- The Jazz, particularly new owner Ryan Smith, are going out of their way to keep Donovan Mitchell happy, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report writes. Mitchell has voiced to Jazz officials his desire to see more Black men in the organization and it has added a number of them in recent hires. Mitchell is in the first year of a five-year, $163MM contract.
The NBA’s 2021/22 regular season is only eight days old and no team has played more than four games, but 27 of the league’s 30 teams have already lost at least once. The three undefeated teams left standing are the Bulls (4-0), Warriors (4-0), and Jazz (3-0).
Of those three clubs that have opened the season on winning streaks, Utah is perhaps the least surprising. The Jazz had the NBA’s best record last season and were expected to be in the mix for that honor again in 2021/22 — no team in the Western Conference was projected by oddsmakers to win more regular season games than Quin Snyder‘s club.
Still, the Jazz haven’t faced faced an especially tough test through the first week of the season. Their first two wins came over lottery teams (the Thunder and Kings), and their third opponent (the Nuggets) was missing its two maximum-salary players, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, due to injuries when Utah pulled away in the second half on Tuesday.
The new-look Bulls, led by All-Star Zach LaVine and newcomer DeMar DeRozan, have looked great so far, especially on defense, where they rank fourth in the NBA. But they also haven’t been tested by a top-tier opponent — their first four wins came against Detroit, New Orleans, and Toronto, all of whom are missing key players.
Chicago’s road will get a whole lot tougher starting on Wednesday. Twelve of the Bulls’ next 13 contests will be against playoff teams from last season, and the 13th game will be vs. Golden State, the league’s other unbeaten club.
The Warriors’ hot start may be the most impressive of the bunch — their first two wins were against the Lakers and Clippers, and three of the four have been in road games. I was a little concerned entering the season about Golden State’s depth with Klay Thompson, James Wiseman, and Jonathan Kuminga still on the mend, but a second unit led by Damion Lee, Andre Iguodala, and Nemanja Bjelica has been solid so far, and Stephen Curry (29.0 PPG) has been his usual dominant self.
The Dubs have a chance to keep their hot start going, as they begin an eight-game home stand on Thursday. That stretch will include six games against 2020/21 lottery teams, though some of those clubs – including Chicago and Charlotte – have looked more dangerous in ’21/22.
We want to know what you think. Being undefeated at this point in the season doesn’t mean much – the Magic started last season 4-0, for instance – but do you feel like these teams are for real? Are the Warriors and Bulls playoff-bound? Will the Jazz be the West’s No. 1 seed again? Or do you expect one or two of these clubs to cool off and come back down to earth in the coming days or weeks?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
After riding the pine for the first three quarters of an eventual 96-89 Timberwolves victory over the Pelicans on Sunday, reserve point guard Jordan McLaughlin made sure to maximize his minutes when his number was called during the game’s fourth quarter, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.
“We all have our job to do and mine is to be ready at all times,” McLaughlin said. “So, I’m just going in there, trying to change the game, pick up full court, be a pest on defense and push the pace on offense and make plays.”
A 5’11” point guard out of USC, the 25-year-old McLaughlin re-signed with Minnesota over the summer on a three-year, $6.5MM deal, with a team option for the final season. Hine notes that head coach Chris Finch had stuck with a 10-man rotation before ultimately turning to McLaughlin in a successful strategic maneuver to close out New Orleans. McLaughin’s solid offensive contributions in a win for the 2-1 Timberwolves could certainly earn him future rotation time.
In 12 minutes on Sunday, McLaughlin netted a +5 plus-minus rating, to go along with six points on two-of-three shooting, two steals, two boards and an assist. During the Timberwolves’ Monday rematch against the Pelicans on Monday, however, McLaughlin was less successful. In 11 minutes during the 107-98 loss, McLaughlin scored no points and registered a -10 rating, though he did chip in three assists and a rebound.
“We have literally 15 guys on the roster that can play at a high level, night in and night out,” McLaughlin said. “We have a really deep team, and every night we’ve got to bring it, withstand the punches and just keep rolling with them and try to overcome it at the end.”
