Nets Sign Donta Hall To Rest-Of-Season Deal
JULY 10: The Nets have officially signed Hall as a substitute player, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 9: The Nets have agreed to sign free agent big man Donta Hall to a rest-of-season contract, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
Hall, who will turn 23 next month, spent last fall with the Pistons after going undrafted out of Alabama. He was waived by Detroit before the regular season began, but spent most of his rookie year with the Grand Rapids Drive – the Pistons’ G League affiliate – before eventually earning a call-up to the club’s NBA roster.
In 38 games (28.6 MPG) for Grand Rapids, Hall averaged 15.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 1.4 BPG on 66.9% shooting, earning All-NBAGL Second Team honors. He signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Pistons in February and March, logging limited minutes in four NBA games during that time. His 10-day deal was still active when the NBA went on hiatus on March 11, but didn’t carry over to the summer, making him a free agent.
The Nets have ruled out Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince, and Wilson Chandler for the NBA’s restart due to positive coronavirus tests or voluntary opt-outs. As a result, the team is eligible to sign four substitute players. It appears those players will be Michael Beasley (whose deal is already official), Justin Anderson, Jamal Crawford, and Hall.
As Stein tweets – and previously reported – the Nets strongly considered signing Amir Johnson to add frontcourt depth. The club also reportedly had some interest in Lance Thomas. However, having already reached deals with multiple veterans, Brooklyn will opt instead for youth in signing Hall.
Hall’s rest-of-season contract won’t include any form of Bird rights, and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent this fall. Still, if the Nets like what they see this summer, they could try to get him back for the 2020/21 season.
Thomas Bryant, Gary Payton II Test Positive For COVID-19
Wizards center Thomas Bryant and point guard Gary Payton II have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and did not travel with their teammates to the Orlando campus for the NBA’s season restart, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
Shooting guard Garrison Mathews also did not travel with the rest of the team to Orlando, though his absence was a result of “personal reasons,” as Luke Adams noted in another Wizards story earlier today.
The 6’10” Bryant, a third-year player out of Indiana, started in 28 of his 38 games with the Wizards this season. He averaged career-highs in points (12.1 PPG), rebounds (6.8 RPG), assists (1.9 APG), and three-point percentage (40.7% on 1.4 attempts per night).
Since going undrafted in 2016 out of Oregon State, Payton saw limited action with the Bucks, Lakers and Wizards in parts of three NBA seasons. He saw more consistent action with Washington this year, playing in 14.9 MPG across 29 games, including 17 starts.
The future availability for all three Wizards players in the restart is now up in the air. Players who test positive for COVID-19 can be replaced by substitutes, but teams also have the option of waiting for those players to be medically cleared.
Washington is already missing starting shooting guard Bradley Beal (a two-time All Star), power forward Davis Bertans, and nominal starting point guard John Wall, who has been sidelined for the entire season.
Jamal Crawford Signs With Nets
JULY 9: Crawford has officially signed with the Nets, per an official team statement (Twitter link).
JULY 8: Free agent guard Jamal Crawford has agreed to join the depleted Nets for the league restart, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic (Twitter link).
The 40-year-old crossover maestro, a three-time Sixth Man of the Year, last suited up for the Suns in 64 games during the 2018/19 season. Across 19 NBA seasons, Crawford sports a slash line of 14.6 PPG, 3.4 APG, and 2.2 RPG. He is also averaging 34.8% from three-point range and 86.2% from the free-throw line.
During his lone Phoenix season, Crawford’s scoring dipped to a single-digit average for the first time since his 2001/02 season with the Bulls. Crawford averaged 7.9 PPG, 3.6 APG and 1.3 RPG, while shooting just 39.7% from the field. He scored 51 points in his last game for Phoenix, on April 9, 2019. John Hollinger of The Athletic notes that Crawford rated as a below-replacement level player last season (Twitter link).
The Nets have been hit particularly hard ahead of the NBA’s return to action at Orlando’s Disney World campus, currently scheduled to kick off July 30. Injured All-Stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will miss the rest of the 2019/20 season. Center DeAndre Jordan, wing Taurean Prince, and guard Spencer Dinwiddie have been stricken with COVID-19 and will also all miss the restart. Additionally, Nicolas Claxton is sidelined due to a shoulder injury and Wilson Chandler has opted out of participating.
The team can sign up to two more substitute players after making it official with Crawford and Justin Anderson, whose deal was reported in June.
Nets Sign Michael Beasley As Substitute Player
JULY 9: The Nets have officially signed Beasley, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 8: The Nets and free agent forward Michael Beasley are moving toward a contract agreement, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The second overall pick in the 2008 draft, Beasley hasn’t played in the NBA this season, having last suited up for the Lakers during the 2018/19 campaign. He averaged 7.0 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 26 games (10.7 MPG) for the Lakers before being traded to the Clippers at the ’19 deadline. The Clips subsequently waived him.
Beasley, who averaged 19.2 PPG for the Timberwolves back in 2010/11, has always been an effective scorer, but isn’t a particularly strong play-maker or defender. Still, the 31-year-old’s ability to put the ball in the basket could benefit the depleted Nets.
As a result of injuries, opt-outs, and positive coronavirus tests, Brooklyn will be missing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince, Wilson Chandler, and Nicolas Claxton when play resumes this summer.
Dinwiddie, Jordan, Prince, and Chandler are eligible to be replaced by substitute players, and Brooklyn has already reached agreements with Justin Anderson and Jamal Crawford. Assuming they strike a deal with Beasley too, the Nets would still be able to sign one more substitute player — they’re said to be eyeing a frontcourt piece, perhaps Amir Johnson or Lance Thomas.
Beasley – who has a strong relationship with Durant, according to Charania (Twitter link) – would sign a minimum-salary, rest-of-season contract with Brooklyn if the two sides finalize an agreement. It wouldn’t count against the club’s cap and the Nets wouldn’t have any form of Bird rights on Beasley at season’s end.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (via Twitter), Beasley was hit with a five-game suspension in August 2019 for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. He has yet to serve that ban and would have to do so if he signs with Brooklyn. Still, the club would have him available for its final three seeding games, plus up to two play-in tournament contests and the entire postseason, assuming the Nets make it.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pelicans’ Gentry Cleared To Travel To NBA Campus
Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry has been cleared to travel with his team to the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link), Gentry received the call from the NBA today just minutes before the Pelicans were set to board their plane to Orlando.
Gentry, who is 65 years old, is one of the head coaches who has received extra scrutiny from team doctors and the NBA due to potentially heightened health risks if he contracts the coronavirus. The restart agreement gives the league the right to prohibit certain red-flagged individuals from accompanying their teams to Disney.
The NBA has assured coaches they won’t be red-flagged based on their ages alone. However, if there are also underlying health issues that will put them at greater risk, they can be held out of the restart — that was the case for Lakers assistant Lionel Hollins, for instance.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, 71, is expected to travel to the NBA campus on Thursday, per Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News. Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, 69, also said this week that he hasn’t heard anything suggesting he’ll be prohibited from heading to Orlando (Twitter link via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle). D’Antoni is still waiting the official OK from the league, but there’s optimism he’ll get it, tweets Wojnarowski.
While the Pelicans got good news on Gentry, the club will be without associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik won’t be with the club this summer. He decided to stay in New Orleans and work remotely after consulting with team doctors and CDC regulations.
In addition to Bzdelik, the Pelicans will be missing assistant Jamelle McMillan, who is staying behind to care for his newborn son, according to Lopez (Twitter link).
Nets Forward Taurean Prince Tests Positive, Won’t Play In Orlando
In another major blow to the depleted Nets, forward Taurean Prince has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and will not play in Orlando, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Brooklyn has been devastated by injuries, illness and defections as teams head to Orlando for the league’s restart. Earlier on Tuesday, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie revealed he wouldn’t rejoin the team after testing positive for COVID-19 a second time.
A handful of other Nets players were ruled out in earlier weeks. Superstars Kevin Durant (Achilles) and Kyrie Irving (shoulder) won’t participate. Nicolas Claxton (shoulder) is also injured, while Wilson Chandler has decided to sit out for family reasons and DeAndre Jordan opted out after contracting COVID-19.
Prince did not opt out of playing but his late positive test put his chances of recovering in time to return to action in jeopardy, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet. In his first season with the club after being traded last offseason by the Hawks, Prince averaged 12.1 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 64 games.
The Nets now have three open slots for substitute players, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes in a tweet. Brooklyn will have to rely heavily on Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen as the team tries to hold onto a playoff spot during the eight-game seeding round.
Rockets Sign Luc Mbah A Moute
JULY 7: Mbah a Moute has officially signed his contract with the Rockets, according to Charania (via Twitter). GM Daryl Morey published a tweet confirming the move.
As a result of the team signing Mbah a Moute as a substitute player, Sefolosha is ineligible to return this season.
JULY 1: Former Rockets forward Luc Mbah a Moute will rejoin the team for the NBA’s restart, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He will serve as a substitute player for Thabo Sefolosha, who opted out of Orlando earlier today.
Mbah a Moute hasn’t played in the league this season, but worked out for the Rockets in early March, shortly before the hiatus. He and the team had mutual interest in a reunion for a while, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).
A defensive specialist, Mbah a Moute was a rotation player for Houston during the 2017/18 season before being injured late in the year. He signed with the Clippers before the start of last season, but injuries limited him to just four games.
