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COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Billups, Thunder, Hornets, Raptors, More

December 27th, 2021 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards now have five players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to head coach Wes Unseld Jr., who told reporters today that Anthony Gill and Thomas Bryant are the latest players to enter the protocols (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington).

Bryant is coming off an ACL tear and has yet to play this season, so being in the protocols won’t affect his availability. However, Gill will no longer be an option in the short term for the Wizards after appearing in eight of the team’s last 11 games.

Here are more COVID-19 updates from around the NBA:

  • Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has entered the COVID-19 protocols, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), who reports that assistant Scott Brooks is expected to become Portland’s acting head coach as long as Billups is unavailable.
  • Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl of the Thunder have entered the health and safety protocols, according to the team (Twitter link via Wojnarowski). Aaron Wiggins also briefly entered the protocols, but has since been listed as available, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City now has four players in the protocols.
  • The Hornets announced some good news and some bad news on Monday. While Cody Martin has exited the protocols and has been cleared to play on Monday vs. Houston, rookie Scottie Lewis is now in the protocols, according to the team (Twitter link).
  • Three Raptors players – Pascal Siakam, Khem Birch, and Gary Trent Jr. – have exited the protocols and are listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. Philadelphia as they go through a reconditioning period, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Toronto still has seven players in the protocols, but may finally be trending in the right direction.
  • Celtics forward Grant Williams boarded a flight to Minnesota earlier today and expects to play tonight vs. the Wolves, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Williams has been in the health and safety protocols since December 17.
  • Although Ziaire Williams remains on the shelf due to an ankle sprain, he’s no longer listed in the protocols in the Grizzlies‘ latest injury report, suggesting he has been cleared.
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Raptors To Sign Brandon Goodwin, Juwan Morgan; Gary Trent Jr. In Protocols

December 20th, 2021 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors, who have multiple players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, are signing a pair of replacement players, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links). Guard Brandon Goodwin and forward Juwan Morgan are getting called up from the G League to join Toronto’s roster, Charania reports.

Pascal Siakam and Dalano Banton entered the health and safety protocols over the weekend and the Raptors also placed Gary Trent Jr. in the protocols today, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link).

Goodwin, 26, has appeared in 97 NBA games since 2018 for Denver and Atlanta, averaging 4.7 PPG and 1.6 APG in 97 games (11.4 MPG). He has been playing for the Westchester Knicks in the G League this season, putting up 15.3 PPG, 7.0 APG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in seven contests (35.1 MPG) for New York’s affiliate.

Morgan, meanwhile, has averaged 12.6 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 2.3 APG on .559/.388/.867 shooting in 13 games (31.6 MPG) for the Maine Celtics this season after spending the previous two years with the Jazz. The former Indiana Hoosier has appeared in 50 NBA games, but has been limited mostly to garbage time, averaging 1.4 PPG and 1.1 RPG in 5.6 MPG.

Goodwin and Morgan will sign 10-day contracts, and neither player’s deal will count against Toronto’s team salary for cap or tax purposes.

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Atlantic Notes: Nets, Anunoby, Trent Jr., Thibodeau

November 28th, 2021 at 8:53pm CST by JD Shaw

The Nets lost to the red-hot Suns 113-107 on Saturday, dropping a marquee home game in front of the largest crowd the team has hosted since moving to Brooklyn (18,071).

Phoenix was led by Devin Booker, who recorded 30 points and four assists, while Brooklyn was led by Kevin Durant, who finished with 39 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Despite owning the best record in the East at 14-6, it’s clear the Nets still have work to do.

“We’re a team that’s still forming, still trying to find an identity,” head coach Steve Nash said, as relayed by Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “This [Suns] team has a clear identity, a clear understanding of what they’re trying to do offensively and defensively — something we’re still in the very early stages of. 

“We get away from our game when we go behind. Those are signs of a new team, a team trying to understand each other and find some clarity and identity.”

Here are more notes from around the Atlantic:

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Blazers Notes: Lineups, Nance, Little, Powell

November 18th, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

Since head coach Chauncey Billups criticized the team’s compete level on Sunday and suggested that lineup changes could be coming, the Trail Blazers have reeled off wins against Toronto and Chicago this week, pushing their record back up to .500 (8-8).

The Blazers didn’t make any changes to their starting lineup in those two games, but the team is leaning a little more on reserves Larry Nance Jr. and Nassir Little, who played more total minutes in the last two games than starters Jusuf Nurkic and Robert Covington.

When Nance and Little played the entire fourth quarter vs. Toronto on Monday while Nurkic and Covington sat on the bench, Billups was asked about the decision. As Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets, the first-year coach said it was more about matchups vs. Toronto than an indication of imminent lineup changes. Still, it seems clear Nance and Little have earned bigger roles with their play so far.

Here’s more on the Blazers:

  • After averaging just 17.2 MPG and never playing more than 22 minutes in any of his first 11 games in Portland, Nance has averaged 22.9 MPG in his last five games. That’s a byproduct of the Blazers getting a better sense of how best to use him, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. “When he came here I wasn’t sure if he was a four that could play five, or a five that could play some four,” Billups said. “Right now, I’m pretty confident that he is a five who could play four, too. But we are better served with him at that small-ball five.”
  • For his part, Nance said he’s glad his role has evolved organically rather than having it become an issue the team needed to focus on and figure out. “I think it’s a great thing that we didn’t have to sit down and have a pow-wow about, ‘What’s going on? How do we get Larry involved?'” Nance said, per Quick. “(Billups) knows I’m a guy who you just put me on the floor and I will figure it out. And I pride myself in not being a squeaky wheel.”
  • The Blazers’ game vs. the Raptors on Monday was a reminder that last season’s Norman Powell/Gary Trent Jr. swap is working out pretty well for both teams, as Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. Powell has remained a highly efficient scorer in Portland this season, averaging 16.8 PPG on .494/.438/.818 shooting, while Trent has been a ball hawk on defense in Toronto, leading the NBA in total deflections and steals.
  • Powell signed a new five-year, $90MM deal with the Blazers during the offseason, but he’s determined not to get complacent after securing a life-changing payday. “I never really looked at the money as, like, (an) indicator of how good I’ve been,” Powell said on Monday, per Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “It’s always been the expectations and goals that I’ve set out for myself … and can I get better? There’s no doubt the money will come if I keep doing those things, and it has, and I’m still hungry for more goals.”
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Raptors Notes: Roster Battle, Siakam, Boucher, Anunoby

October 14th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The fight to make the Raptors‘ 15-man regular season squad has been one of the NBA’s more competitive preseason roster battles, with Sam Dekker, Ishmail Wainright, and Isaac Bonga vying to earn two spots (or just one, if Toronto opens the season with 14 players). Addressing the competition today, Dekker said he’ll be happy for Wainright and/or Bonga if they beat him out for a roster spot.

“These are guys I’ll stay in touch with for a long time no matter what and I’m always going to cheer for them, because it’s the weakness of a man to root for someone to fail,” Dekker said, adding that his current teammates are some of the “kindest human beings” he knows (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca).

Wainright also expressed gratitude for the opportunity to make his case for a regular season roster spot, regardless of what the Raptors decide.

“No matter how it goes, I’m not going to hang my head,” Wainright said (Twitter link via Lewenberg). “My family always told me when one door closes, another opens. I’m coming out of this a better man, a better basketball player, a better person, period… Whatever happens, I gave it my all from start to finish.”

All three players have had strong camps, according to Lewenberg (Twitter link). While many teams will set their rosters by Saturday, the Raptors could wait until Monday if they want, since Dekker, Wainright, and Bonga all have partial guarantees. That means their cap hits would remain unchanged if they don’t clear waivers until after the regular season begins, unlike a player on a non-guaranteed deal, who must be waived by Saturday for a team to avoid incurring a small cap charge.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

  • Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Tuesday, head coach Nick Nurse said that Pascal Siakam (shoulder) is starting contact work this week and may only be a few weeks away from returning, while big man Chris Boucher (finger) is about 10 days away (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca).
  • With Siakam sidelined to start the season and Kyle Lowry no longer a Raptor, the team is grooming OG Anunoby to be a centerpiece of its offense, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “He’s our number one option right now,” Fred VanVleet said of his teammate. “He’s been great, he’s been assertive finding his spots, I think me and him are finding a little bit of rhythm together, so it’s good to see.”
  • Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca takes a look at the battle between Goran Dragic and Gary Trent Jr. for the second starting spot in the backcourt alongside VanVleet, suggesting Dragic appears to have the upper hand.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic didn’t love the terms of the Raptors’ free agent contracts with Trent and Khem Birch, but praised the team for getting Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk on a minimum-salary deal. Hollinger projects the team to finish with a 40-42 record, good for ninth in the East.
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Contract Details: Clippers, THT, Ball, Nwaba, Bembry, Raptors

August 10th, 2021 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

After reporting over the weekend that the Clippers used about $3.9MM of their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Justise Winslow, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Instagram video) confirmed today that the team used the leftover portion of that MLE to sign second-round picks Jason Preston and Brandon Boston Jr. to three-year deals, with Preston getting a little more than the rookie minimum.

Keith Smith of Spotrac shares those salary figures down to the dollar, tweeting that Winslow’s first-year salary is $3,902,439 while Preston’s is $1,062,303. Combined with Boston’s rookie minimum of $925,258, those three salaries add up to exactly $5.89MM, the amount of the taxpayer mid-level exception.

Here are a few more details on new contracts from around the NBA:

  • While Talen Horton-Tucker‘s three-year deal with the Lakers was initially said to be worth $32MM, the year-by-year breakdown provided by Smith works out to a total of $30.78MM (Twitter link).
  • Lonzo Ball‘s four-year deal with the Bulls also came in slightly lower than expected, according to Smith, who says it has a base value of $80MM, with $1MM in annual unlikely incentives (Twitter link).
  • David Nwaba‘s three-year, $15MM contract with the Rockets has two fully guaranteed seasons followed by a third-year team option, according to Marks (Instagram video).
  • DeAndre’ Bembry‘s minimum-salary deal with the Nets has a partial guarantee of $750K for now, tweets Smith. That number will increase to $1.25MM on December 15 before becoming fully guaranteed in January.
  • Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter links) shares some Raptors contract details, reporting that Gary Trent Jr.‘s deal has a base value of $51.84MM, with $250K in annual unlikely incentives. Murphy adds that Ishmail Wainright got a $250K guarantee in 2021/22 – plus a $125K guarantee in ’22/23 – on his minimum-salary contract, while Yuta Watanabe‘s minimum-salary deal is now partially guaranteed for $375K. Watanabe would get his full guarantee if he makes the regular season roster.
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Raptors Sign Gary Trent Jr. To Three-Year Deal

August 2nd, 2021 at 9:10am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 8: Trent’s deal with the Raptors is now official, according to a press release from the team.

AUGUST 2: The Raptors have reached a contract agreement with restricted free agent Gary Trent Jr. and will re-sign the swingman to a three-year, $54MM deal, agent Rich Paul tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The contract will include a third-year player option, Wojnarowski adds.

Trent, 22, spent his first two-and-a-half NBA seasons in Portland before being sent to Toronto in a deadline deal involving Norman Powell. Trent averaged a career-best 15.3 PPG on .408/.385/.783 shooting in 58 total games (31.1 MPG) for the Blazers and Raptors in 2020/21 ahead of his first foray into free agency.

Trent decided to play out last season without an extension despite the fact that Portland was believed to be willing to give him a four-year, $54MM deal, the maximum the team could’ve offered before he reached free agency.

