Alex Len Waived By Wizards, Will Sign With Pacers
9:31pm: Len has been placed on waivers, the Wizards announced (via Twitter).
1:12pm: After acquiring him earlier this week, the Wizards will cut center Alex Len, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Charania, Len intends to sign with the Pacers after he clears waivers.
The fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Len never became the sort of impact player his lofty draft position might suggest, but he has been a reliable frontcourt option for 12 NBA seasons, spending time with the Suns, Hawks, Raptors, Wizards, and Kings.
The 31-year-old Ukrainian has spent the last few seasons as a depth piece in Sacramento, where he made 149 appearances (15 starts) over the course of three-and-a-half seasons, averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game.
Len was sent from the Kings to the Wizards along with Colby Jones in a three-team deadline-day deal that saw the Kings receive Jake LaRavia from Memphis. Despite trading away big men Jonas Valanciunas and Marvin Bagley III this week, Washington didn’t feel the need to retain Len, who will get an opportunity to join a playoff-bound team in the East.
The Pacers opened the season with Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman backing up starting center Myles Turner, but both reserves suffered Achilles tears during the season’s opening days, decimating the team’s depth in the middle.
Although Indiana traded for Thomas Bryant in December, the club could still use some another trustworthy veteran option as injury insurance, especially with Turner currently dealing with a neck strain.
The Pacers sent Wiseman to Toronto in a salary dump trade on Thursday, which both opened up a spot on their 15-man roster and created enough room below the luxury tax line to sign Len to a rest-of-season contract. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), Indiana was only $147K below the tax threshold before making that deal.
Kings Sign Daishen Nix To 10-Day Contract
8:25 pm: The Kings have officially signed Nix to a 10-day contract, the team confirmed in a press release.
3:08 pm: The Kings and guard Daishen Nix have reached an agreement on a 10-day deal, sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Nix, who began his NBA career with Houston as an undrafted rookie in 2021, has appeared in a total of 99 NBA regular season games for the Rockets and Timberwolves since then, averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 assists in 12.5 minutes per night.
The 6’4″ guard was on a two-way deal with Minnesota earlier this season, but was waived about a month ago before his two-way salary became guaranteed.
Nix has spent the majority of this season in the G League, appearing in 10 games for the Iowa Wolves and seven games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers since being cut by Minnesota. He has filled up the box score in those 17 outings, averaging 18.5 points, 7.2 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game, but has had trouble with turnovers (3.9 per game) and shooting efficiency (.364/.298/.732).
Sacramento sacrificed some backcourt depth in its pre-deadline deals, sending out De’Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin, and Colby Jones and only getting one guard – Zach LaVine – in return. With three open spots on their 15-man roster, the Kings have plenty of flexibility to bring in a player like Nix for insurance purposes ahead of the All-Star break.
The Kings play four games before the All-Star break, beginning on Saturday vs. New Orleans, so if Nix officially signs within the next few hours, he could be active for all four. He’ll earn $124,288 on his 10-day deal.
Mark Williams Trade To Lakers Rescinded
The Lakers say their deal to acquire Mark Williams from the Hornets has been rescinded, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). L.A. is claiming that Charlotte failed to satisfy one of the conditions of the trade.
Sources tell Charania that Williams failed his physical with the Lakers due to “multiple issues” (Twitter link). He adds that none of the concerns involve problems with Williams’ back, which caused him to miss most of last season.
With L.A. looking for help in the middle after sending Anthony Davis to Dallas in the Luka Doncic deal, the Hornets agreed to part with Williams in exchange for rookie wing Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, the Lakers’ unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 first-round pick swap.
Although both teams announced the trade on Thursday, it remained conditional on Williams and Knecht reporting to their new teams and passing physicals, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).
If the trade deadline hadn’t passed, the two teams could have gone back to the negotiating table, as the Sixers and Mavericks did after Dallas didn’t like Caleb Martin‘s physical. However, after the deadline, a trade can only be accepted or voided, not amended, so Williams will go back to Charlotte and Knecht and Reddish will return to L.A. along with the draft assets.
