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Southwest Notes: Pippen, Huff, Wembanyama, Vassell

November 24th, 2024 at 4:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Grizzlies reserve guard Scotty Pippen Jr. enjoyed one of the best nights of his career in his father’s former home arena, per The Associated Press.

In the United Center, against his Hall-of-Fame dad Scottie Pippen‘s old team, the Bulls, the younger Pippen scored a career-high 30 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the field, while chipping in 10 assists, in a 142-131 win.

“It’s a dream come true,” Pippen Jr. said. “It’s crazy to say I put up 30 and 10 in the gym where my dad had played… It means everything to me and my family. I talked to my dad tonight about coming in here and playing. He just told me to go out there and kill it, so that’s what I tried to do.”

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

  • Grizzlies reserve center Jay Huff almost ditched his NBA dream for Italian EuroLeague squad Olimpia Milano, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “We talked to them,” Huff said of Olimpia Milano. “Really liked them. Still do. Their head coach is awesome. Ettore Messina, he’s the man. So we were close. Living in Milan would have been fun. And I know plenty of guys that have gone overseas that should be in the NBA right now. It’s all about fit and opportunity.” Grizzlies assistant coach Johnny Carpenter, a video coordinator at UVA when Huff was there, recommended the big man link up with Memphis. Huff signed a two-way deal and was promoted to a standard agreement soon after.
  • After missing three contests with an injury, Spurs center Victor Wembanyama helped San Antonio mount a 17-point comeback and best the top-seeded Warriors, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN. The 7’4″ big man scored 25 points, dished out nine dimes, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots. “I did find my rhythm physically,” Wembanyama said. “It was a little hard to come back in terms of conditioning in the first half. There’s a switch I’m trying to flip on demand. Strong catches, quick moves, not holding the ball, but also taking my time, taking shots with confidence, good feet and good preparation for the shot.”
  • Spurs interim head coach Mitch Johnson has defended his team’s cautious approach to guard Devin Vassell‘s recovery from a left knee bone bruise, per Tom Osborne of The San Antonio Express-News. “We said at the start of this thing we were going to be conservative with him, so he’s probably frustrated as much as anybody with us a little bit,” Johnson said. “But we have a big picture in mind here and he’s trending really, really well.”
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And-Ones: TNT Lawsuit, Diamond Sports, Handy, Johnson, More

November 15th, 2024 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

Rumors began to circulate on Wednesday that the NBA and TNT Sports have opened settlement talks in an attempt to resolve the lawsuit Warner Bros. Discovery filed against the NBA earlier this year, according to Michael McCarthy and A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports.

“I know [both sides] want to solve this,” one source told Front Office Sports.

“It has to be soon,” another source said. “They don’t want to let it drag on.”

Warner Bros. Discovery, TNT’s parent company, sued the NBA after the league refused to recognize its matching rights and argued that TNT’s offer didn’t match the specific terms of the league’s deal with Amazon Prime. A settlement has always been considered the most likely outcome, since neither the NBA nor TNT is believed to be seeking a lengthy trial process that results in confidential details becoming public.

As McCarthy and Perez note, settlements are typically financial, but it’s not out of the question that the league could award TNT a smaller broadcast rights package after leaving the network out of its latest round of media rights deals with Disney, NBC, and Amazon.

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of the FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports), will emerge from bankruptcy following a federal judge’s ruling on Thursday, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic. Viewers will have the option of subscribing on a season-long, monthly, or per-game basis to their local Diamond Sports network to watch NBA broadcasts, per The Associated Press. Diamond, which broadcasts games for 13 NBA teams, will also offer subscriptions through Amazon Prime Video, though the exact details of that arrangement have yet to be announced, Drellich adds.
  • Phil Handy, a veteran NBA assistant coach who won titles with the Lakers, Raptors, and Cavaliers, will be the head coach of a team in Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 professional women’s basketball league debuting in January, says Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Handy became a coaching free agent in the spring when the Lakers fired all of their assistants after letting go of head coach Darvin Ham. Handy is one of six Unrivaled head coaches announced on Friday by the league (Twitter link).
  • In the wake of rumors that Anadolu Efes wing Stanley Johnson is exploring other professional options, the former NBA lottery pick stated on Twitter that he’s “very happy” with Efes and doesn’t plan on leaving the Istanbul-based club anytime soon. Johnson has had a very modest role in EuroLeague competition so far, averaging just 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game across seven outings.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic takes a closer look at 10 relatively unheralded role players who have gotten off to strong starts this season, including Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Grizzlies big man Jay Huff, and Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome, among others.
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Southwest Notes: Wembanyama Vs. Holmgren, Pelicans, McCollum, H. Jones, Huff

October 30th, 2024 at 8:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Two of the league’s best young big men will square off tonight as the Thunder host the Spurs, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Victor Wembanyama was a unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year honors last season, with Chet Holmgren getting all but one second-place vote. Even their teammates are excited about their first meeting of the new season.

