Warriors Sign Jackson Rowe To Two-Way Contract
The Warriors have filled their open two-way slot, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed forward Jackson Rowe to a two-way deal (Twitter link).
Rowe, who played his college ball at Cal State Fullerton from 2016-20, bounced around various international leagues during his first few professional seasons, playing in France, Sweden, Canada, and Germany before catching on with the Santa Cruz Warriors – Golden State’s G League affiliate – last season.
Rowe established himself as a rotation player for Santa Cruz in 2023/24 and returned to the team this season after also playing for the Warriors in Summer League and during the NBA preseason.
The 6’7″ forward has averaged 14.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game for the G League team through 23 Tip-Off Tournament and regular season outings this season, posting a shooting line of .500/.373/.680.
Golden State has had a two-way opening since trading Reece Beekman to Brooklyn last month, so no corresponding move is necessary to bring Rowe aboard. He joins Pat Spencer and Quinten Post in filling out the Warriors’ two-way slots.
Rowe will be eligible to appear in as many as 22 NBA games for the Warriors, a prorated portion of the usual 50-game limit. As long as the team continues to leave its 15th standard roster spot open, he, Spencer, and Post will be restricted to a combined total of 90 active NBA games.
Stein: Raptors A Team To Watch For Brandon Ingram
The Raptors have emerged as a team to watch as a potential suitor for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Stein’s report doesn’t indicate that the two sides have gained any momentum toward a deal, but he writes that “the mere suggestion of potential Raptors interest” is the most noteworthy development on the Ingram front for several weeks.
Bruce Brown, Chris Boucher, and Davion Mitchell, all of whom are on expiring contracts, have frequently been mentioned as Raptors trade candidates leading up to next Thursday’s deadline, as has big man Kelly Olynyk, who has one more guaranteed year left on his own deal.
As Stein observes, most recent Raptors-related rumors have connected Toronto to a potential multi-team Jimmy Butler blockbuster as a facilitator. But Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca cited a front office source last week who said the Raptors are also believed to be on the lookout for a “significant piece” to pair with All-Star forward Scottie Barnes.
While it remains to be seen if Toronto’s front office views Ingram as that “significant piece,” the 27-year-old forward is a former All-Star who is very much available via trade as he plays out his $36MM expiring contract. He and the Pelicans have been unable to agree to terms on an extension, creating uncertainty about his future in New Orleans beyond this season.
Unfortunately, Ingram hasn’t had much of an opportunity to boost his stock this season as he nears unrestricted free agency. Injuries, including a badly sprained left ankle that has sidelined him since December 7, have limited him to 18 outings for the 12-35 Pelicans, who have endured a nightmare season so far.
In those 18 contests, Ingram has averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game with a shooting line of .465/.374/.855.
Cavs’ Isaac Okoro Not Close To Returning
The Cavaliers confirmed on Tuesday (via Twitter) that forward Dean Wade has been diagnosed with a right knee bone bruise and will be out for at least the next two weeks, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported earlier. According to Fedor (subscription required), it’s possible another Cavs forward Isaac Okoro, will face a similar injury recovery timeline to Wade.
As Fedor writes, Okoro missed eight games in late December and early January due to sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. He returned to action on Jan. 8 and appeared in five consecutive contests, but aggravated the injury in a Jan. 16 matchup with Oklahoma City and has been unavailable for Cleveland’s past six games.
Okoro hasn’t done much on-court work yet and the Cavs are committed to taking it slow with him in order to get him fully healthy for the home stretch of the season, Fedor writes.
“Shoulders are tricky — as the complete amateur I am,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said recently. “He will never say this, but you could see that he was feeling it even before he got hit again. A lot of these guys aren’t 100 percent. But a shoulder is tricky. It’s like a pitcher. That is what you’re shooting with. Any kind of discomfort there … we’re going to figure that one out. I told him, ‘We need you as close to 100 percent as possible. You don’t have to rush this thing.’ I want him thinking long term. We need him down the road.”
