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Rockets Notes: Wall, Cousins, Harden, Hard Cap

December 30th, 2020 at 7:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Gordon all practiced today for the first time since being forced to quarantine after an ill-fated haircut last week, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The Rockets‘ Dec. 23 season opener was canceled because they didn’t have enough active players, and they were short-handed for the two games that followed.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Wall said. “All I did was get a haircut in my apartment. And one of the teammates tested positive and the next four or five tests I had all came back negative. So, I was like ‘Oh, it was me and three people can’t get a haircut.’ I’d rather get a haircut in my apartment than be in a barbershop somewhere where random people are coming in constantly. Even the barber tested negative. That was a frustrating thing.”

Assuming no more setbacks, Wall will play his first game in more than two years on Thursday. He and Cousins, who responded to the quarantine with an online post of an angry emoji, will both make their debuts with the Rockets.

“It’s tough in general to be sitting around for seven days, no type of activity,” Cousins said. “It’s tough for any person, but especially for a professional athlete, sitting at home for seven days straight then jumping back in a full-speed practice or game. There’s not a lot of positive on that side.”

There’s more from Houston:

  • Head coach Stephen Silas said league protocol requires Ben McLemore and KJ Martin, who are believed to have tested positive for COVID-19, to remain in quarantine through the weekend, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
  • The Sixers are farther away from trying to acquire Rockets star James Harden than they were two weeks ago, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on today’s episode of “The Jump” (video link). With a 3-1 record and Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid playing well together, Philadelphia doesn’t feel any urgency to make a move. Windhorst believes Simmons gives the Sixers the best asset of any of the teams rumored to be involved in talks for Harden, but he doesn’t think either side is in a hurry to complete a deal.
  • The Rockets are currently $1.077M below the hard cap, which means they will be able to add a pro-rated 15th player to their roster starting February 9, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad. Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts on February 23 (Twitter link).
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Sixers’ Korkmaz To Miss Minimum Of Two Weeks

December 28th, 2020 at 4:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers have lost one of their key reserves for at least the next two weeks. Guard Furkan Korkmaz has a left adductor strain and will be reevaluated in approximately two weeks, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

Korkmaz suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game at Cleveland. He had gotten off to a slow start, averaging 6.0 PPG on 25% shooting in 18.3 MPG off the bench during Philadelphia’s first three contests.

Last season, Korkmaz appeared in 72 regular season games, averaging 9.8 PPG in 21.7 MPG while making 40.2% of his 3-point tries.

The Sixers have good depth at the wing positions, and players such as Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey should see an uptick in playing time with Korkmaz sidelined.

Korkmaz had his $1,762,796 salary for this season guaranteed last month. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

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Sixers’ Daryl Morey Fined By NBA For Tampering Violation

December 28th, 2020 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has fined Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey $50K for a violation of the league’s anti-tampering rules, according to a press release.

As the league explained in its announcement, the fine is a response to a December 20 Twitter post about James Harden that Morey has since deleted.

As captured by Bleacher Report, Morey tweeted last Sunday about the one-year anniversary of Harden breaking the Rockets‘ franchise record for total assists. He shared an “On This Day” memory of a post from December 20, 2019 celebrating the achievement before removing it several minutes later.

Morey told the NBA that the tweet was an inadvertent post from an automated app, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). However, he’ll still be responsible for paying a $50K fine, a strong signal that the league isn’t letting anything slide when it comes to its efforts to crack down on tampering.

The fact that the Sixers are reportedly one of Harden’s preferred trade destinations likely played a part in the NBA’s decision.

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Sixers Exercise Third-Year Option On Matisse Thybulle

December 28th, 2020 at 10:36am CST by JD Shaw

The Sixers have exercised the $2.84MM third-year option on forward Matisse Thybulle for 2021/22, ensuring he remains with the team next season, president Daryl Morey announced in a release.

Thybulle, who was acquired by Philadelphia in the 2019 draft, played 65 games during his rookie season. He started in 14 of those contests, averaging 4.7 points, 1.4 steals and 19.8 minutes on the year.

Thybulle has established himself as a proven wing defender capable of playing multiple positions. The 23-year-old also shot a respectable 36% from deep last year, showing his potential on both ends.

The 76ers have opened the 2020/21 season with a 2-1 record, losing their first game on Sunday to Cleveland without Joel Embiid (back tightness). The franchise was eliminated from the playoffs last season after being swept by Boston in the first round.

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Outstanding 2021/22 Rookie Scale Option Decisions

December 28th, 2020 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for teams to exercise the third- and fourth-year team options for 2021/22 on players’ rookie scale contracts is Tuesday, December 29, meaning that clubs who have yet to finalize those decisions will have to do so today or tomorrow.

