2021 | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Convert Daishen Nix’s Deal To Two-Way Contract

October 15th, 2021 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

4:01pm: The Rockets have issued a press release confirming that Nix’s deal has been converted to a two-way contract and announcing that they’ve waived Marcus Foster.

1:09pm: The Rockets are converting Daishen Nix‘s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Houston entered this week with Anthony Lamb and Tyler Bey occupying its two-way slots. However, Bey was waived so that the team could first convert Armoni Brooks to a two-way deal, then negotiate a new multiyear contract with him. Now that Brooks has finalized a new four-year pact and moved back to the standard roster, the Rockets have an open two-way spot, and it looks like Nix will fill it.

Nix was one of a handful of prospects who opted to forgo college ball in favor of a spot on the G League Ignite last season. The 6’5″ guard averaged 8.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 5.3 APG in 15 games (26.5 MPG) for the Ignite, but made just 38.4% of his shots from the floor, including 17.6% from beyond the arc.

After playing for the Sixers in Summer League, Nix signed a non-guaranteed camp deal with the Rockets. He made a cameo in just one of Houston’s preseason games and recorded more turnovers (2) than points (0) in his limited minutes, but it appears the team wants to see more from the 19-year-old.

Nix figures to split time between the Rockets and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League as long as he remains on a two-way deal with the club.

Kings Exercise Tyrese Haliburton’s 2022/23 Option

October 15th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings are picking up the third-year team option on Tyrese Haliburton‘s rookie scale contract for the 2022/23 season, a source tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The team has confirmed the transaction in a press release.

The move is a formality, since there was never any chance Sacramento would decline a $4,215,120 option on a promising young player who was in the mix for the Rookie of the Year award last season. Haliburton is now officially locked up through 2022/23, and it’s a safe bet the Kings will pick up his ’23/24 option a year from now.

The No. 12 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Haliburton averaged 13.0 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 3.0 RPG on .472/.409/.857 shooting in 58 games (30.1 MPG) for the Kings in 2020/21. The 21-year-old will team up with De’Aaron Fox and Davion Mitchell this season to form what should be one of the most entertaining young backcourts in the NBA.

Haliburton is the only King with a third- or fourth-year rookie scale option for ’22/23, as our tracker shows.

Ben Simmons Clears Protocols, Won’t Play In Sixers’ Preseason Finale

October 15th, 2021 at 3:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers star Ben Simmons has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols and is eligible to rejoin the team, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. However, he didn’t travel to Detroit for the team’s preseason finale on Friday, per Shelburne, who hears from sources that Simmons is “reconditioning” after missing training camp and the preseason.

A source close to the situation told Marc Stein of Substack on Friday that things are “trending toward” Simmons suiting up again for the Sixers — if not on opening night, then sometime after the regular season begins. A timeline for the 25-year-old’s return would hinge on his conditioning and his level of engagement, Stein writes.

Shelburne published an Insider-only story at ESPN today, taking a deep dive into the Simmons situation and reporting some new details on how it has played out this year. Here are a few of the highlights from that story:

A memo from the NBA and NBPA earlier this fall stated that a player without a reasonable excuse “will not” be paid for games he misses. Previous memos from the league had used softer language (such as “would not”), which Simmons’ representatives believed left the door open to potentially recoup some lost salary. The tweak to that wording closed the door on that possibility and was likely a factor in Simmons’ decision to end his holdout, writes Shelburne.
On the morning of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in June, a Sixers masseuse returned an inconclusive COVID-19 test, prompting the team to ask players – for contact-tracing purposes – who had seen her that morning. Only Simmons said that he had, and multiple sources tell Shelburne that some people within the team questioned whether Simmons had actually seen the masseuse or if he was trying to get out of playing the final game of a series in which he struggled badly.
A source close to Simmons told Shelburne that he simply answered the question honestly, and he was ultimately cleared to play following a negative test. However, Shelburne’s report suggests the three-time All-Star was aware of the skepticism from some corners of the club, which may have affected him ahead of Game 7. “He was thrown,” a source tells ESPN.
Echoing an earlier report from Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice, Shelburne says that when Simmons met the Sixers in August, he expressed a belief that he hadn’t been afforded the same sort of leeway other top draft picks get to grow and make mistakes in their first few seasons. Simmons wanted a fresh start in a place where he “could make mistakes,” Shelburne writes.

