Teams Not For Sale, Pending New TV Contract
NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver announced today at the Bloomberg Sports Business Summit that no teams in the league are for sale, according to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst.
Several teams, including the Timberwolves, and possibly the Bucks and Raptors, have been taken off the market until after the league strikes its eventual lucrative television contract, when the monetary value of every franchise is expected to increase.
Television negotiations are expected to take place next year, after Silver replaces David Stern as the league's commissioner.
Mavericks Sign Melo, McConnell, Kennedy
According to the team, the Mavericks have officially signed Fab Melo, D.J. Kennedy, and Mickey McConnell, upping their roster total to 18 players.
Earlier today, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that Melo and Dallas had reached a deal. Kennedy made the 2013 NBA D-League All-Star game as a representative of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the league's 2013 champions. He has experience with the Cavaliers.
McConnell spent last season playing for Tezenis VE in Italy, averaging 13.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 2.7 APG in 32 games.
Mike James To Sign With Bulls
Mike James has reached an agreement with the Bulls, and will sign a training camp deal with the team later this week, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). It's not clear what sort of contract James will sign, but I'd imagine it'll be fully non-guaranteed, or close to it.
James, 38, had a solid season for the Mavericks in 2012/13, averaging 6.1 PPG and 3.1 APG in 45 contests. He started 23 games at the point for Dallas, when the team's other options were underperforming. The veteran appeared in 11 games for the Bulls in 2011/12, so if he can earn a regular-season roster spot with the club this season, it'll be his second stint in Chicago.
At the moment, it appears as if James has at least a decent chance to break camp with the Bulls. The team only has 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus second-rounder Erik Murphy on a partially guaranteed deal. Dexter Pittman, like James, is expected to be in camp with Chicago, and I'd imagine the team will extend invites to at least a couple more players.
James had previously been in talks with the Mavericks about a potential return to Dallas. However, the Mavs bolstered their backcourt in July free agency, leaving little room for James.
Heat Sign Justin Hamilton
TUESDAY, 5:06pm: The Heat have offically announced Hamilton's signing in a press release. The release also includes confirmation that Miami has signed Eric Griffin, whose agreement with the team was reported nearly a month ago.
SUNDAY, 11:28am: The Heat will bring Justin Hamilton to training camp, agent J.R. Hensley tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Hensley says his client, who's been working out at the Heat's home arena the past few weeks, will ink a deal with the team in the days ahead. The 45th pick in the 2012 draft still isn't participating in any contact drills as he recovers from a hamstring injury that kept him out of summer league.
The signing will force Miami's brass to either keep the former LSU center into the regular season or cut him in training camp and lose his rights. The Heat could keep Hamilton's NBA rights in perpetuity if they elect not to sign him, as they did last year when he played in Europe. With some agents hearing that the Heat plan to carry only the minimum 13 players amid a luxury tax crunch this season, it's somewhat surprising that the team appears to be bringing Hamilton aboard now. Miami already has 13 fully guaranteed contracts.
Hamilton split 2012/13 between BC VEF Riga in Latvia and KK Cibona of Croatia. In all, he averaged 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game. His numbers as a senior at LSU weren't staggering, either, as he put up 12.9 PPG and 7.2 RPG in 30.0 MPG.
Odds & Ends: Deng, Bulls, Ebanks, Redick
Considering it's still early September, it's been a relatively eventful day when it comes to NBA news. The Bulls and Luol Deng have reportedly stalled on contract extension talks, the Mavericks have invited 2012 first-rounder Fab Melo to camp, and the Pacers have officially signed Darnell Jackson. Not to mention LeBron James shared a few thoughts on his free agency, which may be a rare occurrence this season.
Here are a few more of the day's miscellaneous stories:
- Although Deng appears ticketed for unrestricted free agency next summer, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune notes that extension talks between Deng and the Bulls looked bleak in 2008 as well, but the two sides worked out a deal. While that doesn't mean it'll happen again, it also means negotiations shouldn't necessarily be considered over, says Johnson (Twitter links).
- Devin Ebanks tweeted earlier today that he's en route to Orlando, which is notable, since the free agent forward has received a camp invite from the Magic, as Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets. For now, Ebanks, who has also drawn interest from the Mavericks and Hawks, is just in town to work out for the Magic, a source tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (Twitter link).
- In a piece for The Score, Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com explains why certain lesser-known players can't be traded without their approval, while superstars like Dwight Howard and Chris Paul don't have no-trade clauses. By Deeks' count, 18 players can't be traded without their approval this season.
- Zach Lowe has published another interesting column for Grantland, making the case for why the NBA should consider reducing games from 48 minutes to 40. The chain reaction from such a move could have an effect on max contracts and the way teams use their cap space, as Lowe explains.
- New Clipper J.J. Redick is looking forward to playing for a contending team again, as Eric Patten writes at Clippers.com.
LeBron Hopes To Table Contract Talk For Season
With LeBron James less than 10 months away from potentially becoming a free agent, it's fair to assume he'll receive plenty of questions about his future from the media this season. However, LeBron doesn't intend to discuss his contract situation throughout the year, according to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst. Windhorst writes that the four-time MVP plans to address it briefly on the first day of camp, then table the subject until after the season.
James, a few years removed from "The Decision," has been much more reserved when it comes to discussing his future this time around. According to Windhorst, LeBron even hopes to squash free agency talk within his inner circle.
"All LeBron is thinking about is winning a third straight title," said agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports. "He has no interest in talking about next season and everyone around him knows it."
