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Mitch Kupchak Moving Into Advisory Role With Hornets

February 12th, 2024 at 8:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak will leave his post to become an organizational advisor to the franchise, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The search for a replacement will begin immediately, and new owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin are expected to hire someone before the end of the regular season, Wojnarowski adds. Sources tell ESPN that Kupchak will continue his current duties until his successor is named.

Wojnarowski hears that several current general managers will be among the targets of the search, including the Sixers’ Elton Brand, the Pelicans’ Trajan Langdon, the Cavaliers’ Mike Gansey and the Clippers’ Trent Redden. Sources tell Woj that some assistant GMs will be considered too, such as the Nets’ Jeff Peterson, the Wizards’ Travis Schlenk and the Kings’ Wes Wilcox, all of whom worked for the Hawks when Schnall was a minority owner in Atlanta.

Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer also lists Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton and Knicks assistant GM Frank Zanin as potential candidates.

Schnall and Plotkin began plotting a new course after purchasing a majority interest in the Hornets in August, Wojnarowski states. They are focused on rebuilding around a young roster as the team parted with veterans such as Terry Rozier and P.J. Washington in recent trades. Plans are also in the works for a $275MM arena renovation and a $60MM practice facility.

Kupchak will leave behind a mixed record during his time with the Hornets, Boone observes. He was able to fix the cap situation and make the team competitive after taking over as general manager in 2018, but his signature move — the signing of Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120MM contract in 2020 despite a history of injuries — didn’t pay off as Kupchak had hoped. Hayward was traded this week to Oklahoma City for a modest return.

Drafting LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller may leave the Hornets with a brighter future, but Boone notes that Kupchak had his share of draft misses, including in 2021 when Charlotte selected James Bouknight, Kai Jones and Scottie Lewis, who are no longer with the team.

Malcolm Brogdon Out At Least Two Weeks With Elbow Tendinitis

February 11th, 2024 at 3:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Trail Blazers combo guard Malcolm Brogdon underwent treatment in his right elbow for tendinitis, Portland has announced (via Twitter).

The reigning Sixth Man of the Year is set to have the joint reevaluated in two weeks. That doesn’t necessarily mean he will actually back on the hardwood in two weeks, only that the club’s medical staff will take stock of his recovery process at that point.

The Trail Blazers acquired Brogdon, center Robert Williams III and two first-round future draft picks from the Celtics for Jrue Holiday prior to the season. The 31-year-old has served as a veteran leader on a rebuilding young Blazers squad this season, and will be eligible for an extension with the club this summer before earning $22.5MM in the final year of his current deal.

Through just 39 healthy contests this season, the 6’4″ guard is averaging 15.7 points per game on .440/.412/.819 shooting splits. He has also handed out 5.5 assists and grabbed 3.8 rebounds per contest.

Kyle Lowry Bought Out By Hornets, Plans To Sign With Sixers

February 11th, 2024 at 3:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 11: Lowry’s buyout is now official and he has been waived, the Hornets have announced (Twitter link). He’ll become a free agent on Tuesday and will be able to sign with Philadelphia at that time.

FEBRUARY 10: Kyle Lowry has reached a buyout agreement with the Hornets, agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Lowry intends to sign with the Sixers once he clears waivers, Wojnarowski adds.

It will be a homecoming for Lowry, who grew up in Philadelphia and played at Villanova, Wojnarowski states (Twitter link). The move will also reunite Lowry with Nick Nurse, his long-time coach in Toronto.

A video announcing Lowry’s decision was posted on Twitter by Priority Sports.

The Sixers will pay Lowry $2.8MM for the rest of the season, Bartelstein tells Woj (Twitter link). The team is $4.9MM below the tax threshold and has nearly $10MM of its non-taxpayer mid-level exception remaining, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. He adds that Lowry was still owed about $10.61MM left of his $29.7MM salary for 2023/24 before the buyout.

In a full story on Lowry’s decision, Wojnarowski identifies the Bulls and Pelicans as other teams that had interest in signing Lowry after a buyout.

Lowry had been expected to pursue a buyout in Charlotte ever since Miami sent him there in a January 23 trade involving Terry Rozier. Lowry never played for the Hornets, and he will have been off for more than a month if he doesn’t suit up for the Sixers before the All-Star break.

