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NBA Postpones Raptors/Bulls Game; Anunoby Enters Protocols

December 22nd, 2021 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is postponing Wednesday’s game in Chicago between the Raptors and Bulls, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The NBA has officially confirmed the decision, announcing that Toronto doesn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.

Marc Stein first reported (via Twitter) that the game was at risk of postponement because one or more of the replacement players Toronto agreed to sign in order to meet the roster minimum may need to immediately enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

The Raptors entered the day with seven players in the health and safety protocols and OG Anunoby entered the protocols on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarwoski (Twitter link). Khem Birch (knee), Justin Champagnie (non-COVID illness), David Johnson (calf), and Goran Dragic (not with team) were also ruled out for tonight’s game, leaving the team with just four healthy players.

Toronto had lined up deals with five replacement players (Nik Stauskas, Brandon Goodwin, Tremont Waters, Juwan Morgan, and D.J. Wilson), but those signings aren’t yet official.

This is the second time in the last week that a Bulls/Raptors game has been postponed. The two teams were supposed to play in Chicago last Thursday, but the Bulls didn’t have enough players at that point.

Both clubs will now be off through Christmas before resuming their respective schedules on December 26. The Raptors play in Cleveland on Sunday, while the Bulls will host Indiana.

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Cavaliers Sign Tre Scott To 10-Day Deal

December 22nd, 2021 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have signed free agent forward Tre Scott to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, the team announced today in a press release. Scott’s deal will run through December 31.

Scott, 25, went undrafted out of Cincinnati in 2020 and spent his rookie season with Utah’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. In 15 games for the Stars, the 6’8″ forward averaged 10.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG on .443/.296/.714 shooting in 29.3 minutes per contest.

Scott played for the Cavs in the Las Vegas Summer League earlier this year and then joined the Cleveland Charge, the Cavs’ NBAGL affiliate. He has averaged 14.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 2.4 APG on .442/.333/.714 shooting in 10 G League games (34.4 MPG) this season.

Cleveland has now added three players this week via the hardship exception, with Scott joining Luke Kornet and Justin Anderson. The Cavs currently have eight players in the health and safety protocols, so they’re eligible to sign a few more replacement players if they so choose.

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Hawks Sign Lance Stephenson Via Hardship Exception

December 22nd, 2021 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 22: The Hawks have officially signed Stephenson to a 10-day contract, the team confirmed today in a press release.

DECEMBER 21: The Hawks are calling up veteran NBA swingman Lance Stephenson from the G League, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link). Stephenson had been playing for the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s NBAGL affiliate.

Stephenson, 31, hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2018/19 season, but signed a G League contract this fall in the hopes of making a comeback. In his first 12 games for the Gold this season, the former Pacer averaged 19.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 4.1 APG on .471/.306/.686 shooting in 35.0 MPG.

Stephenson has appeared in a total of 508 regular season NBA games, including 298 with Indiana. He also spent time with the Hornets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Timberwolves, and Lakers during his nine years in the league.

The Hawks will sign Stephenson to a 10-day contract via the hardship provision, says Stein (Twitter link). Atlanta hasn’t been among the teams hit hardest this month by COVID-19, but Trae Young is currently in the protocols, making the club eligible to add a replacement player.

As Stein observes, a handful of NBA veterans who had been playing for Grand Rapids have received NBA call-ups this month. Isaiah Thomas recently signed with the Lakers, while Nik Stauskas reportedly has a deal in place with Toronto.

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Hawks Sign Malcolm Hill To 10-Day Deal

December 22nd, 2021 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 22: Hill has officially signed his 10-day contract with the Hawks, according to the team. It’ll run through December 31.

DECEMBER 21: Former Illinois forward Malcolm Hill has agreed to sign a 10-day contract with the Hawks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Atlanta will sign Hill using a hardship exception.

The Hawks entered Tuesday with just one player – Trae Young – in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, but two other Atlanta players are set to join Young in those protocols, tweets Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Three of the team’s “tier one” staffers are also being placed in the protocols, as the team canceled its Tuesday practice, per Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

Having already agreed to sign Lance Stephenson, the Hawks have now lined up a deal with Hill, who went undrafted in 2017 and has since played in the Philippines, Germany, Kazakhstan, and Israel. The 6’6″ wing returned stateside this year and has been playing for the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate.

In 14 NBAGL games (31.6 MPG) for the Squadron, Hill has averaged 16.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 1.6 SPG on .509/.402/.810 shooting.

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NBA Postpones Thursday’s Nets/Blazers Game

December 22nd, 2021 at 9:05am CST by Luke Adams

This week’s game between the Nets and Trail Blazers, scheduled to be played on Thursday in Portland, has been postponed, the NBA announced today in a press release. According to the league, Brooklyn doesn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.

