Kings Targeting Tony Mitchell
The Kings, looking to fill out their preseason roster, would like to bring small forward Tony Mitchell to training camp, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (Sulia link). Mitchell reportedly drew interest from the Warriors and Knicks before going undrafted this past June. He'd likely be in line for a minimum-salary deal with little or no guaranteed money.
The 6'6", 23-year-old Mitchell, from the University of Alabama, is not to be confused with the 20-year-old, 6'7" player by the same name who'll be a sophomore at North Texas this year after flirting with early entry into the draft. The Mitchell from Alabama played for the Kings in summer league, averaging 11.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 22.8 minutes over five games, and the overall impression was a positive one, according to Jones.
The Kings currently have 14 players on the roster, all of whom have fully guaranteed deals, but GM Geoff Petrie wants to carry 18 players into camp. Presumably, that means the four signees will be fighting for one last roster spot, since teams can only have 15 players in the regular season.
Grizzlies Waive D.J. Kennedy
The Grizzlies have waived forward D.J. Kennedy, reports Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Kennedy was the only asset going the Grizzlies' way in the July 25th trade that sent Jeremy Pargo, a 2014 second-round draft pick, and cash to the Cavaliers. He had a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract, so the swap will wind up amounting to a salary dump for Memphis. Pargo has a guaranteed deal for $1MM this season.
The 22-year-old, 6'6" Kennedy signed with the Cavs for the final week of the regular season, and appeared in just two games, posting a total of 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 59 minutes. He went undrafted out of St. John's in 2011 and spent most of last season playing for the Erie Bayhawks of the D-League, averaging 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 44 games.
Once he clears waivers, he'll be an unrestricted free agent, and the timing of the move allows him to catch on with another team before training camp. The Grizzles reached agreements with four camp invitees on Sunday, so getting rid of Kennedy brings the roster back down to 18 players, 13 of whom are believed to have at least a partial guarantee. Taking Kennedy's salary off the books lets the Grizzlies retain one of the camp invitees on a minimum-salary contract for the regular season, if they so choose, and stay below the luxury tax apron of $74.307MM, which allows for greater flexibility.
Veteran Players Eligible For Extensions
Earlier today, we listed the fourth-year players who are eligible for contract extensions of up to five years. The criteria for those players are fairly simple: If you're still playing on the deal you signed as a first-round draft pick and you're entering the final year of that contract, you're extension-eligible.
For veteran players, however, the criteria are a bit more convoluted. As Larry Coon explains in his invaluable CBA FAQ, veteran contracts of less than four years cannot be extended. However, longer deals can be extended in the following scenarios:
- If a player is on a four-, five-, or six-year deal, it can be extended three years after it was signed.
- If a player previously signed a contract extension, his contract can be extended again three years after the extension was signed.
- If a player previously renegotiated his contract, his deal can be extended three years after the renegotiation was signed, if his salary was increased by more than 10%.
Given the specific circumstances required for a veteran contract extension, not a ton of players are eligible for them in any given year. Veteran extensions can also be for no more than four years, which includes the current season, meaning a player in the final year of his deal could only add three new seasons.
As such, top extension-eligible veterans (Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Andrew Bynum, etc.) are more likely to wait until free agency, where they can maximize their earnings. On the other hand, many extension-eligible players such as DeSagana Diop, Hedo Turkoglu, and Charlie Villanueva have virtually no chance of receiving new deals from their current teams, who are just waiting to clear those salaries.
Still, somewhere in the middle, there are a handful of players that we can reasonably expect to at least discuss the possibility of a contract extension with their respective teams at some point before next June. Here's the complete list, by my count, of veteran players currently eligible for extensions:
- 76ers: Andrew Bynum
- Bobcats: Matt Carroll, DeSagana Diop
- Bucks: Monta Ellis, Beno Udrih
- Bulls: Luol Deng
- Cavaliers: Anderson Varejao, Luke Walton
- Clippers: Lamar Odom, Chris Paul
- Hawks: Devin Harris, Zaza Pachulia, Josh Smith
- Jazz: Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Marvin Williams, Mo Williams
- Kings: Francisco Garcia
- Lakers: Dwight Howard, Metta World Peace
- Magic: Hedo Turkoglu
- Mavericks: Dahntay Jones, Shawn Marion
- Nuggets: Andre Iguodala
- Pacers: Danny Granger
- Pistons: Corey Maggette, Jason Maxiell, Charlie Villanueva
- Raptors: Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon
- Rockets: Kevin Martin
- Spurs: Stephen Jackson
- Suns: Marcin Gortat
- Timberwolves: Chase Budinger
- Warriors: Andris Biedrins, Andrew Bogut, Jarrett Jack
- Wizards: Trevor Ariza, Emeka Okafor
Storytellers Contracts was used in the creation of this list.