Most clubs with options to pick up have already done so, and in many cases those decisions were no-brainers. Luka Doncic (Mavericks), Ja Morant (Grizzlies), Trae Young (Hawks), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) are among the players whose 2021/22 options have been exercised, and as long as they remain on their rookie contracts, they’ll be among the best bargains in the NBA.

With the help of our tracker, here are the option decisions that have not yet been announced or reported, with Tuesday’s deadline looming:

Boston Celtics

Golden State Warriors

Los Angeles Clippers

Minnesota Timberwolves

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Washington Wizards

The fact that these option decisions haven’t been formally finalized yet doesn’t mean they won’t be easy calls. For instance, there’s no chance that the Sixers are going to decline their third-year option on Thybulle — they just haven’t made it official yet.

However, not all of these options are locked to be picked up. The Knicks, for instance, previously exercised their options on RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox but didn’t do so for Spellman. Teams almost always announce all their option pick-ups at once, so the fact that Spellman wasn’t included in that press release is a strong sign that New York will make him an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

Meanwhile, Poole’s option is the least expensive on this list and is barely worth more than the minimum, but even at that price, the Warriors have a tough decision to make. Poole has been relatively ineffective so far (.334/.277/.805 shooting in 60 games) and Golden State’s roster is expensive. The team has to determine whether it makes sense to continue investing in Poole’s development next season, or whether a minimum-salary veteran should get his spot on the ’21/22 roster.

I think most of the other options listed here – with the possible exception of Wagner’s – are more likely to be exercised than declined, but it’s possible there will be a surprise or two. It’s worth noting that turning down an option doesn’t mean the team can’t re-sign the player in 2021 free agency — it just means they can’t offer a starting salary higher than the value of the declined option.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Latest Details On NBA G League Bubble

December 24th, 2020 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Seventeen teams have indicated that they plan to participate in the NBA G League bubble, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who notes that the G League Ignite select team will be the 18th squad.

While we don’t yet have a full, official list of the teams participating in the G League bubble, Ridiculous Upside has done a good job passing along reports (including some of ours) and providing new details on which clubs are in and out. Their list includes 13 teams believed to be in, not counting the Ignite, as follows:

  • Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
  • Austin Spurs (Spurs)
  • Canton Charge (Cavaliers)
  • Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers)
  • Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers)
  • Lakeland Magic (Magic)
  • Long Island Nets (Nets)
  • Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
  • Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
  • Raptors 905 (Raptors)
  • Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz)
  • Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors)
  • Westchester Knicks (Knicks)

G League expert Adam Johnson says the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets), Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves), and Erie BayHawks (Pelicans) are also expected to take part (Twitter link).

The G League reportedly asked for teams to volunteer to opt out, since bringing 29 franchises to the bubble wouldn’t have been logistically possible, so the clubs passing on the bubble aren’t necessarily doing so because they’re not interested in participating.

Teams opting out of the bubble who signed players to Exhibit 10 contracts before the season will be given the option to loan or “flex” those players to another G League team for the bubble and will be responsible for paying all expenses for those players, Givony explains.

The Wizards, for example, aren’t expected to have the Capital City Go-Go play in the bubble, but will likely use the Pelicans’ affiliate – the BayHawks – as their temporary affiliate for their former Exhibit 10 players, such as Caleb Homesley, Marlon Taylor, and Yoeli Childs, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

A G League draft would take place in January, according to Givony, who reports that players whose returning rights are held by non-bubble teams would temporarily be dispersed to other clubs in that draft. If non-bubble teams don’t want to “flex” their former Exhibit 10 players to G League teams participating in the bubble, those players will also enter the draft pool, says Givony.

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that the tentative start date for the G League season is February 8. Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link) shares a more detailed breakdown of the proposed timeline, which would see G League players and staffers begin an “at-home” quarantine period on January 13.

Givony confirms that teams participating in the bubble still expect to play a minimum of 12 games apiece (not including the playoffs), as was reported in November.

Finally, Givony reports that the G League is making adjustments to its roster rules to make it easier for NBA teams to recruit and sign veterans with five or more years of NBA experience. Each team will be able to designate an “NBA Vet Selection” who fits that bill, and won’t have to navigate the NBAGL’s complicated waiver process to add that player, per Givony.

As Johnson tweets, the rule will be a one-off for this season and will allow – for instance – the Warriors to add Jeremy Lin to their Santa Cruz affiliate, like they wanted to.