That means instead of having an opening, the Lakers now have a full 15-man roster and are $1.6MM below the second apron. The Hornets will have 14 players on standard contracts, along with Elfrid Payton, who signed a 10-day deal on Friday via the hardship exception.
Although the Lakers are 3-0 since giving up Davis, there are concerns about how the team will get by without a proven center who can rebound and protect the basket.
Jaxson Hayes has moved into the starting lineup over the past five games, and he had another solid outing today with nine points and 12 rebounds in 29 minutes in a victory over Indiana. Trey Jemison, who joined the team on a two-way contract last month, logged nearly 12 minutes off the bench and may see regular playing time for the rest of the season.
General manager Rob Pelinka thought he solved that problem when he reached the deal with Charlotte, valuing Williams highly enough to part with his last available first-round pick when there were more affordable centers on the market. Finding a long-term answer in the middle will likely be a top priority for Pelinka this offseason.
The Williams deal is the first NBA trade to be rescinded since the Pistons voided a deal with the Nuggets ahead of the 2022 trade deadline due to concerns about Bol Bol‘s physical.
Celtics Notes: Craig, Springer, Stevens, Porzingis, Holiday
Torrey Craig chose to sign with the Celtics because they’ll give him a chance to compete for a title, writes Souichi Terada of MassLive. The 34-year-old forward became a free agent when Chicago needed to trim two players off its roster to complete a three-team trade this week. He wasn’t on the open market very long before reaching an agreement with Boston that became official this morning.
“As a competitor in the league, you always want to play for something and compete for something,” Craig said. “I’m a super competitor and I want to play basketball the right way at the highest level. Just to get an opportunity to come play with these guys was like a no-brainer.”
Craig, who has been out of action since December 30 with a sprained right ankle, told Terada that he’s feeling good, but he’s taking his return day by day. He’s trying to learn all he can about how the Celtics operate, and that process started with a quick tour of the facilities on Friday before accompanying the team on a flight for tonight’s game at New York.
Craig knows he may not have a large role with the defending champs, but he provides veteran wing depth and gives them another capable three-point shooter.
“They’re a deep team, super talented,” he said. “Well-coached, well-disciplined. They play the right way. They know what it takes to win playing defense. Playing together and having each other’s backs. You can just see it. The team chemistry and they allow each other to feed off each other and play together and I think that’s why they’ve been so dominant these past couple years.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- Players were sad to lose Jaden Springer, who was traded to Houston on Thursday in a cost-cutting move, Terada adds in a separate story. The Rockets have already waived Springer, so he’ll be searching for his next job as a free agent. “Obviously, we’re gonna miss him,” Payton Pritchard said. “Jaden’s an unbelievable person. We loved him as a teammate. But hopefully he gets his opportunity and he can showcase what he’s capable of doing in this league. He’s an unbelievable player, unbelievable defender. I think there’s definitely a place for him in this league.”
- The Celtics were otherwise quiet at the deadline, which is a combination of the restrictions they face as a second-apron team and the faith that president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has in the current roster, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Washburn reveals that Boston had interest in Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter, who was dealt to Cleveland, but wasn’t willing to part with Derrick White and draft assets to get involved in the bidding. “In our situation with our team this year, today was boring as hell,” Stevens said after the deadline. “It wasn’t going to be anything going and the phones didn’t ring. We had already had any discussions that we were going to have. We weren’t just going to do anything major because at the end of the day, even through our ups and downs through the last six weeks, what gives us our best chance to win is this group playing a little bit more like itself more of the time.”
- Kristaps Porzingis was a late scratch for tonight’s game due to an illness, Terada tweets. Boston is also without Jrue Holiday, who’s missing his second straight contest with a bruised shoulder.
Anthony Davis Downplays Injury That Shortened Mavs Debut
Anthony Davis had a dominant performance during his Mavericks debut Saturday afternoon, but he also suffered an injury that prevented him from finishing the game, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.
Davis posted 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes of action as Dallas defeated Houston to improve to 28-25. He also had three blocks, helping the Mavs set a franchise record with 18 total.
