Shaquille Harrison Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nuggets Sign Shaquille Harrison, Cut Greg Whittington

April 9th, 2021 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

APRIL 9: The moves are official, according to a press release from the team.

APRIL 8: The Nuggets intend to sign free agent guard Shaquille Harrison to a two-way contract, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, Denver will make room for Harrison by waiving current two-way player Greg Whittington.

A 27-year-old guard known for his strong perimeter defense, Harrison began the season with the Jazz, but saw limited minutes (3.3 MPG) in his 17 games with the team and was released before his salary became fully guaranteed for 2020/21.

Having also spent time in past seasons with Phoenix and Chicago, Harrison has career averages of 5.5 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .444/.289/.710 shooting in 156 total contests (15.1 MPG).

Although Harrison likely won’t play a major role in Denver, he’ll be eligible to play in the postseason, since the NBA adjusted the rule restricting two-way players from participating in the playoffs this season.

As for Whittington, he signed a two-way deal with the Nuggets in the fall but appeared in just four games with the team, going scoreless in 12 total minutes. As Mike Singer of The Denver Post tweets, the 28-year-old forward injured his knee in training camp and underwent a surgical procedure on it in January, derailing his first NBA season.

Even after signing Harrison, Denver won’t necessarily be done seeking backcourt depth, Singer adds (via Twitter). The club will have an open spot on its 15-man roster after waiving Gary Clark.

Several 10-Day Contracts Expire; Multiple Teams Have Roster Spots To Fill

March 8th, 2021 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

All seven of the 10-day contracts that were signed during the final week of February have now expired. As our 10-day tracker shows, that list included three Nets deals (Tyler Cook, Iman Shumpert, and Andre Roberson), along with contracts signed by the Pelicans (Sindarius Thornwell), Raptors (Donta Hall), Lakers (Damian Jones), and Kings (Norvel Pelle).

None of those players have been re-signed to a second 10-day deal so far, but that comes as no surprise. The five teams that had players on 10-day contracts won’t begin their second-half schedules until Thursday at the earliest (Friday for the Lakers), so it doesn’t make sense to sign someone to a 10-day contract now and waste the first few days of the deal.

That doesn’t mean that all the players listed above will get a second 10-day stint with their respective teams later this week, but some of them seem like good bets to stick around a little longer. Jones, for instance, looked good during his 10 days as a Laker, putting up eight points in eight minutes in his first appearance and earning a start in Sacramento last Wednesday.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that the Lakers and Pelicans are now carrying 13 players on standard contracts, while the Nets are carrying just 12. The NBA requires teams to have a minimum of 14 players under contract (not counting two-ways), but clubs are permitted to dip below that minimum for two weeks at a time.

So even if those three clubs decide not to bring back the same players on 10-day contracts, they’ll have to add a player (two players in Brooklyn’s case, but one will be Blake Griffin) at some point during the next couple weeks.

The Jazz are also in this boat, but will have to add a player even sooner. They dipped to 13 players on standard contracts when they waived Shaquille Harrison on February 24, so we can probably expect them to sign a player to a 10-day deal before the second-half schedule gets underway this week.

The Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Rockets, Clippers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Suns, Trail Blazers, Kings, Spurs, and Raptors also have openings on their 15-man rosters, but aren’t under any pressure to fill them in the near future, since they’re all at the 14-player minimum.

Most teams with open roster spots will fill them before the end of the regular season, but for the time being, it makes sense for those teams to either hold them open or fill them with players on 10-day deals in order to maximize their roster flexibility for the March 25 trade deadline.

Jazz Waive Shaquille Harrison

February 24th, 2021 at 3:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have waived veteran guard Shaquille Harrison in advance of today’s salary guarantee deadline, the team announced in a press release. Ben Anderson of KSL Sports first reported (via Twitter) that Utah was cutting Harrison.

A 6’4″ guard who previously played for Phoenix and Chicago and has a reputation as a strong defender, Harrison signed a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Jazz during the offseason. Although he appeared in 17 games for the team, he never established himself as a rotation player — virtually all of his minutes came in garbage time of double-digit wins or losses.

