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Bulls Notes: Buzelis, Vucevic, Smith, LaVine, THT

November 6th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Rookie Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, the No. 11 pick in this year’s draft, continues to play very sparingly at the NBA level this fall, resulting in the team sending him to the G League over the weekend for a brief assignment with the Windy City Bulls. Potential stints in the NBAGL were always part of the plan for Buzelis, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who says it would be “incorrect” to view the assignment as a negative.

The G League season won’t tip off until this Friday, but Buzelis told reporters after returning to the NBA that he got the opportunity to scrimmage against the Iowa Wolves on Saturday, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).

“I was fine with it. I know it’s part of my development,” Buzelis said. “There’s always a learning curve going into the NBA. It’s a different animal.”

Buzelis has logged total 32 minutes across six appearances for Chicago so far, scoring five points on 2-of-12 shooting during his brief cameos.

Here’s more on the Bulls:

After a down year in 2023/24, Nikola Vucevic is off to a hot start this fall, hitting 48.5% of his three-point attempts, increasing his scoring average to 21.7 points per game, and earning kudos from head coach Billy Donovan for his play on defense too, according to Cowley of The Sun-Times and Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. “I know it’s early in the year, but he’s really played well on both ends of the floor,” Donovan said. “He’s been great. He’s been great with the young guys. He’s shot the ball well both inside the line and outside the line. I think the thing with him, with the way we’re playing, he’s getting a lot of close-outs. Guys are running at him, and he’s really a good passer.” Long viewed as a possible trade candidate, Vucevic is making $20MM this season, with one more year and $21.5MM left on his contract after that.
Within a mailbag for the Tribune, Poe considers whether it might make sense for the Bulls to experiment with two-big lineups featuring Vucevic and offseason addition Jalen Smith.
After missing Monday’s game vs. Utah due to a right adductor strain, Zach LaVine is listed as questionable to play in Dallas on Wednesday, per the NBA’s official injury report. It’s the first game of a back-to-back set for the Bulls, who will return home to host the Timberwolves on Thursday, so we’ll see if the banged-up guard is also active tomorrow if he’s cleared to play tonight.
The only NBA player to make a standard regular season roster on an Exhibit 10 contract, Talen Horton-Tucker saw his first significant action of the season on Monday with LaVine out, Poe writes for The Tribune. The Bulls outscored the Jazz by five points during Horton-Tucker’s 28 minutes in the nine-point loss, as he contributed 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists. The veteran guard’s minimum salary will remain non-guaranteed until January 7.

Largest Trade Exceptions Available This Season

November 6th, 2024 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of the NBA’s 2025 trade deadline, it’s worth keeping in mind which teams hold traded player exceptions that could come in handy to grease the wheels on an in-season deal.

As we explain in our glossary, a traded player exception allows a team to take on salary in a trade without sending out any salary in return. The amount of the exception (plus $250K for non-apron teams) is the amount of salary the team is permitted to take back without salary-matching – either in a single deal or in multiple trades – for one year.

For instance, a team with a $10MM trade exception could acquire a player earning $4MM and a second player earning $6MM without having to worry about sending out any outgoing salary.

In recent years, sizable traded player exceptions have served as wild cards that helped accommodate both pre-deadline and offseason deals. For example, after creating a $9.5MM trade exception when they sent Royce O’Neale to the Suns ahead of the 2024 trade deadline, the Nets used that TPE to acquire Ziaire Williams and a future draft pick in an offseason trade that allowed Memphis to shed some salary.

Many trade exceptions expire without being used, but as our tracker shows, there are several sizable ones available this season that could be useful when trade season begins in earnest.

