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NBA, NBPA Reach Impasse In Negotiations For 18th Roster Spot

January 28th, 2021 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA and NBPA have reached a stalemate in their negotiations for the possible addition of an 18th roster spot for teams in 2020/21, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

Word broke nearly two weeks ago that the league and the players’ union were discussing the possibility of adding a third two-way contract slot. Currently, clubs are permitted to carry up to 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals, for a total of 17.

The idea, which was previously said to be gaining some momentum, was broached at a time when a series of games were being postponed because teams didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.

According to Stein (Twitter link), the league has maintained that if an 18th roster spot is added, it should be a third two-way slot only open to players with fewer than four years of NBA experience, as the other two-way slots are. The players’ union wants that 18th spot to be open to all veteran free agents.

Stein adds (via Twitter) that there’s some concern that adding an 18th roster spot open to any veteran free agent would give a competitive advantage to hard-capped teams (such as the Lakers, Clippers, and Bucks), allowing them to add another quality player despite their current financial constraints.

A player on a two-way contract this season is earning a $449K salary (half of the rookie minimum) and doesn’t count against his team’s salary cap.

Vogel Says Jared Dudley Is Close To Returning

January 23rd, 2021 at 9:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers forward Jared Dudley is close to returning from a calf injury that has kept him out of action since January 8, according to Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register (Twitter link). Coach Frank Vogel said Dudley is probably “a game or two out” from being available. The 35-year-old has played in just six games this season.

Pacific Notes: Clippers, Lakers, Kings, Zubac

January 21st, 2021 at 5:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Through lineup additions and subtractions, as well as new offensive sets implemented by their new coach, the Clippers are feeling more confident in their chemistry this season than they did during their disappointing 2019/20 run, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“I feel like our energy is way better this season,” forward Marcus Morris said. “It’s a new season; it’s a new team.”

The Clippers have won four straight games, even with key rotational players missing. New additions Serge Ibaka and Luke Kennard have managed to fit in nicely.

“Hopefully, you guys see it, just how well we are meshing,” star forward Paul George said. “We are going to continue to build off of that; we like where we are at and like where we are heading, and we want to see this thing play all the way through.”

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Adjusting to their not-insignificant roster turnover has yet to be an issue for the Lakers, says Rob Mahoney of The Ringer. The team has added four core new rotation players: new starters Dennis Schröder and Marc Gasol, plus key new bench additions Wesley Matthews and Montrezl Harrell.
The slumping Kings are 5-10 despite an encouraging 3-1 season start, and James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area opines that it may be time to infuse the starting lineup with new blood. The club is on a four-game losing streak, and has lost nine of its last 11 contests. “It sucks losing. You can never accept it, well, I can never accept it,” big man Marvin Bagley III said after a lopsided 115-96 loss to the Clippers on Wednesday.
Clippers center Ivica Zubac, who started for the club last year, has looked more comfortable in his new role off the bench this season, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. The newly-signed veteran Ibaka has supplanted Zubac as the starter.

Lakers Working To Avoid Resting On Laurels

January 20th, 2021 at 7:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Complacency may be the toughest adversary the reigning champion Lakers confront during the 2020/21 season, says Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. Though the defensive-oriented champs have lost two games they led entering the fourth quarter this season after not dropping a single such game during 2019/20, their offensive output has improved notably, Goon opines.

Nearly Half Of NBA’s Teams Have Open Roster Spots

January 20th, 2021 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

After the NBA’s transactions wire remained relatively quiet for the first few weeks of the 2020/21 season, teams have begun making moves with a little more frequency as of late.

While one recent transaction – the four-team trade that sent James Harden to Brooklyn – was clearly a higher-impact move than the rest, a number of clubs have made smaller changes to their rosters by waiving players this week. The Raptors and Wizards cut big men Alex Len and Anzejs Pasecniks from their 15-man rosters, while the Sixers opened up a two-way slot by releasing Dakota Mathias.

