Hornets Sign Darryl Watkins, Waive Chris Johnson
The Hornets have signed Darryl Watkins to a 10-day contract and waived Chris Johnson, according to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com (via Twitter). John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported earlier today that the injury-ravaged Hornets were expected to replace Johnson with another big man.
Watkins, 27, only played nine regular-season games in his NBA career, way back in the 2007/08 season with the Kings. He has received training-camp invites from a few teams, including the Hornets in 2010. In recent seasons, Watkins has played in the D-League and in various leagues overseas. With less than 10 days remaining in the regular season, The Syracuse product will be eligible for the rest of the Hornets' games, with Chris Kaman and Emeka Okafor out of the lineup with injuries.
Johnson was released by the Trail Blazers along with Greg Oden at the trade deadline to make room for Portland's incoming players. The Hornets claimed Johnson off waivers, but the big man appeared in just seven games for New Orleans before suffering a concussion on April 1st. He hasn't played since.
As Hoops Rumors' 10-day contract tracker shows, Watkins is the sixth player to receive at least one 10-day contract from the Hornets this season.
Tyrus Thomas, Paul Silas Involved In Altercation
Tyrus Thomas and Bobcats coach Paul Silas engaged in a post-game shouting match following Sunday's game that led to Silas shoving Thomas, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. No punches were thrown, as several players intervened immediately to separate the two. According to Wojnarowski, Silas was angry that Thomas chatted with some Celtics after the Bobcats lost their 16th straight game.
"Silas hates losing to the Celtics, and Paul was even angrier that he thought [Thomas] was acting buddy-buddy with some of their guys," a source told Wojnarowski. "That’s what got it going. But Paul was yelling at him over his salary, over what they have left to pay him. But it started with him saying, hey, he could live with the losing, but you’re going to be buddy-buddy as they’re beating your ass too?"
GM Rod Higgins told Wojnarowski that he has met with Silas and Thomas about the incident and both have been fined.
Even before this confrontation, it was hard to imagine a scenario that involved both Silas and Thomas returning to Charlotte next season. Silas was identified today by Susan Bible of HoopsWorld as one of a handful of NBA coaches on the hot seat, which is hard to argue, given the Bobcats' awful 2011/12 record. Silas, who is in the last year of his contract, also reportedly clashed with Boris Diaw earlier this season, and has allowed his son Stephen to coach the occasional Bobcats game.
Thomas, meanwhile, still has about $26MM left on his contract after this season, and is a prime candidate to be amnestied. Besides Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo, Thomas is the only Bobcat under contract past 2012/13.
Northwest Notes: Beasley, Blazers, Felton, Ahearn
The Timberwolves are one of only two NBA teams not in action tonight, but the Northwest's other four squads will play. Of particular interest is the game in Portland, where the Jazz need to beat the Blazers to remain in the playoff hunt. As we await tonight's slate of games, let's round up some Northwest Division updates:
- Less than a week after declaring that he wants to return to the Timberwolves next season, Michael Beasley backtracked a little in comments to Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Beasley referred to his future as "blurry," expressed some frustration about not receiving a contract extension, and said he didn't want to get too comfortable in a reserve role.
- Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge passes along some comments made by acting Trail Blazers GM Chad Buchanan on the impending managerial changes coming in Portland. Buchanan figures the new general manager will need at least a month or so to prepare for the draft and free agency, meaning the Blazers should have a permanent GM in place by June 1st.
- Raymond Felton talked to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian about his future and his season as a Trail Blazer.
- Blake Ahearn is on the last day of his 10-day contract, and the Jazz are undecided about whether they'll re-sign him, writes Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune. GM Kevin O'Connor says the team will explore all its options before making the decision.
Draft Updates: C.J. Leslie To Return To N.C. State
Sophomore forward C.J. Leslie was a decent bet to be picked in the first round this June, ranking 28th on Chad Ford's list of top prospects at ESPN.com and 34th on DraftExpress' top 100. However, rather than entering the draft, Leslie will be returning to North Carolina State for his junior year, reports James Henderson of Pack Pride.
"I'm staying at State, that's the decision I've made," Leslie said. "I just felt like this was the best decision for me. The program is moving in the right direction, and I will finish it out and I'm excited about where we are heading at N.C. State."
Here are a few more of today's draft-related links:
- Andre Drummond will be represented by Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports, tweets Jonathon Givony of DraftExpress.com, who has compiled a list of agents representing this year's draft prospects.
- Chad Ford answered draft questions in his weekly chat at ESPN.com today. Of note: Ford says the 2013 draft lottery class is shaping up to be "considerably worse" than 2012's.
- Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio also conducted a draft-heavy chat today, with a focus on the Cavaliers' picks.
Southwest Rumors: Hornets, Allen, Mayo, Kidd
Let's check in on a few Wednesday updates out of the Southwest Division….
- The Hornets are expected to waive Chris Johnson and sign another big man to replace him, reports John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. With Chris Kaman and Emeka Okafor likely done for the season, New Orleans is lacking in frontcourt depth, and Johnson hasn't played in over two weeks since he suffered a concussion.
- Following up on the Ray Allen/O.J. Mayo trade rumor from Yahoo! Sports, Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal says he heard the Celtics' asking price also included Mike Conley, Dante Cunningham, and Josh Selby in a large deal that included draft picks. The Grizzlies didn't want to give up so many assets to rent Allen, says Tillery.
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld examines whether or not Mayo has a place in the Grizzlies' future.
- Asked if he could see Jason Kidd becoming a coach when his playing career ends, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle replied, "He'll probably be an owner" (Twitter link via Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).