Here are the 15 biggest trade exceptions around the NBA for now, along with their expiry dates in parentheses:

Atlanta Hawks: $25,266,266 (7/7/25)
Brooklyn Nets: $23,300,000 (7/7/25)
Chicago Bulls: $17,506,232 (7/8/25)
Dallas Mavericks: $16,193,183 (7/7/25)
Memphis Grizzlies: $12,600,000 (2/3/25)
Washington Wizards: $12,402,000 (2/10/25)
New Orleans Pelicans: $9,900,000 (7/7/25)
Minnesota Timberwolves: $8,780,488 (7/7/25)
Portland Trail Blazers: $6,875,000 (7/7/25)
Miami Heat: $6,477,319 (1/23/25)
Sacramento Kings: $6,341,464 (6/30/25)
Memphis Grizzlies: $6,133,005 (7/21/25)
Sacramento Kings: $5,893,768 (7/8/25)
New Orleans Pelicans: $5,722,116 (1/17/25)
Denver Nuggets: $5,250,000 (7/7/25)

A number of these trade exceptions are more likely to be used next offseason, when teams could have more cap flexibility, than during the current season, when so many clubs are within spitting distance of the luxury tax line or a hard cap.

For example, using even a small portion of that $25MM+ exception during the season would push the Hawks‘ team salary into tax territory, but with several contracts coming off their books next summer, they’d be in a better position to take on a big salary at that time.

The exceptions that expire before next offseason are the ones to watch more closely during the season. That $12MM+ Wizards TPE is especially intriguing, since Washington is one of the few teams with plenty of breathing room below the tax threshold. They could use nearly all of that exception at the deadline and still avoid becoming a taxpayer.

The two TPEs listed in italics can’t be used at all, since the Heat are currently operating over the first tax apron, while the Timberwolves are over the second apron. Apron teams are prohibited from using trade exceptions that were generated during the prior season (like Miami’s) or that were created by sending out a player via sign-and-trade (like Minnesota’s).

It’s worth noting that some of these exceptions may be used in a deal that could otherwise be completed using salary matching. For example, a team with a $12MM trade exception that swaps one $10MM player for another could use the exception to take on the incoming player and create a new $10MM exception using the outgoing player.

Given tax and apron considerations, we may see some deals along those lines during the season, since using a TPE in that manner would allow a team to essentially roll it over for another year.

Southwest Notes: Popovich, Johnson, Mavs, Kennard, Jenkins

November 6th, 2024 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

With Gregg Popovich away from the Spurs for health reasons, reporting on Monday indicated that the head coach is “OK” and “just needs rest,” and acting head coach Mitch Johnson later told the media that Popovich is “in good spirits.” Still, Shams Charania of ESPN and Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News suggested on Tuesday that Popovich’s health issue shouldn’t be downplayed.

Appearing on NBA Today (Twitter video link), Charania described the issue as “serious,” explaining that Popovich required medical attention in San Antonio on Saturday and adding that there’s “a great level of concern around the situation,” with no timeline for the coach’s return to the sidelines.

Finger, meanwhile, pointed out (via Twitter) that the Spurs are handling the situation differently this time than they have in the past when Popovich has had health issues that have necessitated short absences, noting that it’s “probably wise not to take a quick return for granted.” The Spurs haven’t yet ruled out Popovich beyond Wednesday’s game in Houston, but will likely provide an update soon, given that the team will be back in action on Thursday vs. Portland.

With Popovich unavailable, the Spurs have turned to Johnson, a rising young assistant who was a finalist in the spring for the Wizards‘ head coaching job that ultimately went to Brian Keefe, according to Charania. Johnson, who has earned praise from his players in San Antonio, was also part of the Team USA staff in Paris over the summer, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News details.

