Bruno Caboclo

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/1/19

Here are Friday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • With the Celtics dealing with frontcourt injuries, they recalled rookie center Tacko Fall from the Maine Red Claws for tonight’s game against the Knicks, Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe tweets. The 7’5” Fall made his NBA debut on Saturday, contributing four points and three rebounds in four minutes against the Knicks.
  • The Wizards assigned swingman C.J. Miles to the Capital City Go-Go, the team’s PR department tweets. Miles joined them for a practice as he works his way back from a foot injury.
  • The Grizzlies assigned forward Bruno Caboclo and guard De’Anthony Melton to the Memphis Hustle, the team’s PR department tweets. They went there for practice and then were recalled. They’ll do the same on Sunday. Both have only made brief appearances in two games this season.

Southwest Notes: Caboclo, Brooks, Wright, DeRozan

The move toward small-ball lineups throughout the league has convinced the Grizzlies to often utilize Bruno Caboclo as an undersized center, Omari Sankofa II of The Athletic reports. Caboclo needs to show his versatility to stay on the roster, since his salary of $1,845,301 doesn’t become fully guaranteed until January 10. He played 34 games with Memphis last season, including 19 starts.

“We’ll probably utilize him in a lot of different spots, four and five,” Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said. “We put him at (center) in Summer League and are just really getting him comfortable offensively where he has to be at his spots on the floor.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • Dillon Brooks is looking to secure the shooting guard spot in the Grizzlies‘ lineup after an injury-marred second year in his NBA career, Michael Wallace of the team’s website writes. He appeared in all 82 games as a rookie but lost his starting spot last season, then wound up playing just 18 games due to a toe injury that required season-ending surgery. “It really humbled me and made me take the game more professionally,” Brooks said of last season to Wallace. “At first, with the glitz and glamour and all that other stuff, it kind of came too fast to me. Once it got taken away, it was like, ‘I’ve got to be serious. Be professional, but still have fun with it and understand that (basketball) always comes first.’ That’s what I’ve been doing throughout the summer.”
  • Delon Wright believes he’ll have a breakout season after joining the Mavericks in a sign-and-trade with the Grizzlies, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News relays. “I feel like I’m at that point of my career where it’s time,” Wright said. Wright, who could be paired in the backcourt with Luka Doncic, received a three-year deal worth just over $30MM.
  • An extension might be the way to go for both the Spurs and DeMar DeRozan, Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express News opines. A report surfaced on Friday that the two parties were in extension talks. As previously noted, the 30-year-old DeRozan could get a maximum of approximately $149MM over four years, starting in 2020/21. That would require him to decline his 2020/21 player option and replace it with the first year of the extension.

Southwest Notes: Harden, Rockets, Dirk, Caboclo

Even after a grueling 2018/19 season, Rockets guard James Harden hopes to suit up for Team USA in the 2019 World Cup this September, as he tells Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

“Of course I want to play,” Harden said. “It’s an opportunity to represent your country, go out there and play basketball. It’s something I love doing. If that opportunity presents itself, I’ll be in. Not everyone gets that opportunity. As a basketball player, that’s one of the highest points you can get for basketball.”

Harden, who previously won gold medals for Team USA in the 2012 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup, is one of 35 players who was named to USA Basketball’s player pool for events between 2018-20. Obviously, not all of those players will get the chance to play on USA’s 12-man roster in the fall, but as the league’s reigning MVP, Harden probably has one of those 12 spots if he wants it.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Ray Allen hasn’t played in an NBA game since 2014, but Rockets GM Daryl Morey hasn’t given up hope that the veteran sharpshooter will decide to make an NBA comeback. Appearing last month on The Rich Eisen Show (video link), Morey referred to Allen as his “white whale,” vowing that he’d sign the 43-year-old to a 10-day contract right now if Allen were interested (hat tip to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype).
  • Longtime Mavericks big man Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t ruled out the possibility of returning for a 22nd NBA season next year. While Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News thinks retirement is the more likely outcome, he makes the case that playing another season wouldn’t negatively impact Nowitzki’s legacy.
  • In an excellent piece for The Athletic, Blake Murphy takes a deep dive into Bruno Caboclo‘s long, winding road to an NBA rotation role. With Caboclo playing regular minutes for the Grizzlies, Murphy spoke to a handful of his teammates and coaches, as well as draft expert Fran Fraschilla, who famously said that the young forward was “two years away from being two years away” when the Raptors selected him in 2014.

Southwest Notes: Faried, Grizzlies, Caboclo, White

After being phased out of Denver’s rotation in 2017/18 and then becoming an afterthought in Brooklyn for the first half of this season, Kenneth Faried has experienced a career resurgence with the Rockets in recent weeks.

As Kelly Iko of The Athletic details, part of that resurgence can be attributed to Faried’s newfound three-point shot — after making three shots from beyond the arc in his first 453 NBA games, the big man has made six of 13 since arriving in Houston. As Faried tells it, he always had the ability to expand his shooting range, but wasn’t encouraged to do so until he signed with the Rockets.

“People always said I couldn’t shoot the three, and it wasn’t that. I just never took them,” Faried said. “Now that I’m taking them, people go, ‘Whoa, your shot is nice actually. Wow. You have a soft shot.’ I always had this, I just never did it. It was a respect thing — I knew how to get on the floor for my coaches.”

While Faried is currently day-to-day with a hip issue, he looks like a potential fixture in the Rockets’ rotation moving forward. In 16 games with the club (27.9 MPG), he has posted 14.9 PPG and 9.4 RPG on 60.2% shooting, and has even earned some playing time alongside center Clint Capela.

Here’s more out of the Southwest:

  • The Grizzlies will send their first-round pick to the Celtics if it falls outside of the top eight this spring, and have indicated they’d prefer to surrender it in 2019 rather than in a future year. David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal explains why, and lays out the various scenarios for that pick.
  • Bruno Caboclo‘s new two-year deal with the Grizzlies doesn’t include any guaranteed money for next season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders confirms (via Twitter). However, according to Pincus, Caboclo will get a partial guarantee worth $300K if he remains under contract through July 10.
  • After missing six games for the Spurs in February, second-year guard Derrick White is back in the team’s lineup. San Antonio will need White to stay healthy down the stretch as the team pushes to secure a spot in the postseason, as Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “Derrick is important because he keeps everything a little bit more together,” head coach Gregg Popovich said. “Everybody understands where to be with Derrick out there. He has a great pace about him.”

Grizzlies Notes: Bradley, Noah, Caboclo, Carter

The fate of the Grizzlies‘ first-round pick might influence whether the team brings back Avery Bradley next season, according to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. Acquired from the Clippers at the trade deadline, Bradley has a $12.96MM contract for 2019/20 that doesn’t become guaranteed until July 3.

Unless the team undergoes major changes during the summer, Memphis will be keeping a close eye on its luxury tax situation. The Grizzlies made Mike Conley available prior to the deadline, but if he returns and Jonas Valanciunas and C.J. Miles both opt in, their contracts – along with Chandler Parsons – will put the team over the salary cap. Memphis would be pushed into tax territory if it keeps Bradley while bringing back restricted free agent Delon Wright, signing a high lottery pick and using its mid-level exception.

The Grizzlies’ pick will convey to Boston if it falls out of the top eight. Memphis is in sixth place in our latest Reverse Standings, three games above the Mavericks and Pelicans, who are tied for eighth. Bradley has been good since joining the Grizzlies, averaging 15.3 PPG in six games, but Herrington says the decision will come down to whether management views him as a bargain at next year’s salary.

There’s more out of Memphis, all courtesy of Herrington:

  • The Grizzlies would welcome back Joakim Noah, but at age 34, he may be more interested in joining a contender. After a disastrous experience in New York, the veteran center has resurrected his career in Memphis. However, the Grizzlies don’t have his Bird rights, so they would have to either open cap room or use an exception to pay him more than the veteran’s minimum.
  • Bruno Caboclo‘s defensive versatility may be enough for the Grizzlies to bring him back for another year. Memphis doesn’t have another bench player with size who can guard the perimeter, making Caboclo valuable even with his limited offensive game. After a pair of 10-day contracts, the Grizzlies signed the former first-round pick for the rest of the season, along with some guaranteed money for 2019/20.
  • The trade deadline worked out poorly for rookie guard Jevon Carter, who has only played three minutes over the last three games. The Grizzlies kept Conley and traded for both Bradley and Wright, who are all ahead of him in the rotation. Carter may not get a chance to display his skills in Memphis as long as all three stay with the team.

Grizzlies Sign Bruno Caboclo To Multiyear Deal

9:09am: Caboclo’s new deal with the Grizzlies is now official, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

7:56am: Bruno Caboclo‘s second 10-day contract with the Grizzlies expired overnight, but the team won’t be letting him get away, per reports from Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian and Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com (Twitter links). According to Herrington and Wallace, Memphis is signing Caboclo to a rest-of-season contract that will also include a salary for 2019/20.

The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Caboclo never developed into a rotation piece for Toronto and didn’t play much for Sacramento last season after the Raptors traded him to the Kings in a deadline deal. However, he has earned regular playing time during his 20-day, 10-game stint with the Grizzlies so far, averaging 6.1 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 21.1 minutes per contest.

While Caboclo has continued to struggled with his shot (.333 FG%, .250 3PT%) in Memphis, the club’s coaching staff has been intrigued by his “size, length, defensive instincts, and offensive potential,” tweets Wallace. The Grizzlies view him as an asset and want to continue working on developing his game.

