Dexter Pittman

Dexter Pittman Signs With Turkish Team

THURSDAY, 9:21am: The deal is official, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, on Twitter).

SUNDAY, 4:54pm: Free agent center Dexter Pittman has signed a contract with Turkish club Kolejliler, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter).  Pittman, of course, is no stranger to the international scene.  He played in China and Puerto Rico last season in addition to his stint with the Hawks.

Pittman signed another deal with the Hawks in late September only to be let go in October.  The former No. 32 overall pick has struggled with weight issues and has never averaged more than 8.6 minutes per game in any of his four NBA seasons.  In total, Pittman has 50 games of NBA experience on his resume with averages of 2.3 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 6.9 minutes per contest.

The big man also spent time on the Rockets’ roster at the end of last season but only got on the court with Atlanta in 2013/14.

Hawks Release Dexter Pittman, Jarell Eddie

12:16pm: The moves are official, the team announced via press release and on Twitter.

12:07pm: The Hawks are waiving Dexter Pittman and Jarell Eddie, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Vivlamore indicates the moves have already taken place, though the team has yet to make a public acknowledgement. Each has been on a non-guaranteed contract. Letting them go would leave Atlanta with 15 players, which means the team wouldn’t need to make any more cuts.

Pittman has been on his second stint with the Hawks after having joined the club on a 10-day contract in February. The center briefly spent time on the Rockets roster at the end of the 2013/14 season, but his only two appearances in regular season games last year came with Atlanta. The former 32nd overall pick has struggled with weight issues and has never averaged more than 8.6 minutes per game in any of his four NBA seasons.

Eddie went undrafted this summer out of Virginia Tech and joined the Wizards for summer league before hooking up with the Hawks this fall. He averaged 2.7 points in 13.1 minutes per game in the preseason, but nonetheless made a positive impression on Atlanta’s brass. That suggests the team envisions retaining the D-League rights to the 6’7″ small forward forward, though that’s just my speculation.

The moves leave the Hawks with 14 fully guaranteed contracts plus a partial guarantee of about $408K with Mike Muscala. In a twist of fate, the Hawks released Pittman from his 10-day contract before the 10 days were up last season to accommodate the signing of Muscala, who remains on the same deal.

Dexter Pittman Signs With Hawks

SEPTEMBER 29TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

SEPTEMBER 24TH: Free agent Dexter Pittman has agreed to a deal with the Hawks, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Terms of the deal weren’t revealed, but it’s likely a minimum salary camp deal with a nominal guarantee at best. This signing gives Atlanta a total of 17 players on their preseason roster, with 14 of those being fully-guaranteed and one other player who has a partial guarantee.

The 6’11” 26-year-old out of Texas appeared in two games for the Hawks last season while on a 10-day contract that was cut short when Pittman was released in order to make room on the roster for Mike Muscala. In 50 career games, including six starts, Pittman has averaged 2.3 PPG and 1.8 RPG. His career field goal percentage is 45%.

Pittman will compete with Muscala and Pero Antic for a spot backing up Al Horford at center, though he’s unlikely to stick on the roster until opening night without an especially strong training camp. Pittman had also worked out for the Lakers back in August, but it’s unlikely that L.A. made any contract offer.

And-Ones: Lakers, Hornets, CDR, Young, Mavs

Michael Beasley‘s second audition with the Lakers was part of a larger free agent workout today, writes Sam Amick of USA Today, who lists Dexter Pittman, Greg Stiemsma, Daniel Orton, Bobby Brown, Toney Douglas, Ben Hansbrough and Malcolm Lee as the other participants. As Amick points out, GM Mitch Kupchak has two roster spots to play with going into the 2014/15 season.

Here is what else is happening around the league on Wednesday evening:

Dexter Pittman To Play In Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rican team Caciques de Humacao announced the signing of Dexter Pittman, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Terms and length of the deal for the 26-year-old center haven’t been released. He was recently let go by the Rockets to make room for them to sign Josh Powell after only being with the team for five days. He didn’t see any action while with Houston.