However, as Curtis relays, the crowd let out a loud groan late in the third quarter when Davis grabbed his groin area while defending Rockets center Alperen Sengun. He signaled to the Dallas bench for a substitution and spent the rest of the contest in the locker room.
It was the first game action in more than a week for Davis, who suffered a strained abdomen while he was still with the Lakers. He told reporters, including Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link), that he doesn’t believe today’s injury scare is a cause for concern.
“My leg got tight, like a little spasm,” Davis explained. “I came back to try to get it loose while still dealing with the abdominal strain. But I managed to loosen it up, and it’s nothing serious. I’m fine.”
Davis added that the pain was in the “groin-quad kind of area.” He is “very confident” that he didn’t suffer a setback in his recovery from the abdomen issue, per Marc Stein (Twitter link).
There’s no word yet on his status for Monday’s home game against Sacramento or how the injury might affect his availability for next weekend’s All-Star Game.
Davis’ outstanding start seemed to lift the spirits of a crowd that was still angry about the surprise trade that sent Luka Doncic to L.A. last weekend, Curtis adds. The Mavericks gave him the ball on the first play of the game, and he responded to a double team by throwing a lob pass to Daniel Gafford for a dunk. A few seconds later, he blocked Sengun’s shot and fired an outlet pass to P.J. Washington for a breakaway slam.
He described his first quarter showing as “a friendly reminder of who Anthony Davis is,” according to Stein (Twitter link). It was a message to fans that Dallas didn’t get taken in the Doncic trade, even though Curtis reports that more than 100 of them held a pregame protest outside the arena with calls to sell the team and fire general manager Nico Harrison. Even so, Davis got a rousing reception when his name was announced during introductions.
Davis was also asked about his relationship with the Adelson and Dumont families, who own the Mavericks and signed off on the controversial deal, per Christian Clark of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“I know they have a vision and a plan for the team,’ Davis responded. “I heard some things from coaches about their casino thing they are trying to bring to Dallas. They have some really big ideas. Probably in the near future, will have dinner with them and just talk.”
The uproar over the Doncic trade led to a conspiracy theory that the Adelsons and Dumonts want to move the team to Las Vegas or some other location where it might be easier to get approval for a casino. Those rumors became so widespread that ownership issued a statement of denial, according to Tim Cato of DLLS Sports (subscriber only).
“The Adelson and Dumont Families have already started and are committed to investing and building in Dallas/Ft. Worth,” the statement reads. “The families have absolutely no plans to move the team out of North Texas.”
Trail Blazers Sign Sidy Cissoko To Two-Way Deal, Waive Taze Moore
6:22pm: The moves are official, the Trail Blazers announced in a press release.
5:37pm: Sidy Cissoko will join the Trail Blazers on a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Portland will waive guard Taze Moore to open up a two-way spot, Charania tweets.
Cissoko, a 20-year-old small forward, was traded twice this week, going from San Antonio to Sacramento on Monday in the three-team deal involving De’Aaron Fox and then from the Kings to Washington on Wednesday as part of the return for Jonas Valanciunas. The Wizards released Cissoko on Thursday, and he cleared waivers earlier today.
Selected with the 44th pick in the 2023 draft, Cissoko appeared in 29 total games during his time with the Spurs. He averaged just 3.2 minutes in 17 games this season.
Before being drafted, Cissoko played alongside Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson with the G League Ignite, notes Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link).
Moore, 26, signed a two-way contract in September after playing four games with Portland last season on a pair of 10-day deals. He saw minimal time in two games this year, but averaged 12.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists in nine regular season contests with the Rip City Remix in the G League.
Cavs Notes: Hunter, Tyson, Jerome, LeVert, Niang
Long, athletic, and skilled wings have given the Cavaliers trouble this season, which is why – despite Cleveland’s 42-10 record – the front office explored the trade market leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline in search of someone who could help the club deal with that type of player, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes (subscription required).
