Nikola Mirotic, 15 Others Become Trade-Eligible
Today is January 15, which means that trade restrictions have lifted for most of the rest of the NBA’s 2017 offseason signees. While the majority of those ’17 free agents became trade-eligible on December 15, there was a small subset of free agent signees whose trade ineligibility lasted for another month.
The 16 players whose trade restrictions lift today meet a specific set of criteria: Not only did they re-sign with their previous teams this offseason, but they received raises of at least 20%, their salaries are worth more than the minimum, and their teams were over the cap, using Bird or Early Bird rights to sign them.
The most notable name in this group is Bulls power forward Nikola Mirotic. He’s not the best player on the list — Blake Griffin and Kyle Lowry would be among those vying for that honor. But Mirotic is the most likely player to be dealt out of the 16 guys becoming trade-eligible today. He has been linked to a handful of teams already, including the Jazz, Pistons, and Trail Blazers.
Here are the 16 players becoming trade-eligible today:
- Cristiano Felicio (Bulls)
- JaMychal Green (Grizzlies)
- Blake Griffin (Clippers)
- Jrue Holiday (Pelicans)
- Serge Ibaka (Raptors)
- Andre Iguodala (Warriors)
- Joe Ingles (Jazz)
- Kyle Korver (Cavaliers)
- Shaun Livingston (Warriors)
- Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
- Patty Mills (Spurs)
- Nikola Mirotic (Bulls)
- Note: Any trade involving Mirotic requires his approval.
- Mason Plumlee (Nuggets)
- Otto Porter (Wizards)
- Note: Any trade involving Porter requires his approval.
- Andre Roberson (Thunder)
- Tony Snell (Bucks)
With three and a half weeks left until this season’s February 8 trade deadline, nearly all of the NBA’s players are now eligible to be dealt. The only players still ineligible to be moved are those who signed free agent contracts later than October 15, plus certain players who signed contract extensions in the offseason.
Hawks guard Isaiah Taylor (January 17), Nuggets forward Richard Jefferson (January 19), and Pelicans guard Jameer Nelson (January 22) are now the only remaining players who will become trade-eligible between today and February 8. For the full list of players who won’t become trade-eligible before this year’s deadline, click here.
Jazz Sign Georges Niang To Two-Way Deal
JANUARY 14, 1:30pm: The two-way deal has been made official, per the Jazz’s public relations department (via Twitter).
JANUARY 10, 9:58pm : The Jazz plan to sign Georges Niang to a two-way contract, tweets Adam Johnson of Two Ways and 10 Days.
Niang is currently playing for the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, where he is averaging 18.4 points and 6.7 rebounds in 25 games. Niang was waived by Golden State in the preseason after signing with the organization in August. He appeared in 23 games with the Pacers as a rookie last season.
Utah currently has a full roster with Naz Mitrou-Long and Erik McCree holding the team’s two-way contracts, so a move will have to be made before Niang can be added.
Rookie Mitchell Has Been Utah's MVP
- Rookie guard Donovan Mitchell has become the MVP for the Jazz in a difficult season, according to Mike Sorensen of The Deseret News. The 13th overall pick is leading all rookies in scoring at 18.8 points per game and has four 30-point performances already. Utah was focused primarily on Mitchell’s defensive prowess when it acquired him in a draft-night trade with the Nuggets, so the scoring has been a pleasant surprise. In his other midseason ratings, Sorensen picks Ricky Rubio as the team’s most disappointing player and Royce O’Neale as the most pleasant surprise.
Jazz Waive Naz Mitrou-Long
JANUARY 13, 4:46pm: Mitrou-Long has been waived, the Jazz announced on Twitter.
JANUARY 11, 1:03pm: The Jazz will waive two-way player Naz Mitrou-Long in order to create room to sign Georges Niang to a two-way deal, per Cody Taylor of FanBuzz.com (Twitter link). Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune had indicated earlier today that Utah may waive Mitrou-Long from his two-way contract but try to bring him back to the Salt Lake City Stars.
[RELATED: Jazz to sign Georges Niang to two-way contract]
Mitrou-Long, 24, signed a two-way pact with the Jazz in December after the team waived Nate Wolters. The 6’4″ shooting guard made his NBA debut on December 26, but played just 31 seconds in that game and didn’t see the court again for the Jazz. He has spent most of the season in the G League, where he has averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 3.9 APG in 22 games.
The move is somewhat bittersweet for Mitrou-Long. Although he’ll surely be disappointed to see his two-way deal come to an end, the man replacing him was his teammate for several years — Niang and Mitrou-Long were both at Iowa State from 2012 to 2016.
Thabo Sefolosha To Miss The Rest Of The Season
Jazz forward Thabo Sefolosha will have surgery on an MCL injury in his right knee that will sideline him for the rest of the season, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.
Preliminary estimates give Sefolosha a recovery time of at least six months, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link), which means he should be ready for training camp next season. A final decision on surgery won’t be made until later this week, adds David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).
Sefolosha, who suffered the injury in Friday’s game, has been an important rotation player for Utah, averaging 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 38 games. He will have a non-guaranteed $5.25MM salary for next season under the two-year contract he signed with the Jazz last summer.
Rodney Hood Fined For Phone Incident
- For what it’s worth, Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic is now following the Salt Lake Tribune on Twitter, Dan Cahill of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Mirotic has been rumored to be a trade target of the Jazz, and hadn’t been following any other non-Chicago local newspapers.
- The NBA has fined Jazz forward Rodney Hood $35K for slapping a phone out of a fan’s hand, the league announced in a press release.
Kyler’s Latest: Fournier, Jordan, Mirotic
The NBA’s G League Showcase is playing out in Mississauga, Ontario this week and the event has brought a plethora of league executives under the same roof. With next month’s trade deadline looming, it’s inevitable that the celebration of the NBA’s affiliate league also doubles as an unofficial chance for teams to discuss possible deals.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders has a number of updates from the Showcase, the highlights of which we’ll get into below. For a full breakdown of the trade chatter going down north of the border, check out the full feature here.
- The Magic aren’t committing to the notion of “blowing the team up” but that’s the impression that teams on the other end of the phone seem to be getting. The club is supposedly going to be active ahead of the deadline and they want to make changes that help them shed salary. Kyler notes that guard Evan Fournier seems to be the player most teams have an interest in.
- There remains a sense that DeAndre Jordan will be moved ahead of the deadline and the Bucks continue to be mentioned as the team most likely to make that happen. Kyler writes that a possible Jordan-to-Milwaukee deal could yield the Clippers John Henson, a young player and a draft pick. The Clips apparently like Malcolm Brogdon but his inclusion seems to be a non-starter.
- The Jazz and Pistons are in pursuit of Nikola Mirotic and the deciding factor could possibly come down to Mirotic’s ability to veto a deal. Mirotic supposedly likes the idea of the Jazz and playing for Quin Snyder. At the end of the day, however, a Mirotic-to-Utah deal would likely require a first-round pick heading from the Jazz back to the Bulls, something Utah seems currently reluctant to part with.
- Kyler notes that there’s belief that Joe Johnson will seek a buyout from the Jazz after the trade deadline if he isn’t dealt to a playoff-bound squad.
- There isn’t any sense in NBA circles that Pelicans big man DeMarcus Cousins or Thunder forward Paul George could be move ahead of the deadline, although some teams may make an “11th hour run” at George.
Jazz Unlikely To Give Up First-Round Pick For Mirotic?
- While Nikola Mirotic‘s name has been linked to the Jazz, team beat writer Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets that he’d be surprised if Utah gave up a first-round pick for him.
Jazz Dangling Derrick Favors In Mirotic Talks?
Jazz big man Derrick Favors has been discussed as a potential trade piece that would go from Utah to Chicago in a hypothetical trade involving Nikola Mirotic, multiple league sources tell Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. A report on Tuesday indicated that the two teams are engaged in Mirotic talks, which have moved beyond the preliminary stages.
Favors, 26, has enjoyed a solid bounce-back season for the Jazz this year, getting his averages back up to 12.5 PPG and 6.8 RPG, to go along with a solid .551 FG%. He has been particularly effective in the absence of Rudy Gobert, but has struggled to match that production when Gobert is in the lineup, which is a key reason he may be expendable.
Favors’ contract situation also makes him a prime trade candidate for the Jazz and an intriguing target for the Bulls. The former third overall pick is earning $12MM in 2017/18 and will be an unrestricted free agent in July. As such, Utah may want to get something for Favors before losing him for nothing, while his expiring contract would appeal to the Bulls, who don’t want to take on long-term contracts in a Mirotic deal.
Although the Jazz may be willing to include Favors in a trade for Mirotic, it’s not clear if they’d also attach the caliber of draft pick Chicago is reportedly seeking. If the Bulls insist on a first-round pick, Utah might prefer to include someone like Alec Burks, who has another guaranteed year on his contract beyond this season.
The Pistons and Trail Blazers are among the other teams with interest in Mirotic, who will become trade-eligible on Monday.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/9/18
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Jazz have recalled Tony Bradley from the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s Twitter feed. The no. 28 overall pick from the 2017 draft has played in eight games with Utah this season, posting a total of eight points in 28 minutes of action.