Injury Notes: Butler, AD, FVV, Porter, Grimes
Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Sacramento due to hip tightness, the Heat announced (via Twitter). It will be Butler’s first missed game of the 2022/23 season after being sidelined for 25 contests last season.
The injury doesn’t sound very serious and the Heat are likely just being cautious with their star forward on the second night of a back-to-back, with Butler helping lead a comeback victory over the Warriors on Tuesday. The 33-year-old is averaging 21.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.5 APG and 1.5 SPG on .470/.391/.873 shooting through eight games (35.5 MPG) for the 3-5 Heat.
Here are some more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Anthony Davis is determined to play through his lingering lower back pain, writes Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group. Davis was clearly wincing at various moments during the Lakers‘ first win of the season against Denver on Sunday, and head coach Darvin Ham said he asked the star big man if he needed to leave the game. “I gestured, ‘Do you need a break?’ And he was like, ‘Nah.’ He waved me off,” Ham said. “He wants to dispel that myth that he’s never available. He’s had some unfortunate injuries over the last couple of years, but I can tell you right now, man, he’s been nothing short of monstrous since I’ve shown up.” Davis will play Wednesday against the Pelicans after previously being listed as questionable, sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT (Twitter link). Ham confirmed the news to reporters, Goon tweets.
- Like Davis, Raptors guard Fred VanVleet is also dealing with lower back soreness, and will miss his second consecutive game on Wednesday vs. the Spurs. On the positive side for the Raptors, free agent addition Otto Porter is available for the first time this season after dealing with a hamstring injury and then being away from the team for the birth of his daughter (Twitter links via Josh Lewenberg and Kayla Grey of TSN Sports).
- Second-year guard Quentin Grimes, who has been sidelined with a sore left foot to open 2022/23, is available to make his regular season debut for Wednesday’s against the Hawks, the Knicks announced (via Twitter). Head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters that Grimes wouldn’t have a minutes restriction, but said his use would be “situational” while he attempts to rebuild his conditioning after appearing in just one preseason game (Twitter links via Fred Katz of The Athletic and Ian Begley of SNY.tv). New York leads Atlanta 65-57 at halftime, but Grimes has yet to play.
Kyrie Irving, Nets, ADL Issue Joint Statement
Kyrie Irving, the Nets and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have issued a joint statement (via Twitter) following Irving’s promotion of an antisemitic film last week.
According to the statement, Irving and the Nets will each donate $500K “toward causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities.” Irving and the Nets will work the ADL, a nonprofit organization devoted to fighting antisemitism and all forms of hate, in an “effort to develop educational programming that is inclusive and will comprehensively combat all forms of antisemitism and bigotry.”
“I oppose all forms of hatred and oppression and stand strong with communities that are marginalized and impacted every day,” said Irving. “I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility. I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles. I am a human being learning from all walks of life and I intend to do so with an open mind and a willingness to listen. So from my family and I, we meant no harm to any one group, race or religion of people, and wish to only be a beacon of truth and light.”
“There is no room for antisemitism, racism, false narratives or misguided attempts to create animosity and hate,” said Sam Zussman, Chief Executive Officer of BSE Global, parent company of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center. “Now, more than ever, there is a pressing need to ensure education in these areas. We are putting our prior statements into practice because actions speak louder than words.”
“At a time when antisemitism has reached historic levels, we know the best way to fight the oldest hatred is to both confront it head-on and also to change hearts and minds. With this partnership, ADL will work with the Nets and Kyrie to open dialogue and increase understanding,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “At the same time, we will maintain our vigilance and call out the use of anti-Jewish stereotypes and tropes – whatever, whoever, or wherever the source – as we work toward a world without hate.”
As Fred Katz, Mike Vorkunov and Sam Amick of The Athletic observe (All Twitter links), while Irving claims to “take responsibility” for the “negative impact” of his Twitter post, which has since been deleted after a combative exchange with reporters over the weekend, it’s notable that he did not actually apologize to the Jewish community.
Both the NBA and NBPA previously issued fairly toothless statements condemning antisemitism in general terms without directly naming or rebuking Irving. General manager Sean Marks said the team wanted Irving to “simmer down” and not create more “fuss” as explanation for why Irving didn’t speak to the media on Monday or Tuesday, noting that Irving’s last media session “didn’t go well.”
Joel Embiid, De’Anthony Melton Out Wednesday For Sixers
Sixers star center Joel Embiid will miss his second consecutive game against the Wizards on Wednesday with a non-COVID illness, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. According to head coach Doc Rivers, Embiid has the flu.
