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Grizzlies Sign Shaquille Harrison, GG Jackson

August 31st, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

In a pair of press releases (Twitter links), the Grizzlies officially announced the signings of Shaquille Harrison and GG Jackson II.

While the terms of Harrison’s contract were not disclosed, Memphis has used its third and final two-way opening on Jackson, who was one of the few remaining 2023 draft picks who had yet to ink a contract, as shown by our tracker.

Harrison, 29, is a six-year NBA veteran who was waived by the Lakers in June before his salary for 2023/24 became guaranteed. He had eight brief playoff cameos for the Lakers in 2022/23 after signing on the last day of the regular season. Harrison had just finished a 10-day hardship deal with Portland prior to his stint in L.A.

Overall, the guard has appeared in 180 regular season games with Phoenix, Chicago, Utah, Denver, Brooklyn and Portland, holding career averages of 5.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.0 SPG on .435/.281/.718 shooting in 15.4 MPG. Harrison also signed a 10-day hardship deal with the Grizzlies in ’21/22, though he never played a game for Memphis.

Known as a strong defender, Harrison spent the majority of the past two seasons in the G League, winning NBAGL Defensive Player of the Year in ’21/22 and finishing third last season. A report last month indicated he was drawing EuroLeague interest, but instead he’ll be returning to Memphis.

As Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets, Harrison could be in line for NBA minutes once the Grizzlies receive an extra roster slot. Memphis will be able to move guard Ja Morant to the suspended list, opening up a 15-man slot, after the fifth game of his 25-game ban.

Jackson was the 45th pick in June after one college season at South Carolina. He was a highly touted prospect entering college and one of the youngest players in his draft class after reclassifying, but had an uneven freshman season for the Gamecocks.

Overall, the 18-year-old averaged 15.4 PPG and 5.9 RPG in ’22/23, posting a subpar .384/.324/.677 shooting line in 32 games (31.9 MPG). Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal previously wrote that Jackson would likely receive a two-way deal and spend most of the upcoming season in the G League.

The Grizzlies have reached the offseason maximum of 21 players under contract, and they’ll have to make some roster moves ahead of training camp. 17 of their players are on guaranteed standard deals, which means they might have some dead-money cap hits this season unless they make a consolidation trade.

Cuban Says Mavs Tried To Land Tyrese Haliburton In 2020 Draft

August 30th, 2023 at 7:51pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing on Patrick Beverley‘s podcast, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Dallas did everything it could to trade up for Tyrese Haliburton in the 2020 draft (Twitter video link).

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported last year that Dallas attempted to move up ahead of 2020’s draft in order to land Haliburton, offering the Knicks Jalen Brunson, the No. 18 overall pick (Josh Green) and the No. 31 overall pick (Tyrell Terry) for No. 8 overall that year. The Mavs were unable to find a taker, including the Knicks, who selected Obi Toppin at No. 8.

Interestingly, both Haliburton — who fell to Sacramento at No. 12 — and Toppin now play for the Pacers, while Brunson joined the Knicks in free agency last summer.

It’s noteworthy that Cuban essentially confirmed MacMahon’s report, and the fact that he specifically mentioned Haliburton by name means the Mavs could face a penalty for tampering. The NBA often hands out fines when team executives publicly express any sort of praise or fondness for a rival player.

Cuban also noted that Dallas was coached by Rick Carlisle in 2020, who rejoined the Pacers the following year after parting ways with Dallas. Indiana subsequently traded for Haliburton at the 2022 deadline — about eight months after Carlisle was hired.

An All-Star for the first time in 2022/23, Haliburton averaged 20.7 PPG, 10.4 APG, 3.4 RPG and 1.6 SPG on a stellar .490/.400/.871 shooting line in 56 games (33.6 MPG) for Indiana. The 23-year-old signed a five-year, rookie scale max extension with the Pacers this offseason, so he’s under contract until 2029 (the extension starts in ’24/25).

Haliburton and Brunson are currently competing for Team USA at the 2023 World Cup. Green is also at the World Cup playing for the Australian national team, which has clinched a spot in the 2024 Olympics. The Mavs reportedly opened rookie scale extension talks with the 22-year-old wing a couple weeks ago.

Jazz, Romeo Langford Agree To Exhibit 10 Deal

August 30th, 2023 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have agreed to sign free agent wing Romeo Langford to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell Tony Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Langford, who will turn 24 this October, was drafted 14th overall by the Celtics in 2019 when current Jazz CEO Danny Ainge was Boston’s head of basketball operations.

The former Indiana Hoosier spent his first two-and-a-half NBA seasons in Boston before being traded to San Antonio, where he has played since February 2022. He became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after the Spurs opted not issue him a qualifying offer.