Nuggets Officially Name Calvin Booth GM
The Nuggets have officially announced what was first reported in April: Calvin Booth has been the named the team’s new general manager.
“Calvin is one of the brightest basketball minds in our league,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in a statement. “We are very fortunate to have him as part of our organization and are extremely excited for his new role.”
Booth, who played in the NBA from 1999-2009, joined the Pelicans as a scout for the 2012/13 season, then spent four years with the Timberwolves, eventually ascending to the role of director of player personnel.
He had been an assistant general manager in Denver’s front office since 2017, moving up to claim the general manager position after the Nuggets’ previous GM – Arturas Karnisovas – departed to become the new head of basketball operations in Chicago.
Connelly will retain the final say on basketball decisions in Denver, but Booth figures to take on an expanded role in the team’s front office, given his new title. It’s not yet known if the Nuggets will hire any new executive(s) to fill the hole created by Booth’s promotion.
Nets Eyeing Amir Johnson
Veteran center Amir Johnson has emerged as a “prime target” for the Nets, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
Brooklyn is on the lookout for frontcourt help after losing Nicolas Claxton to a shoulder injury and DeAndre Jordan to a positive COVID-19 test. The team is eligible to sign multiple substitute players due to the fact that Jordan and Spencer Dinwiddie – who also contracted the coronavirus – won’t be participating in the NBA restart.
Johnson, 33, last played in the NBA during the 2018/19 season, when he averaged 3.9 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 51 games (10.4 MPG) for the Sixers. He has spent another 13 seasons with the Pistons, Raptors, Celtics, and 76ers since entering the league in 2005, appearing in 870 total regular season contests.
Although Johnson is unlikely to fill up the box score, he’s a solid defender and screen setter who should be a positive asset in the locker room. He’d likely be an insurance piece off the bench for Brooklyn, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if he sees some minutes, as the team will be down six players. In addition to Claxton, Jordan, and Dinwiddie, the Nets will be missing Kevin Durant (Achilles), Kyrie Irving (shoulder), and Wilson Chandler (opted out).
If the Nets finalize a deal with Johnson, it would be a rest-of-season, minimum-salary contract that would put him on track to reach unrestricted free agency in the fall. Brooklyn wouldn’t hold any form of Bird rights on him at that time.
Whichever player Johnson technically replaces would be ineligible to return in 2019/20.
Nets To Hold Spencer Dinwiddie Out Of Restart
Nets team doctors have decided to have Spencer Dinwiddie sit out of the NBA’s restart, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The decision is being made out of an “abundance of caution,” Charania adds, as Dinwiddie recently tested positive for the coronavirus. The Brooklyn guard has confirmed the news in a tweet.
“After another positive test yesterday and considering the symptoms, @BrooklynNets, team doctors and I have decided that it would be in the best interest for me and the team that I do not play in Orlando,” Dinwiddie wrote. “I will be supporting the guys every step of the way!”
Word broke on June 29 that Dinwiddie has been diagnosed with COVID-19. On Sunday night, he said that the sinus pressure headaches he had been getting were “starting to subside,” expressing hope that he could receive medical clearance this week and travel to Orlando with the Nets. However, he admitted that he felt a bit dizzy and weak when using an exercise bike and still hadn’t received the two negative tests he required as part of the NBA’s protocol.
Even if Dinwiddie receives medical clearance in a few days, he’d have to travel to the Walt Disney World bubble separately from his team, which would mean being subjected to a more rigorous quarantine and testing period before being cleared to practice. He’d then have an even shorter ramp-up period than his teammates before seeding games begin on July 30, and may still be dealing with the after-effects of the virus.
As such, it makes sense that the Nets are holding out Dinwiddie, though it creates yet another hole in a roster that has been decimated by injuries, positive coronavirus tests, and opt-outs. Superstars Kevin Durant (Achilles) and Kyrie Irving (shoulder) won’t participate. Nicolas Claxton (shoulder) is also injured, while Wilson Chandler has decided to sit out for family reasons and DeAndre Jordan opted out after contracting COVID-19.
The Nets, who currently hold the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, may have a hard time holding off the Magic, who are just a half-game behind Brooklyn in the standings. However, the Nets remain in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot, since they have a six-game lead on the Wizards, who have been hit hard by injuries and opt-outs of their own — the club will be without All-Star guards Bradley Beal and John Wall in addition to sharpshooter Davis Bertans.
Brooklyn has reportedly agreed to a deal with Justin Anderson to replace Chandler. Players who test positive for the coronavirus are also eligible to be replaced by substitute players, so the club will be able to sign replacements for both Dinwiddie and Jordan. Any player who is replaced by a substitute player will be ineligible to return this season.
Because Dinwiddie’s absence is related to a positive COVID-19 test, he won’t have to forfeit his remaining salary for the 2019/20 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.