- The Clippers plan to start Reggie Jackson at point guard for “the long haul” with Patrick Beverley sidelined, coach Tyronn Lue said, as relayed by Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Beverley is expected to miss at least three-to-four weeks after suffering a fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand.
- Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe explores Clippers veteran Rajon Rondo‘s case for the Hall of Fame. Rondo is a two-time NBA champion, four-time All-Star and has made four All-Defensive teams in his career, playing 15 seasons with eight teams.
Throughout the season, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this off-season. 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 Pacific Division:
Nicolas Batum, Clippers, 32, PF/SF (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2.56MM deal in 2020
Batum had several teams interested in him last fall when Charlotte waived him and stretched out the $27.1MM remaining on his contract. He’s proven to be a bargain for the Clippers after signing for the veteran’s minimum.
Batum has been a regular presence in the rotation (28.4 MPG), serving as a “glue guy,” content to play defense and grab some rebounds without getting a lot of shot opportunities. His shooting percentage has dropped lately, but he’s still averaging a career-best 41.4% on 3-point attempts. It’s been a bounce-back season after he languished on the Hornets’ bench a year ago. He’ll get offers commensurate for a veteran role player.
Andre Drummond, Lakers, 27, C (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $794K deal in 2021
Cleveland couldn’t find a way to trade Drummond due to the $28.75MM in the final year of his contract. Once he cleared waivers, he had a choice of contenders and landed with the defending champions. It’s a tricky situation with Marc Gasol still on the roster and not thrilled about losing his starting role, but Drummond finds himself pursuing a championship for the first time in his career. If he can blend well with LeBron James and Anthony Davis once they return from injuries, the league’s most prolific rebounder can enhance his resume as he heads into unrestricted free agency this summer.
Damion Lee, Warriors, 28, SG/PG (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $4.5MM deal in 2019
Lee started 36 games for Golden State last season after the team went into tank mode. He earned his way from a two-way contract to a standard three-year deal. However, his 2021/22 salary – albeit a modest $1.9MM by NBA standards – isn’t guaranteed. It includes a partial guarantee of $500K if he’s still on the roster in mid-summer.
Lee has gotten steady minutes as a second-unit player, but really hasn’t contributed much offensively – he’s averaging 4.4 PPG over his last seven games. As a tax team, Golden State needs to fill its bench with low-cost options, so Lee could stick but the club could also seek a better scoring threat at that spot.
Frank Kaminsky, Suns, 28, PF, (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $1.88MM deal in 2020
It’s been a rough stretch for Kaminsky, who was placed under the league’s health and safety protocols at the beginning of the month. Prior to being sidelined, Kaminsky saw his playing time diminish – he averaged 3.5 PPG in 13.3 MPG during six appearances in March. Kaminsky was on Phoenix’s roster last season, had a $5MM option declined, then returned to the Suns after the Kings placed him on waivers. The ninth overall pick of the 2015 draft will find it difficult to regain his second-unit role once he returns. Kaminsky will likely have to settle for the veteran’s minimum to stick around in the league next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Clippers guard Patrick Beverley underwent surgery on Friday to repair a fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand, the team’s PR department tweets. He’ll be re-evaluated in three or four weeks and there’s no timetable for his return.
Beverley suffered the injury while pursuing a rebound in the fourth quarter against Phoenix on Thursday. He had just returned to action after missing nearly four weeks due to a right knee injury.
Beverley has started all 31 games he’s played this season. The defensive specialist is averaging 8.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 2.1 APG.
Beverley, 32, is signed through next season. He’s making $13.3MM this season and will bank $14.3MM in his walk year.
Given there’s no timetable for his return, Beverley could be out until the postseason. Beverley’s injury opens the door for more playing time for Reggie Jackson, recently-acquired Rajon Rondo and Terance Mann. Luke Kennard could also see additional ball-handling duties.
APRIL 9: The signing is official, the Clippers announced on Twitter.
APRIL 8: The Clippers are set to ink 6’8″ rookie forward Malik Fitts to a 10-day deal, writes Law Murray of The Athletic.
Murray notes that Fitts showed promise on both sides of the ball, as both a shooter and defender for the Agua Caliente Clippers in this season’s NBAGL Orlando bubble.
