Week 16 News Recap

Week 16 

Monday September 23rd 

Harry Giles signs a 1 year deal with Hornets. 

Nassir Little signs a 1 year deal with Heat. 

Mitchell Robinson's timeline for returning to action has been pushed back to about the beginning of December. Robinson injured his ankle in the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Wednesday September 25th 

Warriors sign Kevin Know to a 1 year deal. 

Thursday September 26th 

Derrick Rose announced his retirement from basketball after 16 seasons in the NBA.  Rose was the 1st overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He won rookie of the year in the 2008-2009 NBA season and was the league's youngest MVP, winning it in the 2010-2011 NBA season.  Rose was an explosive athlete that saw the prime years of his career cut short due to multiple knee injuries. Rose's injuries cause the NBA to make a rule exception in rookie contracts called the "Rose" rule. A player on a rookie contract can earn a 30% increase on there extension if they make an All-NBA team during the years of their rookie deal. This saw a couple of players see an increase in the amount of money they were owed due to exceptional on court play and protecting players financially if they were to be injured.  Rose is an iconic player in the NBA and is a fan favorite. 

Friday September 27th 

Jazz exercised 4th year option on head coach Will Hardy. Hardy has been great since the Jazz hired him as head coach. 

Terrance Mann signed a 3 year 47 million dollar extension with the Los Angeles Clippers. Mann has been a solid player for the Clippers since they drafted him in the second round of the 2019 NBA draft. 

Mark Williams has a tendon strain in his foot and will be reevaluated in 2 weeks. The center is projected to start for the Charlotte Hornets this upcoming season. 

The New York Knicks traded Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl Anthony-Towns.  This move was not surprising when looking at the names. The Knicks seemed to have been shopping Randle since the emergence of Jalen Brunson's stardom.  Minnesota trading away Karl Anthony-Towns is a little shocking to me. Them getting back DiVincenzo helps provide some shooting and Randle gives them someone who can run the offense when Anthony Edwards is out of the game. However, I think the interior defense suffers too much. Randle is not as good a shooter as Anthony-Towns, but provides some steadiness to the lineup. The trade does involve two payers, who have really helped both franchises as well. Randle kind of revived the Knicks organization, dragging them to the playoffs in 2021 for the first time since the Carmelo Anthony years. Anthony-Towns had spent his entire career in Minnesota for the last 9 years. Ultimately, I think I like the fit better for the Knicks as of right now. Anthony-Towns give them spacing at the center position the Knicks have not had, only question is how much will the interior defense suffer without Mitchell Robinson for the first part of the NBA season.  The other portion of the trade that's not known to most is the finances. Anthony-Towns is owed 220 million dollars over the next 4 years. Along with Edwards and Gobert's max contracts, building a functional team around Edwards is very challenging. Not many teams could take on the Anthony-Towns contract. Randle is playing on an expiring deal as well. Brunson also took a pay cut earlier in the offseason to try and give the Knicks some flexibility when filling out the roster. This pay cut essentially will allow them to take on Anthony-Towns contract. I'm more curious about the how Randle will play in Minnesota then Anthony-Towns in New York. I think New York has the pieces around Anthony-Towns to evolve him game a little bit more than Minnesota did. I'm also interested to see how Randle and Anthony play next to each other. Randle did play well next to Brunson before being injured. They found some chemistry and Randle became good at moving without the ball and cutting to the basket. 

Saturday September 28th

Jose Alvarado signed a 2 year 9 million dollar deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. Alvarado has been a really nice find as an undrafted player for the Pelicans.