Pittman appeared in two games for the Hawks this season and averaged 1.5 RPG, but didn’t score a point.  He was released by the team on February 27th. Pittman also played seven games in China with Foshan averaging 12.7 PPG.

In 27 games this season in the NBA D-League with the Austin Toros the big man averaged 11.2 PPG and 6.8 RPG.

Rockets Sign Josh Powell

WEDNESDAY, 11:10am: The Rockets have officially announced the deal, via press release. The statement doesn’t mention the team’s reported release of Pittman, but presumably that’s taken place, as well.

10:57pm: Powell passed his physical, signed his contract, and is joining the team soon, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston.

12:31pm: It’ll be a multiyear deal that’s non-guaranteed beyond this season, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.

TUESDAY, 7:51am: Sources tell Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that Powell has received his FIBA letter of clearance, and that he’ll sign with the team on Tuesday as long as he passes his physical.

MONDAY, 11:35am: The Rockets will make a move by Wednesday, but no decision regarding Powell has been finalized, Feigen tweets.

SUNDAY, 4:51pm: Reports out of the Philippines say the Rockets, who were earlier reported to be releasing Dexter Pittman, now intend to sign Josh Powell to take his place on the roster, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Powell had been playing with Barangay Ginebra in the Philippines after signing with the team on March 30th.

Powell was in camp with the Knicks prior to the start of the 2013/14 NBA season, but the team reportedly had no intention of retaining him for opening night, no matter how well he played in preseason. He was waived by the Knicks in October then penned a deal with Guangdong where he averaged 15.0 PPG and 9.9 RPG, before heading to the Philippines.

In six seasons in the NBA he has career averages of 3.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 0.5 APG in 12.5 minutes per contest, but Powell is best known for being a member of two championship winning Lakers teams in 2009 and 2010.

Rockets To Release Dexter Pittman

The Rockets are releasing Dexter Pittman, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).  It was an extremely quick stop in Houston for Pittman, who just signed with the club on Friday.

The reasons are unknown at this time, but Pittman was not on hand for last night’s 111-104 win over the Pelicans.  The Rockets waived Greg Smith on Friday in order to make room for the 26-year-old but, for one reason or another, things just didn’t work out.

The former second-round pick, whose deal included a non-guaranteed 2014/15 season, has been out of the NBA this season aside from a five-day stint with the Hawks.  The Bulls waived Pittman before opening night, and he’s spent most of the season with the D-League affiliate of the Spurs after having joined San Antonio for summer league action last year. Pittman has averaged 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per contest for the D-League’s Austin Toros this season.

Western Rumors: Bazemore, Camby, Rockets

The loss the Warriors suffered to the Nuggets on Thursday puts them just two games up on the ninth-place Grizzlies, and the Jazz, who own Golden State’s first-round pick, will surely be rooting for the Warriors to lose in the season’s final days. Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Kent Bazemore is set to become a restricted free agent at season’s end, and while his value appears to have surged since he joined the Lakers at the trade deadline, he’s not simply looking to cash in, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News observes. “I’m all about the basketball aspect of things. I don’t want much. I’m not a guy who’s going to chase money on a bad team. I want to win,” Bazemore said. “This is the Los Angeles Lakers. I don’t see many people turning down an opportunity to be here.”
  • The Rockets gauged Marcus Camby‘s interest in rejoining the team several weeks ago, only to learn that he would be unavailable to return to the NBA this year as he tries to come back from a left foot injury, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Rockets GM Daryl Morey confirmed that the conclusion that Greg Smith will miss the rest of the season led the team to waive him and sign Dexter Pittman, as Feigen passes along in the same piece.
  • The Rudy Gay trade muted the effect of Sacramento’s acquisition of Derrick Williams, who’s seen his playing time continue to decline of late, notes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Kings coach Michael Malone wants to give Williams more minutes, but his lack of consistency dissuades him from doing so, Jones writes.

