Davon Reed Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nuggets In Market For Wing, Backup Center

January 5th, 2022 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets are actively exploring the trade market in search of possible roster upgrades, two sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post. According to Singer, Denver is focused on potentially adding another wing and/or a backup center.

Few – if any – teams have been hit harder this season by the injury bug than the Nuggets, who are missing two of their top scorers due to long-term ailments — Jamal Murray is recovering from an ACL tear, while Michael Porter Jr. is expected to miss the rest of the season due to a back problem. Swingman PJ Dozier, guard Markus Howard, and forward Vlatko Cancar are also on the shelf, with Dozier considered likely to miss the rest of the season.

Given that they don’t expect Porter or Dozier back this season, the Nuggets are making it a priority to add another wing, according to Singer, who notes that Will Barton is one of the only real options on the roster at that position. The team has also liked what it’s seen from hardship addition Davon Reed and has interest in retaining him beyond his current 10-day contract, Singer adds.

As for the center spot, Singer observes that the Nuggets traded Isaiah Hartenstein last season and then let JaVale McGee walk in free agency over the summer. Now, with Hartenstein and McGee playing well for other teams in the West (the Clippers and Suns, respectively), Denver is on the lookout for a backup center to match up with opponents who play bigger lineups.

Nikola Jokic is the only true center on Denver’s roster. Most of the players who handle the backup minutes at the five, including JaMychal Green, Jeff Green, Zeke Nnaji, and Bol Bol, are forwards.

The Nuggets have already traded away a pair of future first-round picks and three second-rounders, so they may prefer to offer young players like Nnaji and Bol in trade talks. Their ability to make any meaningful upgrades will be limited, but I wouldn’t expect them to make a major swing at the deadline anyway, since they won’t have Porter available for the postseason and don’t know what they’ll get from Murray — this probably isn’t the year to go all-in.

Nuggets Sign Davon Reed To Third 10-Day Hardship Deal

December 30th, 2021 at 8:33pm CST by Luke Adams

8:33pm: Reed’s third 10-day deal with the Nuggets is now official, the team announced. With three new Nuggets players entering the protocols today, Reed’s latest contract will again be completed using a COVID-related hardship exception.

10:13am: The Nuggets are signing guard Davon Reed to a third 10-day contract using a hardship exception, reports Mike Singer of The Denver Post. The deal is expected to be finalized on Thursday prior to Denver’s game against Golden State, says Singer.

Reed, the 32nd overall pick in the 2017 draft, had been out of the NBA for the last two seasons, but made a strong impression on the Nuggets during his first two 10-day deals with the team this month. In nine games (17.1 MPG), he averaged 5.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 1.2 SPG with a shooting line of .514/.438/.667.

Typically, a player is limited to no more than two 10-day contracts with the same team in a single season. However, it appears that rule has been adjusted for hardship signings.

It’s also worth noting that the Nuggets no longer have any players in the health and safety protocols, which has generally been what qualifies a team for a hardship signing in recent weeks. However, Denver has four players – Michael Porter, Jamal Murray, PJ Dozier, and Markus Howard – out with long-term injuries, which means the team is eligible for a traditional hardship exception unrelated to COVID-19.

In instances this season where hardship additions have been necessitated by players in the health and safety protocols, the NBA has allowed clubs to not have those 10-day deals count toward team salary for cap and tax purposes. As Singer tweets, it’s unclear whether or not that rule would apply to Reed’s third 10-day contract if he signs via injury hardship rather than COVID hardship.

Three Nuggets Players Enter Protocols

December 30th, 2021 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

After having cleared their list of players in the health and safety protocols earlier this week, the Nuggets now have three new players in the protocols, as Jeff Green, Bones Hyland, and Zeke Nnaji entered today, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski points out, the Nuggets – who will also be without head coach Michael Malone and had two assistant coaches test positive for COVID-19, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link) – are suddenly in danger of not having the required minimum of eight players available for Thursday’s game vs. Golden State.