That decision paid off for the young wing, who will now make that same amount over three seasons if he opts into his final year. If he opts out in 2023, he’ll hit unrestricted free agency as a 24-year-old and will likely be in position to cash in again.

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Scotto’s Latest: Harrell, Cavaliers, Knicks, Trent Jr., Jones

July 27th, 2021 at 12:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers center Montrezl Harrell remains undecided on his player option as a Saturday deadline looms, sources tell Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype. Harrell is described as “50-50” on the option, which would pay him $9.7MM for next season.

Picking up the option would make the 27-year-old a trade chip for the Lakers, who are hoping to add another star to their roster. There was a report over the weekend that L.A. has discussed moving Kyle Kuzma and the 22nd pick to the Kings in exchange for Buddy Hield, and multiple sources tell Scotto that Harrell has been included in several variations of that hypothetical trade.

Sacramento may view Harrell as a replacement for Richaun Holmes, who is headed toward free agency. Scotto reiterates that the Mavericks, Hornets and Raptors are among the teams likely to enter the bidding for Holmes. He adds that the Lakers offered Kumza and the 22nd choice to the Pacers for pick No. 13 and salary filler, but Indiana turned it down.

There’s more from Scotto:

  • The Cavaliers have been contacted about the No. 3 pick by the Raptors, Thunder, Warriors and Knicks, but Oklahoma City didn’t talk to Cleveland about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was reportedly part of an offer the Thunder made to the Pistons for the top overall selection. Cleveland would like to acquire another top-10 pick, Scotto adds.
  • Before the Pelicans agreed to trade the 10th pick to the Grizzlies, the Knicks made an unsuccessful offer involving the 19th and 21st selections, according to league sources. New York is believed to be focused on Oregon’s Chris Duarte.
  • Several people around the league believe that Gary Trent Jr., who received a qualifying offer from the Raptors on Monday, could get an offer in the neighborhood of $18-$20MM per season.
  • The Grizzlies are making back-up point guard Tyus Jones available in trade talks, league sources tell Scotto. Jones will make $8.38MM next season in the final year of his contract.
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Raptors Extend QOs To Gary Trent Jr., Nando De Colo

July 26th, 2021 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have given qualifying offers to guards Gary Trent Jr. and Nando De Colo, the team announced today in a press release. As a result, both players will be restricted free agents.

The Raptors acquired Trent – along with Rodney Hood – in the deadline deal that sent Norman Powell to the Blazers. In 58 total games (31.1 MPG) with Portland and Toronto in 2020/21, the 22-year-old averaged 15.3 PPG on .408/.385/.783 shooting.

Because he met the starter criteria, Trent will receive a qualifying offer of $4.7MM+, which will also be his cap hold. If he accepts that one-year, $4.7MM offer, he’d be an unrestricted free agent in 2022, but he’s more likely to work out a longer-term deal with the Raptors or another team. Should he sign an offer sheet with a rival suitor, Toronto will be able to match it.

As for De Colo, he hasn’t played in the NBA since 2014, but the Raptors have now issued him a qualifying offer for eight straight years in order to retain matching rights in the event that he does return stateside.

There’s no indication that will happen anytime soon, or at all – he remains under contract with Fenerbahce in Turkey – but there’s no harm in Toronto making the procedural move. De Colo’s qualifying offer is worth $1.8MM.

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Hollinger’s Latest: Draft, Wiseman, Siakam, Trent, Combine

June 28th, 2021 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Sources who have spoken to John Hollinger of The Athletic are skeptical that the Pistons, Rockets, or Cavaliers will trade out of the top three spots in the draft.

As Hollinger notes, there are a lot of teams that figure to have interest in moving up in the draft, including several holding multiple first-round picks, such as the Magic, Thunder, and Knicks. However, it’s more difficult to find teams that will give serious consideration to moving down. Any trade up may require a substantial overpay, Hollinger adds.

Here are a few more tidbits from Hollinger following his time at the pre-draft combine in Chicago:

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