The left knee injury sustained by Maalik Wayns may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the young guard, who had been vying for a roster spot with the Clippers. As Steve Perrin of Clips Nation explains, players on non-guaranteed, non-summer contracts who suffer an on-court injury can’t be released while they’re recovering, or else their deals will become guaranteed.
As such, Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld tweets that Wayns now looks like a lock to make L.A.’s opening night roster. Wayns’ deal was already set to become fully guaranteed if he wasn’t waived on or before December 1st, so assuming his recovery extends into December, it appears he’ll earn a full salary for 2013/14.
Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:
- Grantland’s Zach Lowe takes an in-depth look at Andrew Bogut‘s extension talks with the Warriors, noting that it’s very hard to pin down Bogut’s value, not just in terms of annual salary, but also on the trade market. Lowe attempts to brainstorm a few trade possibilities involving Bogut, but writes that the Warriors aren’t open to deals that would include Klay Thompson as a sweetener.
- Asked by Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News for a comment on the Bogut extension talks, Warriors owner Joe Lacob was fairly noncommittal, but said the team likes him “a lot,” and that he hopes Bogut remains in Golden State “for a long time.”
- Suns coach Jeff Hornacek spoke to Matt Peterson of Suns.com about the tough decisions ahead for a team that needs to cut its roster down from 18 players. Phoenix is also the only NBA team currently carrying more than 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts, meaning at least one of the players released before opening night will still get paid.
- The Kings have one potential opening on their roster, and while the team is still weighing its options, Hamady N’Diaye has a chance to grab that spot, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “I’m not sure what [GM] Pete D’Alessandro‘s plan for that last spot is right now,” said coach Michael Malone. “But I think ‘H,’ as we call him, has done a lot to showcase his abilities as to why he should be on this team.”