The banged-up Cavs have also been down another wing, with Caris LeVert having missed five straight games due to a sprained right wrist. While LeVert appears to be trending toward a return, he continues to feel pain in that wrist when he tests it out, most recently in an on-court shooting session on Monday, per Fedor.
“I think that’s more day-to-day,” Atkinson said. “That’s my feel with it. Still not feeling right. These are sensitive things when it comes to shooting the ball. If a guy is not feeling it, we err on the side of caution.”
Max Strus, who didn’t make his season debut until December 20 due to health issues of his own, came off the bench in his first 13 appearances of 2024/25, but has started each of Cleveland’s past five games and figures to remain in that role for the foreseeable future with most of the team’s other small forwards battling injuries, Fedor writes.
NBA Reschedules Two Postponed Games, Moves Seven Others
The NBA has announced a series of changes to its game schedule, issuing a press release on Tuesday (via Twitter) stating that two postponed games have been rescheduled and seven others have been moved around as a result of the changes.
The two postponed games are the Spurs/Lakers contest from Saturday, January 11 that wasn’t played due to the Los Angeles wildfires and a Jan. 22 matchup between the Bucks and Pelicans that was postponed due to severe winter weather in New Orleans. According to the league, the new dates for those games are as follows:
- San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers: Monday, March 17.
- Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans: Sunday, April 6.
The NBA also announced the following seven schedule changes to accommodate the rescheduled games:
- Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic: Moved from March 12 to March 6.
- Orlando Magic at San Antonio Spurs: Moved from March 17 to April 1.
- Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers; Moved from March 18 to March 20.
- Toronto Raptors at Golden State Warriors: Moved from March 19 to March 20.
- Milwaukee Bucks at Golden State Warriors: Moved from March 20 to March 18.
- Orlando Magic at New Orleans Pelicans: Moved from April 6 to March 13.
- New Orleans Pelicans at Milwaukee Bucks: Moved from April 9 to April 10.
In addition to the four teams affected by the original postponements, the Bulls, Magic, Raptors, and Warriors also had games affected as a result of today’s announcement.
It’s the second time this month that the league has made a series of changes to its schedule to accommodate postponed games — the NBA announced on January 15 that nine games had been rescheduled.
There are no more postponed games still requiring new dates, so if no additional postponements take place for the rest of this season, this should be the last schedule adjustment the league needs to make.
Raptors Re-Sign Orlando Robinson To Second 10-Day Deal
Orlando Robinson‘s first 10-day contract with the Raptors expired overnight on Monday, but he wasn’t a free agent for long. According to a press release from the team, Robinson has officially signed a second 10-day deal with Toronto.
A seven-foot center who opened the season with the Kings before being waived earlier this month, Robinson appeared in three games during his first 10 days with Toronto. He saw just 1:26 of garbage time last Tuesday vs. Orlando, but had four points, six rebounds, and a pair of blocks in 21 minutes in a Saturday win over Atlanta, then registered four points and a rebound in 11 minutes in Monday’s victory over New Orleans.
Ahead of Monday’s game, head coach Darko Rajakovic told reporters that Robinson had picked up on the Raptors’ schemes on both ends of the court very quickly and strongly suggested he’d like to have the big man back once his first 10-day contract expired, notes Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
After earning $119,972 on his first 10-day contract with Toronto, Robinson will earn the same amount for the next 10 days. His deal will cover the Raptors’ next five games, running through February 6.
Since Toronto doesn’t play next Thursday, it’s possible Robinson’s contract will be terminated a day early if the club needs an open roster spot at the trade deadline, but he’d still earn his full salary in that scenario.
If the Raptors want to retain Robinson beyond the end his second 10-day contract, they’d need to sign him for the rest of the season, since a player isn’t permitted to sign three 10-day deals with the same team in a season.
As our 10-day contract tracker shows, Toronto is one of just two teams – along with Oklahoma City – to complete one or more 10-day signings so far this season.
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 1/28/2025
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included how many Wizards should be traded before the deadline, whether the Bulls are ready for a major overhaul, Tyler Herro's All-Star chances, Jimmy Butler's ultimate destination and more! Use the link below to read the transcript.
