- The Thunder assigned Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, for a Monday afternoon game, according to a team press release. It was somewhat surprising, since Robinson-Earl has started 36 games for the Thunder and has averaged 24.7 MPG this month. Head coach Mark Daigneault said it was part of the development process, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman tweets. “Obviously on the surface it looks a little peculiar,” he said. “What I’d say is, one thing that we’ve learned and that we’re trying to apply is that changing environments, changing circumstances, changing roles is good for development.”
The Thunder have brought back forward Mamadi Diakite on another 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Diakite’s previous 10-day deal expired on Sunday night.
Diakite, 25, has averaged 3.0 PPG and 3.3 RPG in eight games (11.6 MPG) with the Thunder over the course of a pair of 10-day contracts. This will be Diakite’s third 10-day pact with Oklahoma City — the first was a hardship deal and the second was a standard agreement.
The Thunder don’t currently have any players in the health and safety protocols, so this new deal will be a standard contract too. Assuming they aren’t eligible for a hardship exception when Diakite’s 10-day deal expires, the Thunder will have to either sign him to a rest-of-season contract or let him go at that point.
Diakite was in training camp with Oklahoma City in the fall, but fractured his hip and was waived at the end of the preseason. He spent his rookie year in 2020/21 with the Bucks after going undrafted out of Virginia, appearing in 14 regular season games and seven postseason contests for the NBA champions.
The 6’9″ forward will earn another $85,578 over the course of his 10 days with Oklahoma City. That figure will count against team salary for cap and tax purposes, which won’t be a problem for a Thunder club that remains significantly below the league’s minimum salary floor.
Diakite’s contract will run through February 9, covering OKC’s next six games.
- Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman considers what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s right ankle injury means for the Thunder in both the short- and long-term. The team will get an extended look at rookie Josh Giddey as the primary creator on offense, with Ty Jerome, Theo Maledon, and Tre Mann playing increased roles. Oklahoma City also could see its lottery odds increase, given how poorly the club has played without Gilgeous-Alexander this season.
- Thunder forward Mike Muscala is considering right ankle surgery after the season ends, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Muscala has been dealing with pain in the ankle since suffering a stress fracture last season.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss multiple weeks after suffering a right ankle sprain on Friday against the Pacers, the team announced today. Gilgeous-Alexander will be reevaluated after the All-Star break, which lasts from February 18-23.
In 43 games this season, the Thunder’s point guard averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per contest, shooting 42% from the floor and 28% from three-point range. Each of those averages (with the exception of rebounding) are down from last season, but the 23-year-old remains the go-to option on his team.
The Thunder are 0-5 in games that Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t played this season. One of those losses came against Memphis in a record-setting fashion — OKC was outscored by 73 points, the largest margin of defeat in NBA history. That contest was played in early December on the road.
With Gilgeous-Alexander on the shelf, expect guards Ty Jerome and Theo Maledon to receive more playing time. Oklahoma City owns the second-worst record in the West at 14-34, leading the Rockets by half a game.
The Kings are still expected to make some sort of major move ahead of this year’s trade deadline in an effort to strengthen their roster for a postseason push, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Sacramento has expressed interest in both Pacers centers, Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, but Fischer hears that Indiana’s asking price has been much higher than what teams are willing to give up for either player.
According to Fischer, who says the Pelicans also have interest in Sabonis, Turner is still the more likely trade candidate of the two Indiana centers, but only if the Pacers are willing to drop their asking price a little, since teams are concerned about Turner’s injury recovery timeline and his ability to help a team this season. If the price remains high, Turner may stay in Indiana until the offseason.
One team to watch on the Turner front is the Trail Blazers, who gained some momentum in discussions with the Pacers prior to the big man’s injury, according to Fischer. If Portland is focused more on next season than this season, acquiring Turner would make some sense, but the Blazers still hold a play-in spot in the West, so they probably aren’t prepared to just throw in the towel.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the West:
- Kings center Tristan Thompson is considered to be available in exchange for a second-round pick, says Fischer. I’m a little skeptical that Sacramento will be able to get positive value for Thompson by himself.
- The Spurs received a call from the Hawks about guard Derrick White, Fischer reports. It doesn’t sound like those discussions gained any traction, but Fischer points out that San Antonio has been viewed since 2020 as a potential suitor for Atlanta big man John Collins.
- As previously relayed, rival executives think the Mavericks may trade one of Jalen Brunson or Dorian Finney-Smith by February 10. Both players will be unrestricted free agents this summer, so there will be nothing stopping them from signing elsewhere, and if the Mavs do re-sign both, they’ll likely be taxpayers. However, Dallas has expressed confidence in its ability to re-sign both players, according to Fischer, who adds that there’s a belief Finney-Smith will seek $15MM annually on his next deal.
- The Thunder‘s asking price in any trade for forward Kenrich Williams is believed to be a first-round pick, per Fischer.
For a brief period in late December and early January, there were more than 60 active 10-day contracts around the NBA, as COVID-19 outbreaks resulted in teams completing more 10-day signings in the span of a couple weeks than are usually completed in an entire season.