Langford is a solid defender, but has struggled to make much of an impact on the offensive end of the floor. In 141 career regular season games, he has averaged 4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .430/.288/.659.

Since he has four years of NBA service under his belt, Langford will be ineligible to have his Exhibit 10 contract converted into a two-way deal. However, if he doesn’t earn a spot on Utah’s standard 15-man regular season roster and then spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, he’d be in line for a bonus worth up to $75K.

With 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals, the Jazz currently have three open spots on their 21-man offseason roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary to create space for Langford.

NBA Confirms Mavs’ Exhibition In Spain, Releases Full Preseason Schedule

August 30th, 2023 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

As previously reported, the Mavericks will play an exhibition game against Real Madrid in Spain this fall, with the contest scheduled to take place on October 10 at the WiZink Center in Madrid, the NBA confirmed today.

Real Madrid is Luka Doncic‘s former team, as well as the reigning EuroLeague champion, having defeated Olympiacos to win this year’s Final Four in May. The club features several former NBA players, including point guard Facundo Campazzo, who had a brief stint with the Mavericks last season.

In addition to confirming that exhibition game, the NBA announced (via Twitter) its full preseason schedule for 2023, starting with the Mavs facing the Timberwolves in Abu Dhabi on October 5. The first game in the U.S. will take place two days later, as the Lakers visit the Warriors on Oct. 7.

The preseason will wrap up on Oct. 20, with 15 NBA teams playing their final preseason game on that Friday before the regular season begins. The Magic will face Brazilian team Flamengo in one of that day’s eight games.

In addition to Real Madrid and Flamengo, the international clubs participating in the NBA’s preseason are the Cairns Taipans (Australia), the New Zealand Breakers, and Maccabi Ra’anana (Israel).

The Taipans will play in Washington on Oct. 10 and Toronto on Oct. 15; the Breakers will be in Portland on Oct. 10 and Utah on Oct. 16; Maccabi Ra’anana will visit Brooklyn on Oct. 12, Cleveland on Oct. 16, and Minnesota on Oct. 17.

World Cup Second Round Set; Australia Earns Spot In 2024 Olympics

August 30th, 2023 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

The field for the second round of the 2023 World Cup has been set following Wednesday’s games, with 16 of the tournament’s 32 teams set to advance while the other 16 will compete in consolation (classification) games for the Nos. 17-32 spots, having been eliminated from medal contention.

The four second round groups are as follows:

Group I: Serbia (3-0), Dominican Republic (3-0), Italy (2-1), Puerto Rico (2-1)
Group J: United States (3-0), Lithuania (3-0), Montenegro (2-1), Greece (2-1)
Group K: Slovenia (3-0), Germany (3-0), Australia (2-1), Georgia (2-1)
Group L: Canada (3-0), Spain (3-0), Brazil (2-1), Latvia (2-1)

The second round will consist of two more group-play games, taking place on Friday and Sunday, with each team playing the two clubs in its group that it has yet to face. For instance, Team USA will go up against Montenegro and Lithuania, having already defeated Greece in the first round.

A team’s record and point differential from the first round will carry over to the second round, so the 3-0 clubs in each group will have a leg up and a little more room for error. After two more games (five total), the top two teams in each group will advance to the eight-team, single-elimination knockout round.

A total of seven nations will qualify for the 2024 Olympics based on the World Cup results. The tournament’s top two teams from the Americas and Europe will earn spots in the Olympics, while the top team from Africa, Asia, and Oceania, respectively, will also make the cut.

So far, just one Olympic qualifier has been determined — with New Zealand’s elimination today, Australia is the last Oceania team standing and has secured its place in the 2024 Olympics, joining France (the host nation).

Since no teams from Asia or Africa made it through to the round of 16, the classification games will determine those two Olympic qualifiers.

There are still several teams from the Americas and Europe alive in the main draw. In order to clinch an Olympic berth, the U.S. will have to finish among the top two of the five Americas teams left standing — Canada, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Brazil are the other four.

Once the World Cup concludes, eight of the 12 teams competing in the 2024 Olympics in Paris will be set. The remaining four spots will be up for grabs in Olympic qualifying tournaments next year.

Former Lottery Pick Yi Jianlian Announces Retirement

August 30th, 2023 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Chinese big man Yi Jianlian, the sixth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, has announced his retirement as a professional player, according to a China Global Television Network report.

“Time flies; in the blink of an eye, basketball has been by my side for 21 years,” Yi wrote as part of a larger statement on the social media site Webio. “After much contemplation, I have made the decision to officially bring my basketball career to a close.