In addition to Green, Hyland, and Nnaji, the Nuggets are missing four players – Jamal Murray, Michael Porter, PJ Dozier, and Markus Howard – to long-term injuries. On top of that, Vlatko Cancar (non-COVID illness), Aaron Gordon (hamstring), Monte Morris (knee), and Austin Rivers (thumb) are all listed as questionable on the latest injury report.

That leaves the Nuggets with six healthy players. Davon Reed is expected to sign a new 10-day contract today, but that would still just get Denver to seven. The team may have to count on one or more of those questionable players being active and hope that additional testing doesn’t turn up new COVID-19 cases.

On the plus side, since the Nuggets now have players in the protocols, Reed’s new 10-day deal will fall under the COVID-related hardship umbrella, meaning it won’t count against team salary for cap or tax purposes.

Northwest Notes: Faried, Jazz, Monroe, Reed

December 29th, 2021 at 11:53am CST by Luke Adams

Kenneth Faried is joining the Grand Rapids Gold for the coming NBA G League season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Although Grand Rapids is the Nuggets‘ affiliate, Faried will remain an NBA free agent and will have the ability to join any team. If he doesn’t receive any NBA offers in the coming days, we should expect to see the 32-year-old in action for the Gold when the G League regular season begins on January 5.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

In the latest episode of the HoopsHype podcast, Michael Scotto and The Athletic’s Tony Jones spoke about potential trade options for the Jazz, Danny Ainge‘s role with the franchise, and more. Jones expects Utah to be “really aggressive” in exploring the trade market for potential upgrades, reiterating that the team is definitely looking for one more perimeter player who can defend at a high level.
Veteran guard Patrick Beverley is a big fan of what Greg Monroe brings to the Timberwolves and said on Tuesday that he’d like to see the team retain Monroe for the entire season, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Monroe has averaged 9.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, and 2.0 SPG in two games since joining Minnesota on a 10-day deal.
Davon Reed‘s second 10-day contract expired overnight, so he’s technically no longer on the Nuggets‘ roster, but the team is considering how to keep him in the mix, as we relayed on Tuesday. With no players currently in the health and safety protocols, Denver’s options for keeping Reed would be to waive someone on the standard 17-man roster or to apply for a non-COVID hardship exception based on the team’s four injured players.

Western Notes: Reed, Morant, Bane, Mathews, Chriss

December 28th, 2021 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets are exploring ways to keep Davon Reed beyond his second 10-day contract, Mike Singer of the Denver Post reports. Coach Michael Malone confirmed Singer’s report on Tuesday, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets.

“Hopefully there’s a way we keep Davon in a Nuggets uniform for a while moving forward,” Malone said.

Reed has appeared in eight games since joining the Nuggets, averaging 5.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 17.0 MPG. His second 10-day deal expires on Tuesday night.

We have more from the Western Conference:

The Grizzlies’ backcourt of Ja Morant and Desmond Bane is quickly developing into one of the league’s best, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. “He’s a professional scorer,” Morant said of Bane. The second-year shooting guard has lifted his scoring average from 9.2 PPG during his rookie campaign to 17.2 this season, putting him in the discussion for the league’s Most Improved Player.
Garrison Mathews was grateful to receive a four-year contract from the Rockets after fighting for years to earn an NBA job, he told Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “Those two-way contracts, they’re hard to get out of. Because with two-way contracts, there’s not a lot of opportunities,” he said. “Then you’re in restricted free agency. It’s just tough, man. A lot of people go through it, and it’s hard. So, a lot of relief, a lot of thankfulness, honestly.” Mathews’ four-year contract is worth $8.2MM, with a $2MM guaranteed salary this season.
Marquese Chriss worked out for the Mavericks a couple of weeks before they signed him to a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. At the time, there was no roster spot open for Chriss, who has averaged 6.3 PPG and 4.8 RPG in four games.

