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Eastern Notes: Knicks, R. Williams, Isaac, Portis

May 13th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks held a free agent mini-camp this week, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog (Twitter link), who says a number of players with NBA experience were in attendance.

Guards Devon Dotson and Chris Clemons, swingman DaQuan Jeffries, forwards Louis King and George King, and big men Alize Johnson and Reggie Perry were among the players who participated in the Knicks’ mini-camp, per Zagoria. John Petty, Craig Randall, Carlik Jones, Aaron Henry, and A.J. Lawson also took part.

The Knicks won’t necessarily sign any of the free agents who attended the mini-camp, but it gave them a chance to see some of the talent that’s out there as they mull possible Summer League and training camp invites.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Celtics big man Robert Williams, who is still listed as questionable for Game 6 on Friday, was diagnosed with a bone bruise in his left knee after colliding with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3, head coach Ime Udoka said today. Williams’ injured knee is the same one he had surgery on in March, but that procedure isn’t the cause of his current absence. “There’s no problems with the surgery at all,” Udoka said, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “It’s just that specific hit that he took (in Game 3).”
Because of the injury-related language and games-played requirements in Jonathan Isaac‘s contract with the Magic, his $17.4MM annual salaries for the next three years are now partially guaranteed instead of fully guaranteed, as Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets. Isaac has missed two straight seasons due to an ACL tear, but there’s no indication that the Magic are considering waiving him, which is the only way they could avoid paying his full salaries.
Bobby Portis only shot 4-of-14 from the floor in the Bucks‘ Game 5 win on Wednesday, but he grabbed 15 rebounds and made the sort of crucial hustle plays the team values, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Averaging a double-double (11.3 PPG, 10.4 RPG) so far this postseason, Portis is once again displaying his value ahead of possible free agency. He holds a $4.6MM player option for 2022/23.

Hawks Sign DaQuan Jeffries, Waive A.J. Lawson

October 7th, 2021 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

12:00pm: In order to make room on the roster for Jeffries, the Hawks have waived guard A.J. Lawson, who had been on an Exhibit 10 contract, per a team press release confirming both transactions. Lawson could end up playing for the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate.

10:57am: The Hawks have agreed to sign free agent wing DaQuan Jeffries, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Jeffries will get a partially guaranteed contract.

Jeffries, 24, made his NBA debut with the Kings during the 2019/20 season and saw limited minutes for the team across two seasons before being released this past April. He was claimed off waivers by the Rockets and ended up averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 31 games (15.9 MPG) for Sacramento and Houston in 2020/21.

The Rockets cut Jeffries during the final week of the regular season and he was once again claimed off waivers, this time by the Spurs. However, he didn’t appear in a regular season game with San Antonio and the club opted not to pick up his option for the 2021/22 season, making him a free agent.

The Hawks have a full 20-man roster and will have to trade or waive a player in order to officially add Jeffries. As for whether he has a chance to make the regular season squad, that remains to be seen — the size of his partial guarantee could provide a hint, once it’s reported.

Atlanta has 14 players on fully guaranteed salaries, so the 15th spot appears up for grabs. A player who spent training camp with the team might have a leg up for that spot, but camp invitees Jahlil Okafor and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot haven’t been particularly effective in the preseason so far. Of course, the Hawks may also elect not to carry a 15th man to start the season.

Hawks Sign A.J. Lawson To Camp Deal

August 19th, 2021 at 8:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have signed rookie free agent A.J. Lawson to a one-year contract, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. While terms of the deal aren’t known, it figures to be a non-guaranteed camp deal that includes Exhibit 10 language.

Lawson, who went undrafted on July 29, put up 16.6 PPG and 4.1 RPG with a .351 3PT% in 21 games (31.3 MPG) as a junior for South Carolina in 2020/21. The 6’6″ shooting guard earned a spot on the All-SEC Second Team.

Shortly after the draft, Lawson reportedly reached an agreement to sign with the Heat, then joined the team for Summer League play. However, he left Miami’s Summer League club in Las Vegas in order to join the Hawks’ SL squad, which was a pretty clear indication that he no longer intended to attend training camp with the Heat. Instead, it appears he’ll do so with Atlanta.

With the signing, the Hawks now have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, two on Exhibit 10 deals (Lawson and Johnny Hamilton) and one on a two-way pact (Sharife Cooper). Atlanta also has a two-way qualifying offer out to Skylar Mays and reportedly intends to sign undrafted rookie Ibi Watson to an Exhibit 10 contract.