Gerald Green Would Give Nets Hometown Discount
Gerald Green reiterated Wednesday that he'd like to re-sign with the Nets this summer, reports Fred Kerber of the New York Post. Green even indicated he'd be willing to come back at a discounted price to the team that signed him out of the D-League earlier this season.
"Most definitely I would," Green said, when asked if he'd take less money to remain a Net. "I’m about loyalty and this team was the first team to pick me up for the year. They gave me an opportunity.
"I have a strong feeling I’m going to be with the Nets," Green added. "I don’t feel like I’m going to be anywhere else. I know I’m not getting any feedback now from anybody. I can’t. Can’t talk to anybody. So I have a strong feeling about here. They want me here I want to be here. It’s not like I have to weigh my options. I really don’t have any options."
Green has said before that he hopes and expects to remain a Net past this season, though I don't think he's right when he says he doesn't have options. His play this season has certainly attracted attention, and I imagine plenty of teams besides the Nets will inquire on him this summer — the Lakers, for instance, are thought to have interest.
The Nets are expected to have a good chunk of cap space this summer, especially if Deron Williams ends up signing elsewhere. If New Jersey can bring back Green, a Houston native, on a "hometown" discount, the team would retain its flexibility to pursue other marquee free agents.
Minor Moves: Luke Harangody, Jerome Jordan
We'll track the latest notable international and D-League-related transactions right here:
- Luke Harangody has been recalled from the D-League's Canton Charge, the Cavaliers announced today. Harangody was assigned to Canton on the weekend and helped lead the team to its first-ever playoff series victory. However, with the Cavs in need of healthy bodies, Harangody won't be on hand to help the Charge continue their postseason run. Having been assigned to the D-League the maximum three times already this season, the 24-year-old can't be sent down again.
- According to RealGM's transactions log, Jerome Jordan has also been recalled from the D-League, by the Knicks. New York's affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, were eliminated from the D-League playoffs on Monday, in spite of Jordan's 26 points.
Tim Duncan Not Thinking About Free Agency
Tim Duncan will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but if you ask him about it, he'll tell you he hasn't spent a single idle moment considering his future, according to Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.
"That’s something I’ll think about after the season ends," Duncan said. "For now, I’m not worrying about anything except our next game. I don’t even have an agent."
Duncan's former agent, Lon Babby, became the general manager of the Suns, meaning he could no longer represent Duncan or his other clients. But with no end to his career in sight, Duncan figures to hire a new representative before July. Even though he'll turn 36 next week, the longtime Spur has still been very productive this season, averaging 15.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in a career-low 28.2 minutes per game.
When they open negotiations with their star forward, the Spurs will have to be careful how much of a discount they request, says Monroe. Duncan had a 2011/12 cap figure of $21.16MM, and no team, including the Spurs will want to pay him that amount annually going forward. Monroe identifies a pair of recent examples of teams attempting to re-sign stars to new deals, pointing out that the Mavericks and Jason Kidd serve as a better case study than the Rockets and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Jim Buss Talks Lakers, Bynum, Kobe, CBA
Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com conducted an extensive, two–part Q&A session with Lakers executive vice president of player personnel Jim Buss, in which Buss discussed a number of Lakers-related topics. Here are a few highlights from the interview, which is a must-read for Lakers fans:
- Andrew Bynum is "obviously going to be our center for a long time," says Buss. The young center will be eligible for unrestricted free agency after next season, and Buss says the Lakers aren't concerned with Bynum's injury history or any attitude issues.
- Buss and the Lakers have considered the direction of the franchise post-Kobe Bryant, but Buss isn't sure at this point whether Kobe will want to keep playing for another year or two (or more) when his current contract expires or whether he'll retire.
- Buss and Bryant "talk all the time now," and Buss says he has some regrets about not involving Kobe more in last year's coaching search.
- Making "prudent decisions on everything" will be crucial in keeping the Lakers headed in the right direction under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, says Buss. He also suggests being more aggressive in the draft will be a way to deal with the more punitive penalties on taxpaying teams.
- Here's Buss on how he, his father (Lakers owner Jerry Buss), and GM Mitch Kupchak make major decisions: "The three of us will have an opinion, we’ll argue our opinion and then eventually, it gets hashed out to where we’re all on board or one guy isn’t (and) two are and it doesn’t really matter which two or which one. Except for my dad. If it’s two against him, then we’ll probably lose that battle."
Celtics Nearly Traded Ray Allen To Grizzlies
Although the Celtics ended up standing pat at last month's trade deadline, the team was close to making one or two blockbuster moves and breaking up its Big Three, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
According to Wojnarowski, Ray Allen received a phone call from Celtics coach Doc Rivers, telling him he'd been traded to the Grizzlies for a package that included O.J. Mayo and a draft pick. However, shortly after the call, Allen received word that the deal had fallen apart.
The Celtics also had serious discussions with the Nets about a deal that would've sent Paul Pierce to New Jersey in exchange for Mehmet Okur and a lottery pick, says Wojnarowski. Grantland's Bill Simmons wrote of those talks last week, noting that the Nets eventually elected to acquire Gerald Wallace from Portland for a similar package (one which also included Shawne Williams).
While the Celtics have played their best basketball of the season since the deadline and are a popular choice to upset the Bulls or Heat in the Eastern playoffs, the team's failed trades are interesting to consider. Had they made those deals, Boston would be heading into the summer armed with three first-round picks and even more cap flexibility, without Pierce on next year's books. We'll see if the Celtics' Big Three has one more run left to reward GM Danny Ainge's deadline decision to stand pat.