Sixers Waive Daniel Orton
4:13pm: The Sixers announced the move, making it official.
3:41pm: The 76ers will waive Daniel Orton prior to today’s contract guarantee deadline, reports ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). The move will ensure that Philadelphia isn’t on the hook for Orton’s full-season salary.
Orton, 23, has appeared in 22 games for the Sixers this season, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 11.4 minutes per contest. After being released by the Thunder during training camp, Orton caught on with the Sixers, earning a spot on the regular season roster on a minimum-salary, non-guaranteed deal.
Assuming Orton is the only cut for the Sixers today, the team will open up a single spot on the 15-man roster. There’d be no need to fill that spot right away, but Philadelphia has been active this season in auditioning young players, gauging which of them, if any, could be long-term pieces. As such, I’d expect the team to at least fill that 15th roster spot with a player on a 10-day contract.
Latest On Andrew Bynum
Here’s the latest on the NBA’s hottest soon-to-be free agent..
- The Knicks one of a few teams who have not at least made an inquiry into Andrew Bynum, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks may have decided that they have enough interesting personalities on their club as it is.
- Bynum’s preference would be to hook on with the Heat, with the Clippers as his second favorite, a source tells Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.
- It doesn’t sound like the Clippers will be in on Bynum however, write Arash Markazi and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. “I honestly haven’t given it a lot of thought, I can tell you that,” coach Doc Rivers said of searching for a big man. “We’ve had very few discussions about anyone big right now. We’re far more focused on the perimeter part of our team.“
Players Whose Contracts Will Be Guaranteed
As we outlined earlier today, players on non-guaranteed contracts who aren’t released by 4:00pm central time will have their full 2013/14 salaries guaranteed. We’ll be keeping tabs in this post on players who have been informed they’ll remain on their respective teams’ rosters, with new updates added to the top of the list throughout the afternoon:
- Barring an unexpected development, the Pacers will guarantee Rasual Butler‘s contract today, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.
Earlier updates:
- The Timberwolves don’t intend to make any roster moves today, which means the contracts for A.J. Price and Robbie Hummel should become guaranteed, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- As anticipated, the Lakers plan to keep Ryan Kelly, Xavier Henry, and Kendall Marshall, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (via Twitter).
- Ronnie Brewer‘s contract will be guaranteed for the remainder of the season by the Rockets, says Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
- The Bobcats will retain Jeff Adrien beyond today, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
- Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports (via Twitter) that Chris Douglas-Roberts‘ contract will become guaranteed, as the Bobcats won’t cut him today.
- Kent Bazemore is also safe, with the Warriors informing him he’ll remain on the roster, tweets Haynes.
- The Spurs have informed Malcolm Thomas that he won’t be waived, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Kirk Hinrich Drawing Interest From Warriors
The Bulls likely aren’t done dealing after sending Luol Deng to Cleveland, as we heard earlier today from Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link), and it appears that Kirk Hinrich could be the next expiring veteran contract on the block. According to Sam Amick of USA Today, Hinrich is receiving interest around the league, with the Warriors having shown “serious interest” even before the Deng trade.
The Warriors have been linked to multiple point guards in recent weeks, including Kyle Lowry and Andre Miller. For now, Andre Iguodala has assumed some point guard duties, and Toney Douglas sees a handful of minutes, but the team continues to look for a solid backup behind Stephen Curry, according to Amick.
Hinrich, 33, has taken on a larger role in Chicago following Derrick Rose‘s second consecutive season-ending injury, but is probably better suited to come off the bench. Playing 30.7 minutes per game this season, his highest average in three years, Hinrich has shot a career-low 34.0% from the floor and posted a 9.3 PER, the second-worst mark of his career.
Hinrich is earning about $4.06MM this season, which could make him a nice fit for the Warriors’ $4MM trade exception — teams are allowed to take back an additional $100K when they use TPEs, so Hinrich would barely fit into that exception. Acquiring the Bulls guard without sending out any salary would push the Warriors right up against the tax line, however, so the team may prefer to move a player or two in any deal.
Longtime NBA writer Peter Vecsey first suggested this afternoon (via Twitter) that Hinrich could be available, with the Warriors potentially in the mix.
Andre Miller Rumors: Tuesday
It’s been nearly 24 hours since we heard that the Nuggets were looking to move Andre Miller within the next 48 hours, and while there’s no deal yet, there are a few updates on the Miller front. Let’s round them up:
- The Nuggets have been telling teams at the D-League Showcase in Reno that they plan to trade Miller by the end of the week, says Sam Amick of USA Today, who adds that the Warriors remain in play for the 37-year-old.
Earlier updates:
- The Nuggets continue to talk to teams and work toward a Miller trade, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, who tweets that nothing is imminent.
- It sounds as if one team the Nuggets have spoken to is Minnesota. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (via Twitter) that the Nuggets and Timberwolves have had a “back and forth” about the veteran point guard. Wolfson also notes that current Nuggets GM Tim Connelly worked with Wolves president Flip Saunders and GM Milt Newton in Washington, so there’s some history there.
