Central Notes: Pacers, Thompson, Cook
While the Pacers didn't necessarily want to cut Sam Young, a recent ankle injury that required several weeks of recovery coupled with the need for more help at the wing position had forced Indiana's hand, says Mike Wells of IndyStar.com. Wells also writes that the team will likely sign someone to a 10-day contract and thinks about Dominic McGuire as a possible fit. Lastly, he believes that guard Ben Hansbrough will remain on the team for the rest of the season. Here are a few more tidbits we've heard from the Central Division tonight:
- Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer looks at how Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson has thrived during Anderson Varejao's absence.
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Subscribers only) primes his readers on the impact that sharpshooter Daequan Cook is ready to make with the Bulls.
Celtics Waive Joseph And Varnado, Blockbuster In The Works?
10:35pm: Sam Amick of USA Today says that "Cousins is not going to the Celtics" and that teams who have been asking about his availability continue to being rebuffed (Twitter link).
7:08pm: Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) says that while nothing is imminent, Boston is one team to keep an eye on around the trade deadline.
6:51pm: Blakely writes that although it's unlikely that Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, or Paul Pierce will be moved, there has been "growing" interest in Courtney Lee, who may be expendable with the return of Avery Bradley to the Celtics' lineup. Blakely also mentions forward Brandon Bass as another player who could possibly be on the move.
6:45pm: A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets that the decision to waive Joseph and Varnardo may have opened the door to what could be a blockbuster deal, according to a league source. One name that has repeatedly been mentioned in speculative trade talk has been Kings' center DeMarcus Cousins (Twitter link).
5:10pm: While rounding up today's list of waived players, ESPN's Marc Stein also tweeted that forward Kris Joseph and center Jarvis Varnado had both been waived by the Celtics today.
The 6'7 Joseph had been selected by Boston as the 51st pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, appearing in six games this season and averaging 1.2 PPG in 4.0 MPG. Varnado had only played in five games, averaging 1.2 PPG in 3.6 MPG.
With the roster now at 13, ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg speculates that the Celtics could target a veteran big man and a backup ball-handling guard to fill the two newly created roster spots. Forsberg also mentions that those potential moves could depend on the big man's asking price.
Bobby Brown May Join NBA This Season, D.J. White Next?
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports that Montepaschi Siena point guard Bobby Brown, who is currently the Euroleague's leading scorer and is in strong contention for Most Valuable Player, could become a free agent and will be available to join an NBA team this season. Although going undrafted after entering the 2007 NBA Draft, Brown found his way into opportunities with the Timberwolves, Kings, Hornets, and Clippers, playing a combined 113 games and averaging 5.1 PPG and 1.8 APG in 12.8 MPG for his career.
In Italy, Brown currently boasts averages of 21 PPG, 5.9 APG, while shooting 46.4% from two-point range, 40.2% from long-distance, and 89.3% from the charity stripe. Despite Brown's success, Siena may not have the financial ability to retain the 28-year-old former standout from Cal State Fullerton for the long-term. Wojnarowski also mentions that several NBA teams have already inquired about bringing in the 6'2 Brown as a back up point guard.
Another name that Wojnarowski says to keep in mind is 6'8 forward D.J. White, who is currently playing for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and will be eligible to sign with an NBA team after the conclusion of the CBA's season in February. The five-year veteran has been averaging 22.6 PPG and 10.6 PPG for Shanghai and holds NBA career averages of 6.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 50.7% shooting from the field in 16.3 MPG. He last played for the Bobcats during the 2011-12 season.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Raptors, Knicks
Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston delves further into what today's roster moves meant for the Celtic green, noting that the $275K the team saved by waiving Kris Joseph is nearly the amount it will cost the team to sign a veteran-minimum player late in the season. He also points out that Boston must wait for Joseph and Jarvis Varnado to clear waivers before being able to offer 10-day contracts. As for the now-former Celtics, Forsberg writes that both will have the option of returning to the D-League while awaiting their next opportunity. Here's the rest of what we've heard out of the Atlantic Division tonight:
- ESPN New York's Jared Zwerling describes how current Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga played a pivotal role in helping Knicks forward Chris Copeland earn a shot to play in the NBA.
- With P.J. Carlesimo, Nets rookie Mirza Teletovic has another chance to make a first impression (Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports).
- In a Q&A with readers that covered a variety of miscellaneous topics, Doug Smith of TheStar.com said that with a full roster, the Raptors aren't currently inclined to waive anyone in order to sign someone to a 10-day contract. With regards to their point guard situation, Smith thinks that Toronto should stand pat for now and seems confident that the team will eventually have discussions next summer to try and keep Jose Calderon.
Odds & Ends: Guaranteed Contracts, Nowitzki, Lakers
Tomorrow at 5PM EST marks a significant deadline in the NBA, as players who are currently on non-guaranteed contracts kept after that point will have their deals guaranteed for the rest of the season. While the official deadline for contracts to become fully guaranteed is listed as January 10, ESPN's Marc Stein pointed out yesterday that teams who decide to release a player on a non-guaranteed contract will have to do so by tomorrow in order for them to clear waivers by Thursday. We've seen quite a handful of teams release some of their non-guaranteed pacts today, and with less than 24 hours left to go, there could be more of those types of transactions to come. With that in mind, you can find tonight's miscellaneous links from around the NBA here:
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune talks about the need for Minnesota's Derrick Williams to step up and contribute with Kevin Love sidelined by a hand injury.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas notes Dirk Nowitzki's feelings of uncertainty with the direction of the Mavericks' franchise and expressed thoughts on whether or not he should be traded. After acknowledging the team's failed attempt of luring Deron Williams or Dwight Howard, Nowitzki didn't seem too enthused about Dallas' chances of adding a marquee name of that caliber in the near future.
- HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler thinks that Lakers' rookies Robert Sacre and Darius Johnson-Odom could be the next in line to be waived in order to avoid paying more luxury tax on their deals. He also thinks that Johnson-Odom would be more likely to be released than Sacre (Twitter links).
- Michael Lee of The Washington Post wrote that tonight's matchup with the Heat and tomorrow's game against the Thunder are critical for Wizards guards Garrett Temple and Shelvin Mack, who are both currently on non-guaranteed contracts.
- During an interview on NBC's Chris Mannix Show, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports said that there is a very good chance that the Grizzlies move Rudy Gay or one of their high-salaried contracts by the February trade deadline. Also, he does not believe Royce White will ever play in the NBA (Twitter links).
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports tweets that it's not unusual for teams to waive a player before their contract becomes guaranteed before subsequently re-signing him for the rest of the season.
- After last night's win at the Target Center, Trail Blazers swingman Nicolas Batum admitted that he drew some motivation from wanting to prove to the Timberwolves and their fans that he was worth the offer sheet that Minnesota presented to him last summer (Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports).
D-League Moves: Barton, Smith
The Portland Trail Blazers have assigned rookie small forward Will Barton and second-year point guard Nolan Smith to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA D-League, the team announced (link via Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com). They will both be sent down in time to appear at the D-League Showcase in Reno, Nevada.
Barton has appeared in 28 games for the Blazers this season, averaging 2.9 PPG and 1.4 RPG. Smith has played in 18 games and averaged 2.5 PPG and 1.8 APG. We'll keep track of today's NBDL assignments and recalls below:
- IndyStar.com reports that the Pacers have recalled Miles Plumlee from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
- Director of 76ers PR Michael Preston tweets that Philadelphia has recalled Arnett Moultrie.
76ers Waive Maalik Wayns
Marc Stein of ESPN (via Twitter) reports that the 76ers have released guard Maalik Wayns. The Villanova product had played in 20 games this season, averaging 2.5 PPG in 7.8 MPG.
Stein also tweets that although Philadelphia has the option of offering another 10-day contract to Wayns once he clears waivers, it isn't clear whether or not the team will go after someone else instead. The roster now stands at 13.
Week In Review: 12/31/12 – 1/6/13
A look back at the news and transactions of the past week:
- Timberwolves forward Kevin Love broke his hand for the second time this season, which will cause him to miss significant time.
- NBA commissioner David Stern believes there will be NBA teams playing in Europe within the next two decades.
- The Rockets suspended rookie forward Royce White, citing breach of contract after he refused an assignment to the D-League.
- Despite the continued uncertainty of his role with the Lakers, Pau Gasol will not ask for a trade.
- The Hornets signed Donald Sloan, who was waived by the Cavs.
- The Cavs also waived Samardo Samuels.
- The Timberwolves signed and waived Lazar Hayward.
- The Mavericks waived Chris Douglas-Roberts. One possibility to replace him is Mike James, who signed with the Texas Legends of the D-League this week.
- The Pacers waived Sam Young.
- The Bulls signed Daequan Cook, who was waived by the Rockets to make room for James Anderson.
- The Bulls also guaranteed Nate Robinson's contract for the rest of the season.
- The Heat waived Terrel Harris.
- The Hornets waived Dominic McGuire.
- The Warriors elected to keep Kent Bazemore despite the luxury tax implications of guaranteeing his contract.
- Unable to secure an NBA contract, Christian Eyenga elected to play in China rather than stay in the D-League.
- Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe is not expected to be available at the trade deadline.
- The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are said to be shopping Rudy Gay.
- Kyrylo Fesenko signed in the Ukraine.
- Although DeMarcus Cousins has drawn interest from several teams, the Magic are not one of them. The Bobcats have also denied reports that they made the Kings an offer for the embattled big man.
Pacers Release Young, Eyeing McGuire?
4:26pm: The Pacers have officially waived Young, according to Wells (via Twitter).
1:48pm: The Indiana Pacers are expected to release Sam Young today, reports Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter). Wells points out that Young suffered a severe ankle sprain that is expected to keep him out several weeks, just as teams are forced to make a decision on whether to guarantee nonguaranteed contracts.
Wells also reports that the Pacers are likely to sign another player to a 10-day contract for short-term wing help, which the team has needed since the injury to Danny Granger. Wells speculates that the team may look to sign forward Dominic McGuire, who was waived by the Hornets over the weekend.
HoopsRumors Originals: 12/31/12 – 1/6/13
A look back at the original content produced by the Hoops Rumors staff over the past week:
- Hoops Rumors' Trade Candidate series continued with posts on the Timberwolves' Andrei Kirilenko (link) and Raptors teammates Andrea Bargnani (link) and Jose Calderon (link)
- An overview of 10-day contracts on the eve of their start time.
- A breakdown of how much money the Houston Rockets owe to players waived during training camp.
- Hoops Rumors' weekly Hoops Links roundup of the top posts across the NBA blogosphere.
- A poll asking readers whether the Jazz should be buyers or sellers.
- A list of players on non-guaranteed contracts.
- A look at some of the most disappointing long-term deals signed this summer.
- A New Year's Day poll asking readers what the biggest NBA story of 2012 was.
- A list of expired trade exceptions from the month of December.