As Pompey notes, Embiid also missed Friday’s game vs. Toronto with right knee soreness, but returned during Saturday’s victory over the Bulls. In six games this season (34.5 MPG), the five-time All-Star is averaging 27.2 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.2 BPG on .532/.300/.788 shooting.
In addition to Embiid, Sixers guard De’Anthony Melton will also miss Wednesday’s game with back stiffness, and Matisse Thybulle will start in his place, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Melton, who was acquired in a trade with Memphis this offseason, had previously started the two games that Embiid was sidelined, with the Sixers opting to go small and sliding P.J. Tucker up to center. Melton performed well in both victories, and is averaging 9.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.3 APG and 2.0 SPG on .517/.407/1.000 shooting through eight games (22.5 MPG) in 2022/23.
The Sixers started the season 0-3, but have won four of their past five games to even their record at 4-4, while the Wizards have dropped three straight after guard Delon Wright suffered a strained hamstring and currently sit with a 3-4 record. Wednesday’s game has an unusually early tip off, beginning at 6:00pm ET.
Jared Butler Joining Nuggets’ G League Affiliate
Former Jazz guard Jared Butler is joining the Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets‘ G League affiliate, reports Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Butler didn’t sign with Denver at all after being waived by Utah last month, so the Gold didn’t previously have exclusive G League rights to the former second-round pick — he likely signed an NBAGL contract and then was claimed by Grand Rapids.
Butler was a key member of the national champion Baylor Bears in 2021, averaging 16.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 3.3 RPG and 2.0 SPG while shooting 41.6% from 3-point range as a junior. However, questions about his health hurt his draft stock and he slipped to No. 40 overall in last year’s draft after having been considered a likely first-rounder.
Although the Jazz raved last fall about Butler’s performance in training camp, he appeared sparingly in 42 games as a rookie, averaging 3.8 PPG and 1.5 APG on .404/.318/.688 shooting, and didn’t survive a roster crunch in Utah during the 2022 preseason. The team cut him despite the fact that his $1.56MM salary for this season was guaranteed.
NBA teams who may be in need of backcourt help will be keeping a close eye on Butler with the Gold, according to Stein. As Stein observes, Grand Rapids’ new head coach is longtime NBA point guard Andre Miller, who should be a good mentor for the 22-year-old.
Darius Garland Set To Return For Cavaliers
Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland will return to the team’s lineup on Wednesday vs. the Celtics, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Garland has been on the shelf since being inadvertently poked in the eye by Gary Trent Jr. in Cleveland’s first game of the regular season on October 19 in Toronto. The All-Star guard left that game early due to a lacerated left eyelid and has spent the last two weeks recovering.
Even without Garland available, the new-look Cavaliers have looked terrific in the early going this season. They lost that opener vs. the Raptors by just three points, but haven’t dropped another game. Cleveland has a 5-1 record and holds the No. 2 seed in the East.
With Garland and Ricky Rubio (ACL recovery) sidelined, Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert have been the Cavaliers’ primary ball-handlers, with Raul Neto also averaging about 10 minutes per game as a backup point guard. Mitchell and LeVert will likely play off the ball a little more starting on Wednesday — it’s unclear whether or not Neto (who didn’t enter the opener until after Garland went down) will remain in the regular rotation.
Celtics Notes: Smart, Udoka, Mazzulla, R. Williams, G. Williams
Celtics guard Marcus Smart remains frustrated that he and his teammates don’t know the whole story about why head coach Ime Udoka was suspended for the entire 2022/23 season, and he was surprised to learn on Tuesday that Udoka might be headed to the Nets, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Smart said that he had been given the impression that Udoka would be back with the Celtics next season.
“I guess it was deemed that whatever happened was enough for him not to be the coach here, but I guess not enough for him (not) to be a coach anywhere else, obviously,” Smart told Himmelsbach. “… (Udoka’s) name got slandered and slaughtered and it was, ‘He’ll probably never coach again.’ And a couple of months later now he’s possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals? It’s tough. It makes no sense. But we can’t control that. We have to control what we can and I love the team here. I love the coaching staff. I love Joe (Mazzulla).”
Smart acknowledged that he recognizes why Celtics management can’t necessarily be fully open about the circumstances of Udoka’s suspension, but said that doesn’t make the situation any easier or any less confusing.
“It really doesn’t matter what we say (to the front office),” Smart said. “We can voice our opinion, but I’m sure it’s going to be, ‘Yeah, we hear you.’ And that’s it. I’m sure they know how certain people feel. But it is tough, because there’s only so much that they can say. It’s a tough spot for everybody. It just sucks all around.”
