- Also making his season debut Saturday was Pacers swingman Caris LeVert, who suffered a stress fracture in his back during training camp, notes Akeem Glaspie of The Indianapolis Star. LeVert, who is dealing with a minutes restriction too, made an impact while he was on the court, scoring 15 points in 15 minutes. “The hope is that there wouldn’t be a long period where there’s a restriction but right now it’s just really hard to say, it’s really impossible to say,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “Would’ve been great to have him in the second half but that just wasn’t in the cards.”
6:20pm: The Pacers have officially exercised Bitadze’s option, the team announced in a press release.
2:22pm: The Pacers are exercising the 2022/23 rookie scale team option in the contract of center Goga Bitadze, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link). The move guarantees Bitadze’s $4.76MM salary for next season.
The deadline for teams to exercise third or fourth-year rookie-scale options is this Monday, November 1. Bitadze is Indiana’s only player with one of these options, as detailed in our tracker.
Bitadze, the No. 18 pick in 2019, is in his third season with the franchise. He appeared in 45 games last season, averaging 5.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 12.5 minutes per contest.
The Pacers have opened the 2021/22 season with a 1-5 record, playing without Caris LeVert (back) and T.J. Warren (foot).
- Pacers lottery pick Chris Duarte heard a lot from scouts and executives about his age at the pre-draft camp. The 24-year-old Duarte put a different twist on that concern, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. Duarte responded, “If you want to win games, get me. If you want to win in four years, go ahead and draft a 19-year-old kid. Then you can develop him and make him a superstar in three, four or five years. But you don’t know if he’s going to be a superstar — you don’t know, who knows? So you know what you’re getting now.” Duarte is averaging 18.7 PPG and 4.5 RPG through six games.
- We noted yesterday that Pacers rookie Isaiah Jackson suffered an injury on Wednesday and will be out “a while,” per head coach Rick Carlisle. The team provided an update today in press release, stating that Jackson has a hyperextended left knee and is considered week-to-week.
- Caris LeVert missed the game tonight, but he’s close to returning for the Pacers, relays Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).
- Rookie forward Isaiah Jackson will be “out for a while,” according to Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, due to a hamstring injury, David Woods of The Indianapolis Star reports. The 22nd pick of the draft was injured during the Pacers’ game on Wednesday. “He’s walking in a brace, so that’s good good news, compared to the severity that there could have been,” Carlisle said.
- Pacers guard Caris LeVert, who is recovering from a back injury, has been ramping up his basketball activities and practiced with the team on Tuesday, per Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com. Although head coach Rick Carlisle wouldn’t make any guarantees about when LeVert would be back on the court, the 27-year-old has been listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game in Toronto and says he feels “ready to go,” tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
Outside of the occasional back-of-the-roster transaction – like Orlando signing Mychal Mulder to a two-way contract earlier today – the first few weeks of the NBA’s regular season are generally a fairly quiet time for roster moves.
However, one noteworthy deadline arrives next Monday — teams have until November 1 to exercise the 2022/23 third- and fourth-year rookie scale options for players who were first-round picks in the 2019 and 2020 drafts. For instance, the Cavaliers will have to pick up the fourth-year option for 2019 first-rounder Darius Garland, while the Hornets will have to exercise the third-year option for 2020 first-rounder LaMelo Ball.
Typically, the deadline for these decisions is October 31, but that’s a Sunday this year. When the deadline falls on a weekend, it’s moved to the next business day, per CBA expert Larry Coon.
As our tracker shows, there are still a number of options that have yet to be picked up, including Garland’s and Ball’s. However, there’s no suspense about whether those ones – or most others – will be exercised.
Rookie scale contracts for productive rotation players are among the biggest bargains in the NBA. Most teams even pick up their options on players who haven’t cracked the rotation, since controlling a young player with upside is usually worth the modest cost of his option.