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Oubre, Dinwiddie, Lawson, Heat

August 11th, 2021 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

In the weeks leading up to free agency, the Hornets were said to be looking to add multiple centers to their roster and were linked to top free agents like Richaun Holmes and Nerlens Noel in addition to intriguing trade candidates like Myles Turner.

The Hornets ultimately took a quieter approach to addressing the center position, accommodating a salary-dump deal for Mason Plumlee and selecting Kai Jones with the 19th pick in the draft. As Steve Reed of The Associated Press writes, president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak‘ comments to reporters on Tuesday suggested that Plumlee will probably be the starter in 2021/22 but isn’t necessarily a long-term solution.

“Our thought process was to get somebody that’s a veteran under a reasonable contract and also give these young guys a chance to grow a little bit, and maybe a year from now they’re going to be the guys that maybe we should’ve pursued this year in free agency,” Kupchak said.

As Reed notes, besides Jones, the Hornets also have young bigs like Vernon Carey and Nick Richards on the roster, so the team will be focused on developing all of them this season. In the interim, Charlotte was happy to play it safe by acquiring Plumlee rather than trying to make a big splash in free agency.

“Going into free agency, there are 30 teams and there were a couple of centers available, but you don’t know where you rank,” Kupchak said. “You don’t know what the marketplace is going to be like once free agency begins, so there’s a lot of uncertainty going in. … We felt we got somebody (Plumlee) with two years remaining who’s a proven veteran on a good financial contract.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

New Hornets forward Kelly Oubre said the team’s “youth” and “energy” drew him to Charlotte, as Rod Boone of SI.com relays. “We played against them last year on three different occasions and the way they played — the young guys, the athletic ability, the speed they play with, the way they share the basketball and shoot the basketball and then how they defend — it was fun,” Oubre said. “I’m telling you, even playing against them, it was fun to watch them play against other teams, scouting against them.”
Newly-signed Wizards guard Spencer Dinwiddie tells Fred Katz of The Athletic that it was excruciating waiting to see whether Washington’s sign-and-trade deal for him – which turned into a five-team trade – would ultimately come together. “They were terrible,” Dinwiddie said of the 48 hours he spent waiting. “They were terrible, because you gotta remember, this wasn’t just, ‘Oh, I’m going to the Wizards and we’re just figuring out the dollars. Is it 58 (million)? Is it 59? Is it 60?’ That wasn’t it. You had to get all these parties to agree, and if any of the parties say no, then the whole trade falls through. … I wasn’t just even relying on Brooklyn and the Wizards to negotiate. I was relying on five, six teams.”
Undrafted rookie guard A.J. Lawson has left the Heat‘s Summer League team to join the Hawks‘ SL roster, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. A report on draft night suggested that Lawson was expected to attend training camp with the Heat, but that no longer seems likely.

Eastern Notes: Bucks, Pacers, Butler, Heat

August 9th, 2021 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

The two second-round picks the Bucks sent to the Grizzlies in the Grayson Allen trade were the 2024 and 2026 selections Milwaukee had just acquired from Indiana in a trade for the No. 31 pick, according to RealGM.

In the deal with Indiana, Milwaukee gave up the No. 31 selection in exchange for this year’s Nos. 54 and 60 selections along with those two future second-rounders. The team subsequently flipped the second-rounders to Memphis along with Sam Merrill for Allen.

The upshot is that the Bucks gave up Merrill and the No. 31 pick (Isaiah Todd) in exchange for Allen, the No. 54 pick (Sandro Mamukelashvili), and the No. 60 pick (Georgios Kalaitzakis).

Here’s more from around the East:

The Pacers officially announced a pair of additions to Rick Carlisle‘s staff, stating in a press release that Jannero Pargo has been hired as a player development assistant and Zach Chu has come aboard as the team’s manager of game strategy and analytics. Pargo spent the last two seasons with Portland, while Chu worked under Carlisle in Dallas.
Jimmy Butler‘s new maximum-salary extension with the Heat will actually be a three-year deal that begins in 2023/24, meaning it’s being tacked onto his 2022/23 player option, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Instagram video). Butler’s salary in ’23/24 will likely be 35% of that year’s cap, so the exact value of his extension isn’t yet known.
The Heat are taking their usual approach to their two-way contract slots, not filling them right away and instead auditioning several players for those openings. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel writes, the next week at the Las Vegas Summer League could go a long way toward determining which players have the leg up for those spots. Javonte Smart, A.J. Lawson, RJ Nembhard, Micah Potter, and Marcus Garrett are expected to be in the mix.

