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Suns Sign Ish Wainright To Two-Way Contract

March 4th, 2024 at 6:40pm CST by Rory Maher

6:40pm: The Suns have officially signed Wainright, according to a release from the team (Twitter link via PHNX Sports’ Gerald Bourguet). As we outlined in a separate story, Theo Maledon was waived to open up a two-way slot for Wainright.

3:37pm: The Suns are signing free agent forward Ish Wainright to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Wainright, 29, played 105 regular season games and 13 playoff contests with Phoenix from 2021-23. However, his non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract was released before the 2023/24 season began due to a roster crunch, and he was claimed off the waiver wire by the Trail Blazers.

Before he was claimed by Portland, a report stated that Phoenix had interest in bringing back Wainright, and several months later, that will come to fruition.

In part due to injuries, Wainright only appeared in seven games for the Blazers. They cut him in January before his contract became fully guaranteed, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Known more for his defense than his offense, Wainright has averaged 3.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG while shooting 33.1% from deep in 112 career regular season games over the past three seasons (11.8 MPG).

As Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports observes (Twitter link), the Suns currently have three players — the maximum allowed — on two-way contracts, but a report last week indicated Saben Lee was a strong candidate to be converted to a standard deal. If Lee is promoted to Phoenix’s open standard roster spot, the team wouldn’t need to release anyone to add Wainright, as he would just fill Lee’s vacated spot.

Russell Westbrook Undergoes Surgery On Fractured Hand

March 4th, 2024 at 6:31pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Clippers guard Russell Westbrook underwent surgery on his fractured left hand on Monday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The hope is that Westbrook will be able to return before the playoffs, Wojnarowski adds.

Westbrook suffered his broken right hand on Friday in a game against Washington. According to Wojnarowski, he’s now starting rehabilitation so he can be back before the postseason starts in April.

Westbrook, 35, has been one of the league’s top bench players after accepting the role change earlier this season. He’s averaging 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 58 games.

Bones Hyland took over for Westbrook after he went down and played the backup point guard spot in L.A.’s win over the Timberwolves on Sunday.

It has been a roller coaster season for Hyland, who admitted the season was “challenging” and was sent home before the All-Star break. He’s averaging 5.7 points and 2.0 assists this season.

Kelly Olynyk, Raptors Finalize Two-Year Extension

March 4th, 2024 at 4:56pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Raptors center Kelly Olynyk has agreed to a two-year, $26.25MM contract extension with Toronto, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The team has officially announced the deal.

The Raptors acquired Olynyk at the trade deadline alongside Ochai Agbaji in exchange for Otto Porter, Kira Lewis and a late 2024 first-round pick.

As we relayed on Thursday, there was optimism the two sides would be able to reach an agreement on a new contract. As we noted at the time, the lottery-bound Raptors likely wouldn’t have traded first-round capital if they didn’t envision Olynyk being part of their future.

Olynyk, who was on an expiring contract, was eligible to agree to an extension with the Raptors up until June 30 to avoid free agency. The league’s extend-and-trade rules allowed the big man to sign for up to two years, with 5% annual raises, and he’ll receive that maximum amount. After earning $12,195,122 this season, Olynyk will make $12,804,878 in ’24/25 and $13,445,122 in ’25/26.

According to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg (Twitter link), the two sides have been working on the deal since Olynyk was acquired at the deadline.

The 32-year-old Canadian has appeared in nine games with the Raptors since the trade. He’s averaging 9.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals per night, while shooting 46.0% from the floor and 26.3% from beyond the arc for Toronto. On the season as a whole, spanning 59 appearances with Utah and Toronto, he holds averages of 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Because Olynyk’s new deal doesn’t exceed the extend-and-trade limitations, he’ll remain trade-eligible once the offseason begins, though it seems unlikely that the Raptors will flip him to a new team before the 2024/25 season.

As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca observes (via Twitter), addressing his contract situation now means that Olynyk won’t have to worry about it if and when he reports to Team Canada’s training camp in late June ahead of the 2024 Olympics.

Donovan Mitchell Treating Bone Bruise, Out At Least Next Three Games

March 4th, 2024 at 4:22pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on Monday to treat a left knee bone bruise that caused him to miss Cleveland’s past two games against Detroit and New York, the team announced (Twitter link).

Mitchell will be listed as out for the Cavs’ next three games, on March 5 against Boston, on March 6 at Atlanta, and March 8 versus Minnesota, according to the release.

His status will be reevaluated over the weekend and will be updated as appropriate.

Mitchell is an integral part of a strong Cavaliers team that ranks third in the Eastern Conference at 39-21. He’s averaging 28.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists while shooting 47.2% from the floor and 37.1% from three.

