Grizzlies Sign Anthony Tolliver For Remainder Of Season
JUNE 23: The signing is official, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
JUNE 22: The Grizzlies and forward Anthony Tolliver have reached a verbal agreement on a deal that can be officially completed once the NBA’s transaction window opens on Tuesday, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
Stein first reported over the weekend that Tolliver was drawing interest from a handful of teams, but appeared likely to rejoin the Grizzlies. According to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link), the veteran free agent ended up deciding between the Grizzlies and Raptors, opting to return to Memphis.
Tolliver, 35, appeared in 33 games for the Trail Blazers this season and another nine with Sacramento before he was bought out by the Kings. In five games on his initial 10-day contract with the Grizzlies, he averaged 5.4 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .381/.412/1.000 shooting in 19.2 minutes per contest.
Tolliver’s last 10-day deal, signed on March 2, had been set to expire on March 11, the night the NBA officially suspended its season. So even if the league had carried over active 10-day pacts once the season resumes, Tolliver would have needed to sign a new contract. He figures to get a rest-of-season deal that will put him on track to reach unrestricted free agency in the fall.
Nikola Jokic Tests Positive For Coronavirus; U.S. Return Delayed
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic tested positive for the coronavirus last week in Serbia, delaying his return to the United States, report Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (via Twitter).
According to the ESPN duo, Jokic has been asymptomatic since testing positive. The All-Star big man is expected to be cleared to travel to Denver within the next week, per Woj and Windhorst.
We learned last week that Jokic may have been exposed to COVID-19, having been in close proximity to KK Partizan center Nikola Jankovic, who tested positive shortly thereafter. Tennis star Novak Djokovic, who was at the same event, announced earlier today that he has tested positive for the coronavirus as well.
While Jokic’s return to Denver will be delayed, it doesn’t sound as if he’s suffering from any symptoms, and it seems likely he’ll be recovered before the Nuggets travel to Orlando in July. Assuming that’s the case, the 25-year-old will be able to participate in training camp with the team and should be good to go for the eight seeding games and the postseason.
Nuggets Likely To Fill Open Roster Spot
There’s a good chance the Nuggets will use the open spot on their 15-man roster to add a player this week, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Although Denver has no pressing needs, the team will likely fill that opening for insurance purposes, Singer notes.
[RELATED: What To Expect During This Week’s Transaction Window]
The Nuggets, who haven’t had a ton of breathing room below the luxury tax line for much of the season, have carried 14 players (not including their two-way players) for most of 2019/20, maintaining roster flexibility.
Given the extra financial flexibility the club created at the trade deadline and the modest cost of a free agent signing at this point in the season, Denver wouldn’t be in any danger of going into the tax by filling that open roster spot with a minimum-salary player.
Singer doesn’t identify any specific players the Nuggets might be targeting, but they’ll be able to choose from anyone who is currently a free agent and didn’t play in an international league this season.
Denver would also have the option of converting PJ Dozier‘s two-way contract into a standard deal, having him become the team’s 15th man. In that scenario, the Nuggets would be able to sign a new player to a two-way contract, starting Saturday. That player would need to have between zero and three years of NBA service — that same restriction wouldn’t apply to a player signing a standard contract.
Kings Sign Corey Brewer
JUNE 23: The Kings have officially signed Brewer, the team confirmed today in a press release. Sacramento now has a full roster, with 15 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals.
JUNE 22: Free agent swingman Corey Brewer plans to sign with the Kings, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Beginning on Tuesday, all teams will have a one-week transactions window to waive and sign players. Only players on the team’s eligible roster on July 1st will be allowed to travel to Orlando.
Brewer, who did not play in the NBA this season, had multiple offers, according to Charania. The Kings have an open roster spot and thus can add Brewer without waiving another player.
Brewer played a combined 31 games for Philadelphia and Sacramento last season and has averaged 8.7 PPG in 23.0 MPG over 814 career games. During his 24-game stint with the Kings, he averaged 4.1 PPG in 14.7 PPG.
