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Community Shootaround: Christmas Day Games

December 25th, 2020 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

When the 2019/20 NBA season ended in October, it didn’t seem likely that we’d see another NBA game played until some time in the new year, perhaps even as late as February or March. But the league accelerated its plans for the 2020/21 regular season in the fall, ensuring that an annual tradition was preserved: the five-game Christmas Day slate.

Today’s schedule is as follows:

New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat (11:00am central time)
Golden State Warriors at Milwaukee Bucks (1:30pm CT)
Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics (4:00pm CT)
Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers (7:00pm CT)
Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets (9:30pm CT)

A couple of these matchups look even more tantalizing today than they did a week ago. The Pelicans, for instance, looked awfully impressive in their opening-night game against Toronto on Wednesday and will be going up against the defending Eastern champion Heat, who are hungry for their first win of the season.

A Stephen Curry/Giannis Antetokounmpo showdown between the Warriors and Bucks will be followed by a matchup of two potential Eastern Conference contenders who looked great on opening night, the Nets and Celtics.

Luka Doncic and the Mavericks and LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers will all be looking for their first win of the season in the evening.

And the night is capped off with a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Semifinals, with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the Clippers visiting Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the Nuggets.

Which game are you most looking forward to watch today? Which five teams are you picking to win the Christmas Day games? Use the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and make your predictions!

In Season Opener, Wiseman Impresses, Wiggins Does Not

December 24th, 2020 at 8:24pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Though the Warriors may have gotten soundly defeated by the Nets in their season opener, No. 2 draft pick James Wiseman flashed plenty of potential in his NBA debut, according to Marcus Thompson II of the Athletic. The rookie center scored 19 points and pulled down six rebounds in just 24 minutes. “He’s a presence,” star point guard Stephen Curry said, “and I think he showed exactly how he can open up the floor for me in the middle of those pick-and-rolls and put pressure on the rim.”
Warriors small forward Andrew Wiggins is hoping to be more aggressive on offense in Golden State’s Christmas bout against the Bucks, per Anthony Slater of the Athletic. “Shoot, I hope I find that flow next game,” Wiggins said. “I’m not trying to wait. I’m trying to get after it and get it as soon as possible.”

Latest Details On NBA G League Bubble

December 24th, 2020 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Seventeen teams have indicated that they plan to participate in the NBA G League bubble, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who notes that the G League Ignite select team will be the 18th squad.

While we don’t yet have a full, official list of the teams participating in the G League bubble, Ridiculous Upside has done a good job passing along reports (including some of ours) and providing new details on which clubs are in and out. Their list includes 13 teams believed to be in, not counting the Ignite, as follows:

Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
Austin Spurs (Spurs)
Canton Charge (Cavaliers)
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers)
Lakeland Magic (Magic)
Long Island Nets (Nets)
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
Raptors 905 (Raptors)
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz)
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors)
Westchester Knicks (Knicks)

G League expert Adam Johnson says the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets), Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves), and Erie BayHawks (Pelicans) are also expected to take part (Twitter link).

The G League reportedly asked for teams to volunteer to opt out, since bringing 29 franchises to the bubble wouldn’t have been logistically possible, so the clubs passing on the bubble aren’t necessarily doing so because they’re not interested in participating.

Teams opting out of the bubble who signed players to Exhibit 10 contracts before the season will be given the option to loan or “flex” those players to another G League team for the bubble and will be responsible for paying all expenses for those players, Givony explains.

The Wizards, for example, aren’t expected to have the Capital City Go-Go play in the bubble, but will likely use the Pelicans’ affiliate – the BayHawks – as their temporary affiliate for their former Exhibit 10 players, such as Caleb Homesley, Marlon Taylor, and Yoeli Childs, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

A G League draft would take place in January, according to Givony, who reports that players whose returning rights are held by non-bubble teams would temporarily be dispersed to other clubs in that draft. If non-bubble teams don’t want to “flex” their former Exhibit 10 players to G League teams participating in the bubble, those players will also enter the draft pool, says Givony.

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that the tentative start date for the G League season is February 8. Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link) shares a more detailed breakdown of the proposed timeline, which would see G League players and staffers begin an “at-home” quarantine period on January 13.

Givony confirms that teams participating in the bubble still expect to play a minimum of 12 games apiece (not including the playoffs), as was reported in November.

Finally, Givony reports that the G League is making adjustments to its roster rules to make it easier for NBA teams to recruit and sign veterans with five or more years of NBA experience. Each team will be able to designate an “NBA Vet Selection” who fits that bill, and won’t have to navigate the NBAGL’s complicated waiver process to add that player, per Givony.