As a result, there are now 12 teams across the NBA that have at least one open 15-man roster spot. One of those teams – the Trail Blazers – also has an open two-way contract slot, as do two others, leaving just 16 clubs who are carrying the maximum of 17 players.

With so many clubs facing roster shortages recently and the NBA and NBPA discussing the possibility of adding a third two-way slot to rosters for the rest of the season, it’s a little surprising that more teams aren’t making use of all 17 available spots, but it will likely just be a matter of time before those many of those openings get filled.

Here’s the current breakdown of teams with open roster spots:

Teams with an open 15-man roster spot:

Brooklyn Nets
- Note: The Nets have three open roster spots and will need to fill at least two of them within two weeks of completing the Harden trade.
Charlotte Hornets
Los Angeles Clippers *
Los Angeles Lakers *
Milwaukee Bucks *
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes that the team can’t currently sign a 15th man due to the hard cap.

Teams with an open two-way slot:

Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers

And-Ones: Franchise Valuations, G League, Two-Way Deals

January 18th, 2021 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re likely still a few weeks away from Forbes’ publication of its annual NBA franchise valuations, which are typically revealed during the first half of February. However, new sports-business website Sportico has gotten the jump on Forbes in 2021, trying its hand at projecting the values of all 30 NBA teams.

According to Peter J. Schwartz of Sportico, the average NBA franchise is worth nearly $2.4 billion. That projection dipped slightly as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, since teams around the league have missed out on anticipated revenues as a result of playing without fans. However, the fact that the NBA’s national revenues have remained relatively stable means Sportico’s projected valuations have only dipped about two percent.

In Sportico’s view, the Knicks ($5.42 billion), Warriors ($5.21 billion), and Lakers ($5.14 billion) are far and away the most valuable NBA franchises, followed by the Nets ($3.4 billion) at No. 4. The Pelicans ($1.35 billion), Grizzlies ($1.36 billion), and Timberwolves ($1.43 billion) are at the other end of the spectrum.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The NBA G League announced in December of 2019 that it would be expanding to Mexico City for 2020/21, but given the circumstances surrounding this season, the Capitanes franchise won’t be debuting now after all. While the league has been quiet about its plans for that Mexico-based franchise, the club is now expected to begin playing in the NBAGL in 2021/22, says Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Although most coaches and general managers around the NBA support the idea of giving teams a third two-way contract slot – an idea being discussed by the league and the players’ union – some would have liked to see a different tweak made to the two-way rules, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “We are in support of (the proposal),” a Western Conference GM said. “But (we) might prefer to have current two-ways with unlimited game-day restrictions.” Players on two-way contracts are limited to being active for 50 of 72 games this season.
In an interesting article for HoopsHype, Michael Scotto explores the “art of the smokescreen,” speaking to agents and team executives about why they might be motivated to leak information to reporters.

Los Angeles Notes: George, Scrubb, James

January 16th, 2021 at 3:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Paul George is playing with a chip on his shoulder after his subpar performances during last season’s playoffs, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. George’s shooting percentages are a career best while averaging 25.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.2 APG and 1.3 SPG. “I’m coming back with vengeance,” the Clippers forward said. “I didn’t like, not so much of the noise and everything around [the way last season ended], but just the fact that people saw weakness. And I had to address that. I had to answer that. That fueled me.” George signed a four-year, max extension last month.

We have more on the two Los Angeles teams:

Clippers rookie guard Jay Scrubb got his cast removed last week after he fractured a bone in his foot, Adam Zagoria of the New York Times tweets. He may play during the G League’s “bubble” season in Orlando, which begins next month, Zagoria adds. A second-round pick and last season’s JUCO Player of the Year, Scrubb signed a two-way contract with the Clippers in November.
Lakers star LeBron James said that playing fewer minutes during lopsided games has very little impact on him, he noted during a press conference this week. “I’m 36 years old, 18 years in this league. Ain’t no saving something for later on in the season,” he said. “My body is ready to play whenever I need to play throughout the course of the game. … I wish I could ‘bank’ time.” James has appeared in all 14 Lakers games this season, averaging 31.8 MPG.
James is making a major swap in the cola wars. He’s signing with Pepsi to promote the Mountain Dew brand, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. James has been endorsing Coca-Cola products since his rookie season in 2003.