Scotto’s Latest: Clippers, Boucher, Brown, Nurkic
The Clippers are currently operating about $2.5MM above the luxury tax threshold and would like to duck below that line at the trade deadline, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
That’s not surprising, given that the Clippers were a taxpayer in each of the previous four seasons and are now subject to repeater taxpayer penalties. Getting out of tax territory wouldn’t just save them from paying repeater rates in 2024/25 — it would also be the first step toward resetting the repeater clock for future seasons.
Clippers forward P.J. Tucker and guard Bones Hyland are the team’s two most obvious trade chips in any cost-cutting deal. Both players are on expiring contracts, with Tucker – who has been away from the team – earning $11.5MM, while Hyland – who has had a very limited role – making $4.2MM. Scotto classifies both players as “available,” which feels like an understatement. i don’t expect either player could be moved without a sweetener.
According to Scotto, a best-case scenario for the Clippers would be to duck the tax while also adding a backup big man to fortify their depth chart. If they’re able to create an open spot on their 15-man roster and have enough room below the tax, second-year forward Jordan Miller remains a candidate to be promoted from his two-way deal, as Scotto previously reported.
Scotto adds that the Clippers are looking to avoid taking on any contracts that run beyond 2025/26, since they’re prioritizing cap flexibility for the summer of ’26.
Here’s more from Scotto:
- The Nuggets, Clippers, and Knicks are among the teams to register some level of interest in Raptors big man Chris Boucher, Scotto reports. Boucher is on an expiring $10.8MM contract.
- Scotto confirms that Raptors wing Bruce Brown, who has a $23MM expiring contract, is a candidate to be included in a multi-team Jimmy Butler trade, as has been previously reported. There are a number of playoff-caliber teams hoping that Brown ends up being bought out after the deadline instead, Scotto adds.
- The Suns are exploring the possibility of attaching one of their newly acquired first-round picks to center Jusuf Nurkic in order to land a quality rotation player via trade, sources tell HoopsHype. Scotto says Phoenix doesn’t view Nurkic as a salary dump and believes he’ll have more value on the trade market in the summer as he enters the final year of his contract. While I agree he may be easier to move in the summer, it’s hard to imagine Nurkic having positive or even neutral trade value at that point due to his $19.4MM cap hit for 2025/26.
Heat ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Moving Butler By Deadline
10:32am: The Warriors, viewed near the start of the month as an unlikely suitor for Butler, are one of the teams back in the mix now that the Heat have lowered their asking price, reports Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel hears from a source that the Heat would be satisfied to receive a “potential contributing” player on a one- or two-year contract, expiring salary, and a pair of draft picks in exchange for Butler.
9:48am: The Heat are “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of making a Jimmy Butler trade before the February 6 deadline, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who report that Miami has been engaging “several” teams besides the Suns.
While Phoenix has long been viewed as Butler’s preferred landing spot and the team most willing to give the 35-year-old the maximum-salary contract he’s seeking, the Suns haven’t had much luck finding a trade structure that works, per The Herald.
Bradley Beal would have to be sent to a third team in order for the Suns to acquire Butler, since Phoenix can’t aggregate contracts and Miami isn’t interested in the veteran guard, who has two more years and nearly $111MM left on his contract after this season.
Finding a taker for Beal has been a challenge, especially since he has the ability to veto any deal using his no-trade clause. While Beal is reportedly open to waiving that clause to join a contending team, ideally one in a warm-weather city, he also seems to be comfortable with the idea of remaining in Phoenix, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Appearing on ESPN (Twitter video links), NBA insider Brian Windhorst backed up the notion that the Heat are talking to teams besides the Suns about Butler and said Miami is “really, really trying to make this happen,” adding that the team’s asking price on Butler has dropped a little from where it was earlier in the month.
“Obviously, the Phoenix Suns have tried to get this done for weeks,” Windhorst said on SportsCenter. “They have tried three-, four-, five-team machinations. They have not been able to overcome the fact that what they’ve really got to trade is Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause and not a very big market. So now I do believe this is going to bring in some other teams. We could see some surprising moves in this little battle in the next couple of days.
