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Deandre Ayton, NBPA To Meet With NBA

October 30th, 2019 at 7:26pm CST by clarkcrum

According to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, Suns big man Deandre Ayton is scheduled to meet with the NBA by the end of this week to discuss his 25-game suspension for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program by testing positive for a diuretic.

Per Deveney’s league source, Ayton’s camp and the NBPA will present their case for a reduction of the suspension, arguing that Ayton ingested the banned diuretic by mistake.

[RELATED: Deandre Ayton Hit With 25-Game Suspension]

As we noted in our original piece regarding this story, part of the parties’ argument that the diuretic was taken unwittingly is based on Ayton’s drug test showing no traces of any other banned substances.

When asked yesterday if he had an update on the situation involving Ayton, Suns’ GM James Jones said the following:

“I don’t… that’s in the Player’s Association’s hands. We’re supporting Deandre. We’re focused on the team continuing to focus on the next game. That’ll take care of itself. I know he misses being out there with his teammates and whenever he comes back, we’ll be ready to re-integrate him and continue with this forward movement and momentum.”

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/28/19

October 28th, 2019 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every night during the NBA G League season, Hoops Rumors provides the assignments and recalls by each team. With training camps now open, here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the G League:

  • Bulls swingman Chandler Hutchison was assigned to the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls’ PR department tweets. Hutchison, who recently had his contract option for the 2020/21 season picked up, is working his way back from a hamstring injury.
  • As expected, the Grizzlies assigned former lottery pick Josh Jackson to the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ PR department tweets. That was the plan all along when Memphis acquired the former Suns forward this offseason and he attempts to jump-start his career.
  • Undrafted rookie guard Jalen Lecque was assigned to Northern Arizona by the Suns, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
  • The Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The rookie guard out of Yale was selected with the 58th overall pick in June.
  • The Timberwolves assigned forward Keita Bates-Diop, guard Jaylen Nowell and center Naz Reid to their Iowa affiliate, according to a team press release. Bates-Diop was a second-round selection last year, while Nowell was chosen in the second round this June. Reid is an undrafted rookie out of LSU.
  • The Mavericks assigned rookie forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Roby, who played at Nebraska, was chosen in the second round in June and acquired in a draft-night deal.
  • The Sixers assigned swingman Zhaire Smith to the Delaware Blue Coats, the team’s PR department tweets. Smith, a 2018 first-round selection, recently had his 2020/21 contract option picked up by Philadelphia even though he missed most of his rookie campaign due to injuries.
  • The Hornets assigned rookie forward Jalen McDaniels to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. McDaniels, a second-round pick, made his NBA debut on Friday.
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Kelly Oubre Jr. Receives $10K Fine From NBA

October 27th, 2019 at 9:58pm CST by JD Shaw
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And-Ones: Duval, G League Draft, NBA Rosters, Williamson

October 25th, 2019 at 8:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trevon Duval has signed a G League contract and is eligible for this Saturday’s draft, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days tweets. Duval was a two-way player for the Rockets last season and became a free agent when the team didn’t give him a qualifying offer this summer. He was claimed by Houston in March after the Bucks waived him. The former Duke guard made three cameo appearances with Milwaukee.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Journeyman center Hasheem Thabeet, former Lakers guard Vander Blue, and forward Trey Mourning, son of Alonzo Mourning, are some of the more interesting names on the list of players eligible for the G League draft, according to a league press release. The Northern Arizona Suns have the first pick.
  • There are 108 international players from 38 countries and territories on current NBA rosters, according to a league press release. The most-represented countries among the 108 international players on opening-night rosters are Canada (16 players), Australia (nine players), France (eight players), Croatia (seven players) and Serbia (six players). The Mavericks lead the league with seven international players.
  • Zion Williamson‘s knee injury created disappointment for the NBA’s TV partners, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic explains. TNT and ESPN wanted nationally-televised games featuring the Pelicans during the opening week of the season to showcase Williamson. They were stuck showing the Pelicans without the top pick in the draft on the court because it was too late to make a change. Vardon goes in-depth on how the national TV schedule is designed and notes that the Lakers play 21 of their 30 nationally -televised games after New Year’s Day because the networks wanted to feature LeBron James and Anthony Davis during the team’s playoff push.
  • Amida Brimah, the former UConn center who was in training camp with the Pacers, has suffered a torn right ACL, Scott Agness of The Athletic tweets. He was slated to join Indiana’s G League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.  Brimah will undergo surgery next week, Agness adds.
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Jones Disappointed In Ayton's Actions

October 25th, 2019 at 7:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Suns GM James Jones is “disappointed in the actions” of center Deandre Ayton, who was suspended for 25 games by the league on Thursday for using a banned substance, Gina Mizell of The Athletic tweets. Jones added that the franchise remains “committed to his growth and development on and off the court.” Aron Baynes is expected to move into the starting lineup while Frank Kaminsky could see more action at center, Mizell writes in a separate story. Cheick Diallo, who was not part of Wednesday’s opening-night rotation,  could also be in the mix, Mizell adds.
  • The Suns will likely add a center once they’re able to move Ayton to the suspended list, John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Phoenix tweets. Phoenix will be permitted to add a 16th player to their roster after their game against Memphis on November 2.
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Deandre Ayton Hit With 25-Game Suspension

October 24th, 2019 at 8:28pm CST by clarkcrum

8:28pm: The NBA has officially announced the suspension, per a release.