By waiving him today, the Jazz will avoid paying Harrison’s full-season salary. Rather than carrying a $1.62MM cap hit for the guard, they’ll assume a $770,433 dead-money charge, assuming he passes through waivers unclaimed. If another team claims him, Utah could remove his cap hit entirely.

The Jazz have two other players with non-guaranteed contracts, but there’s no indication that Miye Oni or Juwan Morgan are going anywhere. Assuming they remain on the roster through today, their 2020/21 salaries will become fully guaranteed.

Utah now has two open spots on its 15-man roster and will have to fill at least one of those openings within the next two weeks, perhaps by signing a player to a 10-day contract.

Northwest Notes: Harrison, Beasley, Maledon, Nuggets

December 10th, 2020 at 9:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The contract signed by new Jazz guard Shaquille Harrison is non-guaranteed, per John Hollinger of the Athletic. Jazz head coach Quin Snyder also told reporters today that Harrison is currently recovering from a broken hand, Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. The newest member of the team is engaging in individual workouts with a single coach at present.

Snyder lauded Harrison’s potential as a defender for the Jazz. “When you watch him play, it jumps out at you that he can defend,” he said.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Newly re-signed Timberwolves shooting guard Malik Beasley is stressing connection and communication in training camp, per Chris Hine of the Star Tribune. “Every day I ask [D’Angelo Russell] and Ricky [Rubio] what I can do to be a better playmaker,” Beasley said. He also noted that he and Minnesota star center Karl-Anthony Towns are similarly communicative. “We’ve built a relationship to be able to talk to each other and hold each other accountable. So I think this year is going to be a great year for KAT and the whole unit.”
Thunder second-round rookie selection Théo Maledon has signed a four-year, $7.8MM contract, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Maledon will earn a $2MM guaranteed salary in each of the first two years of his new deal, according to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Smith goes on to note that each of the final two seasons of Maledon’s deal – which comes out of OKC’s mid-level exception – are non-guaranteed, and that the Thunder will have a team option for the fourth year.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has deemed wing Will Barton “doubtful” for Saturday’s first preseason bout against the Warriors, Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports tweets. Malone also hailed guard PJ Dozier as the “MVP” of Denver’s training camp thus far.

Northwest Notes: Okogie, Hill, Harrison, Bol

December 9th, 2020 at 9:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Due to a lack of established options at the power forward position, the Timberwolves may explore having 6’5″ wing Josh Okogie spend some time at the four, according to Jon Krawczynski of the Athletic.

The recently re-signed Juan Hernangómez figures to have the inside track on the starter job for the Timberwolves. Naz Reid, Jarred Vanderbilt and Okogie will also be in the mix for minutes at the four. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and/or Tyler Cook would also be candidates for playing time if one or both make the team.

Okogie is confident that, if called to play power forward, he will be able to hold his own for the Timberwolves. “I do know, if I was in that position, I don’t think I’d have a lot of trouble,” Okogie said. “Even last year, rarely do I guard somebody that’s smaller than me, unless I’m guarding like a point guard or something. Usually I’m guarding the Kawhi Leonards and Paul Georges, usually people that are taller than me, so I don’t think it’d be much different.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

New Thunder point guard George Hill is looking forward to serving as a veteran presence for his young teammates on a rebuilding squad in Oklahoma City, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman reports. “To be that leader out here is much needed with the young locker room that we have,” Hill said.
The latest offseason addition to the Jazz roster, defensive-minded guard Shaquille Harrison, can help guard multiple positions off the bench, according to Tony Jones of the Athletic. Jones adds that, due to Harrison’s lack of shooting touch, he will need to be employed in shooting-heavy lineups.
After logging most of his first NBA season in the G League, Nuggets big man Bol Bol flashed intriguing potential in seven of eight regular-season NBA restart seeding game contests. After Denver converted his two-way contract into a two-year, $4.1MM contract this offseason, questions remain about the slight, 7’2″ Bol’s ultimate positional fit on the court, as Mike Singer of the Denver Post details.

Jazz Sign Shaquille Harrison To One-Year Deal

December 9th, 2020 at 4:35pm CST by Luke Adams

4:35pm: The Jazz have officially signed Harrison, the team announced in a press release.

