- Rockets guard Eric Gordon is expected to be sidelined with a left shin contusion until after the All-Star break, head coach Mike D’Antoni said today (Twitter link via Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston).
USA Basketball has formally announced a preliminary group of 44 players who are candidates to be part of the program’s roster for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
The final roster will only consist of 12 players, so most of these finalists won’t actually play for Team USA at the Olympics. Some will likely withdraw from consideration, while others simply won’t make the final cut. However, these players have all expressed interest in being involved in the process.
“This is the first step in USA Basketball identifying the 12 players who will represent the United States as members of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team in Tokyo,” said USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo.
“… Over the course of the remainder of the NBA season we’ll continue to monitor all of the athletes. Selecting the 12-man USA roster will obviously be an extremely challenging and difficult process, and we will again attempt to select the very best team possible to represent our country and who we hope will be successful in our difficult mission of repeating as Olympic champions for a fourth consecutive Olympics.”
Although the U.S. men’s team has won three consecutive Olympic gold medals, the program had a disappointing showing at last year’s World Cup, finishing in seventh place. Team USA will be looking for a bounce-back performance in Tokyo this summer, with many players from that World Cup squad among the 44 finalists announced today.
Here’s the full list of players who are candidates to play for Team USA at the 2020 Olympics:
- Bam Adebayo (Heat)
- LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs)
- Harrison Barnes (Kings)
- Bradley Beal (Wizards)
- Devin Booker (Suns)
- Malcolm Brogdon (Pacers)
- Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
- Jimmy Butler (Heat)
- Mike Conley (Jazz)
- Stephen Curry (Warriors)
- Anthony Davis (Lakers)
- DeMar DeRozan (Spurs)
- Andre Drummond (Cavaliers)
- Kevin Durant (Nets)
- Paul George (Clippers)
- Draymond Green (Warriors)
- James Harden (Rockets)
- Montrezl Harrell (Clippers)
- Joe Harris (Nets)
- Tobias Harris (76ers)
- Gordon Hayward (Celtics)
- Dwight Howard (Lakers)
- Brandon Ingram (Pelicans)
- Kyrie Irving (Nets)
- LeBron James (Lakers)
- Kyle Kuzma (Lakers)
- Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
- Damian Lillard (Blazers)
- Brook Lopez (Bucks)
- Kevin Love (Cavaliers)
- Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
- JaVale McGee (Lakers)
- Khris Middleton (Bucks)
- Donovan Mitchell (Jazz)
- Victor Oladipo (Pacers)
- Chris Paul (Thunder)
- Mason Plumlee (Nuggets)
- Marcus Smart (Celtics)
- Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
- Klay Thompson (Warriors)
- Myles Turner (Pacers)
- Kemba Walker (Celtics)
- Russell Westbrook (Rockets)
- Derrick White (Spurs)
The Rockets are planning to fully guarantee the fourth season of P.J. Tucker‘s contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Tucker’s salary of $7.97MM will now be completely guaranteed for the 2020/21 season, with the veteran forward accepting a larger role in Houston’s rotation following the trade deadline last week. Only $2.57MM was originally guaranteed.
Tucker, who turns 35 in May, will likely serve as the Rockets’ starting center going forward as they test a new variation of small-ball. He’s taken the challenging task head-on thus far, holding his ground in the middle despite being only 6-foot-5.
Tucker was drafted 35th overall back in 2006 and has established himself as one of the league’s most physical defenders. He appeared in all 82 games during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons for Houston, averaging 7.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and a career-high 34.9 minutes in 52 contests this year.
Houston has several of its key rotation players under contract with Tucker for next season, including James Harden ($40.8MM), Russell Westbrook ($41MM), Eric Gordon ($16.8MM) and Robert Covington ($12.1MM). The team is 6.5 games out of first place in the West at 33-19.
Pelicans shooting guard Jrue Holiday was excited to remain in New Orleans through the trade deadline this season, as he explained to The Athletic’s William Guillory. The 29-year-old Holiday, considered one of the best defensive guards in the league, is on the third year of a fairly reasonable five-year, $126MM contract.
