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Southeast Notes: LiAngelo, Haslem, Cooper, Reddish

August 16th, 2021 at 5:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Multiple members of the Hornets organization have loved what they’ve seen out of guard LiAngelo Ball, a member Charlotte’s Summer League club who is hoping to earn a G League contract, reports Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Schultz, Charlotte appreciates the work ethic of Ball, older brother to reigning Hornets Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball. The 6’5″ LiAngelo, 22, is the middle brother in a family of basketball pros. His older brother, Lonzo Ball, just inked a lucrative four-year, $80MM deal with the Bulls this summer.

The Hornets are no doubt hoping that LiAngelo, the only member of the three Ball brothers to not be drafted, can prove to be a diamond in the rough. “Great kid,” Hornets assistant coach Jay Triano raved. “He was at the facility practicing every day for two months to play in the Summer League. Shows a ton of character. He can shoot it, great feel, knack for scoring.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Now that the Heat have re-signed lifer Udonis Haslem to a veteran’s minimum deal for his 19th season in Miami, the rest of the club’s offseason signings can now be completed, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Haslem is the 14th Miami player under a standard contract for the 2021/22 season, meaning the Heat will now be able to ink younger players to Exhibit 10 deals. Those players will compete for two-way deals and could end up playing for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate.
Hawks rookie point guard Sharife Cooper sat down for an extensive conversation with Chris Kirschner of The Athletic about falling to the middle of the second round in the 2021 NBA draft and his fit on the team behind star point guard Trae Young. The Hawks drafted Cooper with the No. 48 pick out of Auburn. “It’s extremely motivating,” Cooper said of his slide in the draft. “We’ll see in a couple of years who can really play and who can’t play. That’s what I’ll say.” A high-level ball-handler, Cooper has already shown promise as a distributor and a speedy interior finisher at the next level while in Summer League, writes Kirschner. “I can pass,” Cooper said of his attributes as a player. “I can score. I feel like I’m a leader. I like talking on the floor. My biggest weakness — I definitely want to be more efficient. I definitely want to take care of the ball better.”
Hawks forward Cam Reddish, eligible for an extension to his rookie contract in 2022, has signed with Klutch Sports Group, per an announcement from the agency (Twitter link). Though Reddish only appeared in 26 games with Atlanta during the 2020/21 season due to an Achilles injury, he showed promise during his brief stint with the Hawks in the 2021 postseason, averaging 12.8 PPG on 52.8% shooting (64.3% on threes) in 23.0 minutes per contest.

Udonis Haslem Re-Signs With Heat

August 15th, 2021 at 7:46pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 15: The Heat have officially re-signed Haslem, the team announced today (via Twitter).

AUGUST 11: Veteran big man Udonis Haslem will return for another season with the Heat, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, who says that an official announcement from the team is expected soon. It will be Haslem’s 19th season with the franchise.

A regular rotation player in Miami when the team won championships in 2006, 2012, and 2013, Haslem hasn’t appeared in more than 16 games or logged more than 130 minutes in a single season since 2015/16.

In 2020/21, he played just once, earning a cameo during the final week of the regular season. He memorably earned an ejection for a dust-up with Dwight Howard just three minutes after checking into the game.

Despite the fact that he no longer sees much action for the Heat, Haslem is a well-respected locker room presence who essentially has a standing invitation to continue signing minimum-salary contracts with the club until he decides to retire.

That day hasn’t arrived yet. The 41-year-old will spend at least one more season in the NBA and, as Winderman points out, will become the 21st player in NBA history to play in 19 seasons as long as he appears in at least one game for the Heat in 2021/22.

Once Haslem officially signs his deal, the Heat will have 14 players on guaranteed contracts. Miami could perhaps use another guard or wing, but a 15th man would put team salary over the tax line, so it’s unclear if the club intends to fill that spot, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

The Heat do have a pair of open two-way slots, which will likely be filled by undrafted free agents who impress the team in Summer League and training camp.

Southeast Notes: Yurtseven, Bouknight, Haslem, Magic

August 15th, 2021 at 5:24pm CST by JD Shaw

Heat center Omer Yurtseven has gone through his fair share of highs and lows during the team’s summer league in Las Vegas this month, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes.

Yurtseven, a promising 23-year-old from Turkey, recently signed a two-year contract with the Heat. Miami envisions him as part of its future, featuring him heavily throughout summer league to this point.

