The Grizzlies have signed big man Jon Teske to a 10-day contract under the hardship exception, the team’s PR department tweets.
Teske was waived by Orlando during training camp. He has appeared in 29 games with the G League Lakeland Magic in two seasons, averaging 6.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG. Teske played four seasons at Michigan but went undrafted in 2020.
Memphis currently has six players in the league’s health and safety protocols.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (via Twitter).
Morant led the Grizzlies to three consecutive victories during the week of December 27 – January 2, including an impressive road win in Phoenix, plus home wins over the Lakers and Spurs. He had a 41-point, 10-rebound double-double in the win over the Lakers last Wednesday and averaged 34.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 4.7 APG for the week. Incredibly, he also shot 80.0% on three-pointers (12-for-15).
While DeRozan’s per-game numbers (27.8 PPG, 7.3 APG, 5.3 RPG) perhaps weren’t quite as impressive as Morant’s, the Bulls star had the more memorable week, capped by game-winning shots on Friday and Saturday. DeRozan’s Bulls had a 4-0 week, as he became the first player in NBA history to hit buzzer-beating game-winners on back-to-back nights.
It’s the second time this season DeRozan has been named the East’s Player of the Week. He beat out fellow nominees Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love, and Pascal Siakam to earn the award. The other nominees in the West were LeBron James, Eric Bledsoe, and Jordan Clarkson (Twitter link).
Sixers wing Danny Green cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Sunday, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, Jaden Springer and Matisse Thybulle are both in the protocols now, joining two-way player Myles Powell.
In the latest injury report for the Sixers’ Monday game vs. Houston, Powell and Springer are both listed as out, while Thybulle is considered questionable. That suggests that the team is likely waiting for the results of Thybulle’s latest COVID-19 test before determining whether or not he’ll be available.
Here are more protocol-related updates from around the NBA:
6:30pm: The moves are official, the Grizzlies announced (Twitter links).
6:10pm: Two-way player Killian Tillie will sign a standard contract with the Grizzlies, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The second-year big man will get a deal worth $4MM over two years.
Tillie signed a two-way contract after going undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2020, then inked another two-way deal in August. He’s averaging 3.4 points and 1.7 rebounds in 22 games this season, but his playing time has increased recently with the Grizzlies short-handed due to health and safety protocols.
Memphis will open a roster spot by waiving injured guard Sam Merrill, Woj adds (Twitter link). Merrill will undergo a surgical procedure on his left ankle that will keep him out of action for three to four months, sources tell Wojnarowski.
A rookie with the Bucks last year, Merrill was acquired by the Grizzlies in an offseason trade. He only appeared in six games for Memphis, averaging 4.2 PPG in 9.7 minutes per night, and last played on November 18. The move will include a $1.5MM cap hit, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Wojnarowski adds that the Grizzlies believe Merrill has potential and may consider bringing him back once he’s healed.
The open two-way slot will be filled by guard Tyrell Terry, who signed as a hardship player last week, adds Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Terry has made two brief appearances since coming to Memphis, playing a combined three minutes.
The Grizzlies have signed swingman DaQuan Jeffries under the hardship exception, the team’s PR department tweets.
He has appeared in 44 games the past two seasons with the Kings and Rockets, averaging 4.0 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 14.4 MPG.
Jeffries was playing for Atlanta’s G League team, the College Park Skyhawks, prior to signing the 10-day deal. He was averaging 15.4 PPG, 2.4 RPG and 1.6 APG in 26.6 MPG for the Skyhawks. He was waived by the Hawks during training camp before joining their G League squad.
Memphis currently has six players in the league’s health and safety protocols, including one of the players they signed to a 10-day contract.
JaVale McGee is the latest Suns player to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic writes. McGee joined Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, and Abdel Nader in the protocols on Thursday evening.
On the plus side, the Suns did get Elfrid Payton out of the protocols for the second time this week — Payton was placed in the protocols on Sunday and Wednesday, but quickly cleared both times, so it’s possible he has registered multiple false positive tests in recent days.
Here are a few more protocol-related updates from around the league:
The league continues to be battered by players entering and exiting the health and safety protocols. If any of the players entering the protocols registered a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, they’ll remain sidelined for at least six days or until they can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
Here are the latest updates from around the NBA:
The Grizzlies have signed free agent wing Dakota Mathias to a 10-day contract, the team announced in a press release.
The club put out the press release after its Wednesday night win over the Lakers, very early Thursday morning. So we’re assuming for now that December 30 is the start date for the deal, meaning it’ll run through January 8 and cover Memphis’ next five games.
Mathias, 26, went undrafted out of Purdue in 2018 and spent his first professional season in Spain. He joined the Texas Legends – Dallas’ G League affiliate – for the 2019/20 campaign, then began last season on a two-way contract with the Sixers before being waived in January. A report in August indicated Mathias had agreed to sign with the G League Ignite, but that deal apparently fell through.
In his lone NBAGL season in 2019/20, Mathias averaged 18.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG , and 3.1 APG on .432/.392/.831 shooting in 42 games (36.1 MPG) for the Legends.
The Grizzlies currently have four players in the health and safety protocols. Mathias is their fourth hardship addition, joining Tyrell Terry, Shaq Buchanan, and Xavier Sneed.