It’s the third straight postponement for the Nets, who were also unable to play on Sunday vs. Denver and Tuesday vs. Washington. Brooklyn has a league-high 10 players in the health and safety protocols, and Joe Harris (ankle) and Nicolas Claxton (wrist) were also out of action when the team last played on Saturday.

Patty Mills, Blake Griffin, Cameron Thomas, David Duke, and Kessler Edwards were active for the Nets on Saturday and the team has added four replacement players (James Ennis, Shaquille Harrison, Langston Galloway, and Wenyen Gabriel).

That’s a total of nine players, but it’s certainly possible that at least a couple of them are dealing with injuries or have been placed in the protocols in recent days — the Nets haven’t had to publicly update their injury report since their last game.

The next game on Brooklyn’s schedule is a December 25 showdown with the Lakers in Los Angeles. While both teams have been decimated by injuries and COVID-19, the NBA will presumably do all it can to avoid postponing what was supposed to be one of its marquee Christmas Day matchups.

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Central Notes: Cavs, Matthews, Kalamian, McKinnie

December 22nd, 2021 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the HoopsHype Podcast alongside Michael Scotto, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said he believes the Cavaliers will look to be buyers at this season’s trade deadline, and could be open to surrendering their 2022 first-round pick, which may not end up in the lottery as initially anticipated.

Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, and Terrence Ross are among the players who could appeal to the Cavaliers, per Fedor, though some of those players may be more attainable than others. While LeVert and Ross are believed to be available, I’d be surprised if Brooklyn parts with Harris.

Fedor also addressed several more topics during his conversation with Scotto, suggesting that Ricky Rubio has become more likely to be extended than traded and noting that the Cavaliers are comfortable going into restricted free agency with Collin Sexton. Cleveland recognizes that only a handful of teams will have cap room available in 2022 and is skeptical that any of those clubs will make it a top priority to pry away Sexton from the Cavs, Fedor explains.

Here are a few more notes from around the Central:

  • Bucks wing Wesley Matthews is no longer listed in the health and safety protocols, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. Milwaukee still has three players in the protocols, including Giannis Antetokounmpo.
  • Rex Kalamian, who has been an NBA assistant coach for 28 years, got a chance to serve as the Pistons‘ acting head coach on two occasions in the past week – including on Tuesday – when Dwane Casey was away from the team for personal reasons. As James L. Edwards III of The Athletic details, Kalamian appreciates the opportunity, but remains happy in his role as an assistant. “As an assistant coach, you do a lot more development with the players than the head coach,” he said. “The head coaches are not nearly as involved with the day-to-day development of players. But as an assistant, that’s something that has always been fun for me and a challenge to step in and get on the court every day with players.”
  • Carving out a role with the Bulls has been a “dream come true” for Alfonzo McKinnie, who is currently on his second 10-day contract with his hometown team. “I’m a West Side kid. I grew up like 10, 15 minutes down the way,” McKinnie said on Monday, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “House was a Bulls house. Watched the Bulls growing up. So just being able to compete on the highest stage in my hometown, on my favorite side of the city, the West Side, it’s been surreal to be honest. Just putting that jersey on has been everything for me.”
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Checking In On 10-Day Contracts

December 22nd, 2021 at 7:00am CST by Luke Adams

A series of COVID-19 outbreaks across the NBA and new rules that require teams to be more aggressive in signing replacement players have resulted in a ton of new 10-day deals within the last week.

By our count, 27 players are currently on 10-day contracts, while another 16 players have reportedly agreed to deals that aren’t yet official, resulting in a total of 43 10-day pacts. That number figures to continue increasing in the coming days, since no active 10-day contracts are set to expire before Saturday night.

With the transaction wire moving so quickly, your best bet for keeping tabs on deals as they happen is to follow our 10-day contract tracker and our roster counts page, which we’re updating several times daily to reflect the latest signings and contract agreements.

This morning, we’re taking a quick snapshot of the currently active 10-day deals, listing them all in one spot in the space below. This post won’t continue to be updated and will likely become outdated in a matter of hours (or even minutes). So again, you’ll want to follow our other trackers to stay up to date on subsequent roster moves. But here are the NBA’s current 10-day contracts, both official and unofficial, as of Wednesday morning:

Runs through December 25:

Runs through December 26:

Runs through December 27:

Runs through December 28:

Runs through December 29:

Runs through December 30:

Reported but not yet official:

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Luka Doncic Could Be Back Thursday

December 21st, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Mavericks are hoping to have All-Star point guard Luka Doncic back on the floor as soon as Thursday against the Bucks, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).

