Pelicans Waive Sindarius Thornwell
FEBRUARY 23: The Pelicans officially waived Thornwell on Monday, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
FEBRUARY 22: The Pelicans intend to release guard Sindarius Thornwell, reports Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Thornwell appeared in 11 games for New Orleans this season, but saw limited action, averaging just 4.8 minutes per contest. In 53 total minutes, he scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting, chipping in four steals.
According to Guillory, the Pelicans were happy with Thornwell’s performance, but will make the move for financial reasons. The 26-year-old’s minimum-salary contract isn’t fully guaranteed, so by waiving him prior to Wednesday’s salary guarantee deadline, the club will save some money and create more breathing room below the luxury tax line.
Rather than counting for $1,620,564 against the Pelicans’ cap, Thornwell will have a cap charge of $721,484, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. New Orleans will move approximately $1.4MM below the tax threshold, Marks adds (Twitter link).
Because the Pelicans already have an open spot on their 15-man roster, releasing Thornwell will reduce their total standard contracts to just 13. The league-mandated minimum is 14, but teams can dip below that number for two weeks at a time. New Orleans will have to add a 14th man within two weeks and will likely do so by utilizing a 10-day contract — 10-day deals can be signed starting on Tuesday.
Spurs Have Five Players Under Protocols; DeRozan Also Out Wednesday
The NBA postponed the last four Spurs games due to coronavirus positives and contact tracing. There’s now more clarity on which players are in the league’s health and safety protocols, as well as hope that their next scheduled game against the Thunder on Wednesday will be played.
The Spurs announced on Monday that Rudy Gay, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Quinndary Weatherspoon and Derrick White remain under the league’s protocols and are not with the team. That group will not travel to Oklahoma City. Additionally, DeMar DeRozan will miss the game due to personal reasons.
However, LaMarcus Aldridge has been upgraded to active, according to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter links). He hasn’t played since February 1st due to a hip injury.
As previously reported, the Spurs on Monday recalled guard Tre Jones and forward Luka Samanic from the Austin Spurs. That would give the team 10 available players, two more than the minimum required to play.
San Antonio practiced on Monday, Orsborn added.
Weatherspoon was the only San Antonio player prior to Monday to be named publicly as being under the league’s health and safety protocols. The games postponed were all on the road — Detroit, Cleveland, New York and Indiana — which means the Spurs will have a busy schedule in the second half of the season. They also have to make up a January 25th postponement, a road game against New Orleans.
Timberwolves Fire Ryan Saunders, Hire Chris Finch
9:35am: Minnesota has officially announced Finch as its new head coach.
“I would like to thank Glen Taylor and Gersson Rosas for this incredible opportunity to be the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves,” Finch said. “I look forward to working hand and hand with Gersson to build and lead a team that Timberwolves fans will be proud of. We have excellent pieces in place and I can’t wait to get to work.”
5:43am: The Timberwolves have parted ways with head coach Ryan Saunders, the team announced in a press release late on Sunday night. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported Saunders’ dismissal.
“We would like to thank Ryan for his time and commitment to the Timberwolves organization and wish him the best in the future,” Wolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said in a statement. “These are difficult decisions to make, however this change is in the best interest of the organization’s short and long-term goals.”
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Wojnarowski, Minnesota already has a replacement lined up for Saunders, having reached a deal to hire Raptors assistant Chris Finch. The two sides are finalizing a multiyear contract that will make him the Wolves’ permanent head coach rather than an interim replacement.
Saunders, who took the reins on Minnesota’s sidelines following Tom Thibodeau‘s exit from the franchise in 2018/19, compiled a 43-94 (.314) record across parts of three seasons with the team. Those Wolves clubs were plagued by injuries, with franchise center Karl-Anthony Towns missing 54 of Saunders’ 137 games with the team, but underperformed even when healthy, finishing 14th in the West a year ago and ranking last in the conference so far this year.
