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COVID-19 Updates: Hawks, Blazers, Celtics, Bucks, Nets

December 24th, 2021 at 6:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Wesley Iwundu, who just signed a 10-day contract with the Hawks on Thursday, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Iwundu played 23 minutes in the Hawks’ 98-96 victory over the Sixers Thursday night, scoring two points and grabbing five rebounds. ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets that the Hawks will need to sign another replacement player to replace Iwundu — himself a replacement player.

Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu, who made his season debut last week, has entered the protocols as well, Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. In three games this season (22.3 MPG), Okongwu is averaging 10.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.0 BPG. The Hawks now have nine players in the protocols.

Here are a few more COVID-related updates:

  • Backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and two-way rookie Trendon Watford have entered the protocols for the Trail Blazers and the rest of the team will now be re-tested, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). DSJ and Watford are the only players currently in the protocols for the Blazers.
  • The Celtics have four new players entering the protocols: C.J. Miles, Justin Jackson, Aaron Nesmith, and Bruno Fernando, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. However, Al Horford, Juan Hernangomez, Jabari Parker, and Brodric Thomas, who’ve all been in the protocols, are listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Milwaukee, so they could be exiting the protocols soon. Until those four are cleared, the Celtics will have 12 players in the COVID-19 protocols — the largest outbreak in the NBA.
  • In addition to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis has exited the protocols for the Bucks, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets. Like Horford and the other Celtics, Donte DiVincenzo, who’s also been in the protocols, is listed as questionable to make his season debut Saturday.
  • Meanwhile, Bruce Brown and James Johnson have exited the protocols for the Nets, but seven others, including star Kevin Durant, remain in the protocols for their game Saturday against the Lakers, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
  • Warriors rookie Moses Moody has entered the protocols, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Golden State now has four players in the protocols.
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Celtics Notes: COVID-19, B. Thomas, J. Jackson, I. Thomas

December 18th, 2021 at 4:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics continue to be impacted by a COVID-19 outbreak, with Brodric Thomas the latest player to enter health and safety protocols, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Thomas is the sixth player in the past 48 hours to be placed in the protocols, giving Boston eight inactive players for tonight’s game against the Knicks. Others sidelined are Dennis Schröder, who has a non-COVID illness, and Romeo Langford, who is dealing with a neck issue.

Boston can replenish its roster with hardship exceptions, but because Thomas has a two-way contract he can only be replaced by a player with three years or fewer of NBA service, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). That’s also true for fellow two-way player Sam Hauser, who is among the six players in the protocols.

There’s more from Boston:

  • With Justin Jackson joining the Celtics via the hardship exception, Chris Forsberg of NBC  Boston looks at how the 26-year-old forward can help the team. Jackson will likely see time at power forward with Al Horford, Grant Williams, Juan Hernangomez and Jabari Parker all in the protocols. Jackson has been with four teams since being selected with the 15th pick in the 2017 draft, but he has been shooting well in the G League this season and may provide some minutes as a stretch four until a few players return.
  • Marcus Smart wishes the Celtics had signed former backcourt mate Isaiah Thomas, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Thomas, a long-time fan favorite in Boston, scored 19 points Friday night in his first game since signing a 10-day deal with the Lakers. “It’s amazing. I’m just proud that he gets another chance,” Smart said. “He’s been doing everything he can to show the world that he’s still IT. I think he was written off a little early, but that dude is a quiet warrior, and I’m just happy that somebody gave him a chance.”
  • New coach Ime Udoka has been relying heavily on film sessions to motivate players and point out their errors, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive. The latest instance was Friday’s game against the Warriors when Udoka showed clips at halftime of the Celtics getting beat to loose balls.
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Celtics Sign Brodric Thomas To Two-Way Deal

October 18th, 2021 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

11:29am: The Celtics have officially signed Thomas to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

8:02am: The Celtics are filling one of the open spots on their 17-man roster by signing guard Brodric Thomas to a two-way contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Thomas, 24, began his rookie season in 2020/21 with the Rockets after going undrafted out of Truman. He had his Exhibit 10 contract with Houston converted to a two-way pact at the end of the preseason, then appeared in four games with the Rockets before being waived in February. Thomas caught on with Cleveland on a new two-way deal less than two weeks later and finished the season with the Cavaliers.

