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Latest Details On NBA G League Bubble

December 24th, 2020 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Seventeen teams have indicated that they plan to participate in the NBA G League bubble, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who notes that the G League Ignite select team will be the 18th squad.

While we don’t yet have a full, official list of the teams participating in the G League bubble, Ridiculous Upside has done a good job passing along reports (including some of ours) and providing new details on which clubs are in and out. Their list includes 13 teams believed to be in, not counting the Ignite, as follows:

Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
Austin Spurs (Spurs)
Canton Charge (Cavaliers)
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers)
Lakeland Magic (Magic)
Long Island Nets (Nets)
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
Raptors 905 (Raptors)
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz)
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors)
Westchester Knicks (Knicks)

G League expert Adam Johnson says the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets), Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves), and Erie BayHawks (Pelicans) are also expected to take part (Twitter link).

The G League reportedly asked for teams to volunteer to opt out, since bringing 29 franchises to the bubble wouldn’t have been logistically possible, so the clubs passing on the bubble aren’t necessarily doing so because they’re not interested in participating.

Teams opting out of the bubble who signed players to Exhibit 10 contracts before the season will be given the option to loan or “flex” those players to another G League team for the bubble and will be responsible for paying all expenses for those players, Givony explains.

The Wizards, for example, aren’t expected to have the Capital City Go-Go play in the bubble, but will likely use the Pelicans’ affiliate – the BayHawks – as their temporary affiliate for their former Exhibit 10 players, such as Caleb Homesley, Marlon Taylor, and Yoeli Childs, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

A G League draft would take place in January, according to Givony, who reports that players whose returning rights are held by non-bubble teams would temporarily be dispersed to other clubs in that draft. If non-bubble teams don’t want to “flex” their former Exhibit 10 players to G League teams participating in the bubble, those players will also enter the draft pool, says Givony.

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that the tentative start date for the G League season is February 8. Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link) shares a more detailed breakdown of the proposed timeline, which would see G League players and staffers begin an “at-home” quarantine period on January 13.

Givony confirms that teams participating in the bubble still expect to play a minimum of 12 games apiece (not including the playoffs), as was reported in November.

Finally, Givony reports that the G League is making adjustments to its roster rules to make it easier for NBA teams to recruit and sign veterans with five or more years of NBA experience. Each team will be able to designate an “NBA Vet Selection” who fits that bill, and won’t have to navigate the NBAGL’s complicated waiver process to add that player, per Givony.

As Johnson tweets, the rule will be a one-off for this season and will allow – for instance – the Warriors to add Jeremy Lin to their Santa Cruz affiliate, like they wanted to.

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots To Start Season

December 24th, 2020 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that the regular season is underway, no NBA team is carrying more than 17 players in total — 15 on standard contracts and two on two-way deals. However, not every team is making use of all 17 roster spots available to them.

Currently, 12 of the league’s 30 teams have at least one open roster spot, either on their regular roster or in their two-way slots.

Those dozen teams have different reasons for not carrying a 15th man on their standard roster. For some clubs, the decision is likely financially motivated, since an open roster spot means not having to pay an extra player.

Some teams may want to maintain the roster flexibility that an open roster provides — it can allow a club to act quickly and decisively in the event of an injury or a two-for-one trade opportunity.

A handful of teams actually can’t add a 15th man at this point, since they’re too close to their hard cap and won’t be able to fit another minimum-salary contract below that hard cap until later in the season.

With the G League season not yet underway, a healthy team may simply decide there’s no point in filling the 15th spot with a developmental player who won’t see any game action. That may also be the reason why some teams haven’t yet filled both their two-way contract slots.

Listed below, with the help of our roster counts breakdown, are the teams that aren’t carrying full rosters.

Teams with an open 15-man roster spot:

Charlotte Hornets
Houston Rockets *
Los Angeles Clippers *
Los Angeles Lakers *
Milwaukee Bucks *
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes that the team can’t currently sign a 15th man due to the hard cap.

Teams with an open two-way slot:

Detroit Pistons
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers

Rudy Gobert Talks Path To NBA, COVID-19, Mitchell

December 24th, 2020 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

ESPN’s Lisa Salters conducted an in-depth interview with Jazz center Rudy Gobert, discussing his path to the NBA, how it felt to become the league’s “patient zero” for COVID-19, and his relationship with Donovan Mitchell, among other topics. “We had conversations as grown men, and we told each other what we had on our minds,” Gobert said of mending his relationship with Mitchell. “And the end of the conversation was that our goal was to win a championship together and, you know, I thought it was really mature from both of us to come out of the conversation like that.”

Rudy Gobert Signs Five-Year Extension With Jazz

December 20th, 2020 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

11:00am: Gobert’s extension is official, the Jazz announced in a press release.

“Rudy is such a special player,” new team owner Ryan Smith said in a statement. “He makes everyone on the court better. We couldn’t be more excited about his commitment to this team, to Utah, and most importantly, to keeping this unique culture together.”

9:13am: Rudy Gobert has reached an agreement on a five-year, $205MM extension with the Jazz, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The final year of the deal will be a player option, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

“It means that they believe in me,” Gobert told MacMahon, confirming the agreement. “They believe in what we’ve been building over the years with this whole organization, with coach (Quin Snyder) and all the guys. For me, it’s an incredible blessing. It’s a very motivating feeling to know that we all share the same vision and we all share this goal for this state and for this franchise.”

The 28-year-old center was eligible to receive a super-max deal that would have been worth up to $228MM. He opted to take a little less so that Utah could have some financial flexibility to build the team around him and Donovan Mitchell, who also signed a five-year extension last month. There were reports of tension between Gobert and Mitchell after both players contracted COVID-19 in March, but they have now committed to a long-term future with the franchise.

Gobert’s new deal is the third-largest in NBA history, MacMahon notes. The only bigger contracts are the new $228MM super-max deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the five-year, $206.8MM super-max that the Thunder gave Russell Westbrook in 2017.

Gobert is currently in the final season of a four-year, $102MM arrangement, and Utah has some flexibility with the parameters of his new contract, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The Jazz could start the deal at $35.3MM for 2020/21, which is $4MM below 35% of the salary cap, with 8% raises each year. They could also opt to give him the full 35% at the beginning, which translates to a $39.3MM salary with 2.2% annual raises.

Gobert, who faced a Monday deadline to get a five-year extension finalized, has become one of the best centers in the league during his seven seasons in Utah. He won Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2017/18 and 2018/19 and has been an All-NBA selection in three of the past four years. The only thing missing from his resume is a long playoff run, which he believes the Jazz can accomplish soon.

“I want to win, and I feel like leaving this money on the table for the team just to be able to have better talent around me and Donovan was really important,” Gobert said. “I want to win, and I believe in this group and I believe in this organization, and I was willing to leave that money on the table for them.”

Gobert’s new contract is the latest in a long line of lucrative extensions signed since the new league year began last month. Only three players – Anthony Davis, Brandon Ingram, and Gordon Hayward – signed free agent contracts worth more than $100MM this offseason, but Gobert is the seventh player to finalize an extension worth $160MM or more, as our tracker shows.

The deal also takes another marquee free agent off the market for 2021. Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Paul George are among the other stars who will no longer reach free agency next summer after signing extensions this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Waive Yogi Ferrell, Malcolm Miller

December 19th, 2020 at 6:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz have waived guard Yogi Ferrell and forward Malcolm Miller, tweets Eric Woodyard of ESPN.

Ferrell, 27, just signed with the team on Friday. He spent the past two seasons with the Kings, but averaged a career-low 10.4 minutes per game last year. Miller, also 27, has been with the Raptors the past three years and got into 28 games last season.

Along with waiving four players Friday night, Utah’s roster is now down to 14, including just 11 guaranteed contracts, as well as a pair of two-way players. The Jazz are slightly over the luxury tax line and may not carry 15 players this season.

Jazz Waive Trevon Bluiett, Three Others

December 18th, 2020 at 6:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have waived guard Trevon Bluiett and three undrafted rookies — center Romaro Gill, forward Tre Scott and guard Jake Toolson — according to a team press release.

Utah needed to make room on its 20-man roster for two new additions, guard Yogi Ferrell and forward Malcolm Miller.

Some or all of the players let go on Friday could wind up with the Jazz’s G League club in Salt Lake City if they clear waivers.

Bluiett appeared in 41 games with the Salt Lake City Stars last season, averaging 14.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 2.5 APG in 29.3 MPG.

Gill, an undrafted rookie out of Seton Hall, posted averages of 7.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 3.2 BPG in 30 games last season.

Scott was a four-year player at Cincinnati and averaged 11.4 PPG and 10.5 RPG in 33.7 MPG for the Bearcats last season.

Toolson spent two seasons at BYU before transferring to Utah Valley and then back to BYU last season. He averaged 15.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.9 APG as a senior.

Jazz Sign Malcolm Miller To Exhibit 10 Contract

December 18th, 2020 at 6:03pm CST by Luke Adams

6:03pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

12:06pm: The Jazz are signing free agent forward Malcolm Miller to an Exhibit 10 contract, a source tells Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Miller, 27, spent most of the last three seasons with the Raptors, initially on a two-way deal and later as part of the team’s 15-man roster. Although he flashed a little three-and-D potential, Miller never established himself as a regular rotation player in Toronto, appearing in just 53 games across three years.

He averaged 2.0 PPG on .434/.406/.625 shooting in extremely limited playing time (6.7 MPG) at the NBA level. In 97 career G League contests (29.9 MPG), he has averaged 12.1 PPG with a .374 3PT%.

The Jazz currently have a full 20-man roster and have also reached a deal with Yogi Ferrell, so they have a number of transactions to complete, first to accommodate Ferrell and Miller, then to pare their roster down for the start of the regular season.

Miller is unlikely to make Utah’s regular season squad and could end up playing for the Salt Lake City Stars, the team’s G League affiliate.

Jazz Sign Yogi Ferrell

December 18th, 2020 at 6:00pm CST by Luke Adams

6:00pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

8:08 am: The Jazz have agreed to a deal with free agent guard Yogi Ferrell, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Charania didn’t provide any additional details on the terms, so it’s not clear whether or not Ferrell will receive any guaranteed money, but it figures to be a minimum-salary contract.