In the last couple weeks, however, the transaction wire has slowed down. At the moment, there are just nine active 10-day contracts, and no team is carrying multiple 10-day signees.
With the help of our 10-day contract tracker, we’re taking a closer look at those active deals, examining how much longer they’ll run and what might be next for the players on 10-day pacts.
Let’s dive in…
Hardship 10-day contracts:
- Shaquille Harrison, Grizzlies (runs through Jan. 28)
- Chris Silva, Heat (runs through Jan. 30)
- Cassius Stanley, Pistons (runs through Jan. 30)
Harrison, Silva, and Stanley all signed 10-day hardship contracts via the NBA’s COVID-related allowance. Their earnings don’t count against team salary for cap or tax purposes and they can sign more than just two hardship contracts with the same team — Silva and Stanley are both on their third deals with their respective clubs.
However, if a team no longer has any players in the health and safety protocols, that team isn’t permitted to activate any players who are on COVID-related 10-day hardship contracts. That’s the situation Silva finds himself in now that Heat guard Tyler Herro has exited the protocols. Silva will be ineligible for Miami’s next three games unless the club places another player in the protocols.
The Grizzlies and Pistons are the only NBA teams that still have two players currently in the protocols, so Harrison and Stanley can remain active.
Still, assuming those players in the protocols (Jerami Grant, Kelly Olynyk, Kyle Anderson, and Tyus Jones) are cleared relatively soon, Memphis and Detroit won’t be able to re-sign Harrison and Stanley to new hardship contracts. And because they both have full 15-man rosters, the Grizzlies and Pistons can’t re-sign Harrison and Stanley to standard 10-day contracts unless they waive or trade someone else.
Standard 10-day contracts:
Stanley Johnson, Lakers (runs through Jan. 26)- Danuel House, Jazz (runs through Jan. 27)
- Ryan Arcidiacono, Knicks (runs through Jan. 28)
- DeMarcus Cousins, Nuggets (runs through Jan. 30)
- Mamadi Diakite, Thunder (runs through Jan. 30)
- Lance Stephenson, Pacers (runs through Feb. 2)
Some of these players signed hardship 10-day contracts earlier in the season, but they’re on standard 10-day deals now. Their contracts count against team salary and they’re occupying spots on their teams’ 15-man rosters.
Johnson, Arcidiacono, and Stephenson are the key players to watch here, since they’re all on their second standard 10-day contracts with their respective clubs and won’t be able to sign a third. Assuming the Lakers, Knicks, and Pacers don’t become eligible for hardship signings soon, they’ll have decide whether they want to sign Johnson, Arcidiacono, and Stephenson for the rest of the season or let them go.
It may seem obvious that Johnson and Stephenson, in particular, would get rest-of-season offers, but the Lakers and Pacers are two teams expected to be active at the February 10 trade deadline. They may prefer to keep their 15th roster spots open to maximize their flexibility for potential trades. Still, I’d be surprised if Johnson doesn’t sign a rest-of-season deal sooner or later with the Lakers and Stephenson doesn’t do the same with Indiana.
House, Cousins, and Diakite are all on their first standard 10-day contracts with their respective teams, so they could each sign another one before any longer-term decisions must be made.
Pistons big man Kelly Olynyk, who returned this week after missing more than two months with a knee injury, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic.
Olynyk, who signed as a free agent over the summer, played in two games before being sidelined again, bringing his season total to 12. He’s averaging 12.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per night.
Olynyk joins teammates Jerami Grant and Luka Garza in the protocols, as the Pistons and Grizzlies are the only teams with three players currently affected by COVID-19.
Here are a few more protocol-related updates:
- Jazz backup center Hassan Whiteside has exited the protocols, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). However, he is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game with the Warriors because of conditioning. Whiteside was the sixth Utah player in the protocols when he entered 10 days ago, but all of them have now been cleared.
- Raptors rookie forward David Johnson has been placed in the protocols, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. The two-way player has only logged two minutes in two games at the NBA level, but has played four games for the Raptors 905 in the G League.
- Thunder assistant coaches Mike Wilks and David Akinyooye have entered the protocols, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). Head coach Mark Daigneault was in the protocols earlier this month.
We’re over halfway through the 2021/22 NBA regular season, which means it’s a good time to take a look at where things stand with 2022’s traded first-round picks. Many of the traded first-rounders for the ’22 draft come with protections, so there’s a chance they might not change hands this year after all.
Using our list of traded first-round picks for 2022 and our reverse standings tool, here’s our breakdown of which of those traded picks are most and least likely to change hands, and which ones remain up in the air:
Picks that will definitely change hands:
- Thunder acquiring Clippers‘ pick (unprotected).
When the Clippers traded a series of first-round picks and swaps to the Thunder in the Paul George blockbuster in the 2019 offseason, they weren’t counting on losing both George and Kawhi Leonard to long-term injuries in the same season. That’s the case this year though, and it could result in Oklahoma City receiving an extra lottery pick.
The Clippers are currently in a play-in spot, so their pick could move to No. 15 or lower if they make the playoffs, but for now it’s projected to be No. 11 or No. 12 (they’re tied with the Knicks in the NBA standings).