According to Fedor, Cameron Johnson, Lonzo Ball, Marcus Smart, and Jerami Grant were among the potential targets who intrigued the Cavs. But the asking price for the Nets forward was too high, the Bulls guard agreed to an extension, there were injury concerns about the Grizzlies guard, and the Trail Blazers forward’s $29.8MM cap hit was too challenging to accommodate.
As the Cavs weighed their options, they kept coming back to Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter, who had been on their radar for years, Fedor reported earlier this week. Cleveland’s front office spoke to several trusted sources about Hunter, including former Cav and current Hawk Larry Nance Jr., who was a strong advocate for his teammate, Fedor writes.
The Cavs also spent time analyzing Hunter’s defense, evaluating how he might match up with top Eastern Conference wings like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mikal Bridges, Pascal Siakam and others, ultimately concluding he would be an asset on that end of the court, per Fedor.
With Hunter and Caris LeVert as the centerpieces, the Cavaliers and Hawks discussed various trade constructions, with Cleveland resisting the inclusion of its 2031 first-round pick and rookie Jaylon Tyson. The two teams thought they might need to involve a third club as a facilitator in order to make sure they both got below the tax line, but that issue was addressed when Atlanta worked out a separate deal to send Cody Zeller to Houston.
The Cavs ultimately agreed to send LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and a pair of pick swaps to the Hawks. According to Fedor, Cleveland believes that Hunter will be a better postseason fit than the outgoing players and that he’ll be a key contributor for years to come, turning the team into a more serious title contender.
“The acquisition of De’Andre Hunter and the potential impact a player of this caliber can bring to Cleveland is immeasurable,” president of basketball operations Koby Altman said in a statement after the deal was finalized. “We were presented with a great opportunity with this trade, one that was beneficial for the short- and long-term future of this franchise.
“While it’s always difficult to part ways with players who have meant so much to our success, we believe De’Andre, at 27-years-old, aligns with our long-term vision of sustainable success and ultimately competing for championships.”
Here’s more on the deal:
- It’s unclear whether Hunter will immediately become Cleveland’s starting small forward, but Altman lauded the forward’s versatility and believes he’ll be able to slot seamlessly into several different kinds of lineups. “We’re going to play him all over the floor,” Altman said, per Fedor.
- According to Fedor (subscription required), Hunter and his former University of Virginia teammate Ty Jerome talked “almost every day” since they entered the NBA in 2019 about the possibility of one day playing together. Shortly after they learned about the deal sending Hunter to Cleveland, they got on the phone and started “screaming with excitement,” Fedor writes. “It’s surreal,” Jerome said on Friday. “It’s wild. Obviously, it was more of a joke because we’re both on our individual journeys in this league, but we talked about it all the time. Like, ‘How cool would it be to play together?'”
- Although Jerome said he “couldn’t be more excited” about the addition of Hunter, he made it clear he’s sorry to see LeVert and Niang go. “I don’t want to undersell the value Caris and Georges brought to us and just how close I was to those guys,” Jerome said, according to Fedor. “Those two guys meant a lot to us on and off the court. It’s a tough business, and I’ve seen it many times in my six years. It sucks to lose those guys. At first, I was like, ‘(Expletive), it’s Caris and Georges. They’re dealing with the emotions of leaving this group and we’re dealing with losing them.’ And then it’s like, ‘Oh (expletive), we got De’Andre and I’m playing with one of best friends since 2016 again.'”
- Interestingly, when Hunter and Jerome entered the league in 2019, they thought there was a chance they’d be drafted by the same team, Fedor writes. That team was the Cavs, who had the fifth and 26th overall picks in that draft. But Hunter was selected fourth overall by Atlanta, leaving Darius Garland for Cleveland at No. 5. Jerome was drafted by Phoenix at No. 24, two spots before Cleveland’s pick. “Clearly worked out,” Jerome said on Friday with a smile. “Now, they’ve got all three of us.”
Wizards Sign Jaylen Martin To Two-Way Deal
4:03 pm: Martin has officially signed his two-way contract with the Wizards, the team announced in a press release.