In 32 total games for his two teams, Thomas averaged 3.9 PPG and 1.7 RPG on .361/.271/.674 shooting in 12.5 minutes per contest. He put up better numbers in the G League, with 18.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 3.5 APG on .447/.413/.571 shooting in 14 games (33.6 MPG) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Canton Charge.

Thomas re-signed with the Cavs on another two-way deal this offseason, but was released last week.

Once Thomas officially joins the team, the Celtics will have 16 players under contract — Thomas and Sam Hauser on two-way pacts, plus 14 players on standard deals. It doesn’t appear the team will fill its final roster spot to start the regular season.

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Cavaliers Waive Mfiondu Kabengele, Brodric Thomas

October 12th, 2021 at 12:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers have trimmed their roster by waiving center Mfiondu Kabengele and guard Brodric Thomas, the team announced in a press release.

Kabengele signed a pair of 10-day deals with Cleveland in April before inking a contract for the remainder of the season. He appeared in 16 games, averaging 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per night. He also played 23 games for the Clippers last season.

Thomas signed a two-way contract with the Cavs in late February and appeared in 32 games, putting up 4.1 PPG and 1.8 RPG. After exploring free agency, he accepted his qualifying offer last month, which was the equivalent of another two-way deal with a $50K guarantee. Thomas played four games for the Rockets last season before coming to Cleveland and spent time in the G League as well.

The moves bring the Cavaliers down to 18 players on the roster, with 11 guaranteed contracts. The team now has a pair of open two-way slots.

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Cavs’ Brodric Thomas Accepts Two-Way Qualifying Offer

September 15th, 2021 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers shooting guard Brodric Thomas has accepted his qualifying offer and will return to Cleveland, a league source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Because he spent last season on a two-way contract, Thomas’ qualifying offer was the equivalent of another two-way deal with a $50K partial guarantee.

Thomas, 24, began his rookie season with the Rockets after going undrafted out of Truman in 2020. He had his Exhibit 10 contract with Houston converted to a two-way pact at the end of the preseason, then appeared in four games with the Rockets before being waived in February. Thomas caught on with Cleveland on a new two-way deal less than two weeks later and finished the season with the Cavs.

In 32 total games for his two teams, Thomas averaged 3.9 PPG and 1.7 RPG on .361/.271/.674 shooting in 12.5 minutes per contest. He put up better numbers in the G League, with 18.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 3.5 APG on .447/.413/.571 shooting in 14 games (33.6 MPG) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Canton Charge.

By extending Thomas a qualifying offer this summer, the Cavs made him a restricted free agent and essentially earmarked one of their two-way slots for him — at least for now. With Tacko Fall, Tre Scott, RJ Nembhard, and Mitch Ballock expected to be in training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts, the Cavs’ other two-way slot figures to be up for grabs, and if multiple camp invitees make a strong impression, it’s possible Thomas could face competition for his spot as well.

Thomas had been one of two restricted free agents left on the market. Clippers two-way RFA Amir Coffey is now the only one.

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Checking In On Remaining Restricted Free Agents

August 31st, 2021 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

When Lauri Markkanen finally came off the board over the weekend, it left just two standard restricted free agents who are still unsigned, as our FA list shows. Both of those players are Timberwolves free agents: Jordan McLaughlin and Jarred Vanderbilt.

Restricted free agents never have a ton of leverage, especially this deep into the offseason. Some players who remain on the market for weeks, like Markkanen, can still land player-friendly deals, but if McLaughlin or Vanderbilt have been drawing interest around the NBA as coveted sign-and-trade candidates or potential offer sheet recipients, we probably would’ve heard about it by now.

McLaughlin looked like he might be in position to secure a favorable commitment from the Timberwolves after the team traded Ricky Rubio to Cleveland, but Minnesota’s recent move to acquire Patrick Beverley adds depth to the point guard spot and clouds McLaughlin’s future.

A year ago, McLaughlin ultimately decided to accept his qualifying offer and play on a two-way contract for a second consecutive season. This time around, his QO is the equivalent of a one-year, minimum-salary deal, but only a very small portion of that offer (about $84K) has to be guaranteed, so accepting it isn’t a great option.