3:03pm: The Jazz are finalizing a contract agreement with free agent guard Shaquille Harrison, sources tell Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’ll be a one-year, minimum-salary deal, Charania adds (via Twitter).

Harrison, 27, spent the last two seasons with the Bulls, averaging 5.9 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 116 total games (16.5 MPG). Harrison’s offensive output, including a shooting line of .442/.305/.706 as a Bull, was relatively modest, but he’s considered a strong perimeter defender.

The Jazz indicated heading into the offseason that they were making it a priority to add defensive-minded players to their roster. Harrison certainly fits that bill — he has averaged 2.3 steals per 36 minutes over the course of his NBA career, and the Bulls had a 99.7 defensive rating when he was on the court in 2019/20, compared to a 110.0 mark when he sat.

The Jazz only have 11 players with fully guaranteed salaries for 2020/21, so Harrison looks like a good bet to make the regular season roster. Utah also has a pair of openings on its 20-man training camp roster, so no corresponding move will be required to sign Harrison.

Bulls Notes: Williams, Simonovic, Draft, QO Decisions

November 19th, 2020 at 9:21am CST by Luke Adams

Making his first draft pick as the head man in an NBA front office on Wednesday night, new Bulls president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas told reporters – including Sam Smith of Bulls.com – that he was pleased to come away with Florida State forward Patrick Williams at No. 4. Karnisovas praised Williams’ athleticism, versatility, ballhandling, and ability to play multiple positions.

“The more we were digging in his background and we were able to see him, that’s how we came to our decision that that’s our guy,” Karnisovas said of Williams. “We need players in our league that can play multiple positions. He’s an elite athlete. At four we were really happy in that position because we knew we had a chance to pick Patrick and we just stayed there and we got our player.”

Williams was one of two picks the Bulls made on Wednesday, along with Montenegrin center Marko Simonovic at No. 44.

“I think overall tonight we drafted players that we were targeting,” Karnisovas said, per Smith. “And it doesn’t happen very often. I received a ton of texts from executives around the league and they were all telling me, ‘Enjoy your night.’ And that’s what I did. It’s special to me. It’s my first night as a lead exec of the Chicago Bulls. I thought it was a very successful night.”

Here’s more on the Bulls:

Despite rumors that the Bulls had offered Wendell Carter Jr. and the No. 4 pick to move up to No. 2, Karnisovas told reporters after the draft that the club didn’t consider trading up (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago). While that may be true, it’s also plausible that Karnisovas is saying that publicly so as not to make waves with Carter.
Simonovic will be stashed overseas for at least one year, Karnisovas said on Wednesday night (Twitter link via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic). He’s currently under contract with Crvena Zvezda in Serbia.
Explaining the Bulls’ decision not to tender qualifying offers to Kris Dunn and Shaquille Harrison, while Denzel Valentine got one, Karnisovas said that the club’s limited roster space and emphasis on shooting were major factors (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson). The president of basketball operations added that Chicago will be “really picky” in free agency.

Bulls Won’t Extend Qualify Offer To Shaq Harrison

November 16th, 2020 at 7:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls will not extend a qualifying offer to guard Shaquille Harrison, making him an unrestricted free agent, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Harrison had a low-cost QO of $2,025,705 but Chicago chose to create a little more cap and roster flexibility rather than retain the 6’7” guard.

The undrafted Harrison, 27, began his career in Phoenix. He’s been with the Bulls the past two seasons. Last season, Harrison appeared in 43 games — including 10 starts — and averaged 4.9 PPG in 11.3 MPG. He shot 38.1% from long range.

The Bulls are reshaping their backcourt, as they’re also declining to extend a QO to a more prominent player, Kris Dunn. Both Dunn and Harrison are considered strong defenders but are somewhat limited on offense.

Chicago did make a qualifying offer to two-way player Adam Mokoka, according to Keith Smith of RealGM (Twitter link). That QO will be a two-way deal with $50K guaranteed.