10:42 am: The Wizards are signing guard Jaylen Martin to a two-way contract, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link).
Martin, 21, has split this season between the Long Island Nets and Delaware Blue Coats. In 22 total G League games, he’s averaging 16.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 47.1% from the floor. The Florida native went undrafted in 2023 after opting to play for Overtime Elite.
In his first professional season in 2023/24, Martin spent some time with the Knicks on a two-way deal. However, he didn’t appear in a game with the team. He then signed a two-year, two-way contract with Brooklyn after last season’s deadline, but still didn’t make his NBA debut until this season. Martin played just five minutes for the Nets across three outings before being waived in January.
Having traded away Jared Butler to Philadelphia the deadline, Washington had an open two-way roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary to sign Martin. Justin Champagnie and Tristan Vukcevic occupy the two other two-way slots for the team.
Signing Martin is a solid upside swing for a Wizards team that added young talent in both the draft and the deadline. Once he’s officially signed, 12 of Washington’s 18 players on the roster will be aged 25 or younger.
Hawks Waive Bones Hyland
February 8: The Hawks have officially waived Hyland, the team announced today in a press release.
February 7: Bones Hyland won’t be sticking in Atlanta after being traded from the Clippers to the Hawks on Thursday. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), the Hawks intend to waive the fourth-year guard.
The 26th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Hyland began his NBA career in Denver and flashed some upside as a scorer and shooter off the bench for the Nuggets in his first season-and-a-half, averaging 10.9 points in 19.2 minutes per game across 111 appearances, with a .401/.371/.860 shooting line.
However, reportedly concerned about Hyland’s fit alongside Jamal Murray, his defensive lapses, and his displeasure with his role, the Nuggets traded him to the Clippers for a pair of second-round picks at the 2023 deadline.
The former VCU standout never really found his footing in Los Angeles, appearing in just 71 games over the last two years and averaging 7.8 PPG on .392/.349/.812 shooting during that time.
Hyland, who is in the final year of his rookie deal, was attached to Terance Mann on Thursday in the deal that sent Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Clippers.
Assuming Hyland clears waivers, as expected, he’ll be eligible to sign with any NBA team besides the Clippers.
The Hawks, meanwhile, will open up a spot on their 15-man roster after an active deadline week. They’ll be on the hook for the remainder of Hyland’s $4.16MM salary, as well as his full cap hit, but he’ll come off the cap after this season.
And-Ones: Podziemski, Wallace, Australia, Buyouts, Etienne
Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski has been named an injury replacement for next Friday’s Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in San Francisco, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
Podziemski will be replacing Thunder guard Cason Wallace, who is currently dealing with a shoulder strain. Wallace had been drafted onto honorary head coach Tim Hardaway Sr.‘s squad for the four-team event, so Podziemski will slot into Hardaway’s roster.
After a promising rookie season, Podziemski got off to a slow start in this season’s first half, but he has picked up his play since returning last month from an abdominal injury. In his first eight games back, he has averaged 14.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game on .494/.396/.759 shooting.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The NBA has reached an agreement with Australia’s National Basketball League and the Victorian Government to play a pair of exhibition games in Melbourne during the 2025 preseason, according to Olgun Uluc of ESPN. The plan is for a single NBA team to travel to Australia to play an NBL squad, says Uluc, noting that it will be the first time the NBA has played a game in the country.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic takes a look at 35 players who have already hit the buyout market or whom he considers candidates to do so. In Hollinger’s view, there are three players – Bruce Brown, Malcolm Brogdon, and D’Angelo Russell – who could be real difference-makers, though Brown and Brogdon reportedly aren’t likely to be bought out. Hollinger also considers Chris Boucher, Tre Jones, and Larry Nance Jr. to be players who could play rotation roles for playoff teams if they’re bought out by their current clubs.
- Guard Tyson Etienne has been shooting the lights out for the Long Island Nets (48.9% on three-pointers during the NBAGL regular season) and is drawing interest from NBA teams, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), who says Etienne looks like a candidate to get a two-way deal before the March 4 deadline.