“He is an impressive young coach,” Heat head coach and Team USA assistant Erik Spoelstra said. “You can see why Pop has given him a lot more responsibility as the years have gone on. He is a very effective communicator.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The Mavericks‘ injury list continues to grow, with P.J. Washington ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Chicago due to a right knee sprain, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Big man Maxi Kleber will miss a sixth straight game due to his right hamstring strain, while center Dereck Lively is listed as doubtful as a result of a sprained right shoulder.
Grizzlies sharpshooter Luke Kennard has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. the Lakers and has a chance to make his season debut after missing Memphis’ first eight games due to a foot injury (Twitter link). Speaking to reporters after the Grizzlies’ shootaround this morning, Kennard said he’ll be a game-time decision and described his “frustrating” recovery process (video link via The Memphis Commercial Appeal).
While Kennard has a chance to make his return on Wednesday, the Grizzlies will be without head coach Taylor Jenkins, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Jenkins will be away from the team due to a death in his family, with Tuomas Iisalo serving as the acting head coach in his absence.

Players Signed After Wednesday Won’t Be Trade-Eligible This Season

November 6th, 2024 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

When a free agent signs a standard contract with an NBA team, he becomes ineligible to be traded for at least three months. Since this season’s trade deadline will land on February 6, that means a player who signs a new deal with a team anytime after Wednesday, November 6 won’t be eligible to be dealt this season.

That three-month trade restriction also applies to a player who is converted from a two-way contract to a standard deal. So if a player signs as a free agent or is promoted from a two-way deal to a standard roster spot on Thursday, his trade restriction wouldn’t lift until February 7, a day after this season’s deadline has passed.

If no team completes a signing at some point before midnight Eastern tonight, the most recent signees who will have trade eligibility later this season are a pair of Knicks: Matt Ryan and Ariel Hukporti.

Ryan signed with New York as a free agent on Tuesday, while Hukporti was promoted from his two-way deal to the standard roster. Assuming they’re still on those non-guaranteed deals three months from now, Ryan and Hukporti would become trade-eligible on February 5, a day before the deadline.

Pelicans guard Jaylen Nowell (February 3), Thunder forward Malevy Leons (January 31), and Grizzlies center Jay Huff (January 28) are a few of the other players who would become eligible to be moved shortly before the Feb. 6 deadline if they remain under contract until then.

The three-month trade restriction doesn’t apply to players who sign two-way contracts — those players are ineligible to be dealt for just 30 days. Trades involving players on two-way deals are pretty rare, but it’s worth noting that anyone who inks a two-way contract on or before January 7 would become trade-eligible ahead of this season’s deadline.

We previously posted lists of players who won’t become trade-eligible until December 15 or January 15 after signing new contracts in the offseason. Later this week, we’ll publish one more list detailing which players have special, specific trade eligibility dates — that group will include Ryan, Hukporti, and the rest of the players mentioned above, plus many more, including several who signed offseason contract extensions.

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Central Notes: Bucks, Giannis, Haliburton, Cavs

November 6th, 2024 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

Since 1970, a total of 150 teams have began a season with a 1-6 record (or worse). Only 12 of those 150 teams have made the playoffs, and five did so despite finishing with a losing record, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

The Bucks are one of two NBA teams who currently own a 1-6 mark this fall, but head coach Doc Rivers – informed of that statistic about the league’s slow starters over the past five-plus decades – expressed confidence that his team will become the 13th in that group to reach the postseason.

“We will make the playoffs,” Rivers said after Monday’s loss to Cleveland, per Nehm. “I’m not worried about that.”

Rivers said his team remains optimistic about its outlook despite the disappointing start, and pointed out that the numbers currently working against the Bucks would look much different once the team breaks out if its slump and wins a few games.

