Category: Transactions

Warriors to sign former 4th overall pick Dragan Bender to 10-day contract

Dragan Bender hasn’t panned out in the NBA yet but at 22-years-old, he may find his fit with the Golden State Warriors.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Golden State Warriors are signing former fourth overall pick Dragan Bender to a 10-day contract on Sunday. Bender, a 7-foot-0 forward who was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 2016, has only suited up for seven games this season after being waived by the Milwaukee Bucks on February 10.

Bender has spent most of the 2019-20 season with the NBA G League’s Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks’ G League affiliate. There, the 22-year-old averaged 20.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the field, 38.4 percent from three (on 5.6 attempts per game) and 79.4 percent from the free-throw line.

He averages 5.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.2 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game for his career, with shooting percentages of 39.6 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from three and 64.7 percent from the charity stripe.

With his length and shooting touch both inside and outside, Bender will be an intriguing fit with the Warriors’ frontcourt, one that’s already found a couple of players in Eric Paschall and Marquese Chriss who look like they’ll be part of Golden State’s rotation next season. When Kevon Looney returns to full health, these three — plus mainstay Draymond Green — figure to form the main frontcourt rotation.

Bender, if he works out, could be a backup for the recently acquired Andrew Wiggins at small forward or just solid depth.

You can watch some of Bender’s most recent highlights here, and imagine his fit for yourself:

 

Report: Golden State signing Marquese Chriss to two-year deal

The Golden State Warriors now have 13 players on their roster.

Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Golden State Warriors are signing power forward Marquese Chriss to a two-year contract. Chriss initially signed to a one-year contract with the Warriors in September and waived shortly before being signed to a Two Way contract in January.

He’s appeared in 47 games for Golden State this season.

Now in his fourth year in the league, Chriss has averaged 7.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 block per game this season while shooting a career-high 51.8 percent from the field. Chriss finds himself being added to one of what were five open roster spots, with the Warriors also signing wings Ky Bowman, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Zach Norvell Jr. to deals after the passing of the trade deadline.

Chriss’ signing should be one of the last for the Warriors for some time, with Golden State now near at the allotted minimum number of players (14) on the roster; they have 13. However, the team now has no Two Way players after adding Chriss and Bowman, another of their former Two Way players, onto the regular season roster.

Report: Warriors signing Zach Norvell to 10-day contract

The Golden State Warriors need to replace plenty of perimeter shooters and Zach Norvell Jr. is a legitimate option for filling in one of those spots.

According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, the Golden State Warriors are signing 6’5” guard Zach Norvell to a 10-day contract. Norvell, who went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft, played two games with the Los Angeles Lakers this season before being waived in December.

The Gonzaga product now plays for the NBA G League’s South Bay Lakers, where he’s averaging 15.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 39.6 percent from three (on 7.5 three-point attempts per game).

Norvell is undoubtedly a three-point threat after shooting 37.0 percent from deep in both years he spent at Gonzaga. However, he’s also an under-control player who does well attacking closeouts while displaying a nice handle and solid passing ability as well.

The Chicago native could legitimately earn a roster spot with the injury-depleted Warriors. Golden State has four open roster spots after trading away five players (D’Angelo Russell, Jacob Evans, Omari Spellman, Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III) before Thursday’s trade deadline and could use Norvell’s skillset in their effort to replace what they lost by trading away their four best perimeter shooters.

Within the next 10 days, the Warriors will face the Lakers, Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns.

No trade for OKC as Gallinari and Miami ‘couldn’t agree on extension’

According to Kevin O’Connor, the Heat wants to retain cap space in 2021 and offered Gallinari a two-year deal with a team option.

The trade deadline has come and gone and Danilo Gallinari is still a part of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It certainly didn’t look like that would be the case when the day started.

Late Wednesday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Thunder was working on “an elaborate three-team deal” with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat that would send Gallinari to South Beach along with Andre Iguodala.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Iguodala was dealt to Miami on Wednesday, with the Grizzlies adding Solomon Hill and Jae Crowder as part of the package deal on Thursday.

Per Woj, in return, the Heat sent Justise Winslow to Memphis, along with Dion Waiters and James Johnson.

However, the trade talks between Oklahoma City and the Heat broke down over Gallinari’s contract extension, according to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.

