Odds & Ends: Exum, Nuggets, Cavs, Pistons
The return of Slovenian native Sasha Vujacic to the NBA today, on a 10-day contract with the Clippers, gives the league 93 players born outside the U.S., and they hail from a record 39 different countries, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). The globalization of the game doesn’t figure to let up soon, as there’s news on the top overseas draft prospect amid today’s look around the NBA:
- Dante Exum wants to mimic Kobe Bryant‘s successful leap from high school to the pros, and that’s what led him to hire Bryant’s agent Rob Pelinka, the Australian point guard prospect tells Jon Tuxworth of The Canberra Times. Exum shares more about his decision to enter this year’s draft and his hopes for instant playing time once he’s in the league.
- The Nuggets, Cavs, Pistons and Grizzlies would all like to swing deals by the deadline, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his latest Morning Tip column for NBA.com.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times categorizes nine Bulls trade candidates, and says the team won’t part with Taj Gibson unless it’s certain that a star player will sign with Chicago in free agency this summer. The Lakers, Wizards and Bobcats have reportedly inquired about Gibson.
- Raymond Felton has changed agents, dropping Tony Dutt of Dutt Sports Services Inc. to join Wasserman Media Group, as Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal reports in a subscription-only piece. Thad Foucher and Makhtar N’Diaye will handle representation for Felton, who can’t opt out of his deal with the Knicks until the summer of 2015.
- Von Wafer has signed to play for Russia’s Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Enea Trapani). The six-year NBA veteran has also played in China and for the D-League’s Bakersfield Jam this season.
Sixers Notes: Dedmon, Brett Brown, D-League
Evan Turner appears to be at the forefront of the Sixers’ trade deadline plans, though fellow veterans Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes remain in the mix for a swap, too. Philadelphia figures to be a hub for activity in the next two and a half weeks, so here’s the latest on a team seemingly in transition.
- The Sixers have elected not to re-sign Dewayne Dedmon after his second 10-day contract expired overnight, and coach Brett Brown doesn’t expect the team to replace the center immediately, according to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com.
- Michael Kaskey-Blomain of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines what Brown has revealed about his philosophy in his half-season as an NBA coach, noting his affinity for three-pointers and a fast pace.
- The Sixers have recalled Lorenzo Brown from the D-League, the team announced. It was the rookie point guard’s fifth assignment, and his fourth since New Year’s Day.
Clippers Sign Sasha Vujacic
MONDAY, 12:02pm: The Clippers have officially announced the signing, via press release.
SUNDAY, 3:05pm: It now looks like Vujacic will ink his 10-day deal with the Clippers tomorrow, Turner tweets. The plan is for the guard to meet the club in Denver and suit up tomorrow night (link).
2:12pm: The Clippers are close to signing Sasha Vujacic to a 10-day deal, sources tell Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Los Angeles has long been known to have interest in the veteran guard.
Vujacic took his physical and could sign as soon as Tuesday, according to Turner. Ostensibly, Vujacic’s first crack at making the Clippers roster passed him by when the club signed Hedo Turkoglu to a deal covering the remainder of the season. However, after opting not to re-sign Darius Morris after his deal expired, the club had an opening on the roster and a void to fill in the backcourt.
Over parts of seven seasons in the states, mostly with the Staples Center’s other tenants, Vujacic averaged 5.6 PPG and 1.3 APG in 15.9 minutes per game. He also showed that he can fill a stat sheet during a run with the Nets in 2010/11 where he put up 11.4 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 28.5 minutes per contest.
Sixers Intensify Push To Trade Evan Turner
The Sixers are becoming more aggressive in their pursuit of a trade before the deadline, and Evan Turner is at the forefront of their efforts, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The Thunder had interest in Turner earlier this year, and the Suns had discussions with the Sixers about acquiring him, but there’s no movement on either front, according to Deveney, who hears that Philly’s insistence on draft compensation for Turner has held up talks.
Philadelphia is reportedly seeking first-round picks in trades for Turner, Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young. Turner is slated for restricted free agency this summer, but he would become an unrestricted free agent if the Sixers decline to tender a more-than-$8.7MM qualifying offer. One GM tells Deveney that he’d be reluctant to give up assets for a player he could simply sign outright in a few months.
The trade chatter is no surprise to Turner, who tells Deveney that he’s not at all fazed by it, and that he never expected to receive an extension when he was eligible for one this past offseason. The former No. 2 overall pick is averaging a career-high 18.4 points per game on a depleted Sixers roster.
Grizzlies Sign Darius Morris To 10-Day Deal
MONDAY, 11:10am: The Grizzlies have signed Morris to a 10-day contract, according to a press release from the team
SUNDAY, 9:29pm: Darius Morris is meeting with Grizzlies coaches tonight in Oklahoma City and is expected to sign a 10-day deal with Memphis tomorrow, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). Morris saw his second 10-day deal with the Clippers expire towards the end of January.
The Grizzlies worked Morris out in December after Quincy Pondexter was lost to injury so they have some level of familiarity with the guard. The 23-year-old appeared in 10 games for the Clippers averaging 5.4 MPG with 0.9 PPG and 0.5 APG.
If Morris puts pen to paper with the Grizzlies, it’ll be his fourth NBA stop in just two years. Morris has also seen stints with the Lakers and Sixers over the last two seasons.
John Jenkins To Miss Rest Of Season
Hawks second-year shooting guard John Jenkins will be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his lower back today, the team announced. Jenkins hasn’t played since December 20th. The team had since listed him as out indefinitely while he underwent therapy on his back.
The loss of Jenkins, the 23rd overall pick in 2012, probably doesn’t change Atlanta’s plans much. The Hawks already possess a $5.15MM disabled player exception to compensate for the loss of Al Horford. They also have a pro-rated amount of their room exception, worth $2.26MM, and nearly $1.8MM in cap space.
The news is a tougher blow for Jenkins, who played in just 13 games this season, and saw his minutes reduced to 12.2 per game from 14.8 per contest in his rookie year. He’ll remain under his rookie scale contract for next season, but there appears to be a strong chance that the Hawks will decline his $2.228MM option for 2015/16.
Kings Likely To Be Buyers At Deadline
The Kings are on a seven-game losing streak and sit in last place in the Western Conference, 11 and a half games out of the final playoff spot. Still, that’s not stopping them from seeking upgrades at the trade deadline, according to Chad Ford’s “Tank Rank” piece for ESPN Insider. Ford hears the Kings are looking to acquire talent rather than sell it off as they attempt a late charge at the postseason.
Ford mentions Marcus Thornton, Jason Thompson, Jimmer Fredette and Carl Landry as players the Kings might dangle in their pursuit of immediate help. A report late last month indicated the Kings would “love to move” Thornton, and Thompson and Fredette have also been a part of multiple trade rumors this season. Landry, who just returned from a hip injury that forced him to miss the first three months of the season, appears to be a new addition to the trade block for Sacramento, which has maintained an aggressive stance on the trade market all year.
The new ownership behind the Kings is eager to give Sacramento a winner as they fend off challenges to a public-funding plan for a new arena. The acquisition of Rudy Gay has helped reinvigorate the small forward’s career, but Sacramento is just 9-15 in games he’s played, a winning percentage of .375 that’s only marginally better than the team’s .319 clip for the season. A push for the playoffs would be doubly puzzling, since Sacramento’s 2014 first-round draft pick goes to the Bulls if it winds up outside the top 12, as our reverse standings show.
Central Rumors: Augustin, Bynum, Cheeks
D.J. Augustin remains the starting point guard for the Bulls even with Kirk Hinrich healthy again, a most unlikely scenario when the Raptors waived Augustin less than two months ago. Still, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau says he isn’t shocked to see the former ninth overall pick enjoy a renaissance, observes Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune.
“We knew he had the capability because he already had done it,” Thibodeau said. “His (four) years in Charlotte told you he was capable of playing well. And I thought he had some really good moments in Indiana (last season). … I knew he was hard to guard.”
The Pacers hope their midseason addition of Andrew Bynum pays off just as well, and there’s news on that amid our look at the Central Division:
- The Heat spoke with Bynum before he signed with the Pacers this past weekend, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who tucks the news into his latest power rankings. Still, Pacers president Larry Bird called the notion that the team inked the center just to keep him from the Heat “about the dumbest thing I ever heard.”
- Pistons owner Tom Gores said this weekend that he doesn’t think the roster is performing up to its capabilities, and coach Maurice Cheeks admits he should be doing a better job of preparing the team to play, notes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
- Cheeks has a guaranteed contract through 2015/16 with a team option for 2016/17, but that probably wouldn’t keep Gores from firing him this summer if the Pistons don’t start performing better, MLive’s David Mayo opines. Mayo also senses pressure on president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, who’s in the final year of his deal.
Hoops Links: Turner, Lakers, Knight, Stern
On this date in 1996, the Bulls’ 99-84 road win over the Lakers – with Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson meeting on the court for the first time since Game 5 of the 1991 NBA Finals – set, at the time, a record as the highest-rated NBA game ever on cable TV. The telecast on TNT earns a 7.1 rating and a 13.1 share, being viewed in an average of 4.75 million homes. The rating mark stood until the May 21, 1996 Bulls-Magic playoff game. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere..
- Atlas Bowled offers a primer on economics in the NBA.
- Hoop76 says the Sixers shouldn’t trade Evan Turner…yet.
- Legion Report wonders how long the Lakers’ struggles will continue.
- Bucksketball breaks down Brandon Knight‘s game.
- Cowbell Kingdom bids farewell to David Stern.
- Hardwood Paroxysm talks Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, email it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Southwest Notes: James, Thunder, Mavs
The latest out of the Southwest Division..
- The Grizzlies are considering picking up Mike James on a 10-day deal, according to Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). The guard inked a 10-day pact with the Bulls on January 22nd but Chicago allowed it to lapse rather than sign him to a second one.
- The Thunder announced that they have recalled forward Andre Roberson from the Tulsa 66ers. Roberson, who is very familiar with the trip from Oklahoma City to Tulsa at this point, recorded two double-doubles while averaging 14.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.75 steals, 1.75 blocks and 31.3 minutes in four games during his most recent assignment. Overall, the forward is averaging 15.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.45 steals, 1.45 blocks and 35.2 minutes in eleven games with Tulsa.
- The Mavericks announced today that they have recalled rookie guard Shane Larkin from the Texas Legends of the D-League. Larkin has played in 32 games for the Mavericks and is averaging 3.6 points and 1.8 assists in 12.5 minutes per contest.