- The Wizards, who have lost four of their last six, need to finish strong in their last 15 games to gain home-court advantage in the opening playoff round. They could finish anywhere from third to eighth and shooting guard Bradley Beal told the Washington’s Post Candace Buckner that they can’t afford to take nights off. “It’s not a situation where we can just sit here and say, ‘Oh okay, we can just coast into the playoffs.’ That’s not it,” he said. “We’re not even playing our best basketball either. So that’s definitely not how we want to approach going into the playoffs.”
- Although he didn’t play a single minute for the Wizards during his first 10-day contract, Ramon Sessions inked a second 10-day deal with the club on Monday. As he tells Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter link), Sessions he’s prepared to see the court this time around. “If I sit for another 10 days, it’s nothing that I’ve got grudge on my shoulder or anything,” Sessions said. “But if they call me, I’ll be ready to go.”
Despite having his initial 10-day contract with the Wizards expire on Sunday night, point guard Ramon Sessions won’t be hitting the free agent market. According to an announcement from the team (Twitter link), Sessions has officially signed a second 10-day deal with Washington that will keep him under contract through next Wednesday.
Sessions, who will turn 32 next month, signed a 10-day contract with the Wizards after the All-Star break, giving the club some depth at point guard with John Wall still recovering from knee surgery. However, with Tomas Satoransky handling starting duties in Wall’s absence and Tim Frazier getting the backup minutes, Sessions didn’t see any action during his first 10 days with Washington.
While it’s not clear if Sessions will receive any playing time during his next 10 days with the Wizards, there’s little downside to the arrangement from the team’s perspective. Without Sessions, the club would only have 13 players on its 15-man NBA roster, one below the NBA-mandated minimum of 14 — so another signing would’ve been required if Sessions wasn’t retained.
A team is permitted to sign a player to two 10-day contracts before making a decision on that player for the rest of the season. After Sessions’ second deal expires next Wednesday night, Washington will either have to lock up the veteran for the season or sign another player to fill that 14th roster slot.
Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Spurs have assigned guard Derrick White to their G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, the team announced today in a press release. White has averaged 2.5 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 16 games with San Antonio this season.
- The Bucks recalled rookie power forward D.J. Wilson from the Wisconsin Herd, the team announced on its Twitter feed. The first-round pick is averaging 14.9 PPG and 5.2 RPG in nine G League games.
- The Wizards have assigned third-year forward Chris McCullough to the G League, according to the team. Washington doesn’t have a G League team of its own, so McCullough will join Phoenix’s affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns. He has appeared in 12 games with Northern Arizona this season.
Veteran guard Ramon Sessions will find out today if he’ll be getting a second 10-day contract from the Wizards, relays Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Sessions’ first 10-day deal expires at midnight, and even though he hasn’t appeared in any games yet, that doesn’t mean the team doesn’t have plans for him.
Washington signed Sessions to provide depth at point guard while John Wall recovers from knee surgery. Waived by the Knicks in January, Sessions had prior experience in Washington and was a logical choice for the role. Wall is expected to miss another two to four weeks and the Wizards already have a roster opening, so that may work in favor of Sessions getting another contract.
MARCH 3: Brewer’s signing with the Thunder is official, per the NBA’s official transactions log.
MARCH 1, 10:39am: Brewer has committed to sign with the Thunder once he clears waivers, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Brewer talked to Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan and GM Sam Presti and considered three Eastern Conference teams before deciding.
FEBRUARY 28, 6:50pm: Brewer is likely to sign with the Thunder after all, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Lakers officially waived Brewer earlier today, meaning the veteran swingman will be free to sign a contract with Oklahoma City as early as Friday.
3:03pm: One source tells David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link) that while the Thunder are definitely in the mix for Brewer, the veteran is more likely to land with an Eastern Conference team.
10:44am: Amick (via Twitter) adds the Jazz and Pelicans to the list of teams that could also be in the mix for Brewer, noting that several of the teams he has mentioned are also keeping an eye on the Trevor Booker situation in Philadelphia.
10:28am: The Lakers and veteran swingman Corey Brewer have reportedly reached an agreement on a buyout, which means he could become a free agent as soon as Friday. When Brewer does hit the open market, a deal with the Thunder is a “serious possibility,” according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
As Wojnarowski notes, the ex-Gator is likely to be drawn to Oklahoma City by the presence of his former coach at Florida, Billy Donovan, who is now the Thunder’s head coach. Even aside from the Donovan connection, Brewer would be a logical fit for OKC, since the team has been on the lookout for one more option on the wing since Andre Roberson‘s injury, tweets ESPN’s Royce Young.
While the Thunder may be the frontrunners for Brewer, he’ll talk to other teams too, per Wojnarowski. The 31-year-old is unlikely to rush his decision, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, who tweets that the Cavaliers, Wizards, Trail Blazers, and Bucks have also shown interest. Amick adds that Brewer – averaging a career-low 12.9 minutes per game this season – will be seeking a “legit role,” which figures to impact his decision.
