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Grizzlies Granted Disabled Player Exception

November 16th, 2023 at 5:14pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Grizzlies have been granted a disabled player exception worth $6.3MM for the season-ending loss of Steven Adams, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

Adams is out for the 2023/24 season after undergoing surgery to address his right posterior cruciate ligament after “non-operative rehabilitation” failed to properly fix the issues in his knee.

As explained in our glossary, a disabled player exception allows an over-the-cap team some spending power when it loses a player to an injury deemed likely to sideline him through at least June 15 of that season. The exception is worth either half the injured player’s salary or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, whichever is lesser. Adams is on track to earn $12.6MM this season, so the exception is worth half that.

The exception can be used to sign a free agent, claim a player off waivers or acquire a player in a trade. It can only be used on one single player and can only be utilized for a one-year deal. Any player being acquired via trade or waiver claim must have just one year remaining on his contract.

It’s important to note that a disabled player exception does not open up a roster spot for the Grizzlies, or any other team who uses one. In order to use the exception, Memphis needs to have an open roster spot. The Grizzlies currently have 15 players on standard contracts, plus Ja Morant on the suspended list, so they’d have to make a cut or trade to use the exception. The Grizzlies face a March 11 deadline to use the DPE for Adams.

Adams, 30, has been with Memphis since the 2021/22 season. In 118 games over the past two seasons, he’s been an integral part of the team’s competitive identity, averaging 7.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per night.

Clippers Officially Promote Joshua Primo To Standard Roster

November 16th, 2023 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

November 16: Primo received a two-year, minimum-salary deal that is fully guaranteed for the remainder of this season and features a $1MM partial guarantee for 2024/25, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

November 15: The Clippers have officially signed two-way player Joshua Primo to a new standard contract, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported last Monday that this promotion was coming. The move had to be made official today because teams aren’t permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for more than two weeks at a time. The Clippers had been carrying 13 since completing their James Harden and Filip Petrusev trades on November 1.

Primo was given a second chance this fall by the Clippers after being waived by San Antonio last year for engaging in “inappropriate and offensive behavior by exposing himself to women.” The NBA imposed a four-game suspension and Primo has been undergoing therapy for his behavior, which allegedly included multiple incidents with Dr. Hillary Cauthen, a sports psychologist who worked for the Spurs during his time with the organization.

The 20-year-old wing was the youngest player in the 2021 draft when San Antonio selected him with the 12th overall pick. He appeared in 50 games as a rookie, making 16 starts and averaging 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 19.3 minutes per night. He got into just four games during his second season before being waived and has yet to appear in an NBA game since joining the Clippers.

Primo has been playing for the Ontario Clippers, L.A.’s G League affiliate, and is expected to remain in the NBAGL for the time being, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. He has averaged 17.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 3.0 APG in three games (28.9 MPG) for Ontario so far.

While the exact terms of Primo’s deal aren’t yet known, it will be a minimum-salary contract, which is all the Clippers can offer. According to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), it’s a two-year contract with a partial guarantee in year two — that suggests the deal is fully guaranteed for the 2023/24 season, though we haven’t yet gotten official confirmation on that.

Los Angeles is expected to sign Xavier Moon to a two-way contract soon to fill Primo’s spot. The team is also on track to fill the open 15th spot on its standard roster by signing Daniel Theis, who is currently on waivers.

NBA Suspends Draymond Green For Five Games

November 15th, 2023 at 7:33pm CST by Luke Adams

7:33pm: The NBA has officially confirmed Green’s five-game suspension, as well as the $25K fines for Thompson, McDaniels, and Gobert.

In its press release (Twitter link), the NBA said Green was suspended for “escalating an on-court altercation and forcibly grabbing (Gobert) around the neck in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner.” The length of the suspension was based in part on Green’s “history of unsportsmanlike acts,” the league added.

7:16pm: Warriors forward Draymond Green will be suspended five games by the NBA for his role in Tuesday’s altercation against Minnesota, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

After Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels engaged in some grabbing, pushing, and shoving that resulted in a stoppage in play early in the first quarter of Tuesday’s game, Green entered the fracas and put Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock for several seconds (Twitter video link via Bleacher Report).

The game’s officials, who ruled that Gobert had been trying to deescalate the situation, hit Green with a flagrant 2 foul and an ejection.

A report earlier in the day from Wojnarowski indicated that the NBA was reviewing the situation, with Green considered to be the focus of that investigation due to the Gobert headlock as well as his history of on-court physicality and suspensions. When Green was suspended in the 2023 playoffs for stepping on Domantas Sabonis, his reputation as a “repeat offender” was cited by the league.