“… Farewell is not the end, but rather a new beginning. I will cherish the memories of the past while continuing to move forward, embracing new chapters in my life. Goodbye, my beloved basketball.”

A seven-foot forward, Yi played for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in China from 2002-07 before entering the NBA draft. He was selected with the No. 6 pick by the Bucks and spent his rookie season in Milwaukee, despite a desire to play in a U.S. market with a larger Chinese community.

Following his rookie year, Yi was traded from Milwaukee to New Jersey in a deal that sent Richard Jefferson to the Bucks. He played for the Nets for two seasons from 2008-10, then spent one year in Washington and one in Dallas before returning to China, where he played for Guangdong from 2012-23.

Yi had another brief stint stateside in 2016, when he joined the Lakers for the preseason, but he was cut that fall when the regular season began. In 272 total NBA regular season appearances, the 35-year-old averaged 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .404/.333/.780.

Although he didn’t have much success in the NBA, Yi has enjoyed a long, productive career in China, representing the national team in several international competitions and earning 12 All-Star berths in the Chinese Basketball Association. He also won six CBA titles with Guangdong, most recently in 2020, and was named the CBA Finals MVP three times.

Kings Interested In JaVale McGee

August 29th, 2023 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings are interested in signing veteran center JaVale McGee once he clears waivers, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and NBA on TNT tweets.

The Mavericks officially waived McGee on Monday and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday.

Sacramento has 13 players on guaranteed contracts and two more frontcourt players — Neemias Queta and Nerlens Noel — on partially guaranteed deals. The Kings also have Alex Len behind Domantas Sabonis in the center spot with Trey Lyles another possibility in small-ball lineups.

McGee could join the battle for backup minutes behind Sabonis. He’d be on his ninth NBA team since entering the league in 2008.

McGee signed a three-year, $17MM+ contract with Dallas last offseason, but only spent seven games in the starting lineup and subsequently fell out of the rotation altogether. The 35-year-old averaged 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in a career-low 8.5 minutes per game across 42 appearances during his second stint as a Maverick.

Ben Simmons Eager To “Come Back And Dominate”

August 29th, 2023 at 4:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets guard Ben Simmons is feeling as good as he has in years and is “excited” about the upcoming season, he tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape. A three-time All-Star from 2019-21, Simmons has missed 122 games over the last two seasons due to mental and physical issues and didn’t look his old self when he was active, but he says he “definitely” thinks he’ll be ready for opening night.

“For me to come back and dominate people will be great,” Simmons said. “I don’t intend to come back the same player I was last [season], because that’s not even close to where I am. I get excited because I’m like, ‘Damn, I would [expletive] on the player I was last year.'”

Simmons, who was traded from Philadelphia to Brooklyn during the 2021/22 season following a lengthy holdout, was unable to play for the Nets that year due to back problems. He went under the knife in May 2022 to address a herniated disc and wasn’t fully recovered from the procedure when last season began — he played in 42 games, but was shut down in the second half and didn’t see the court after February 15.

Speaking to Spears, Simmons admitted that he was playing last season when he probably shouldn’t have been and suggested he was trying to “please people” after being sidelined for all of 2021/22. The 27-year-old managed to avoid a second back surgery and underwent an extended rehab process this offseason, which he’s feeling positive about. He said he has been doing 2-on-2 work for the last couple weeks and is progressing well.

“I don’t think people realize how bad it was in terms of physically how I was feeling and what I was able to do on the floor,” he said of his back issues. “… I remember my brother came to watch me work out one day, and he was just like, ‘You’re not OK, are you?’ I was looking at him, I was like, ‘Obviously not. This is not how I should be moving.’ But I’m happy I’m in this place now. I’m grateful I didn’t do anything to have another surgery.

“… Being able to sit down now and not have to lean or slouch one way, it’s kind of crazy for me. But I feel I’m at 100% now. Right now, I’m just building back to where I’m playing. I haven’t played in a while. Just taking hits and getting my body used to that.”

Here are a few other items of interest from Spears’ interview with Simmons:

