Shaedon Sharpe Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Hardship Deals, Sharpe, Cornelie, All-Star Voting

January 20th, 2022 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA will continue to allow teams to sign players to 10-day hardship contracts via a COVID-related allowance through February 17, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). When first introducing the new form of hardship deals last month, the league said they would be permitted until at least January 19.

Unlike the injury-related hardship deals that have been available for many years, a COVID hardship contract doesn’t count against a team’s salary for cap or tax purposes. Additionally, an injury-related hardship exception is only granted if a club has at least four players out with longer-term injuries, whereas that club becomes eligible for a COVID hardship exception as soon as one player enters the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

There are far fewer players in the protocols now than there were in mid-to-late December and early January, so hopefully the worst of this season’s COVID-19 outbreaks are behind us and not many hardship deals will be required in the coming weeks.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Kentucky guard Shaedon Sharpe, once ranked by ESPN as the top prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, will be eligible to apply for the ’22 NBA draft as an early entrant, a source tells ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. It’s unclear whether or not Sharpe, who has yet to play at all for the Wildcats, will actually declare for this year’s draft. If he does, it would shake up the top 10 for lottery teams — Givony has tentatively placed the 18-year-old sixth overall on ESPN’s 2022 big board.
Despite some rumors that he was being eyed by a team in Spain, former Nuggets forward Petr Cornelie has signed a G League contract and joined the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s affiliate, according to the league’s transactions log. Cornelie was waived last week so the Nuggets could sign Davon Reed to a two-way contract.
The NBA announced the latest All-Star voting results on Thursday and issued a reminder that voting will end on Saturday and the All-Star starters will be announced next Thursday, January 27. The fans’ selections will account for 50% of the overall vote, with current NBA players (25%) and a media panel (25%) accounting for the remainder.

And-Ones: M. Gasol, I. Thomas, 2022 Draft, Sharpe

November 9th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After reuniting with Pau Gasol last season, FC Barcelona is attempting to recruit his brother Marc Gasol, team manager Juan Carlos Navarro confirmed this week (link via Mundo Deportivo; hat tip to Sportando).

Navarro classified the team’s discussions with Gasol as “conversations” rather than “negotiations,” but suggested that the Spanish center hasn’t ruled out the possibility. Gasol, who was traded from the Lakers to the Grizzlies and then was waived during the offseason, decided to return home to Spain rather than continue his career in the NBA. It remains to be seen if he’ll play on either side of the Atlantic in 2021/22.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

In a documentary-style YouTube video called ‘For The Love of The Game,’ free agent guard Isaiah Thomas says he nearly signed with an NBA team during the summer. “This offseason I worked out for three teams and got very positive feedback from every organization,” Thomas said, per Marcus Kwesi O’Mard of NESN.com. “There was one team that I was basically very close to signing (with), then it didn’t happen.” The 32-year-old is attempting to make an NBA comeback after spending just 10 days on a roster last season.
In the first draft of his big board for the 2022 NBA draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic contends that Duke forward Paolo Banchero and Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren are in their own tier at the top of the ’22 class. According to Vecenie, there are a lot of question marks beyond the top two at this point.
Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 1 prospect in ESPN’s ranking of the 2022 recruiting class, announced on Tuesday (via Twitter) that he’ll be enrolling at Kentucky in January. Sharpe won’t be eligible for the 2022 draft because he didn’t graduate high school before the NBA’s 2021/22 season began, notes ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Bosh, Mike James, Sharpe, Tough Contracts

September 11th, 2021 at 11:10am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Former Raptors and Heat All-Star big man Chris Bosh had to retire earlier than anticipated at age 33, having not played since he was 31 due to a scary blood clot issue. The 6’11” center/power forward may have interest in eventually pursuing a coaching or NBA front office career, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

“I don’t want to put any closure on it,” the 37-year-old Bosh said about a possible coaching gig. “Some sort of front-office or coaching position, I don’t want to throw dirt on it and say, ‘that’s it (and I won’t pursue it).'”

Bosh will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend as a player, after 11 All-Star appearances, one All-NBA Second Team honor, four Finals appearances and two titles. He holds career averages of 19.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 2.0 APG.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

Recent Nets reserve point guard Mike James has left Russian basketball club CSKA Moscow, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando. James now re-enters the NBA free agency pool. The 6’1″ guard previously began the 2020/21 season with CSKA Moscow, averaging 19.3 PPG and 5.7 across 27 games of Euroleague play. The 31-year-old vet eventually latched on with the Nets, averaging 7.7 PPG and 4.1 APG across 13 regular season contests, before seeing his role diminished in the playoffs. James had been under contract with CSKA Moscow through 2023, but had managed to carve out time to join the Nets at the end of the 2020/21 season with the club’s blessing. Now, he is a wholly unrestricted free agent.
Top high school prospect Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 1-ranked overall prospect in the class of 2022, has committed to suiting up for coach John Calipari in Kentucky, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN. “Coach Cal took the time to understand who I was as a person and how to get the best out of me,” Sharpe said. “I can see that he does a great job of working with athletes of my position and playing style and getting them to be the best versions of themselves. His experience is a large part of why I chose UK, but he believed in the vision and goals that I had for myself as well.” The addition of Sharpe marks Calipari’s first top-five recruit since he added now-Heat star big man Bam Adebayo in 2016. During Calipari’s 12 seasons at Kentucky, he has seen 43 of his players selected in the NBA draft, including 21 in the lottery. Sharpe also reportedly considered joining the G League Ignite, Arizona, Kansas and Oklahoma State before making his decision.
Several players throughout the NBA remain inked to unwieldy contracts relative to their output or health. Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype assesses the toughest deals to flip in the league ahead of the 2021/22 season. Rockets point guard John Wall, owed $91.7MM over the next two years, tops Gozlan’s list for the second straight season. Gozlan speculates that the 31-year-old former All-Star could be headed for a buyout with Houston soon. 33-year-old Cavaliers forward/center Kevin Love, owed $60.2MM over the next two seasons as Cleveland’s fourth-best big man, and 31-year-old maximum-salaried Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson, who has missed the last two seasons with an ACL tear (in 2019/20) and an Achilles tear (in 2020/21), are two of the more predictable names on the list. A few 2021 free agency signings and extensions make the cut, including the contracts of Bulls small forward DeMar DeRozan and Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen.