Alize Johnson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Sign Alize Johnson To 10-Day Contract

March 2nd, 2022 at 10:44am CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 2: Johnson’s 10-day deal with the Pelicans is now official, the team announced in a press release. As noted below, it’ll run through March 11, covering New Orleans’ next six games.

FEBRUARY 28: The Pelicans are adding some frontcourt depth by signing free agent forward Alize Johnson to a 10-day contract, agent George Langberg tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Johnson, 25, began the 2021/22 season with the Bulls after earning a 15-man roster spot in training camp. He was waived in December when Chicago required a spot on the roster for Alfonzo McKinnie and subsequently joined the Wizards on a 10-day hardship deal.

In total, Johnson has appeared in 19 NBA games this season for Chicago and Washington, averaging 1.7 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 7.3 minutes per contest. He has career averages of 2.5 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 68 appearances (7.5 MPG), having also spent time in Indiana and Brooklyn since he was selected 50th overall in the 2018 draft.

The Pelicans have an opening on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to sign Johnson, who will get a standard 10-day contract. The deal will pay him $99,380, with the team taking on a cap hit of $95,930.

New Orleans doesn’t play its next game until Wednesday, so the club could wait until then to officially sign Johnson in order to maximize his 10 days. If he formally joins the Pelicans on Wednesday, Johnson would be under contract through March 11, making him eligible for six games. If he signs today or tomorrow, Johnson’s deal would expire before the team’s March 11 contest vs. Charlotte.

Wizards Sign Alize Johnson

December 28th, 2021 at 7:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

7:36pm: Johnson officially signed prior to the team’s game in Miami, the team announced (via Twitter).

4:43pm: Alize Johnson is signing with the Wizards on Tuesday and could play significant minutes right away, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Johnson will ink a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption. He was waived by the Bulls over the weekend. His agent told Wojnarowski that his client landed in Miami after clearing waivers and is on the way to the arena, where Washington is playing tonight.

Washington has eight players in protocols, including frontcourt players Thomas Bryant, Rui Hachimura, Anthony Gill and Montrezl Harrell.

Washington has five games over the next 10 days and Johnson will receive about $98K from the Wizards to go along with the $705K+ he made with Chicago, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

Johnson appeared in 16 games for the Bulls, averaging 1.8 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 7.6 MPG.

Selected by the Pacers with the 50th pick in 2018, Johnson spent two years with Indiana, then played 18 games for the Nets last season after joining the team in March on a 10-day contract.

Bulls Waive Alize Johnson, Sign Alfonzo McKinnie For Rest Of Season

December 26th, 2021 at 10:43am CST by Arthur Hill

10:43am: Both moves are official, the Bulls announced (via Twitter). Since Johnson’s $1.7MM salary was partially guaranteed, the prorated cap hit for Chicago will be about $706K, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. McKinnie will have a $1.09MM salary and a $1.02MM cap hit, leaving the team roughly $3MM below the luxury tax line.

9:06am: The Bulls will waive forward Alize Johnson, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The newly-opened roster spot will be used to sign Alfonzo McKinnie to a contract that covers the remainder of the season (Twitter link).

McKinnie becomes the league’s first COVID-19 hardship addition to earn a standard contract, Charania notes. The 29-year-old small forward signed a pair of 10-day deals and has averaged 8.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in three games. This is the fifth NBA team for McKinnie, who has also played for the Raptors, Warriors, Cavaliers and Lakers after going undrafted in 2017.

Johnson, 25, signed a two-year deal with Chicago during the offseason and received a partial guarantee of $250K for making the opening-night roster. His $1.878MM salary for 2022/23 was non-guaranteed until July 2, 2022, so the Bulls won’t be on the hook for any more money beyond this season.

Johnson was among several Chicago players who entered the league’s health and safety protocols earlier this month, but he was cleared to return on Thursday. He appeared in 16 games for the Bulls, averaging 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per night.

Selected by the Pacers with the 50th pick in 2018, Johnson spent two years with Indiana, then played 18 games for the Nets last season after joining the team in March on a 10-day contract.

Zach LaVine, Four Other Bulls Exit COVID-19 Protocols

December 23rd, 2021 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

All the Bulls players who were in the health and safety protocols have now rejoined the team, head coach Billy Donovan said today (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago). That group consists of Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Alize Johnson, Matt Thomas, and Devon Dotson.

LaVine, Dosunmu, Johnson, and Thomas were all placed in the COVID-19 protocols at least 10 days ago. Dotson just entered the protocols on Tuesday, but has since tested out of them, according to Donovan (Twitter link via Johnson). That suggests that perhaps Dotson registered a false positive test earlier in the week.

It’s great news for the Bulls, who were one of the first teams to be affected by a coronavirus outbreak this month and who have had three games postponed. They’ll resume play on Sunday when they host Indiana.

The Bulls currently have three replacement players on 10-day hardship contracts. Alfonzo McKinnie signed his second 10-day deal on Monday and Ersan Ilyasova and Mac McClung inked their respective 10-day pacts on Wednesday.

