2021 | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Sign Greg Monroe To 10-Day Deal

December 27th, 2021 at 1:40pm CST by JD Shaw

DECEMBER 27: The Timberwolves have completed Monroe’s deal, formally announcing it in a press release. It’ll run through January 5, covering Minnesota’s next six games.

DECEMBER 26: The Timberwolves are planning to sign veteran big man Greg Monroe to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The transaction would be completed using a hardship exemption.

Monroe, 31, owns nine years of NBA experience, making past stops with the Pistons, Bucks, Suns, Celtics, Raptors and Sixers. He’s averaged 13.2 points and 8.3 rebounds in 27.7 minutes per game for his career, appearing in 632 total contests. He last played in the league during the 2018/19 season.

Monroe has been playing in the G League with the Wizards’ affiliate. In 12 games this season, he’s averaged 10.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per outing. The Timberwolves currently have eight players in the league’s health and safety protocols, as shown by our tracker.

Minnesota has back-to-back home games scheduled against Boston on Monday and New York on Tuesday. Monroe will arrive Monday morning, complete a physical, and sign his contract if everything goes well, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets.

Wizards Sign Jordan Goodwin Via Hardship Exception

December 27th, 2021 at 11:47am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 27: The Wizards have officially signed Goodwin to a 10-day contract, the team announced in a press release.

DECEMBER 26: The Wizards are planning to sign Jordan Goodwin from their G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, on a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Goodwin is averaging 15.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 3.6 APG in 14 games with the Go-Go, including 10 starts. He went undrafted earlier this year following a four-year college career with Saint Louis.

The 6’3” guard will fortify a backcourt that has two prominent players, Bradley Beal and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, in the league’s health and safety protocols.

Pacers Waive Brad Wanamaker, Sign Keifer Sykes

December 27th, 2021 at 11:06am CST by Luke Adams

11:06am: The Pacers have officially signed Sykes and waived Wanamaker, according to a press release from the team.

10:51am: The Pacers intend to waive guard Brad Wanamaker and sign another guard, Keifer Sykes, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Most of the deals being completed around the NBA right now are 10-day hardship contracts, but it doesn’t appear that’ll be the case here, since the Pacers don’t have any players in the health and safety protocols and will be waiving a player from their 15-man roster in order to sign Sykes.

Wanamaker, 32, has appeared in 22 games for Indiana this season, averaging 3.5 PPG and 2.2 APG with a .361/.235/.909 shooting line in 13.3 minutes per contest. His minimum-salary contract isn’t fully guaranteed for 2021/22, so by releasing him before next month’s league-wide guarantee date, the Pacers would only have to pay him $715,538, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

An undrafted free agent out of Green Bay in 2015, Sykes has spent most of the last several years playing in international leagues. He has played for teams in Korea, Turkey, Italy, China, and Greece, and is coming off a one-year stint with the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Australia’s National Basketball League.

Sykes, who hit the game-winning three-point shot for Boeheim’s Army in this summer’s The Basketball Tournament, signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Indiana and then joined the Pacers’ G League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. He has averaged 16.5 PPG and 7.5 APG on .409/.351/.741 shooting in 13 G League games (34.3 MPG) this season.

It’s unclear whether or not Sykes will get a rest-of-season guarantee. If he doesn’t, the Pacers would have until January 7 to decide whether or not to lock in his full-season salary.

Nets Sign Langston Galloway To Second 10-Day Contract

December 27th, 2021 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 27: The Nets have officially signed Galloway to a second 10-day deal, the team confirmed today in a press release.

DECEMBER 26: Hardship addition Langston Galloway will receive a second 10-day contract from the Nets, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The 30-year-old guard appeared in three games during his first-10-day deal, which expired Saturday night. He logged 15.0 minutes per night for a short-handed Brooklyn team, averaging 3.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

The Nets still have six players in health and safety protocols, so Galloway may continue to see a significant role until some of them return.

Grizzlies Sign Xavier Sneed To 10-Day Contract

December 27th, 2021 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have completed another hardship signing, adding forward Xavier Sneed on a 10-day contract, the team announced today (Twitter link).