The 37-year-old point guard started 35 of the 37 games he appeared in with the Heat this season, but his playing time dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade and his numbers were down across the board. Lowry was averaging 8.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 28 minutes per night.

He will bring a veteran presence with plenty of playoff experience to the Sixers, who have been reeling since Joel Embiid was lost with a knee injury. Philadelphia only has 12 players on its 15-man roster in the wake of the trade deadline, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary to add Lowry. His departure leaves Charlotte with one roster opening.

Heat Grant Jimmy Butler Personal Leave Of Absence

February 11th, 2024 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have ruled out Jimmy Butler for Sunday afternoon’s contest with the Celtics, citing personal reasons. A statement issued by agent Bernie Lee, via the team (Twitter link), provides more details on Butler’s situation.

“Jimmy Butler has been granted a leave of absence as he deals with the death of a family member,” Lee said. “Jimmy and his family ask for privacy at this point in time as they navigate this loss. Updates will be given when appropriate.”

It’s unclear when Butler will rejoin the Heat or how many games he’ll miss during his leave of absence.

After today’s game at home, the team will travel to face two more Eastern rivals before the All-Star break, visiting Milwaukee on Tuesday and Philadelphia on Wednesday. Following the All-Star break, the Heat’s schedule resumes with a four-game Western Conference road trip that begins February 23 in New Orleans.

Butler has averaged 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 33.9 minutes per night across 37 games for the Heat so far this season, posting an outstanding .500/.440/.869 shooting line. Miami has had an up-and-down season, but has bounced back from a seven-game losing streak in January to win four of its past five contests. The club currently ranks eighth in the East at 28-24.

With Butler unavailable, the Heat figure to lean more heavily on Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Terry Rozier for scoring, with forwards like Caleb Martin, Jaime Jaquez, Haywood Highsmith, and Duncan Robinson among the candidates for increased minutes.

Spencer Dinwiddie Signs With Lakers

February 10th, 2024 at 8:16pm CST by Tristan Tucker

8:16pm: The signing is official, the Lakers announced (via Twitter).

“Spencer is returning to his roots and the city where his journey began,” general manager Rob Pelinka said. “… His play-making and aggressiveness from the guard position provides us valuable depth as we continue our strong push toward the back half of the season.” (Twitter link)

10:06am: Former Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie plans to sign with the Lakers after clearing waivers, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Dinwiddie was traded on Thursday from Brooklyn to the Raptors, who subsequently cut him.

The Lakers were one of a few playoff teams who offered Dinwiddie a significant role on the roster, Charania tweets. Head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said this week that the team was targeting a “ball-handling guard” in the buyout market.

The Pelicans, Sixers, and Mavericks were also cited as potential suitors for Dinwiddie, with Dallas viewed as the Lakers’ top competition. The guard played for the Mavs during parts of two seasons from 2022-23 before being sent to Brooklyn as part of last year’s Kyrie Irving blockbuster.

As we pointed out, the Lakers have about $1.5MM left of their prorated mid-level exception, since they didn’t sign Gabe Vincent to the full MLE. They’ll use the leftover portion to sign Dinwiddie, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin confirms, adding that the 30-year-old narrowed his decision to the Lakers and Mavs before choosing L.A.

Los Angeles has an open roster spot, so the team won’t have to cut anyone to bring Dinwiddie in. Cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes the Lakers will have plenty of room beneath the tax apron for other signings, if they so choose (Twitter link).

Dinwiddie is averaging 12.6 points and 6.0 assists in 48 games this season. While his second stint in Brooklyn wasn’t as successful as his first, he has been an important playoff contributor for both the Nets and the Mavericks over the past two seasons. In his last 22 postseason games over the past two years, he’s averaged 14.6 points while shooting 41.2% from beyond the arc. He’ll look to help propel the currently ninth-place Lakers into the playoffs.

Dinwiddie grew up a fan of the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, and playing for the team was always a dream of his, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link).

For what it’s worth, Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell already expressed he was on board with the idea of bringing Dinwiddie in and is a big fan of his, according to Jovan Buha (Twitter link). “Y’all will get to know him soon,” Russell said following the Lakers’ Friday game against New Orleans. Russell and Dinwiddie played together on the Nets from 2017-19.

