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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/4/19

January 4th, 2019 at 6:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Grizzlies recalled rookie guard Jevon Carter and big man Ivan Rabb from the Memphis Hustle, the team’s PR department tweets. Carter has appeared in 13 games with the Hustle, averaging 17.8 PPG and 5.5 APG in 33.0 MPG. Rabb has played five games with the Hustle and posted averages of 23.4 PPG and 10.2 RPG in 36.7 MPG.
The Trail Blazers transferred guard Wade Baldwin IV to the Texas Legends, according to a team press release. Baldwin has appeared in 13 games with the Trail Blazers but averaged just 5.5 MPG in those outings. He saw action in 17 games with the Legends last season. He joins forward Caleb Swanigan, who was transferred to the Legends on December 31st.
The Timberwolves assigned rookie forward Keita Bates-Diop to the Iowa Wolves, the team’s PR department tweets. The second-round selection has already played 13 G League games, posting averages of 17.5 PPG and 9.0 RPG in 35.7 MPG.
The Hornets recalled forward Dwayne Bacon, the re-assigned him to the Greensboro Swarm, according to team press releases. That allowed Bacon, who has appeared in 18 games with the Hornets this season, to play for the Swarm against the Lakeland Magic on Friday. He’s averaged 21.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 3.2 APG in six G League appearances.
The Pacers recalled forward Ike Anigbogu from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to a team press release. In 14 games with the Mad Ants, Anigbogu posted averages of 11.6 PPG and 10.1 RPG in 29.3 MPG.

Leftover Cap Details On Bulls/Grizzlies Trade

January 4th, 2019 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

On Thursday, the Grizzlies and Bulls completed the fifth in-season trade of the NBA’s 2018/19 campaign, with Chicago sending Justin Holiday to Memphis in exchange for two players and two second-round draft picks.

While this deal was hardly a blockbuster, it features a few salary cap related details worth noting, so we’ll round those up in this space…

The Bulls create a modest traded player exception:

The Grizzlies had no traded player exceptions large enough to absorb Holiday’s $4,384,616 salary, so they had to aggregate MarShon Brooks ($1,656,092) and Wayne Selden ($1,544,951) for matching purposes. As a result, they didn’t create a TPE as a result of the deal.

On the other hand, the Bulls were able to take on Selden using the minimum salary exception, since he’s earning his minimum. As such, Chicago essentially traded Holiday straight up for Brooks for salary-matching purposes, leaving the Bulls with a trade exception worth the difference between the two players’ salaries: $2,728,524.

Why flipping MarShon Brooks may not be as easy as it seems:

Brooks is earning more than Selden this season because he has more years of NBA experience, but he’s also making the minimum salary. So why were the Bulls able to use the minimum salary exception to absorb Selden, but not Brooks?

Well, even though Brooks is earning his minimum this season, the first season of his deal wasn’t worth the minimum, as cap expert Albert Nahmad notes (via Twitter). The Grizzlies signed Brooks to a two-year pact last April, with just six days left in the 2017/18 campaign. A minimum salary contract would have paid him just $49,877 for those six days, but because Brooks was drawing interest from other suitors, Memphis upped its offer using a portion of its mid-level exception, giving him $249,348. That’s five times the amount of his prorated minimum.

As such, Brooks’ contract isn’t technically considered a minimum salary deal, which is why the Bulls had to account for that $1,656,092 for matching purposes.

Now, with the Bulls reportedly looking to flip Brooks to another team, those same rules apply. Like Chicago, a new trade partner wouldn’t be able to use the minimum salary exception to acquire Brooks. That trade partner would need a trade exception big enough to absorb his salary or would have to send back a contract in return.

That could eliminate a number of potential landing spots for the veteran guard and make it a little more challenging for the Bulls to make a second deal.

The Grizzlies still have a small amount of breathing room below the tax line:

The Grizzlies were pretty close to the luxury tax threshold before this trade. Having taken on a little money in acquiring Holiday, they’re even closer now. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Memphis has approximately $463K in breathing room before becoming a taxpayer.

While the Grizzlies opened up a roster spot by making a two-for-one deal, using that roster spot on a rest-of-season contract right now would take them into the tax. A veteran player (at least two years of experience) signed to a minimum salary deal today would have a cap hit of $829K.

Teams can begin signing 10-day contracts as of Saturday, and the Grizzlies could fit one of those under the tax line — a veteran on a 10-day deal would cost about $85K. So Memphis could afford five 10-day contracts for the rest of the season. A sixth would take the team into tax territory.