Here’s more on the Celtics:
- The Celtics’ brass is “fully invested” in Mazzulla and is happy with the work he has done as the head coach since replacing Udoka, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. That’s a key reason why the team seems comfortable moving on from Udoka.
- Jared Weiss of The Athletic considers what’s next for the Celtics and Udoka if the team lets him leave for Brooklyn. As Weiss notes, the C’s would be able to get Udoka’s contract off their books and would no longer have to worry about what to do when his suspension ends, but the team would probably have to prepare some turnover on its coaching staff, especially if Mazzulla wants to bring in some of his own assistants.
- The Celtics had the NBA’s top defense a year ago, but only rank 22nd so far this season. While that number should improve, Boston’s ceiling on defense is limited until Robert Williams returns, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “Without Rob Williams, they’re a very good team, but they’re in that second tier,” a source told Bulpett. “With Rob Williams, they’re a top defense and a championship level team. That’s what he does for them.”
- Celtics forward Grant Williams sat down with Shams Charania of Stadium (video link) to discuss several topics, including not signing a rookie scale extension before the regular season began.
Special Trade Eligibility Dates For 2022/23
In a pair of previous articles, we took a closer look at the trade restrictions placed on two groups of players who signed free agent contracts this past offseason. The smaller of the two groups featured players who can’t be traded by their current teams until January 15, having re-signed on contracts that met a set of specific criteria. The other offseason signees we examined aren’t eligible to be traded until December 15.
In addition to those two groups, there are a few other subsets of players who face certain trade restrictions this season. They either can’t be traded until a certain date, can’t be traded in certain packages, or can’t be traded at all this season.
Listed below are the players affected by these trade restrictions. This list, which we’ll continue to update throughout the season as needed, can be found on our desktop sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” or in our mobile menu under “Features.”
Players who recently signed as free agents or had their two-way contracts converted:
A player who signs a free agent contract typically becomes trade-eligible either three months after he signs or on December 15, whichever comes later. That means a player who signs on September 22 would become trade-eligible on December 22.
Similarly, players who have two-way pacts converted to standard contracts can’t be dealt for three months after that happens.
Here are the affected players, who signed free agent contracts or were converted from two-way deals after September 15, along with the dates their trade restrictions lift. Players marked with an asterisk (*) have the ability to veto trades:
December 16:
- Dennis Schröder (Lakers)
December 17:
- Ryan Arcidiacono (Knicks) *
December 18:
- Svi Mykhailiuk (Knicks)
December 23:
- Dennis Smith Jr. (Hornets)
December 26:
- Andre Iguodala (Warriors) *
January 2:
- Bruno Fernando (Rockets)
January 3:
- Blake Griffin (Celtics)
January 16:
- Isaiah Joe (Thunder)
Players who sign free agent contracts or have their two-way deals converted to standard contracts after November 9 this season won’t become trade-eligible prior to the 2023 trade deadline, which falls on February 9. The following players (listed in alphabetical order) fall into that category:
- Stanley Johnson (Spurs)
Players who recently signed veteran contract extensions:
A player who signs a veteran contract extension can’t be dealt for six months if his new deal includes a raise greater than 5% and/or puts him under contract for more than three total years (including his current contract). An extension that meets either of those criteria would exceed the NBA’s extend-and-trade limits.
A player can sign a veteran extension and remain trade-eligible as long as his new deal doesn’t include a raise of more than 5% and doesn’t lock him up for more than three total seasons. Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic, for instance, remains eligible to be traded after signing a two-year extension that features only a 2.3% raise.
Here are the players whose recent veteran extensions exceed the extend-and-trade limits, along with the dates their trade restrictions lift:
December 28:
- Ivica Zubac (Clippers)
January 7:
- John Konchar (Grizzlies)
January 9:
- Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
January 18:
- Pat Connaughton (Bucks)
January 20:
- Kenrich Williams (Thunder)
Ineligible to be traded before this season’s February 9 deadline:
- LeBron James (Lakers)
- Maxi Kleber (Mavericks)
- CJ McCollum (Pelicans)
- Larry Nance Jr. (Pelicans)
- Dean Wade (Cavaliers)
- Andrew Wiggins (Warriors)
Additionally, when a player signs a super-max contract extension, he becomes ineligible to be traded for one full year. That means the following players also won’t be trade-eligible during the 2022/23 season, despite signing their new deals near the very start of the league year:
- Devin Booker (Suns)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves)
Players who were recently traded:
Players who were recently traded can be flipped again immediately. However, unless they were acquired via cap room, they can’t be traded again immediately in a deal that aggregates their salary with another player’s for matching purposes.
