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Atlantic Notes: Horford, C. Thomas, Hayes, George

October 16th, 2024 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics have been careful with Al Horford throughout the preseason, but he saw plenty of action Tuesday night, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Playing for the first time since the NBA Finals, the 38-year-old big man logged 23 minutes in a loss to Toronto. Horford has been scrimmaging and conditioning with the team since camp opened, but coach Joe Mazzulla opted to keep him out of game action until Tuesday.

“I saw he got great looks, he rebounded, he was in the right place defensively,” Mazzulla said. “He communicated. He was solid.”

Keeping Horford healthy is extremely important while Kristaps Porzingis recovers from offseason surgery on his left leg. The Celtics haven’t put an official timetable on Porzingis’ return, but it’s not expected to happen until December at the earliest. Horford only shot 1-for-6 from the field on Tuesday, but he was happy to be back on the court.

“I felt good, it felt good just to be out there, part of a game, and get a feel back for it,” he said. “I’m pretty happy with being back. I think I’m in a good place (physically). The good thing is we have a week until we start (the season) so I’ll continue to prepare and be in a better place.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Nets guard Cam Thomas has established himself as a scoring threat in his first three NBA seasons, but new coach Jordi Fernandez wants him to become more efficient in how he gets his points, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. Thomas seems to have taken the message to heart, shooting 55.5% from the floor and 50% from three-point range during the preseason. “I’m just getting to my spots. There’s not really much difference [that] I’m doing,” he said. “Other than getting out and running more and getting a lot of easier shots, I’m just playing off the ball a little bit and just shooting the catch-and-shoot shots that I’m given. Obviously, at some point, I’m going to be able to create, do a lot of the one-on-one game, because sometimes that’s what the game requires. But right now, I’m just trying to play within the offense and just find my spots.”
Fernandez told reporters that the Nets can decide if Killian Hayes is worthy of a roster spot even if he doesn’t play in the preseason, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The former lottery pick, who has been out of the league since Detroit waived him in February, signed a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract with Brooklyn this summer. “I’ve seen him play live in practice and you guys haven’t,” Fernandez said. “… I’ve seen him and I’m very happy with him. After that we’ll make whatever decision we have to as a group with (general manager) Sean (Marks).“
Paul George will be reevaluated next Tuesday to determine if he can play in Wednesday’s season opener against Milwaukee, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on NBA Today (video link). Sixers officials confirmed to Charania that there was no structural damage from the injury George suffered on Monday, but there’s a “level of uncertainty” about his availability for opening night.

Celtics To Sign Hason Ward To Exhibit 10 Deal, Waive Dmytro Skapintsev

October 16th, 2024 at 6:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics will sign Hason Ward to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 6’9″ forward advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 last spring with Iowa State. A super senior, Ward averaged 6.0 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Cyclones while shooting 62.8% from the field. He transferred two years ago after playing his first three collegiate seasons at Virginia Commonwealth.

Ward is likely headed for the Maine Celtics in the G League, and the Exhibit 10 deal makes him eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the team.

To make room on the roster, Boston has waived Dmytro Skapintsev, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The 26-year-old Ukrainian center also had an Exhibit 10 deal and is also expected to play in Maine.

The Celtics will be back to the offseason roster limit of 21 players once the addition of Ward is finalized.

Aron Baynes Retires From Basketball

October 16th, 2024 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former NBA center Aron Baynes has officially ended his basketball career, agent Daniel Moldovan of Lighthouse Sports announced (via Twitter).

The Australian native spent time with the Spurs, Pistons, Celtics, Suns and Raptors during his nine NBA seasons. He left the league after the 2020/21 season and played the last two years with the Brisbane Bullets of Australia’s National Basketball League.

Baynes, who will turn 38 in December, said last month that he didn’t feel ready to retire and was hoping for another opportunity in the NBL. That hasn’t materialized, so he decided to bow out.