The Wolves are likely willing to offer a more significant guarantee in 2021/22, but probably want to tack on at least one or two non-guaranteed, minimum-salary years to any deal for McLaughlin. With two-way player McKinley Wright in the picture as a potential third point guard, Minnesota has the roster flexibility to play hardball in its negotiations with McLaughlin.

Vanderbilt may be in a slightly better negotiating position, since he’s likely a higher priority for the Wolves. He started 30 games last season, earning a regular rotation role and showing the ability to handle minutes at power forward, the team’s most glaring weak spot.

Minnesota has a few options at the four, but Taurean Prince and Jake Layman won’t move the needle much, and Jaden McDaniels remains pretty raw. Vanderbilt would be a useful depth piece at the right price, which – in the Wolves’ view – is probably something not far above the veteran’s minimum.

As we wait to see what happens with McLaughlin and Vanderbilt, it’s also worth noting that there are technically four other restricted free agents still on the market. The following four players were made RFAs after finishing the season on two-way contracts:

For these four players, accepting a qualifying offer would mean getting another two-way contract with a $50K partial guarantee.

Signing that qualifying offer would provide no security, even though the Spurs, Clippers, Rockets, and Cavaliers do all have two-way slots open right now. Given the modest guarantee, a team likely wouldn’t hesitate to replace one of its two-way players in October with a camp invitee who has an impressive preseason. And as McLaughlin’s situation shows, even playing out a second year on a two-way QO wouldn’t necessarily give a player additional leverage in his next foray into restricted free agency.

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Nico Mannion, Saben Lee, Others Receive Qualifying Offers

July 31st, 2021 at 10:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have issued a qualifying offer to two-way player Nico Mannion, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Because Mannion, the 48th overall pick in the 2020 draft, was on a two-way contract during his rookie season, his qualifying offer will be the equivalent of another two-way deal, with a partial guarantee worth $50K. The QO will give Golden State matching rights in the event that another team signs Mannion to an offer sheet next week.

Here are more updates on players on two-way contracts receiving qualifying offers:

  • Saben Lee, a 2020 second-round pick who spent his rookie season on a two-way deal, has received a qualifying offer from the Pistons, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith. As expected, Detroit also officially renounced the draft rights to Jaylen Hands, Smith notes.
  • The Bulls issued a qualifying offer to two-way player Devon Dotson, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith. Chicago also gave a QO to Lauri Markkanen on Friday.
  • Nuggets guard Markus Howard, another two-way player, received a qualifying offer that makes him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith. Howard appeared in 37 games for Denver last season as an undrafted rookie out of Marquette.
  • The Spurs extended a qualifying offer to forward Keita Bates-Diop to make him an RFA, tweets Smith. Like the other players listed above, Bates-Diop has fewer than four years of NBA experience and is therefore eligible to sign another two-way contract after spending the 2020/21 season on a two-way deal.
  • The Cavaliers gave a qualifying offer to two-way shooting guard Brodric Thomas, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Thomas appeared in a total of 32 games for Houston and Cleveland as a rookie in 2020/21.
  • The Grizzlies announced they’ve issued a qualifying offer to big man Killian Tillie, making him a restricted free agent. Tillie appeared in 18 games for Memphis as a rookie on his two-way deal.

Since all of these players are coming off two-way contracts and have only spent one season with their respective teams, their QOs are one-year, two-way offers with $50K guarantees.

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NBA G League Announces 2020/21 All-NBAGL Teams

March 23rd, 2021 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

After being named the G League’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year on Monday, Delaware Blue Coats forward Paul Reed – who is on a two-way contract with the Sixers – headlines the All-NBA G League First Team, as the league announced today in a press release.

Reed was joined on the All-NBAGL first team by MVP runner-up Kevin Porter Jr. of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, as well as Oklahoma City Blue big man Moses Brown, Lakeland Magic forward Mamadi Diakite, and Westchester Knicks guard Jared Harper. All of those players are currently on either standard NBA contracts or two-way deals.

That’s a common theme for this year’s All-NBAGL teams. The majority of the 15 players named to the three squads are either currently under contract with NBA teams or have past NBA experience.

The complete list of the 2020/21 All-NBA G League teams, along with the All-Rookie and All-Defensive squads, is below. Players currently on NBA contracts are noted with an asterisk (*), while those on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).