“… I am not saying for sure this is going to happen. I’m not predicting what’s going to happen. But I do think some teams that thought they were out of this are coming back in because it doesn’t look like the Suns and Heat are going to be able to consummate a deal. I think we might see a team swoop in here and get Jimmy Butler at a cheap price. A guy who can be the best player in a playoff series at a bargain price.”
Windhorst went a step further during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday morning (Twitter video link).
“Jimmy Butler’s going to get traded,” he predicted. “I wasn’t sure about that maybe seven to 10 days ago. I really am more sure than ever that that’s going to happen.”
The Heat announced on Monday that they’ve suspended Butler for a third time. Following a five-game suspension earlier this month and a two-game suspension that just concluded on Saturday, the latest suspension is an indefinite one and was said to be for “withholding services.” That means it will cost Butler 1/91.6th of his $48.8MM salary for each game he misses — the previous suspensions for conduct detrimental for the team cost him 1/145th of his salary per game.
Since word of Butler’s desire to be traded first broke last month, reports have indicated that the Heat are willing to hang onto the six-time All-Star through this season and revisit trade talks in the summer if they don’t get the sort of return they want by February 6. The club is said to be prioritizing win-now players with contracts that don’t extend beyond 2025/26.
However, with the standoff between the two sides continuing to escalate, it appears increasingly untenable for Butler to remain on the roster for several more months, which is why the front office is more motivated than ever to find a viable deal.
As Jackson and Chiang point out, while Butler’s camp has long conveyed that he intends to decline his 2025/26 player option in favor of free agency, the veteran forward could make life difficult on the Heat by picking up that option in June and essentially putting Miami back in the same situation it’s in now — with a disgruntled star on a maximum-salary deal, hamstringing the team’s ability to improve the roster around him.
Additionally, while the Heat are theoretically saving some money as a result of Butler’s suspensions, team-imposed suspensions don’t affect a team’s tax bill, and based on existing precedents, it’s very possible Butler will regain a chunk of his lost salary through the appeal process. In other words, the financial incentives to continue suspending him are minimal.
Neither Windhorst nor the duo of Jackson and Chiang named specific teams outside of Phoenix that might be exploring a deal for Butler. Previous reporting has indicated that the Grizzlies have kicked the tires on the possibility, despite being warned against it, while Marc Stein said on Monday that rival clubs continue to wonder if the Bucks will get involved.
Cameron Johnson Expected To Be Reevaluated Next Week
Nets forward Cameron Johnson will likely miss the team’s two-game road trip in Charlotte on Wednesday and Houston on Saturday, according to head coach Jordi Fernandez, who told reporters on Monday that Johnson continues to battle a right ankle sprain that has already cost him 10 games this month.
“He’ll be reevaluated, I think, next week. He’s out right now,” Fernandez said prior to Monday’s game vs. Sacramento, per Bridget Reilly of The New York Post. “Obviously we want him to get that ankle right.”
Johnson was originally sidelined for five games due to a right ankle sprain he sustained on January 2. He returned on Jan. 14, but missed the Nets’ next two contests after that. After playing again on Jan. 19 and 21, he went back on the inactive list for Brooklyn’s past three games. Fernandez suggested on Monday that when Johnson returns, the Nets want it to be for good.
“He was good when he came back, it’s just like he tweaked it again twice. And again, it’s unlucky, but we just want to make sure that now it’s strong enough that he’ll be able to play through things and he’s 100 percent,” Fernandez said. “Obviously, we want him back. We love having Cam Johnson, because you guys know his leadership and also the impact he has for us, but right now this is the situation that we have to deal with.”
A week-to-week injury for a player on a 14-33 team clearly headed for the draft lottery isn’t typically the sort of story we’d monitor too closely, but Johnson is considered one of the NBA’s top trade candidates ahead of next Thursday’s deadline. After this week, the Nets only have two more games before that Feb. 6 deadline arrives — next Tuesday vs. Houston and Wednesday vs. Washington.