Northwest Notes: Monroe, Trail Blazers, Reed, Ingles

December 28th, 2021 at 9:06am CST by Arthur Hill

Reflecting the chaos that COVID-19 has brought to the NBA, the league has already set a record for the most players used in one season with 541, according to an ESPN story. The man who broke the record was veteran center Greg Monroe — he signed a 10-day hardship contract with the Timberwolves on Monday after being out of the league for more than two years.

Monroe, who had been with the Capital City Go-Go in the G League, looked ready to play in his first game, posting 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block in 25 minutes. The Wolves even ran their offense through Monroe as they closed out a narrow win over the Celtics.

“He’s so experienced. He gives us a different look, some legit size and beef,” coach Chris Finch told Patrick Donnelly of The Associated Press. “His rebounding was great. Again, you can just throw it to him and things kind of calm down.”

The game capped off a hectic day for Monroe, who woke up at 4 a.m. in search of a flight, arrived in Minnesota seven hours later and had to pass a COVID test before he could go to the arena. He met his new teammates shortly before the game and admitted not being familiar with all of them.

“I’m not gonna lie: Jaylen Nowell played awesome tonight. I didn’t know who he was,” Monroe said. “I think he played awesome, but that was my first time seeing him. The game is the same, the people change. Tonight, it’s a young guy taking advantage of an opportunity.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

After avoiding the COVID-19 outbreak for the first two months of the season, the Trail Blazers have been hit hard this week, playing Monday without eight players and two coaches, including head coach Chauncey Billups, writes Casey Holdahl of NBA.com. “We know what we’re going through and we know it’s not going to be easy,” acting head coach Scott Brooks said after losing to Dallas. “We’ve just got to keep fighting. Chauncey has done a great job of instilling there’s no excuses around here. That’s part of developing, that’s part of growing up in this league. It’s easy to put your head down — we didn’t have this guy, we didn’t have this guys to match up with their size advantage — but we didn’t.”
Davon Reed, who is on his second 10-day contract with the Nuggets under the hardship exemption, said playing for coach Michael Malone has been “transformative for my career,” tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post.
Jazz forward Joe Ingles is starting to create trade buzz, per Zach Lowe of ESPN. Rival teams believe Utah may be able to add a valuable piece for a playoff run by parting with Ingles and a first-round pick.

Nuggets Re-Sign Davon Reed

December 19th, 2021 at 9:49am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 19: The move is official, the Nuggets announced (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 18: The Nuggets are re-signing guard Davon Reed to another 10-day contract via the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The exemption has been granted to teams with COVID-19 and/or injury issues. It allows a team to add a 16th player to its standard “15-man” roster without waiving anyone.

According to our latest count, the team still has two players in health and safety protocols, though one (Michael Porter Jr.) is injured. The other player still sidelined by protocols is Bol Bol. They also have two other players out of action due to long-term injuries.

Reed signed on December 4. He’s averaged 3.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.5 SPG in 16.5 MPG while appearing in six games.

Reed had previously been playing for the team’s new G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold. A 2017 second-rounder, Reed appeared in 21 games for Phoenix during the 2017/18 season and 1o more for Indiana the following season. In seven games with the Gold, he averaged 12.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 3.8 APG.

Nuggets’ Howard Out At Least Six Weeks Due To Knee Injury

December 17th, 2021 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets guard Markus Howard, who left Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota in the fourth quarter due to a left knee injury, has been diagnosed with a sprained knee and will be reevaluated in six weeks, the team announced today (via Twitter).

While it’s a relief that Howard didn’t sustain a more significant injury, it’s still tough news for the second-year guard, who is playing on a two-way contract with Denver for a second consecutive year.

After logging limited minutes in 37 games as a rookie in 2020/21, Howard has averaged 4.3 PPG on .355/.391/.875 shooting in 16 games (7.3 MPG) this season. He had recently entered the team’s regular rotation, averaging 16.7 MPG in the last three games, so the timing is unfortunate — he’ll likely have to earn those minutes back when he eventually returns to action.

Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter links) notes that Howard’s absence could reopen the door for the Nuggets to be granted a hardship exception, since Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and PJ Dozier are also out with long-term injuries. In that scenario, Denver could circle back to Davon Reed, who made a positive impression during his 10 days with the club earlier this month, says Singer.

According to Singer (Twitter link), the Nuggets have also placed Porter in the health and safety protocols. That won’t have any tangible effect on the team’s lineup or rotation, since MPJ is expected to remain on the shelf all season as he recovers from back surgery.

COVID-19 Updates: Rivers, Millsap, Hornets, Holiday, Brooks

December 13th, 2021 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets are expecting Austin Rivers to exit the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Tuesday, tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post. It may take an extra day or two before Rivers is fully cleared to play, but his impeding return means Davon Reed‘s time with the team is likely done for the time being, Singer notes.

Denver signed Reed to a 10-day contract using the hardship exception on December 4. That deal will expire after Monday’s game, and with Rivers due back, the Nuggets will no longer be eligible to carry an extra player via the hardship provision.

Although Reed will likely head back to the Grand Rapids Gold – the Nuggets’ G League affiliate – he made a strong impression on the team during his time in the NBA and could be back later this season, says Singer (via Twitter).

Here are a few more COVID-related updates from around the NBA:

Nets forward Paul Millsap has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, sources tell Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Millsap is averaging a career-low 11.2 minutes per game in Brooklyn this season, so his absence shouldn’t create a huge hole in the team’s rotation.
Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels and center Mason Plumlee cleared the league’s health and safety protocols on Monday and were sent to the G League to complete a conditioning/rehab assignment with the Greensboro Swarm, the club announced (via Twitter). Charlotte still has LaMelo Ball and Ish Smith in the protocols, but the team is moving closer to getting all its affected players back after Terry Rozier was cleared on Sunday (Twitter link).
Pacers wing Justin Holiday, who has missed the team’s last five games while in the health and safety protocols, returned to practice on Sunday and said he’ll likely remain unvaccinated after having contracted COVID-19, writes James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Assuming his stance doesn’t change, Holiday won’t be eligible to cross the Canadian border to play in Toronto on March 26.
Dillon Brooks‘ stint in the health and safety protocols was a short one. The Grizzlies forward received clearance on Saturday after being placed in the protocols on Thursday, as Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. The quick reversal suggests Brooks may have registered a false positive test.

Western Notes: Ariza, Nunn, Nuggets, D’Antoni

December 6th, 2021 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers forward Trevor Ariza participated in a live action scrimmage for the first time since ankle surgery, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. Coach Frank Vogel indicated Ariza is not experiencing pain but is still strengthening the ankle, so there’s no timetable for his return. Ariza signed a veteran’s minimum contract during the offseason and was expected to be a prominent contributor but he has yet to make his season debut.

We have more from the Western Conference:

Lakers backup guard Kendrick Nunn (right knee bone bruise) isn’t expected to make his season debut this month, McMenamin adds in another tweet. Nunn signed a two-year free-agent deal in August. He averaged 14.6 points, 2.6 assists and 29.5 minutes in 56 games with the Heat last season.
The addition of Davon Reed under the hardship exception pushed the Nuggets a little bit closer to the luxury tax line, John Hollinger of The Athletic notes. Reed’s contract adds another $100K to the cap, nudging them just $1.2MM below the tax line. That doesn’t include $1.7MM in unlikely incentives for Jeff Green, JaMychal Green and Will Barton. However, the tax concerns make it unlikely the franchise will utilize disabled player exceptions for Michael Porter Jr. and PJ Dozier.
Mike D’Antoni, currently an advisor to first-year Pelicans coach Willie Green, still has some interest in being a head coach, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. D’Antoni, who lives in Texas, attended his first Pelicans game this season in Houston on Sunday. He was an assistant to the Nets’ Steve Nash last season.