His representatives tried in vain to find him a place to play this season prior to the suspension of play. Earlier this month, Brewer told HoopsHype he was hopeful to could find a place to play.
“We had some talks with a few teams, but nothing really happened. My agent is still working on it, so we’ll see,” he said. “I feel like I can still help a team and I feel like I have a few good years left.”
Brewer turned 34 in March and has worn the uniform of eight different teams.
Teams Bracing For COVID-19 Cases; Two Suns Test Positive
With the second phase of the NBA’s return-to-play plan getting underway today, mandatory coronavirus testing will begin for players on teams who will be part of the Orlando restart this summer, and those clubs are bracing for a “significant” number of positive tests, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Full training camps won’t officially begin until July 11, after teams have reported to Orlando. Players who take part in group workouts at that time will have tested negative for COVID-19 at least twice upon arriving at Walt Disney World. During the two weeks before teams travel to Orlando, those clubs will look to identify and quarantine any players who have contracted the virus to ensure that they don’t bring it with them into the bubble.
According to Wojnarowski, one Western Conference playoff team had four positive coronavirus tests within the past few weeks. Meanwhile, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports that two Suns players have tested positive, prompting the team to temporarily shut down voluntary workouts at its Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum practice facility.
While an increasing number of positive tests in the coming days will likely prompt questions about the NBA’s restart plan, the league remains hopeful that by the time teams are ready to travel to Orlando around July 7, any affected players will either be fully recovered or will remain quarantined as they recover.
DeMarcus Cousins Expected To Aim For 2020/21 Return
11:55am: Cousins hasn’t entirely ruled out the possibility of signing with a team for the restart, agent Jeff Schwartz tells Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. It would have to be in a situation where he feels comfortable playing instead of continuing his rehab, Ganguli adds.
10:36am: Free agent center DeMarcus Cousins has been the subject of much speculation leading up to the NBA’s restart in Orlando, but Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears that Cousins is expected to sit out the summer and continue rehabbing his knee in preparation for a full return in 2020/21.
Cousins, who tore his ACL last August, remained on the Lakers‘ roster for much of the 2019/20 season and was only waived in February when the club needed to open a spot to sign Markieff Morris. A subsequent report indicated that Cousins and L.A. would have interest in a new deal in the offseason.
Once play was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, there was speculation that the door might be open for Cousins to join the Lakers – or another team – to finish the season. However, it sounds like that won’t be the case, despite multiple teams expressing interest in the four-time All-Star, per Charania.
It makes sense for Cousins – who will turn 30 in August – to play it safe with his recovery. The big man previously suffered a torn Achilles tendon in 2018 and a torn quad in the spring of 2019, making the ACL tear his third major leg injury in a two-year period. Plus, even if he were feeling healthy enough to play this summer, it’s not clear how much he’d be able to contribute, joining and adjusting to a new team with the playoffs about to begin.
The Lakers and Wizards figure to be among the teams that express interest in Cousins during the offseason this fall.
Cavs’ Andre Drummond Confirms Plan To Opt In
Cavaliers center Andre Drummond, one of 29 veterans who has a player option for 2020/21, confirmed during a Tuesday appearance on ESPN’s Le Batard & Friends — STUpodity podcast that he expects to exercise that option.
“Yeah, it’s going to be hard to give up, so you can count on me being in Cleveland still,” Drummond said when asked about his option decision (link via ESPN). “I definitely will be in Cleveland.”
Drummond’s comments today don’t come as a real surprise. His option is worth $28,751,774, a salary that would have been tough to turn down even before the coronavirus pandemic jeopardized the league’s 2020/21 cap projection. A report shortly after Cleveland acquired Drummond in February indicated that he was expected to opt in.
Still, knowing that the 26-year-old plans to pick up that option should help the Cavaliers plan the rest of their offseason. With that $28.75MM on their books, the Cavs are unlikely to have any cap room, and may be less inclined to aggressively pursue a new deal with Tristan Thompson, their other veteran center.
