Heat Eyeing Chris Andersen
Having cleared a pair of roster spots by cutting Terrel Harris and Josh Harrellson, the Heat are considering signing Chris Andersen, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Andersen will be in Miami over the next couple days to take a physical and work out for the Heat, according to Wojnarowski.
This isn't the first time the Heat have mulled the idea of signing the Birdman. Back in August, the team was looking at Andersen, but ultimately elected to sign Harrellson instead. However, Miami was unwilling to guarantee Harrellson's contract for the season, and has circled back and renewed its interest in Andersen.
If the Heat decide to sign Andersen, the club will have the opportunity to offer him a 10-day contract rather than a rest-of-season deal, since the 10-day-contract portion of the season got underway today.
Wizards Waive Shelvin Mack
The Wizards have released Shelvin Mack, the team announced today in a press release. It's the second time Mack has been cut by Washington this season, and it ensures that his salary won't become guaranteed.
Mack inititally received a $300K guaranteed on a minimum-salary contract from the Wizards, but was waived prior to the start of the regular season. He rejoined the team just before Christmas on a non-guaranteed deal and appeared in seven games, averaging 5.3 PPG and 3.3 APG in just over 20 minutes per contest.
The Wizards now have 14 players remaining on their roster, including Garrett Temple, whose contract will become guaranteed for the remainder of the season, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post (via Twitter).
Heat Waive Josh Harrellson
The Heat have officially waived big man Josh Harrellson, according to a team press release. Harrellson was on a non-guaranteed contract, so the team won't be on the hook for his full-season salary.
Harrellson, 23, saw very limited action in Miami this season, logging just 28 total minutes in five games with the team. The 45th overall pick in 2011, Harrellson will become an unrestricted free agent assuming he clears waivers.
Having also waived Terrel Harris over the weekend, the Heat now have 13 players on their roster, leaving two open spots.
Skiles Likely In Final Season With Bucks
Barring a drastic change of plans, it appears unlikely that Scott Skiles will return to Milwaukee next season to coach the Bucks, reports TNT's David Aldridge. While there's no animosity between the coach and the team, Skiles has informed the Bucks that he's not interested in a contract extension, and expects to be working elsewhere in 2013/14, according to Aldridge.
Skiles and general manager John Hammond are both in the final years of their respective contracts, though Aldridge says Hammond is more likely to remain in Milwaukee. According to Aldridge, Skiles has wondered about the team's direction, and whether it would be willing to rebuild through high draft picks or make an impact trade for a superstar-caliber player that could complement the current core.
The Bucks are open to having Skiles return and would be willing to discuss a deal if he has a change of heart, but haven't offered him an extension. Since taking over as the Bucks' head coach in 2008/09, Skiles has guided the team to a 162-182 record.
Rockets Sign Patrick Beverley
MONDAY, 12:25pm: Beverley's contract has been finalized and he's practicing with the team today, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
FRIDAY, 10:22am: Back in December, Eurohoops.net and the Houston Chronicle reported that point guard Patrick Beverley would sign with the Rockets. While Houston still hasn't officially added Beverley to its roster, the 24-year-old has signed a three-year contract with the team, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
Nikos Varlas of Europhoops.net notes that the Russian basketball federation has to send Beverley's letter of clearance to Houston, which is only a formality. When that happens, the Rockets will be able to finalize the signing, and will have to release a player from their 15-man roster.
As Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors observed last month and as Feigen hints (via Twitter), Scott Machado seems like the logical candidate to be cut, since he plays the same position as Beverley and only has a partial guarantee on his contract. Houston has until Monday to release Machado and avoid paying him a full-season's salary.
Rockets Waive Scott Machado
The Rockets have released rookie guard Scott Machado, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Machado had been on a partially guaranteed contract, and his departure will open up a roster spot for Patrick Beverley. Beverley has already signed a deal with the Rockets, and will officially be added to the roster once he receives FIBA clearance.
As a first-year player, Machado would have made a full-season salary of $473,604 had his deal been guaranteed for the season. The contract had a 50% guarantee on it, so the 22-year-old will receive $236,802 from Houston. Machado will be one of a handful of players being paid by the Rockets but no longer on the roster, as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors explored this weekend.
If Machado clears waivers and can't find an NBA deal, the Rockets would likely have interest in seeing him on their D-League affiliate, tweets Feigen.
Pacers Sign Dominic McGuire
11:09am: The Pacers officially announced the signing in a press release, confirming that it's a 10-day deal.
11:04am: Dominic McGuire will join his third team of the season, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who tweets that McGuire signed a deal with the Pacers today. I would guess it's a 10-day contract for the forward, who was released by the Hornets on Friday.
