- Rookie center Thomas Bryant has been recalled from the G League by the Lakers, per a team release. Bryant has played well lately for the South Bay Lakers, recording three straight double-doubles.
2:04pm: The Lakers have officially waived Brewer, the team announced in a press release. He’ll clear waivers on Friday. For now, the Thunder seem to be the frontrunners to sign him, though several teams are in the mix, according to various reports.
9:58am: The Lakers and Brewer have reached an agreement on a buyout, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
8:44am: The Lakers and veteran swingman Corey Brewer are engaged in “advanced negotiations” on a buyout agreement, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). Assuming the two sides finalize a deal and Brewer is waived today or tomorrow, he’ll retain his playoff eligibility for a new team.
Brewer, who was traded from Houston to Los Angeles in last year’s Lou Williams trade, finished the 2016/17 season with the Lakers and has spent the entire 2017/18 campaign to date with the club.
The former seventh overall pick, who will turn 32 next Monday, has played a very limited role for the Lakers, averaging a career-low 12.9 MPG in 54 contests. His numbers in several other categories, including PPG (3.7), RPG (1.7), and 3PT% (.186) are also career worsts.
While Brewer hasn’t played particularly well this season, he has a reputation as a solid defender. If he and the Lakers make a buyout official, he could draw interest from playoff-bound teams seeking one more perimeter player. However, his limited offensive ability – including an inconsistent three-point shot – will reduce his appeal.
Brewer is in the final year of his contract, with a cap hit of $7,579,366. Assuming he agrees to give some money back to the Lakers as part of his release, the team will be able to slightly reduce that cap charge. L.A. won’t be on the hook for any salary for Brewer beyond the 2017/18 season.
Earlier this month, we identified the NBA teams with open roster spots. Since then, clubs have completed a flurry of 10-day signings, and a couple players have even received rest-of-season deals.
However, there are still plenty of teams around the league with openings on their respective rosters, which could come in handy with Thursday’s de facto buyout deadline around the corner. Once March 1 comes and goes, teams will have a better idea of which players will or won’t have postseason eligibility the rest of the way, creating a clearer picture for how to fill those open roster spots.
In the space below, we’ll take a closer look at teams with an open roster spot, breaking them down into three categories. Each of the clubs in the first group actually has a full 15-man roster right now, but in each instance, one of those 15 players is only a 10-day contract. With those contracts set to expire soon, it’d be very easy and inexpensive for these teams to create an opening if they need to.
Teams with full 15-man rosters who are carrying at least one player on a 10-day contract (10-day player noted in parentheses):
- Dallas Mavericks (Scotty Hopson)
- Indiana Pacers (Trey McKinney-Jones)
- New Orleans Pelicans (Walter Lemon Jr.)
- New York Knicks (Troy Williams)
- Orlando Magic (Rashad Vaughn)
- Phoenix Suns (Shaquille Harrison)
- Utah Jazz (Naz Mitrou-Long)
The next list of teams includes the clubs with one open spot on their roster and no players on 10-day contracts. These clubs each have 14 players on standard, full-season NBA deals, leaving one spot open for either a 10-day player or a rest-of-season signing.
Teams with one open roster spot:
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Note: The Lakers will create a second opening when they officially waive Corey Brewer.
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors
Finally, the last group of teams features four clubs that have been grouped together before. These four teams saw their roster counts slip to 13 players around the time of the trade deadline, and each had to add a player to get back up to the NBA-mandated minimum of 14. To reach that minimum, each team signed a player to a 10-day contract. That means these four franchises still only have 12 or 13 players on full-season contracts, with at least one player on a 10-day deal.
Teams with one open roster spot, plus at least one player on a 10-day contract:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Note: 12 full-season contracts, plus Antonius Cleveland and Jaylen Morris on 10-day contracts
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Marcus Thornton on 10-day contract.
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Brandon Rush on 10-day contract.
- Washington Wizards
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Ramon Sessions on 10-day contract.
For roster-count details on all 30 teams, be sure to check out our roster count page, which we updated daily throughout the 2017/18 season.
Note: Roster info current as of Wednesday, February 28 at 12:00pm CT.
- Ivica Zubac has not been assigned a larger role with the Lakers this season, which was expected as he entered his sophomore season. However, now that he is slowly creeping back into Lakers’ rotation, he feels much better on the court, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. “This is what I’ve been doing for my whole life,” Zubac said. “When you’re not playing you’re not feeling good because this is what I’m doing my whole life. Now, when I’m finally in the rotation, everything else feels much better.”
- Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has played much better since resolving his legal issues last month, notes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. With free agency looming, Caldwell-Pope has been showing off his scoring ability, hitting eight 3-pointers in a 34-point performance Saturday night. “It was kind of hard with that situation I had, but now that’s behind me,” he said. “I can focus on just one thing — that’s basketball. It’s been good just to be able to get my work when I need it and just be ready for games.”
Isaiah Thomas believes the Cavaliers panicked when they sent him to the Lakers as part of a flurry of deals at the trade deadline, according to an ESPN story. Thomas, who was acquired from the Celtics in the offseason, played just 15 games for the Cavs before being sent to L.A.
“It was a tough situation I was being put in,” Thomas said. “It was — it was different. … It’s hard to get acclimated to a team halfway through the season. People don’t put in there that we had eight or nine new players. So it was basically a brand new team. … I’m in a new system. New team, new coach, new players. And then I’ve been off for seven months. So I got to get — individually, I got to for the most part get my rhythm back, get my timing back.”
Thomas, who will be a free agent this summer, said he has no hard feelings about his time in Cleveland and he is concentrating on his future with his new team. He added that he plans to “play my heart out and show the Lakers why I should be here long term.”
There’s more out of Cleveland:
- LeBron James was revitalized by the trades because he knew he wouldn’t have to share the ball anymore with Thomas or Dwyane Wade, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. He adds that James prefers to control as much as he can, both on and off the court, and now has the freedom to initiate the offense any time he wants. Pluto has noticed a difference in James’ play and his on-court demeanor since he found out the trades were coming on the night before the deadline.
- The addition of George Hill and Larry Nance Jr. has provided the defensive spark the Cavaliers needed, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The Cavs turned in one of their best performances of the season Saturday, holding the Grizzlies to 89 points while registering 13 steals and 35 points off 23 turnovers. “Obviously G. Hill’s hands, Larry’s length and athleticism allows us to kind of keep everything at bay,” James said. “Our league is all pick and roll. So when you’ve got a point guard and a center that can play two on two and the other three can kind of stay at bay, it helps out everybody.”
- The Cavaliers would be very interested if the Spurs decide to part with star forward Kawhi Leonard, writes Sam Amico of AmicoHoops. Leonard reportedly has a strained relationship with the organization related to his lingering quad injury. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed this week that Leonard has been medically cleared to play, but is choosing to sit out until the pain subsides. Amico speculates that Cleveland would be willing to give up the unprotected pick it owns from Brooklyn as the centerpiece of a deal for Leonard.
- After being assigned to the G League on Thursday and then recalled for last night’s game against Dallas, Lakers rookie center Thomas Bryant has once again been assigned to the South Bay Lakers for the team’s two contests this weekend, per the team’s official site. Bryant has averaged 19.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 28 contests with South Bay this season.
Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA.
- The Lakers recalled rookie center Thomas Bryant from the South Bay Lakers, according to the G League team’s Twitter feed. Thomas has averaged 19.2 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 28 games with South Bay.
- The Magic reassigned forward Jonathan Isaac to their Lakeland affiliate, according to Orlando’s PR Twitter. Isaac, who missed almost three months with an ankle injury, is expected to see his first game action this weekend for the G League squad.
- The Spurs assigned rookie guard Derrick White to the Austin Spurs, according to a team press release. He has averaged 15.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 2.6 APG in 13 games with Austin.
- The Suns assigned Davon Reed to the Northern Arizona Suns, tweets Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports. In seven games with the G League squad, Reed has averaged 10.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG.
- The Cavaliers assigned guard Marcus Thornton to the G League’s Canton Charge, according to a team press release. Thornton has averaged 18.8 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 37 games with Canton.
- The Thunder have assigned center Dakari Johnson to the G League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue, per a team press release. Johnson has appeared in five games with the Blue, averaging 24.2 PPG and 10.4 RPG.
Lakers guard Lonzo Ball is set to return to the court for the Lakers on Friday night, head coach Luke Walton confirmed today (Twitter link). Ball, who has been recovering from a knee injury, last played on January 15.
According to the Lakers (Twitter link), Ball won’t play in back-to-back games for the time being, which means he’ll sit out Saturday’s game against Sacramento. The rookie point guard will also be on a minutes restriction for now.
Still, Ball’s return is an encouraging step for a Lakers team that will be focusing on developing its young players like Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Brandon Ingram down the stretch this season. It will also be interesting to see how the team splits minutes at point guard between last year’s No. 2 overall pick and Isaiah Thomas, acquired from Cleveland two weeks ago in a deadline deal.
As we noted earlier today, Ball has talked enthusiastically about teaming with Thomas, suggesting their styles make them an ideal match, since Ball is a pass-first point guard while Thomas is more of a shooter and scorer. Still, it’s not clear how often they’ll play together, or if they’ll both get a chance to start for L.A. during the last couple months of the 2017/18 season.
As the Clippers headed to Phoenix for Friday night’s game against the Suns, Avery Bradley stayed behind in Los Angeles to receive treatment on a sports hernia injury that has nagged at him for much of the season, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The Clippers, who could have used Bradley on defense during Thursday’s 134-127 loss to Golden State, aren’t sure exactly when the veteran guard will return to action.
“We are concerned,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. “We’ve got to go through the right stuff and make sure he’s in a good place with his health. I think we’re going to send him to a doctor and let him check and see.”
Here’s more out of Los Angles on both the Clippers and Lakers:
- The Clippers currently have one opening on their 15-man roster, which would allow the team to give a full-fledged roster spot to one of its two-way players. However, it’s not clear whether Tyrone Wallace or C.J. Williams would be first in line for that spot, as both players are expected to receive consideration, according to Turner. “Hopefully we can get something resolved pretty soon,” Rivers said. “We just got to figure out what we’re going to do. We may be able to sign one.”
- With the Lakers focusing on developing younger players and Isaiah Thomas in need of a showcase before he hits free agency, the union between the two doesn’t exactly look like a marriage made in heaven, writes Rob Mahoney of SI.com. Still, Lonzo Ball is looking forward to playing with Thomas, suggesting that his pass-first style and Thomas’ score-first mentality should mesh well together, as Bill Oram of The Orange County Register details.
- In a conversation with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma addressed several topics, including the team’s recent trades of Larry Nance and Jordan Clarkson, his friendship with Ball, and the possibility of the Lakers landing a star in free agency.