The Rockets‘ release of Bobby Brown today may be the first in a series of roster moves made by NBA teams before Sunday night. Sunday (January 7) is the last day for clubs to waive a player on a non-guaranteed contract to avoid having that player’s salary become fully guaranteed for the season.
We’ve compiled our own list of players on non-guaranteed contracts to keep an eye on, but over at ESPN.com, Bobby Marks goes one step further, running through each team in an Insider-only piece and assessing each non-guaranteed player’s chances of surviving the cut. As Marks details, some of the players on non-guaranteed salaries, such as Spencer Dinwiddie in Brooklyn, are in no danger of being cut. But others, like Bucks swingman DeAndre Liggins, may be holding their breath until that deadline passes.
Here are a few more odds and ends from across the NBA:
- Thon Maker‘s brother Matur Maker will bypass college and enter his name into the 2018 NBA draft pool, according to reports from Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com and Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com. The younger Maker almost certainly won’t be a lottery pick like his brother in Milwaukee, but he’s hoping to make a similar prep-to-pro leap. He plans on hiring an agent in the spring, guardian and mentor Ed Smith tells Daniels.
- Earlier today, we passed along word that former Suns guard Mike James was being eyed by China’s Guangdong Southern Tigers as a potential replacement for Edwin Jackson. However, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays, it appears Guangdong will sign another ex-NBA guard, Darius Morris, rather than James.
- While you could make a case for several other players, including Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, there’s no question that Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma and Warriors big man Jordan Bell have been two of the biggest steals from the 2017 draft. Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) examines what lessons NBA front offices and scouts can learn from Kuzma and Bell.
Because Mitchell was what 12 he’s not a steal? So Giannis at 14/15 wasn’t a steal? Mitchell would easily win ROY if Ben Simmons wasn’t considered a rookie. Don’t get me started on that. But Donovan is a steal in my book. If u redrafted right now he’s probably a Laker or a Celtic. Possibly a 76er if they didn’t make that trade. At worst he’s a King. Which if u paid attention I put him in the top 4. But def not a “steal” for Utah at 12ish?! Come on
I think Boston is happy with Tatum. He’s been really good this year too. He has down stretches, but he’s shown his insane athleticism and shooting capabilities, with some defense to boot. I think Mitchell and Tatum end up being the 2 best picks long term. Bell is a great pick for the slot though, I really liked him coming out of college.
I said in the post that Mitchell WOULD be a candidate for steal of the draft, along with the guys Schmitz wrote about. I also don’t think Schmitz would disagree, but his story was focused on how teams can strike gold on later picks (or avoid letting players of that caliber slip so far).