- The Jazz have recalled center Tony Bradley and guard Naz Mitrou-Long from its G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. Bradley has appeared in eight games for the Jazz so far this season, recording a career-high four points and three rebounds at Oklahoma City on Dec. 20. Mitrou-Long, who was just signed to a 10-day contract less than a week ago, has appeared in 33 games for the Stars this season, averaging 16.8 points per game.
In his latest piece for ESPN.com, Adrian Wojnarowski goes into extensive detail on the deadline deals completed last week by the Cavaliers, and offers some fascinating tidbits on how those trades got done, and one potential blockbuster that didn’t get done. Let’s dive in and round up the highlights…
- Before making his series of trades, Cavaliers GM Koby Altman got an elusive face-to-face sitdown with LeBron James to let his star player know what he was working on. Altman later met with LeBron again to tell him that the trades for Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance, George Hill, and Rodney Hood were complete, and to ask for his blessing on the deal that sent Dwyane Wade to Miami, says Wojnarowski.
- Altman had received ownership approval to trade Jae Crowder, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, and the Cavs’ own 2018 first-round pick to the Clippers for DeAndre Jordan, according to Wojnarowski. Los Angeles was on board with the deal, but wanted to find a third team to take Shumpert and to give the Clips a center, since they didn’t want another shooting guard. Altman and Clippers GM Michael Winger weren’t able to find that third team, and since L.A. was unwilling to take on Shumpert (or Tristan Thompson or J.R. Smith) and the Cavs had some reservations about extending Jordan’s contract in the offseason, the deal ultimately fell through.
- The three-way trade between the Cavaliers, Kings, and Jazz nearly fell apart on deadline day when Sacramento insisted that Georgios Papagiannis be included in the deal. According to Woj, Cleveland and Utah were “adamant” that Papagiannis had never been discussed, but Kings assistant GM Brandon Williams insists that his notes confirm that either Papagiannis or Malachi Richardson would be included.
- As an aside, Wojnarowski writes that Williams was handling negotiations because GM Vlade Divac “seldom gets on the phone for the trade-building parts,” even though any Kings trade requires his approval, along with the approval of owner Vivek Ranadive.
- The Cavaliers were very much against Papagiannis’ inclusion in the trade, since taking on his $2.3MM cap hit would have cost the club significantly more than that in tax payments. Utah also had no interest in acquiring the former lottery pick, with Wojnarowski suggesting that Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey was “livid” about the insertion of Papagiannis and was ready to call off the trade. As for the Kings, they were hoping to move 2016’s 13th overall pick to avoid the embarrassment of waiving him themselves, says Woj.
- Eventually, Altman was able to work out a solution and talked Lindsey into it, per Wojnarowski. Papagiannis’ rest-of-season salary for this year and his guaranteed salary for 2018/19 totaled $3.2MM, and the Cavaliers were willing to pay that amount to Sacramento, but Cleveland was limited to sending out $2.1MM for the rest of this league year. Altman convinced the Jazz to send the Kings the remaining $1.1MM, with Lindsey getting a little something out of the deal: the ability to swap 2024 second-round picks with the Cavs. The Kings, having been compensated for Papagiannis’ remaining salary, simply waived him rather than insisting he be a part of the trade.
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA.
- The Jazz assigned center Tony Bradley and guard Naz Mitrou-Long to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to a team press release. Bradley is making his 14th G League assignment, while Mitrou-Long joins the Stars for the first time since signing a 10-day contract on February 11th. Bradley has also appeared in 19 games for the Stars averaging 15.4 PPG, 9.8 RPG and 1.3 BPg in 29.0 MPG. Mitrou-Long has appeared in 32 games for the Stars, averaging 16.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 4.7 APG in 34.6 MPG.
- The Lakers recalled rookie center Thomas Bryant from the South Bay Lakers for their upcoming two-game road trip, according to the G League team’s Twitter feed. Thomas has averaged 19.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 1.6 BPG in 25 games with South Bay.
The Jazz‘s decision to trade Rodney Hood and Joe Johnson in deadline deals last week signaled that neither of those players was part of Utah’s plans going forward. Still, there were no hard feelings in either case, as Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News details. Speaking last week about the two veteran wings, general manager Dennis Lindsey said Johnson had become a “folk hero around here,” and added that the team has “great respect” for Hood.
“I told Rodney that I hope I see a playoff game on ABC where Rodney Hood hits a game-winning shot,” said the Jazz GM. “That would tickle me. So we’re rooting for him, we care about him and we wish him the best and we thank him for not only the efforts that he gave us the last four years but the player that he was able to return to us in Jae Crowder.”