Holiday held appeal for several contending teams looking to shore up their backcourt ahead of a playoff push, including the Heat and Nuggets. The Pelicans themselves are just 4.5 games out of the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. With 2019 No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson finally debuting on January 22, New Orleans valued Holiday too much to make a deal just yet.
“I feel like what we’re doing here is something promising,” Holiday told Guillory of his season with the new-look Pelicans. “Obviously with the new management and the new guys coming in, we’re fairly young but we’re all very, very hungry. What we have here, we can build together.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- New Rockets forward Robert Covington and his very reasonable four-year, $47MM contract took him from overlooked role player to highly coveted glue guy very quickly ahead of this season’s trade deadline, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details.
- Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is optimistic that All-Star guard Luka Doncic will return to the court ahead of the All-Star break, according to Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “That’s not definite, but that’s the hope,” Carlisle said.
- The future of Spurs bench big man Trey Lyles in San Antonio is appraised by the San Antonio Express-News’ Jeff McDonald. Lyles is averaging a robust 5.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in just 18 minutes per game for the club. He has suited up 51 games, including 41 starts. The 6’9″ Kentucky alum signed a two-year, $11MM contract with San Antonio this summer. Only $1MM of his $5.5MM salary next year is guaranteed.
The Rockets attempted to add the Nets to their four-team trade this week, hoping to acquire center DeAndre Jordan, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reveals in an Instagram video.
Brooklyn turned down the offer and elected to hold onto the veteran center, but Wojnarowski’s report indicates two things about the Rockets. The team may not have intended to fully commit to the small-ball approach it has used since trading away Clint Capela, and owner Tilman Fertitta was apparently willing to back up his statement that moves won’t be determined by the luxury tax.
Jordan makes $9.88MM this year and is signed for the next three seasons at a total cost of about $30MM. He’s coming off the bench for the Nets and averaging 7.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per night.
Because of how the trade was structured, the Rockets had the flexibility to add up to $12MM in salary before it was finalized. Fertitta gave general manager Daryl Morey the freedom to expand the deal, Wojnarowski adds, even though it would have cemented Houston as a taxpaying team.
Woj doesn’t say what the Rockets were offering the Nets in terms of players and draft picks.
As we explain in our glossary entry on the NBA’s trade rules, teams that complete a “non-simultaneous” deal can create what’s called a traded player exception. These are salary cap exceptions a team can use anytime during the following calendar year to acquire one or more players whose salaries are no greater than the amount of that exception (plus $100K).
A number of the traded player exceptions created at the 2019 trade deadline expired this week without being used, but nearly two dozen new TPEs were generated as a result of the trades completed at this year’s deadline. They’ll expire next February, so they could be used during the offseason or sometime next season.
The full list of traded player exceptions created this week is below, sorted by amount. The player whose departure helped generate the TPE is noted in parentheses. The full list of available trade exceptions can be found right here.
- Miami Heat: $7,533,867 (James Johnson)
- Memphis Grizzlies: $4,185,185 (Andre Iguodala)
- New York Knicks: $3,988,766 (Marcus Morris)
- Houston Rockets: $3,595,333 (Clint Capela)
- Los Angeles Clippers: $3,567,720 (Jerome Robinson)
- Denver Nuggets: $3,321,030 (Juan Hernangomez)
- Sacramento Kings: $2,673,334 (Dewayne Dedmon)
- Houston Rockets: $2,564,753 (Nene)
- Portland Trail Blazers: $2,338,847 (Skal Labissiere)
- Golden State Warriors: $1,925,880 (Jacob Evans)
- Golden State Warriors: $1,897,800 (Omari Spellman)
- Philadelphia 76ers: $1,882,867 (James Ennis)
- Denver Nuggets: $1,845,301 (Shabazz Napier)
- Memphis Grizzlies: $1,845,301 (Bruno Caboclo)
- Detroit Pistons: $1,716,873 (Andre Drummond)
- Washington Wizards: $1,645,357 (Jordan McRae)
- Golden State Warriors: $1,620,564 (Alec Burks)
- Golden State Warriors: $1,620,564 (Glenn Robinson III)
- Houston Rockets: $1,620,564 (Jordan Bell)
- Houston Rockets: $1,620,564 (Gerald Green)
- Los Angeles Clippers: $1,445,697 (Derrick Walton Jr.)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $879,813 (Gorgui Dieng)
- Washington Wizards: $1,620,564 (Isaiah Thomas)
In addition to the traded player exceptions from the deals completed on February 6, this list includes the exceptions created on February 5 in the four-team trade involving the Hawks, Timberwolves, Rockets, and Nuggets.
It doesn’t include trade exceptions generated in deals earlier this season, such as the $7,069,662 TPE the Trail Blazers got when they sent Kent Bazemore to Sacramento in a five-player trade. Again, the full list of current TPEs can be found here.
If you have any questions or corrections, please let me know in the comment section below.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post.
The 2020 NBA trade deadline has come and gone, so teams that had been holding open roster spots in case they needed them before a last-minute deal can now fill those openings, if they so choose. The Nets did exactly that today — after holding their 15th roster spot open through the deadline, they signed Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to a multiyear contract today to fill it.
While Brooklyn no longer has an open roster spot, a number of teams around the league still do. Here’s a quick breakdown of which clubs fit that bill and what their roster situations are, with their roster openings noted in parentheses:
- Golden State Warriors (3): The Warriors initially had six roster openings, but signed Juan Toscano-Anderson and promoted Ky Bowman and Marquese Chriss to fill three of them. Zach Norvell and Jeremy Pargo are expected to sign 10-day deals, allowing Golden State to get to the league-mandated minimum of 14. The Dubs will probably keep their 15th slot open as they attempt to stay below the tax line.
- Cleveland Cavaliers (2): Alfonzo McKinnie agreed to a long-term contract with the Cavaliers and will fill one of their two open spots once his deal becomes official. However, the team could re-open that second slot this weekend when Marques Bolden‘s 10-day contract expires.
- Houston Rockets (2): The Rockets figure to keep a close eye on the buyout market as they look to reinforce their depth. They’ll have up to two weeks to get back to at least 14 players.
- Atlanta Hawks (1): The Hawks opened a roster spot by trading Jabari Parker and Alex Len to Sacramento for Dewayne Dedmon. They’re not anywhere near the tax, so I’d expect them to fill that opening soon with a young player, either on a 10-day deal or a rest-of-season contract.
- Los Angeles Clippers (1): The Clippers opened up one roster spot by trading Derrick Walton. They’re expected to open up a second by waiving Isaiah Thomas, a move that isn’t yet official. Like Houston, the Clips figure to scour the buyout market in an effort to fill its roster. Darren Collison is also an option if he decides to make a comeback.
- Oklahoma City Thunder (1): The Thunder stood pat at the deadline and seem unlikely to fill that final roster spot anytime soon, since a 15th man would increase their projected tax bill.
- Portland Trail Blazers (1): The same goes for the Trail Blazers, who remain in the tax even after moving Skal Labissiere for nothing at the deadline.
- Denver Nuggets / Memphis Grizzlies / Orlando Magic (0): The Nuggets, Grizzlies, and Magic don’t currently have roster openings, but likely will soon. Denver is expected to waive Gerald Green, Memphis reportedly doesn’t intend to keep Dion Waiters, and Gary Clark‘s 10-day contract with Orlando will expire tonight.
Note: These roster counts are up to date as of the time of publication. This list is just a snapshot and won’t be updated to reflect subsequent moves, but our roster counts page will be.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey faced criticism in some circles this week for his decision to move center Clint Capela in a deal for Robert Covington, creating an extra-small lineup that has head coach Mike D’Antoni playing Covington and P.J. Tucker as his de facto “bigs.” While there’s skepticism that Houston can seriously contend for a title playing that form of small-ball, the experiment is off to a good start, with a road win over the Lakers in Covington’s first game on Thursday.
Speaking to Mark Medina of USA Today about the Rockets’ new-look roster and the club’s approach to the deadline, Morey said that Covington is a player Houston had been “trying to get for a long time.” He also shared a few more interesting insights on that deal and expectations for the Rockets as the postseason nears.
The interview is worth checking out in full, but here are some of the highlights from Morey:
On why the Rockets made a major trade after Morey previously suggested they likely wouldn’t:
“It was really just Covington becoming available. We’ve been working on that for a long time. We thought he’d be a perfect piece to play the style we thought would be best for two superstars on our roster. Clint is an extremely good player and one we did not want to give up. But it was required in this deal. Without the perfect piece for how we wanted to play becoming available, Clint would still be here. That was really the only way to get this done.”
On whether Rockets ownership prioritized getting out of the luxury tax:
“No. Actually, I’m being totally up front. I was getting strong encouragement to go the other way.
“… Ownership incorrectly gets beat up. We operate like every other team in the NBA. When you’re a contender, you’re right around the luxury tax line. That’s how we’ve always operated. That’s how we’ve operated since I’ve been here since 2006. We still have a huge payroll in the league. I know people like to focus on it. But that’s a weird thing. Focus on the team on the floor. If people don’t like that we don’t have a big man or don’t like how we play, that’s fine. But judge us for how we are.”
On how the Rockets will approach the buyout market:
“Honestly, we’re just going for best player. We like how we’re playing. People are saying, ‘You have to get a big this or a big that.’ But we’re going for the best player. If that’s a big, we’ll go grab it and figure out if he can fit into our style. If it’s a wing, we’ll do that. We feel very comfortable with our roster. We like where we’re at. We think this is a team that can win the championship. But if we can add a good player in the buyout market, we’ll do it. But we’re not counting on the buyout market.”
On expectations for the Rockets in this year’s playoffs:
“The Lakers deserve to be called the favorites (to come out of the West). They play better than anyone to this point. They’re playing unbelievable basketball at both ends. So they’re the favorite. We’re in a group with the Clippers, Utah and Denver and the other top contenders in the West to fight with them. But we feel very comfortable we can beat the Lakers.”
7:18pm: The trade is official, the Grizzlies and Rockets announced in a pair of press releases.
12:22pm: The Rockets have agreed to trade newly-acquired center Jordan Bell to the Grizzlies in exchange for Bruno Caboclo, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Grizzlies will receive a potential second-round pick swap as well, with Memphis having the choice to trade the least favorable of the Mavericks’ and Heat’s 2023 selections for Houston’s 2023 second-rounder as long as the Rockets’ pick isn’t No. 31 or 32, a source tells Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Bell, 25, came to Houston in the four-team trade that was completed last night. He appeared in 27 games for the Timberwolves this season, averaging 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per night.
Caboclo, 24, was in his second season in Memphis, averaging 2.8 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 22 games. He was in training camp with Houston in 2018, but was waived before the start of the season.
The Rockets have been targeted Caboclo for a while and believed they had a good chance to acquire him on the day Gary Clark was waived last month, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Both teams will generate trade exceptions for their outgoing players and add their incoming players under the minimum exception, tweets Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights. Bell is making $1,620,564 this season, while Caboclo earns $1,845,301.
The Rockets explored the possibility of acquiring Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson but couldn’t come up with a suitable trade package to match up salaries, Chris B. Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Houston is seeking another rotation player, regardless of position, and has had talks with the Pistons regarding young big Christian Wood, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links).
The Rockets dealt away their top frontcourt player, Clint Capela, in a complex four-way trade that sent forward Robert Covington to Houston.
They have gone with smaller lineups in recent games but their interest in Thompson and Wood suggests they are looking to play a more conventional style if they can land another power forward or center. Thompson has an expiring $18.5MM contract and Wood will also be an unrestricted free agent after the season. He has blossomed this season in Detroit after being plucked off waivers last summer.