Ferrell, 27, spent the last two seasons in Sacramento and saw his role reduced during his tenure with the Kings. Last season, he averaged just 4.4 PPG and 1.4 APG in 50 games (10.6 MPG). He played a more prominent role earlier in his career in Dallas, averaging a career-best 10.2 PPG and 2.5 APG in 2017/18.

The Jazz currently have a full 20-man training camp roster, so they’ll need to make a cut before officially finalizing their deal with Ferrell.

Utah is only carrying 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts, but Shaquille Harrison, Juwan Morgan, and Miye Oni look like good bets to make the team on non-guaranteed deals. For Ferrell to make the regular season roster, he’d either have to beat out one of those three players or count on the Jazz – who are slightly over the tax line – to retain a 15th man to start the year.

Ryan Smith Officially Becomes Majority Owner Of Jazz Following NBA Approval

December 18th, 2020 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith and his wife Ashley are officially the new majority owners of the Jazz, the team announced today in a press release. Smith was able to formally complete the purchase of a majority stake in the franchise after being unanimously approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors.

“Ryan Smith is a forward-thinking, community-minded entrepreneur and business leader who will be a fantastic addition to our league,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement, following the Board of Governors’ vote. “As a life-long fan of the Utah Jazz and more recently as one of their key marketing partners, Ryan has demonstrated his deep commitment to the Jazz and the Utah community and there’s no doubt he will bring that same level of dedication to the operation of the team.”

Gail Miller and the Miller family reached an agreement in October to sell a majority share of the Jazz to Smith, with a valuation of $1.66 billion. The now-official transaction also included Vivint Arena, the Salt Lake City Stars, and management operations of the Salt Lake Bees, a Triple-A baseball team.

The Millers have retained a minority stake in the team, while tech entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes and venture capitalist Ryan Sweeney have also been announced as minority owners, according to the Jazz.

Smith, a Utah native, told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon that he was “really close” to making a bid to buy the Timberwolves before Ashley objected.

“With my wife, something wasn’t right. She was putting her foot down,” Ryan said. “She was like, ‘You know we’re Jazz fans, right? That’s what we do, and I’m not moving.’ She doesn’t put her foot down very often, but it was a nice reminder that I was kind of getting caught up in this other world because I liked the business side of it.”

As MacMahon writes, part of the agreement calls for the Jazz to remain in Utah, but that was never a question for Smith, who has been a lifelong fan of the franchise and had courtside seats before reaching an agreement to purchase a controlling share of the team.

Latest On Rudy Gobert, Jazz

December 17th, 2020 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jazz center Rudy Gobert is eligible to sign a five-year, super-max extension by December 21. However, despite the fact that Gobert and the Jazz are discussing a new deal, a super-max extension doesn’t appear to be a realistic outcome.

“I have been told that he did not ask for the full super-max,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said of Gobert during an appearance on Brian Windhorst’s Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM). “I know there has been some reporting in Utah that he did. I’ve been told that is not true. That he did not ask for the full super-max.

“I don’t know what neighborhood the Jazz are in. There’s a gulf there. We will see if that gap is closed before the super-max extension deadline. He can also do a lesser extension during the season.”

Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (audio link) and Porter Larsen of Utah’s ESPN 700 (Twitter link) have both suggested that Gobert’s camp has sought a super-max extension (starting at 35% of the 2021/22 cap), while the Jazz countered with something in the range of his “normal” max (120% of his current $27.5MM salary).

However, it’s not entirely clear where that report originated. Porter Larsen appeared today to credit Andy Larsen (Twitter links), while Andy added an “if reports are accurate” caveat when discussing those figures (Twitter link). MacMahon’s comments on Windhorst’s podcast cast further doubt on whether Gobert’s asking price was ever that high.

In any case, it seems safe to assume that the two sides are attempting to reach an agreement on a potential extension and that the Jazz are likely unwilling to commit to a full super-max contract for Gobert. Such a deal would be worth over $228MM, which is more appropriate for a two-time MVP like Antetokounmpo than a player like Gobert, who is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year but isn’t a perennial MVP candidate.

An extension worth Gobert’s standard max (rather than the super-max) would be worth approximately $148MM over four years, which seems more palatable for the Jazz. It’s less than what Gobert could get from Utah if he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, but it would top what a rival team could offer him at that point ($145MM for four years).

If the Jazz are serious about getting a deal done sooner rather than later, they’ll likely need to offer something in that range, since the expectation is that there will be other clubs willing to make Gobert that sort of offer in free agency in 2021, Windhorst said today on the Hoop Collective podcast.

“I think if he doesn’t get extended, there will be a handful of teams that will line up ready to pay him the max,” Windhorst said. “So the Jazz should know that and they should operate that way. If they want to haggle on certain aspects of the contract (they can), but– it’s not the super-max, but I don’t think they’re getting away without giving him the max.”

As MacMahon noted, while December 21 is the super-max extension deadline, Gobert and the Jazz could continue discussing a standard extension into the regular season.