The Pacers waived Sam Young yesterday, so the team won't need to make another move to clear a roster spot for McGuire. At the time of Young's release, Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star mentioned McGuire as a player Indiana could be targeting.
McGuire, who began the season with the Raptors, posted nearly identical numbers in nine games for the Hornets (2.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 16.1 MPG) as he did in 15 games with Toronto (2.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 15.3 MPG). The 27-year-old has also played for the Wizards, Kings, Bobcats, and Warriors during his six-year NBA career.
Hornets Sign Donald Sloan
MONDAY, 10:08am: The Hornets have signed Sloan to a 10-day contract, according to Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (via Twitter).
SUNDAY, 8:25am: Former Cavs point guard Donald Sloan is on his way back to the NBA after a brief D-League stint, as Sportando's Emiliano Carchia tweets, and Marc Stein of ESPN.com fills in the blank with the news that the Hornets are the team set to sign him (Twitter link). If the Hornets wait until Monday to make the signing official, it could be a 10-day contract for Sloan, who got a pair of 10-day deals from New Orleans last season. Otherwise, the 6'3" Texas A&M product is likely in line for a minimum-salary contract for the rest of the season.
The Cavs released Sloan on Christmas when they claimed Shaun Livingston off waivers, and Sloan made his debut Friday with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League. He posted back-to-back 22-point games with the Skyforce this weekend, and also put up 10 rebounds and seven assists in last night's contest. The 24-year-old averaged 4.1 points and 1.9 assists in 12.9 minutes per game for the Cavs this year, but lost the job of Kyrie Irving's primary backup to Jeremy Pargo. His numbers were down from last year, when he split the season between the Hawks, Hornets and Cavs, notching 5.5 PPG and 3.2 APG in 20.3 MPG.
The Hornets, at the minimum 13 players after waiving Dominic McGuire on Friday, have been going with two point guards in Greivis Vasquez and backup Brian Roberts. It's unclear whether the addition of Sloan is meant to provide more depth or signals the end in New Orleans for Roberts and his non-guaranteed contract. The Hornets would have to place Roberts on waivers today or Monday to avoid guaranteeing his minimum-salary deal for the rest of the season.
The addition of Sloan, another point guard, runs counter to the indication given this weekend by coach Monty Williams, who said the team wanted to have flexibility to add another small forward. Nonetheless, New Orleans would still have an additional roster spot available even they don't release anyone when Sloan comes aboard.
Donte Greene Drawing Interest
Donte Greene was close to signing a contract with the Nets back in August when he suffered an ankle fracture during a workout, postponing his 2012/13 debut. Now, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, Greene has recovered from the injury, and is drawing interest from a number of teams.
Kennedy reports that Greene will begin working out for clubs on January 11th, with the Nets, Spurs, Timberwolves, Hornets, Bulls, and Rockets among his potential suitors. Greene's summer deal with the Nets was expected to be for the minimum salary, so even teams with no cap space or exception money should be in play for the former King. According to Kennedy, Greene will work out for teams for a week or two and, if all goes as planned, sign somewhere shortly thereafter.
Greene, 24, spent the first four seasons of his NBA career in Sacramento, averaging 6.1 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 16.8 minutes per contest. The former 28th overall pick had his best season in 2009/10, scoring 8.5 PPG on 44.1% shooting and making 50 starts for the Kings.
Pacific Notes: Cousins, Lakers, Gasol, Suns
A pair of Celtics roster moves yesterday led to some speculation that the team was clearing room for a bigger deal, but according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link), Jarvis Varnado and Kris Joseph were destined to be cut regardless, since the C's didn't want to pay the luxury tax on those deals. That means, as we heard yesterday from Sam Amick of USA Today, that the Celtics likely aren't close to any sort of deal for DeMarcus Cousins or anyone else. Here are a few more Monday morning links on Cousins and a handful of other Pacific Division topics:
- Bucher notes that it still seems as if Cousins isn't available, but if that stance changes, the Kings may want to try to package him with a bad salary or two.
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reiterates (via Twitter) that there's "no chance" of Cousins being dealt to the Celtics.
- According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard got into a "heated exchange" after a loss on New Year's Day. However, multiple reporters, including Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com (Sulia link) and Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link), say there's nothing to the story.
- Whether or not the two Lakers stars were involved in any sort of altercation, Howard believes the team needs to improve its chemistry on and off the court, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes.
- Acknowledging that he has been disappointed with the Lakers' performance so far this season, GM Mitch Kupchak suggested that establishing Pau Gasol's role is a top priority. "I think Pau continues to struggle to figure out how he's going to play with his group," Kupchak said, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. "Our coaches are struggling as well. We're not going to succeed as a team until we figure that out."
- The Suns have no untouchable players and will likely be very open to participating in trades as February's deadline approaches, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.