And-Ones: Blake, Pacers, Bargnani

Shortly after Steve Blake was dealt to the Warriors in February, we noted that the veteran point guard wouldn’t rule out a return to the Lakers this summer. Though Blake declined to follow up on those comments earlier today, there’s no denying that he still misses Los Angeles: “It’s one of the best places to live in the country,” he said. “Of course you miss that. Mostly I miss just being with my wife and kids. I’m a family man who wants to be home with them (Mike Bresnahan and Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times).

Here are a few more noteworthy links to pass along tonight:

  • The Pacers have reached an agreement worth $160MM to extend their stay at the Banker’s Life Fieldhouse in Indiana for another 10 years, writes Tony Cook of USA Today (first reported by the Associated Press). The city’s Capital Improvement Board is expected to vote on the deal this upcoming Monday.
  • Andrea Bargnani‘s lackluster and injury-filled year has been a big reason for the Knicks’ struggles in 2013/14, says Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman says that it’ll now be up to team president Phil Jackson to either arrange a buyout for the former number one pick or trade his $10MM expiring contract for next season.
  • Dexter Pittman, who  played high school and college basketball in Texas, tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston about how delighted he is to be part of the Rockets“I always dreamed about playing back home. I’m in shock right now…”I played with LeBron James…I played with Kevin Durant. I (won) an an NBA Championship, but there’s nothing better than coming to Houston and playing with the best center in the game and playing with one of the best all-time great big men to ever play the game, Kevin McHale. and being in the shadow of Hakeem Olajuwon…Everybody’s dream that played basketball in Houston was to be a Rocket.”
  • Kevin Pelton, Amin Elhassan, and Chad Ford of ESPN take an in-depth look at NBA prospect Nik Stauskas (Insiders only). Though ESPN initially reported that Stauskas had already decided to declare for the draft, the Michigan guard recently took to Twitter to deny the report himself.

Rockets Sign Dexter Pittman, Cut Greg Smith

4:56pm: The team has officially announced the moves on its website.

12:30pm: The Rockets will sign Dexter Pittman and waive Greg Smith to make room, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Smith has been out since early January after undergoing right knee surgery. The Rockets will be on the hook for the rest of his contract if he clears waivers, but his deal was set to expire at season’s end. Houston didn’t have an open roster spot, necessitating the departure of Smith to accommodate Pittman, a fellow center who’ll provide depth for the team as it heads into the playoffs.

Pittman’s deal will cover next season with non-guaranteed salary, Feigen adds via Twitter. The former second-round pick has been out of the NBA this season aside from a five-day stint with the Hawks, who terminated his 10-day contract early to bring aboard Mike Muscala. The Bulls waived Pittman before opening night, and he’s spent most of the season with the D-League affiliate of the Spurs after having joined San Antonio for summer league action last year. Pittman has averaged 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per contest for the D-League’s Austin Toros this season.

Even though the Hawks released Pittman after March 1st, he’s still eligible to play for Houston in the playoffs. The restriction against guys who were on one team after that date playing for another team in the postseason only applies if they’re placed on waivers, and 10-day signees don’t go on waivers when their teams let them go.

Mark Deeks of ShamSports suggests Smith is a candidate to be claimed off waivers (Twitter link). Houston’s move today indicates that he’s unlikely to be healthy enough to help in the postseason, but any team that claims him would be allowed to match offers for him in the summer, since he’d be a restricted free agent as long as his new team submits a qualifying offer. If he clears waivers, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. A claiming team would also acquire his full Bird rights, since his contract with the Rockets was a three-year deal, as Deeks points out (on Twitter). Smith was a part of Houston’s rotation last season, averaging 6.0 PPG and 4.6 RPG in 15.9 MPG and making 10 starts.