“I think it’s been a lot of learning, like watching the film and taking it all in,” Yurtseven said. “I’m still making those adjustments inside the game. All the coaches have been in my ear and also, OG, Udonis Haslem has been with us like for the last two, three games just giving advice.

“More reps and more reps, it’s just going to translate into the regular season.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Hornets rookie James Bouknight was recently inspired by a surprise phone call from team owner Michael Jordan, Jonathan Alexander of the Charlotte Observer writes. The 20-year-old had a poor game on Monday, spoke to Jordan and bounced back for Thursday’s game against San Antonio. Bouknight finished with 23 points and eight assists against the Spurs.
In his latest “Ask Ira” mailbag for the Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman explores whether Udonis Haslem could get more minutes with the Heat this season. The 41-year-old Haslem recently re-signed with Miami, committing to his 19th NBA season.
The Magic‘s less proven players are looking to make their marks in summer league, Josh Cohen of NBA.com writes. “I think it’s a great opportunity,” said coach Jamahl Mosley. “We talked about it coming into summer league. Talking about guys learning the habits, getting the fundamentals down. Try to see the things that we are putting in place and how do they respond to it. With Jalen [Suggs] being out, how do other guys get their opportunity to do things that we’ve asked them to do.”

Heat Tried To Get DeJon Jarreau On Draft Night

August 14th, 2021 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat weren’t able to trade for a draft pick to select DeJon Jarreau, but they wound up with the Houston guard anyway and like what they have seen during Summer League, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Jarreau, who may be in contention for one of Miami’s two-way contracts, posted 10 assists in a game this week.

Southwest Notes: Lowry, Louzada, Barea, Omoruyi

August 14th, 2021 at 5:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks were runners-up to the Heat in the free agency competition for Kyle Lowry, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. A source tells Jackson that the Mavs were willing to pay what Lowry was seeking and he was intrigued by the possibility of playing in Dallas, but his first choice was to join Jimmy Butler in Miami. Lowry wound up getting $85MM over three years, and joined the Heat in a sign-and-trade.

The Pelicans were also interested in Lowry and were willing to offer $90MM or more for three seasons, Jackson adds. However, Jackson’s source says Lowry didn’t give strong consideration to New Orleans.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The new four-year deal for Pelicans swingman Didi Louzada is valued at about $7.69MM, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN. The first two seasons are fully guaranteed and the final two are non-guaranteed. New Orleans held non-Bird rights on Louzada and his contract starts at 120% of the $1.489MM minimum, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Marks notes that the Pelicans still have their entire $9.5MM mid-level exception available, along with a $17.1MM trade exception.
Longtime Mavericks player J.J. Barea will return to the organization in some capacity, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The exact role hasn’t been finalized for Barea, who spent 11 of his 14 NBA seasons with the Mavs. “I’m going to be involved, and I’m definitely excited,” said Barea, who served as an unofficial assistant coach in today’s Summer League game.
Rookie forward Eugene Omoruyi talked to Townsend after signing a two-way contract with the Mavericks on Friday (video link).

Southeast Notes: Heat Rotation, Suggs, Todd, Garrett, Haslem

August 14th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Heat‘s rotation could look pretty thin this season, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

After the main eight-man rotation of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, P.J. Tucker, Markieff Morris, and Dewayne Dedmon, there are a lot of question marks. Victor Oladipo is still recovering from his quad surgery, KZ Okpala has yet to prove himself as ready to play real minutes, and Udonis Haslem‘s status is up in the air.

The ability of at least one of Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, or Omer Yurtseven to break through will be crucial. Strus and Yurtseven have been two of the top performers in Summer League, and the Heat will be hoping their renowned player development program can turn them into immediate contributors.

We have more from around the Southeast Division:

Magic prize rookie Jalen Suggs will miss the remainder of Summer League with a sprained left thumb, according to a tweet from the team’s PR account. Suggs had an impressive Summer League, averaging 15.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.7 SPG while showcasing impressive scoring and defensive instincts. The move is a precautionary one, so it shouldn’t impact his status for training camp next month.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Instagram video) breaks down the contract signed by Isaiah Todd, the 31st pick in the draft for the Wizards. The four-year, $6.9MM contract will pay Todd $1.5MM in year one, about $600K more than the minimum. The first three years are guaranteed with a $2MM team option in year four. Marks adds it’s likely the team option is declined in year four in order to make Todd a restricted free agent. Keith Smith of Spotrac has the year-by-year breakdown here.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes that the Heat, in their offseason dealing, essentially chose the path that would allow them to sign Tucker, rather than keeping Precious Achiuwa and signing someone else (ie. Jeff Green) using the $4.9MM room exception. Jackson adds that Summer League standout Marcus Garrett is a top candidate for one of the Heat’s two two-way contracts.
Heat big man Udonis Haslem is still deciding what his future holds when he eventually retires from basketball, but is happy to continue his playing career for now, as Winderman writes. Appearing on teammate Duncan Robinson‘s podcast, Haslem said: “Miami is my home, it’s my city. Why not still be a part of what’s going on there and still be able to move the needle and impact and hopefully win more championships?” Haslem added that team ownership has been on his mind for a long time, and that he’s had many conversations with ex-teammate Dwyane Wade on the subject.

NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2021/22

August 12th, 2021 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $112,414,000 threshold once their cap room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax line of $136,606,000 as well — the Nets and Warriors, for instance, project to have nine-figure tax bills this season as a result of their spending.

The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows clubs like Brooklyn and Golden State to build a significant payroll without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped, as we explain in a glossary entry.

When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception (three years, starting at $5,890,000), that club will face a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.

When a team becomes hard-capped, it cannot exceed the “tax apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. The tax apron for 2021/22 was set at $143,002,000.

So far, over a third of the teams in the NBA have been willing to hard-cap themselves this offseason. Some teams will have to be aware of that hard cap when they consider any roster move for the rest of the season, but for others it’s just a technicality that won’t affect their plans.

Listed below are the hard-capped teams for the 2021/22 league year, along with how they created a hard cap.

Chicago Bulls

Acquired Lonzo Ball from Pelicans via sign-and-trade.
Acquired DeMar DeRozan from Spurs via sign-and-trade.
Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Alex Caruso.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Acquired Lauri Markkanen from Bulls via sign-and-trade.

Dallas Mavericks

Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Reggie Bullock.
Used bi-annual exception on Sterling Brown.

Houston Rockets

Acquired Daniel Theis from Bulls via sign-and-trade.

Miami Heat

Acquired Kyle Lowry from Raptors via sign-and-trade.
Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on P.J. Tucker.

New Orleans Pelicans

Acquired Devonte’ Graham from Hornets via sign-and-trade.
Acquired Garrett Temple from Bulls via sign-and-trade.

New York Knicks

Acquired Evan Fournier from Celtics via sign-and-trade.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

San Antonio Spurs

Acquired Doug McDermott from Pacers via sign-and-trade.

Toronto Raptors

Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Khem Birch.

Washington Wizards

Acquired Spencer Dinwiddie from Nets via sign-and-trade.
Used non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Isaiah Todd.

This list, which could continue to grow, will continue to be updated throughout the 2021/22 league year as necessary. It can be found anytime in the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” menu on our mobile site.

A.J. Lawson Leaves Heat's Summer League Team For Hawks

August 11th, 2021 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted rookie guard A.J. Lawson has left the Heat‘s Summer League team to join the Hawks‘ SL roster, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. A report on draft night suggested that Lawson was expected to attend training camp with the Heat, but that no longer seems likely.

Goran Dragic Apologizes For Comments On Trade To Raptors

August 9th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran point guard Goran Dragic, who was traded from the Heat to the Raptors in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade deal last week, apologized on Monday for comments he made in his home country of Slovenia about the trade, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.

A clip that surfaced on Twitter on Monday of Dragic speaking to Slovenian reporters was accompanied by the English caption, “Toronto is not my preferred destination. I have higher ambitions.” While there was some uncertainty about whether something may have been lost in translation, Dragic didn’t claim he was misquoted. He did tell Grange, however, that the context of the quote was missing.

“I was in the center of the city and the journalists were there and I was asked about Toronto and it was basically taken out of context,” Dragic said. “I told them that I had spent seven years in Miami and that would be the preferred destination for me because my family is there and everything, not Toronto.”

Dragic, who is on an expiring $19.5MM contract, was always expected to be part of the Raptors’ return for Lowry after the Heat picked up his team option, but there was speculation for much of last week that he might be flipped to a third team. The Mavericks were frequently mentioned as a potential destination, since Dallas had been on the lookout for a point guard in free agency and joining the Mavs would give Dragic the opportunity to team up with fellow Slovenian Luka Doncic.

It’s still possible Dragic will be moved to the Mavs or another team at some point, but no deal appears imminent, and he told Grange he’s prepared to spend the 2021/22 season in Toronto.