- Reiterating what we heard yesterday from Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Marc Berman of the New York Post says the Knicks aren’t pursuing Miller.
Devin Ebanks Meeting With Sixers
Devin Ebanks, who is currently playing for the Texas Legends, has a meeting lined up with the Sixers at the D-League Showcase in Reno, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), Ebanks looks like the early favorite to be the first call-up from the Reno event.
Ebanks, 24, spent three seasons with the Lakers before signing with the Mavericks this offseason. The 6’9″ swingman was released by Dallas prior to the regular season, but has excelled for the Mavs’ D-League affiliate in 15 games so far, averaging 24.5 PPG and 9.7 RPG.
If the Sixers intend to sign Ebanks, the team will have to open up a roster spot first. With today’s contract guarantee deadline looming, Philadelphia is carrying a full 15-man roster, but could waive one of five non-guaranteed contracts in order to create space. Still, there’s no indication yet that the team’s interest in Ebanks extends beyond the reported meeting.
Western Notes: Pelicans, Harris, Franklin
Ryan Anderson will be out indefinitely with a herniated disk, the Pelicans announced today (link via Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com). Anderson has been mentioned in a few trade rumors, but didn’t seem likely to be moved this season. Still, if he’s expected to miss a significant amount of time, it could have an impact on New Orleans’ roster decisions before the trade deadline. The team is currently carrying 14 players, leaving one opening available.
Here’s more from the NBA’s better half:
- After indicating last night that the Thunder were researching D-League standout Manny Harris, Sam Amick of USA Today follows up by tweeting that Harris had an interview with members of OKC’s front office this week, as the team does its due diligence.
- The Grizzlies have recalled Jamaal Franklin from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Franklin was assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Sunday, and played with the team yesterday in Reno as part of the 2014 D-League Showcase.
- Dewayne Dedmon was released by the Warriors earlier this season, but Golden State still has interest in bringing him back, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, adding that Dedmon is meeting with three NBA clubs in Reno today.
Bulls Waive Andrew Bynum
As expected, the Bulls have waived Andrew Bynum, a league source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The move comes in advance of today’s guarantee deadline, so Bynum’s cap hit on Chicago’s books will be worth $6MM rather than his full-season salary of $12.25MM.
Bynum was a Bull for less than 24 hours before being cut, having been acquired from the Cavaliers in the trade involving Luol Deng that was finalized late last night. Because Bynum’s contract acts as a midseason expiring deal, Chicago will be able to dip below the luxury tax threshold, saving more than $20MM in total salary and tax payments.
Due to his significant cap figure and less significant recent impact on the court, Bynum will pass through waivers without being claimed, which will free him up to sign with any team besides Cleveland as soon as this week. The 26-year-old is believed to be interested in the Heat and Clippers, though Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times suggests (via Twitter) that L.A. is lukewarm about the idea of pursuing the big man. The Knicks are expected to be in the mix as well.
It’s unlikely that Bynum will draw more than minimum-salary offers, but if he does, Miami could be well positioned, since the Heat have yet to use their mid-level exception this season.
Clippers Waive Stephen Jackson
2:03pm: Jackson has officially been waived, according to the Clippers.
8:43am: The Clippers have yet to make it official, but “signs are pointing” to Stephen Jackson being released by today’s guarantee deadline, says Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com echoes that sentiment, tweeting that it’s a safe bet the Clips will waive Jackson.
Jackson signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Clippers last month, but hasn’t seen significant action, despite the fact that Matt Barnes, Reggie Bullock, and J.J. Redick have all missed time with various ailments. In nine appearances, the 35-year-old has played 11.9 minutes per game, averaging just 1.7 PPG with a .231 FG% and a 0.2 PER. He was the team’s only healthy, active player not to see action in last night’s blowout of the Magic.
The Clippers also waived Maalik Wayns‘ non-guaranteed contract this week, but immediately filled Wayns’ spot on the roster by signing Darius Morris to a 10-day contract. So if and when L.A. officially releases Jackson, it will reduce the club’s roster count to 14 players — 13 guaranteed deals, plus Morris’ 10-day deal. That open roster spot would give the Clips the flexibility to add another player on a 10-day contract, or even to pursue Andrew Bynum, once he clears waivers.
Lakers Release Shawne Williams
The Lakers have waived Shawne Williams, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The move opens up a spot on the team’s roster, reducing it to 14 players.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles suggested yesterday that, of the Lakers’ four non-guaranteed players, Williams looked like the only real candidate to be cut loose. The 27-year-old had appeared in 32 games for the Lakers, starting 11 of them, but had seen his role reduced as of late. He averaged 5.2 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 20.2 minutes per contest for the season.
With no 15th man on board now, the Lakers could use the available roster spot to bring Williams back on a 10-day deal, or to pursue another free agent, such as Hedo Turkoglu. It doesn’t appear that the club will be opening up any additional spots on the roster, as Kendall Marshall, Ryan Kelly, and Xavier Henry all look like good bets to have their contracts guaranteed.