Thunder Sign Bismack Biyombo For Rest Of Season

February 10th, 2024 at 7:52pm CST by Luke Adams

7:52pm: The signing is official, the Thunder announced in a press release.

12:22pm: The Thunder have bolstered their frontcourt depth by signing free agent center Bismack Biyombo for the rest of the season, reports Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). It’s a minimum-salary deal for Biyombo, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

A 13-year veteran, Biyombo signed a one-year, $5MM contract with the Grizzlies earlier this season to help fill in at center following Steven Adams‘ season-ending knee surgery. He started 27 of 30 games he played for the team, averaging 5.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 23.9 minutes per night.

Memphis originally signed Biyombo using an extra roster spot that was granted during Ja Morant‘s 25-game suspension. The Grizzlies hung onto the big man following the star guard’s return, waiving Kenneth Lofton in order to create room on the roster for him, but eventually let Biyombo go when Morant suffered a season-ending injury of his own and the team’s focus shifted away from pushing for the playoffs this season.

Biyombo, 31, will become the veteran voice among a group of Oklahoma City centers that also features second-year big men Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams. He may not play regular rotation minutes, but he’ll provide important injury insurance for a team on track to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

The Thunder traded three players for Gordon Hayward on deadline day, creating two open spots on their 15-man roster which they’ve already filled by promoting Lindy Waters and signing Biyombo. The club still has one vacant two-way slot.

Pistons Owner Expresses Support For GM Troy Weaver

February 10th, 2024 at 6:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pistons owner Tom Gores expressed confidence in general manager Troy Weaver during a session with reporters Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. There has been speculation that Weaver may be replaced amid a historically bad start to the season, but Gores didn’t provide any indication that he’s considering such a move.

“I think we just came together and the first thing we did is take accountability for the mistakes we made,” Gores responded when asked about Weaver. “As an organization, you really can’t go forward until you acknowledge what didn’t work. That was the first thing. And being honest about that provides you the future. If you don’t look in your past for a little bit and what was right and what was wrong, it’s very hard to go to the future. We did that along the process. I have confidence in Troy. I have confidence. We leaned on each other through this process, but we also didn’t avoid the idea of what were we accountable for? It gave us a pathway to go forward.”

The Pistons still have the league’s worst record at 8-44 after losing to the Clippers today, but Sankofa points out that they have been more competitive recently, going 5-8 since acquiring Mike Muscala and the recently waived Danilo Gallinari from Washington last month. The roster shakeup continued at Thursday’s deadline as Detroit added six new players — Simone Fontecchio, Troy Brown Jr., Shake Milton, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier and Malachi Flynn — while parting with veteran shooters Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, among others.

“We needed to mix up our formation,” Gores explained. “We had to let a few of our players go, all good men. Bojan and Burks contributed a lot to our Pistons. We just needed to change it up a bit and create some more pace-and-space for our young guys. As you know from Troy, we were at it working all last week, so we just needed to, for the sake of the team, let the young guys fly free.”

Today marked Gores’ first public comments on the team since late December when he promised fans that changes were going to be made. In today’s media session, Gores told reporters that he was involved in the process “almost every day.”

“The first month after that, I did a lot of it on a couple days of Zooms and calls and all that stuff,” Gores said. “Over the last 10 days, the team will tell you, Troy will tell you, we had a lot of all-nighters and up really late just making sure we make the right decision for this team. It’s a pivotal moment and you have to know when it’s pivotal. For us, it was important to get the right makeup and I thought we made pretty good moves. We also have a lot of cap space now in the summer, and we gained some good players.”

Gores added that he learned a lot about coach Monty Williams and people throughout the organization by watching how they responded in difficult times. He also indicated that several of Thursday’s additions could be in the Pistons’ long-term plans.

“This is just the beginning, and it’s our responsibility to do this,” Gores said. “We have to learn from what didn’t work, so we have to take that forward now. As I told the team and front office and everyone else that if we don’t win from our losses, then what are we doing? We have to be better because of our losses, and that’s our opportunity.”