As Johnson tweets, the rule will be a one-off for this season and will allow – for instance – the Warriors to add Jeremy Lin to their Santa Cruz affiliate, like they wanted to.

Kevin Durant Unfazed By Facing Warriors

December 22nd, 2020 at 11:45am CST by Luke Adams

Nets forward Kevin Durant will face his old team in Tuesday night’s opener, but doesn’t anticipate added emotions or higher stakes in the game against the Warriors, writes Malika Andrews of ESPN. “I feel like each game is important to me,” Durant said. “And it’s no more important to me because I am playing against my old teammates. I just feel like the game of basketball is going to have me on that level anyway and it’s going to be good to see some of my old teammates.”

Warriors Re-Sign Juan Toscano-Anderson To Two-Way Deal

December 22nd, 2020 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

10:12am: Toscano-Anderson’s two-way contract is now official, the Warriors announced in a press release.

9:04am: After releasing him from their standard roster on Saturday, the Warriors will bring back wing Juan Toscano-Anderson on a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Toscano-Anderson cleared waivers on Monday.

A former Marquette standout, Toscano-Anderson went undrafted in 2015 and spent the first few years of his professional career playing in Mexico and Venezuela. The 27-year-old joined the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz for the 2019/20 season and was eventually promoted to Golden State’s NBA roster. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.0 RPG on .460/.348/.600 shooting in 13 games (20.9 MPG) down the stretch.

Toscano-Anderson’s contract with the Warriors included a non-guaranteed salary for 2020/21, so the team hung onto him through training camp and the preseason. Mychal Mulder beat him out for the 15th roster spot, but because Toscano-Anderson didn’t have a partial guarantee exceeding $50K, he remained eligible to sign a two-way deal with the club once he cleared waivers.

The Warriors, whose other two-way player is Nico Mannion, had been one of five teams with an empty two-way contract slot. As our tracker shows, the Pistons, Suns, Trail Blazers, and Kings still have open spots.

Stephen Curry On Potential Extension: “Nothing To Report”

December 21st, 2020 at 5:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Because he still has two years left on his current deal, today is the last day for Warriors star Stephen Curry to sign a veteran contract extension this season. But with that deadline approaching, it doesn’t appear the two sides plan to work out a new deal today.

“Nothing to report,” Curry said when asked about a possible extension (Twitter link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic).

Curry said two weeks ago that he and Golden State had spoken about a potential extension and that he was “fully committed” to the franchise. If the two sides don’t finalize anything today, that doesn’t mean that either side is any less committed to a long-term relationship — it just means that they’ll put off talks until the 2021 offseason.

Curry will earn $43MM in 2020/21 and then $45.78MM in 2021/22, the final season of the five-year contract he signed with the Warriors back in 2017. He’d become an unrestricted free agent in 2022 if he doesn’t sign an extension before then.

Extension-eligible veterans must be on expiring deals to sign a new contract during the season. In addition to Curry, the list of veterans who will no longer be extension-eligible until the 2021 offseason after today includes James Harden, Joel Embiid, Aaron Gordon, Jusuf Nurkic, Zach LaVine, T.J. Warren, and Marcus Smart, among others, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Roster Moves Still Required For Thunder, Kings

December 20th, 2020 at 4:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Nearly every NBA team currently has a roster in compliance with regular season limits — no more than 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

However, there are still a couple teams that will need to make at least one cut before Monday’s regular season roster deadline: Oklahoma City and Sacramento.

The Thunder are currently carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts and one – Frank Jackson – on a partially guaranteed deal. Jackson appears likely to make the team, which means one of those players with a guaranteed salary will presumably be the final victim of the roster crunch.

While we don’t know for sure which player will be the odd man out, Kenrich Williams and Darius Miller appear to have the most tenuous holds on their roster spots. They came over from New Orleans in the Steven Adams deal and looked more like salary-matching pieces than players the Thunder were specifically targeting.

As for the Kings, they have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, one (Chimezie Metu) on a partially guaranteed contract, and one (Glenn Robinson III) on a non-guaranteed deal. Reporting on Saturday indicated that Robinson is expected to make the 15-man roster — that would make Metu the most obvious odd man out, though Sacramento may decide to cut Justin James or another player with a guaranteed salary.

If they do waive Metu, the Kings could theoretically bring him back on a two-way deal, since his partial guarantee doesn’t exceed $50K. He’d have to clear waivers first though.