The exact details of Caboclo’s new contract aren’t known, but the Grizzlies don’t have their mid-level or bi-annual exceptions available, so it’ll be a minimum salary deal, and the second year seems unlikely to be fully guaranteed. The prorated cap charge for this season will be approximately $487K, assuming the deal is officially finalized today.

Caboclo will continue to fill the 15th and final spot on Memphis’ roster, meaning the Grizzlies would have to release someone with a guaranteed contract if they want to add any other new players down the stretch.

As our 10-day tracker shows, Caboclo will become the first player this season to parlay a pair of 10-day deal into a rest-of-season contract with that same team.

Grizzlies To Release Omri Casspi

Veteran forward Omri Casspi is among the NBA’s roster casualties on deadline day, according to Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com (Twitter link). Wallace reports that the Grizzlies are waiving Casspi in order to keep their roster count at 15 players.

Memphis has agreed to a series of deadline trades, including one with the Raptors that will see three players sent to the Grizzlies in exchange for Marc Gasol. As a result, Memphis needed to open up a roster spot to accommodate those incoming players.

Casspi makes sense as the odd man out. The 30-year-old recently suffered a torn meniscus and it was unclear whether or not he’d be able to return this season, Wallace notes. Casspi will get a head start on unrestricted free agency for next season after averaging 6.3 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 36 games for Memphis.

Meanwhile, the release of Casspi bodes well for Bruno Caboclo, who is on his second 10-day deal with the Grizzlies and was another candidate to be waived, based on his contract situation. However, Memphis likes what it has seen from Caboclo and there’s a good chance he’ll get a rest-of-season contract, perhaps even with guaranteed money for next season too, tweets Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian.

Caboclo Gets Second 10-Day Contract With Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have given Bruno Caboclo another 10-day contract, the team announced on Twitter.

The 23-year-old forward is averaging 6.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in five games with Memphis while playing 23 minutes per night. The Grizzlies needed to add wing depth because of injuries to Chandler ParsonsDillon Brooks, and Kyle Anderson.

Caboclo had been with the Rockets’ G League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley before receiving the 10-day contracts. Memphis will have to decide whether to waive him or sign him for the rest of the season when this deal expires on February 12.

For a complete list of this year’s 10-day contracts, including which deals remain active, check out our tracker.

Grizzlies Sign Bruno Caboclo To 10-Day Deal

JANUARY 24: The Grizzlies have officially signed Caboclo to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through February 2.

JANUARY 21: The Grizzlies are set to fill the opening on their 15-man roster, at least for the next week and a half, by signing forward Bruno Caboclo to a 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Caboclo, the 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, never developed into an NBA rotation player for the Raptors, who traded him to Sacramento in a cost-cutting move at last year’s trade deadline. After his rookie contract expired, the 23-year-old signed a camp contract with the Rockets last summer and was cut before the start of the 2018/19 season.

Although he didn’t stick with Houston for the regular season, Caboclo had been playing for the team’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, so far in 2018/19. In 28 games (28.3 MPG), he averaged 16.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 3.0 BPG with an impressive .516/.428/.744 shooting line.

In Memphis, Caboclo may get a shot at some playing time right away, as the Grizzlies have found themselves short-handed on the wing with Chandler Parsons, Dillon Brooks, and Kyle Anderson all unavailable. Caboclo’s 10-day deal will feature a cap hit of $85,458.

For a full list of this year’s 10-day contracts, including which deals remain active, be sure to check out our tracker. Caboclo’s deal will be added to that tracker once it becomes official.

Grizzlies Notes: Caboclo, Holiday, Gasol

While the Grizzlies are in agreement with Bruno Caboclo on a 10-day contract, that deal won’t be finalized today, according to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian, who tweets that the signing might be done in time for Caboclo to play for Memphis in Wednesday’s game vs. Charlotte.

Once the deal is done, it will leave the Grizzlies with $377,860 in breathing room below the luxury tax threshold, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). If they want to avoid being a taxpayer, the Grizzlies will have to stagger their 10-day signings for the rest of the season, Marks notes. Of course, trimming a bit of salary in a pre-deadline trade could also create the flexibility necessary for Memphis to fill that final spot on its 15-man roster going forward.

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

  • Justin Holiday, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has seen his production fall off significantly since he was traded from Chicago to Memphis, as he’s averaging just 5.1 PPG on .265/.182/.917 shooting in eight games with the Grizzlies. David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal explores why Holiday’s transition hasn’t gone smoothly and how his new club will look to get him back on track.
  • There’s still no indication that the Grizzlies are seriously considering the idea of shopping Marc Gasol before next month’s trade deadline, but Frank Urbina of HoopsHype identifies four teams that could be fits if that stance changes. The Hornets, Wizards, Clippers, and Kings all make some sense, in Urbina’s view.
  • After being waived last week by the Grizzlies, Jarnell Stokes has rejoined the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League, tweets JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors. Stokes was on a two-way contract with Memphis and will be a candidate for a 10-day contract during the second half of the 2018/19 season.