DaJuan Summers

Atlantic Notes: Lopez, Summers, Grant

While it may appear that Knicks coach Derek Fisher has begun to replace rookie Jerian Grant in the team’s rotation with Sasha Vujacic, the coach insists it is more about keeping the veteran ready rather than the coaching staff losing faith in the struggling Grant, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “I’m trying to give us a spark, see if he can make a shot or two, bring some energy and tenacity to the game,’’ Fisher said. “We’re going to need Sasha through the course of the season. It’s important not to have guys have a down vibe by sitting and watching too much. You got to get some action.’’

Fisher did acknowledge that teams have figured out how to defend Grant, who will need to figure out a way to counter the adjustments teams have made against him, Berman adds. “People watch us play, the same way we watch them play,” Fisher continued. “Some guys have made adjustments to how they’re defending him. He’ll learn how to still do what he does best in terms of getting penetration.’’

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Raptors assigned rookie Delon Wright to the Raptors 905, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This is Wright’s first D-League trip of the season.
  • Nets center Brook Lopez was mentioned in numerous trade rumors connecting him to the Thunder last season. When asked what it would be like playing in Oklahoma City with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Lopez said, “It would have been interesting. You can ask them about it tomorrow and report back to me,” Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). The big man did note that he was happy in Brooklyn, Mazzeo adds.
  • Knicks camp cut DaJuan Summers, who plays for the team’ D-League affiliate, has suffered an injury to his left Achilles tendon and will miss the remainder of the season, the Westchester Knicks announced (Twitter link). The 27-year-old appeared in three D-League contests this season and was averaging 25.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

NBA Teams Designate Affiliate Players

NBA teams cut as much as 25% of their rosters at the end of the preseason, but franchises that have D-League affiliates have a way to maintain ties to many of the players they release from the NBA roster. An NBA team can claim the D-League rights to up to four of the players it waives, as long as the players clear waivers, consent to join the D-League, and don’t already have their D-League rights owned by another team. These are known as affiliate players, as our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry details.

NBA teams allocated 46 affiliate players to the D-League at the beginning of the season last year, and this year, that number has risen to 56, according to the list the D-League announced today. These players are going directly to the D-League affiliate of the NBA team that cut them and weren’t eligible for the D-League draft that took place Saturday. Teams that designated fewer than the maximum four affiliate players retain the ability to snag the D-League rights of players they waive during the regular season, but for now, this is the complete list:

Boston Celtics (Maine Red Claws)

Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge)

Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends)

Detroit Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive)

Golden State Warriors (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)

Indiana Pacers (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)

Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles D-Fenders)

Memphis Grizzlies (Iowa Energy)

Miami Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce)

New York Knicks (Westchester Knicks)

Oklahoma City Thunder (Oklahoma City Blue)

Orlando Magic (Erie BayHawks)

Philadelphia 76ers (Delaware 87ers)

Phoenix Suns (Bakersfield Jam)

Sacramento Kings (Reno Bighorns)

San Antonio Spurs (Austin Spurs)

Toronto Raptors (Raptors 905)

Utah Jazz (Idaho Stampede)

Also, several players who were on NBA preseason rosters are on D-League rosters through means other than the affiliate player rule. Most of them played under D-League contracts at some point within the last two years, meaning their D-League teams have returning player rights to them. Others entered through last weekend’s D-League draft, while others saw their D-League rights conveyed via trade. Most of these players aren’t with the D-League affiliate of the NBA team they were with last month, with a few exceptions.

Roster information from Adam Johnson of D-League Digest, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor and freelancer and Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro was used in the creation of this post.

Knicks Cut Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Four Others

The Knicks have waived Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Darion Atkins and DaJuan Summers, Travis Trice and Wesley Saunders, the team announced (Twitter link). The moves take the Knicks to 14 players, one below the regular season roster limit. All had $75K partial guarantees except for Trice, who was assured of $50K, and Summers, whose salary is non-guaranteed. The release of Antetokounmpo, a brother of Bucks utilityman Giannis Antetokounmpo, means New York forfeits its draft rights to the player it took 51st overall last season.

Antetokounmpo, 23, doesn’t appear interested in rejoining the Knicks D-League affiliate, the team he played for last season. He averaged 13.9 points in 33.0 minutes per game in the D-League last year but went scoreless in about 13 minutes of preseason action spread over three games this month.

Atkins also failed to register a point over seven total minutes of preseason playing time. The 23-year-old went undrafted out of Virginia this year.

Summers, 27, was the 35th overall pick in 2009 but hasn’t appeared in an NBA regular season game since the 2012/13 season. The power forward averaged 2.5 PPG in 5.8 MPG across four preseason contests with the Knicks this month.

Trice went undrafted out of Michigan State this year. The 22-year-old point guard had four points, two assists and a turnover in about 14 total minutes of playing time over the course of two preseason games.