As a result of the five-game ban, Green will miss the Warriors’ games against the Thunder on Thursday and Saturday, as well as their contests vs. Houston (Nov. 20), Phoenix (Nov. 22), and San Antonio (Nov. 24). That game vs. the Spurs is an in-season tournament matchup.

Golden State is also without top scorer Stephen Curry in the short term due to a sore right knee. Curry has been ruled out for Thursday’s game vs. the Thunder and is expected to be reevaluated later this week.

The suspension will cost Green a total of $769,704, or $153,941 per game, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. His salary for the 2022/23 season is $22,321,429, and he’ll forfeit 1/145th of that salary for each game of the suspension.

While Green is the only player being suspended as a result of Tuesday’s squabble, Thompson, McDaniels, and Gobert will be fined $25K apiece, Wojnarowski tweets.

Devin Booker To Return On Wednesday

November 15th, 2023 at 7:14pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 15, 7:14pm: While Booker will return on Wednesday, Beal has been downgraded from probable to out due to his back issue, tweets Rankin. That means the regular season debut of the Suns’ big three will be postponed by at least one more game.

OCTOBER 15, 8:50am: Booker will be available on Wednesday and the Suns’ big three will play together for the first time this season, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

OCTOBER 14: Suns guard Devin Booker is expected to return on Wednesday from the right calf strain that has sidelined him for the past five games, sources tell Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

According to Rankin, Bradley Beal is also expected to be available on Wednesday vs. Minnesota despite tweaking his back in Sunday’s game against Oklahoma City.

Assuming both Booker and Beal are formally cleared to play, it will be the first time that the Suns’ new big three is in action since the regular season began.

With Booker and Beal both on the shelf for much of the season so far, Phoenix has stumbled out of the gate, losing six of its first 10 games despite Kevin Durant‘s usual All-NBA production. Durant has put up 30.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.6 rebounds per game on .498/.429/.851 shooting, while Beal has been limited to three appearances and Booker has played just twice.

Grayson Allen, Josh Okogie, and Keita Bates-Diop have all been frequent starters during the season’s first three weeks, but as long as Phoenix’s big three is available alongside center Jusuf Nurkic, there will only be room for one of them in the starting five as of Wednesday. Allen, who has yet to come off the bench this season, is probably the best bet to hang onto his starting spot.

Eric Gordon, who missed Sunday’s game due to a shoulder injury he sustained on Friday, is also aiming to be back on Wednesday, Rankin adds.

Daniel Theis Agrees To Buyout With Pacers, Will Join Clippers

November 15th, 2023 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

2:25pm: The Pacers have officially waived Theis, according to a team press release.

11:54am: Theis has agreed to a buyout with the Pacers and intends to sign with the Clippers upon clearing waivers, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

11:42am: The Pacers and center Daniel Theis are engaged in “serious” discussions about a potential contract buyout, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that an agreement between the two sides would clear a path for Theis to sign with the Clippers.

After previously reporting the Clippers’ interest in Theis, Charania doesn’t explicitly say that the big man has reached a deal to sign with Los Angeles. However, he suggests that the only obstacles standing in the way of a move to L.A. for the veteran big man are a finalized buyout with Indiana and a physical exam with the Clippers.

Theis, 31, was limited to just seven NBA appearances last season due to a knee injury, but had a strong summer in international competition. He started at center for the German national team that captured gold at the 2023 World Cup, averaging 10.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 21.8 minutes per game in the club’s eight FIBA contests.

Theis had hoped to carry over that success into the NBA season, but the Pacers have a crowded frontcourt behind starting center Myles Turner. Isaiah Jackson and Jalen Smith have both been ahead of Theis on the depth chart through the first three weeks of the season.

As a result, Theis has been limited to just one cameo appearance and admitted earlier this month that he’s “not happy” about his nonexistent role in Indiana. While the Pacers presumably explored trading the German, his pseudo-expiring $9.11MM contract (he has a $9.52MM team option for 2024/25) wouldn’t have positive or even neutral value, given his lack of NBA playing time in the last two seasons, so a buyout makes more sense.

For their part, the Clippers are in the market for help in the middle because reserve center Mason Plumlee is expected to miss a significant chunk of the season due to an MCL sprain. Since Plumlee went down, Los Angeles has had a tough time finding someone who can give the club reliable minutes at center behind Ivica Zubac.