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- Following their aforementioned 107-98 Monday defeat to the Pelicans, the Timberwolves held an intense practice, focused on emphasizing passing and looking for open teammates, writes Chris Hine of the Star Tribune. “The person that’s open gets the ball,” shooting guard Josh Okogie commented. “Obviously, we have (D’Angelo Russell) and (Karl-Anthony Towns), and those guys are the stars on our team, and those guys get, obviously, more leniency on the shots they do take because they’ve proved that they can make those shots. But in the normal flow of the offense, I feel like whether it’s me, Malik (Beasley), Taurean (Prince), Jaden (McDaniels), whoever it is … If the person is open, I feel like they should get the ball.” Minnesota head coach Chris Finch confirmed the intensity of the practice following the loss. “It was a little testy,” Finch said. “A lot of the guys talking about what could have been done better or different. … I’d rather have that than guys in there who don’t care and not say anything, they’re not bothered. Then winning doesn’t mean enough to you.”
- New Jazz reserve center Hassan Whiteside seems to be taking to his new fit on a playoff-caliber roster behind All-Star center Rudy Gobert quite well, per Tony Jones of The Athletic. Jones notes that the Jazz have outscored opponents by 20 points during the time Whiteside has logged on the floor in Gobert’s stead during the young season. “This is why they brought me here,” the 32-year-old said. “I knew what I was getting myself into when I signed here, so I had to prepare myself for how the Jazz liked to play. They like to have a rolling big. They want to have the shot-blocking. They’ve been really successful at it in the past, so I know how they like to play. I just have to put myself in a position to be successful.” Through two games as of this writing, Whiteside is averaging 7.0 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in just 17.0 MPG.
- Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault intends to rest veteran center Derrick Favors during one game of their back-to-back sets, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). Daigneault noted that this strategy was agreed upon by both Oklahoma City and Favors. The 6’9″ 30-year-old out of Georgia Tech has started two of his three contests with the Thunder thus far, averaging 4.0 PPG and 6.3 RPG across 16.3 MPG.
Outside of the occasional back-of-the-roster transaction – like Orlando signing Mychal Mulder to a two-way contract earlier today – the first few weeks of the NBA’s regular season are generally a fairly quiet time for roster moves.
However, one noteworthy deadline arrives next Monday — teams have until November 1 to exercise the 2022/23 third- and fourth-year rookie scale options for players who were first-round picks in the 2019 and 2020 drafts. For instance, the Cavaliers will have to pick up the fourth-year option for 2019 first-rounder Darius Garland, while the Hornets will have to exercise the third-year option for 2020 first-rounder LaMelo Ball.
Typically, the deadline for these decisions is October 31, but that’s a Sunday this year. When the deadline falls on a weekend, it’s moved to the next business day, per CBA expert Larry Coon.
As our tracker shows, there are still a number of options that have yet to be picked up, including Garland’s and Ball’s. However, there’s no suspense about whether those ones – or most others – will be exercised.
Rookie scale contracts for productive rotation players are among the biggest bargains in the NBA. Most teams even pick up their options on players who haven’t cracked the rotation, since controlling a young player with upside is usually worth the modest cost of his option.
Here’s the list of option decisions that have yet to be announced or reported:
Boston Celtics
- Romeo Langford (fourth year, $5,634,257)
- Grant Williams (fourth year, $4,306,281)
- Aaron Nesmith (third year, $3,804,360)
- Payton Pritchard (third year, $2,239,200)
Charlotte Hornets
- LaMelo Ball (third year, $8,623,920)
- P.J. Washington (fourth year, $5,808,435)
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Darius Garland (fourth year, $8,920,795)
- Isaac Okoro (third year, $7,040,880)
- Dylan Windler (fourth year, $4,037,278)
Golden State Warriors
- James Wiseman (third year, $9,603,360)
- Jordan Poole (fourth year, $3,901,399)
Houston Rockets
- Kevin Porter Jr. (fourth year, $3,217,631)
Indiana Pacers
- Goga Bitadze (fourth year, $4,765,339)
Philadelphia 76ers
- Matisse Thybulle (fourth year, $4,379,527)
- Tyrese Maxey (third year, $2,726,880)
Phoenix Suns
- Cameron Johnson (fourth year, $5,887,899)
- Jalen Smith (third year, $4,670,160)
Utah Jazz
- Udoka Azubuike (third year, $2,174,880)
It wouldn’t be a shock if all 18 of these options are ultimately picked up, but there are a few players who are more at risk than others.
Windler, for instance, has been limited to just 32 games since being drafted in 2019 due to health problems and isn’t a lock to have his $4MM option for 2022/23 exercised.
Azubuike logged garbage-time minutes in just 15 games as a rookie and doesn’t project to have a rotation role in Utah anytime soon. Third-year options are rarely declined and Azubuike’s $2.17MM salary would be very modest, but we saw the Clippers turn down Mfiondu Kabengele‘s option at the same price point a year ago.
Langford, Bitadze, and Smith are among the other players whose option decisions won’t be automatic, though I’d be a little surprised if their teams don’t opt in.
We’ll continue passing along all of these option decisions as they’re reported over the next week, so be sure to keep an eye on our tracker for the latest updates.
The NBA G League held its draft for the 2021/22 season on Saturday afternoon.
The 28 G League teams affiliated with NBA teams participated in the event, with the G League Ignite and Mexico City Capitanes sitting it out. The Ignite and Capitanes will be taking part in the NBAGL’s Showcase Cup this fall, but won’t be part of the 36-game regular season that tips off in late December.
The first player selected in today’s draft was former St. John’s point guard Shamorie Ponds, who was picked by the Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers‘ G League affiliate. Ponds has a little NBA experience, having appeared in four games as a rookie in 2019/20 while on a two-way contract with Toronto.
Among the other notable picks were Nate Darling by the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario at No. 5 and LiAngelo Ball by the Greensboro Swarm at No. 14. Last week, the Clippers and Hornets signed and waived Darling and Ball, respectively, in an effort to secure their affiliate rights, but were unable to get those rights for procedural reasons. The two teams had to use the draft to make sure they landed those players.
The Knicks also signed and waived veteran guard Brandon Knight during the preseason and were unable to get his affiliate rights due to a procedural issue. However, Westchester passed on Knight with the No. 4 overall pick today, and the Heat‘s affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, snatched him up at No. 6. We’ll see if Knight is no longer in the Knicks’ plans or if the Skyforce intend to trade his rights to Westchester.
Lance Stephenson to the Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets) at No. 13 and Dwyane Wade‘s son Zaire Wade to the Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) at No. 10 were a couple of the other notable picks that played out as expected.
Here are the full 2021/22 G League draft results:
Round One:
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Shamorie Ponds
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Tyler Hagedorn
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Gabe York
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Justin Turner
- Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): Nate Darling
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Brandon Knight
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Eddie Stansberry
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Jaylen Johnson
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Michael Gbinije
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Zaire Wade
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Loudon Love
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Alan Griffin
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Lance Stephenson
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): LiAngelo Ball
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): TJ Haws
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): B.J. Taylor
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Scottie Lindsey
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): Isaiah Ross
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Ruot Monyyong
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Marlon Stewart
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Joe Young
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Samir Doughty
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Chudier Bile
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Rodney Pryor
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Tim Bond
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Tyree White
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Montell McRae
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Cullen Russo
Round Two:
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Karim Mane
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Kalob Ledoux
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Gerard Tarin
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Barra Njie
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Tahj Eaddy
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Trevon Duval
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Gary Chivichyan
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Ryan Daly
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Keaton Wallace
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Pedro Bradshaw
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): Alexis Wangmene
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Ian DuBose
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Mike Smith
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Jaire Grayer
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Blake Francis
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Jack Pagenkopf
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Devonte Patterson
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Jordan Allen
- Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Devearl Ramsey
- Long Island Nets (Nets): Chris Walker
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Eric Demers
- Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Derrick Griffin
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): JaQuan Lyle
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Jachai Taylor
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Lydell Elmore
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Ikenna Ndugba
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Tevin King
- Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): Kammeon Holsey
Round Three:
- South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Elijah Cain
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Landon Taliaferro
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Will Vorhees
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Asante Gist
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Princepal Singh
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Trevor John
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Tristan Jarrett
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Devon Baulkman
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Jaylen Bland
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): J.C. Show
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): No pick
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Joel Ntambwe
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Lamonte Bearden
- Stockton Kings (Kings): No pick
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): Lindsey Drew
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Artur Labinowicz
- Long Island Nets (Nets): Jaylen Fisher
- Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): Randy Onwuasor
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Seth Allen
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Jovan Mooring
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Jermaine Haley
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Kerwin Roach
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Isaiah Blackmon
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Marlon Taylor
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Jimond Ivey
Teams will fill out their rosters with affiliate players, returning-rights players, tryout players, and players who are assigned to the G League from the NBA roster (including those on two-way contracts).
