2021 | Hoops Rumors

Hoops Rumors’ 2021/22 NBA 10-Day Contract Tracker

December 21st, 2021 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

During a typical NBA league year, teams become eligible to sign players to 10-day contracts on January 5, and many of the signings that take place between that date and the end of the regular season are of the 10-day variety.

However, for a second consecutive year, the league has allowed 10-day signings to be completed earlier in the season as long as a team is using a hardship exception to make the move. And with so many players in the league’s health and safety protocols, hardship exceptions have been available to a ton of teams around the NBA.

That means Hoops Rumors’ 10-day contract tracker, which we use to keep tabs on every 10-day signing completed in a given season, has been brought out of hibernation a little early in 2021/22.

Besides featuring all of this year’s 10-day deals, our 10-day contract tracker includes information on all 10-day contracts signed since the 2006/07 season. The search filters in the database make it easy to sort by team, player and year. For instance, if you want to see all the 10-day contracts that the Lakers have signed in the last 15 years, you can do so here.

You can also see whether a player and team signed a second 10-day contract, or if those short-term deals led to an agreement that covered the rest of the season. Additionally, our tracker, which is updated when a 10-day signing becomes official, notes which 10-day deals remain active, saving you from having to figure out whether a particular contract ends on Wednesday or Thursday.

A link to our 10-day contract tracker can be found at any time in the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site. On our mobile site, you can find it on our “Features” page. We’ll be keeping it up to date for the rest of the season, so be sure to check back to keep tabs on the latest signings as they become official.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

Pelicans Apply For DPE Due To Lewis Injury

December 20th, 2021 at 9:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have applied for a disabled player exception due to Kira Lewis‘ season-ending knee injury, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets.

Lewis suffered a torn ACL and a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his right knee earlier this month against Denver.

A DPE allows a team to sign a player without using cap space. If a player is seriously injured, his team can apply for the disabled player exception to replace him. If granted, the disabled player exception allows a club to sign a replacement player for 50% of the injured player’s salary, or for the amount of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception, whichever is lesser.

In Lewis’ case, he’s making $3,822,240 this season, so the DPE would be worth approximately $1.91MM. It could be used to sign a player to a one-year deal or to acquire a player via trade or waiver claim, if he’s in the final year of his contract.

The 13th overall pick of the 2020 draft, Lewis appeared in 24 games this season (14.2 MPG) and averaged 5.9 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a .404/.224/.805 shooting line.

The Pelicans exercised their third-year option on Lewis prior to the season, so his salary will be guaranteed through next season.

Mavs’ Maxi Kleber Enters Protocols

December 20th, 2021 at 8:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Maxi Kleber has been added to the list of Mavericks players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the team’s PR department tweets.

Kleber joins Reggie Bullock and Josh Green in the COVID-19 protocols. Luka Doncic (left ankle soreness), Willie Cauley-Stein (personal reasons) and Eugene Omoruyi (right foot injury) will also miss Tuesday’s game against the Timberwolves. Minnesota has five players in the protocols.

Kristaps Porzingis (toe soreness) is questionable to play.

Kleber played 31 minutes against Minnesota, contributing six points and 14 rebounds. He’s averaging 7.3 PPG and 5.9 RPG.

The Mavs have signed Theo Pinson and are planning to sign Marquese Chriss via the hardship exemption to fortify the roster. Dallas also has two assistant coaches, Jared Dudley and Darrell Armstrong, who have been placed in protocols.