Doncic has been unavailable for the Mavericks’ past four games as a result of a sore left ankle, and is out for a fifth straight on Tuesday against the Timberwolves. The 6’7″ fourth-year guard, a two-time All-Star, will be sidelined for his ninth overall contest of the young season.

Despite kicking off the 2021/22 NBA season out of shape, Doncic has been his typically effective self for Dallas when available. In 21 games, the 22-year-old is averaging 25.6 PPG, 8.5 APG and 8.0 RPG.

The Mavericks are 14-15 overall, including 2-6 without Doncic. Dallas is currently the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference standings, a far cry from the team’s more competitive preseason expectations.

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Raptors To Sign D.J. Wilson Via Hardship Exception

December 21st, 2021 at 7:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent power forward D.J. Wilson will sign a 10-day contract with the Raptors via a hardship exception, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

The 25-year-old was drafted with the No. 17 pick out of Michigan by the Bucks in 2017. He was traded to the Rockets during the 2020/21 season. In 142 games, the 6’10 big man holds career averages of 4.3 PPG and 3.1 RPG, across 12.3 MPG.

Wilson was most recently with the Thunder’s NBAGL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 13.9 PPG and 9.7 RPG.

Josh Lewenberg of TSN notes (Twitter link) that Wilson will be Toronto’s fifth replacement player added to address the team’s wide array of absences. The team has also reached deals with Brandon Goodwin, Tremont Waters, Juwan Morgan, and Nik Stauskas.

Per our COVID-19 tracker, the Raptors have seven players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols: Precious Achiuwa, Dalano Banton, Scottie Barnes, Malachi Flynn, Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., and Fred VanVleet.

Additionally, Khem Birch and David Johnson remain absent with injuries, while Justin Champagnie is dealing with a non-COVID illness. Veteran point guard Goran Dragic is away from the team indefinitely for personal reasons.

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Atlantic Notes: Galloway, Walker, Sixers, Stauskas

December 21st, 2021 at 6:37pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Nets guard Langston Galloway is viewing his 10-day contract with the top team in the East as an audition for a longer-term return to the NBA, writes Shlomo Sprung of Boardroom.tv. Galloway – who was most recently playing with the Hawks’ NBAGL affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks – is averaging 16 MPG across his first two contests with Brooklyn.

Galloway, 30, went undrafted out of Saint Joseph’s in 2014, but eventually latched on with the Knicks in the middle of the 2014/15 season. The 6’1″ combo guard suited up for five NBA teams across seven NBA seasons before landing with Brooklyn this year. In 447 total games played with the Knicks, Pelicans, Kings, Pistons, Suns, and now Nets, he holds averages of 8.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 1.5 SPG.

Galloway played in just one game with the Skyhawks this year before being scooped up by Brooklyn. He notched 12 points, seven assists, three boards, and one steal.

“It gives guys an opportunity for another look,” Galloway said of his G League experience prior to joining the Nets. “Playing in G League games is great, but it’s nothing like having eyeballs on you at the NBA level and being able to show that I could really still do this. It’s a huge opportunity.“

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

  • Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau offered measured praise for point guard Kemba Walker, who poured in a season-best 29 points in a 114-107 loss to the Celtics this weekend, Walker’s first game back in the rotation since his unceremonious benching nine games prior, writes Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “Well, that’s who he is,” Thibodeau acknowledged about Walker’s solid offensive game. “He’s an accomplished player. I have to do what I think is best for the team. And that’s how I’m gonna make my decisions.” The Knicks went 2-7 in their nine games without Walker. Though Thibodeau was noncommittal after a Monday practice about whether or not Walker would play in further games, it appears fate is forcing his hand. Fred Katz of The Athletic reported (via Twitter) that point guard Derrick Rose would be unavailable for New York’s next game, Tuesday night against the league-worst Pistons, with an ankle injury. With six other Knicks still in the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, Walker will officially start for New York again this evening, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
  • Sixers head coach Doc Rivers reflected this week on just how deeply Philadelphia is feeling the absence of embattled point guard Ben Simmons, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The team was the top seed in the East last year, but at 16-15 is currently the sixth seed in the conference as Simmons continues to sit out. “You see the glaring holes that he leaves us,” Rivers said of the club’s missing All-Defensive First Teamer. “And you know, he may or may not play. If he does, great. If he doesn’t, then whoever we get can help us.” 
  • New Raptors shooting guard Nik Stauskas, a former lottery pick most recently with the Grand Rapids Gold, is delighted to be joining his hometown Toronto team, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The 28-year-old Michigan alum has logged time with the Kings, Sixers, Nets, Trail Blazers, and Cavaliers, but has not appeared in an NBA game since the 2018/19 NBA season.
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