The Heat and Thunder discussed deals for Danilo Gallinari but Miami and Gallinari couldn’t agree on an extension, per sources. Miami wants to retain 2021 space and offered a two-year deal with a team option. Gallinari should earn more money by waiting until summer to sign a deal.

With the Thunder out, Minnesota became the third-team in the deal, sending Gorgui Deng to Memphis in return for Johnson.

According to The Oklahoman, even if there had been an agreement between Gallinari and the Heat, Miami’s “draft capital could’ve complicated negotiations” because of the protections surrounding the 2023 first-round pick Miami owes OKC.

This summer, the Thunder acquired Miami’s 2021 and to-14 protected 2023 first-round draft picks from the Clippers, as part of the trade package for Paul George. Per NBA rules, teams can only trade picks that fall in the next seven years. They also cannot trade future draft picks that land in consecutive years.

That limits the picks that Miami could offer in a trade. Per NBA rules, teams can only trade picks that fall in the next seven years. They also cannot trade future draft picks that land in consecutive years.

Though at the beginning of the season, Oklahoma City was thought to be big sellers prior to the trade deadline, at the end of the day, the only deal Sam Presti made was sending Justin Patton and cash to the Dallas Mavericks in return for Isaiah Roby.

Clippers land Marcus Morris and Isaiah Thomas in three-team deal

The Los Angeles Clippers have geared up to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in a run at the 2020 NBA Championship.

The Los Angeles Clippers are tooling up for a run to the 2020 NBA Finals and enlisted some veteran help in the closing minutes before the NBA trade deadline as they hope to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers later this year.

The Clippers landed Marcus Morris from the New York Knicks, as well as Isaiah Thomas from the Washington Wizards, in a three-team deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Clippers sent native New Yorker Moe Harkless and their 2020 1st round pick to the Knicks while the Wizards got shooting guard Jerome Robinson from the Clippers. Altogether, it cost quite a bit but the Clippers added to their team for a potential showdown with the Lakers.

Morris adds another body and six fouls to throw at LeBron James while Thomas gives them an emergency point guard who can provide scoring and ballhandling in a pinch. If Lou Williams turns an ankle or gets in foul trouble, Thomas is the perfect fit to fill in. Also considering the Lakers weakness in the backcourt, Thomas could do well in a Lakers matchup.

Thomas has had a bounceback season after a hip injury derailed his past few years, averaging 12 points and four assists per game while shooting 41.3% from the 3-point line. Morris averaged a career-high 19.6 points and shot nearly 44% from the 3-point line in 43 games this season with the Knicks.

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What’s next for the hard cap after Warriors waive Marquese Chriss?

The Warriors are now $1,236,685 below the apron, leaving them plenty of space to sign one of Damion Lee or Ky Bowman to a standard contract.

The Warriors waived forward Marquese Chriss after playing 37 games for them. The move comes ahead of the January 10 deadline to waive players on non-guaranteed contracts before they become fully guaranteed.

The Warriors were roughly $375,000 below the $138.928 million hard cap, or apron, throughout the season. Chriss’s contract was non-guaranteed and added $9,485 daily to the Warriors payroll. By waiving him on January 7, Chriss leaves the Warriors with a $758,804 dead cap hit.

Warriors cap sheet after waiving Marquese Chriss
Warriors cap sheet after waiving Marquese Chriss

The Warriors are now $1,236,685 below the apron, leaving them plenty of space to sign one of Damion Lee or Ky Bowman to a standard contract.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Warriors intend on converting Lee for now, who has run out his 45-day two-way clock.

Warriors potential cap sheet if they sign Damion Lee to a prorated minimum salary on January 7, 2020.
Warriors potential cap sheet if they sign Damion Lee to a prorated minimum salary on January 7, 2020.

If Lee is signed on January 7, his pro-rated minimum salary would be $915,573. This would put the Warriors $321,112 below the apron. They would have to trade a minimum-salaried player, such as Alec Burks or Glenn Robinson III, to clear enough room to sign Bowman to his minimum salary.

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The Warriors still have $1.7 million remaining from their taxpayer mid-level exception. There is a strong possibility that the Warriors use part of the exception to sign Lee in order to give him at least a three-year contract. By using the exception, the Warriors could also pay Lee a little more than the minimum salary.

Kemba Walker probable vs. Nets, Tremont Waters sent to Red Claws

Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker appears set to return to the floor against the Brooklyn Nets.

With Kemba Walker having his injury status upgraded to probable against the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics have sent rookie point guard Tremont Waters back to the Maine Red Claws.