And-Ones: Free Agents, Jersey Ads, Bubble, Europe

November 3rd, 2020 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

John Hollinger of The Athletic, who invented the PER stat during his time at ESPN, has developed a new metric called BORD$ that estimates a player’s salary value for the upcoming season. After providing an in-depth explanation of how exactly the BORD$ formula works, Hollinger has applied it to this year’s class of free agent point guards and shooting guards in an attempt to determine which players warrant the biggest investments.

Hollinger’s point guard list doesn’t include a ton of surprises — Fred VanVleet is easily the most valuable free agent at the position, with Mike Conley and Goran Dragic topping the next two tiers. Shabazz Napier, Trey Burke, and Jordan McLaughlin are among the point guards whose projections are higher than you might expect.

Applied to this year’s free agent shooting guards, the results from Hollinger’s metric are more eyebrow-raising. Grizzlies RFA-to-be De’Anthony Melton is considered the top free agent at the position by BORD$, ahead of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Evan Fournier. A pair of Bulls guards, Kris Dunn and Shaquille Harrison, also rank in Hollinger’s top seven FA shooting guards due to their defensive prowess.

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

As the NBA considers potential new revenue streams to help offset the losses generated by the coronavirus pandemic, allowing a second advertisement patch on game jerseys is one idea being weighed, according to John Lombardo of SportsBusiness Journal.
David Aldridge of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at the lessons learned from the NBA’s summer bubble experiment and the takeaways that could carry over to the 2020/21 season. As Aldridge observes, while players and coaches aren’t eager to re-enter a bubble next year, the fact that it worked so well this time around will go a long way toward convincing them it’s worth doing again, if need be — even if it’s just for a short period in the postseason, like Major League Baseball did.
The coronavirus pandemic has continued to wreak havoc on European basketball leagues that have begun their 2020/21 seasons, as Ken Maguire of The Associated Press writes. Only half of the EuroLeague’s 18 clubs have played a full six-game schedule so far this season, as COVID-19 outbreaks have caused several last-minute postponements.

Central Notes: Griffin, Drummond, Oppenheimer, Harrison

October 23rd, 2020 at 11:06am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons may be rebuilding, but they don’t expect it to be a long process, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. There’s optimism throughout the organization that Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose will both be healthy when training camp opens, giving the team a veteran foundation to guide its young players.

Griffin underwent knee surgery in January, but there have been “glowing” reports about his progress over the summer, according to Langlois. The veteran forward has regained confidence in his knee and remains in top condition. Langlois adds that Rose has also benefited from the extra long offseason.

Sekou Doumbouya, Luke Kennard, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Bruce Brown were all impressive at the team’s mini-camp, and the Pistons have the chance to add to the mix with $30MM in cap space and the seventh pick in next month’s draft. The hiring of general manager Troy Weaver, who has a track record of identifying young talent, adds to the optimism in Detroit.

There’s more on the Central Division:

The Knicks may be the best option for the Cavaliers if they decide to trade Andre Drummond, according to Chris Sheridan of Basketball News. New York has enough cap space to facilitate the deal and could offer role players on expiring contracts – Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, Taj Gibson and Elfrid Payton – if Cleveland wants any of them. Sheridan mentions the Hornets, Pistons, Hawks, Heat and Suns as other possibilities.
Josh Oppenheimer will return to the Bucks as an assistant coach, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Most recently an assistant at James Madison, Oppenheimer worked for Milwaukee from 2013-16, serving on the staffs of Larry Drew and Jason Kidd. He was also an assistant for the Rockets and the Long Island Nets of the G League. Oppenheimer is known as the “shot doctor” and worked extensively with Giannis Antetokounmpo early in his career, notes Matt Velasquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link).
K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago ranks the Bulls who are least likely to return next season. He puts guard Shaquille Harrison at the top of the list, believing the potential restricted free agent would be “redundant” if Chicago makes a qualifying offer to Kris Dunn. Veteran forward Thaddeus Young, who has just a partial guarantee beyond next season, is second, followed by guard Denzel Valentine, another potential restricted free agent who couldn’t get regular playing time under former coach Jim Boylen, but displayed strong leadership skills during mini-camp.