Now that the dust has settled on last Thursday’s trade-deadline deals and the first round of veteran buyouts and cuts has been completed, it’s worth taking stock of which NBA teams have the flexibility to add a player or two without waivers anyone else.
With the help of our roster counts page, which we update all season, here are the NBA teams with open spots on their 15-man rosters. Open two-way contract slots aren’t included here, since teams are ineligible to sign new two-way contracts at this point in the season.
Teams with a player on a 10-day contract filling their open spot:
- Phoenix Suns
- Utah Jazz
Both the Suns and Jazz have 14 players on fully guaranteed NBA contracts, leaving one potential opening. For now, Josh Gray is filling that 15th spot in Phoenix and Naz Mitrou-Long is doing the same in Utah. However, they’re only on 10-day contracts, so both of these teams could soon create an open spot if necessary.
Teams with one open spot:
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Dallas Mavericks
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Note: The Pelicans currently have two open roster spots, but Emeka Okafor‘s second 10-day contract will fill one when it becomes official.
- New York Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Orlando Magic
- Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors
The teams listed above represent a mix of playoff-bound squads and rebuilding non-contenders. Teams like the Bulls, Mavericks, and Knicks could use their open roster spots to take fliers on young players via 10-day contracts, while clubs like the Timberwolves, Thunder, and Raptors may be eyeing the buyout market for veterans who could fortify their respective benches.
Teams with two open spots:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Washington Wizards
NBA rules generally prohibit teams from carrying fewer than 14 players on their 15-man squads. However, clubs are permitted to dip to 13 – or even 12 – in special circumstances, as long as they get back up to 14 within two weeks. Roster moves made last week by the Hawks, Cavaliers, Trail Blazers, and Wizards left them below the limit, so they’ll each have to add at least one player by the end of the All-Star break.
Note: Roster info current as of Tuesday, February 13 at 2:00pm CT.
FEBRUARY 12: Rose has officially cleared waivers, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
FEBRUARY 10: The Jazz have formally requested waivers on Rose, the team announced in a press release.
FEBRUARY 8: Once their three-team trade with the Cavaliers and Kings becomes official, the Jazz will waive newly-acquired point guard Derrick Rose, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Assuming the move is completed today, Rose would be on track to clear waivers on Saturday.
Rose, 29, has only been healthy enough to play in 16 games this season, and has seen his minutes significantly cut back. After averaging at least 30 minutes per contest in each of his previous NBA seasons, the former MVP played 19.3 MPG for the Cavs this season, recording a modest 9.8 PPG and 1.6 APG on .439/.250/.854 shooting.
With Ricky Rubio, Donovan Mitchell, and Raul Neto all available to handle point guard duties in Utah, the Jazz didn’t have a pressing need in their lineup for Rose, who was included in today’s three-way deal for salary purposes. According to Charania, Rose will look to join a playoff-bound team once he reaches free agency, but it’s not clear how many teams will seriously consider the veteran, given his underwhelming play this season.
One team that figures to be in play is Minnesota, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times, who tweets that the Tom Thibodeau-led Timberwolves are expected to try to sign Rose if he goes unclaimed on waivers. There’s no guarantee that Rose will clear waivers though — he’s on a one-year, minimum salary contract, so any team could use the minimum salary exception to claim him.
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey has been a longtime fan of Jae Crowder, who was acquired Thursday in a three-team deal, says Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. Crowder made an immediate impact in his Utah debut with 15 points and four rebounds in tonight’s win over the Trail Blazers. “He’s really versatile defensively and can play really two through four with switches and physicality,” Lindsey said. “His build is quite obvious and the systems that he’s played in with Dallas, Boston and Cleveland, we’ve seen enough to think that he can mesh very well in how we play. We’re really anxious to get him here.” Lindsay also said as many as 20 teams asked about Rodney Hood before he decided to send him to Cleveland in that deal.
FEBRUARY 11, 11:20am: The signing is official, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.
FEBRUARY 10, 2:55pm: The Jazz are expected to sign G League guard Naz Mitrou-Long to a 10-day contract in the wake of a left hip injury suffered by starting point guard Ricky Rubio in last night’s win over Charlotte, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
While the extent of Rubio’s injury isn’t known, it does not appear to be serious at this time (per Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune). Utah will not be required to make a corresponding roster move to accommodate Mitrou-Long after waiving Derrick Rose earlier today.
Mitrou-Long, 24, a rookie out of Iowa State, went undrafted over the summer but played briefly with Utah in training camp prior to being cut ahead of opening night. He signed a two-way deal with the Jazz in December but was waived less than a month later in favor of Georges Niang, who is still with Utah on a two-way contract.
In 32 games for the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate, Mitrou-Long has averaged 16.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 4.7 APG with a .405/.357/.841 shooting line.
Assuming his deal is finalized today, Mitrou-Long will remain under contract through February 19. After that, the Jazz are free to sign him to another 10-day deal, but would then have to decide whether to lock him up for the rest of the season or let him walk after the second 10-day deal expired.
With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, much attention is being paid to what is expected to be several weeks of busy buyout market activity. The last day that a player can be waived from their current team and still be eligible to play in the postseason with a new team is March 1.
Below are a series of lists breaking down the veterans who have already been bought out – or simply waived – by their respective teams since the trade deadline, along with those who are expected to be, and several more who really ought to be considered possible buyout candidates even if no reports have come out explicitly stating as much.
As the weeks unfold, we may see new names surface as buyout candidates, in such cases (and whenever a player is formally bought out) we’ll update the list.
Potential buyout candidates:
- Arron Afflalo, SG, 32 (Magic) – $1.5MM in 2017/18
- Corey Brewer, SF, 31 (Lakers) – $7.6MM in 2017/18
- Vince Carter, SF, 41 (Kings) – $8.0MM in 2017/18
- Ersan Ilyasova, PF, 30 (Hawks) – $6.0MM in 2017/18
- Jarrett Jack, PG, 34 (Knicks) – $1.5MM in 2017/18
- Shabazz Muhammad, SF, 25 (Timberwolves) – $1.6MM in 2017/18 +1 year
- Joakim Noah, C, 32 (Knicks) – $17.8MM in 2017/18 +2 years
Expected to be bought out or released:
- None
Veterans who have been bought out or released:
- Tony Allen, SG, 36 (Bulls) – $2.1MM in 2017/18
- Marco Belinelli, SG, 31 (Hawks) – $6.6MM in 2017/18: Signed with Sixers
- Joe Johnson, SF, 36 (Kings) – $10.5MM in 2017/18: Agreed to sign with Rockets
- Josh McRoberts, PF, 30 (Mavericks) – $6.0MM in 2017/18
- Derrick Rose, PG, 29 (Jazz) – $2.1MM in 2017/18
- Brandan Wright, PF, 30 (Grizzlies) – $6.0MM in 2017/18: Signed with Rockets
The Jazz have done an admirable job turning what appeared to be a lost season into a competitive campaign. Thanks in no small part to the emergence of super rookie Donovan Mitchell, the future is as bright if not brighter than it was in Utah prior to Gordon Hayward‘s departure.
The Jazz sit within reach of the Western Conference playoff picture and just added one of the league’s best bargain small forwards for good measure. Given that the club’s books are in good shape for a potential playoff squad – they have just $89MM committed for next season – a smart offseason could get them close to where they left off in 2016/17.
Dante Exum, PG, 22 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $16.3MM deal in 2014
It’s hard not to be bearish on the former lottery pick considering that he’s missed all or most of two of his four professional seasons with injuries. Still just 22 years old, however, it’s likely that the restricted free agent will intrigue at least one other team around the Association. The Jazz don’t have much reason to match a lofty deal if he lands one but they may be receptive to an affordable, short-term reunion to see if they can get a better idea of what his actual ceiling is. Much of Exum’s value will be shaped by how he looks when he comes back from his shoulder injury in mid-to-late March.
Derrick Favors, C, 26 (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $47MM deal in 2014
Favors went from being one of the game’s intriguing young big men to a bit player on a Jazz team that emerged as a surprise contender in the Western Conference. This season, the club has seen more out of the 26-year-old than it has in years, thanks largely in part to Rudy Gobert‘s two long-term absences. It may be inevitable that Favors isn’t a good fit next to Gobert but until head coach Quin Snyder exhausts each and every possibility for incorporating both, Favors could actually be a bargain this summer considering how drastically the narrative around him has changed. Favors isn’t a franchise cornerstone as the contract extension he inked in 2013 implied but he’s an above average starter that, in today’s climate, deserves eight digits.
Raul Neto, PG, 26 (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $3.4MM deal in 2015
The Jazz have incorporated Neto into their rotation this season and gotten modest production in return. While it’s hard to imagine they’ll face much competition from other teams when he hits restricted free agency, it’s conceivable to picture him back in Utah as a cheap third stringer. Don’t expect the club to compromise its roster or cap flexibility in order to retain him but he’s a solid option with which to round out the roster.
Derrick Rose, PG, 29 (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $2.1MM deal in 2017
The Jazz are expected to give Rose a buyout after acquiring him in the Rodney Hood deal at the trade deadline. Even if the club had no intention of buying him out though, it’s slim to none that he’d land back in Utah given their depth at the point and the culture already in place within the organization. Can the banged up husk of a former MVP attract attention on the open market? Yes, of course, but the guard’s inconsistent motivation to even continue playing at all will be the limiting factor.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.