“Two big guys going at it,” Zach Collins said. “You don’t really see that too much anymore, so it is fun to watch. Kind of has a very old-school feel to it, two bigs going at it, two heavyweights, and it seems like both of those guys like that matchup and they take it personal.”

The duo faced off three times last season, putting up similar numbers as OKC won twice. Wembanyama averaged 20.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.7 blocks and 1.0 steals in their head-to-head matchups, while Holmgren countered with 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals. San Antonio’s victory came in February on a night when Wembanyama all but locked up the ROY vote, Orsborn notes. He posted 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and two steals, then punctuated the win by screaming an expletive into a house microphone.

“It’s fun to be a part of and it’s good to see Vic have that motivation going against (Holmgren) and trying to get that upper hand,” Collins added.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • Coach Willie Green wants the Pelicans to shoot at least 40 three-pointers per game, but the team isn’t coming close to that mark, per Christian Clark of NOLA. New Orleans was just 9-of-22 from beyond the arc in Tuesday’s loss at Golden State, with the absence of Trey Murphy contributing to the shortage of three-point attempts. Clark observes that the offense hasn’t really lived up to expectations since CJ McCollum was acquired to team with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. The Pelicans added another play-maker by trading for Dejounte Murray this summer, but he suffered a fracture in his left hand in the season opener.
  • McCollum will undergo an MRI tonight to determine what’s causing right adductor/hip soreness, according to Andrew Lopez (Twitter link). The Pelicans expect to have an update on Thursday. Herbert Jones had medical imaging done on his right shoulder Tuesday night, Lopez adds. The results were negative and he’s considered day-to-day.
  • Jay Huff‘s new four-year contract with the Grizzlies includes a prorated minimum salary for the rest of the season, a source tells cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Huff is set to receive $2.4MM in 2025/26 and $2.7MM with a $379,382 guarantee in 2026/27. Memphis will have a $3MM team option with a $427,323 guarantee for 2027/28. Gozlan notes that the Grizzlies are now $1.8MM below the tax line and have $8.6MM left in their non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
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Grizzlies Notes: Huff, Jenkins, Morant, Edey

October 28th, 2024 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said Jay Huff earned his promotion by delivering when called upon, Jenkins said in the pregame press conference on Monday. Huff had his two-way deal converted into a standard four-year contract on Monday.

“He took full advantage of his opportunity. Once he signed here, he was a participant [in the] offseason workouts with his teammates, and then at the start of the season, we learned a lot,” Jenkins said. “Obviously, we had studied him in college and his first couple of years in the NBA, but he’s more dynamic than I remember. The way he can run the floor [and] obviously his shooting has been a great addition to this group, especially at the four or five position. Some versatility there offensively, the principles that we’re talking about, how he moves without the ball. I think he’s picked up on that great.

“… And then defensively, he’s still learning our system, things that we need to do to deploy him. But I think he was Defensive Player of the Year in the G League last year. … This guy has said multiple times that he’ll accept any role, and it’s great to see that he got rewarded for that, because that just adds to the depth that we need for the season.”

We have more on the Grizzlies:

  • Huff’s contract includes two guaranteed years with partial guarantees for the third season and a fourth-year team option, The Athletic’s John Hollinger tweets. That option would be partially guaranteed if it’s exercised.
  • Ja Morant missed Monday’s game due to right thigh soreness, the team’s PR department tweets. Morant averaged 20.7 points and 7.3 assists in the first three games after playing just nine times last season due to a suspension and shoulder surgery.
  • Zach Edey was touted as a potential Rookie of the Year but he’s off to a slow start. Edey is still adjusting to the NBA pace, he told Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “We didn’t really get up and down too much at Purdue,” Edey said. “We were more in the half court, slow the pace down. But it’s just basketball. You just have to adjust.”
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Grizzlies Sign Jay Huff To Four-Year Contract

October 28th, 2024 at 3:32pm CST by Tristan Tucker

8:55pm: Huff has officially signed the multiyear deal, according to a team press release.

3:32pm: The Grizzlies are converting center Jay Huff from his two-way deal to a standard, four-year contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Memphis has an open 15-man roster spot, so no corresponding move is necessary.

