- Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said on Tuesday that second-year forward Keldon Johnson, who has been sidelined so far this month due to a foot injury, won’t be ready for the team’s regular season opener, but could be good to go in “a couple of weeks,” writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Derrick White (left toe surgery) will likely be out longer than that, per Popovich. “(Johnson is) going 3-on-3 now,” Popovich said. “He has contact and he’s competing. … Derrick’s further behind (in his rehab). He’s not out on the floor competing or doing anything of that nature.”
Spurs swingman DeMar DeRozan is helping to teach rookie Devin Vassell the nuances of the NBA game, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express News writes. Vassell was selected with the 11th overall pick in the draft and also plays on the wing. “A lot of times, even in practice, he comes to me and asks questions,” DeRozan said. “That’s big for a young guy to to be able to come to our vets and just ask questions, ask what he is doing wrong, what he can do better.” Vassell had 12 points, six rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes during his preseason debut.
The Spurs signed guard Khyri Thomas to an Exhibit 10 contract this weekend, waiving the 24-year-old shortly thereafter, Jeff Garcia of News 4 San Antonio tweets.
Thomas is expected to play with the team’s G League affiliate in the proposed bubble next month. The Thunder were among those to express interest in the free agent guard before he signed with the Spurs, Garcia adds.
Thomas, the No. 38 pick back in 2018, has spent the past two seasons with the Pistons. He appeared in a total of 34 games, struggling with his shooting and getting traded to Atlanta last month. The Hawks then waived the Creighton product upon acquiring him.
This move marks the second of its kind in recent days for San Antonio, who also signed and waived Kylor Kelley on Friday, sources told Hoops Rumors. Both players were inked to Exhibit 10 deals, which enables the pair to receive a bonus of up to $50K if they remain on the team’s G League affiliate for at least 60 days.
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is hopeful that center Jakob Poeltl will commit to scoring more during the upcoming 2020/21 season, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Popovich wants Poeltl to channel his experiences as a chief scoring option for the Utah Utes into more offensive production this year. “Maybe he’s gotten the impression I don’t want him to score,” Popovich joked. “Maybe that’s my fault.”
The Spurs signed forward/center Kylor Kelley to an Exhibit 10 deal and then subsequently waived him, a source told JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).
Kelley, 23, started his journey to the NBA playing in a Christian college, moved onto a community college, and spent his final two collegiate seasons at Oregon State. In two seasons with the Beavers, he averaged 9.4 PPG and 5.3 RPG while averaging 3.4 blocks as a defensive menace.
The seven-footer set the all-time record for blocks (211) in OSU history. Additionally, the Oregon native set the school’s single-season records for blocked shots (107) and single-season blocked shots average (3.45), as well as the record for blocked shots in a game (nine).
An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary pact that allows a player to make a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.
The plan for the 2020/21 G League season has yet to be officially announced, but Kelley would be a strong option to see time for the Austin Spurs if they participate.
- Per the wishes of Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, center/power forward LaMarcus Aldridge has been working on his three-point shot during team practices this season, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Though he is a career 31.2% three-point shooter, Aldridge connected on a solid 38.9% of a career-high 3.0 long-range attempts during the 2019/20 season.
Around the time that Mike D’Antoni and Daryl Morey departed the Rockets this fall, James Harden approached team management and ownership with a mandate to either build a championship team around him or trade him somewhere where he could win a ring, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
As Iko observes, this isn’t the first time that Harden has approached the Rockets with that sort of mandate. Sources tell The Athletic that the former MVP told the front office the same thing last year, which ultimately led to the Chris Paul/Russell Westbrook trade. That aligns with a 2019 report which suggested that Harden issued a “him or me” ultimatum to the club regarding Paul.
While it remains to be seen how the Harden situation will play out this time around, the fact that the Rockets were able to navigate a similar quagmire in 2019 helps explain why the team has confidence that it can once again sell the superstar guard on the outlook in Houston.
For more on the Harden situation, check out our roundup from earlier this morning. Here are a few more items from around the Southwest:
- Spurs forward Trey Lyles is entering a contract year and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2021, but he can envision himself in San Antonio beyond this season, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). “I am very comfortable here,” Lyles said. “It is the perfect situation for me, perfect situation for the player I am, the player I see myself being and becoming. I would love to be able to stay here long term.”