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Sixers Notes: Morey, Simmons, Lue, Embiid

December 23rd, 2020 at 1:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Daryl Morey set off an international firestorm last year with a tweet supporting protestors in Hong Kong, and he says in an interview with ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan that he feared it would cost him his NBA career.

The Sixers‘ new president of basketball operations was still general manager in Houston when he sent the tweet in October of 2019. Although the Rockets resisted demands from Chinese officials to fire Morey, he understood that he put the league in a difficult position considering the business dealings it has in China.

Morey explained that he had gotten to know several Hong Kong residents in business school and wanted to show solidarity for their cause. Although he said he’s still “very comfortable” with his decision, the tweet caused a huge controversy and cost the league hundreds of millions in international revenue.

“In the last 12 months, I had moments where I thought I might never work in the NBA again, for reasons I was willing to go down for,” Morey said. “But I love working, I love what I do, and I didn’t want that to happen.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

  • Ben Simmons has heard his name mentioned as a potential trade piece to bring James Harden to Philadelphia, but he’s focused on the season rather than the rumors, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I come in every day, take it a day at a time, ready to work,” Simmons said. “I’m with my teammates. … Every day I wake up, every time I got a Sixers uniform on, I’m representing the Sixers. So my mentality never changes. I’m here to win a championship. That goal is never gonna change. I know things are always going to be said in the media, and rumors and things like that, but my goal is to come in every day and get better and help the team that I’m on win a championship.”
  • Tyronn Lue was scheduled to interview for the Sixers’ head coaching job in September, but he never had Joel Embiid‘s support, according to Bill Oram and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Lue had the backing of agent Rich Paul, who represents Simmons, and Embiid wasn’t comfortable with Simmons’ “guy” being hired. Embiid also opposed Lue for “X’s and O’s reasons,” per The Athletic’s duo.
  • The additions of Doc Rivers and Morey brought excitement to Philadelphia, but Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer warns Sixers fans to be realistic in their expectations. He believes that unless Morey can upgrade the supporting cast around Embiid and Simmons, the Sixers will be in the running for fifth place in a more competitive Eastern Conference.
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Sixers Waive Justin Anderson, Frank Mason

December 19th, 2020 at 12:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers have waived swingman Justin Anderson, according to 973 ESPN Sixers Insider Paul Hudrick (Twitter link). They’ve also waived guard Frank Mason III, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.

Philadelphia has now trimmed down to a 15-man opening-day roster, along with a pair of two-way players.

Anderson signed a minimum salary two-year contract in late November but only $125K was guaranteed. He signed with the Nets as a substitute player prior to last season’s restart and saw action in seven seeding games and three postseason contests.

Anderson also signed a 10-day contract with the Nets in January before being released by the organization. A first-round pick by the Mavericks in 2015, Anderson had brief stops with the Sixers and Hawks as well.

Mason was just added this weekend on an Exhibit 10 contract. Unless he’s claimed, he’ll likely resurface with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League squad. He initially became an unrestricted free agent when the Bucks pulled their qualifying offer to him last month.

The 5’11” point guard out of Kansas spent his first two seasons in the league with the Kings, appearing in a total of 90 games. He then signed a two-way contract with the Bucks in 2019/20.

Mason played nine games for Milwaukee and 23 for the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. He averaged a league-best 26.4 PPG for the Herd, along with 5.0 APG and 3.4 RPG, earning G League MVP honors.

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Sixers To Sign Guard Frank Mason

December 18th, 2020 at 9:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers are signing point guard and reigning G League Player of the Year Frank Mason III to a non-guaranteed contract, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.

It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, Bodner adds (Twitter link), though Mason could add backcourt depth to the NBA club.

Mason became an unrestricted free agent when the Bucks pulled their qualifying offer to him last month.

The 5’11” point guard out of Kansas spent his first two seasons in the league with the Kings, appearing in a total of 90 games. He then signed a two-way contract with the Bucks in 2019/20.

Mason played nine games for Milwaukee and 23 for the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. Mason averaged a league-best 26.4 PPG for the Herd, along with 5.0 APG and 3.4 RPG, earning G League MVP honors.

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Doc Talks To Simmons About Trade Rumors

December 18th, 2020 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Doc Rivers has talked to Ben Simmons about the trade rumors surrounding the point guard but the Sixers coach wouldn’t reveal any details, Rich Hofmann of The Athletic tweets. Simmons has been mentioned prominently as the centerpiece of any package for the Rockets’ disgruntled star, James Harden, if Philadelphia pursues that avenue. “I can tell you that none of this started from us,” Rivers said. “I gave Ben a call (Thursday) night but I’m not going to share what we said. It’s unfortunate, but it’s part of the business.”

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