As we explained on Saturday, while most teams completed their roster moves early, the Thunder and Kings can afford to take an extra day or two to consider their options without any financial ramifications, since they won’t be cutting a player who has a fully non-guaranteed contract.

While Oklahoma City and Sacramento are the only teams that still have to make moves today or tomorrow, we’ll likely see a little more roster shuffling before Monday’s deadline. Players who have been cut by one team might appeal to another club that has an open roster spot or an expendable 15th man.

Additionally, five teams still have one open two-way contract slot and may look to fill those openings before the season begins. Those clubs are the Pistons, Warriors, Suns, Trail Blazers, and Kings, as our tracker shows.

Warriors Still Eyeing Lin For Santa Cruz Affiliate

December 20th, 2020 at 2:54pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Warriors continue to eye point guard Jeremy Lin for their G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

Lin did not receive a FIBA Letter of Clearance from China, where he played for the Beijing Ducks last season, in time for Golden State to sign and release him in time before yesterday’s waiver deadline. The team had hoped to sign the nine-year NBA veteran to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal and waive him to lock up Lin’s G League rights.

Golden State could still sign Lin to an Exhibit 10 contract and waive him before Monday’s regular season roster deadline if that Letter of Clearance arrives, but doing so on Monday would mean paying the veteran guard for two days of NBA service and increasing the club’s already-substantial projected tax bill.

According to Stein (Twitter link), the Warriors intend to “explore all avenues” for getting Lin’s G League rights if he remains open to pursuing an NBA return via the NBAGL. The Santa Cruz Warriors could theoretically claim Lin off waivers directly if he signs a G League contract, but there’s no guarantee a team higher in the waiver order wouldn’t poach him in that scenario.

Lin started his NBA career with the Warriors after going undrafted out of Harvard. The 6’3″ guard played in 29 games for Golden State during the 2010/11 season, averaging 9.8 MPG. Lin also impressed in the G League (then the D-League) that year, averaging 18.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.4 APG, and 2.1 SPG in 20 games for the Warriors’ then-affiliate club, the Reno Bighorns. The next season, he caught on in a big way with the Knicks, going on an exciting run in Madison Square Garden that was dubbed “Linsanity.”

During the 2019/20 Chinese Basketball Association season, Lin averaged 22.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 5.6 APG for the Ducks. He was a starter in the CBA All-Star game and a finalist for 2019/20 CBA Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Warriors Sign, Waive Elijah Pemberton

December 19th, 2020 at 10:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors signed and waived undrafted rookie wing Elijah Pemberton prior to Saturday night’s waiver deadline, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links).

A team that signs a player to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract and then waives him secures that player’s G League rights, assuming those rights aren’t already held by another NBAGL team. Golden State had hoped to sign-and-waive Jeremy Lin for that purpose, but he didn’t receive a Letter of Clearance from China by tonight’s waiver deadline after playing last season in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Based on the reports from Charania and Stein, it sounds like the Warriors will no longer complete that deal with Lin, since doing so after today would require the team to pay him a prorated portion of his minimum salary while he’s on waivers, increasing Golden State’s projected tax bill.

The club instead turned to Pemberton, who spent his four-year college career at Hofstra and averaged 17.6 PPG on .450/.380/.854 shooting in 34 games (36.3 MPG) as a senior in 2019/20. He’ll report to the Santa Cruz Warriors after the G League finalizes its plan for a revamped ’20/21 season.

No Letter Of Clearance, No Warriors Deal For Jeremy Lin

December 19th, 2020 at 9:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:55pm: Lin’s Letter of Clearance didn’t arrive in time for the Warriors to sign and release him by today’s waiver deadline, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Having failed to do so by today, it sounds like Golden State won’t sign and waive Lin after all, having turned to undrafted rookie Elijah Pemberton instead.

8:23pm: The Warriors would like to have Jeremy Lin under contract by 11pm Eastern today, but it may be hard to obtain the paperwork in time, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Lin and the team have reached an agreement, but are waiting for a FIBA Letter of Clearance from China. That type of document can be difficult to obtain on a weekend because international offices are closed, Stein adds.

Golden State was hoping to sign Lin and waive him before tonight’s waiver deadline so they can ensure they’ll have his G League rights (Twitter link). However, the transaction cannot be completed without the letter from FIBA.

The cost of waiting an extra day or two could be significant because the team is so far into the luxury tax, Stein notes. If the Warriors execute the move on Sunday rather than today, it would cost an extra $74,925 in tax penalties. Waiting until Monday would mean an extra $127,650 (Twitter link).

Lin, 32, has been working out in California recently with the G League Ignite, an NBAGL select team of top prospects and NBA veterans.