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Cavaliers Sign Luke Kornet, Justin Anderson To 10-Day Deals

December 21st, 2021 at 10:11am CST by JD Shaw

DECEMBER 21: The Cavaliers have officially signed Kornet and Anderson to 10-day deals, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 19: The Cavaliers are targeting big man Luke Kornet and forward Justin Anderson for potential 10-day contracts, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Cleveland would use hardship exceptions to sign the two NBA veterans, who are both currently playing in the G League with separate teams.

The news comes in the wake of Jarrett Allen, Lamar Stevens, Dylan Windler, Denzel Valentine and RJ Nembhard all entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Sunday. In addition to those five players, Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro are also in the protocols for Cleveland.

Kornet, a 7’2″ center, holds NBA experience with the Knicks, Bulls and Celtics. In 10 games for the Maine Celtics this season, the 26-year-old has averaged 11.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 27.4 minutes, shooting 51% from the floor.

Anderson, a five-year veteran, has made stops with the Mavericks, Sixers, Hawks and Nets. In his 11 games with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, he’s averaged 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He was also the No. 21 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

The Cavaliers are 19-12 and didn’t have enough players for their game against Atlanta on Sunday, causing the contest to be postponed. The team is still going through the re-testing process, according to Charania. As of Sunday night, the league has over 60 players in its health and safety protocols.

Raptors To Sign Nik Stauskas

December 20th, 2021 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Nik Stauskas is returning to the NBA, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link), who reports that the veteran shooting guard has agreed to sign with the Raptors. While Stein’s report doesn’t offer additional specifics, it seems relatively safe to assume Stauskas will get a 10-day contract via the hardship exception.

Stauskas, who was born in Mississauga, Ontario, was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 draft and appeared in 335 regular season games from 2014-19 for the Kings, Sixers, Nets, Trail Blazers, and Cavaliers. He was a fairly reliable three-point threat (.353 3PT%) during that time, but didn’t show enough other skills to stick in the NBA.

After a brief stint overseas, Stauskas signed in the G League for the 2021 bubble and then returned to the NBAGL this season. In 12 games (38.3 MPG) in 2021/22 for the Grand Rapids Gold, the 28-year-old has recorded 21.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .429/.352/.915 shooting.

It has been a busy day for Toronto, as the team also reportedly reached deals with Brandon Goodwin and Juwan Morgan while placing Gary Trent Jr. in the health and safety protocols. The Raptors had their Monday night game postponed and won’t resume play until Wednesday in Chicago, so I’d expect them to wait a couple more days to officially finalize their signings in order to maximize each player’s 10 days.

Celtics Sign C.J. Miles To 10-Day Contract

December 20th, 2021 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

2:49pm: The Celtics have officially signed Miles to a 10-day contract, the team announced this afternoon (via Twitter).

10:45am: The Celtics will fortify their roster by signing veteran swingman C.J. Miles via a hardship exception, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Miles won’t count against the team’s roster limit, so no corresponding move will be necessary.

Miles, 34, hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2019/20 season, when he appeared in 10 games for Washington. However, he signed last week with the G League Ignite and played 22 minutes in his NBAGL debut on Friday.

A sharpshooter who has made 1,250 career three-pointers at a 35.8% clip, Miles has appeared in a total of 848 NBA regular season games and another 44 postseason contests for the Jazz, Cavaliers, Pacers, Raptors, Grizzlies, and Wizards. He has career averages of 9.6 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 20.4 MPG.

The Celtics have already signed one player – Justin Jackson – using the hardship exception, but have seven players in the health and safety protocols, so they figure to make at least one more roster addition besides Miles.

Miles’ 10-day deal won’t count against the salary cap or luxury tax for Boston, based on the new roster rules agreed upon by the NBA and NBPA.

Mavericks Sign Theo Pinson To 10-Day Deal

December 20th, 2021 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

1:44pm: Pinson’s 10-day contract with the Mavericks is now official, according to the team (Twitter link).

8:22am: The Mavericks intend to sign shooting guard Theo Pinson to a 10-day contract via the hardship provision, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Pinson, 26, was in camp with the Celtics in the fall, but was waived before the regular season began and ended up joining Boston’s G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. In 12 games (32.8 MPG) for Maine, he has averaged 16.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .425/.405/.833 shooting.

Pinson spent time with the Nets and Knicks between 2018-21, appearing in a total of 68 NBA games during that time. He had a very limited role in Brooklyn and New York, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 9.0 minutes per contest.

Dallas currently has two players – Reggie Bullock and Josh Green – in the health and safety protocols. Based on the NBA’s new roster rules, that means the Mavs are required to sign at least one replacement player.

Bulls Sign Alfonzo McKinnie To Second 10-Day Deal

December 20th, 2021 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

12:57pm: The Bulls have officially re-signed McKinnie to a second 10-day contract, the team announced (via Twitter).

That answers our question about whether McKinnie’s initial 10-day deal would be extended by a day to cover a third game — it seems it won’t be. His new contract will run through December 29, covering Chicago’s next five games (barring any additional postponements).

