Isaiah Taylor

Eastern Notes: Howard, Trier, Collins, Nance Jr., Taylor

Dwight Howard has been shut down since Oct. 6 after he received a second opinion on a buttocks injury, but he could return to the court for light training on Monday, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes.

Howard, 32, has yet to practice with his new team as the injury has kept him sidelined for all of training camp the preseason. Given that the Wizards‘ regular season begins on Thursday, it’s highly unlikely their center will be ready to go by then. However, Washington’s plan is to make sure the veteran is healthy and ready before he returns to game action, per head coach Scott Brooks.

“We’re in no rush. It’s a long season and we would love to have him,” Brooks said.

Howard averaged 16.6 PPG and 12.5 RPG for the Hornets last season as he appeared in 80-plus games for the first time since 2009/10.

Check out more Eastern Conference notes below:

  • The Knicks will let Allonzo Trier use up all 45 NBA days on his two-way deal in lieu of waiving someone to create room on the 15-man roster, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “We have 45 days of him working with us to figure out what’s the next move,’’  head coach David Fizdale said of the undrafted guard. “We are in the process of working with that and finding the best way to stretch that out. Obviously the kid has shown he’s an NBA basketball player.”
  • The Knicks’ preseason schedule is wrapped up but New York will enter the regular without a defined point guard, Steve Popper of Newsday writes. Frank Ntilikina, Trey Burke and even the aforementioned Trier are all possibilities. “I am definitely undecided going into the first game,” Fizdale said. “I don’t feel a deadline for game one like everybody else does.”
  • Hawks big man John Collins underwent a non-surgical procedure on his injured left ankle on Monday and is scheduled for a re-evaluation on Oct. 22, the team announced. In addition to Collins, the Hawks will likely be without Dewayne Dedmon, Justin Anderson and Daniel Hamilton for the regular-season opener, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  • Cavaliers swingman Larry Nance Jr. suffered a right ankle sprain on Thursday and will undergo treatment before being re-evaluated, the team announced. Also, Isaiah Taylor received additional imaging on his left leg that revealed a stress fracture. Taylor could miss upwards of a month, putting his hope of making Cleveland’s roster in jeopardy, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes.

Cavaliers Sign Isaiah Taylor

AUGUST 17: The signing is official, according to RealGM’s transaction log.

AUGUST 9: The Cavaliers have agreed to a one-year deal with former Hawks point guard Isaiah Taylor, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Taylor saw action in 67 games during his lone season in Atlanta.

The Cavs, Charania adds, had been targeting an additional point guard for the past week and will welcome aboard a 24-year-old who averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 assists over the course of nine starts in 2017/18.

Taylor recorded 6.6 PPG and 3.1 APG overall in his 67 contests last season for the Hawks after initially debuting for the Rockets during the 2016/17 campaign. He appeared in just four games at the end of the season for Houston.

If he earns a spot on the Cavs’ regular season roster, Taylor will look to push veteran George Hill and 2018 lottery pick Collin Sexton for minutes at the point for Cleveland.

Hawks Waive Guard Isaiah Taylor

The Hawks have waived guard Isaiah Taylor, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.

The move saves Atlanta $300K, which Taylor would have received if he had remained on the roster through Saturday. His $1,544,951 salary for next season would have been fully guaranteed if he was still on the roster through July 27th.

The 6’3” point guard appeared in 67 games last season and averaged 6.6 PPG and 3.1 APG.

Atlanta acquired the rights of Oklahoma point guard Trae Young in a draft-night trade with the Mavericks. The Hawks also have last year’s starter, Dennis Schroder, on the roster though he’s been the subject of trade discussions.

Southeast Notes: Kulboka, Sanon, Taylor, Walker

The Hornets plan to stash 6’10” forward Arnoldas Kulboka in Europe, Chapel Fowler of the Charlotte Observer relays. The Hornets took the Lithuanian native with the No. 55 pick with that plan in mind. “He’s got a buyout that’s manageable, but we’ve talked to his representative …” GM Mitch Kupchak told Fowler and other media members. “At least right now, the plan is to keep him over there and hopefully watch him develop and then, when he’s ready, bring him back over here and see how good he is.”

