johnson told ESPN. “I feel like my three-point shot is going to improve and keep me on the court in the NBA, along with my versatility on the offensive end.”
Johnson, who was coming off a knee injury as a senior in high school, got off to a slow start for the Volunteers and averaged a modest 11.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG on 44.9% shooting in 27 total games (25.5 MPG). However, he came on strong near the end of the season, recording 16.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG on 50.7% shooting in his final five games, including in the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
Harden Out At Least 10 Days, Durant To Return Wednesday
APRIL 7: Durant will be available to play on Wednesday night, the Nets have confirmed (Twitter link).
APRIL 6: After nagging hamstring discomfort limited James Harden to just four minutes of action in yesterday’s defeat of the Knicks, a subsequent MRI has indicated that the All-Star Nets guard has a strained right hamstring, the team tweets. The club will reassess the injury in 10 days.
Before his attempted return to the floor Monday, Harden previously missed two games with what was initially diagnosed as hamstring tightness. Harden had edged his way into the league MVP conversation with his stellar play of late, but any extended absence could derail his chances. With Brooklyn, Harden is averaging a sparkling 25.4 PPG, 11.0 APG, 8.7 RPG, 1.3 SPG, and 0.7 BPG, with a solid shooting line of .467/.361/.867 on high volume.
Harden’s comportment in forcing his way off the Rockets likely poisoned the well somewhat among the league journalists who vote for year-end award honors, so earning a second such career honor this season would’ve been an uphill battle even before the injury. Harden’s subsequent play for his new team, however, had made him somewhat undeniable as one of the league’s best players.
Meanwhile, Harden’s fellow Nets All-Star Kevin Durant could rejoin the club from his own strained left hamstring injury as soon as Wednesday against the Pelicans, per Malika Andrews of ESPN. The team officially lists him as probable (via Twitter), but Andrews notes that internally the team anticipates that the forward will play. Durant has been inactive for Brooklyn since February 13.
Since the Nets traded for Harden in mid-January, the team’s three All-Stars (Harden, Durant and Kyrie Irving) have only played together in seven games. Despite this, the club has an Eastern Conference-best 35-16 record.
Harden joins a crowded backcourt injury tally. Head coach Steve Nash suggested on Monday that reserve guard Tyler Johnson could miss two-to-three weeks as he recovers from right knee soreness. Backup guard Landry Shamet has been unavailable since last week with a right ankle sprain. Spencer Dinwiddie continues to rehabilitate from a partially torn ACL and the team expects him to miss the rest of the 2020/21 season.
NBA Expects All Arenas To Be At Full Capacity In 2021/22
The NBA is optimistic that all of its teams will be able to host fans at full capacity in their home arenas next season, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
As Holmes explains, the NBA’s partnership with CLEAR, officially announced today in a press release, represents a key part of the league’s efforts to get fans back into buildings. A third of the league’s 30 teams have already been using the company’s Health Pass program, which allows fans to provide and verify their COVID-19-related health information before entering an arena, and more clubs are expected to follow suit.
When the 2020/21 season began, only a small handful of NBA teams were allowing any fans into games, but more teams have joined that list as the season has progressed. Currently, more than two-thirds of the league’s 30 franchises are hosting fans in some form.
The ever-growing number of individuals receiving coronavirus vaccinations will also be a factor in the league’s push to get arenas back to full capacity by the fall. As Holmes explains, teams must still comply with local and/or state protocols, but those restrictions should loosen in the coming months, and CLEAR’s Health Pass program will offer the ability to link an individual’s vaccination records to their account.
The Raptors may be a wild card in the NBA’s effort to return things to relative “normal” for 2021/22. The rate of vaccinations has been slower in Canada than in the U.S., and the province of Ontario has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19 as of late, having just reinstituted a month-long stay-at-home order. The hope is that the situation will improve by the fall and that the displaced Raptors, who are spending the ’20/21 campaign in Tampa, will be able to return to Scotiabank Arena in Toronto next season.