Pacific Notes: Bridges, Ramsey, Lakers, Kings

January 16th, 2021 at 11:59am CST by JD Shaw

Suns forward Mikal Bridges discussed a variety of topics with Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com, including the early buzz for Most Improved Player, playing with Chris Paul and his relationship with Deandre Ayton.

Bridges, a 24-year-old defensive-minded player, has improved his offensive game and starts alongside Jae Crowder and Ayton in Phoenix’s frontcourt. He scored a career-high 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting (including 6-of-8 from deep) in the team’s game against Indiana a week ago, averaging 15.1 points per contest in 11 games so far this season.

“I was just hoopin’, man,” Bridges said of his performance. “Just playing basketball. Reading things, being aggressive, taking shots when I’m open. The Pacers do a lot of things out there, so still keying in on the other end, but just being more aggressive and taking the shots where I thought I could be aggressive.”

Phoenix has opened the season with a 7-3 record. The team’s last three games have been postponed because it didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available due to health and safety protocols, as noted in our new 2020/21 NBA Game Postponement Tracker.

Here are some other notes from the Pacific Division today:

Kings guard Jahmi’us Ramsey will be re-evaluated in 2-to-3 weeks after undergoing an MRI that confirmed a left groin strain, the team announced. Ramsey, the No. 43 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has only appeared in four games this season.
The Lakers have made the most of their somewhat limited time together, building their chemistry on the court to start the season, Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register writes. COVID-19 has restricted teams this season, but at 11-3 (and five straight wins), the Lakers look to be maximizing their situation so far. “I think it’s all about having fun and being happy with your job,” Dennis Schroder said. “So I think everybody when they wake up, they like to come to work and I think that’s pretty important for us and I’ll always be on the sidelines and just talking and trying to get everybody engaged.”
De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton will likely be the only Kings players untouchable in trade talks this season, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes. Fox, 23, is coming off a season where he averaged 21.1 points and 6.8 assists per game, while Haliburton, 20, was drafted by the team No. 12 overall last fall.

Talen Horton-Tucker Could Receive Interest In 2021 Free Agency

January 12th, 2021 at 7:38pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Lakers reserve shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker, a restricted free agent in 2021, is expected to draw interest from several squads during the offseason, including possibly the Knicks, Cavaliers, and Mavericks, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. Los Angeles possesses Horton-Tucker’s Early Bird rights. While the Lakers could technically match any offer for Horton-Tucker, an opposing team’s GM speculates that a rival club could outbid make it hard on L.A. “Teams that have a lot of cap space and are looking to gamble on a young guy, why not put your money into him?” the GM wonders. “The upside is obvious.”

Markieff Morris, DeMarcus Cousins Fined For On-Court Altercation

January 12th, 2021 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers forward Markieff Morris and Rockets center DeMarcus Cousins have been fined by the NBA for their roles in an on-court altercation in Sunday’s game, the league announced today in a press release. Morris will lose $35K, while Cousins was penalized $10K.

Morris committed a flagrant foul on Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate during the first quarter of Sunday’s Lakers win, with Cousins responding by pushing Morris to the floor.

The league said that Morris “further escalated the situation” by going after Cousins, shoving him and “continuing to aggressively pursue him,” which presumably explains why his fine is more substantial. Both players received technical fouls and Morris was ejected. Cousins was ejected later in the game after committing a flagrant foul.

Rockets coach Stephen Silas praised Cousins after the game for sticking up for Tate, who is in his first year in the NBA.

“He wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to his rookie, and I think that’s admirable,” Silas said. “Him sticking up for his teammate shows a lot of who DeMarcus Cousins is.”