The Clippers have been carrying just 13 players on standard contracts since making their trade for James Harden two weeks ago, so they’ll have an open spot for Theis even after completing their reported promotion of Joshua Primo from a two-way contract to the standard roster. That move was reported back on November 6, but hasn’t yet been made official — that will likely happen later today, since teams aren’t permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for more than two weeks at a time.

Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files first reported on Tuesday that there was a “growing belief” Theis would soon land with the Clippers.

NBA Reviewing Warriors/Timberwolves Altercation

November 15th, 2023 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA, as expected, is taking a closer look at Tuesday’s on-court scuffle between the Warriors and the Timberwolves, weighing whether additional punishment – in the form of fines and/or suspensions – will be necessary, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

As we detailed earlier today, the confrontation began when Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels got tied up battling for rebounding positioning early in the first quarter. They continued to grab and shove each other on the way back up the court, prompting referees to stop play and Wolves center Rudy Gobert to try to intervene.

Warriors forward Draymond Green rushed in and put Gobert in a headlock before players were separated (Twitter video link via Bleacher Report). McDaniels and Thompson were each given two technical fouls and ejected from the game, while Green was also thrown out after being assessed with a flagrant 2 foul.

Green’s headlock on Gobert figures to be a focus of the NBA’s review, according to Wojnarowski, who notes (via Twitter) that Green’s reputation as a “repeat offender” was cited by the league in the spring when he was suspended for stepping on Domantas Sabonis in Golden State’s first-round playoff series vs. Sacramento.

The Warriors’ next game is on Thursday vs. Oklahoma City, so the NBA figures to make a ruling by then, if not before the Wolves’ contest in Phoenix on Wednesday.

Head coach Steve Kerr defended Green after Tuesday’s game, telling reporters that the Warriors star went after Gobert because the Minnesota center “had his hands on Klay’s neck.” Gobert chuckled when informed of Kerr’s comments, according to Jon Krawczynski and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

“What do you want me to say? He’s backing his guy, but I think he knows,” Gobert said. “Deep inside, he (doesn’t) want to say it but his guy is a clown.”

Krawczynski and Amick suggest that Green held onto Gobert for about nine seconds. Gobert, who held up his arms during that time to show the officials he wasn’t retaliating, believes the outcome could’ve been worse than it was.

“He’s grabbing me, he’s grabbing me, he’s grabbing me,” Gobert said. “(But) the choke wasn’t good enough. Yeah, it wasn’t enough for me to really have to (go to sleep). But he tried. He tried really hard, but it wasn’t good enough to where I felt like I was really in danger of falling asleep or something like that.

“… It was a long time, and if he knew how to choke it could have been way worse. He tried to. His intention was to really take me out. And I kept my hands up the whole time just to show the officials that I wasn’t trying to escalate the situation.”

Bulls, LaVine Increasingly Open To Exploring Trade

November 14th, 2023 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Both the Bulls and Zach LaVine are increasingly open to the idea of exploring a trade involving the two-time All-Star, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to Charania, teams around the NBA are “probing” LaVine’s possible availability.

A number of executives, including many general managers, are in Chicago on Tuesday for the 2023 Champions Classic, the NCAA’s annual fall showcase. Conversations about LaVine could begin there, Charania explains.

LaVine is averaging 21.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 35.1 minutes per game through his first 11 contests this season. The 28-year-old is off to a bit of a slow start – his .409 FG% and .309 3PT% would be career worsts – but is typically one of the NBA’s best scorers, having averaged at least 23.7 PPG for five straight seasons entering this fall.

LaVine is in the second season of a five-year, maximum-salary deal with the Bulls. He’s earning approximately $40MM in 2023/24 and is owed a guaranteed $89MM over the following two seasons. He holds a 2026/27 player option worth just shy of $49MM.

While the plan was for LaVine to be a key part of a Bulls roster that perennially qualified for the playoffs and contended for titles, the team has struggled to compete on a consistent basis since losing Lonzo Ball to the first in a series of knee injuries midway through the 2021/22 season.

Chicago was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 2022 and was knocked out in the play-in tournament in 2023 after posting a losing record (40-42) in the regular season. The club is off to a 4-7 start this fall and there have already been reports that teams are keeping an eye on the Bulls, as well as speculation that changes could be coming. Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic (Twitter link) says one league source predicted this week that Chicago will have a different roster in a month.

As K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago notes (via Twitter), the Bulls held exploratory talks on LaVine over the summer but had a high asking price at that time. It’s unclear if that price might drop at all based on how the club has started this season, but the players are “very aware” that changes could be coming if they don’t turn things around, says Johnson.