Atlantic Notes: Riller, Celtics, Stevens, Walker, McBride

December 20th, 2021 at 6:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grant Riller was waived by the Sixers on Sunday and new details have emerged why that move was made. He’s undergoing right shoulder surgery and will miss the next four-to-six months, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Riller was on a two-way contract and could return to Philly next season after he recovers. Riller, a 24-year-old point guard, suffered a torn meniscus in early October and injured the shoulder in a G League game last month.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Boston has new vaccine requirements for indoor dining, fitness, and entertainment establishments going into effect next month, according to a Boston Globe report. However, all professional athletes are exempt, meaning it won’t have any impact on the Celtics or visiting players, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets. Under the new mandate, proof of at least one vaccine dose will be required after January 15 to enter those facilities except for medical or religious reasons.
Brad Stevens has had far more hits than misses in the moves he’s made since becoming president of basketball operations 200 days ago, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston opines. Forsberg breaks down each transaction while noting that those moves can’t be fully judged until Stevens utilizes the cap flexibility generated by them.
Kemba Walker and Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau have not discussed the point guard’s situation since he was removed from the rotation, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. However, Walker doesn’t want to be a distraction. “I’m not starting, I ain’t playing,” Walker said. “So I’m here for my team, I’m here for my teammates. I can’t say it enough. Whatever’s asked of me that’s what I’m here for.” Walker erupted for 29 points in 37 minutes for the depleted Knicks on Saturday, his first action since Nov. 26.
Thibodeau has been impressed by the team’s rookies, particularly guard Miles McBride, Steve Popper of Newsday writes. “The thing that I was most proud of is the way those guys all worked. ,,, they’ve been phenomenal and not just in the way they work but when they were competing in practice,” he said. McBride is currently in the health and safety protocols.

Ja Morant Returns For Grizzlies

December 20th, 2021 at 6:34pm CST by Luke Adams

6:34pm: Morant is available to play tonight, the team’s PR department tweets.

1:48pm: Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant has been upgraded to questionable for the team’s game on Monday vs. Oklahoma City (Twitter link).

While that doesn’t mean Morant is a lock to be active tonight, Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal notes (via Twitter) that players listed as questionable by the Grizzlies typically end up playing.

Morant, who exited the health and safety protocols over the weekend, has been on the shelf since November 26 due to a left knee sprain. Before he went down, the 22-year-old was enjoying his best NBA season to date, averaging 24.1 PPG, 6.8 APG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.6 SPG on .476/.356/.777 shooting through 19 games (32.6 MPG).

Oddly, the Grizzlies were just 9-10 with Morant in the lineup and have gone 10-2 without him. However, as Kevin Pelton of ESPN outlined in an Insider-only story, the Grizzlies have benefited from a favorable schedule and poor opponent shooting during their last dozen games — there’s obviously no reason to believe Memphis is a better team without its star guard.

After hosting the Thunder tonight, the Grizzlies have road games on tap in Golden State (Thursday), Sacramento (Sunday), and Phoenix (Monday).

And-Ones: Roster Rules, Muhammad, Faried, Prospects

December 20th, 2021 at 3:41pm CST by Luke Adams

A handful of reporters have shared some additional details on the changes to the NBA’s roster rules as agreed upon by the league and the players’ union, which we outlined this morning.

According to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, while teams are now being required to sign replacement players if they have multiple players sidelined due to positive COVID-19 tests, a club won’t have to sign any additional replacements if it’s able to have 13 healthy players in uniform.

Meanwhile, Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link) cites multiple sources who say it won’t just be new hardship signings that don’t count against team salary for cap or tax purposes — that change will be applied retroactively to all of this season’s hardship signings. Teams, of course, will still be required to pay 10-day salaries to each player they sign, but those deals won’t have an impact on a club’s cap or tax situation.

Finally, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), even though players on two-way contracts no longer face a 50-game regular season limit, they remain ineligible to participate in play-in or postseason games unless they’re promoted to their team’s standard roster.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Former lottery pick Shabazz Muhammad, who last played in the NBA in 2018, joined the Grand Rapids Gold – the Nuggets‘ G League affiliate – for the NBAGL Showcase, as Marc Stein reported (via Twitter). Muhammad struggled in his debut on Sunday vs. the G League Ignite, recording four points, four turnovers, and six fouls in 16 minutes of action.
CSKA Moscow and veteran NBA big man Kenneth Faried have parted ways, the Russian club recently announced in a press release. Faried signed a two-month contract with CSKA in October, but played a limited role for the team, which opted not to extend his deal to cover the entire season. “Thank you for having me, it was amazing – the organization, coaches and people of CSKA Moscow,” Faried said in a statement. “I wish I could have stayed the whole season but it’s a business and I understand that!”
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic identifies seven college upperclassmen to keep an eye on this NCAA season as 2022 draft prospects, singling out Kansas wing Ochai Agbaji, Duke wing Wendell Moore Jr., and Northwestern forward Pete Nance (Larry Nance Jr.‘s brother), among others.

Raptors To Sign Nik Stauskas

December 20th, 2021 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Nik Stauskas is returning to the NBA, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link), who reports that the veteran shooting guard has agreed to sign with the Raptors. While Stein’s report doesn’t offer additional specifics, it seems relatively safe to assume Stauskas will get a 10-day contract via the hardship exception.

Stauskas, who was born in Mississauga, Ontario, was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 draft and appeared in 335 regular season games from 2014-19 for the Kings, Sixers, Nets, Trail Blazers, and Cavaliers. He was a fairly reliable three-point threat (.353 3PT%) during that time, but didn’t show enough other skills to stick in the NBA.

After a brief stint overseas, Stauskas signed in the G League for the 2021 bubble and then returned to the NBAGL this season. In 12 games (38.3 MPG) in 2021/22 for the Grand Rapids Gold, the 28-year-old has recorded 21.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .429/.352/.915 shooting.

It has been a busy day for Toronto, as the team also reportedly reached deals with Brandon Goodwin and Juwan Morgan while placing Gary Trent Jr. in the health and safety protocols. The Raptors had their Monday night game postponed and won’t resume play until Wednesday in Chicago, so I’d expect them to wait a couple more days to officially finalize their signings in order to maximize each player’s 10 days.

Celtics Sign C.J. Miles To 10-Day Contract

December 20th, 2021 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

2:49pm: The Celtics have officially signed Miles to a 10-day contract, the team announced this afternoon (via Twitter).

10:45am: The Celtics will fortify their roster by signing veteran swingman C.J. Miles via a hardship exception, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Miles won’t count against the team’s roster limit, so no corresponding move will be necessary.

Miles, 34, hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2019/20 season, when he appeared in 10 games for Washington. However, he signed last week with the G League Ignite and played 22 minutes in his NBAGL debut on Friday.

A sharpshooter who has made 1,250 career three-pointers at a 35.8% clip, Miles has appeared in a total of 848 NBA regular season games and another 44 postseason contests for the Jazz, Cavaliers, Pacers, Raptors, Grizzlies, and Wizards. He has career averages of 9.6 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 20.4 MPG.

The Celtics have already signed one player – Justin Jackson – using the hardship exception, but have seven players in the health and safety protocols, so they figure to make at least one more roster addition besides Miles.

Miles’ 10-day deal won’t count against the salary cap or luxury tax for Boston, based on the new roster rules agreed upon by the NBA and NBPA.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Jayson Tatum Named Players Of The Week

December 20th, 2021 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (via Twitter).

Towns’ Timberwolves went 3-0 during the week of December 13-19, with victories over the Nuggets, Lakers, and Mavericks. The former No. 1 overall pick averaged 28.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, and 1.3 BPG on .547/.375/.870 shooting in those three games (33.9 MPG).

The Celtics’ quest for a perfect week was denied by the Warriors on Friday, but Boston went 2-1 and Tatum had a big three-game stretch. He put up 31.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 4.0 APG with a .500/.361/.867 shooting line in 38.8 minutes per contest.

Towns beat out fellow finalists Deandre Ayton, Dillon Brooks, Nikola Jokic, and Damian Lillard in the West, while the other Eastern finalists were Kevin Durant, Darius Garland, and Fred VanVleet (Twitter link).

Mavericks Sign Theo Pinson To 10-Day Deal

December 20th, 2021 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

1:44pm: Pinson’s 10-day contract with the Mavericks is now official, according to the team (Twitter link).

8:22am: The Mavericks intend to sign shooting guard Theo Pinson to a 10-day contract via the hardship provision, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Pinson, 26, was in camp with the Celtics in the fall, but was waived before the regular season began and ended up joining Boston’s G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. In 12 games (32.8 MPG) for Maine, he has averaged 16.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .425/.405/.833 shooting.

Pinson spent time with the Nets and Knicks between 2018-21, appearing in a total of 68 NBA games during that time. He had a very limited role in Brooklyn and New York, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 9.0 minutes per contest.

Dallas currently has two players – Reggie Bullock and Josh Green – in the health and safety protocols. Based on the NBA’s new roster rules, that means the Mavs are required to sign at least one replacement player.

Year: 2024