Odds & Ends: Heat, T-Wolves, Hudson, Grizzlies
After weeks of consideration, the Heat appeared to conclude their hunt for a big man yesterday, inking Josh Harrellson to a non-guaranteed deal. Another team that has long been eyeing free agent bigs, the Timberwolves, continued their search today. According to Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 (via Twitter), Wolves GM David Kahn is still talking to agents, with Hassan Whiteside, Sean Williams, and others believed to be in the mix. That's one of a handful of today's odds and ends that we've yet to cover, so let's round up the rest….
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel fielded questions in his mailbag about how the signing of Harrellson would affect the Heat's roster and rotation.
- Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio follows up his tweet on Lester Hudson from earlier today with a full story on Hudson's agency letting him go when he failed to attend a workout with the Bobcats. "The Bobcats ended up eating a ticket for $750," said agent Tyler Glass. "I worked so hard to get him a workout, and he didn’t show. The Bobcats were annoyed and they should have been. They’re a professional organization. You don’t skip out on workouts…. He really can play in the league. But what happened with the Bobcats… Word gets around."
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld makes his picks for the offseason's most underrated acquisitions.
- The sale of the Grizzlies to Robert Pera continued to move in the right direction today, as Memphis City Council approved transfer of the city's agreement with ownership. Amos Maki of the Memphis Commercial Appeal has the details.
- With Dwight Howard no longer a distraction, the Magic are excited about their new direction, writes John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com.
Raptors Re-Sign Jamaal Magloire
SEPTEMBER 18TH: The Raptors have officially re-signed Magloire, according to a team release.
SEPTEMBER 6TH: Unrestricted free agent Jamaal Magloire will receive a non-guaranteed deal with an invite to training camp from the Raptors, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter). Magloire played for the Raptors on a minimum-salary contract in 2011/12, and it appears he'll get the opportunity to do so again this season.
Magloire, 34, had a disappointing year in Toronto, averaging more fouls per game (1.9) than points (1.2) in limited minutes for the Raptors. His 37.8% field goal percentage and 2.7 PER were also among the worst of his career. However, Magloire had an even more disastrous season in 2007/08, and bounced back reasonably well with the Heat a year later, so the Raptors are taking a flier on the big man having a similar bounce-back performance this season.
With 14 players under contract, the Raptors will make Magloire the 15th man on their roster. However, the club can continue to invite players to training camp as long as the deals are non-guaranteed.
Ivan Johnson Signs Qualifying Offer From Hawks
TUESDAY, 2:40pm: The Hawks have officially re-signed Johnson, the team announced today in a press release.
FRIDAY, 1:01pm: The final restricted free agent on the market will sign, Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports, as Ivan Johnson has agreed to accept his qualifying offer of one year and $962,195 from the Hawks. Other teams were reluctant to make a play for Johnson this summer, knowing the Hawks would likely match any reasonable offer, but the 6'8" power forward seemed to hold out for more until it became clear the Hawks wouldn't dip into their $1.957MM bi-annual exception.
Johnson made his NBA debut last season, making the Hawks out of training camp on a non-guaranteed one-year deal. He impressed the team with his physical presence inside, which proved helpful in a season largely without the injured Al Horford. Johnson, who turned 28 in April, averaged 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 16.7 minutes last season, with a 14.3 PER. Prior to last season, he racked up 94 games of D-League experience and played overseas after going undrafted following two seasons of college ball split between the University of Oregon and Cal State Bernardino.
The move brings the Hawks roster to 16 players, with 14 on at least partially guaranteed deals. It figures to put extra pressure on James Anderson, whose minimum salary contract is non-guaranteed. Kyle Korver's $5MM deal is only guaranteed for $500K, so his place on the team could be threatened as well.
Fourth-Year Players Eligible For Extensions
While there are a number of different forms of contract extensions available to players under the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement, the most common type of extension is for guys entering the final year of their rookie scale contract. Unlike veteran extensions, which only add up to three new years to a player's current contract, rookie contract extensions can add up to five new years.
Blake Griffin became the first of 2012's extension-eligible fourth-year players to ink a new deal, agreeing to a five-year, maximum-salary contract with the Clippers early in July. Serge Ibaka and the Thunder finalized a four-year, $49MM extension a few weeks later. Griffin's and Ibaka's deals mean that a pair of prime extension candidates are locked up, but there are still plenty of rookie-scale players eligible for extensions. If they don't sign long-term deals with their current teams by October 31st, they'll become free agents next summer.