The All-Star guard being out for games against the top-ranked teams in the East (Boston) and West (Minnesota) obviously isn’t ideal for a club that’s just a half-game behind Milwaukee for second in the Eastern Conference. The Cavs are 3.5 games ahead of the fourth-seeded Knicks.

It’s also worth noting that Mitchell’s injury absence means he’s in danger of falling short of the 65-game minimum to qualify for postseason awards. He has missed 13 games so far this season — that number will increase to at least 16 in the coming days. Eighteen missed contests would render him ineligible for All-NBA consideration.

Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum Named Players Of The Month

March 4th, 2024 at 3:27pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for games played in February, the league announced (Twitter link).

Doncic, the Western Conference’s winner, continues to put up eye-popping statistics in 2023/24, averaging 33.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 10.3 assists, and 1.8 steals on .517/.398/.787 shooting in 11 games last month (37.2 MPG).

He helped guide Dallas to an 8-3 record in February, though the Mavs have since lost two straight and currently hold a 34-27 record, good for the No. 8 seed in the West.

Tatum, meanwhile, led the way for a Boston team that was 9-1 in February, averaging 27.2 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 6.7 APG and 1.1 SPG on .480/.351/.887 shooting in 36.0 MPG.

Tatum is the first repeat Player of the Month winner this season, having also earned the honor for October/November. After claiming spots on the All-NBA First Team each of the past two seasons, the 26-year-old appears on track for another all-league spot in 2023/24, with the Celtics currently 48-12, the No. 1 seed in the East (and the NBA).

The other nominees in the West were Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner and Franz Wagner were nominated in the East, per the NBA (Twitter links).

Devin Booker Expected To Miss 7-10 Days With Sprained Ankle

March 4th, 2024 at 9:53am CST by Arthur Hill

Suns star Devin Booker will likely be sidelined at least seven-to-10 more days due to the right ankle sprain he suffered Saturday night, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Booker was injured late in Saturday’s game against Houston when he and teammate Royce O’Neale got tangled up on defense. Booker immediately headed to the locker room to get his ankle checked out, and coach Frank Vogel said X-rays were negative.

Booker was held out of Sunday’s game as Oklahoma City staged a late rally to win in Phoenix. Charania notes that the Suns are 31-19 with Booker this season, but only 4-7 when he’s not available.

Phoenix plays three times this week, traveling to Denver on Tuesday before returning home for a game against the Raptors on Thursday and a meeting with the Celtics on Saturday. Booker may be able to play next Monday at Cleveland, but a 10-day absence would push his return to next Thursday in Boston.

Every game without Booker is significant for the Suns, who are currently seventh in the West and are battling to avoid the play-in tournament. He has appeared in 50 of the team’s first 61 contests and continues to be among the league’s most efficient scorers, averaging 27.5 points per game while shooting 49.4% from the field and 37.9% from three-point range.

Pacers Promote Kendall Brown On Three-Year Contract

March 4th, 2024 at 9:50am CST by Dana Gauruder

MARCH 4: The signing is official, the Pacers announced in a press release.

MARCH 3: The Pacers are converting swingman Kendall Brown‘s two-way contract into a three-year standard deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The club will use a portion of its room exception to complete the deal.

Indiana had an open roster spot, so it doesn’t have to make a corresponding move. Naturally, the Pacers will now have a two-way slot available. The deadline to sign players to two-way contracts is Monday.

Brown, the 48th overall pick in the 2022 draft, has played sparingly in six NBA appearances this season. He also played six games as a rookie.

The 6’7” Brown has spent most of the season in the NBA G League with the Indiana Mad Ants. He’s averaging 16.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 33.6 minutes per game through 33 games, combining the G League’s Showcase Cup and regular season schedules.

In the short run, Brown will add depth to the wing positions. Doug McDermott is currently out due to a calf injury and the Pacers dealt Buddy Hield at the trade deadline.

Brown re-signed with Indiana on a two-way deal in July.

LeBron James Reaches 40,000 Career Points

March 2nd, 2024 at 8:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James hit another career milestone tonight, becoming the first NBA player ever to score 40,000 points. The Lakers star needed just nine points coming into the game against Denver and reached the historic mark with a layup early in the second quarter (video link from Dave McMenamin of ESPN).

The game stopped briefly, and the Lakers honored James with a video tribute, tweets Johan Buha of The Athletic.

After scoring 31 points on Thursday, James talked to Buha about what it means to him to reach a scoring figure that was once thought to be impossible.