Finch, meanwhile, has interviewed for multiple head coaching jobs in recent years, but will be getting an opportunity to run his own NBA team for the first time. He did have a stint as a G League head coach with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers from 2009-11 and won an NBAGL title with the club before becoming an assistant for the Rockets from 2011-16. Rosas was part of Houston’s front office during that time, giving him a familiarity with Finch.
Since leaving the Rockets, Finch has been an associate head coach for the Nuggets (2016-17), Pelicans (2017-20), and Raptors (2020-21). He has a reputation of improving teams’ offenses, as Blake Murphy of The Athletic observes.
According to Wojnarowski, Finch is expected to officially begin the job on Tuesday when the Wolves play the Bucks in Milwaukee, and is expected to keep the team’s coaching staff intact for the time being. That staff includes associate head coach David Vanterpool and assistants Bryan Gates and Pablo Prigioni, Woj notes.
Hiring another team’s assistant coach after making an in-season coaching change is fairly unusual for an NBA team, according to Wojnarowski, who says it hasn’t happened since Memphis hired Lionel Hollins away from Milwaukee in 2009. Murphy suggests (via Twitter) that Toronto is probably more likely to promote a coach from the Raptors 905 once the G League season ends than to bring in someone from outside the organization to replace Finch on Nick Nurse‘s staff.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Marcus Smart Unlikely To Return Before All-Star Break
Celtics guard Marcus Smart will miss more time than expected as he continues to recover from a Grade 1 left calf strain he suffered on January 30, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
When Smart was initially diagnosed, his projected recovery timeline was reportedly two or three weeks. Wojnarowski indicates that Smart now isn’t expected to return until after the upcoming All-Star break, which concludes on March 10. The hope is that he’ll be able to suit up for the start of the second half, Woj adds.
The defensive-oriented Smart is currently averaging 13.1 PPG on 39.4% shooting from the floor, 6.1 APG (a career high), 2.8 RPG and 1.8 SPG. The Celtics are 10-8 with Smart in the lineup and 5-6 without him this season.
Head coach Brad Stevens noted today that Smart traveled with the Celtics for their game against the Pelicans this afternoon and even engaged in “light on-court activities” with the club ahead of tip-off.
Delon Wright To Miss At Least Two Weeks With Groin Strain
Pistons point guard Delon Wright will be out of action with a Grade 2 strain to his right groin, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic. His condition will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Wright, who suffered the injury in Friday’s game, is averaging 10.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists after being acquired from the Mavericks in a three-team deal in November. He took over as the starting point guard after an early-season injury to Killian Hayes.
“He said he didn’t remember exactly how he did it, that was the scary part,” head coach Dwane Casey told Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. “He was just getting back in transition and felt it.”
The injury, which will stretch past the All-Star break, should give a starting opportunity to Dennis Smith Jr., who was recently acquired from the Knicks, Edwards adds (Twitter link). Two-way players Saben Lee and Frank Jackson are also candidates for increased roles.
Rockets Want Player, Not Picks, In Exchange For P.J. Tucker
Rockets forward P.J. Tucker is on the trade market, and the team wants immediate help in return, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Saturday night’s pre-game show (hat tip to Ben DuBose of USA Today’s Rockets Wire).
The Rockets are looking for “a player that they can plug back into their lineup,” rather than draft picks, he added.
Trade rumors have been swirling around the 35-year-old Tucker ever since Houston was unable to reach a contract extension with him during the offseason. He reportedly refused the team’s latest offer, and both sides agreed to table negotiations last month.
Tucker’s numbers have dipped this year, as he is averaging 4.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 30 minutes per night. However, he remains an elite defender and strong locker room presence, and could be a valuable addition for a contending team. At his age, he no longer fits with a Rockets team that has been trending younger since the James Harden trade.
Wojnarowski expects a “seller’s market” for Tucker, listing the Lakers, Bucks and Nets among many teams that are interested.