Simmons says he “100%” wants to be part of Australia’s roster for the 2024 Olympics, assuming the Boomers qualify. “There hasn’t really been a time where I’ve been prepared and ready physically,” he said. “But next year, my goal is to be on the Olympic team.”
Asked if he felt any desire to ask out of Brooklyn last season like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving did, Simmons dismissed the idea: “I love Brooklyn. I don’t have an issue with Brooklyn. For me, I want to get healthy. The only thing I could do was get healthy. I couldn’t complain about anything. I’m in a great city, a great organization, great owners, great coach, great GM. It’s all good people around, and they want to win and do it the right way. Also, I don’t have specific teams I want to go to. This is a job. I’m not going to ask to be put somewhere specific, I just want to play.”
Simmons admitted that his relationship with head coach Jacque Vaughn got off to a rocky start when he was first traded to Brooklyn, but he feels as if he’s gotten closer to Vaughn, who has visited him multiple times in Miami this offseason. “We’re in a great place,” Simmons said. “I speak to him every other day. And I’m excited because I think Coach is great. Great as a person, great coach. That’s the main thing, just being a good human. He can relate to a lot of players, he’s played the game.”
Asked about his 2023/24 position, Simmons indicated that he doesn’t expect to be used as a power forward or center. “Point guard. That’s who I am,” he told Spears, adding that he has talked to Vaughn about his role. “As much as people say, ‘Fix this, fix that.’ No, I’m a point guard. When I was playing at that [high] level, nobody was really saying anything to me.”
Despite the way his tenure with the Sixers ended, Simmons will “always have love for Philly” and even left the door open for an eventual return to the city. “People always ask me like, ‘If you were to get traded again where you want it to be?'” he said. “I always say, ‘Just Philly. Philly is a second home to me.’ And in time, you learn and grow as people. I don’t really have anything bad to say about Philly. It was a crazy situation at the end, but it is what it is.”

Mavericks Officially Waive JaVale McGee

August 29th, 2023 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have officially requested waivers on center JaVale McGee, the team announced today (via Twitter). McGee will clear waivers in about 48 hours, becoming an unrestricted free agent on Thursday.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported a week ago that Dallas intended to waive McGee and use the stretch provision on his remaining salary. As we outlined last Wednesday, August 31 is the deadline to waive a player if his club intends to stretch the player’s current-year salary across multiple seasons.

Assuming the Mavs’ plan to stretch McGee’s salary remains unchanged, that means that instead of counting against the cap for $5.7MM in 2023/24 and $6MM in ’24/25, his cap hits will be spread across five seasons at a rate of about $2.35MM per year. His dead money will be on the team’s books through ’27/28.

McGee signed a three-year, $17MM+ contract with Dallas last offseason, but only spent seven games in the starting lineup and subsequently fell out of the rotation altogether. The 35-year-old averaged 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in a career-low 8.5 minutes per game across 42 appearances during his second stint as a Maverick.

The Mavs shopped McGee in various trade talks throughout the offseason, but were unable to find a taker, given the negative value of his contract. By stretching his remaining salary, they’ll become ineligible to re-sign him until the 2025 offseason, after his deal would have expired.

Dallas reportedly intends to sign free agent forward Markieff Morris to replace McGee on its projected 15-man regular season roster. Prior to signing Morris, the team’s salary is $5.5MM below the luxury tax line, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Reducing McGee’s 2023/24 cap hit will give the Mavs some additional breathing room to maneuver below the tax this season.

Hornets Sign P.J. Washington To Three-Year Contract

August 29th, 2023 at 3:36pm CST by Tristan Tucker

AUGUST 29: The Hornets have officially re-signed Washington, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

AUGUST 26: Restricted free agent forward P.J. Washington has agreed on a new three-year, $48MM deal to stay with the Hornets, LIFT Sports Management agent Kevin Bradbury and Washington Sports Group’s Paul Washington Sr. tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Washington was the only standard unsigned restricted free agent this summer and one of the most prominent available names in all of free agency, ranking 11th on our top-50 list.

There was some concern earlier in the offseason that Washington and the Hornets wouldn’t be able to come to terms on an agreement. Forward Miles Bridges and Charlotte didn’t agree on a long-term deal and he ended up signing his qualifying offer, putting himself on track for unrestricted free agency next year. Washington was believed to have been considering a similar route.

Other teams, such as the Cavaliers, were also monitoring the Washington situation. Now, the Hornets will bring back the 25-year-old on a three-year deal that pays $16MM annually.

Washington is an integral part of the Hornets’ promising young core that includes LaMelo Ball, 2023 No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller, Mark Williams and more. The Kentucky product averaged a career-high 15.7 points per game last season. The Hornets drafted Washington with the No. 12 overall pick in 2019 and he started 73 games for Charlotte last year.

The Washington signing will give the Hornets a packed roster. He’ll be the 13th Charlotte player on a guaranteed deal, with JT Thor, Kobi Simmons and Frank Ntilikina all signed to non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts.

James Nnaji, the No. 31 overall pick in 2023, hasn’t officially signed (though he may be stashed). The Hornets also have two players on two-way deals (Leaky Black and Amari Bailey), and Angelo Allegri, Tre Scott, Nathan Mensah and R.J. Hunter are all reportedly joining the Hornets on training camp deals. So while Charlotte has some flexibility, there are more moves to come from the Queen City.