All-NBAGL First Team:

  • Paul Reed (Delaware Blue Coats) ^
  • Kevin Porter Jr. (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) *
  • Moses Brown (Oklahoma City Blue) ^
  • Mamadi Diakite (Lakeland Magic) ^
  • Jared Harper (Westchester Knicks) ^

All-NBAGL Second Team:

All-NBAGL Third Team:

NBAGL All-Rookie Team:

  • Paul Reed (Delaware Blue Coats) ^
  • Mamadi Diakite (Lakeland Magic) ^
  • Malachi Flynn (Raptors 905) *
  • Brodric Thomas (Canton Charge) ^
  • KJ Martin (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) *

NBAGL All-Defensive Team:

  • Paul Reed (Delaware Blue Coats) ^
  • Moses Brown (Oklahoma City Blue) ^
  • Mamadi Diakite (Lakeland Magic) ^
  • Tahjere McCall (Lakeland Magic)
  • Gary Payton II (Raptors 905)

Of the 18 players who earned a spot on one of the G League’s All-NBAGL, All-Rookie, or All-Defensive teams this year, only four – Brissett, Uthoff, McCall, and Payton – haven’t been on some form of standard, two-way, or 10-day NBA contract since the ’20/21 season began. All four of them have previous NBA experience.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Cavs Sign Brodric Thomas To Two-Way Contract

February 24th, 2021 at 9:45pm CST by Luke Adams

9:45pm: Cleveland has officially signed Thomas and waived Bolden, Russo tweets.

1:45pm: The Cavaliers are signing G League guard Brodric Thomas to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Thomas had been on a two-way deal with Houston, but was cut earlier in the month to open up a spot for Ray Spalding. Thomas saw very limited minutes in four games for the Rockets, but has been a regular starter for the club’s NBAGL affiliate, averaging 16.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 1.6 SPG in eight games (33.4 MPG) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Cleveland will waive two-way center Marques Bolden in order to make room for Thomas, sources tell Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bolden has played 29 total minutes in six games for the Cavs this season and has also had a limited impact at the G League level, recording 6.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG in three games (17.0 MPG) for the Canton Charge.

After officially completing those two transactions, the Cavs will once again have a 16-man roster, with 14 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals. Dean Wade is the lone player on the standard roster without a fully guaranteed contract, but Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link) hears the club has no plans to waive Wade before today’s salary guarantee deadline.

Lamar Stevens, the Cavs’ other two-way player, has recently emerged as a regular part of the club’s rotation, and a source tells Fedor that Cleveland will likely consider converting Stevens’ contract to a standard contract at some point. However, the fact that the Cavs are clearing space for Thomas by waiving Bolden rather than promoting Stevens to fill the open spot on the 15-man roster suggests that’s a decision that will be made later in the season.

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Western Notes: J. Smith, Pelicans, Thomas, Azubuike

February 15th, 2021 at 4:09pm CST by Luke Adams

With no minutes available for rookie big man Jalen Smith in the Suns‘ rotation, the team has opted to send him to the G League. The Northern Arizona Suns aren’t in action this season, so Smith will join the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, Los Angeles’ affiliate, via the flexible-assignment rule, as the Clippers announced today.

Smith, who dealt with COVID-19 earlier in the season, has appeared in just eight games for the Suns so far, logging 50 total minutes. While the Clippers’ affiliate won’t necessarily showcase him like Phoenix’s own affiliate would, 2020’s No. 10 overall pick should still see regular playing time during his NBAGL assignment.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • Following a four-game winning streak, the Pelicans have now dropped three consecutive contests, all to sub-.500 teams. The slump has head coach Stan Van Gundy considering changes to the team’s rotation, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “I think now we have to take a look at who we’re playing and how many minutes and what rotations and figure out if there is a way that we can play better defense,” Van Gundy said. “But, I’m being honest with you, I don’t know how many of our guys really have a defensive mentality.”
  • After being waived by the Rockets on Friday, Brodric Thomas has joined Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Twitter link). The Rockets promoted Ray Spalding from the Vipers’ roster to fill Thomas’ two-way contract slot, so the two players essentially swapped places.
  • Jazz rookie Udoka Azubuike suffered a severe right ankle sprain during the first game of the Salt Lake City Stars’ season in the G League bubble last week and will be sidelined indefinitely, as Sarah Todd of The Deseret News writes.
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