We've examined a number of these fourth-year, extension-eligible players in our Extension Candidate series, but here's the complete list, sorted by team:
- 76ers: Jrue Holiday
- Bobcats: Gerald Henderson, B.J. Mullens
- Bucks: Brandon Jennings
- Bulls: Taj Gibson
- Cavaliers: Omri Casspi
- Grizzlies: Wayne Ellington
- Hawks: Jeff Teague
- Kings: Tyreke Evans, James Johnson
- Mavericks: Rodrigue Beaubois, Darren Collison
- Nuggets: Ty Lawson
- Pacers: Tyler Hansbrough
- Pistons: Austin Daye
- Raptors: DeMar DeRozan
- Rockets: Toney Douglas
- Thunder: James Harden, Eric Maynor
- Warriors: Stephen Curry
Pacers Sign Luke Nevill, Ben Hansbrough
TUESDAY, 1:52pm: The Pacers have officially announced the signings of Nevill and Hansbrough in a press release.
MONDAY, 9:24pm: The Pacers have signed center Luke Nevill and guard Ben Hansbrough to round out their training camp roster, according to Mike Wells of the Indy Star. The two signings bring the Pacers' roster up to 18 players as they head into camp on October 1st.
Nevill, 26, first made a name for himself at the University of Utah where he led his squad to the NCAA tournament as a senior. Hansbrough, 24, is the younger brother of Pacers big man Tyler Hansbrough. The two-guard began his collegiate career at Mississippi State before transfering to Notre Dame after his sophomore campaign.
Earlier this month, the Pacers signed small forward Sam Young and guards Blake Ahearn and Sundiata Gaines. Wells notes that the Pacers are especially high on Young because of his toughness, even though he didn't get to display it much in Philadelphia.
Free Agent Rumors: Oguchi, Howard, Tucker
Over two and a half months since 2012's free agent period began, a number of players are still seeking contracts with NBA teams, even if those deals are just non-guaranteed camp invites. Here's the latest updates on a few of the players still on the market:
- Nigerian swingman Chamberlain Oguchi, who was said last month to be drawing NBA interest, has been updating his Twitter account with news on his workouts. Oguchi has worked out for the Spurs and Heat, and recently had a second workout with Miami, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes (Sulia link). According to George Akpayen of SuperSport.com, Oguchi could be nearing an agreement with the Heat on a non-guaranteed contract.
- The Heat also haven't ruled out a camp invite for Juwan Howard, who continues to work out with the team, says Winderman (Sulia link).
- Former first-round pick Alando Tucker is working out with the Bucks today and tomorrow, according to Tucker's Twitter feed (hat tip to Sportando).
- Agent Tyler Glass tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link) that free agent guard Lester Hudson was dropped by his agency after failing to show up for a workout with the Bobcats.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports shares an interesting new detail on a free agent contract signed earlier this offseason: Nate Robinson's deal with the Bulls isn't fully guaranteed, tweets Deeks. In a second tweet, Deeks explains that $400K is guaranteed, with Robinson receiving his full salary if he's not waived by January 1st.
Atlantic Notes: K-Mart, Knicks, Celtics, DiLeo
Among the NBA free agents still looking for work, Kenyon Martin arguably has one of the strongest career resumés. Given his past production, the former first overall pick has "remained steadfast" in not wanting to sign for the veteran's minimum, according to Alan Hahn of MSG Network (Sulia link). A few teams, including the Knicks and Celtics, have K-Mart on their radar, but New York can't offer more than the minimum, and the odds of Boston signing Martin are "slim to none," according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Here are a few more Atlantic Division notes from Hahn, Blakely, and a handful of other NBA scribes:
- The Knicks are still considering their power forward options, says Hahn, who cites Louis Amundson, Shawne Williams, and Jordan Williams as a few possibilities. Chris Andersen has "pushed the idea" of signing with the Knicks, but that interest isn't mutual, according to Hahn.
- Within Blakely's above-linked piece, he answers plenty of Celtics-related questions that he received from Twitter followers.
- The Celtics haven't ruled out adding another veteran before training camp, but it would almost definitely have to be for the minimum salary, says Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com spoke to Chris Copeland, who is on a non-guaranteed contract with the Knicks, about what he's learned from the team's veteran players during pre-camp workouts.
- The 76ers should give Tony DiLeo the opportunity to take over for Rod Thorn as the club's general manager, opines Neil Hartman of CSNPhilly.com.