G League training camps open on Monday, with the Showcase Cup tournament tipping off on November 5.
Derrick Favors didn’t expect to be traded to the rebuilding Thunder, but he’s trying to make the most of the situation, as he told Tony Jones of The Athletic.
“At first, I was kind of confused,” Favors said. “I was caught off guard. But, I knew it was nothing personal. When I reflected on it from a business standpoint, I knew that something had to happen. I accepted it, and I’m in a great place.”
Favors, who scored just four points while grabbing nine rebounds against his former team on Wednesday, was a member of the Jazz for over eight years from 2011-19 before being traded to New Orleans. He re-signed with Utah in 2020 and then was traded again this offseason. The Thunder were motivated to make the deal with the Jazz by adding another future first-rounder to their stockpile of picks.
Since he hadn’t played a road game in Utah since first leaving the team in 2019, the Jazz put together a tribute video for Favors that was displayed during the first half, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News writes.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- As Jamal Murray works his way back from a devastating knee injury, Monte Morris is embracing his current role as the lead point guard, Kyle Fredrickson of the Denver Post writes. “I’m not trying to be Jamal Murray. I’m just trying to be the best fashion of myself that I can be and help the team in any way,” Morris said. “That’s why there’s not a lot of pressure.” He had nine points and three assists in the Nuggets’ opening-night victory over Phoenix.
- First-year coach Chauncey Billups says he’s not worried about the possibility of the Trail Blazers getting off to a slow start, Casey Holdahl of the team’s website writes. Billups is more concerned about the team’s growth under a new system. “This team has gotten to the playoffs forever and then those habits end up coming into play and it derails you from trying to extend your season,” he said. “So I’m more concerned with how we can change a lot of things that are really important for us on both ends of the ball. And when we actually do that, I just know how good of a team we can be.”
- Trail Blazers wing Tony Snell suffered a minor setback as he recovers from a right foot sprain that sidelined during the preseason, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “I think he’ll be on the court hopefully before two weeks but you can’t throw a guy back out there in a game,” Billups said. Snell joined the team in free agency on a one-year contract.
With the NBA regular season underway, most teams are taking full advantage of their ability to carry up to 17 players, including 15 on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals. As our roster counts page shows, 23 of the league’s 30 teams have full 17-man squads.
Most of the teams not carrying a 15th player on a standard contract are either over the luxury tax line or are bumping up against it, and have opted for financial savings for now. Those clubs are all decent bets to add a 15th man by season’s end, but likely won’t be in any rush to do so unless they face depth issues.
Here are the teams that are currently carrying just 14 players on their standard rosters:
- Miami Heat
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Phoenix Suns
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Utah Jazz
Of these six teams, three – the Bucks, Blazers, and Jazz – project to be taxpayers, while the Heat and Wolves would go over the tax line if they were to add a 15th man. The Suns are the only team in this group with no pressing tax concerns.
Meanwhile, there are two teams with an open two-way contract slot:
- Orlando Magic
- Phoenix Suns
The Magic’s inclusion here is a little surprising. They’re a rebuilding team with their own G League affiliate — it seems as if they’d benefit from taking a shot on a young prospect with that spot, and perhaps they will soon.