Matthew Dellavedova Has Appendicitis Surgery
Veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova underwent surgery today for acute appendicitis, the Cavaliers announced in a press release.
The condition was discovered after Dellavedova told the team’s medical staff he was feeling pain in his lower right abdomen. He is currently recovering, and the Cavs stated that status updates will be issued “as appropriate.”
The 30-year-old suffered a concussion during Cleveland’s first preseason game and hasn’t played yet this season. Earlier this month, he called it a “temporary setback” and said he has no plans to retire.
Dellavedova saw limited action for the Cavaliers last season, averaging 3.1 points and 3.2 assists in 57 games. He re-signed with the team on a one-year deal during the offseason.
DeMarcus Cousins’ Time With Rockets About To End
The Rockets are planning to part ways with veteran center DeMarcus Cousins, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Sources tell Charania that the team wants to utilize a smaller and younger approach in the frontcourt once Christian Wood returns from an ankle injury. Making a move now will give Cousins plenty of time to catch on with another team.
A report on Friday indicated that Houston would guarantee Cousins’ veteran-minimum contract for the rest of the season. That means any team that claims him off waivers would inherit the remaining portion of the $2.56MM deal.
Sources confirmed to Mark Berman of KRIV-TV in Houston that Cousins will be traded or waived in the next few days (Twitter link). The front office gave him the salary guarantee as a show of appreciation “for his professionalism and how he went about his business,” Berman adds.
Cousins joined the Rockets in training camp on a non-guaranteed contract, hoping to prove he could still be effective after three serious leg injuries. He appeared in 25 games, making 11 starts, and averaged 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 37.6% from the floor.
Several teams will likely be interested in adding the 30-year-old for the second half of the season. Cousins spent much of last year with the Lakers, although he wasn’t able to play because of an ACL injury, and continued to work out with the team after being waived in February. He played the previous season with the Warriors, who are short-handed in the middle after a recent run of injuries. The Nets, who have been looking for center help in free agency after parting with Jarrett Allen in the James Harden deal, also figure to be interested.
Pau Gasol Denies He’s Returning To Play In Spain
2:27pm: Gasol denied on Twitter that he’s close to signing with Barcelona. “After hearing the news out of Spain today, I wanted to share that I remain focused on my recovery and I am not ready to get back to competing just yet,” he wrote. “As soon as I have something to announce, I will do so via my social media channels.”
1:00pm: Pau Gasol has reached an agreement to play for FC Barcelona the remainder of the season, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. The agreement was first reported by Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo.
The 40-year-old six-time NBA All-Star played for Barcelona from 1998-2001 before beginning his NBA career with the Grizzlies. Gasol was hoping to latch onto another NBA team, particularly the Lakers, where his brother Marc Gasol currently plays.
That didn’t happen and he has apparently decided to return to his home country. He has talked about wanting to represent Spain at the Tokyo Olympics in the summer.
Gasol has not appeared in an NBA game since March 2019 due to foot injuries. He underwent two surgeries to repair stress fractures in the navicular bone in his left foot since he last played in the league.
Gasol averaged 17 PPG, 9.2 RPG and 3.2 APG while building a Hall of Fame resume and winning two championships with the Lakers.
Kosta Koufos Signs In Greece
Veteran NBA center Kosta Koufos has signed a deal to suit up for Olympiacos B.C. in Greece, the team announced in a press release. Koufos spent last season with CSKA Moscow in Russia.
Koufos, soon to be 32, has spent 11 seasons in the NBA, last suiting up for the Kings during the 2018/19 campaign. In 42 games during that season, Koufos averaged 3.7 PPG and 4.2 RPG.
In 686 regular-season games, Koufos has posted career marks of 5.7 PPG and 5.0 RPG for the Jazz, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Grizzlies, and Kings.
In 17 games for CSKA Moscow last season, Koufos averaged 3.7 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 9.5 minutes per contest.