Knight to Mavs on 10-day contract
MIAMI — Brandon Knight’s goal of an NBA return 10 years after breaking into the league has been realized. But the feelgood story of the former Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest standout making that return with his hometown team instead has come with a Dallas detour.
After playing 11 games with the Miami Heat’s G League affiliate, Knight, 30, has agreed to a 10-day contract by the Dallas Mavericks, utilizing the NBA’s COVID-Related Hardship Allowance.
Although he was working with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, which is operated by the Heat, Knight was free to sign with any NBA team, the Heat not holding his NBA rights.
Knight’s call-up came after a 25-point performance Tuesday night with the Skyforce in the G League Showcase in Las Vegas.
Overall, Knight averaged 21.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.6 rebounds with Sioux Falls, shooting .356 on 3-pointers.
Knight is one of several NBA veterans who have received call-ups amid the NBA’s outbreak of recent positive COVID results, a group of players that includes Joe Johnson, Lance Stephenson, Ersan Ilyasova and Isaiah Thomas.
Knight last played in the NBA on March 11, 2020, while a member of the Detroit Pistons.
Of stepping down to the
G League in order to jumpstart a career ravaged by injury, Knight in November told the South Florida Sun Sentinel: “My goal is to keep going, to see where each step takes me, just like all the other guys here. I don’t care what the level is.”
The Mavericks have been slammed by players entering health and safety protocols in recent days, including Tim Hardaway Jr., Luka Doncic, Trey Burke, Reggie Bullock, Josh Green and Maxi Kleber. In addition to Knight, also signing hardship 10-day contracts with Dallas have been Marquese Chriss, Theo Pinson, Charlie Brown, Carlik Jones and George King.
Rather than sign Knight to the opening created by the shift of Caleb Martin into NBA protocols, the Heat opted for forward Zylan Cheatham, who had been playing for the New Orleans Pelicans’ G League affiliate.
Cheatham’s deal: Based on his previous brief NBA tenure, Cheatham’s 10-day contract with the Heat will pay $85,578.
While Cheatham is guaranteed that amount, he either must be released or converted to a standard or two-way contract when Martin returns, which could be as soon as Sunday’s game against the visiting Orlando Magic.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the sliding scale for such 10-day contracts, which typically are not allowed to be offered until early January, range from the $151,821 that Johnson will receive on his 10-day deal from the Boston Celtics to $53,176 for those without previous NBA contracts or experience. The average for such contracts is $95,930 for such deals.
Under a special exemption amid the pandemic, such emergency 10-day contracts do not count against a team’s salary cap or luxury tax.
The Caron Butler plan: Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is crediting assistant coach Caron Butler for the recent uptick in the play of thirdyear forward KZ Okpala.
Okpala has moved into the rotation due to the injury/illness absences that again sidelined from Thursday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons at FTX Arena: Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Markieff Morris, Victor Oladipo, P.J. Tucker and Martin.
“He has been infused with a lot of confidence and life from the coaching staff,” Spoelstra said, citing the work of assistant coaches Butler, Malik Allen and Anthony Carter.
“They’ve really been working with him, but really Caron has been a great mentor to him, and then he has been ready when his number was finally called. He has been able to produce.”