Memphis has now signed three players to 10-day deals in the last two days, having officially finalized agreements with Tyrell Terry and Shaq Buchanan on Sunday. The club currently has five players in the health and safety protocols.

Sneed, a 6’5″ wing who went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2020, played in 13 games for the Greensboro Swarm last season and returned to the Hornets’ G League affiliate for a second go-round this year. In 27 total G League games, he has averaged 9.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in 24.9 minutes per contest.

The 24-year-old has improved his scoring efficiency significantly in his second NBAGL season. After making 36.0% of his field goal tries, including 27.9% of his threes, in 2020/21, he has knocked down 50.5% of his shots and 39.0% of his threes in ’21/22.

Sneed’s new deal will run through January 5, covering Memphis’ next five games. He’ll earn $53,176 in his 10 days with the team.

Eastern Notes: Raptors, Wright, LeVert, Turner, Bridges

December 27th, 2021 at 10:15am CST by Luke Adams

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said on Sunday that two of the replacement players the team had hoped to sign in advance of its game vs. Chicago last Wednesday didn’t pass the COVID-19 screening process, as Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca tweets. The game was ultimately postponed because Toronto didn’t have enough players available.

The Raptors were said to have deals in place with Brandon Goodwin and Nik Stauskas, but those agreements were reported a week ago and were never finalized, so presumably those are the two players Nurse was referring to.

It’s possible Toronto will circle back to Goodwin and/or Stauskas at some point. However, if they contracted COVID-19, they won’t be short-term options for the Raptors, so we’re no longer counting on those deals to be completed and have removed them from our roster counts page.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Hawks guard Delon Wright has entered the health and safety protocols, tweets Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Atlanta’s roster is in rough shape, with 11 players now in the protocols, but – for now at least – the team still has enough bodies available Monday’s game vs. Chicago, including five replacement players (a sixth, Wesley Iwundu, is in the protocols).
Caris LeVert has been playing his best basketball this month since joining the Pacers, averaging 22.1 PPG and 5.3 APG with a .392 3PT% in his last 10 games. Myles Turner, meanwhile, had one of his best games of the season last Thursday, putting up 32 points on 14-of-18 shooting. Besides helping out Indiana with their production, LeVert and Turner – both considered trade candidates – are displaying their value for potential suitors, writes Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star (subscribers only).
Philadelphia native and former Villanova star Mikal Bridges, who was traded from the Sixers to the Suns on draft night in 2018, doesn’t think often about what could have been if he had remained with his hometown team, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Being (in Phoenix) and knowing the city, the people, and what we’ve been doing these past years, I don’t even think twice about ever being home,” Bridges said. “I’m in a great situation now, and I love it.”

Jayson Tatum Enters Health And Safety Protocols

December 27th, 2021 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

Star forward Jayson Tatum has joined a long list of Celtics players in the health and safety protocols, the team announced today (via Twitter).

There are now nine Celtics players in the protocols, as our tracker shows. Of those players, eight have been ruled out for Boston’s Monday game vs. Minnesota. The ninth, Grant Williams, is listed as questionable, which suggests he has either exited the protocols or is on the verge of doing so.

Only two other teams – Atlanta and Toronto – currently have more players in the protocols than the Celtics, whose situation actually seemed to be improving in recent days. Juan Hernangomez, Jabari Parker, Sam Hauser, and Brodric Thomas all recently cleared the protocols.

However, now Boston’s top scorer will be out for 10 days or until he can return consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. Tatum is averaging 25.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 3.8 APG this season in 33 games (36.7 MPG), though his shooting numbers are down (.417 FG%, .329 3PT%).

Tatum contracted COVID-19 last season and had breathing problems well after his return, using an inhaler before games.

Kenneth Faried Signs G League Contract

December 27th, 2021 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran big man Kenneth Faried has signed a G League contract, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link). Stein first reported on Friday that a contract had been sent to Faried.

A first-round pick in the 2011 draft, Faried appeared in 478 regular season games from 2011-19. The 6’8″ power forward played for the Nuggets for most of his career, but also spent time with Brooklyn and Houston in 2018/19. He played for Portland’s Summer League team earlier this year.

Although Faried has solid career averages of 11.4 PPG and 8.1 RPG in 24.5 minutes per contest, he isn’t a great rim protector or floor spacer, which has limited his appeal to NBA teams in recent years. The 32-year-old has played in China, Puerto Rico, and Russia since 2019 — he recently finished a two-month contract with CSKA Moscow.

The G League is on a brief hiatus right now, as the start of its regular season has been pushed back to January 5 to give teams more time to adjust to the recent exodus of talent to the NBA. As Stein points out, Faried himself is a candidate to earn a 10-day hardship deal with an NBA team. If he doesn’t, he’ll be available to any G League club, first on waivers and then (if he goes unclaimed) via the player pool.

Chaundee Brown Signs 10-Day Deal With Hawks

December 27th, 2021 at 9:19am CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 27: Brown has officially signed his 10-day contract with the Hawks, according to a press release from the club. The deal will run through January 5, covering Atlanta’s next five games.

DECEMBER 26: The Hawks will sign swingman Chaundee Brown to a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal is expected to be completed Monday to maximize the number of games he can play.

Brown, 23, appeared in two games as a two-way player for the Lakers earlier this season. He was signed in mid-November when Sekou Doumbouya was waived, then was released on Tuesday when L.A. added Mason Jones. Brown was in training camp with the Lakers, signing an Exhibit 10 contract going undrafted out of Michigan this summer.

He’s the latest in a series of reinforcements for the Hawks, who have been hit especially hard by COVID-19. Atlanta currently has 10 players in the league’s health and safety protocols with today’s additions of John Collins and Jalen Johnson. The team has already signed five other players to 10-day deals using hardship exceptions.

Salaries For 10-Day Contracts In 2021/22

December 27th, 2021 at 9:09am CST by Luke Adams

When a player signs a 10-day contract, his team can theoretically use cap room or an exception to pay him more than the minimum salary. However, in practice, that never happens — virtually every player that signs a 10-day deal receives a prorated portion of the minimum salary.

The minimum salary in a given season differs from player to player, based on his years of NBA experience entering the season. For instance, in 2021/22, a rookie on a full-season minimum deal will earn $925,258, whereas a 10-year veteran who is earning the minimum will make $2,641,691.

[RELATED: NBA Minimum Salaries For 2021/22]

The same is true for 10-day deals. A rookie will earn significantly less over the course of his 10 days with a team than a tenured NBA veteran will.

Because the 2021/22 season is 174 days long, a player’s full-season minimum salary can be divided by 174 to calculate his daily salary. From there, it’s just a matter of multiplying by 10 to determine his salary on a 10-day contract.

Using that formula, here’s the full breakdown of what salaries for 10-day deals look like in ’21/22:

Years in NBA	Salary
0	$53,176
1	$85,578
2	$95,930
3	$99,380
4	$102,831
5	$111,457
6	$120,083
7	$128,709
8	$137,336
9	$138,019
10+	$151,821

Because the NBA doesn’t want teams to avoid signing veteran players in favor of cheaper, younger options, the league reimburses clubs who sign veterans with three or more years of experience to 10-day, minimum-salary contracts.

In those instances, teams are on the hook for $95,930, the minimum salary for a player with two years of experience, while the NBA covers the difference. So a team would pay the same amount whether they sign a player with three years under his belt or a player with 12 years of NBA experience.

Based on the new temporary roster rules agreed upon by the league and the players’ union, 10-day contracts signed via hardship exceptions don’t count against team salary for cap or tax purposes. So even though the team is responsible for paying $95,930 to a player signed to a 10-day hardship deal, that money won’t count against the team’s cap. Normally, the portion of the player’s salary paid by the team would be his cap hit, even if he’s technically earning a higher salary.

Here are a few examples based on 10-day deals that are currently active:

Player	Team	Years	Salary	Paid by team
Javin DeLaurier	Bucks	0	$53,176	$53,176
Danuel House	Knicks	5	$111,457	$95,930
Joe Johnson	Celtics	10	$151,821	$95,930

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