For instance, after acquiring Kelly Olynyk from Detroit on September 22, the Jazz could have turned around and traded Olynyk and his $12.8MM salary right away for another player earning about the same amount. But if Utah wanted to package Olynyk and, say, Mike Conley ($22.7MM) in a deal for a big-money player, the team would have had to wait two months to do so.
There are only a few trades that currently fall within the aggregation restriction window, and nearly all of the players involved in those deals have since been waived or were acquired via cap room. However, there are a handful of players affected.
Here are the dates when players traded this season can once again have their salaries aggregated in a second trade:
November 3:
- Ochai Agbaji (Jazz)
- Lauri Markkanen (Jazz)
- Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers)
November 22:
- Kelly Olynyk (Jazz)
November 27:
- Vit Krejci (Hawks)
Any player who is traded after December 9 (without being acquired via cap room) won’t be eligible to be flipped before the trade deadline in a second deal that aggregates his salary with another player’s.
Note: Only players on standard, full-season contracts are listed on this page. Players who sign 10-day contracts can’t be traded. Players who sign two-way deals can’t be traded for up to 30 days after signing.
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Pelicans Notes: AD Trade, Jones, Marshall, McCollum
The Anthony Davis trade continues to look great for New Orleans, according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com, who writes that the Lakers‘ failures will be the Pelicans‘ successes for at least two more years.
After receiving Los Angeles’ first-round pick in 2022 and using it to draft Dyson Daniels, New Orleans has swap rights with L.A. in 2023 and will get the Lakers’ first-rounder in 2024 (with the option to defer it to 2025). Given the way the Lakers have been playing, that means the Pelicans could have at least one more lottery pick headed their way, even if they make the playoffs.
In addition to the draft picks the Pelicans secured in the Davis trade, Brandon Ingram has turned into an All-Star caliber cornerstone for the organization. Plus, Josh Hart – who was part of the Davis blockbuster – was a key piece of the outgoing trade package in the 2022 deadline trade that sent CJ McCollum and Larry Nance to New Orleans.
The Pelicans will visit the Lakers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- The Athetic’s Mike Prada, Jovan Buha, and Will Guillory also revisited the Davis trade, debating whether it can be viewed as a successful deal for both teams, given that the Lakers won a title with AD in 2020.
- Pelicans forward Herb Jones appears to be ready to return to action after missing three games due to a hyperextended right knee. He has been listed as probable to play in Wednesday’s game in Los Angeles.
- Naji Marshall, who is on a minimum-salary contract that runs through 2023/24, has been an important contributor for the Pelicans with Jones and Ingram sidelined as of late, Clark writes for NOLA.com. Marshall has scored 15 points and shot at least 53.8% from the field in each of his last three games, all starts. “Naji’s a dog, but he’s also very coachable and from a teammate perspective, like if you tell him, ‘Naj, maybe you should do it like this,’ he’s not gonna fight you on it,” Zion Williamson said. “He’s just gonna go out there and he’s going to do what’s asked of him. You love to have players like that on your team.”
- In a Q&A with Mark Medina of NBA.com, CJ McCollum discussed his adjustment to a point guard role, how he’s dealing with a sprained finger, and where he thinks the Pelicans fit in the Western Conference pecking order. “It’s the Warriors and everybody else,” McCollum said, adding that New Orleans still has “a lot we have to learn and improve” after losing in the first round of the playoffs last season.
Spurs Sign Jordan Hall To Non-Guaranteed Contract
The Spurs are bringing back rookie guard/forward Jordan Hall, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed him to a new contract.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter) it’s a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. While Charania doesn’t specify Hall’s salary, the deal is almost certainly be worth the prorated rookie minimum.
Hall reached an agreement with San Antonio shortly after going undrafted out of Saint Joseph’s in June and signed a two-way contract with the club in August. Although he spent Summer League and the preseason with the organization and began the regular season occupying one of those two-way slots, he became the odd man out when the Spurs brought in Charles Bassey on a two-way deal and was waived last Monday.
The Spurs opened up a spot on their 15-man roster on Friday when they released Joshua Primo. Hall will fill that spot for now, though his non-guaranteed salary means the team will have the flexibility to make a change before his contract becomes guaranteed for the season in early January.
Considered a point forward, Hall averaged 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game in 30 appearances (34.9 MPG) during his sophomore year at Saint Joseph’s in 2021/22. He declared for the draft and went pro after just two college seasons.
Hall will earn $5,849 per day for as long as he remains on San Antonio’s roster.