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And-Ones: Tolliver, Millsap, Bezhanishvili, Hernandez

January 3rd, 2022 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran forward Anthony Tolliver signed a 10-day contract with the Pelicans under the hardship exception the day after Christmas. However, Tolliver tested positive for COVID-19 and the contract was voided. He has now cleared protocols and is eligible to be signed immediately, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets. Tolliver played for the Sixers last season.

We have more news from the basketball world:

  • Former NBA guard Elijah Millsap has signed a NBA G League contract and is expected to join the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ affiliate, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Millsap, the brother of Brooklyn Nets veteran Paul Millsap, played 69 games in the NBA, though his last appearance came during the 2016/17 season.
  • Grand Rapids Gold forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili could be on the radar for a 10-day contract, Shaw tweets. He has averaged 16.4 PPG and 8.6 RPG in his last eight contests for the Nuggets’ affiliate.
  • Former Raptors center Dewan Hernandez has signed a G League contract and has been acquired by the Westchester Knicks, Shaw adds in another tweet. Hernandez played six NBA games during the 2019/20 season.
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NBA Reschedules 11 Postponed Games

January 3rd, 2022 at 7:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has announced the rescheduling of the 11 games postponed in December due to COVID-19 issues, listing the changes in a press release.

Additionally, eight other scheduled games have been shifted to accommodate the postponements. A pair of others have been shifted to new starting times.

Most notably, Kyle Lowry‘s return to Toronto will take place two days earlier than anticipated, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN points out.

The Raptors will now host the Bulls on February 3 instead of the Heat. Lowry’s return will occur on Feb. 1 in Miami’s rescheduled visit. The game that Toronto was originally scheduled to play that day against the Hawks will now be played on January 31.

The first two makeups will occur next week — the Nets at the Trail Blazers on Monday, January 10 and the Pistons at the Bulls on Tues, Jan. 11.

“There’s no easy way to do this,” Nets coach Steve Nash said to Bontemps and other media members. “If we were expecting it to be a sweet little add to the schedule, and no blood drawn, that would be foolish.”

The other rescheduled dates are as follows:

  • New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ers
    • Previous: Dec. 19
    • New: Jan. 25
  • Denver Nuggets at Brooklyn Nets
    • Previous: Dec. 19
    • New: Jan. 26
  • Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls
    • Previous: Dec. 22
    • New: Jan. 26
  • Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
    • Previous: Dec. 16
    • New: Feb. 3
  • Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs
    • Previous: Dec. 29
    • New: Feb. 3
  • Washington Wizards at Brooklyn Nets
    • Previous: Dec. 21
    • New: Feb. 17
  • Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors
    • Previous: Dec. 20
    • New: March 4
  • Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets
    • Previous: Dec. 30
    • New: March 7
  • Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
    • Previous: Dec. 19
    • New: March 31
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COVID Updates: Towns, Russell, Tucker, Hyland, Robinson, Bryant, Neto

January 3rd, 2022 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Players around the NBA continue to enter and exit the league’s health and safety protocols. Here’s the latest update:

  • Timberwolves stars Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell have exited the protocols but won’t play against the Clippers due to reconditioning, the team’s PR department tweets.
  • Heat forward P.J. Tucker has been upgraded to questionable to play on Monday against Golden State after exiting the protocols, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets.
  • Nuggets rookie Bones Hyland has exited the protocols and is expected to be available for Monday’s road game against Dallas, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets.
  • Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has cleared the protocols, the team’s PR department tweets.
  • Wizards center Thomas Bryant and guard Raul Neto have cleared the protocols, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. However, Tremont Waters, who is on a 10-day hardship contract, has entered the protocols, Robbins adds in a separate tweet.
  • Bucks forward Jordan Nwora has entered the protocols and will miss Monday’s game against Detroit, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.
  • Rockets big man Usman Garuba has entered the protocols, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
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Northwest Notes: Jones, Nuggets, Blazers, Williams, Howard

January 2nd, 2022 at 6:23pm CST by JD Shaw

Nuggets assistant Popeye Jones won his first game as acting head coach on Saturday against the Rockets, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. Jones was coaching in place of head coach Michael Malone and lead assistant David Adelman, both of whom entered health and safety protocols.

“I’m blessed to be a part of this organization,” Jones said after the game. “You come in as the only new guy, and guys are trying to get a feel for you. … To come into this culture, and all these guys are such good guys, man. They don’t complain, they work hard every day. Like I told them, ‘You established this culture. I’m blessed just to be a part of it.’”

Denver won the contest 124-111 behind Facundo Campazzo‘s 22 points, 12 assists and five steals. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic also added 24 points and 11 rebounds, helping the Nuggets secure their third-straight victory.

There’s more from the Northwest Division tonight:

  • The Trail Blazers have hired Rodney Billups as an assistant coach, the team announced in a press release. Billups is the younger brother of head coach Chauncey Billups, who joined the franchise last June. Portland owns the third-worst record in the West at 13-22 and has lost four straight games.
  • Every championship contender will take a look at Thunder forward Kenrich Williams leading up to the trade deadline, ESPN’s Zach Lowe opines. Williams has averaged 6.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 20.8 minutes for Oklahoma City this season, shooting 46% from the floor and 41% from three-point range. He also shot 44% from deep last season.
  • Nuggets two-way guard Markus Howard has hired new representation, choosing to sign with Octagon, the agency announced on social media (Twitter link). Howard will be represented by agents Josh Beauregard-Bell and Alex Saratsis. He’s averaged 4.3 points and 7.3 minutes in 16 games this season and is currently sidelined due to a knee injury.
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COVID-19 Updates: Doncic, SGA, Robinson, Hawks, Nuggets, More

January 1st, 2022 at 5:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks star Luka Doncic has cleared the league’s health and safety protocols, sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link). Doncic, who hasn’t played since December 10, missed a combined 10 games due to a left ankle injury and his time in the protocols. He’s expected to meet his teammates in Oklahoma City and may return to the court on Sunday.

Tim Hardaway Jr. and Maxi Kleber may also be able to exit the protocols in time for Sunday’s game, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Dallas, which has five other players still in protocols, managed to go 5-5 without Doncic and is holding onto eighth place in the Western Conference.

Here are more updates on players entering and exiting the protocols:

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Nuggets Sign Carlik Jones To 10-Day Deal

January 1st, 2022 at 2:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

2:42pm: Denver has officially inked Jones to his 10-day hardship contract, the team announced in a press release. Jones’ deal with Dallas hadn’t been set to expire until the end of the day, so the Mavs presumably terminated it a little early.

12:02pm: The Nuggets are planning to sign Carlik Jones to a 10-day contract under the hardship exception, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets.

Jones has been on the Mavericks’ roster under a 10-day deal, which will expire tonight. The point guard has made three short appearances with Dallas.

Denver currently has four players in league protocols.

Jones went undrafted earlier this year after transferring from Radford to Louisville for his senior season. He put up 16.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 19 games (37.5 MPG) in 2020/21 for the Cardinals and made the All-ACC First Team.

Jones spent training camp this fall with the Mavs, then reported to the Texas Legends, where he started all 10 games he played for Dallas’ G League team. He averaged 20.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .451/.324/.875 shooting in 30.8 minutes per contest.

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Nuggets Sign Rayjon Tucker To 10-Day Deal

December 31st, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Rory Maher

December 31: Tucker’s contract with the Nuggets is now official, the team announced.

December 30: The Nuggets plan to sign guard Rayjon Tucker to a 10-day deal via the hardship exception, a league source tells Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The 24-year-old Tucker spent the past 10 days on a deal with the Timberwolves, though he did not appear in a game with the team.

Tucker spent most of the 2019/20 season with the Jazz, then signed a two-way contract with the Sixers in January 2021. He appeared in a total of 34 regular season games in his first two NBA seasons, averaging a modest 2.8 PPG and 0.9 RPG in 6.7 minutes per contest.

He has averaged 17.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.1 APG in 32.2 MPG while appearing in 13 games this season for the NBA G League’s Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s affiliate.

The Nuggets had three players enter the league’s health and safety protocols on Thursday, so Tucker will be one of their replacements.

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Seven Pistons Exit Protocols, Nuggets’ Monte Morris Enters

December 31st, 2021 at 7:09pm CST by Rory Maher

Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Josh Jackson, Cory Joseph, Saben Lee, Trey Lyles, and Rodney McGruder have all exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols for the Pistons, James Edwards III of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).

All seven players are listed as out for Saturday’s contest against San Antonio due to reconditioning. The Pistons’ next game after Saturday will be Monday against the Bucks, when several of the players could return to action. Second-year big man Isaiah Stewart is now the lone player still in the protocols for Detroit.

In other COVID-related news, Nuggets point guard Monte Morris has become the fourth Denver player to enter the protocols in the past two days, joining Jeff Green, Bones Hyland, and Zeke Nnaji, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). Morris has started all 32 of his games this season (30 MPG), averaging 12.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 4.3 APG on a .479/.380/.783 shooting line.

The Nuggets signed Davon Reed to his third 10-day hardship contract Thursday, and reportedly plan to sign Rayjon Tucker to a deal as well.

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Nuggets Sign Davon Reed To Third 10-Day Hardship Deal

December 30th, 2021 at 8:33pm CST by Luke Adams

8:33pm: Reed’s third 10-day deal with the Nuggets is now official, the team announced. With three new Nuggets players entering the protocols today, Reed’s latest contract will again be completed using a COVID-related hardship exception.

10:13am: The Nuggets are signing guard Davon Reed to a third 10-day contract using a hardship exception, reports Mike Singer of The Denver Post. The deal is expected to be finalized on Thursday prior to Denver’s game against Golden State, says Singer.

Reed, the 32nd overall pick in the 2017 draft, had been out of the NBA for the last two seasons, but made a strong impression on the Nuggets during his first two 10-day deals with the team this month. In nine games (17.1 MPG), he averaged 5.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 1.2 SPG with a shooting line of .514/.438/.667.

Typically, a player is limited to no more than two 10-day contracts with the same team in a single season. However, it appears that rule has been adjusted for hardship signings.

It’s also worth noting that the Nuggets no longer have any players in the health and safety protocols, which has generally been what qualifies a team for a hardship signing in recent weeks. However, Denver has four players – Michael Porter, Jamal Murray, PJ Dozier, and Markus Howard – out with long-term injuries, which means the team is eligible for a traditional hardship exception unrelated to COVID-19.

In instances this season where hardship additions have been necessitated by players in the health and safety protocols, the NBA has allowed clubs to not have those 10-day deals count toward team salary for cap and tax purposes. As Singer tweets, it’s unclear whether or not that rule would apply to Reed’s third 10-day contract if he signs via injury hardship rather than COVID hardship.

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NBA Postpones Nuggets/Warriors Game

December 30th, 2021 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is postponing Thursday night’s game in Denver between the Nuggets and Warriors, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Nuggets don’t have the required minimum of eight available players, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

As we outlined earlier today, the Nuggets had three players – Jeff Green, Bones Hyland, and Zeke Nnaji – enter the health and safety protocols. The team also has four players – Jamal Murray, Michael Porter, PJ Dozier, and Markus Howard – out with long-term injuries.

If everyone else had been good to go, Denver would still have 10 players on hand — or even 11, if Davon Reed signed his new 10-day contract prior to tip-off. However, Vlatko Cancar (non-COVID illness), Aaron Gordon (hamstring), Monte Morris (knee), and Austin Rivers (thumb) were all listed as questionable on this afternoon’s injury report — if all of them were deemed unavailable, the Nuggets would have only had six or seven healthy players.

The Nuggets will likely look to complete another hardship deal or two besides Reed’s before their next scheduled game on Saturday in Houston.

This postponement is the 11th of the NBA season, as our tracker shows. All of those postponements have occurred since December 14.

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