The Grizzlies could make a separate cost-cutting move before the February 7 trade deadline to create a little more wiggle room to sign a player. If they don’t reduce their team salary, however, that 15th roster spot is probably a good bet to remain open for a good chunk of the second half.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Grizzlies Notes: Holiday, Temple, Casspi, Parsons

January 4th, 2019 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

After attempting to send MarShon Brooks and Wayne Selden to Phoenix last month in a three-team trade that would’ve netted them Kelly Oubre, the Grizzlies moved those same players in Thursday’s deal for Justin Holiday. While the deal isn’t as favorable as the one they thought they had for Oubre, that’s why this one was able to get done, Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian writes in his breakdown of the swap.

Herrington isn’t overly bullish on the trade, noting that it reduces the Grizzlies’ flexibility to some extent — the team has an open roster spot as a result of the two-for-one deal, but probably won’t have enough breathing room under the luxury tax line to fill it right away. Herrington also isn’t sure that Holiday represents a meaningful upgrade over the younger Selden, and notes that Memphis will now likely be left without a pick in the 2019 draft.

Still, as Herrington observes, it’s possible that Brooks’ and Selden’s inclusion in that failed trade with the Suns and Wizards “poisoned the waters” and left those players unhappy. If that was the case, this new deal may help lift any lingering unease in the locker room, making it more worthwhile.

Here’s more out of Memphis:

In the wake of a Wednesday postgame meeting that involved a physical altercation between Garrett Temple and Omri Casspi, GM Chris Wallace apologized to Grizzlies fans and said the team would hand out internal discipline, per an Associated Press report. Wallace was also displeased that details of the incident leaked to the media so quickly, adding that the club would handle that internally as well.
Within that same AP report, Temple and Casspi both addressed the reported altercation, though neither player went into much detail. “Some things were said and some things happened,” Temple said. “At the end of the day we’re brothers. We’ve known each other since we were rookies. At the end of the day, we came out of that meeting … on the same page and we’re moving on from it.”
David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal wonders if the locker room incident speaks to a leadership void for the Grizzlies.
Chandler Parsons is healthy and wants to get back on the court, but it’s not clear which Grizzlies player(s) should be sacrificing minutes for the oft-injured forward. Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian takes a closer look at the situation.

Bulls Trade Holiday To Grizzlies For Selden, Brooks, Picks

January 3rd, 2019 at 10:43pm CST by JD Shaw

10:43pm: The trade between the Bulls and Grizzlies is now official, with both teams announcing the agreement in press releases. As expected, Chicago waived Payne to reduce its roster count to 15 players.

6:43pm: The Bulls are trading Justin Holiday to the Grizzlies in exchange for Wayne Selden, MarShon Brooks and two second-round picks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Memphis will send its own 2019 and 2020 second-round selections.

Chicago is likely to waive guard Cameron Payne following the trade, Wojnarowski reports.

The trade comes less than 24 hours after the Grizzlies held a postgame meeting that lasted roughly 30 minutes, a conversation which also reportedly included a physical altercation between veterans Omri Casspi and Garrett Temple. Memphis holds just a 18-19 record and is 6-14 since November 22, struggling to gain a strong rhythm on both ends of the floor.

Holiday, 29, has averaged 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 38 starts with the Bulls this season. He’ll provide the Grizzlies with backcourt depth as they seek to turnaround an underwhelming last month of action, capable of playing both shooting guard and small forward.

Brooks, 30, earned a spot on the Grizzlies’ roster this season after averaging 20.1 PPG in seven games down the stretch in 2017/18. However, he didn’t play a major role in Memphis in 2018/19, posting 6.6 PPG in 13.3 MPG (29 games). The Bulls are expected to work with his agent and find a new destination for him after the trade, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Selden, an intriguing third-year player who has also seen his production slip a little in a part-time role for the Grizzlies this season, will report to Chicago as a young asset off the bench.

Interestingly, the package of Brooks, Selden, and a pair of second-round picks is exactly what the Grizzlies believed they were giving up for Kelly Oubre in a failed three-team trade with the Suns and Wizards last month. That deal fell apart because the Suns were under the impression they was getting Dillon Brooks rather than MarShon.

The Bulls received interest from multiple teams on Holiday, according to Charania (Twitter link), but ultimately settled on this trade with the Grizzlies. Chicago has the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference at 10-28 and has lost six of its past 10 games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/3/19

January 3rd, 2019 at 9:59pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Hornets assigned Dwayne Bacon to the Greensboro Swarm, announcing the news in a press release today. Bacon has averaged 5.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 18 games with Charlotte this season.
The Grizzlies assigned Jevon Carter and Ivan Rabb to the Memphis Hustle, G League affiliate of the team, according to a tweet from the club’s PR department. Rabb played in the Hustle’s loss against Stockton on Thursday, adding 19 points and seven rebounds.
The Clippers recalled then later assigned guard Jerome Robinson to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, the team announced on Thursday. Robinson was drafted by the Clippers with the No. 13 pick in 2018.