Here’s the list of option decisions that have yet to be announced or reported:
Boston Celtics
- Romeo Langford (fourth year, $5,634,257)
- Grant Williams (fourth year, $4,306,281)
- Aaron Nesmith (third year, $3,804,360)
- Payton Pritchard (third year, $2,239,200)
Charlotte Hornets
- LaMelo Ball (third year, $8,623,920)
- P.J. Washington (fourth year, $5,808,435)
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Darius Garland (fourth year, $8,920,795)
- Isaac Okoro (third year, $7,040,880)
- Dylan Windler (fourth year, $4,037,278)
Golden State Warriors
- James Wiseman (third year, $9,603,360)
- Jordan Poole (fourth year, $3,901,399)
Houston Rockets
- Kevin Porter Jr. (fourth year, $3,217,631)
Indiana Pacers
- Goga Bitadze (fourth year, $4,765,339)
Philadelphia 76ers
- Matisse Thybulle (fourth year, $4,379,527)
- Tyrese Maxey (third year, $2,726,880)
Phoenix Suns
- Cameron Johnson (fourth year, $5,887,899)
- Jalen Smith (third year, $4,670,160)
Utah Jazz
- Udoka Azubuike (third year, $2,174,880)
It wouldn’t be a shock if all 18 of these options are ultimately picked up, but there are a few players who are more at risk than others.
Windler, for instance, has been limited to just 32 games since being drafted in 2019 due to health problems and isn’t a lock to have his $4MM option for 2022/23 exercised.
Azubuike logged garbage-time minutes in just 15 games as a rookie and doesn’t project to have a rotation role in Utah anytime soon. Third-year options are rarely declined and Azubuike’s $2.17MM salary would be very modest, but we saw the Clippers turn down Mfiondu Kabengele‘s option at the same price point a year ago.
Langford, Bitadze, and Smith are among the other players whose option decisions won’t be automatic, though I’d be a little surprised if their teams don’t opt in.
We’ll continue passing along all of these option decisions as they’re reported over the next week, so be sure to keep an eye on our tracker for the latest updates.
Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham is set to miss Detroit’s entire early-season road trip due to a lingering ankle injury, but could be ready to make his NBA debut on October 30 against the Magic, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Cunningham, 20, is apparently still dealing with some soreness.
“Last week, we made the decision to make sure we bring him back gradually, where he’d get some time with the G League team (the Motor City Cruise), practice with them, and get some reps with them,” head coach Dwane Casey said of the top draft pick out of Oklahoma State. “The medical people are holding back — and rightfully so… You don’t want to rush him back if it’s not 100%. That’s the one thing that they want to make sure of, that it was 100%, because there were certain movements he had that were still sore.”
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Reserve forward Javonte Green has already endeared himself to the Bulls faithful since coming over to Chicago at the 2021 trade deadline, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Tribune. “(Green is) one of the biggest energy guys we have,’’ Bulls starting point guard Lonzo Ball said. “Not only running the lane but playing defense. He can guard a lot of different positions, and he uses his hands very well… We definitely feed off of that when he comes into the game.’’
- Pacers guard Jeremy Lamb and forward Oshae Brissett are proving their mettle as galvanizing scorers off the bench so far this season, according to Akeem Glaspie of The Indianapolis Star. “A lot of the time the starters are not gonna be able to have it completely going and be able to make shots,” starting point guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “But as long as we defend and the second team comes in and gives us some energy and a spark off the bench offensively, we’re gonna be fine.” Indiana is currently 1-2 in this young season.
- Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his assistants have been showing film of some NBA legends to rookie big man Evan Mobley, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Mobley, the third pick in the 2021 draft out of USC, was utilized much like Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett on defense during a 101-95 Cleveland win over the Hawks. He has also watched game tape of future Hall of Fame power forward/center Dirk Nowitzki, as well as current All-Star bigs Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo. “He’s asking me to emulate them but knows I’m still my own player,” Mobley said about Bickerstaff’s strategy. “I try to play my game, take bits and pieces from them, but still be myself and play how I play.” Mobley, already the Cavaliers’ starting power forward, is averaging 15.7 PPG, 8.3 APG, 2.3 BPG and 1.3 APG through three games. Cleveland is 1-2 in those contests.
- One of the reasons why the Pacers agreed to an extension with Malcolm Brogdon is the way he embraces his leadership role, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files notes. “Malcolm Brogdon is a special player and a special person, and he’s our leader,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “And one of the reasons I feel so great about this extension is that he really wants to be here. He wants to be in a position of high responsibility and leadership. He’s stepped those things up to a very high level.” Brogdon signed a two-year, $45MM extension.
- Pacers wing Kelan Martin, who pushed his guarantee date back twice this offseason in the hopes of making the team, did so again after earning a 15-man roster spot, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link). Although Martin’s $1.7MM still isn’t fully guaranteed, he did receive a partial guarantee this week, says Agness.