The 23-year-old tweener forward went undrafted out of Saint Mary’s College in 2020. Across 14 games, Fitts averaged 11.1 PPG on .468/.348/.938 shooting splits in just 26.3 MPG for the club’s G League affiliate. As Murray observes, once Fitts became the starting power forward for the club’s final six contests, he averaged 18.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.7 APG, on .531/.435/1.00 shooting splits in 37.1 MPG.
Beyond the tantalizing shooting numbers, Fitts emphasized his focus on the other side of the floor in comments made after the Agua Caliente Clippers’ final game of the 2021 season last month.
“By the end of this (condensed G League season), I wanted to be known as a guy who really locks up on defense,” Fitts said. “That was the emphasis that I had prior to this season. I thought it played out pretty well.”
Adding Fitts will give the Clippers a full 15-man roster, with swingmen Amir Coffey and Jay Scrubb occupying the two-way slots.
- Clippers All-Star forward Paul George conveyed his excitement for the club’s newest backup center, former four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “He’s still one of the most skilled bigs in the league,” George raved. Cousins discussed his focus on his fitness in striving to remain in the NBA following a string of major lower body injuries. “I’ve put an incredible amount of work to get to this place,” Cousins said. “I’m in probably the best shape I’ve been in my entire career.”
In an early look at the NBA’s 2021 free agent period, Sam Amick and John Hollinger of The Athletic write that three NBA teams – the Knicks, Thunder, and Spurs – project to have more than enough cap room for a maximum-salary contract this offseason, even if they were to win the draft lottery.
Besides those clubs, the Mavericks and Hornets should be among the clubs with the most space, according to Amick and Hollinger. The Athletic’s duo projects Dallas to be about $35MM below the cap if Josh Richardson opts out, while Charlotte will have about $26MM of room.
Other teams could create cap room, but that will hinge on one or two major roster decisions. For instance, the Raptors could get up to about $25MM in space, but not if they intend to re-sign Kyle Lowry. The Suns (Chris Paul) are in a similar position, with the Heat, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Hawks, Cavaliers, Bulls, and Pistons among the other teams whose cap space – or lack thereof – will depend on what happens with certain free agents.
Here’s more from Amick and Hollinger on 2021 free agency:
- Although Kawhi Leonard projects to be the top free agent on the market this summer, team sources and rival executives widely expect him to re-sign with the Clippers, per The Athletic. It’s possible that could change if Los Angeles exits the postseason early, but there’s no indication at this point that Leonard’s free agency will be as dramatic as it was in 2019.
- A source with knowledge of DeMar DeRozan‘s outlook tells The Athletic he’ll take a “wide open” approach to free agency. That doesn’t necessarily rule out a new deal with the Spurs, though a March report suggested DeRozan has interest in playing elsewhere next season and perhaps returning to the Eastern Conference.
- Amick and Hollinger believe both DeRozan and Paul will keep Jrue Holiday‘s new four-year deal ($135MM guaranteed, $25MM in incentives) very much in mind when they negotiate their next contracts. However, it’s not a perfect comparable for either player, since Paul is five years older than Holiday and DeRozan isn’t the defender that Holiday is.
Clippers starting point guard Patrick Beverley will suit up against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday night, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
Beverley has been sidelined with right knee soreness for LA since March 11. He has partaken in just 29 games for the Clippers this season as a result of multiple injuries. Head coach Tyronn Lue noted that Beverley will be playing on a minutes limit.
The 32-year-old vet, known for his defensive moxie, is averaging 8.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.1 APG this season. He is connecting on a stellar 42% of his 4.1 three-point looks. Reggie Jackson had been starting in Beverley’s stead for the Clippers.
Beverley’s longtime backcourt mate Lou Williams was recently traded to the Hawks in exchange for two-time champion Rajon Rondo, who brings his leadership and ball-handling to Los Angeles.
The Clippers are currently the No. 3 seed in the crowded Western Conference with a 33-18 record.
Rajon Rondo will try to maximize the production of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George when he’s on the court for the Clippers, Mark Medina of USA Today writes. “I’ll try to get our two main guys the ball in a lot easier spots as far as them not having to work so hard to get the ball against a set defense,” Rondo said. “If we’re able to create the stops and get out on the break, it’s my job to advance the ball and let those guys attack one-on-one before the defense gets set.” Rondo has already noted opponent tendencies that his teammates have found helpful, Medina adds.