Besides LaVine, DeMar DeRozan could be another major trade chip for the Bulls. Charania says the franchise would ideally like to keep DeRozan beyond his current contract, which expires in 2024. However, there has been a gap between the two sides on both years and salary in their extension talks, and the 34-year-old would like to get a sense of the organization’s direction before committing to a new deal, Charania adds.

Kings’ De’Aaron Fox Cleared To Return

November 13th, 2023 at 7:40pm CST by Rory Maher

7:40pm: Fox will play on Monday night vs. Cleveland, per Charania and Amick (Twitter link). He won’t be on a minutes restriction, head coach Mike Brown told reporters, including James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link).

1:54pm: Kings star De’Aaron Fox could return to action as soon as Monday’s contest vs. Cleveland or Wednesday’s game against the Lakers, sources tell Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Fox, who has missed the past five games due to a right ankle sprain, was a full participant during Monday’s shootaround, tweets Sean Cunningham of Fox 40.

The 25-year-old is coming off a stellar 2022/23 campaign in which he earned his first All-Star and All-NBA appearances. Sacramento broke its record-long playoff drought last season, finishing 48-34 and entering the postseason as the West’s No. 3 seed. The team ultimately lost its first-round series against Golden State in seven games.

Fox was off to an outstanding start in ’23/24, averaging 31.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.0 APG and 1.3 SPG on .486/.375/.810 shooting through three games (35.3 MPG). The Kings went 2-1 with him in the starting lineup and currently hold a 4-4 record.

Robert Williams Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery

November 13th, 2023 at 6:05pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 13: Williams underwent right knee surgery on Monday to reconstruct a torn ligament after he sustained a patellar dislocation., the team tweets. Williams is expected to make a full recovery for the 2024/25 season.

NOVEMBER 10: Trail Blazers big man Robert Williams will have to undergo season-ending right knee surgery, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He’s expected to go under the knife early next week and to be fully recovered for the 2024/25 season, Woj adds.

Wojnarowski previously reported that Williams would require surgery, but said on Monday that the center’s camp and medical professionals were still discussing what type of procedure would be necessary.

The Athletic reported on Monday that one option would be a cleanup procedure with a two- or three-month recovery timeline, while the other option would be a season-ending procedure that would repair bone and ligament damage in Williams’ right kneecap.

It appears Williams will take the latter route.

It’s a devastating blow to a promising young player who has already been significantly impacted by health problems since entering the NBA as the 27th overall pick in 2018.

Entering this season, the 26-year-old had been limited to 209 of 390 possible regular season games in his first five years in the NBA as a Celtic. He’ll appear in just six of 82 in his first year in Portland.

In his healthiest season, 2021/22, Williams nearly averaged a double-double (10.0 PPG, 9.6 RPG) to go along with 2.2 blocks per night and a 73.6% field goal percentage.

Williams was part of the package that Portland received from Boston this fall in exchange for Jrue Holiday. According to Wojnarowski, there were some teams around the NBA hoping that the Blazers would put Williams back on the trade block prior to the 2024 trade deadline — an in-season move seems extremely unlikely now.

The Trail Blazers have one open spot on their standard 15-man roster that could be used to add more frontcourt depth. They have about $5.3MM in breathing room below the luxury tax line, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), so they could comfortably sign a free agent to a minimum-salary deal without becoming a taxpayer.

As Marks observes, Portland could also apply for a disabled player exception, which wouldn’t give the team another roster spot but could provide another cap exception to make a trade, signing, or waiver claim later in the season. If granted by the NBA, that exception would be worth $5,785,715, half of Williams’ salary.

Bucks’ Jae Crowder To Undergo Surgery, Out Eight Weeks

November 13th, 2023 at 5:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks veteran forward Jae Crowder has a left adductor and abdominal tear and will undergo surgery on Tuesday, according to a team press release relayed by Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’s expected to be sidelined for approximately eight weeks.

Crowder was originally diagnosed with a left groin injury on Saturday during Milwaukee’s game against Orlando. Further testing and evaluation determined the extent of the injury.

Crowder has appeared in all nine of Milwaukee’s games, including two starts, and is averaging 8.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.7 minutes per game.

It’s a tough blow for the Bucks, whose depth was depleted by the blockbuster Damian Lillard trade. Crowder’s minutes will likely by absorbed by some combination of Pat Connaughton, MarJon Beauchamp and rookie Andre Jackson Jr.

Crowder re-signed with Milwaukee on a one-year deal in July. Milwaukee shipped out five second-round draft picks to acquire him in a three-team exchange with the Suns and Nets last February.