7:58pm: Suns center Deandre Ayton is facing a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s Anti-Drug policy with a positive test for a diuretic, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

In a series of follow-up tweets, Woj adds that the NBPA is already preparing an arbitration case in an effort to reduce or rescind the suspension based on a belief that the positive test falls under the CBA provision of “unintentional ingestion.” Support for that belief lies partly in a follow-up test showing no traces of any other banned substances (links here).

In a statement (per Woj), Ayton says:

“I want to apologize to my family, the entire Suns organization, my teammates, partners, our fans and the Phoenix community. This was an unintentional mistake and unfortunately I put something in my body that I was completely unaware of.”

“I do understand the unfortunate impact that this has on so many others, and for that I am deeply sorry. I’m extremely disappointed that I’ve let my team down. I will continue to work with the NBPA to go through arbitration and am hopeful of a positive resolution.”

Bobby Marks of ESPN adds that Ayton’s suspension will cost him about $2.17MM and that Phoenix will be permitted to add a 16th player to their roster after their game against Memphis on November 2.

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Gortat Calls Suns "Worst Organization" He Played For

October 24th, 2019 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams
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NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots To Start Season

October 23rd, 2019 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

As of Monday’s roster cutdown deadline, no NBA team is carrying more than 17 players in total — 15 on standard contracts and two on two-way deals. However, not every team is making use of all 17 roster spots available to them.

Currently, a third of the league’s 30 teams have at least one open roster spot, either on their regular roster or in their two-way slots.

For most clubs, that decision is financially motivated — teams like the Magic and Nuggets are getting dangerously close to the tax line and prefer to avoid moving even closer by paying an extra player or two. The Thunder and Trail Blazers are already over the tax and won’t want to push their projected bills higher.

For teams like the Heat and Warriors, the decision not to carry a 15th man is dictated by the hard cap — neither club currently has sufficient room under the hard cap for more than 14 players.

Teams’ reasoning for retaining an open two-way spot is less clear. Those players earn very modest salaries and don’t count against the cap, so finances shouldn’t be a factor. Perhaps the teams with two-way openings are still considering their options before G League training camps begin next week, recognizing that any two-way player they sign now is unlikely to actually play for the NBA team this week.

Listed below, with the help of our roster counts breakdown, are the teams that aren’t carrying full rosters.

Teams with an open 15-man roster spot:

  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Denver Nuggets
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Miami Heat
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Orlando Magic
    • Note: The Magic have two open roster spots, giving them two weeks to get to the required minimum of 14 players.
  • Portland Trail Blazers

Teams with an open two-way slot:

  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Phoenix Suns
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Atlantic Notes: Ntilikina, Miller, Brown, Tatum, Kurucs

October 21st, 2019 at 10:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks still haven’t settled on a starting point guard but Frank Ntilikina is “motivated” by the franchise’s decision to pick up his contract option for next season, as he told Marc Berman of the New York Post and other reporters. The Knicks took a cap hit of $6,176,578 to retain Ntilikina through the 2020/21 season. “It’s great here in New York to be part of this situation,” he said. “It’s motivation and a big excitement. It makes me willing to give even more on the court on a daily basis.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Malcolm Miller has made an NBA roster at the start of a season for the first time and he’s breathing a sigh of relief, Blake Murphy of The Athletic relays. The 26-year-old forward won a training camp battle for a spot on the Raptors’ roster. “Like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Like a huge exhale,” Miller said. “Two years of back and forth, but now it’s finally official. I feel like I’ve laid two years of groundwork, so I’m more than ready to attack it at full speed.”
  • Miller’s G League rights were traded to the Northern Arizona Suns along with the 21st pick in the G League draft for guard Jawun Evans, Murphy tweets. However, this won’t affect Miller’s status with the Raptors. They can still assign him to Raptors 905 despite not holding his G League rights because he’s on the 15-man roster.
  • The incentives on Jaylen Brown’s four-year extension include $8MM if he wins the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year award or makes one of three All-NBA teams, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. The Celtics and Brown reached an extension agreement on Monday. Another $4MM in more reachable incentives includes playing 65 or more games, the team winning 49 or more games and reaching the second round of the playoffs. As previously noted, the total guaranteed money in the deal is $103MM, but it could be worth up to $115MM.
  • The Celtics’ decision to give Brown a huge extension sends a clear signal that they’ll do the same for Jayson Tatum next year, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston writes. That will give Boston a dynamic duo who will both be 23 years old or younger and have ample playoff experience, Blakely notes.
  • Nets forward Rodions Kurucs made a brief court appearance on Monday regarding a domestic assault charge, Andrew Denney of the New York Post reports. Kurucs was arrested in September over the June 27 incident in which he allegedly choked his ex-girlfriend. He was ordered back to court Nov. 19.
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Troy Williams Among Players Signed, Waived On Saturday

October 20th, 2019 at 11:47am CST by Arthur Hill

We passed along a large number of moves yesterday as most teams cut their rosters down to the regular season limit. NBA.com’s Transactions Log has a few more that slipped under the radar involving players who were signed and waived to either ensure their affiliate rights or to make sure returning-rights players get bonuses:

Williams is the only one in the group with previous NBA experience. He played 21 games for the Kings last season and has appeared in a combined 72 games over the past three years. Bibbs signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Clippers in March, but didn’t see any game action.

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