It’s less surprising that Phoenix is on this list. The Suns sold their G League affiliate last year, so they don’t have their own NBAGL team where they could send two-way players. Phoenix’s lone two-way player, Chandler Hutchison, will essentially serve as the team’s de facto 15th man for the time being.
Now that all 30 regular season rosters have been set, 10 teams project to be taxpayers, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Warriors, Nets, Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, Jazz, Sixers, Celtics, Trail Blazers, and Raptors are currently over the luxury tax threshold.
Some of those teams are in better shape than others. While the Warriors ($159.9MM) and Nets ($110.4MM) project to have nine-figure tax bills, the Raptors are barely into tax territory and should be able to sneak below the line, perhaps by waiving one of their two players who have partially guaranteed deals.
Besides Golden State and Brooklyn, the Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, and Jazz all have projected tax bills exceeding $33MM, according to Marks. The Sixers, Celtics, Blazers, and Raptors would owe less than $8MM each based on the current numbers.
Of course, these numbers can and will change over the course of the season as teams make roster moves, since tax bills are determined by the team’s year-end salary. For now though, the 20 non-taxpayers project to receive year-end payments of $12.7MM, Marks notes.
Here are a few more cap- and contract-related notes from around the NBA:
- Grayson Allen‘s two-year extension with the Bucks features a base value of $17MM ($8.5MM per year) in guaranteed money, plus incentives, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The exact value of the incentives is $1.275MM annually, Hoops Rumors has learned. Currently, those are a mix of likely and unlikely bonuses, but since the deal doesn’t begin until 2022/23, those likely/unlikely designations will ultimately be based on what happens this coming season.
- Wendell Carter Jr.‘s four-year extension with the Magic has a descending structure, Scotto tweets. It starts at $14.15MM in year one and dips to $10.85MM by year four. The deal is fully guaranteed, with no options.
- In addition to having a team option on its fourth year, Landry Shamet‘s extension with the Suns has a non-guaranteed salary in year three, Hoops Rumors has learned. The last two years both have June 29 trigger dates, in 2024 and 2025. Only $19.75MM of Shamet’s $42.5MM deal is fully guaranteed for now.
- Daniel Gafford‘s three-year extension with the Wizards doesn’t include any options or incentives, tweets John Hollinger of The Athletic.
Malik Fitts, who came to camp on an Exhibit 10 contract, has earned a two-way deal with the Jazz, the team announced in a press release.
The 24-year-old power forward, who played three games for the Clippers last season, signed with Utah in late September, just before the start of training camp. He appeared in four preseason games, averaging 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 11.8 minutes per night.
Fitts, who also spent time in the G League last season, impressed Jazz officials with his play during camp and the preseason, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic.
The Jazz waived Nino Johnson, who signed with the team on Thursday, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). Johnson is likely headed to Utah’s G League affiliate in Salt Lake City.
The Knicks have signed former Hawks guard Brandon Goodwin, the team’s PR department tweets.
Goodwin saw action in 47 games with Atlanta last year, averaging 4.9 PPG and 2.0 APG. He played on a $1.7MM contract last season and became a free agent when the team failed to extend a qualifying offer. He didn’t play in the postseason, partially due to a respiratory condition.
It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. That would give the Westchester Knicks his G League rights if/when the Knicks waive him.
Here are a couple more of the latest training camp signings:
- The Thunder have signed guard Scotty Hopson to a camp deal, according to the team’s PR department. He appeared in 41 games with the Oklahoma City Blue from 2018-20, including six games in 2020 where he averaged 18.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 31.2 minutes. He played for Melbourne United last season. Hopson, who played one games with Dallas during the 2017/18 season, will likely be waived and return to the Blue.
- The Jazz have signed Nino Johnson, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. Johnson, a 6’9” forward, played for the G League’s Memphis Hustle two seasons ago. He’ll likely be waived and play for Utah’s G League affiliate in Salt Lake City.