11:47am: The Bulls will re-sign forward Alfonzo McKinnie to a second 10-day contract after adding him via a hardship exception earlier in the month, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

McKinnie logged 29 minutes in his first game as a Bull on December 11 and played 17 more minutes in the team’s win over the Lakers on Sunday. The 29-year-old spent last season with the Lakers, but was waived in August with two non-guaranteed years left on his contract. He got into 39 games for L.A. and averaged 3.1 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.6 minutes per night.

Before catching on with Chicago, McKinnie had been playing this season for the Mexico City Capitanes, scoring 24.1 PPG and shooting 43.3% from three-point range for the G League’s newest team.

McKinnie signed his first 10-day contract on December 10, which means it should have expired overnight on Sunday. However, due to a pair of postponements, the Bulls only played two games during those 10 days. Typically, a 10-day contract must cover a minimum of three games, but it’s unclear if that rule still applies in this unprecedented scenario.

If McKinnie’s first 10-day deal is automatically extended to include a third game, he could sign his second 10-day deal on Tuesday or Wednesday. If not, he’ll sign that second contract later on Monday in order to be active for tonight’s game.

The Bulls, who had 10 players in the health and safety protocols at one point, remain shorthanded — half of those players are still in the protocols.

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.

Sixers Sign Myles Powell, Waive Grant Riller

December 19th, 2021 at 3:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 19: The Sixers have officially signed Powell to a two-way deal and waived Riller, according to Derek Bodner of The Daily Six newsletter (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 18: The Sixers will sign former Seton Hall standout Myles Powell to a two-way contract, according to Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice. Current two-way player Grant Riller will be waived to make room on the roster, Neubeck adds.

Powell is currently with the Westchester Knicks in the G League, where he had 15 points, five rebounds and two assists in the only game he has played this year. He also appeared in 13 games for Westchester last season.

Powell has been seeking an NBA opportunity since going undrafted in 2020. He has signed three times with the Knicks, only to be waived shortly thereafter. The last time was in mid-October so that New York could retain his G League rights and give him an Exhibit 10 bonus for returning to Westchester.

He was a prolific scorer at Seton Hall, putting up 21.0 PPG in 2020 while earning Big East Player of the Year and first-team All-American honors.

Riller, a 24-year-old point guard, has been slowed by injuries since signing with Philadelphia in August and hasn’t appeared in any games this season. He suffered a torn meniscus in early October and injured his right shoulder in a G League game last month. He played seven games for the Hornets last season.

Nuggets Re-Sign Davon Reed

December 19th, 2021 at 9:49am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 19: The move is official, the Nuggets announced (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 18: The Nuggets are re-signing guard Davon Reed to another 10-day contract via the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The exemption has been granted to teams with COVID-19 and/or injury issues. It allows a team to add a 16th player to its standard “15-man” roster without waiving anyone.

According to our latest count, the team still has two players in health and safety protocols, though one (Michael Porter Jr.) is injured. The other player still sidelined by protocols is Bol Bol. They also have two other players out of action due to long-term injuries.

Reed signed on December 4. He’s averaged 3.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.5 SPG in 16.5 MPG while appearing in six games.

Reed had previously been playing for the team’s new G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold. A 2017 second-rounder, Reed appeared in 21 games for Phoenix during the 2017/18 season and 1o more for Indiana the following season. In seven games with the Gold, he averaged 12.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 3.8 APG.

Celtics Sign Justin Jackson Via Hardship Exemption

December 18th, 2021 at 4:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

4:17pm: Jackson’s signing is official, the Celtics announced in a press release.

11:35am: The Celtics are planning to sign forward Justin Jackson to a 10-day contract using the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Jackson has been playing for the Texas Legends, Dallas’ NBA G League affiliate.

The 15th pick of the 2017 draft, Jackson has appeared in 248 NBA games. Last season, he played 33 games for the Thunder and another for the Bucks. He began his career with Sacramento and also played one full season and part of another for Dallas.

The Mavericks waived Jackson during training camp prior to this season.

Boston has a handful of players in the league’s health and safety protocols — Sam Hauser, Juan Hernangomez, Al Horford, Jabari Parker and Grant Williams. The exemption is being used by multiple clubs to handle the current COVID crisis around the league. Players signed via the exemption don’t count against the 15-man roster limit.

Knicks Sign Tyler Hall To 10-Day Contract

December 18th, 2021 at 12:56pm CST by JD Shaw

The Knicks have signed guard Tyler Hall to a 10-day contract, the team announced today (Twitter link). New York currently has six players in the league’s health and safety protocols, so the team used a hardship exception to sign Hall.

At 6’5″ and 210 pounds, Hall has impressed in the G League this season, averaging 14.6 points per game for New York’s affiliate, the Westchester Knicks. He’s also pitched in 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per outing, playing an average of 38.5 minutes.

Hall went undrafted in 2019 after playing four collegiate seasons at Montana State University. The Knicks (13-16) have upcoming games scheduled against the Celtics on Saturday, Pistons on Tuesday and Wizards on Thursday.