We have more on the Clippers:
- George has no issue with Rondo jumping right in as a team leader and sage voice, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Rondo’s a leader, you know the point guard, he’s a leader,” George said. “We’re going to listen to him. I look at him as a leader, a leader of this group. He’ll hold a lot of weight. He holds a lot of weight in the locker room. As he gets more comfortable within our system, getting games under his feet, he’ll hold us accountable.”
- DeMarcus Cousins‘ 10-day contract will pay him $175,668, with $110,998 counting toward the cap, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. Cousins was officially signed on Monday to provide frontcourt depth with Serge Ibaka currently out due to a back injury.
- A couple of tweaks could help both the starting lineup and second unit. A Western Conference scout told the Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike the team should keep Ivica Zubac in the starting lineup, even when Ibaka returns. A executive within the conference believes the coaching staff should unleash Luke Kennard as the primary second-unit point guard.
APRIL 5: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
APRIL 4: The Clippers will add Cousins this week, provided he clears COVID-19 protocols, Charania tweets.
MARCH 31: The Clippers plan to sign free agent center DeMarcus Cousins, pending clearance of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell Charania that Cousins is in Los Angeles and is beginning to go through the testing protocols (Twitter link).
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported (via Twitter) that Cousins and the Clippers were discussing a 10-day contract, adding that a decision isn’t expected to be finalized until next week.
Los Angeles is currently carrying just 13 players on standard contracts, and the NBA’s required minimum is 14. However, the league allows teams to dip below that minimum for up to two weeks at a time, and the Clippers don’t have to add a 14th man until next Monday, so they may use that full two-week window before officially signing Cousins.
Cousins, 30, began the season with the Rockets after missing all of 2019/20 due to an ACL tear. The four-time All-Star didn’t exactly look like his old explosive self in Houston, averaging 9.6 PPG and 7.6 RPG on just 37.6% shooting in 25 games (20.2 MPG). He also wasn’t particularly mobile on defense. The Rockets ultimately decided to part ways with the veteran center, releasing him last month.
Still, Cousins has some remaining upside as last year’s ACL surgery moves further into his rear view, and the Clippers are in need of a third center behind Serge Ibaka and Ivica Zubac, as Wojnarowski tweets.
It doesn’t hurt that Cousins has long-standing relationships with a handful of Clippers players, including former teammates Rajon Rondo (Kings, Pelicans, Lakers) and Patrick Patterson (Kentucky, Kings), notes Charania (Twitter link).
Assuming Cousins and the Clippers officially finalize a 10-day deal, it’ll pay him nearly $176K, with the Clippers taking on a $111K cap hit. Cousins would be able to sign up to two 10-day contracts with L.A. before the team would have to either let him go or sign him to a rest-of-season deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
As we detailed last week, a number of teams dipped below the NBA’s required minimum of 14 players (not counting two-way contracts) with their moves leading up to the trade deadline. Teams are only permitted to drop below 14 players for up to two weeks.
Since then, the Pelicans (Isaiah Thomas) and Knicks (Norvel Pelle) have added a 14th man to their respective rosters to get back up to that minimum, but a handful of teams still need to make roster moves this week.
[RELATED: 2020/21 NBA Roster Counts]
First up is the Clippers, who face a Monday deadline for signing a 14th man. By all accounts, that player will be DeMarcus Cousins, who has been going through the coronavirus protocols in advance of signing a 10-day contract with Los Angeles.
Like the Clippers, the Trail Blazers appear to have a 14th man lined up already, as word broke last Friday that they’ve struck a deal with free agent forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. That deal still isn’t official, but Portland has until Thursday to finalize it, so there’s plenty of time to get it done.
Three other teams face a Thursday deadline for filling one of the two current openings on their 15-man rosters — the Heat, Warriors, and Raptors all must sign a player by then.
All three of those teams have players on two-way contracts who could be candidates for promotions to the main roster, including Max Strus (Miami), Juan Toscano-Anderson (Golden State), Nico Mannion (Golden State), and Yuta Watanabe (Toronto). However, those clubs could also opt to bring in outside free agents and keep their two-way players where they are.
For the time being, the only other team to watch on this front is the Cavaliers. Since Quinn Cook‘s second 10-day contract expired last Wednesday night, Cleveland has been carrying just 13 players on standard deals. It doesn’t sound like the Cavs will re-sign Cook, but they’ll need to sign someone to fill his vacated roster spot — unlike the teams mentioned above though, Cleveland won’t need to add a 14th man until next week.