- The Jazz are close to returning point guard Mike Conley to the starting lineup, according to Charania. Conley has come off the bench in six games since he recovered from an aggravated hamstring strain. Utah wants Conley to reestablish chemistry with the other starters, most notably backcourt partner Donovan Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert, Charania adds.
Team USA fell short of a medal at last year’s World Cup, but a handful of players who represented USA Basketball in China at that event have expressed interest in doing so again at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The latest to convey that interest is Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, as Aaron Falk of UtahJazz.com writes.
“I loved playing for (Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich). I loved representing my country,” Mitchell said on Wednesday when the Jazz played in San Antonio. “… Hopefully this summer we can go at it again.”
After a disappointing seventh-place finish in the World Cup, Mitchell would like another shot at a gold medal. He also believes that the international experience played a role in expanding his game. Although he was one of Team USA’s top scorers and is averaging a career-high 25.0 PPG for the Jazz, Mitchell said his time in China helped him improve on the defensive end of the floor.
“He’s gotten more consistent with his focus,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said of Mitchell’s defense. “… Sometimes when you ask someone to carry the load he has assumed offensively, it’s easy to rest on the other end. That’s why two-way players are so unique.”
Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Wizards have recalled Admiral Schofield from the Capital City Go-Go, per the team’s Twitter feed. Schofield was a second-round pick in the 2019 draft.
- The Celtics are bringing Romeo Langford back from the G League. They’ve recalled him, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports (Twitter link).
- The Spurs have recalled Keldon Johnson from the Austin Spurs, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Johnson was the No. 29 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
- The Clippers have assigned Derrick Walton Jr. and Terance Mann to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, per the team. Los Angeles hasn’t practiced in several days but is expected to hold practice tomorrow.
- The Jazz have assigned Nigel Williams-Goss, Juwan Morgan, and Miye Oni to the G League, according to the league’s transaction log. All three are were just with the Salt Lake City Stars over the weekend.
The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement includes a rule that states players who are acquired using an exception (ie. not using cap space) can’t be aggregated in a second trade for two months after the original deal.
Aggregating a player in a trade refers to the act of combining his contract with another player’s contract for salary-matching purposes. For instance, an over-the-cap team can’t trade a player with a $5MM salary straight up for a player with a $13MM salary. But if the team aggregates that player with a second player who also earns $5MM, the deal would work.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Traded Player Exception]
The rule against including a player in an aggregated trade for two months after he’s acquired doesn’t preclude the player’s team from adding him to a multi-player deal. His salary simply can’t be combined upon with another player’s for matching purposes in such a trade.
For instance, even if a player earning a minimum salary can’t be aggregated in a trade, his team could still include him in a swap involving a pair of $10MM players, since his minimum-salary cap hit wouldn’t be needed for salary matching.
With those rules in mind, here’s the list of players who have been acquired using a cap exception within the last two months and can’t be aggregated in a deadline trade this season:
- Trevor Ariza (Trail Blazers)
- Kent Bazemore (Kings)
- Willie Cauley-Stein (Mavericks)
- Jordan Clarkson (Jazz)
- Allen Crabbe (Timberwolves)
- Dante Exum (Cavaliers)
- Wenyen Gabriel (Trail Blazers)
- Isaiah Roby (Thunder)
- Caleb Swanigan (Trail Blazers)
- Anthony Tolliver (Kings)
Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the league:
- The Rockets recalled Chris Clemons from their Rio Grande Valley affiliate, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Clemons figures to see some playing time Monday at Utah when Russell Westbrook rests on the second night of a back-to-back.
- The Timberwolves recalled Jaylen Nowell from Iowa, the team announced on Twitter. Nowell is the leading scorer for the G League club at 21.0 points per game.
- The Knicks assigned Ignas Brazdeikis to their Westchester affiliate, according to the G League Transactions Log.
- The Jazz recalled Miye Oni from Salt Lake City, the G League Transactions Log states.
Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the league:
- The Sixers recalled Zhaire Smith from the Delaware Blue Coats, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets. Smith has appeared in six NBA games this season, averaging 6.7 PPG in 18.5 MPG. He provides depth at the shooting guard spot with Josh Richardson sidelined by a hamstring strain.
- The Rockets assigned guard Chris Clemons to their Rio Grande Valley affiliate, Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston tweets. The undrafted rookie has appeared in 25 games with Houston but only three this month.
- The Jazz assigned forward Juwan Morgan to the Salt Lake City Stars, according the G League transactions log. The rookie forward has appeared in 10 games with the NBA club this season.
- The Nets assigned guard Theo Pinson to their Long Island affiliate, according to the G League transactions log. He has appeared in 26 games with Brooklyn this season, averaging 4.5 PPG in 12.5 MPG.
Here are today’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Warriors have assigned Jacob Evans to the Santa Cruz Warriors, the team announced on Twitter. Evans has appeared in 22 NBA contests this season.
- The Jazz have recalled Juwan Morgan from the Salt Lake City Stars, per the G League’s assignment log. Morgan signed with Utah in late November and is not eligible to be traded before the deadline, as I mentioned in the franchise’s Trade Deadline Primer for SLAM Magazine Newswire.
- Keldon Johnson has been recalled by the Spurs. Johnson was selected with the No. 29 overall pick in this year’s draft.
- The Heat have sent Chris Silva to the G League, the team announced on its website. He’s expected to be back with the NBA club before Miami’s contest against Orlando on January 27.
Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the league:
- The Pacers recalled guard Victor Oladipo from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team’s PR department tweets. Oladipo practiced with the Mad Ants as part of his rehab. He’s expected to make his season debut with Indiana next week.
- The Spurs recalled rookie swingman Keldon Johnson and forward Chimezie Metu from their Austin affiliate, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Johnson has made two cameos with the NBA club this season while Metu, a 2018 second-round pick, has played in 11 games.
- The Jazz assigned rookie guard Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the G League transactions log. Oni has appeared in three games with Utah.
The fourth and final year of Royce O’Neale‘s extension is partially guaranteed, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The Jazz signed the forward to a four-year, $36MM extension on Sunday. O’Neale’s first three years during the extension, which kicks in next season, are fully guaranteed. He’ll receive $8.5MM in 2020/21, $8.8MM in 2021/22 and $9.2MM in 2022/23, according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, who notes that the partially guarantee on O’Neale’s $9.5MM salary in 2023/24 will be $2.5MM.
- O’Neale’s ability to guard four positions makes the extension a worthwhile investment for the Jazz, Ben Dowsett of Forbes.com opines. O’Neale is the fastest player on the team and also the best rebounder other than the team’s centers, Dowsett continues. The forward might have received offers at or above the four-year, $51MM maximum extension Utah could have offered him if the team had allowed him to enter restricted free agency, Dowsett adds.
- After Jazz forward Royce O’Neale inked a four-year, $36MM extension today, Utah GM Justin Zanik and executive VP of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey spoke with reporters, including Aaron Falk of Jazz.com, about the deal. Lindsey spoke to the import of complementary role players like O’Neale as the team builds a contender around centerpieces Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. “It goes beyond Donovan and Rudy,” Lindsey said. “As Donovan’s and Rudy’s decisions come up, they can see a core they can win with and see that we’re serious.”