“My message basically, to all Toronto fans, is I would like to apologize,” Dragic said. “It didn’t come out the right way. I know they love their team, and they should be proud, it is one of the best organizations in the NBA. They’ve already won a championship and I didn’t, so what I said, it really was not appropriate.

“… I’ve always been professional. You can ask a bunch of people. Everywhere I’ve played, wherever I’m going to play, I’m going to be professional and do my job,” he continued. “I love basketball, I love to play and I’m going to give 100% wherever I play. Right now I’m (with) Toronto and that’s my main thing to think about.”

Asked during an appearance on 590 The Fan in Toronto about Dragic, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster cautioned that the 35-year-old’s comments were translated to English and he’d want to “get it directly” from the point guard to understand what he meant, Grange writes. Webster also stressed that the Raptors aren’t a rebuilding team looking to jettison veterans.

“We feel like we’re gonna be competitive, we have a core — as we’ve talked about — that’s been around for a while and has won at the highest level as well,” Webster said. “So think that we’ll just give it some time here to see how (Dragic) would fit in and if he likes it here or not. I think he’s a pro and he’s been around a lot and he’s obviously entitled to wanting to make the most of his years as his career comes down here … so I don’t think it’s in any way a slight or anything like that.”

The Lowry sign-and-trade was officially completed on Friday, so it can no longer be expanded to include a third team, but Dragic could be flipped to a new team immediately as long as his salary isn’t aggregated with another player’s in the deal.

Southeast Notes: Butler, Thor, Magic, Dinwiddie

August 9th, 2021 at 8:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After finalizing his new four-year, maximum contract extension over the weekend, All-NBA Heat swingman Jimmy Butler spoke about why he wanted to commit to Miami long-term, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

“They allow me to be me here, love who I am as a person and player,” Butler said of the Heat organization. “Love the guys I have an opportunity to hoop with. I think we’ll be a really good team. We’re consistently getting better, adding the right amount of vets to get over the hump and win a championship. It means everything to me to represent this great organization.”

Butler, who turns 32 in September, said that he wants to finish his career in Miami.

“It’s a place for me,” Butler said. “Teammates allow me to be me. When I’m wrong, they’re going to tell me I’m wrong. When I’m right they still probably tell me I’m wrong. I love them for that. Blessing to play with these guys and [head coach Erik Spoelstra] and [team president] Pat Riley.”

A four-time All-NBA selection, five-time All-Star, and five-time All-Defensive Team member while with the Bulls, Timberwolves and Heat (he did not earn any of these honors with his other NBA team, the Sixers), Butler showed no signs of slowing down during the 2020/21 regular season. He averaged 21.5 PPG on 49.7% shooting from the field and 86.3% from the free-throw line, as well as career-best averages of 7.1 APG, 6.9 RPG, and 2.1 SPG.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Hornets rookie power forward JT Thor was signed to a four-year deal, with the first two seasons guaranteed, using some of Charlotte’s cap space, reports Bobby Marks of ESPN (Instagram video link). The 18-year-old big man was selected with the No. 37 pick out of Auburn in this year’s draft.
The young core of the rebuilding Magic – including rookie lottery picks Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner, along with second-year point guard Cole Anthony – is exhibiting encouraging signs of development during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, writes Dan Savage of Magic.com. “It’s about them developing camaraderie, and their ability to just tie together and move forward growing together,” new head coach Jamahl Mosley said of the Summer League squad. “Just continuing to build off each other and for each other.”
After having waived shooting guard Dwayne Bacon this weekend, the Magic project to have an open 15th roster spot, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Robbins anticipates Orlando will probably leave this final roster spot available in case an opportunity arises for the team to take on an unwanted contract – along with a draft pick – into its sizable trade exception.
New Wizards starting point guard Spencer Dinwiddie has several intriguing incentives in his three-year, $62MM deal with Washington, as Michael Scotto of HoopsHype details (Twitter link). Dinwiddie will earn a $1.5MM bonus if he plays in 50+ games, $100K if the Wizards win a first-round playoff series, $571K should the Wizards make the Eastern Conference Finals, and $400K if the Wizards qualify for the NBA Finals. As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Instagram video link) first reported, Dinwiddie would net a scant $1 bonus for winning the NBA Finals. Marks added in the same video that the partial guarantee on Dinwiddie’s 2023/24 salary will become fully guaranteed if he plays in 50+ games during the 2022/23 season.