After playing four years in Europe, Baynes signed with San Antonio midway through the 2012/13 season. He spent two more years with the Spurs and was a backup center on their 2014 title team. He signed with Detroit as a free agent in 2015 and moved on to the Celtics two years later. Boston traded him to Phoenix during the 2019 offseason, and he joined Toronto as a free agent in 2020.

Baynes played in 522 career games, averaging 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 16 minutes per night.

Baynes was also a fixture for many years on the Australian national team, competing in numerous international tournaments, including three Olympics. He suffered a spinal cord injury at the Tokyo Games that sidelined him for more than a year.

Central Notes: Ball, Giddey, Trent, Swider

October 16th, 2024 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bulls guard Lonzo Ball has undergone three arthroscopic procedures on his left knee since his last NBA game in January of 2022. With so much to overcome, Ball describes himself as “full of joy” to be returning to the court for tonight’s preseason contest with Minnesota, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.

“I think it’s the belief in myself — knowing what I was feeling, knowing that I was a good age to come back from it,” Ball said. “I’m just trusting in the doctors and people around me.”

Ball added that he never lost confidence in his ability to make a comeback, even though he had to consult with numerous knee specialists along the way. He received medical clearance to participate in five-on-five scrimmages in August and showed up a few weeks before training camp to work out with his teammates. He experienced some soreness in the knee, but no major setbacks, and the Bulls’ medical staff has developed a plan to regulate his workload as he gets used to playing an NBA schedule again. Ball will be limited to 16 minutes in tonight’s contest.

“It’s not the same body I started off with,” he said. “But I think I can still be productive and effective on the court. That’s why I’m still trying to play.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Josh Giddey is eligible for a rookie scale extension through Monday, but the Bulls will likely wait to see what he does this season before making a long-term commitment, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Giddey is off to a strong start in his first preseason with Chicago — averaging 11.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and five assists in just less than 23 minutes per night — but Cowley believes the Bulls want some evidence that they can build a title contender around Giddey and they’re more likely to wait and deal with him as a restricted free agent next summer.
Gary Trent Jr. looks ready to become the Bucks‘ next successful shooting guard, observes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Several shooters have benefited from the open space that comes from playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, and coach Doc Rivers is urging Trent to be ready to fire away. “If you have an open look, put it up,” Trent replied when asked about Rivers’ advice. “He communicated that to me and everybody on the team as well. Everybody has a certain green light, obviously with a certain amount of control and a certain thinking process, but other than that, it’s free flowing. Telling you to go out there, play hard, let it fly and let it fly. Just make sure it’s a good shot.”
Cole Swider seems like a good bet to make the Pacers‘ roster after Kendall Brown was waived Tuesday, but it’s not certain that he’ll receive a standard contract, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Indiana could decide to open up a two-way slot for Swider, who is in camp on a non-guaranteed deal.

Montrezl Harrell, Adelaide 36ers Agree To Rest-Of-Season Deal

October 16th, 2024 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell has agreed to sign with the Adelaide 36ers of Australia’s National Basketball League for the rest of the 2024/25 season, agent Darrell Comer tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Harrell initially joined the 36ers as a short-term replacement for injured forward Jarell Martin, but has performed well enough to prompt the team to try to work out a deal to keep him around after Martin returns. Olgun Uluc of ESPN first reported that the two sides were in talks about a longer-term contract, noting that Adelaide will have to deactivate a local player in order to have both Martin and Harrell active.

Harrell, 30, has 515 regular season NBA appearances under his belt, with career averages of 12.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per contest. He earned Sixth Man of the Year votes for four straight years from 2019-22 with the Clippers, Lakers, Wizards, and Hornets, winning the award as a Clipper in 2020 when he averaged 18.6 PPG and 7.1 RPG in 63 games.

The 6’7″ forward/center spent the 2022/23 season with the Sixers and re-signed with Philadelphia during the 2023 offseason, but suffered a torn ACL and medial meniscus tear shortly after finalizing that contract. That injury, which required surgery, cost him the entire ’23/24 campaign and prompted the 76ers to waive him last October.