“The team’s very positive. I think they’re upbeat,” Rivers said. “No one wants to lose. We have some tough games coming up, but one win at a time. We win three or four in a row and then the numbers say if you’re 5-6 after that, you have an 80 percent chance to make the playoffs, you know? So that’s where numbers are so silly sometimes, especially early in the year. And we don’t pay much attention to them.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo went through the team’s morning shootaround on Monday before Milwaukee decided to give him a night off due to a right adductor strain, writes Tom Withers of The Associated Press. Although the club’s injury report for Thursday’s game vs. Utah is not yet out, it sounds like Antetokounmpo is considered day-to-day and that the Bucks don’t view the injury as something that will sideline him for long.
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports suggested on The Kevin O’Connor Show (Twitter video link) that Tyrese Haliburton‘s early-season struggles may be linked to a back issue that affected the Pacers guard near the end of last season. “I’ve had some sources around the league tell me that they believe it’s not his hamstring that’s the cause of his struggles this year, it’s his back,” O’Connor said. “He had back spasms in the postseason. He’s still wearing a heating pack on the bench. And I think that would make sense, with the trends and the way in which he’s playing, the declining efficiency. Because back issues are tough to deal with.” Haliburton is shooting just 38.2% from the floor, including 24.1% on three-pointers, through seven games.
The Cavaliers‘ impressive 8-0 start is a byproduct of selflessness, sacrifice, and camaraderie, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required), who notes that the team is on board with new head coach Kenny Atkinson‘s philosophies. “I feel like everybody’s buying into the system, even though it’s different,” center Jarrett Allen said. “Props to Kenny. He’s done an excellent job finding out a way to mesh this team together and just try to bring the best out of everybody. It’s not just one person leading the charge. Everybody’s contributing in a different way at different times.”

Blazers Notes: Williams, Rebuild, Banton, G League Moves

November 6th, 2024 at 9:22am CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers center Robert Williams was available to suit up on Monday for the first time in nearly a year, having recovered from last season’s knee surgery and a hamstring injury he sustained during training camp. His last appearance in an NBA game occurred on November 5, 2023.

However, Williams didn’t get off the bench in New Orleans as Portland leaned on Deandre Ayton and Donovan Clingan to man the middle — the duo combined for 23 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocks in their 48 minutes of action.

While it’s unclear whether Williams will crack Portland’s rotation going forward, it’s a safe bet he won’t play in both ends of a back-to-back set anytime soon, tweets Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report.

Highkin predicts Williams will be active on Thursday in San Antonio and, if he sees any action in that game, would be held out of Friday’s contest in Minnesota.

Here’s more on the Blazers:

The Thunder’s incredibly successful rebuild in recent years serves as an aspirational model for the Trail Blazers to try to emulate, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (subscription required). However, Fentress acknowledges that Portland’s apparent lack of a potential franchise player to build around puts them a step behind the 2020-22 Thunder, who won just 46 games across two seasons but were led a budding superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Traded from Boston to Portland in a salary-dump deal in February, swingman Dalano Banton made an impact down the stretch last season, had his team option picked up, and has now had 50% of his 2024/25 salary guaranteed. Banton continued to show on Monday that he deserves his spot on the Blazers’ roster, scoring 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, all in the fourth quarter, to help the team secure a win over the Pelicans. “I wasn’t expecting that,” Billups told reporters, including Fentress (subscription required). “But he’s one of those types of guys that when he gets a rhythm, he’s a really tough cover with his size and his skill set, his handle, and things like that. So, I was just happy to see him get going. I thought he fueled us.”
The Trail Blazers’ G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix, has reacquired forward Alex Reese after he was waived by the Thunder, per the NBAGL transaction log. Reese suited up for the Remix last season and the team still controlled his returning rights.
The Remix also made a trade with the Windy City Bulls this week, acquiring the returning rights to former NBAers Frank Jackson and Daniel Oturu along with a 2025 international draft pick in exchange for the rights to center David Muoka (Twitter link). Muoka is the only one of those three players who is currently on a G League contract — Jackson and Oturu are playing in France and Turkey, respectively.

Sixers Notes: George, Offense, Embiid

November 6th, 2024 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

Paul George wasn’t pleased with how he performed on Monday in his Sixers debut. The star forward committed six turnovers and made just 4-of-14 shots from the field (including 1-of-7 three-pointers) in the loss to the Suns.