In other developments around the Southeast Division:

  • The Wizards will go the draft-and-stash route with the No. 44 pick, Issuf Sanon, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post tweets. The Ukrainian combo guard is just 18 years old and played in the Slovenian League last season.
  • The Hawks have pushed back the date of Isaiah Taylor‘s partial guarantee from Friday until the end of the month, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Taylor would receive a $300K guarantee by remaining on the roster through the due date. The remainder of his $1,544,951 salary for next season would become guaranteed if he’s on the roster through July 27th. The 6’3” point guard appeared in 67 games last season and averaged 6.6 PPG and 3.1 APG.
  • The Hawks dealt their early second-round pick at No. 34 because the players they liked in that spot were guards and they already got two backcourt players in the first round, Cunningham reports in a separate tweet. The Hawks secured two future second-rounders in their deal with the Hornets. In the first round, Atlanta wound up with point guard Trae Young after dropping down two spots from the No. 3 slot and chose shooting guard Kevin Huerter at No. 19.
  • Kupchak would like to see point guard Kemba Walker play his whole career with the Hornets but can’t do much about that before Walker hits free agency next season, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. A contract extension isn’t feasible because of Charlotte’s salary-cap restraints. “He is on a (contract) that may make it a challenge going forward to figure out (the best course) before he becomes a free agent,” Kupchak told Bonnell.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/29/18

Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Hawks have recalled a pair of players from the G League, announcing today in a press release that Tyler Cavanaugh and Isaiah Taylor have rejoined the NBA squad. The duo combined for 32 points in an Erie BayHawks win on Sunday.
  • The Jazz have sent Tony Bradley to the G League for the 13th time this season, according to the club (Twitter link). The first-year center has only played 28 total minutes for Utah this season, but has averaged a double-double for the Salt Lake City Stars, with 15.6 PPG and 10.3 RPG in 16 games.
  • Rookie guard Derrick White has been recalled from the G League by the Spurs, the team announced in a press release. White has played 11 games for San Antonio’s G League affiliate this season, with the Austin Spurs going 9-2 in those contests.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/28/18

Here are the G League moves from around the Association today:

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4:59pm:

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/25/18

Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/21/18

Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

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  • The Celtics have recalled Guerschon Yabusele and Abdel Nader from the G League, the team announced today (via Twitter). Yabusele and Nader were sent down yesterday for the Maine Red Claw’s tilt against the Westchester Knicks.
  • The Hawks have recalled DeAndre’ BembryTyler Cavanaugh and Isaiah Taylor to their G League affiliate in Erie, the team announced in a press release. Additionally, Josh Magettewho has appeared in nine games with Atlanta, was sent down to Erie.
  • The Thunder have assigned Dakari Johnson to the team’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. Johnson has appeared in one game for the Blue, posting a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He has played in 21 games for OKC.
  • The Suns have recalled guard Davon Reed to their Northern Arizona affiliate, per Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports (via Twitter).

Hawks To Guarantee Contracts of Cavanaugh, Taylor

Per a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Hawks are expected to guarantee the contracts of Isaiah Taylor and Tyler Cavanaugh before tomorrow’s guarantee deadline. Combined, that adds up to almost $2.0MM in guaranteed money that Atlanta could have saved by waiving the two players.

Taylor, a second-year guard out of Texas, played in seven total games for Houston last season as a rookie before signing with the Hawks in October. He has averaged 5.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in 31 games so far this season primarily as a backup to Dennis Schroder.

Cavanaugh, an undrafted rookie big man out of George Washington, signed a two-way contract with the Hawks in November before ultimately having his contract converted to a standard NBA deal last month. In 26 games played so far this season, he has averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.