Lakers Cut Joel Ayayi, Three Others

October 15th, 2021 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have placed four players on waivers, announcing today in a press release that they’ve cut Joel Ayayi, Chaundee Brown, Cameron Oliver, and Trevelin Queen.

Brown, Oliver, and Queen were camp invitees who weren’t expected to make the regular season roster, so it comes as no surprise that they were waived. They’ll likely end up joining the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate, for the 2021/22 season, tweets Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group.

However, Ayayi’s release is more unexpected. The former Gonzaga wing was considered one of this year’s top undrafted free agents and committed to the Lakers shortly after the draft ended in July, but didn’t have a great preseason, making just 1-of-10 shots in five games. He had been on a two-way contract.

The moves leave the Lakers with just 15 players under contract, including 14 on standard deals and one (Sekou Doumbouya) on a two-way pact. The club may not carry a 15th man to start the season, given the tax ramifications, but it’s possible that open two-way slot will be filled sooner rather than later.

Raptors Waive Josh Hall, Alex Antetokounmpo

October 15th, 2021 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have waived recent Exhibit 10 signees Josh Hall and Alex Antetokounmpo, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Toronto now has 18 players under contract.

Hall, 21, went undrafted in 2020, but caught on with Oklahoma City and spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the team. He appeared in 21 games for the Thunder, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 16.0 minutes per contest. The 6’9″ forward has impressive athleticism, but struggled to score efficiently, posting a shooting line of .303/.108/.500.

Antetokounmpo, the younger brother of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, spent last season under contract in Spain with UCAM Murcia. The 6’8″ forward joined the Kings’ Summer League roster in August.

Both Hall and Antetokounmpo are expected to report to Toronto’s G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.

Thunder Release D.J. Wilson, Scotty Hopson

October 15th, 2021 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have waived forward D.J. Wilson and guard Scotty Hopson, the team announced today. The moves reduce Oklahoma City’s roster count to 18 players, for the time being.

Wilson, the 17th overall pick in the 2017 draft, spent the first three-and-a-half season of his career in Milwaukee before being traded to Houston at last season’s trade deadline. He had fallen out of the Bucks’ rotation, but averaged 6.1 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a shooting line of .416/.339/.696 in 23 games (14.3 MPG) during his stint with the Rockets.

Hopson, who appeared in two NBA games in 2014 with Cleveland and one in 2018 with Dallas, has spent most of his career in the G League or playing in international leagues. The 6’7″ wing played for Melbourne United in 2020/21 after appearing in 41 G League games for the Oklahoma City Blue from 2018-20.

Hopson looks like a good bet to rejoin the Blue for the upcoming season, and it’s possible Wilson will join him.

Meanwhile, it appears the Thunder have also officially signed Zavier Simpson, whose Exhibit 10 deal with the team we reported on Thursday. Oklahoma City hasn’t formally announced the signing, but Simpson is listed on the team’s official roster page.

Pelicans Sign, Waive John Petty Jr.

October 15th, 2021 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 15, 1:33pm: As expected, the Pelicans have waived Petty, the team announced today in a press release.

OCTOBER 13, 7:01pm: The signing is official, according to a press release from the Pelicans.

OCTOBER 13, 2:08pm: The Pelicans are signing undrafted rookie John Petty Jr. to an Exhibit 10 contract, a source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

Petty spent the last four seasons playing his college ball at Alabama and was a two-time All-SEC player. As a senior in 2020/21, he averaged 12.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 1.9 APG on .420/.370/.734 shooting in 32 games (31.1 MPG) for the Crimson Tide. He went undrafted in July.

New Orleans has three open slots on its preseason roster after cutting Wenyen Gabriel, James Banks, and Malcolm Hill on Tuesday, so Petty figures to slide into one of those spots.

Petty will likely be waived before the regular season begins and looks like a good candidate to end up playing for New Orleans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.

Spurs Notes: Popovich, Offseason, Primo, Wieskamp

October 15th, 2021 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

A report earlier this month indicated that Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has seemed revitalized by the influx of young talent in San Antonio, and his comments to reporters this week back up that report. Although this year’s version of the Spurs won’t be a title contender like some of Popovich’s past teams, he said he’s “thrilled with this group,” according to Raul Dominguez of The Associated Press.

“They are basically young, energetic, have got a lot of speed,” Popovich said. “There is no need to pace yourself. Nobody is going to play 39 minutes a game, don’t have to worry about stats or individual honors or anything like that. These guys are just going to have a ball playing.”

The days of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker are long gone, but even in recent years, Popovich was able to rely on veterans like LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, and Rudy Gay. This season, the Spurs are short on go-to vets, but the veteran coach sounds perfectly fine with that.

“I have no idea who I’m going to give it to or what play we’re going to run,” Popovich said, per Dominguez. “That’s something we’re going to figure out as we move along, and to me, that’s exciting as hell.”

Here’s more from out of San Antonio:

The Spurs’ offseason moves – including signing Doug McDermott and Bryn Forbes in free agency – suggest they plan to shoot more three-pointers this season, says John Hollinger of The Athletic. San Antonio ranked dead last in the NBA last season in three-point makes (9.9) and attempts (28.4) per game.
Rookie guard Joshua Primo was “ecstatic” to land with the Spurs on draft night, according to agent Todd Ramasar, who tells Madalyn Mendoza of The San Antonio Express-News that his client had long admired the franchise. “When you think about them being the gold standard in the NBA from an organization standpoint, I think all that ties in to just how unreal it was to hear his name called at 12,” Ramasar said.
Although the Spurs essentially admitted defeat on one of their 2019 first-round picks this week when they cut Luka Samanic, the team’s hit rate in the draft remains high, writes Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News. As Finger observes, of San Antonio’s seven first-rounders since 2016, five (Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Lonnie Walker, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell) should be, at the very least, solid NBA contributors, while a sixth (Primo) is off to a promising start this fall.
Second-round pick Joe Wieskamp is prepared to spend a good chunk of his rookie season in the G League with the Austin Spurs and plans to make the most of it, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “I just view this as a developing year. It’s all about learning, all about growing,” Wieskamp said. “Just to have that experience of playing in Austin will be great. You get more opportunities to truly be yourself and work on things in a game environment.”

Hornets Sign, Waive LiAngelo Ball

October 15th, 2021 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 15: The Hornets have officially waived Ball, the team confirmed today in a press release. Barring a change of plans, it looks like his next stop will be Greensboro.

OCTOBER 14: The Hornets are signing LiAngelo Ball to a non-guaranteed contract and will waive him shortly thereafter, a source tells Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. The team issued a press release announcing the signing.

A report earlier this week suggested that Ball would sign a general G League contract and would be entered into the NBAGL draft pool, where the Greensboro Swarm (Charlotte’s affiliate) might select him.

However, it sounds like the Hornets – and the Swarm – have decided they want to secure Ball’s G League rights directly. Signing the 6’5″ wing to an Exhibit 10 deal will do that, and will allow the team to give him a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with Greensboro.

Ball, the brother of LaMelo Ball and Lonzo Ball, played for Charlotte’s Summer League team in Las Vegas and reportedly impressed members of the organization with his work ethic. He averaged 9.6 PPG on .375/.345/1.000 shooting in five games (17.4 MPG) for the Hornets in Vegas.

Magic Sign B.J. Johnson, Waive Devin Cannady

October 15th, 2021 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have waived guard Devin Cannady and filled the newly-opened roster spot by signing free agent wing B.J. Johnson, the team announced today in a press release.

Johnson, who went undrafted out of La Salle in 2018, has appeared in 17 total NBA games with three teams – Atlanta, Sacramento, and Orlando – since going pro, but he has spent most of his career so far in the G League.

Johnson appeared in 67 games for the Lakeland Magic in his first two seasons, averaging an impressive 22.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 2.0 SPG on .458/.417/.786 shooting in 28 NBAGL games (35.9 MPG) in 2019/20. He played for the Long Island Nets in the 2021 G League bubble, then signed with the Brisbane Bullets in April.

Lakeland just acquired Johnson’s G League returning rights from Long Island today in a five-team trade, so it’s a safe bet he’ll be returning to Orlando’s NBAGL affiliate this season. Cannady figures to join him there.

Year: 2024