Raptors Sign Justise Winslow To 10-Day Deal

February 10th, 2024 at 4:30pm CST by Luke Adams

4:30pm: The signing is official, the Raptors announced in a press release.

12:19pm: The Raptors are promoting former lottery pick Justise Winslow from their G League affiliate and will sign him to a 10-day contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Winslow, the 10th overall pick in the 2015 draft, has spent time with the Grizzlies, Clippers, and Trail Blazers since playing in Miami for the first five years of his NBA career. The 27-year-old underwent ankle surgery in March 2023, which delayed his ’23/24 debut.

In 17 appearances for the Raptors 905 at the G League level this season, Winslow has averaged 16.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 steals in 26.8 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .514/.276/.625.

A rangy, versatile wing, Winslow will provide some depth for Toronto and fill one of the team’s two open 15-man roster spots. The Raptors traded Dennis Schröder and Thaddeus Young to Brooklyn on Thursday in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, then waived Dinwiddie, creating a pair of roster openings.

Winslow’s 10-day contract will cover Toronto’s final three games before the All-Star break and then expire before the Raptors’ first post-All-Star contest on February 22. The club would be able to ink him to a second 10-day deal at that point, then would have to decide whether to sign him for the rest of the season or let him go (he could report back to Raptors 905 in that scenario).

Winslow will earn $166,176 over the life of his 10-day contract, with Toronto taking on a cap hit of $116,075.

Knicks Sign Taj Gibson To Second 10-Day Deal

February 10th, 2024 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 10: Gibson officially signed his second 10-day contract with the Knicks, according to team PR (Twitter link).

FEBRUARY 9: The Knicks are bringing back Taj Gibson on a second 10-day contract, reports Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Gibson’s first 10-day deal expired on Thursday night.

The move comes as no real surprise, given that Gibson is a Tom Thibodeau favorite and the Knicks have no shortage of roster spots available after trading four players to Detroit on Thursday and only taking back two in return. Even after re-signing the 38-year-old, New York will have two openings on its 15-man roster.

Thibodeau made it clear on Thursday that he hoped Gibson would be re-signed, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

“It’s obvious. He’s been terrific,” Thibodeau said. “On any team, at any time, he’s a great addition. So I’m hopeful. (President of basketball operations) Leon (Rose) will (look at) everything and we’ll always do what’s best for the team. But everyone in the organization loves him and has an appreciation for him.”

This will be the third contract Gibson has signed with the Knicks this season. He initially rejoined the team on December 15 on a non-guaranteed deal and was waived on January 7, before his full-season cap hit was locked in. New York brought him back on a 10-day contract on Jan. 30.

Gibson typically wouldn’t be part of the Knicks’ rotation, but he has been forced into action several times this season due to frontcourt injuries. He logged 22 minutes in Thursday’s loss to Dallas, with Isaiah Hartenstein departing that contest early due to a sore left Achilles (Twitter link via Steve Popper of Newsday).

Gibson will earn a $183,704 salary over the course of his 10-day deal, while New York will carry a $116,075 cap hit. The contract will cover the team’s next three games before expiring during the All-Star break. If the Knicks want to retain him beyond that, they’ll need to offer a rest-of-season deal.

Shaedon Sharpe Undergoes Core Muscle Surgery

February 9th, 2024 at 1:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 9: Sharpe has undergone his core muscle procedure, according to a press release from the Trail Blazers, who stated that the guard will be reevaluated in six weeks.

FEBRUARY 6: Trail Blazers shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe will undergo corrective surgery to fix a core muscle injury, the team announced in a press release.

Sharpe hasn’t played since January 11 due to a lower abdominal strain. While attempting to ramp up his basketball activities during his rehab, Sharpe experienced worsening of his symptoms. Due to his lack of progression, it was determined that surgery was necessary. The procedure is tentatively planned for later this week.

While a timetable has yet to be determined, it’s fair to assume Sharpe’s injury could end his season, especially given that the Blazers are well out of the playoff race. The No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft, Sharpe is averaging 15.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 33.1 minutes per game this season. He has started 25 of 32 games.

As a rookie, Sharpe appeared in 80 games (15 starts), averaging 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 22.2 minutes per game.