While those contracts remain active for now, once all the Bulls players coming out of the protocols have been medically cleared to return to action, the team won’t be able to continue carrying those hardship signees, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). That means Ilyasova and McClung likely won’t get to play out their full 10-day contracts, and if Chicago wants to keep McKinnie around, the team would have to create room by trading or waiving someone from the 15-man roster.

Lakers’ Westbrook, Cavs’ Okoro Enter COVID-19 Protocols

December 16th, 2021 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers guard Russell Westbrook has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). Lakers guard Avery Bradley has also been placed in the protocols, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Westbrook and Bradley are the fourth and fifth Lakers to enter the protocols within the last three days, joining teammates Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard, and Malik Monk.

It’s unclear if the two Lakers guards have registered confirmed positive tests for COVID-19, but if they have, they’ll be sidelined for at least 10 days or until he returns two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

The news of Westbrook and Bradley entering the protocols coincides with reports that the Lakers have agreed to sign Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception. Westbrook’s and Bradley’s absences should open the door for Thomas to get some run at the point guard spot.

Here are a few more COVID-related updates from around the NBA:

Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro has entered the health and safety protocols, sources tell Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). No other Cavs players are currently in the protocols, so we’ll have to wait to see if Okoro is a one-off or if any of his teammates join him in the coming days. If Okoro tested positive for COVID-19, he’ll be in the protocols for at least 10 days or until he returns two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, that Coby White and Javonte Green are the only two players on the team who have cleared the health and safety protocols and have been conducting individual workouts. That leaves eight players in the protocols, and many of them – including Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Alize Johnson, and Troy Brown Jr. – may not be back until after Christmas, according to Donovan.
Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa has cleared the health and safety protocols, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Koreen also provides a few injury updates on Raptors players — Dalano Banton (illness) is good to go, while OG Anunoby (hip) and Khem Birch (knee) will be listed as questionable for the club’s game vs. Golden State on Saturday.

Bulls’ Alize Johnson Enters Health And Safety Protocols

December 13th, 2021 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

Yet another Bulls player has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that forward Alize Johnson has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Bulls are currently experiencing the league’s worst outbreak of the coronavirus this season, with 10 players in the protocols. The team only has eight healthy players available, though it’s possible Coby White and/or Javonte Green could exit the protocols and be cleared in time to play on Tuesday vs. Detroit.

The NBA typically requires teams to play their games if they have at least eight players available, so as long as the Bulls don’t enter any more players into the protocols today or tomorrow, the game vs. the Pistons may simply proceed as scheduled.

However, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (video link) says the Bulls have made an appeal to the NBA to postpone that game, which the league could consider — even if Chicago technically has eight players available, the outbreak has reached the point where a postponement may be worth it to ensure the Bulls have stopped the spread and won’t be putting another team at risk.

Besides Johnson, White, and Green, the Bulls players currently affected by the health and safety protocols are Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Ayo Dosunmu, Derrick Jones Jr., Troy Brown Jr., Matt Thomas and Stanley Johnson. Patrick Williams is also unavailable due to a wrist injury that’s expected to keep him on the shelf for the rest of the regular season.

Following Tuesday’s home game vs. Detroit, the Bulls are scheduled to play in Toronto on Thursday.

Bulls Waive Stanley Johnson, Will Retain Alize Johnson

October 16th, 2021 at 12:31pm CST by JD Shaw

The Bulls have waived forwards Stanley Johnson and Troy Baxter Jr., the team announced on social media today (Twitter link). Johnson previously signed a non-guaranteed deal with the organization, while Baxter signed an Exhibit 10 contract.

Chicago has also rewarded big man Alize Johnson and will keep him on the 15-man roster, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic tweets. Johnson has impressed during training camp and will stick with the Bulls after a brief stint in Brooklyn last season. He averaged 5.2 points, five rebounds and 10.5 minutes in 18 contests with the Nets.

As for Stanley Johnson, the 25-year-old joined Chicago for training camp and played in all four preseason games. He was the No. 8 overall pick in 2015 and has made past stops with Detroit, New Orleans and Toronto.

At least one more roster move will be required for the Bulls, who are still carrying 16 players on standard contracts, including Matt Thomas and Tyler Cook on non-guaranteed deals. The team could keep both players by converting Cook to a two-way contract, but it remains unclear if that’s the plan. It does sound like Thomas will make the opening-night roster though, per Mayberry (Twitter link).

The Bulls are entering the 2021/22 season with a revamped roster, acquiring Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and others during the summer. Chicago finished 11th in the Eastern Conference at 31-41 last season.

Scotto’s Latest: Blazers, Beasley, Patterson, Ennis, More

September 8th, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have 13 players with guaranteed contracts on their roster and have added Dennis Smith Jr. and Marquese Chriss on non-guaranteed deals to vie for one of the team’s open roster spots. However, that competition may end up including more veterans than just Smith and Chriss.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Trail Blazers are eyeing other free agent forwards as possible training camp invitees. Michael Beasley, who played for Portland’ Summer League team, is one possibility. The club is also eyeing veteran stretch four Patrick Patterson, says Scotto.

The Blazers still only have 16 players under contract, which means there are four more spots available on their 20-man offseason roster.

As we wait to see how Portland fills those openings, here are a few more items of interest from Scotto:

Having previously identified the Bulls as one team interested in free agent wing James Ennis, Scotto adds a few more clubs to that list, suggesting that Ennis has also drawn interest from the Trail Blazers, Lakers, and Magic. Ennis, who has spent most of the last two seasons in Orlando, knocked down 43.3% of his three-point attempts in 2020/21.
Another player who has received interest from the Trail Blazers is big man Isaiah Hartenstein, according to Scotto, who says the Clippers have kicked the tires on the former Cav as well. As I detailed on Tuesday, Hartenstein is the only player who is still a free agent after declining an option earlier this summer.
Before he signed with Chicago, Alize Johnson generated interest from a handful of other teams, including the Clippers, Suns, and Knicks, per Scotto. If the Clippers had wanted Johnson badly enough, they could’ve claimed him off waivers using one of their trade exceptions, which wasn’t an option for Phoenix or New York.

Central Notes: Johnson And Johnson, Bulls, Portis

September 7th, 2021 at 8:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Bulls added two new, defensive-minded free agent forwards over the weekend to build out their bench depth. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times examines how the new pair of Stanley Johnson and Alize Johnson should fit for Chicago.

As Cowley writes, after the Bulls lost out on the sweepstakes to veteran Paul Millsap as their main reserve power forward, the team quickly pivoted to the Johnsons. Though neither player is much of a jump-shooter, both are young and athletic.

Due to a shallow frontcourt, Stanley and Alize Johnson should each see plenty of playing time behind starters DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams and pricier reserve Derrick Jones Jr. Cowley adds that the 6’7″ Alize Johnson could see some spot minutes as a small-ball center. All-Star Nikola Vucevic, and newly-added main backup Tony Bradley figure to see more minutes at the position. Johnson could compete with rookie center Marko Simonovic for occasional run at the five.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

The Bulls appear to be closing in on their opening night roster after a busy offseason. Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago reviews Chicago’s depth chart heading into the 2021/22 season. Schaefer lauds the club’s creativity in thoroughly remaking itself this summer, a process that required several complex sign-and-trade agreements.
Bucks reserve big man Bobby Portis, who is returning to Milwaukee on a team-friendly two-year, $9MM deal, chatted with Shams Charania of Stadium to discuss his free agent decision and his future with the team (Twitter video link). During the conversation, Charania observed that the Heat and Mavericks were among the playoff clubs seeking Portis’ services during the 2021 offseason. “This is a winning environment,” Portis said of the team with which he won a title this year. He noted that 2021 Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo did he darnedest to ensure that Portis return to the Bucks as he entered free agency. “To have a guy like Giannis call me, wanting me to stay… is just great.”
In case you missed it, the Cavaliers are continuing to explore adding swingman bench depth. Free agents Garrison Mathews and Denzel Valentine are among some of the names being considered.

Alize Johnson Signs Two-Year Contract With Bulls

September 7th, 2021 at 7:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

SEPTEMBER 7: The Bulls have officially signed Johnson to his two-year deal, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), who reports that the big man will get a $250K partial guarantee if he’s not waived by opening night. The second year is non-guaranteed until July 2, 2022.

SEPTEMBER 6: After being waived by the Nets to make room for an un-retiring LaMarcus Aldridge, unrestricted free agent power forward Alize Johnson has agreed to a new two-year contract with the Bulls, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski reports that Johnson will sign a two-year, $3.6MM minimum-salary contract with Chicago. Johnson marks the third Bulls signing of the Labor Day weekend, to go along with 6’6″ forward Stanley Johnson and 6’4″ wing Matt Thomas.

The 6’7″ Alize Johnson was selected by the Pacers with the No. 50 pick in the 2018 draft out of Missouri State. After spending his first two NBA seasons with the Pacers and their NBAGL affiliate the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, he next suited up for the Raptors 905 during the pandemic-truncated 2021 G League Orlando “bubble” season. The 25-year-old averaged 16.6 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 4.2 APG and 1.3 SPG across 15 contests for the Raptors’ G League affiliate.

Johnson then joined the Nets for the remainder of the season, flashing some athletic promise in a deep-bench role. Over 18 games, he averaged 5.2 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 10.5 MPG for Brooklyn during the 2020/21 season.

Positionally, both Johnsons could help fill the void left by recently-departed reserve power forward Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen, a restricted free agent this summer, was moved to the Cavaliers through a four-year, $67MM sign-and-trade, in a three-team deal with the Blazers that netted Chicago future draft equity, as well as reserve forward Derrick Jones Jr.

Functionally, Jones and the Johnsons are very different players from Markkanen. The new reserve trio should collectively be able to provide versatile defense at either forward position, though none sport the long-range shooting acumen of seven-footer Markkanen.

It’s worth noting that, prior to the Bulls’ trio of deals, the team was carrying 13 players on guaranteed contracts. The details on Chicago’s latest contracts are unclear, but there won’t be room for both Johnsons and Thomas on the regular season roster unless another player is traded or waived.