Heat To Sign Four Undrafted Free Agents

July 30th, 2021 at 7:08am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have agreed to sign undrafted rookies Javonte Smart, A.J. Lawson, and RJ Nembhard, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (all Twitter links). Miami is also signing undrafted free agent Micah Potter, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

While Scotto specifies that Potter will receive an Exhibit 10 contract, Wojnarowski’s reports simply state that the Heat have agreed to “deals” with Smart, Lawson, and Nembhard. We’re assuming those are more than Summer League agreements, and Exhibit 10 pacts seem most likely.

Last offseason, Miami signed several young players to Exhibit 10 contracts and had them compete for two-way slots in training camp — that could be the plan again.

Smart, who declared for the draft following his junior year, averaged 16.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 3.7 RPG for LSU in 2020/21. The 6’4″ guard posted an impressive shooting line of .460/.402/.857 in 28 games (35.6 MPG), earning All-SEC Second Team honors.

Lawson, the 18th-ranked player on ESPN’s list of undrafted prospects, put up 16.6 PPG and 4.1 RPG with a .351 3PT% in 21 games (31.3 MPG) as a junior for South Carolina this past season. The 6’6″ shooting guard joined Smart on the All-SEC Second Team.

Nembhard was a redshirt junior for TCU in 2020/21 and averaged 15.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 4.0 APG in 24 games (34.9 MPG). The 6’5″ guard boosted his three-point percentage to 33.9% and made the All-Big 12 Third Team.

Finally, Potter is the only non-guard of the group, standing at 6’10” and playing power forward and center. In his two years with the Badgers, he averaged 11.6 PPG and 6.1 RPG, showing off an impressive three-point stroke (40.8%) in 52 games (20.3 MPG).

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Grimes, OKC, Moody, Wolves, Nuggets

July 22nd, 2021 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz are hosting a pre-draft workout on Thursday that will includes Houston’s Quentin Grimes, Providence’s David Duke, and San Diego State’s Matt Mitchell, sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic.

Jones categorizes it as an important session for the Jazz, who like Grimes as a potential target at No. 30 and want to get a closer look at Mitchell, who has worked out for more than 10 teams and is considered a draft riser.

Sources tell Jones that other prospects the Jazz are eyeing as possibilities at No. 30 include Nah’Shon Hyland, Ayo Dosunmu, Miles McBride, Herb Jones, Joel Ayayi from Gonzaga, Joshua Primo, and Jared Butler.

Arkansas wing Moses Moody visited the Thunder in Oklahoma City earlier this week, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets. Moody is the 16th-ranked prospect on ESPN’s big board, so he could play be in play for OKC at No. 16 or 18 next Thursday.
Now that Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore have formally been approved as minority stakeholders in the Timberwolves, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic examines the challenges facing A-Rod and Lore, who will assume majority control of the franchise by 2023. As Krawczynski observes, there are similarities between the Wolves’ current situation and the one that Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan inherited in 2014 when they bought the Bucks, though it’s probably unrealistic to expect the next seven years in Minnesota to play out like the last seven in Milwaukee.
The Nuggets put forth a “full, all-hands-on-deck organizational effort” to ensure longtime assistant Wes Unseld Jr. got a head coaching job, Denver’s president of basketball operations Tim Connelly told Fred Katz of The Athletic. Connelly said he informed the Wizards that Unseld “is one of the brightest minds I’ve ever been around.”
South Carolina wing A.J. Lawson worked out today for the Nuggets, according to Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link).

Raptors Notes: Lowry, S. Adams, Draft Options, Lawson

July 20th, 2021 at 2:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kyle Lowry‘s free agency decision will probably determine whether the Raptors operate above or below the salary cap in free agency, writes Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Demand is expected to be high for the 35-year-old point guard, with the Sixers and Heat among the contending teams likely to make offers.

If Lowry opts to stay in Toronto, where he has been for the past nine seasons, the team won’t have to be concerned with creating cap space. Murphy notes that the Raptors already have about $78MM committed to five players for next season, along with $32.18MM for seven non-guaranteed contracts and $66.3MM in cap holds. With a projected salary cap of $112.41MM, any new deal for Lowry would virtually ensure that the Raptors operate over the cap.

If he opts to go elsewhere, Toronto would be faced with the choice of taking the open cap room or trying to work out a sign-and-trade. Murphy points out that the Raptors can get to nearly $28MM by waiving and renouncing everyone without guaranteed money, which would be almost enough for a max offer for a player who has been in the league less than seven years. A sign-and-trade would likely make operating above the cap a better option, Murphy adds, but it would depend on how much salary the Raptors are willing to take back in return.