Huff has been outstanding for the Grizzlies to begin the year, averaging 13.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 63.6% from the field and 57.1% from beyond the arc. He has helped the Grizzlies win two of their first three games to open the season.

The Grizzlies could theoretically have kept Huff on his two-way deal well into the season, as teams are permitted to have two-way players active for 50 games apiece if they have 15 players on the standard roster or 90 combined games if they have 14 (like the Grizzlies did).

However, given the way Huff impressed the team in training camp, the preseason, and the regular season, the front office decided there was no reason to wait on promoting him.

As in recent years, Memphis is rewarding an impressive young player who had been on a two-way deal with a team-friendly long-term contract. GG Jackson, Vince Williams Jr. and Scotty Pippen Jr. each followed a similar path, with Pippen’s promotion occurring less than two weeks ago.

Huff went undrafted in 2021 after playing his college ball at Virginia. He spent time on two-ways with the Lakers, Wizards and Nuggets, but didn’t catch on with any of them at the NBA level despite earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in the G League in 2023.

The Grizzlies now have a two-way slot available. They can fill that with any player with fewer than four years of NBA experience. Maozinha Pereira, who earned a 10-day contract with the team and spent training camp with the Grizzlies, is one option worth keeping an eye on.

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Southwest Notes: Cuban, Thompson, Grizzlies, Sheppard, Sochan

August 31st, 2024 at 8:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Appearing on The Roommates Show podcast (video link), Mark Cuban suggested that Klay Thompson might get better scoring opportunities with the Mavericks than he did during his years with the Warriors. Cuban explained that playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving should free up Thompson for plenty of open shots.

“Obviously the big addition was Klay,” Cuban said in addressing the team’s offseason moves. “Just somebody who you have to face guard, who’s going to make 40% (from three-point range), and we’re hoping, you know at Golden State he had to always be on the move. They had that motion offense where he was always coming off screens and running. We don’t do that, or not nearly as much, and sure we’ll run some of that action for him, but just standing in the corner, and standing in the wings, and just catch and shoot from Luka and Ky. Hopefully his life is going to be a lot easier.”

Following a trip to the NBA Finals, Dallas has worked to upgrade its roster this summer. Along with adding Thompson, the Mavs improved their perimeter depth by picking up Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie.

“We wanted to keep that defensive mindset, but we also wanted somebody that was going to be able to make a three,” Cuban added, “because Luka is always going to get you an open look, Kyrie is going to get you an open look or score on their own.” 

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • DaMichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal examines the Grizzlies‘ options for their open roster spot after waiving Mamadi Diakite this week. Cole states that the team could either promote one of its two-way players, sign a free agent to improve the bench or keep the slot open for a move later in the season. Cole believes Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jay Huff are the two-way players with the best chance of receiving a standard contract, while center and point guard are the positions with the greatest need for more depth.
  • There’s been skepticism on whether Reed Sheppard will play enough on a deep Rockets team to be a serious Rookie of the Year candidate, but Tim McMahon stated on the Hoop Collective podcast that playing time shouldn’t be an issue (Twitter link from Chris Gorman). “He’ll be on the floor,” McMahon said. “I think he’ll play a significant role as a play-maker off the bench.”
  • Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan wasn’t hurt in a one-vehicle crash last weekend, according to Raul Trey Lopez of The San Antonio Express-News. Sochan told police that he “lost control” of his $240K Porsche 911 GT3 RS before hitting a guardrail.
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Contract Details: Mobley, Hauser, Reeves, Mamukelashvili

July 25th, 2024 at 7:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Evan Mobley‘s new maximum-salary extension with the Cavaliers features a 15% trade kicker and is fully guaranteed, with no player or team option on the fifth year, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

As Brian Windhorst previously reported, Mobley’s deal includes multiple levels of Rose Rule incentives and could end up starting at either 25%, 27.5%, or 30% of the 2025/26 cap, depending on whether the big man earns end-of-season honors next season. According to Windhorst, a spot on the All-NBA Third Team would bump Mobley’s starting salary to 27.5% of the cap, but he’d have to make one of the top two teams or win Defensive Player of the Year to increase that figure to 30%.

Here are a few more details on recently signed NBA contracts:

  • Sam Hauser‘s four-year extension with the Celtics is worth exactly $45MM, as previously reported, and has a straightforward ascending structure with 8% annual raises, tweets cap expert Yossi Gozlan. Hauser’s contract starts at just over $10MM in 2025/26 and increases to nearly $12.5MM by the fourth year (2028/29).
  • Antonio Reeves‘ three-year, minimum-salary contract with the Pelicans is only fully guaranteed for the 2024/25 season, Hoops Rumors has learned. Reeves’ second-year salary would become 50% guaranteed if he remains under contract through at least July 23, 2025, while his third-year team option is non-guaranteed.
  • Sandro Mamukelashvili‘s one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Spurs is fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Mamukelashvili also waived his right to veto a trade. San Antonio has 14 players with guaranteed salaries for 2024/25, with a 15th player (Julian Champagnie) on a non-guaranteed standard contract.
  • The two-way contracts recently signed by Jeff Dowtin (Sixers), Jay Huff (Grizzlies), and DJ Steward (Bulls) are each for one season.
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Grizzlies Sign Jay Huff To Two-Way Deal, Waive Trey Jemison

July 24th, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have signed free agent big man Jay Huff to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). In order to open up a two-way slot for Huff, Memphis waived center Trey Jemison.

Huff, who went undrafted out of Virginia in 2021, has bounced back and forth between the NBA and G League over the past three years, appearing in 31 regular season NBA games during that time, including 20 while on a two-way contract with the Nuggets last season.

Huff’s contributions at the NBA level have been modest (2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game), but he has excelled in the NBAGL, earning Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBAGL First Team honors in 2023. In 18 games last season for the Grand Rapids Gold – Denver’s affiliate – he averaged 19.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks in 28.9 minutes per contest, with a strong shooting line of .573/.390/.857.

The 7’1″ center was also impressive at the Las Vegas Summer League with the Magic this month, putting up 16.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 2.2 BPG on .621/.357/.778 shooting in five outings (26.5 MPG).

Jemison signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies in January, then agreed to a two-year, two-way deal when that contract expired. He earned regular minutes down the stretch on a Memphis roster hit hard by injuries, averaging 7.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 1.2 BPG in 23 games (24.9 MPG). However, it appears he’s not in the team’s plans going forward, at least for now.

Huff joins Cam Spencer and Scotty Pippen Jr. as the Grizzlies’ two-way players.

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Jay Huff Signs Two-Way Deal With Nuggets

July 18th, 2023 at 3:41pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 18: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 16: Free agent center Jay Huff has agreed to sign a two-way deal with the Nuggets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

This will mark the third two-way contract for Huff, a 7’1″ big man out of Virginia. The 2019 NCAA champion first joined the Lakers on a two-way agreement in 2021/22, and most recently was a two-way player for the Wizards in 2022/23.

Huff has spent most of his pro time with the G League affiliates of those clubs, having appeared in a grand total of just 11 NBA games. In those contests, he’s posted averages of 4.6 PPG on .536/.429/.938 shooting splits, along with 2.3 RPG and 1.0 APG.

Across 28 total regular season appearances split between the Lakers’ NBAGL team, the South Bay Lakers, and then eventually the Wizards’ affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, Huff posted averages of 15.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.9 BPG and 1.3 SPG in 2022/23.

For his efforts last season, he was named the NBA G League Defensive Player of the Year, as well as an All-NBA G League First Teamer and an NBA G League All-Defensive Teamer.

Most recently, Huff has been playing for the Rockets’ Summer League club.

The Nuggets also recently agreed to a two-way deal with forward Braxton Key, and have a two-way qualifying offer on the table for guard Collin Gillespie.

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NBAGL Announces 2022/23 All-League Awards

April 13th, 2023 at 9:30pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA G League named the recipients of its All-League, All-Rookie, and All-Defensive teams on Thursday (all Twitter links found here). Many of the honorees are on standard NBA or two-way contracts.

Here’s the full list:

All-NBA G League First Team

All-NBA G League Second Team

All-NBA G League Third Team

NBAGL All-Defensive Team

NBAGL All-Rookie Team

  • Kenneth Lofton
  • Lester Quinones – Santa Cruz Warriors *
    • Note: Quinones placed second in ROY voting.
  • Darius Days
    • Note: Days placed third in ROY voting.
  • Jamaree Bouyea
  • Moussa Diabate

(^ denotes standard NBA contract)

(* denotes two-way contract)

(# Bouyea signed 10-day deals with the Heat and Wizards, but is now an NBA free agent)

Both Dunn and Samanic signed standard contracts with the Jazz, while Harrison signed with the Lakers at the very end of the season after playing with Portland on a 10-day deal. Duke and Lofton recently had their two-way contracts converted into standard deals.

Cooper, Chiozza and Anderson all hold NBA experience as well. Cooper spent 2021/22 — his rookie season — on a two-way deal with the Hawks; Chiozza has played for the Rockets, Nets and Warriors, and recently signed with a Spanish team; Anderson has appeared in 242 NBA games with six teams in as many seasons.

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