- Thunder acquiring Suns‘ pick (top-12 protected).
The Thunder will also receive a first-round pick from another Pacific team, though that selection appears likely to end up at the very end of the round — the Suns have the league’s best record so far, so their pick would be at No. 30.
- Grizzlies acquiring Jazz‘s pick (top-six protected).
The pick the Grizzlies are getting from the Jazz will fall near the end of the first round too. For now, it projects to be No. 25 or No. 26, as Utah is tied in the standings with the Heat.
- Grizzlies or Pelicans acquiring Lakers‘ pick (unprotected).
The Lakers will send their first-rounder to the Pelicans if it lands in the top 10 or to the Grizzlies if it’s between 11-30. It’s certainly possible things continue to go south in Los Angeles and the pick moves up into the top 10 — if the Lakers don’t make the playoffs, their pick could even jump into the top four via the lottery.
For now though, the more likely scenario is that Memphis will get the Lakers’ pick — it would be No. 15 or No. 16 (they’re tied with Minesota) if the season ended today and L.A. clinched a playoff spot in the play-in tournament.
Picks that definitely won’t change hands:
- Thunder acquiring Pistons’ pick (top-16 protected).
- Hawks acquiring Thunder‘s pick (top-14 protected).
There’s still a lot of basketball to be played this season, but it seems pretty safe to pencil in the Pistons and Thunder as non-playoff teams, which means they’ll keep their first-round picks in 2022. Right now, Detroit’s at No. 2 in the lottery standings, while Oklahoma City’s at No. 4.
Given how weak the bottom half of the Western Conference has been, the Thunder could theoretically sneak into a play-in spot and make the playoffs, but it’s an extreme long shot — the teams ahead of them in the standings will be more motivated to push for the postseason.
Assuming they keep their pick this year, the Pistons will owe the Thunder their top-18 protected first-round pick in 2023. If the Thunder’s own pick is protected, they’ll instead send the Hawks their 2024 and 2025 second-round selections.
Still up in the air:
- Hornets acquiring Pelicans‘ pick (top-14 protected)
- Bulls acquiring Trail Blazers‘ pick (top-14 protected)
At this point, it looks more likely than not that the Pelicans and Trail Blazers will keep their own lottery-protected first-round picks.
Portland, despite holding the West’s No. 10 seed for now, has a tenuous hold on a play-in spot with Damian Lillard sidelined for a while. New Orleans may have some potential for a second-half surge, especially if Zion Williamson returns, but the team is on the outside looking in for the time being. Either team would have a difficult path to a playoff spot as a lower seed in the play-in tournament.
Currently, the Pelicans’ first-rounder projects to be No. 6 or No. 7 (they’re tied with San Antonio), pending lottery results. Assuming that pick ends up in the top 14, New Orleans would instead send their 2022 and 2024 second-round selections to the Hornets.
If the Trail Blazers keep their first-round pick, currently projected to be No. 9, they’d owe the Bulls their top-14 protected first-rounder in 2023.
- Hawks acquiring Hornets‘ pick (top-18 protected)
The Hornets‘ first-round selection, which was just traded from New York to Atlanta in the Cam Reddish deal, is right on the edge and could go either way. It’s top-18 protected and is currently projected to be at No. 19, meaning the Hawks would receive it if the season ended today (as long as the seventh-seeded Hornets clinched a playoff spot in the play-in tournament). That could change quickly though.
- Rockets acquiring most favorable of Heat‘s or Nets‘ pick (Heat get least favorable).
Finally, the Rockets will control the two most favorable picks of the following three: their own first-rounder, the Nets first-rounder, and the Heat‘s first-rounder; Miami will get the least favorable of the three, unless the Heat’s own pick lands in the top 14 (in which case Miami would keep it and Houston would get the other two picks).
It seems safe to assume at this point that the Rockets will keep their own selection and the Heat will make the playoffs, so it’ll come down to whether Brooklyn or Miami finishes higher in the standings. Currently, the Heat are a half-game ahead of the Nets, so Houston would get Brooklyn’s pick (No. 24) and Miami would hang onto its own (No. 25 or No. 26).
The Thunder have officially signed forward Mamadi Diakite to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.
Diakite’s first 10-day deal with Oklahoma City, which expired overnight, was completed using a COVID-related hardship exception. However, with Kenrich Williams no longer in the health and safety protocols, the Thunder are ineligible for another hardship exception, so Diakite will be on a standard 10-day contract, filling the open spot on the club’s 15-man roster.
In his first 10 days with the Thunder, Diakite saw action in four games, averaging 3.5 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 11.8 minutes per contest.
The 6’9″ forward, who is celebrating his 25th birthday today, was in training camp with Oklahoma City in the fall, but fractured his hip and was waived at the end of the preseason. He spent his rookie year in 2020/21 with the Bucks after going undrafted out of Virginia, appearing in 14 regular season games and seven postseason contests for the NBA champions.
Diakite will earn $85,578 over the course of his 10 days with Oklahoma City. Unlike his last deal, this one will count against team salary for cap and tax purposes — that’s not a problem for a Thunder club that remains significantly below the league’s minimum salary floor.