The Red Claws, who lost their first game of the season despite a historic performance by fellow two-player Tacko Fall, are the Celtics’ NBA G League affiliate.

His move back to Portland makes it clear that Boston is expecting Walker to play, no matter what it says on the injury report.

A few days ago, when Walker was on the hardwood trying to collect himself after smashing headfirst into forward Semi Ojeleye, it seemed improbable that the Celtics would have their star guard available in the near future.

Boston’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets will be heavily watched one way or another; although Nets superstar Kyrie Irving is out with a shoulder impingement, Walker’s return to the court will be received with plenty of fanfare.

Report: Tremont Waters recalled from G League with Kemba Walker ailing

Boston Celtics rookie point guard Tremont Waters has been tearing it up in the G League and could see time on the floor in the event that the injured Kemba Walker is out for Boston.

Per the Boston Celtics, rookie point guard Tremont Waters — the 51st pick in the 2019 NBA Draft — has been recalled from his assignment with the NBA G League’s Maine Red Claws. Waters is on a two-way contract with the Celtics, so he can spend a maximum of 45 days with Boston.

Waters, though undersized at 5-foot-10, is an exceptional playmaker who routinely makes high IQ plays for his teammates and consistently creates space for himself off the bounce.

He’s averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks in 31.6 minutes per game this season for the Red Claws, having played in all five of Maine’s contests to this point.

The 21-year-old has likely been called up due to the neck injury sustained by starting point guard Kemba Walker during Friday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.

Walker was listed as doubtful by the team for Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings but considering the expected severity of his injury, one would expect the three-time All-Star to get the day off.

If Walker is unable to start, second-year NBA pro Brad Wanamaker will likely assume the starting role and lend his steady hand to the team. Wanamaker has averaged 7.1 points, 2.8 assists and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 53.0% from the field and 35.3% from three this season.

Celtics assign rookies to Red Claws for practice

The Boston Celtics assigned the majority of their rookies to the Maine Red Claws on practice on Tuesday.

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Per the Boston Celtics, the team assigned rookies Grant Williams, Vincent Poirier, Carsen Edwards and Romeo Langford “for various portions of the [Maine] Red Claws practice” on Tuesday at the Auerbach Center, where the Celtics normally hold their team practice.

Though the Red Claws are based in Portland, ME., their next game isn’t until Nov. 16 against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in Indiana, which could provide the reason that Boston’s G League affiliate was able to travel to the Celtics’ practice facility on Tuesday.

However, that Boston felt the need to have their rookies — sans guard Javonte Green — practice on a day that practice wasn’t held for the Celtics shows that Boston believes their neophytes need work.

While Langford has yet to play significant minutes in any game, the teaching is experience for he and Edwards in particular is necessary, as Langford is not only the youngest and most inexperienced player on the team but has been unable to fully perform physically for large portions of the team’s offseason, preseason and now regular season.

Despite delivering a scintillating debut with the Red Claws at the same time that veteran forward Gordon Hayward went out with a fractured hand, Boston opted to play Green in the rotation over a player that was the 14th overall pick in the most recent draft.

That’s likely because Green has not only produced well in the minutes he’s played but because he’s more experienced after having spent four seasons at the college level and four seasons playing internationally.

Edwards is a shoot-first player and Celtics head coach Brad Stevens seems to see the Purdue product as more of an off-ball player because of it, playing Edwards with point guard Brad Wanamaker for 40 minutes — the third-most of any two-man lineup he’s been in, per Basketball Reference — this season. Whether it’s to make Edwards less reliant on playing with another lead guard or to make him more comfortable playing off-ball, additional practice would be beneficial.

Especially as he’s only averaging 4.0 points per game on 31.3% shooting from the field and 25.0% shooting from three after averaging 15.3 points per game on 51.2% percent shooting from the field and 45.2% from three.

Williams, though a high IQ player has also struggled from the field, averaging just 2.8 points per game on 26.7% shooting from the field and going 0-13 from behind the arc to start the season.

Averaging a combined 26.6 minutes per game, their offensive woes are a primary reason the Celtics remain 30th in the league in bench scoring, per NBA Advanced Stats.

Boston recalled each of those players after practice but Langford may be headed back to Maine at the end of the week, when the Red Claws face the Mad Ants and the Raptors 905 in back-to-back days.