- Jordan McRae agreed to give up $390,424 in his buyout from the Nuggets, per Siegel (via Twitter). That’s the equivalent of McRae’s $1,645,357 salary prorated over 42 days. However, if the Suns claim McRae off waivers, as they’re expected to, the buyout agreement will be unnecessary and won’t apply to his cap hit — he’ll simply continue earning the rest of his remaining salary for 2019/20 in Phoenix instead of Denver.
- Nick Kosmider of The Athletic attempts to make sense of Michael Porter Jr.‘s reduced playing time for the Nuggets, arguing that it’s time to let the second-year forward reclaim a more impactful role.
Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from across the NBA G League:
- The Pelicans have recalled Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the Erie BayHawks, announcing the news on social media. Alexander-Walker, a Virginia Tech product, was drafted with the No. 17 pick last June.
- The Thunder have recalled Deonte Burton from the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. Burton has averaged 14.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 11 G League games this season.
- The Nuggets assigned Keita Bates-Diop to the Windy City Bulls, announcing the news on social media. Bates-Diop was drafted No. 48 overall in 2018 after spending four seasons at Ohio State.
- The Pacers have assigned Goga Bitadze and Alize Johnson to their G League affiliate in Fort Wayne, the team announced. Both players logged double-doubles in a loss to Canton on Sunday night.
- The Warriors recalled forward Alen Smailagic from their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced in a release. Smailagic has averaged 15.2 points per game in 19 contests with Santa Cruz.
Jordan McRae has reached a buyout agreement with the Nuggets, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who adds that the Suns are his “likely destination.”
McRae has barely played in Denver since being acquired from the Wizards at the trade deadline. He appeared in four games, averaging 2.3 points and 8.0 minutes of playing time. He put up a career-best 12.8 PPG in 29 games with Washington before the deal.
Mike Singer of The Denver Post speculates (via Twitter) that the Nuggets are releasing McRae more as a favor to him than for any other reason. The team already had an open spot on its roster, so it didn’t need to create another one. McRae simply didn’t have a role in Denver.
Phoenix also has an opening on its roster after waiving Tyler Johnson and electing not to sign Jonah Bolden to a second 10-day contract, notes Gina Mizell of The Athletic (Twitter link). If the Suns are planning to sign McRae, they have the option of claiming him off waivers to obtain his Early Bird rights, adds ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
If the Suns do decide to claim McRae, his cap hit would no longer be included on Denver’s books and a buyout agreement wouldn’t be necessary — Phoenix would simply absorb his minimum-salary contract.
Today marks the final day that players can be waived and still be eligible for the postseason with their new team.
Sunday is March 1, which is the last day that a player can be waived and retain his postseason eligibility for a new team. Although we haven’t heard many buyout rumors this week – beyond a small update on Evan Turner – it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a couple more veterans hit the waiver wire by Sunday night and become free agents next week.
Any team can sign a free agent between now and the end of the season, but teams with open roster spots have a cleaner path to doing so. And those teams are worth keeping an eye on in the coming weeks, since even if no appealing targets emerge on the buyout market, those roster spots will likely be filled at some point.
During the regular season, there are benefits to carrying 14 – or even 13 – players for long stretches, particularly for healthy teams with luxury-tax concerns. But when the postseason rolls around, there’s little downside to filling the entire roster, even if it just means adding a 15th man during the final week (or day) of the season.
With that in mind, here are the teams in the top eight in each conference that still have at least one open spot on their 15-man rosters and seem likely to sign a player between now and April 15:
Playoff teams with an open roster spot:
- Denver Nuggets
- Houston Rockets
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Memphis Grizzlies *
- Oklahoma City Thunder
The Rockets are only on this list due to a technicality — Jeff Green‘s 10-day contract expired last night and he hasn’t yet officially signed his rest-of-season deal with the team. Once he does, Houston will have a full 15-man roster.
The other teams are worth keeping an eye on though. I’d guess the Thunder will save their 15th roster spot for two-way player Luguentz Dort, but the Nuggets and Clippers don’t have obvious internal candidates for promotions, so they could target a veteran free agent if they want to add a little more depth.
* As for the Grizzlies, they technically have a full 15-man roster for the time being, but Jarrod Uthoff is on a 10-day contract, so he could be replaced after it expires next weekend.
Playoff contenders with at least one open roster spot:
- Phoenix Suns
- Portland Trail Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs
Of the teams within five games of a playoff spot, these are the ones with roster openings. The Trail Blazers have tax concerns and may not add a 15th man, but the Suns and Spurs are candidates to do so. Phoenix, in particular, is reportedly keeping an eye on the free agent market in the wake of Kelly Oubre‘s knee injury.
For a full breakdown of the current NBA roster counts, be sure to check out our tracker.
Malik Beasley and Juan Hernangomez played their old team for the first time on Sunday, suiting up for the Timberwolves against the Nuggets, less than three weeks after being traded to Minnesota. Before the game, Hernangomez was the more nostalgic of the two former Nuggets, praising the organization and the fans in Denver, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post details.
“I’m the man who I am because (of) Denver, because (of the) organization, all the teammates, all the coaches,” Hernangomez. “I just want to (say) thanks to everybody for making my dream come true, make the chance to a kid who was dreaming about the NBA, make believe it and make it true.”
Beasley was more pragmatic about seeing his old team, per Singer: “It’s a business, put it like that. It’s not about personal life or anything like that. It’s just a strict business. That’s how you gotta take it.”
According to Nick Kosmider of The Athletic, the Nuggets offered Beasley a multiyear extension worth “north of $10MM annually” last fall. When Beasley turned down that offer, it increased the odds that he wouldn’t remain in Denver long-term.
As Kosmider explains, the Nuggets have “strongly hinted” that they’d like to re-sign Jerami Grant, and they’ll also have to negotiate new deals with Paul Millsap and Torrey Craig this summer if they intend to keep them, which reduced the team’s spending power for RFAs-to-be like Beasley and Hernangomez.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Addressing the Timberwolves‘ recent acquisition of D’Angelo Russell, president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said the NBA is “all about taking chances,” according to Ben Golliver of The Washington Post. “You have to pay a premium for good players,” Rosas said. “Not only did we need a point guard in our system, we needed a guy who fit our timeline and a guy who has already established himself as a player in this league. In those pursuits, you have to be comfortable hearing ‘no,’ and you have to be comfortable being patient.”
- Timberwolves forward Jake Layman, who has been sidelined since November 18 due to a toe injury, appears to be on the verge of returning to action. Layman was cleared to practice last week, per a press release, and is listed as probable for Monday’s game vs. Dallas (Twitter link).
- On the heels of one of the best games of his season, rookie Thunder swingman Luguentz Dort is making a case for a promotion to Oklahoma City’s 15-man roster, writes ESPN’s Royce Young. Dort, who scored 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting in a Sunday win over San Antonio, won’t be eligible for the postseason if he remains on his two-way contract.
Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Northwest Division:
Malik Beasley, Timberwolves, 23, SG (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $7.8MM deal in 2016
Beasley turned down an extension offer with the Nuggets last offseason, which looked like a really bad decision when he struggled to get steady playing time on Denver’s deep bench. Freedom came in the form of a trade with the Timberwolves and Beasley quickly seized the opportunity. He averaged 22.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 3.0 APG in his first three games with his new team. Of course, Minnesota made an even bigger deadline deal. The chemistry that Beasley forms with backourt partner D’Angelo Russell will determine how much Minnesota would be willing to fork up to re-sign the restricted free agent.
Jordan McRae, Nuggets, 28, SG (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $1.65MM deal in 2019
The Nuggets made a series of minor moves prior to the trade deadline. In the short run, the most significant was the acquisition of McRae, who was quietly enjoying a career year with the Wizards. McRae, who also had stints with Cleveland and Phoenix during his NBA career, was averaging 12.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 2.8 APG in 22.8 MPG with Washington. Stats with bad teams can be shrugged off but McRae, who missed some games with hand and ankle injuries, has a chance to show that he can be a second-unit factor for a quality team. The Nuggets possess his Early Bird rights, which increases the possibility of re-signing him if they like what they see.
Andre Roberson, Thunder, 28, SF (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $30MM deal in 2017
It’s sad that Roberson hasn’t been able to resurrect his career after suffering a serious knee injury at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena in January 2018. There have been many stops and starts during the rehab process since he ruptured his left patella tendon but Roberson has never been able to reach the point where he could play again. Oklahoma City was unable to move his expiring contract before the trade deadline. The last update on Roberson was that he was continuing his rehab in Los Angeles but there’s a strong possibility that the one-time lockdown defender has played his last NBA game.
Emmanuel Mudiay, Jazz, 23, PG (Down) – Signed to one-year, $1.74MM deal in 2019
Mudiay, the seventh overall pick of the 2015 draft, was signed as a backup to Mike Conley and was playing around 20 MPG until Conley returned from his latest injury. Mudiay hasn’t seen the floor for more than 15 minutes since mid-January and that’s not going to change when Conley suits up. Mudiay posted a career year statistically with the woeful Knicks last season but they didn’t make him a qualifying offer, which thrust him into unrestricted free agency. He can stick around the league for awhile if he’s willing to accept short-term, minimum-salary deals.
Mario Hezonja, Trail Blazers, 24, SF (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $3.66MM deal in 2019
Hezonja was hoping last summer that the Knicks would re-sign him. The call never came and Hezonja, who started 24 games with New York last season, wound up signing a two-year, minimum-salary contract with Portland. Hezonja, who is currently nursing an ankle injury, was playing regularly but not effectively before the team signed Carmelo Anthony. When he’s gotten opportunities to shoot it, he hasn’t been able to knock them down (38.5% overall, 28.4% from distance). Hezonja holds a $1.978MM player option on his contract for next season and it will be interesting to see if he opts in or chooses to see if another franchise will give him a chance to play regularly.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Although Mike Miller‘s hold on the Knicks‘ head coaching job beyond this season looks tenuous, multiple people within the organization support the idea of keeping Miller around in some capacity even if the team hires a new head coach, says Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
Begley and Marc Berman of The New York Post both point out that Miller is on good terms with Jeff Van Gundy, who is expected to receive consideration for the head coaching job from new president of basketball operations Leon Rose. Berman, who suggests Miller could stay on as an assistant coach if Van Gundy were to be hired, notes that JVG expressed support for the current interim coach during an appearance on NBA SiriusXM Radio.
“Mike Miller, to me, deserves every opportunity to finish this season out and win the job,” Van Gundy said. “And I think anybody plotting as a coach to try to undermine that opportunity is doing it wrong.”
Talk of Miller’s job security was reignited this week when brand consultant Steve Stoute suggested during an ESPN appearance that the Knicks will be looking to replace Miller this spring. The team and Stoute himself released statements hours later disavowing those comments. Interim head of basketball operations Scott Perry was among those “particularly bent out of shape” by Stoute’s comments on ESPN, a source tells Berman.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Sources tell Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that Marcus Morris lobbied earlier this season for Dennis Smith Jr. – with whom he shares an agent – to receive more playing time. Smith, who lost an advocate when the Knicks traded Morris last week, has appeared in the team’s last eight contests, but logged fewer than eight minutes in each of the last two games.
- Steve Popper of Newsday suggests (via Twitter) that Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas may be a name to watch as the Knicks seek an experienced basketball executive to work with Leon Rose in their new-look front office. However, Popper cautions (via Twitter) that Karnisovas signed an extension with Denver last year.
- Before the Knicks decided on Rose for their president of basketball operations opening, there was speculation that Kevin Durant‘s manager Rich Kleiman could be a candidate for the job. That wasn’t the case, according to Kleiman, who tells Ian Begley of SNY.tv that he never heard from the club.
- Tom Thibodeau has been cited as a potential head coaching candidate for the Knicks, and while Taj Gibson isn’t openly campaigning for his former coach, he believes Thibodeau can have success in today’s NBA. “He’s been misunderstood,” Gibson said, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. “A lot of players have different mindsets. His mindset is winning. To win games you got to go through a lot of hard work. Sometimes young players don’t understand it.”
Aaron Gordon remained with the Magic through last week’s trade deadline, but Sean Deveney of Heavy.com hears that Orlando discussed the sixth-year forward with a handful of teams. According to Deveney, the Warriors and Timberwolves were among the clubs that spoke to the Magic about Gordon. There was also “chatter” involving the Suns.
Although the Magic ended up having a fairly quiet deadline, executives around the NBA think the team may end up revisiting Gordon trade talks this summer, says Deveney.
“They were trying, and they tried hard to get something done with him at the deadline,” one source told Deveney. “All that gets brought back into focus once the season is over and you have a good idea what the market is for him.”
This is hardly the first time we’ve heard Gordon-related trade chatter this season. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported back in November that teams were monitoring the former No. 4 overall pick, and Deveney wrote shortly thereafter that there may be some long-term concerns in Orlando about Gordon’s frontcourt fit with with cornerstone player Jonathan Isaac.
A pair of January reports even connected both the Warriors and Wolves to Gordon. Those teams ultimately made a blockbuster deal with one another instead, swapping D’Angelo Russell and Andrew Wiggins in a trade that included other players and draft picks.
Gordon has had a down year in Orlando, with his scoring average slipping to 13.9 PPG and his shooting percentage dropping to a career-worst .422 FG%. Still, he’d be a coveted player on the trade market, given his versatility, his age (24) and his relatively team-friendly contract ($34.5MM over two years after 2019/20).
According to Deveney, the Mavericks are another team that has “long had interest” in Gordon, but they might have a hard time putting together a competitive package. Deveney writes that “buzz around the league” suggests the Nets and Nuggets – perhaps with a package featuring Spencer Dinwiddie or Gary Harris – would be teams to watch if Gordon is made available this summer.
The Knicks have had a miserable 12 months, finishing the 2018/19 season with a league-worst 17 wins, missing out on their top free agent targets, and then firing head coach David Fizdale and president of basketball operations Steve Mills during the 2019/20 season.
None of that seems to have had a noticeable impact on the team’s market value though. Once again, the franchise is considered the most valuable of any of the NBA’s 30 clubs, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes. The Lakers and Warriors aren’t far behind, having both surpassed the $4 billion mark for the first time this year.
For the first time, all 30 NBA teams have a perceived worth of $1.3 billion or more, per Forbes’ annual report. Every team’s value increased by at least 6% since Forbes put out their 2019 valuations last February, with a handful of franchises jumping by 20% or more.
The NBA-wide average of $2.12 billion per team in 2020 is also a new record — that league-wide average surpassed the $2 billion mark for the first time. NBA franchise values are up almost sixfold over the last decade, according to Badenhausen.
Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:
- New York Knicks: $4.6 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers: $4.4 billion
- Golden State Warriors: $4.3 billion
- Chicago Bulls: $3.2 billion
- Boston Celtics: $3.1 billion
- Los Angeles Clippers: $2.6 billion
- Brooklyn Nets: $2.5 billion
- Houston Rockets: $2.475 billion
- Dallas Mavericks: $2.4 billion
- Toronto Raptors: $2.1 billion
- Philadelphia 76ers: $2 billion
- Miami Heat: $1.95 billion
- Portland Trail Blazers: $1.85 billion
- San Antonio Spurs: $1.8 billion
- Sacramento Kings: $1.775 billion
- Washington Wizards: $1.75 billion
- Phoenix Suns: $1.625 billion
- Denver Nuggets: $1.6 billion
- Milwaukee Bucks: $1.58 billion
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.575 billion
- Utah Jazz: $1.55 billion
- Indiana Pacers: $1.525 billion
- Atlanta Hawks: $1.52 billion
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.51 billion
- Charlotte Hornets: $1.5 billion
- Detroit Pistons: $1.45 billion
- Orlando Magic: $1.43 billion
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.375 billion
- New Orleans Pelicans: $1.35 billion
- Memphis Grizzlies: $1.3 billion
The Raptors are among this year’s big “winners,” with their value rising 25%, from $1.675 billion a year ago to $2.1 billion this year following their first NBA championship. The Clippers also had a noteworthy bump, moving from ninth place on Forbes’ list to sixth after landing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George last summer.
Although every franchise’s value increased, the Nets had the smallest jump, just 6%. The Magic‘s modest 8% increase resulted in the team slipping from 23rd on last year’s list to 27th this year.
It’s worth noting that when a franchise has been sold in recent years, the price often exceeds Forbes’ valuation, so these figures are just estimates.