Although several playoff teams have already been linked to Brewer, his mediocre outside shot (.280 career 3PT%) will limit his appeal to some contenders. For instance, he’s not likely to be a fit for the Raptors, notes Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets that Minnesota has “kicked the tires” on the former Timberwolf, but says not to count on a reunion.
Earlier this month, we identified the NBA teams with open roster spots. Since then, clubs have completed a flurry of 10-day signings, and a couple players have even received rest-of-season deals.
However, there are still plenty of teams around the league with openings on their respective rosters, which could come in handy with Thursday’s de facto buyout deadline around the corner. Once March 1 comes and goes, teams will have a better idea of which players will or won’t have postseason eligibility the rest of the way, creating a clearer picture for how to fill those open roster spots.
In the space below, we’ll take a closer look at teams with an open roster spot, breaking them down into three categories. Each of the clubs in the first group actually has a full 15-man roster right now, but in each instance, one of those 15 players is only a 10-day contract. With those contracts set to expire soon, it’d be very easy and inexpensive for these teams to create an opening if they need to.
Teams with full 15-man rosters who are carrying at least one player on a 10-day contract (10-day player noted in parentheses):
- Dallas Mavericks (Scotty Hopson)
- Indiana Pacers (Trey McKinney-Jones)
- New Orleans Pelicans (Walter Lemon Jr.)
- New York Knicks (Troy Williams)
- Orlando Magic (Rashad Vaughn)
- Phoenix Suns (Shaquille Harrison)
- Utah Jazz (Naz Mitrou-Long)
The next list of teams includes the clubs with one open spot on their roster and no players on 10-day contracts. These clubs each have 14 players on standard, full-season NBA deals, leaving one spot open for either a 10-day player or a rest-of-season signing.
Teams with one open roster spot:
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Note: The Lakers will create a second opening when they officially waive Corey Brewer.
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors
Finally, the last group of teams features four clubs that have been grouped together before. These four teams saw their roster counts slip to 13 players around the time of the trade deadline, and each had to add a player to get back up to the NBA-mandated minimum of 14. To reach that minimum, each team signed a player to a 10-day contract. That means these four franchises still only have 12 or 13 players on full-season contracts, with at least one player on a 10-day deal.
Teams with one open roster spot, plus at least one player on a 10-day contract:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Note: 12 full-season contracts, plus Antonius Cleveland and Jaylen Morris on 10-day contracts
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Marcus Thornton on 10-day contract.
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Brandon Rush on 10-day contract.
- Washington Wizards
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Ramon Sessions on 10-day contract.
For roster-count details on all 30 teams, be sure to check out our roster count page, which we updated daily throughout the 2017/18 season.
Note: Roster info current as of Wednesday, February 28 at 12:00pm CT.
- Howard drew his 12th technical foul of the season in Friday’s road contest against the Wizards, Bonnell writes in a separate story. The center has a history of racking up technical fouls; he is now four away from an automatic suspension.
- Tomas Satoransky has played well for the Wizards as the team has struggled with injuries and lack of depth at the point guard position. Candance Buckner of the Washington Post writes that Satoransky and the team are both happy to see reinforcements on the way — including Ramon Sessions, who signed a 10-day deal — to aid the team in the postseason chase.
FEBRUARY 23: The Wizards have officially signed Sessions to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.
“We’re very familiar with Ramon,” Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement. “He’s a veteran who can play both guard positions and will add depth to our backcourt.”
FEBRUARY 22: The Wizards plan to sign veteran point guard Ramon Sessions to a 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The club has two open spots on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required.
An 11-year NBA veteran, Sessions has some previous experience with the Wizards, having spent time with the team in 2015 and 2016. He left Washington as a free agent in 2016 to join the Hornets, then spent the first part of this season with the Knicks.
New York’s starting point guard to open the 2017/18 campaign, Sessions was quickly supplanted in the lineup by Jarrett Jack and ultimately didn’t see much action with the Knicks. In total, he averaged 3.7 PPG and 2.1 APG in 13 games (12.8 MPG) for the club, struggling with his shot during his limited minutes (.321 FG%, .182 3PT%). He was waived in January.
The Wizards have been on the lookout for a veteran point guard to help man the position with John Wall on the shelf. Prior to the All-Star break, Washington was linked to Ty Lawson and Derrick Rose, along with Sessions. The timing of the move comes as no surprise, since the Wizards were required by league rules to add a 14th player to their roster this week — I’d expect the deal to be finalized by the end of the day.
As our chart from earlier today shows, Sessions will make $131,562 on his 10-day deal, while the Wizards will take on a cap hit of $83,129. The team will also incur approximately $147K in projected luxury tax penalties, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks.