In case you missed any of this week’s biggest NBA stories, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Listed below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days.
The Suns fired general manager Ryan McDonough, with vice president of basketball operations James Jones and assistant general manager Trevor Bukstein taking over GM duties on an interim basis. With the unusual timing of the move, it appears as though ownership hasn’t necessarily been thrilled with the club’s offseason moves. Phoenix has struggled to acquire a starting-caliber point guard and that may have led to ownership’s frustration, especially considering the logjam they had at the position not too long ago.
Spurs’ starting point guard and thought-to-be potential breakout star Dejounte Murray suffered a torn ACL in his right knee and will likely miss the 2018/19 season. With Murray sidelined, the Spurs figure to lean more heavily on Patty Mills, with newcomer and All-Star DeMar DeRozan to also assume some more ball-handling duties.
Jimmy Butler returned to Minnesota and met with head coach Tom Thibodeau, where he reiterated his request to be traded. Clearly upset about the lack of traction on a trade agreement, Butler decided to take it out on the Wolves, screaming at front office executives and teammates alike before doing an exclusive interview for ESPN. Despite all that, Butler will likely remain on the Wolves to begin the season.
The Heat and forward Justise Winslow have agreed to a three-year, $39MM rookie scale contract extension. The extension includes a third-year team option. Winslow becomes the third player from the 2015 rookie class to secure an extension after Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns. The Heat will now have approximately $133MM in salary commitments for the 2019/20 season, so they’ll have to make some moves to avoid paying luxury tax penalties in the future.
The Knicks have officially waived center Joakim Noah, deciding to utilize the stretch provision on his contract after failing to reach a buyout agreement. The Knicks will incur an $18.5M cap hit this season for Noah, which could be reduced by $522,252 if the center signs a guaranteed minimum salary contract elsewhere. For the next 3 seasons (2019-20 to 2021-22), the Knicks will be charged $6.4M per season.
Here are 10 more notable NBA headlines from the last week:
- In other Spurs‘ injury news, rookie first-round pick Lonnie Walker IV underwent surgery to repair a right medial meniscus tear and will miss approximately 6 to 8 weeks.
- Kelly Oubre and the Wizards are unlikely to agree to terms on a rookie scale contract extension.
- The Suns are leaning toward promoting James Jones to head of basketball operations.
- If the Rockets are to successfully trade for Butler, they’ll likely need to trade both Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker.
- The Suns have applied for a disabled player exception for veteran forward Darrell Arthur.
- The Clippers are exploring trades to clear their roster logjam before the beginning of the regular season.
- Mavericks‘ forward Dirk Nowitzki will not be back from his ankle injury in time for the beginning of the regular season.
- In yet more poor news for the Spurs, guard Derrick White suffered a heel injury and will be sidelined for six to eight weeks.
- Terry Rozier and the Celtics are also unlikely to agree to terms on a rookie scale contract extension.
- The Pelicans waived point guard Jarrett Jack in a somewhat surprising last-minute roster decision.
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