“To be able to accomplish things in this league, with the greatest players to ever play in this league, the NBA, this has been a dream of mine and to hit feats and have milestones throughout my career, they all mean something to me. Absolutely,” James said. “Obviously, there’s a pecking order of which ones are higher than others, but absolutely. I would be lying to you if I said it doesn’t mean anything. Because it absolutely does.”

James became the league’s leading scorer on February 7 of last year when he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career total of 38,387 points, with the Lakers’ legendary center on hand to witness the achievement. James remains an elite scorer even after turning 39 in December. He’s averaging 25.3 PPG in 53 games this season and hasn’t been below 25.0 PPG since his rookie year.

James told Buha that he hasn’t considered how high his point total might climb before he retires.

“I never thought about getting the scoring record,” he said. “It just happened organically. I played the game the right way and went out and played the game and let the game come to me and the scoring record happened organically for me. It was never a goal of mine when I came into the league, like I wanted to be the all-time leading scorer. But I’m still playing. And I can still score the ball so it’s going to go up until I’m done playing.”

Lakers Sign Harry Giles To Two-Way Contract

March 2nd, 2024 at 5:51pm CST by Rory Maher

MARCH 2: The Lakers announced that they’ve signed Giles and waived Windler (Twitter link).

MARCH 1, 8:30pm: A team source tells ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that Windler will be released to make room for Giles, who will join the Lakers on Monday (Twitter link).

MARCH 1, 7:17pm: Free agent big man Harry Giles is signing a two-way contract with the Lakers, agent Daniel Hazan tells Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).

As Charania observes, the Lakers are a little thin in the frontcourt due to injuries to Christian Wood (knee swelling) and two-way center Colin Castleton (right wrist fracture). Castleton hasn’t been in the rotation as a rookie this season, but it’s possible he may have gotten a chance with Wood out.

L.A. currently has Castleton, Skylar Mays and Dylan Windler on two-way deals. One of them will have to be waived in order to make room on the roster for Giles.

A former first-round pick, Giles returned to the NBA in 2023/24 after missing two full seasons due to knee injuries. He signed a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary contract with the Nets, earning a spot on the team’s regular season roster and then having his full salary guaranteed when he remained on the roster through January 7.

Giles played sparingly in Brooklyn, appearing in 16 games and averaging just 5.1 minutes per night. He posted 3.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in his limited role.

The 25-year-old forward/center was a roster casualty last month, with the Nets waiving him to complete a trade before the deadline.

As our glossary entry on two-way contracts shows, in the 2023 CBA, the league and the players’ union agreed to implement what is informally known as the “Harry Giles rule.” Prior to signing with Brooklyn, Giles had been on an NBA roster for four seasons, but missed the entirety of his 2017/18 rookie year due to an injury, so he had only actually played in an NBA regular season game in three separate seasons.

The new rule allows Giles – and any other player who has four years of NBA service but missed one or more of those seasons due to an injury – to sign a two-way contract. That’s how Windler was able to sign two-way deals with the Knicks and Lakers as well.

Mike Muscala Signs With Thunder

March 2nd, 2024 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 2: Muscala has officially signed with the Thunder, the team announced today in a press release.

MARCH 1: Veteran center Mike Muscala intends to sign with the Thunder for the rest of the season after he clears waivers on Friday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Muscala was bought out and placed on waivers by the Pistons on Wednesday.

The move represents a reunion for the two sides, as Muscala played in Oklahoma City from 2019-23. He initially joined the team as a free agent in 2019, then re-signed in ’21 and again in ’22 before being sent to Boston at last season’s trade deadline.

Muscala appeared in 168 games during his initial run with the Thunder, averaging 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per contest. He’s a big man who is capable of stretching the floor, having made 37.6% of his career three-point attempts, including 39.2% during his three-and-a-half seasons in OKC.

After being traded from the Celtics to the Wizards in the three-team deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Boston last summer, Muscala began this season in D.C. and then was on the move again in January when the Wizards dealt him to Detroit.

In 37 total games for the two lottery-bound Eastern Conference clubs prior to this week’s buyout, the 32-year-old averaged 3.8 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 13.8 MPG. Although Muscala’s three-point percentage on the season is just 31.8%, that number has been on the rise in recent weeks — he made 38.2% of his attempts from beyond the arc in 13 games with the Pistons.

The Thunder have an open spot on their 15-man roster, so they won’t need to cut anyone to make room for Muscala.

It will be the second move made in recent weeks by the team to bolster its frontcourt — Oklahoma City also added Bismack Biyombo via free agency last month. Biyombo and Muscala will provide depth and bring different skill sets to a frontcourt led by Rookie of the Year candidate Chet Holmgren.