Saunders, from Harvard, was yet another prospect passed over in this year’s draft who landed with the Knicks. The 22-year-old small forward managed two points in about seven minutes of preseason action spread across a pair of games.

The Knicks have 13 fully guaranteed deals, but Langston Galloway, with his sizable $440K partial guarantee, seems safely ensconced in the 14th spot. New York is reportedly one of a handful of teams with interest in the recently waived Jimmer Fredette.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Sullinger, Sixers

Knicks president Phil Jackson‘s statement that he’d be more involved with coach Derek Fisher and the team this season could potentially send a confusing message to the locker room, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News writes. “I really don’t know what standpoint he’s coming from,” Carmelo Anthony said of Jackson’s increased role. “If I think I know Phil the way I know him, I think it’s more of being involved with coaching staff, being in with them, watching film with them, kind of opening up dialogue a little bit more, him sitting in the film room with us, after the games, going over the games, watching more tape, talking to the coaching staff.

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

  • The minimum salary deal that the Knicks signed DaJuan Summers to is non-guaranteed, Darion Atkinspact includes a partial guarantee of $75K, Travis Trice‘s arrangement includes $50K in guaranteed money, and Wesley Saundersdeal includes a partial guarantee of $75K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter).
  • Celtics big man Jared Sullinger believes that his improved conditioning will elevate his game to the next level this season, CSNNE.com relays. “A lot of shots that I’ve missed is due to conditioning. A lot of rebounds I missed is due to conditioning. The defensive plays that I’ve missed – conditioning,” said Sullinger. “Now that my conditioning is at a level where I’m comfortable at but can still improve, I think I have a chance [to be an All-Star].
  • Even though Joe Johnson knew that the Nets were going to make some offseason changes, he was still caught by surprise by Deron Williamsbuyout arrangement, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post writes. “I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Johnson. “But I didn’t see [the buyout] coming. I don’t think [being here] was that bad. It’s not that bad here. To want to get bought out … I couldn’t really put my finger around that one. But I hear that he’s happy and that’s the most important thing. He’s back home, so good for him.
  • The contracts that the Nets signed Justin Harper and Chris Daniels to are both one-year, minimum salary arrangements that include no guaranteed money, Pincus tweets.
  • The success of Sixers big men Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel this season will depend on how effective the outside shooting of Nik Stauskas, Robert Covington and Hollis Thompson is, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News writes. “You hear me say this all the time: My offensive world, how I see it, is pace, space and pass,” coach Brett Brown said. “Post spacing really comes with shooters. Maybe the best play that Jahlil has is Covington and Stauskas. He’s got space to do stuff. We experienced it [in San Antonio] all the time. So, these shooters will most definitely complement Nerlens, and especially Jahlil.
  • T.J. McConnell‘s four-year, minimum salary arrangement with the Sixers includes a partial guarantee of $100K for the 2015/16 season, Pincus tweets. The final three seasons are non-guaranteed, and the fourth year is both non-guaranteed and a team option.

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Summers, Atkins

Knicks president Phil Jackson is focused on 2015/16, and he isn’t dwelling on next offseason’s potential crop of free agents, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. “It’s too much between then and now — or now and then — that goes along,” Jackson said. “There’s just a whole season to go through. Teams develop rapidly. I’ve seen multiple teams in the NBA over the years [that] had this chemistry that just brings it together. That’s what we’re looking for, to find guys that have the chemistry that activates them as players and their team effort together.

So we’re not going to hold anything out about this year, next year,” Jackson continued. “We’re going to continue to try to bring the best talent here to Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks. So that kind of goes unstated.

Here’s more from New York:

  • Coach Derek Fisher doesn’t believe that Carmelo Anthony is disgruntled with the current state of the Knicks, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com relays (via Twitter). Fisher told Begley regarding ‘Melo’s feelings, “I think he actually enjoys and likes working with these guys.
  • Anthony, who underwent surgery on his left knee back in February, will enter training camp without any medical restrictions, Begley writes in a separate piece. “Medically, he will be fine,” Fisher said. “I think we will still gauge how much we want to put him under in terms of workload and stress in training camp and in the preseason. But we don’t have to artificially hold him back from working hard. We just have to kind of gauge how it is responding to how hard we plan to work in training camp, and let’s be smart along the way.
  • DaJuan Summers‘ one-year deal with the team is non-guaranteed and for the league minimum, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
  • The minimum salary deals that Darion Atkins and Wesley Saunders signed are partially guaranteed for $75K, while Travis Trice‘s minimum salary pact includes a partial guarantee of $50K, Pincus confirms (Twitter link).
  • You can view the Knicks’ full preseason roster here.

Knicks Sign DaJuan Summers

TUESDAY, 4:32pm: The signing official, the Knicks have announced.

MONDAY, 9:44am: The Knicks have agreed to sign DaJuan Summers, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).  Summers’ agent, Brian Elfus of Impact, has confirmed the deal.