Grizzlies’ Postgame Meeting Turns Physical

January 3rd, 2019 at 8:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies‘ slide down the Western Conference standings continued on Wednesday, as the team lost its third consecutive game – and 10th of 13 – to slip below .500 for the first time since October. After the game, frustrations with that slump boiled over in Memphis’ locker room, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that veterans Garrett Temple and Omri Casspi were involved in an altercation after a team meeting turned physical.

League sources tell Charania that the meeting began with coaches and players “questioning each other about their effort and what each can do to improve.” However, when the bench unit was accused of a lack of enthusiasm, Casspi “became vocal in his defense.” Temple and Casspi had a verbal exchange which turned physical before the two men were separated, per Charania.

A source tells ESPN.com that the scuffle between Temple and Casspi was “heat-of-the-moment stuff,” and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff didn’t mention it during his post-game comments. At the time that Bickerstaff addressed the media, approximately 30 minutes later than expected, news of the physical altercation hadn’t yet leaked, giving the coach some leeway to downplay what happened in the locker room.

“A conversation that needed to be had that will stay between those of us that were in that locker room,” Bickerstaff said, according to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. “I think addressing larger issues was the conversation that we needed to have. Right now it’s not X’s and O’s that need to be resolved. I think we resolved some of those issues tonight.”

The Grizzlies, who were 15-9 less than a month ago, now sit at 18-19, tied with the Mavericks for 10th in the West. Memphis is still within striking distance of the top eight, 2.5 games back of the Spurs (No. 7) and Lakers (No. 8), but the club will need to right the ship soon in order to avoid slipping further out of the playoff race in a competitive conference.

Temple and Casspi are both in contract years, on track to become unrestricted free agents this summer, so it wouldn’t be hard to trade one of them before next month’s deadline. However, there’s no indication at this point that that would be necessary. Of the two, Temple is the least expendable — he has started 37 games and averaged 31.8 MPG this season, emerging as a veteran leader for the Grizzlies after arriving from Sacramento in an offseason trade.

Grizzlies Sign Jarnell Stokes, Waive D.J. Stephens

January 1st, 2019 at 4:19pm CST by JD Shaw

JANUARY 1: Stokes has officially signed, according to a tweet from the Grizzlies.

DECEMBER 30: The Grizzlies plan to sign forward Jarnell Stokes to a two-way deal, as first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Memphis created an open two-way roster spot by waiving D.J. Stephens on Sunday, reaching the agreement to sign Stokes beforehand.

Stokes had worked out for the Grizzlies in early November before the team signed Joakim Noah, a league source told Hoops Rumors.

Stokes has spent the first part of the season playing in Sioux Falls, G League affiliate of the Heat, and appeared in 19 games with Memphis during the 2014/15 season. He’s improved vastly on defense in his time away from the team, transitioning into a solid two-way player that fits the Grizzlies’ grit-and-grind mentality.

Stephens, 28, signed a two-way deal with Memphis on Oct. 8 and played just one game with the team this season. He appeared in 10 contests with the club’s G League team, averaging 7.9 points and five rebounds per outing.

The Grizzlies have upcoming games scheduled against the Rockets (Dec. 31), Pistons (Jan. 2) and Nets (Jan. 4), holding a 18-17 record through the season’s first 35 games.

Southwest Notes: J. Green, J. Jackson, Bickerstaff, Payton

December 31st, 2018 at 7:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trading JaMychal Green is the easiest way to open more playing time for rookie Jaren Jackson Jr., writes David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Jackson has played well in his first season, but his fourth-quarter minutes have been limited. Green, whose broken jaw early in the season opened the way for Jackson to enter the starting lineup, has quietly accepted a reserve role since returning and is among the most respected veterans in the Grizzlies‘ locker room.

However, Green has an expiring $7.87MM contract and doesn’t seem likely to stay in Memphis as a free agent, Cobb states. With Jackson clearly the team’s power forward of the future, the Grizzlies could pick up at least a draft pick in exchange for Green before the February 7 trade deadline.