As we heard earlier today, the 28-year-old intends to focus solely on the Heat's success on the court this season, as the team attempts to win its third straight title. He has yet to make any decisions about next summer, and that's fine with Heat president Pat Riley.
"I don't know LeBron's stance," Riley said. "He'll probably say one time, 'I'll talk about it next year.' We haven't discussed it yet, but we will. I'll tell him the main thing is to make sure the main thing remains the main thing. And the main thing is to win the championship."
When next July does roll around, there's no guarantee that James will even opt out of his current contract, which doesn't expire until 2016. LeBron will have an early termination option next summer, and a player option the following summer, which means he could choose to opt out either year. But even if he does elect free agency, he wouldn't necessarily be committing to leaving Miami, since he'd have the option of negotiating a new long-term deal with the Heat.
Of course, just because LeBron doesn't want to discuss his contract situation until after the season, that doesn't mean we won't hear plenty of rumors and speculation over the next several months. For now though, it seems that the Heat superstar won't be fueling the rumor mill with any quotes of his own.
Pacers Sign Darnell Jackson
The Pacers announced a pair of signings in a press release today, as the team moves toward solidifying its roster for training camp. In addition to signing Ron Howard, whose agreement we heard about last month, Indiana also reached an agreement with Darnell Jackson, according to the release.
Jackson, 27, was selected in the second round of the 2008 draft, and has played for the Cavaliers, Bucks, and Kings in 138 total NBA contests. Since his last NBA action, which came for Sacramento in 2010/11, the 6'8" forward has played in Ukraine, China, and the D-League. In 19 games for the Reno Bighorns last season, Jackson averaged 13.8 PPG and 6.7 RPG. He participated in Utah's training camp last fall.
The signings of Howard and Jackson officially bring the Pacers' roster counts to 15 players, though our count has the team at 16, which includes a reported agreement with Rasual Butler. Although Indiana didn't announce Butler's deal today, there's no indication that it has fallen through. Assuming Jackson and Howard didn't receive any guaranteed salary, those two players, along with Butler, should compete in camp to earn a regular-season roster spot.
Contract Details: Sanders, Pekovic, Harris, Bost
Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com is back with another round of salary details for several of the new contracts signed in recent weeks. Here's a round-up:
- Larry Sanders' new four-year contract extension with the Bucks will pay him an even $11MM in each season. Those figures will increase slightly if Sanders reaches contract incentives currently considered unlikely.
- The Timberwolves' five-year deal with Nikola Pekovic will pay the big center $12.1MM in each of the next four seasons, before dipping to $11.6MM in year five. His potential incentives are also listed as unlikely, meaning they don't count against the cap for now.
- Elias Harris' deal with the Lakers is a two-year, minimum-salary pact. It's guaranteed for $100K in year one, and fully non-guaranteed in year two.
- The Cavaliers inked Matthew Dellavedova to a two-year contract that looks virtually identical to Harris' — his minimum salary is partially guaranteed for $100K in 2013/14.
- Like Harris and Dellavedova, Dee Bost also signed a two-year minimum contract, but his deal with the Trail Blazers is only guaranteed for $25K this season.
Mavs Invite Fab Melo To Camp
1:17pm: The Mavs and Melo have reached a training camp deal, according to Stein.
11:11am: Having already been traded by the Celtics and released by the Grizzlies this offseason, free agent big man Fab Melo is set to join a new team, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. According to Stein (via Twitter), the Mavericks are planning to bring the 2012 first-rounder to camp this fall.
Melo, the 22nd overall pick in last year's draft, only appeared in six NBA games for the Celtics in 2012/13. The Syracuse product spent most of the season with Boston's D-League affiliate, averaging 9.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 33 contests for the Maine Red Claws. While he has plenty of raw upside, Melo is also viewed as a long-term project, and given his lack of significant progress in his rookie season, neither the Celtics or the Grizzlies were inclined to wait on him.
The Mavericks already have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, so there may not be room for Melo on the regular-season roster, and it's unlikely he'll receive a significant guarantee. However, assuming Dallas finalizes a camp deal with the young center, the team will retain his D-League rights, meaning he could end up starting the 2013/14 season with the Texas Legends.
A source told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link) earlier today that Boston and Houston could be potential landing spots for Melo, but CBA rules prevent the C's from re-signing Melo until next summer.
Eastern Notes: LeBron, Hawks, Heat, Sixers
With his free agency potentially less than a year away, LeBron James continues to brush off questions about his future. Most recently, it was ESPN.com's Chris Broussard who asked the Heat superstar about his plans for the summer of 2014.
"I have absolutely no idea," James said. "I would love to spend the rest of my career in Miami with this great team and great organization as we continue to compete for championships. That's ideal. But we don't know what may happen from now to the end of the season. That's the nature of the business. It's the nature of not knowing what tomorrow brings."
As the reigning MVP continues to focus on the coming season, let's check out a few more notes from around the Eastern Conference:
- Former Texas-San Antonio guard Chris Allen will work out for the Hawks today, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com (via Twitter).
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel believes 2012 second-rounder Justin Hamilton is more likely to start the 2013/14 season with the Heat's D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls, rather than with the NBA club.
- Sixers second-round pick Arsalan Kazemi may be headed to Iran for the coming season, tweets Mark Porcaro of Secret Rival. That news isn't confirmed yet, and wasn't included in the daily update of our international player movement tracker, but we did hear earlier this summer that the Oregon product was expected to play overseas in 2013/14.