After spending the seven-and-a-half years of his NBA career in Detroit, Drummond appeared in just eight games for Cleveland following the February trade between the Pistons and Cavs. For the season, he averaged 17.7 PPG, 1.9 SPG, 1.6 BPG, and a league-leading 15.2 RPG in 57 games (33.0 MPG) with the two clubs.
NBA, NBPA Finalize Revised CBA Terms For Restart
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have finalized the terms of the revised Collective Bargaining Agreement for this summer’s Orlando restart, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
As Wojnarowski explains, that means that the items outlined in Saturday’s memo to teams – such as the rescheduled date for the 2020 draft and the details of this week’s transaction window – have now been formally agreed upon.
There are still more items that the NBA and NBPA must negotiate and finalize, such as the start date and subsequent calendar for the 2020/21 season. However, this agreement represents an important step toward finishing the ’19/20 campaign.
Mavs To Seek Reinforcements Following Lee’s Calf Injury
6:43pm: The team has confirmed Lee’s left calf injury in a press release and adds that he won’t be available when it resumes workouts on July 1. There is no timetable for his return.
4:16pm: The Mavericks will be on the lookout for possible roster reinforcements once the NBA’s transactions window opens on Tuesday, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
Already missing Dwight Powell, who tore his Achilles in January, and Jalen Brunson, who underwent shoulder surgery in March, Dallas will now be without Courtney Lee as well. According to Stein, Lee suffered a calf injury during the hiatus that required surgery. Confirming Stein’s report, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets that Lee suffered the injury in a “freak accident.”
Although neither Stein nor Lee provides a specific recovery timetable for Lee, MacMahon refers to the injury as “significant,” which makes it sound as if the veteran swingman probably won’t be available this summer.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), injured players aren’t eligible to be replaced by substitute players, so Dallas wouldn’t be able to simply add three players to its Orlando roster in place of Powell, Brunson, and Lee without making corresponding moves to open up spots. Lee is on an expiring contract, so if his season is over, he would be the most logical candidate to be released.
Although Lee wasn’t a regular contributor for the Mavericks throughout the entirety of the 2019/20 campaign, he emerged as part of the rotation in the month leading up to the league’s hiatus. The 34-year-old started five of seven games in March, averaging 6.6 PPG on .500/.467/1.000 shooting in 22.8 minutes per contest.
It remains unclear which free agents the Mavs may be targeting this week, or even which position they may focus on — with Powell, Brunson, and Lee on the shelf, the club is missing a player in its backcourt, on the wing, and in the frontcourt.
Blazers’ Trevor Ariza Opting Out Of NBA Restart
Trail Blazers forward Trevor Ariza will voluntarily opt out of participating in the NBA’s restart this summer, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
As Wojnarowski explains, Ariza has been involved in a custody case over his 12-year-old son, and the mother has granted a court-ordered one-month visitation period that overlaps with the NBA’s time in Orlando.
The NBA isn’t permitting family members to join players in the Disney bubble until after the first round of the postseason, forcing Ariza to make a choice. He has decided to spend that month with his son rather than joining the Blazers.
Ariza had established himself as a key part of the Blazers’ lineup since being acquired in a midseason trade. He had started 21 games for Portland, averaging 11.0 PPG and 4.8 RPG on .491/.400/.872 shooting in 33.4 minutes per contest.
The Blazers will miss Ariza’s three-and-D ability on the wing as they attempt to push for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Currently, Portland is 3.5 games back of the Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed — the team would force a play-in tournament if it finishes within four games of Memphis and hangs onto the No. 9 seed.
With Ariza no longer in the mix and Rodney Hood out for the season, the Blazers will have to rely on the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Mario Hezonja, Nassir Little, and Gary Trent on the wing.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), the Blazers have an open roster spot and will also be eligible to add a substitute player in Ariza’s place. With their star guards healthy and Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins due back from injuries to fortify the frontcourt, Portland can afford to focus on the wing as it considers potential roster additions.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.