Harrell has looked fully recovered during his first few games in Australia though. He has averaged a double-double in his first six games for the 36ers, scoring 15.7 points and grabbing a team-high 10.3 rebounds per contest.

The NBL regular season ends around the time of the NBA trade deadline in February, with the playoffs wrapping up in March. That means – as Scotto tweets – that if Harrell impresses in Adelaide, he’d be a free agent to watch in the late winter or early spring for NBA clubs seeking frontcourt help.

Southwest Notes: Doncic, Spurs, Kennard, Rockets, Ingram, Zion

October 16th, 2024 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks star Luka Doncic likely won’t play in the team’s preseason finale vs. Milwaukee on Thursday, head coach Jason Kidd told reporters today. However, Doncic went through a full practice on Wednesday and did “really, really well,” Kidd said, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link).

Doncic was diagnosed with a left calf contusion during the early days of training camp. At the time, it was deemed a minor injury that wasn’t expected to affect his availability for the team’s regular season opener on October 24.

Despite the fact that Doncic may not end up playing a single minute this preseason, it still doesn’t sound as if his ability to return for next Thursday’s game vs. San Antonio is in any doubt, given that he’s fully participating in practice more than a week out from opening night.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Based on the way Gregg Popovich has managed his rotation this preseason, it appears likely the Spurs will open the season with a starting five of Chris Paul, Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan, Harrison Barnes, and Victor Wembanyama, with Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle, Zach Collins, and Blake Wesley also getting regular minutes, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). However, Popovich said his rotation isn’t set in stone yet, and obviously it’s subject to change once Devin Vassell is ready to return from his foot injury, Orsborn notes.
The Spurs received $2MM in cash from the Kings in the Jalen McDaniels trade, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Marks also fills in the cash details from a couple of the Spurs’ offseason trades, confirming that San Antonio received $1MM from the Pacers for moving from No. 35 to No. 36 in the draft and $110K from the Hornets in the Devonte’ Graham salary dump.
Grizzlies sharpshooter Luke Kennard was feeling some soreness in his foot after Monday’s game in Indiana, according to head coach Taylor Jenkins, who said that Kennard may have to miss some time as a result of the ailment (Twitter link via Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal).
The Rockets‘ preseason win over New Orleans on Tuesday showed how they can benefit this fall from offseason continuity after making significant roster changes in 2023, says Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “We’ve been playing with each other since last year,” veteran forward Jeff Green said. “We know what we want to do. We know what the goal is out there.” As Christian Clark of NOLA.com observes, Tuesday’s game was the first of the preseason for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, while Zion Williamson sat out for what head coach Willie Green called a “rest day.”

Magic Sign Alex Morales, Waive Robert Baker

October 16th, 2024 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have made a pair of minor roster moves, signing free agent guard Alex Morales and waiving center Robert Baker, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

The moves appear G-League-motivated. Like Baker, Morales figures to be cut by Orlando before the regular season begins. But because Baker was on an Exhibit 10 contract and Morales almost certainly will be too, they’ll be eligible to receive bonuses worth up to $77.5K apiece if they spend at least 60 days with the Osceola Magic, the team’s NBAGL affiliate, this season.

A 6’6″ shooting guard, Morales has played for the Magic’s G League team in each of the past two years while also suiting up for Osos de Manati in Puerto Rico during the NBA offseason.

In 49 Showcase Cup and regular season games in 2023/24 for the Osceola Magic, the former Wagner College standout averaged 9.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 23.9 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .501/.252/.625.

Having added one player to their roster while removing another, the Magic still have the maximum allowable 21 players under contract.

Nets Sign, Waive K.J. Jones

October 16th, 2024 at 2:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 16: The Nets have waived Jones, the team announced today, putting him on track to report to Long Island this fall.

OCTOBER 15: The Nets have signed wing K.J. Jones to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to the RealGM transactions log.

Brooklyn’s agreement with Jones was first reported in late June, shortly after the draft. He appeared in one Las Vegas Summer League game for Brooklyn.

Jones played his college ball at Division II Emmanuel University in Georgia, where he averaged 26.2 points per game in back-to-back seasons. He scored more than 3,600 total points over the course of his five-year collegiate career and posted a shooting line of .482/.371/.868 across those five seasons, also logging career averages of 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per contest.

Jones was the only Division II prospect to receive an invitation to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this spring.

Jones will likely be waived and then join the G League’s Long Island Nets. He would be eligible for a bonus up to $77.5K if he stays with the G League team for at least 60 days.

And-Ones: Neto, Rookie Scale Extensions, 15th Men, More

October 16th, 2024 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran point guard Raul Neto has signed with Pinheiros Basquete in his home country of Brazil, the team announced in a press release.

Neto, the 47th overall pick in the 2013 draft, made his NBA debut in 2015 and spent eight seasons in the league, appearing in 435 regular season games with four teams. He signed with the Turkish club Fenerbahce during the 2023 offseason, then ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee while representing Brazil during last year’s World Cup and missed the entire 2023/24 season.

Neto said in a statement that he’s in the “final stages” of his recovery from that knee injury.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The contracts signed within the past year by Immanuel Quickley (five years, $162.5MM) and Jaden McDaniels (five years, $131MM) are the ones coming up most often in rookie scale extension negotiations this fall, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link). “Those are two contracts that are being referred to a lot and are looked at as sort of the break-even line for some of these agents,” Windhorst said. “Like, ‘I can’t have my guy get less than Quickly got’ or ‘I can’t have my guy get less than, you know, Devin Vassell,” (who) got a similar contract (five years, $135MM) to McDaniels as well. Those seem to be the ranges that we’re talking about.”
Keith Smith of Spotrac takes an interesting, in-depth look at the trend of teams becoming less inclined to fill their 15th roster spot – especially early in the season – and considers the factors that have pushed clubs in that direction.
The NBA is expected to update its policy on cell phone and social media use by players and coaches between the start and end of games, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), who explains what the revised rules will look like and why they’re a priority for the league.
Fred Katz of The Athletic runs through some notable preseason developments from around the NBA that have caught his eye, including Isaiah Stewart‘s usage at center for the Pistons, the Timberwolves deploying Donte DiVincenzo as a ball-handler, and Julian Strawther‘s strong preseason for the Nuggets.
Diamond Sports Group is asking a judge to approve an agreement that will allow FanDuel to become the new naming sponsor of the Bally Sports networks for the 2024/25 season, reports Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter links). The deal, which could become a longer-term arrangement if Diamond Sports exits bankruptcy, would give FanDuel a 5% stake in the company, Vorkunnov adds.

Pelicans Cut Four Players

October 16th, 2024 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have removed four players from their preseason roster, announcing in a press release on Wednesday that they’ve requested waivers on Elfrid Payton, Keion Brooks Jr., Trhae Mitchell, and Josh Oduro.

All four players were on essentially identical non-guaranteed contracts with Exhibit 10 clauses and will now be eligible to earn bonuses worth $77.5K apiece if they reported to the Birmingham Squadron and spend at least 60 days with New Orleans’ G League affiliate.

Brooks and Oduro went undrafted earlier this year and have no prior G League experience, so they can be designated as “affiliate players” for the Squadron. Payton and Mitchell played for other NBAGL teams last season, but had their returning rights acquired by Birmingham in a pair of separate trades during the offseason.

The Pelicans now have 14 players on guaranteed contracts and three on two-way deals, for a total of 17 players on their preseason roster.

Those are the 17 players who appear likely to open the regular season with the club, though it’s possible New Orleans will continue shuffling Exhibit 10 players on and off the roster over the next few days for G League purposes.