- The Texas Legends – the Mavericks‘ G League affiliate – are among the teams expected to opt out of the proposed G League bubble in Atlanta, sources tell JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).
- The Mavericks targeted James Johnson this offseason in large part because of his toughness, but he feels as if he can bring more than that to the team, as Dwain Price of Mavs.com writes. “I know what I can bring, I understand why they brought me here,” Johnson said. “I feel it was more than just the toughness and the black belt, but I’m able to play whatever role that’s thrown my way.”
- The trade kicker on Brandon Ingram‘s new five-year contract with the Pelicans is the maximum allowable 15%, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Free agent guard Yogi Ferrell is still seeking NBA opportunities, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. His agent, Cervando Tejada, denied a report that he was negotiating with FC Barcelona in the EuroLeague. “Ferrell is in (the) U.S. working out and waiting for another NBA opportunity and no talks have happened with Barcelona as of now,” Tejeda told. Ferrell played for the Kings the past two seasons and appeared in 50 regular-season games as a reserve last season, averaging 4.4 PPG in 10.6 MPG.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- NBA teams are offering fewer Exhibit 10 contracts to players on their training camp rosters, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. There were 51 players on Exhibit 10 contracts as of Saturday, down from 128 two seasons ago. Players receive a $50K bonus if he spends 60 days with the G League affiliate of the team that signed him. But with the uncertainty regarding the G League’s season, such contracts have become less valuable, Marks adds.
- Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan chased an intruder out of his house last month, according to a TMZ report. DeRozan confronted the man, who had made his way upstairs into a play area where at least one of DeMar’s kids was located. The intruder was arrested after attempting to get back into DeRozan’s gated community.
- Warriors associate coach Mike Brown has aspirations of turning the Nigeria national basketball team into a powerhouse, Colin Udoh of ESPN writes. Brown has become Nigeria’s head coach and he believes there’s enough talent to earn a medal at next year’s Tokyo Olympics. “Our goal is to finish on the podium,” he said. “We want to show the world that we can compete with the best of them. And I think, with the talent that we have, it’s a realistic goal for us.”
- The National Basketball Referees Association has ratified a Letter of Agreement which modifies its collective bargaining agreement with the NBA for the 2020/21 season, the NBRA tweets. The modifications address COVID-19 issues and provide for the officials’ waiver of certain work rules in order to implement those health and safety protocols.
- Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan is prepared to buy into the team’s current situation, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. DeRozan, 31, is set to enter his third season with San Antonio, a team that has a mixture of young players and veterans, after picking up a $27.7MM player option to return to the club last month. “That was one of my main reasons for coming back,” DeRozan said, “The faith and the confidence I had in those young guys and wanting to be a part of what we started in the bubble.”
As the beginning of the 2020/21 NBA season approaches, the Magic and Spurs have emerged as the latest teams with plans to host fans inside their arenas.
Orlando and San Antonio join the Jazz as teams to have announced they will allow spectators during the 2020/21 season. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic – and no longer playing in a campus setting – the league has stressed safety and health precautions.
The Spurs announced that the organization plans to welcome fans starting on January 1, 2021, for a matchup against the Lakers. Seating at the games will be “limited capacity, pending the status of public health data and guidelines.”
“We’ve been planning for this moment for months and are confident in the health and safety protocols we have in place,” said Spurs Sports & Entertainment CEO R.C. Buford. “Waiting until Jan. 1 will allow us to run through real in-game scenarios to ensure that we are doing everything possible to responsibly celebrate the start of a new season with our Spurs Family.”
As for the Magic, their press release states that plans are being made to host fans in a “socially distanced, limited capacity at the Amway Center.” First priority will be given to season ticket holders based on tenure and then fans who made a season ticket deposit. The team will also release tickets to the general public on a game-by-game basis.
“As we have said, the health and safety of everyone connected to our game will be top priority,” said Magic CEO Alex Martins. “Our goal is to make everyone feel comfortable that extensive safety precautions have been taken for the return to Amway Center. We continue to work through protocols as outlined by the NBA, CDC and local health officials and will use the preseason as a trial to assess and evaluate safety measures.”
The 2020/21 NBA season is scheduled to tip off on December 22.