Summers, 27, last appeared in the NBA in 2012/13 when he saw a handful of minutes across two games for the Clippers. Prior to that, Summers spent two seasons with the Pistons and also had a stint with New Orleans in 2011/12. For his NBA career, Summers has averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.0 RPG in 9.9 minutes per game.

While he has yet to make a real impact at the NBA level, Summers played well in 29 games for the D-League’s Maine Red Claws in 2012/13, averaging 18.0 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 33.1 minutes per contest.  He has also performed well overseas with stints in Italy, Ukraine, and Spain.  Summers auditioned for the rival Nets back in June, but it turns out that he’ll be signing with New York City’s other club.

Nets To Work Out Ivan Johnson, Others

SUNDAY, 10:12am: According to his agent, French SF Yakhouba Diawara has been invited to the Nets mini-camp this Tuesday, reports David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link). Also attending will be Michael Snaer, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. In 27 games with the Italian team Enel Brindisi, Snaer averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.1 APG.

3:28pm: NBA vets Ivan Johnson, Malcolm Lee, Kim English, Kevin Murphy and DaJuan Summers will join Liggins, Greene, Machado, Kennedy and others in working out for the club on Tuesday, the Nets announced. Lance Thomas will also participate, as Adam Zagoria of SNY reported earlier this week.

THURSDAY, 9:56am: Four free agents with NBA experience will visit with the Nets next week, according to Lenn Robbins of Nets.com, who says the team will see DeAndre Liggins, Donte GreeneScott Machado and D.J. Kennedy (Twitter links; hat tip to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv). The Nets are holding a mini-camp soon, so it seems like the foursome will be among those working out for the club.

Liggins has the most recent NBA experience among that group, having played in the NBA this past season on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Heat. The 26-year-old only appeared in one game for a single minute for Miami, but he made 39 appearances for the Thunder in 2012/13 and also saw playing time for the Magic the year before. He’s averaged 1.6 points in 7.1 minutes per game in the NBA since Orlando drafted him 53rd overall in 2011.

Greene, a former 28th overall pick, has the most extensive NBA experience, appearing in 253 games and making 82 starts for the Kings over four seasons, but he’s been out of the NBA since 2011/12, save for a late-season signing with the Grizzlies in 2012/13. He failed to get in a game during his time with Memphis. Machado, an undrafted former Iona standout, split this past season between France and the D-League after stints with the Rockets and Warriors in 2012/13. Kennedy, from St. John’s, has just two games with the Cavs in 2012/13 on his NBA resume, and he spent this past season playing in Israel and France.

Mini-camps at this time of year usually only help teams fill summer league rosters, but these four probably stand a chance at joining the Nets for preseason this fall, given their experience. The Nets, with a bloated payroll and limited flexibility, will have to do most of their free agent shopping with the minimum-salary exception.

DaJuan Summers To Sign With Ukrainian Team

After being released by the Clippers earlier this month, DaJuan Summers appears to be heading overseas for the coming season. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports that Summers is expected to sign with Ukraine's Budivelnyk Kyiv.

Summers, 25, appeared in just a pair of contests for the Clippers last season. The BDA Sports client has previously spent time with the Pistons and Pelicans, averaging 3.3 PPG in 83 career games. His deal with the Clips included a non-guaranteed salary for 2013/14, but Los Angeles avoided taking a cap hit for that amount by releasing him before his guarantee date.

While he has yet to make a real impact at the NBA level, Summers played well in 29 games for the D-League's Maine Red Claws last season, averaging 18.0 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 33.1 minutes per contest.

Clippers Waive DaJuan Summers

The Clippers have reduced their roster by one, releasing DaJuan Summers, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Summers, signed back in April for the rest of the 2012/13 season, had a non-guaranteed minimum salary for '13/14, so the Clips won't take a cap hit for the move.

Summers, 25, appeared in just a pair of contests for Los Angeles last season. He has previously spent time with the Pistons and Pelicans, averaging 3.3 PPG in 83 career games. The timing of the move seems a little unusual, since the Clippers confirmed today in a press release that Summers would be on their Summer League squad, and his contract wasn't scheduled to become guaranteed until January.

In any case, Summers will become an unrestricted free agent, assuming he clears waivers.

Clippers Re-Sign DaJuan Summers For Season

The Clippers have re-signed DaJuan Summers to a rest-of-season contract, the team announced today in a press release. Summers had signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the club, the second of which came to an end after last night's win over the Suns.

During his first 20 days with the Clippers, Summers has only appeared in two games, scoring a single basket in seven minutes of action. I don't expect the 25-year-old to be a part of the team's postseason rotation, so I'd imagine his contract includes a non-guaranteed option for 2013/14, giving L.A. a chance to take an extended look at him over the summer.

Now that they've signed Summers and Maalik Wayns to guaranteed contracts, the Clippers have a full roster of 15 players.