Cobb offers a few other suggestions for expanding Jackson’s minutes if they decide to keep Green, including cutting back on playing time for Joakim Noah, who has a negative plus-minus rating in seven of his last eight games, and giving more rest to Marc Gasol, who is averaging 34.6 minutes per night.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Grizzlies‘ J.B. Bickerstaff came to Houston as a head coach tonight for the first time since serving as the Rockets‘ interim coach in 2015/16, notes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Bickerstaff led the team to a 37-34 record that season, but wasn’t retained. “I was here for five years, was a part of some really good teams, got to work with a great coach and friend in Kevin McHale, learned from him every single day, was thrown in the fire a little bit at the interim,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s no experience like the experience of being in that seat. My time here, though it ended kind of bumpy, was great for my career, great for me as a coach in learning. And I had some really good times with the people here as well.”
The Pelicans had Elfrid Payton in their starting lineup tonight for the first time in more than six weeks. The free agent addition broke his left pinky finger last month and hasn’t played since November 16. Coach Alvin Gentry plans to limit his minutes until he gets back into game shape, tweets Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com.
Jordan Greer of The Sporting News looks at six potential targets for the Rockets in their pursuit of wing depth.

Chandler Parsons Says GM Won’t Let Him Play

December 29th, 2018 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chandler Parsons insists he’s healthy enough to return to the lineup and blames Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace for his continued absence, relays Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Parsons, who missed his 32nd straight game tonight, discussed the situation after this afternoon’s shootaround. He insists his troublesome knee is no longer bothering him and he’s ready to start playing again.

“The most confusing part for me is I’m healthy,” Parsons said. “I’m medically cleared by the people I work with every single day, that are experts at this kind of stuff, so it’s frustrating to watch a team struggle and I’m sitting there on the bench healthy, dying to play.”

Parsons explains that he and the medical staff had been pointing toward a December 21 game in Sacramento for his return, ever since the knee started hurting again in late October. However, Wallace canceled that plan, saying he wants to see him play five-on-five in practice before returning, which Parsons claims he has done for two weeks with no soreness in the knee.

Parsons adds that Wallace hoped to send him to the G League “for a really long time, but didn’t tell me how long. Which also wasn’t going to happen.” Under the collective bargaining agreement, veteran players have the power to refuse G League assignments.

“No communication. No nothing,” Parsons said of the situation. “I don’t think it’s from a basketball standpoint. It’s definitely not from a health standpoint. I’ve been cleared by the medical staff of our organization, and clearly it’s not about fitting. I already earned a starting spot out of training camp and have shown I can fit with the team. I think the confusion for me is there’s no communication about what’s going on and when I’m going to play.”

Addressing the media two weeks ago, Wallace said the organization plans to be cautious with Parsons and “we’ll see where he is in the next few weeks.” Giannotto notes that Parsons has been injury plagued since coming to Memphis on a $94MM contract two years ago, and the team doesn’t want to risk its chemistry until it is confident he can contribute on a regular basis.

Parsons' Agent Says Client Is Dying To Play

December 28th, 2018 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is trying to put a damper on speculation that Dennis Smith Jr. will be dealt. Carlisle said that Smith and rookie sensation Luka Doncic form a ball-handling duo that can coexist and put steady pressure on opposing defenses, Dwain Price of Mavs.com tweets. “We have two point guards out there. Let’s quit looking at it as Dennis is getting relegated to playing off the ball,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got two point guards out there, which is a great advantage, and we’ve just got to take advantage of that and create a balance and cause problems for teams.” A report surfaced earlier this week that Dallas was gauging the market for the second-year guard.

We have more from around the Western Conference:

Chandler Parsons has been medically cleared to play and has participated in four 5-on-5 scrimmages but it’s uncertain when the Grizzlies will begin using him again, according to David Cobb of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Parsons, who has been battling knee soreness since being sidelined in late October, has yet to be activated. “He is dying to play,” Parsons’ agent, James Dunleavy, told Cobb. Parsons is making $24.1MM this season and another $25.1MM next season before his contract expires.
The duo of Taj Gibson and Dario Saric has provided a comfort level to Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. They have shared the spot since Saric was acquired from the Sixers in the Jimmy Butler deal. “Taj is playing unbelievable, and so is Dario,” Thibodeau told Hine. Gibson, who is making $14MM, will be an unrestricted free agent in July.
The backup power forward spot has been problematic for the Thunder, according to an Oklahoman report. Jerami Grant is averaging 12.4 PPG and 4.8 RPG as the starter but there’s a dropoff when he needs a rest. Patrick Patterson, the most likely candidate, has seen his minutes decline. He’s averaging just 3.9 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 15.9 MPG. Patterson holds a $5.7MM option on his contract for next season.