There’s more from Toronto:

The Pelicans have been rumored to have interest in Lowry, and Steven Loung of Sportsnet.ca examines what a potential sign-and-trade deal might look like. Assuming Lowry signs with New Orleans for at least $20MM a season, Loung sees Steven Adams as a potential target. He would address Toronto’s issues at center, and the Pelicans reportedly have interest in getting rid of his $17MM contract for the upcoming season. Loung could envision a deal involving Adams and a young player such as Jaxson Hayes or Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
In a separate story, Murphy reassesses the projected top four players in draft and considers the Raptors’ chances of trading up into the top three.
South Carolina shooting guard A.J. Lawson had a workout for the Raptors this week, tweets Canadian basketball scout Wes Brown. Lawson, who grew up in Ontario, is ranked 77th on ESPN’s big board.

Central Notes: Bulls, Pistons, Pacers Workouts

July 19th, 2021 at 9:10pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After the Bulls mortgaged their long-term future to nab 2021 All-Star center Nikola Vučević in a deadline deal with the Magic, they still missed out on a play-in tournament appearance. The club is understandably anticipated to be seeking roster upgrades this summer, especially at the point guard position, writes Matt Moore of the Action Network.

Moore suggests that free agent point guards Kyle Lowry, Dennis Schröder, Lonzo Ball, and Spencer Dinwiddie are among Chicago’s preferred targets. Given the ages of the Bulls’ two best players – 30-year-old Vučević and 25-year-old All-Star Zach LaVine – 35-year-old veteran Lowry may not be a long-term fit, but would certainly raise the team’s floor for the 2021/22 season.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

The Pistons will get to choose from a handful of highly-touted NBA prospects with the top selection of the 2021 draft. Where Detroit opts to go in the second round of the draft is less clear. In a new piece, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic examines several possible draft-and-stash prospects the Pistons could pursue in the second round. Detroit has the Nos. 37, 42 and 52 picks in the second round. Edwards examines the fits of several draft candidates, including Zalgiris Kaunas guard Rokas Jokubaitis, Minas wing Guilherme Santos, Paris Basketball guard Juhann Begarin, and Antwerp Giants forward Vrenz Bleijenbergh.
Among 2020/21 season holdovers, the Pistons will face some interesting roster decisions in the summer, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Langlois notes that restricted free agents Hamidou Diallo and Frank Jackson, forward Josh Jackson, deep-bench center Jahlil Okafor, 2019 draft selections Sekou Doumbouya and Deividas Sirvydis, and guard Tyler Cook all could move on during the offseason.
The Pacers are set to hold their sixth round of pre-draft workouts Tuesday, per a team press release. The club possesses the No. 13 pick in the 2021 draft, as well as the No. 54 and No. 60 picks in the second round. Indiana will work out Kansas guard Marcus Garrett, South Carolina guard A.J. Lawson, Alabama guard John Petty Jr., Tennessee forward Yves Pons, Mississippi State guard D.J. Stewart Jr., and Clemson forward Aamir Simms.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Hunt, Hornets, Herro

July 8th, 2021 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Having concluded their first round of head coaching interviews, the Wizards are conducting follow-up meetings this week. According to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link), the team’s second interview with Wes Unseld Jr. was scheduled to take place today, while Jamahl Mosley is on tap for Friday.

A pair of Milwaukee assistants – Charles Lee and Darvin Ham – were also identified as finalists for the Wizards’ head coaching job. It’s unclear whether they’ve already met a second time with Washington or if those meetings are still to come. Both Lee and Ham, of course, remain active in the NBA Finals, which presumably complicates the scheduling of interviews.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Melvin Hunt, who was the Hawks‘ lead assistant under Lloyd Pierce, won’t return to Atlanta next season as part of Nate McMillan‘s staff, according to a report from Chris Kirschner and David Aldridge of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Hornets brought in D.J. Funderburk, Justin Gorham, A.J. Lawson, Alonzo Verge Jr., Duane Washington Jr., and Bryce Wills for pre-draft workouts on Wednesday, according to the team (Twitter link).
Heat guard Tyler Herro views this summer as a prime opportunity to continue growing his game and to develop a stronger relationship with head coach Erik Spoelstra, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald details. Herro’s first NBA offseason following his rookie season a year ago lasted just over two months, as the Heat faced a quick turnaround following their trip to the NBA Finals.
Fred Katz of The Athletic spoke to a “well-respected” NBA scout about the pros and cons of eight of the prospects the Wizards may be evaluating as possible targets with the No. 15 pick.