While it’s possible Johnson will make it back for one or both of those games, it also wouldn’t be a shock if Brooklyn plays it safe and holds its second-leading scorer out a little longer so as not to risk another setback while the club is discussing potential trades.
The Nets’ asking price for Johnson – who is under contract through 2026/27 – is said to be high, with the front office reportedly seeking multiple first-round picks. If potential trade partners aren’t fully confident about Johnson’s health, it would compromise Brooklyn’s ability to try to extract that sort of return.
In other Nets injury news, big man Noah Clowney exited Monday’s loss in the second quarter due to what appeared to be a left ankle injury and didn’t return, Reilly notes. Clowney had to be helped off the floor by the training staff.
Additionally, Brooklyn’s top scorer Cam Thomas, who has been out since January 2 with a left hamstring strain, will undergo scans on Wednesday, with the team expected to provide an update following those tests, Reilly writes.
Bulls Notes: Williams, Buzelis, Terry, White, LaVine, Vucevic
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan made what Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune describes as a “long overdue” change to his starting lineup on Monday vs. Denver, moving forward Patrick Williams to the bench and elevating guard Ayo Dosunmu in his place.
As Poe notes, Chicago’s guard-heavy starting five allowed the club to better match up with a Nuggets team that was starting three guards of its own (Jamal Murray, Russell Westbrook, and Christian Braun), so there’s no guarantee Donovan will stick with the lineup change going forward. Still, the results were compelling.
The slumping Bulls picked up just their second win in their last nine games, registering a 129-121 victory over Denver, and Williams’ +16 mark in 28 minutes off the bench was a personal season high. After contributing 11 points and eight rebounds, the fifth-year forward – who had started 35 of 36 games before Monday – admitted to reporters that he didn’t mind being moved to the bench (Twitter video link via Poe).
“I would say yeah,” Williams said when asked if he’s more comfortable in a reserve role,” but I wouldn’t say I’m uncomfortable with starting. The second unit needs different things than the first unit. I’ve always tried to be a player that tries to fill any gap. I’m not trying to say that I’m one thing. I’m just trying to be a basketball player.”
As Poe writes, Williams wasn’t the only Bulls youngster who looked more comfortable in the adjusted rotation. Rookie Matas Buzelis was the first player off the bench and logged 20 minutes, his highest mark in over a month. He chipped in nine points and four rebounds and was a +10 during his time on the court. Dalen Terry also had a good night, with 13 points in 13 minutes and a +11 plus/minus rating.
The Bulls are expected to be without a couple key players when their three-game road trip begins on Wednesday in Boston, so Williams may end up being moved back to the starting five out of necessity, Poe writes. But she argues that if the Bulls want to try to boost the forward’s trade value ahead of next Thursday’s deadline, it might make sense to play him more often with the second unit, where he seems more comfortable.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- There’s “optimism” that Coby White, who was been dealing with a bone bruise in his right ankle, will be able to return during Chicago’s three-game road trip, Donovan said on Monday (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network). However, White likely won’t be active vs. Boston on Wednesday. “A few days ago, I think he was having a little bit of pain there, but that’s kind of subsided,” Donovan said, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “He still has some things he has to do in terms of more movement, but [he’s] certainly closer to playing.”
- Zach LaVine will be out on Wednesday for personal reasons. According to Cowley, LaVine’s absence is related to the impending birth of his third child.
- In a story for The Tribune, Poe checks in on where things stand with several of the Bulls trade candidates, evaluating which players are most likely to be moved and what the team could realistically expect to receive in return. Discussing Nikola Vucevic, Poe contends that it’s realistic to expect a first-round pick in exchange for the veteran big man, who is having his best season since he arrived in Chicago in 2021.
- In case you missed it, we passed along several Bulls-related items on Monday, including the fact that the team has no untouchables in trade talks. Additionally, the Bulls and Suns reportedly discussed Bradley Beal, but the Phoenix guard is said to be uninterested in waiving his no-trade clause to go to Chicago.