After the game, George referred to his outing as “bad” and admitted he was “gassed” at times during his 32 minutes, but said he was encouraged by how his knee felt following his recovery from a bone bruise, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I was able to go out there and compete free of any thoughts of my body not holding up,” George said. “I felt completely fine. That was the positive in it. But all around, it was definitely a rusty game.”

While George is still on the Sixers’ injury report, he’s listed as probable to play on Wednesday and there has been no indication he won’t suit up. The game against the Clippers in Los Angeles will represent a reunion for George and his old team — he left L.A. over the summer after spending five seasons with the Clips.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

Although George wasn’t at his best and the Sixers fell to 1-5 with Monday’s loss to Phoenix, the star forward’s debut provided some much-needed hope for Philadelphia, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who notes that the offense looked better with George on the floor than it had for most of the season. “He takes a lot of the pressure off all of us,” guard Tyrese Maxey told Jones. “With him on the floor, you can see it. We’re a lot more balanced. I didn’t have to do as much, so I was a lot more fresh. It just helps all of us, having him back.”
League sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic that Joel Embiid‘s left knee “wasn’t a concern, or even a topic of discussion” among Team USA brass during the Olympics, though team sources say they were managing and monitoring the knee on their end. Within his story on Embiid’s status, Amick also suggests the big man wants to avoid a repeat of last season, when he attempted to play through a minor left knee ailment and suffered a more serious injury to that knee when Jonathan Kuminga fell on it during a January 30 game. That’s one reason why he and the team are taking a cautious approach this fall.
Both Amick and Howard Beck of The Ringer write that the 76ers’ lack of transparency regarding Embiid’s knee injury in recent weeks is a result of an attempt to honor the former MVP’s desire to keep his health issues as private as possible. “He doesn’t want his injuries discussed or explained, by anyone,” Beck writes, arguing that being more forthcoming about his condition would help improve Embiid’s public image. “Every Sixers administration has bowed to those wishes, repeatedly obfuscating on his behalf.”
In case you missed it, Embiid will begin serving his three-game suspension for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes on Wednesday and is on track to make his season debut next Tuesday vs. the Knicks.

Atlantic Notes: Claxton, Simmons, Boucher, Brown

November 5th, 2024 at 9:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nets center Nic Claxton received his first start of the season on Monday. Claxton, who signed a four-year deal worth up to $100MM during the summer, had 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in a win over Memphis. He missed the preseason due to a hamstring injury.

“It’s just still getting back into the swing of things. I had like one stint where I was really tired, but other than that, I was good. Just trying to communicate, just find my balance again,” Claxton told Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Ben Simmons sat out Monday in the second game of a back-to-back. Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez wants Simmons to shoot more often — he’s taken five or fewer attempts in his six games, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post notes. “He is physically getting where he’s supposed to be, and those attempts need to go up,” Fernandez said. “Because then we are all going to benefit from it. I don’t care about makes-misses. I just want to see shots going up. He’s more than capable of doing it, so he’ll get there for sure.”
Chris Boucher was in and out of the Raptors‘ rotation last season. He came back this season determined to reestablish himself as a reliable reserve. So far, so good. He’s averaging 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 17.3 minutes per game. “I think there was a lot of stuff that I was doing that I kept saying I gotta do better, but I never changed it,” Boucher told Josh Lewenberg of TSN. “Obviously, when things are going well and you’re playing all the time you [think], well, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m going. But by the time I wasn’t playing, I was like, all right, well, now I’ve gotta figure it out or I won’t be here no more.” Boucher will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown will miss his third consecutive game on Wednesday, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Brown is dealing with a hip flexor strain. He’s averaging 25.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest in the early going.

Heat Notes: Love, Jaquez, Third Quarters, Rotation, Larsson, Ware

November 5th, 2024 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Love won’t make his season debut on Wednesday. The veteran power forward has already been ruled out by the Heat for their road game in Phoenix due to “return to competition reconditioning,” the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang tweets.

Love recently returned to the team after missing the first few weeks due to personal reasons.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. will also miss Wednesday’s contest due to a stomach illness. Jaquez didn’t travel to Phoenix but is expected to rejoin the group at some point during the team’s six-game trip, Chiang adds in a separate tweet. Love did make the trip to Phoenix and is expected to make his season debut during the road swing.

Here’s more on the Heat:

The team has a third-quarter problem and might need to tweak the lineup to fix it, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. Replacing Nikola Jovic with Jaquez or Haywood Highsmith might be the simplest way to address the problem, according to Jackson, who notes that Miami has outscored opponents by 17 points in the first quarter, 25 points in the second quarter and 17 in the fourth but has been outscored by 52 in the third. The Heat are the NBA’s lowest-scoring team in the third quarter.
Despite the absences of Love and Jaquez on Monday, coach Erik Spoelstra went 11 deep into his bench during the first quarter alone, Chiang writes. Highsmith and rookie Pelle Larsson were the first two players off the bench, followed by Alec Burks, Thomas Bryant, Josh Richardson and Duncan Robinson.
Larsson continues to look like one of the steals of the draft. The No. 44 overall pick had 13 points, two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes on Monday, Chiang adds. “He is a two way player,” Spoelstra said. “Even though he’s a rookie by NBA standards, he has a great deal of competitive experience. He’s savvy, has the toughness we like, can guard multiple positions.”
The Heat’s first-rounder, Kel’el Ware, has been forced to take a wait-and-see approach. He has only made two brief appearances off the bench. “I can’t control what the Coach does,” Ware told Chiang. “So whenever coach Spo decides to put me in, I’ll be ready.”

NBA Suspends Embiid Three Games For Altercation With Columnist

November 5th, 2024 at 7:26pm CST by Luke Adams

7:26pm: Embiid’s suspension will cover Wednesday’s game against the Clippers, Friday’s contest against the Lakers and Sunday’s game against the Hornets, ESPNs Shams Charania tweets. He’ll be eligible to make his season debut next Tuesday in the NBA Cup opener against the Knicks at Philadelphia.

3:35pm: Sixers center Joel Embiid has been suspended for three games without pay for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes in the team’s locker room on Saturday, the NBA announced in a press release (Twitter link).

“Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” the league’s head of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement. “While we understand Joel was offended by the personal nature of the original version of the reporter’s column, interactions must remain professional on both sides and can never turn physical.”

Embiid called out Hayes last week for columns in which he harshly criticized the former MVP and was reportedly particularly upset about one piece in which Hayes said the injured center isn’t providing a good example as a father for his son Arthur, who was named after the 30-year-old’s late brother. Hayes mentioned Embiid’s son and brother by name in the original version of the column before later removing the reference.

Embiid confronted Hayes in the locker room following Saturday’s loss to Memphis and reportedly had a heated discussion with the veteran columnist, directing some profane comments his way before shoving him.

Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer shared more details on the altercation earlier this week, writing that Hayes attempted to apologize to Embiid but “was rebuffed before the confrontation turned physical.” Hayes said he met with Sixers president Daryl Morey and GM Elton Brand and that they apologized, asked for his side of the story, and “agreed that Embiid’s actions were unacceptable,” Mizell relays.

Embiid has yet to make his debut this fall due to left knee injury management and his suspension won’t begin until he’s healthy enough to play. That may happen soon — Sam Amick of The Athletic reported this morning that there was hope within the organization that the star big man could play his first game of the season on Wednesday vs. the Clippers.

That obviously won’t happen now, but if Embiid is medically cleared to return, he could begin serving his suspension that night. In that scenario, he’d also miss Friday’s game vs. the Lakers and Sunday’s matchup with the Hornets before potentially suiting up next Tuesday vs. the Knicks.

The suspension will cost Embiid $1,063,778 of his $51,415,938 salary, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

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